Norman / Moore / Oklahoma City / Surrounding Areas / Person-to-Person / Virtual / Phone Coaching Support)
Less than 30% of U.S. adults have completed any end-of-life planning at all.
We estimate that (far) less than half of that 30% have sufficiently communicated their wishes and organized their affairs to maximize their own comfort, their loved ones’ peace of mind and family unity when they matters most.
“The time to repair the roof is when the sun is shining.” - John F. Kennedy
As the seasons change, time becomes more precious.
Create a Peace of Mind Plan, then get back to enjoying your life now.
Complete advance directives for care, appointing a health care proxy and empowering physicians to carry out your wishes, if you can’t speak for yourself.
Clearly ommunicate your values and priorities for life as you grow older, giving your loved ones confidence about what matters most to you.
Document what you want your caregivers to do in a variety of scenarios if you experience dementia or other special-case situations.
Organize the information others will need to manage your responsibilities (like pet care, bills, commitments) if the unexpected or unwanted happens with little or no warning.
Express your wishes for the very end of life and afterward. Who do you want at your bedside in your last hours? How do you want to be remembered? And so much more.
Please Note!
Heartful Transitions provides educational, facilitative and organizational support only. We do not offer legal, medical, nursing, psychotherapy, or financial advice or services. Clients and others who utilize our resources are encouraged to consult licensed professionals for guidance specific to their circumstances, whenever possible.
The Peace of Mind Plan Works for Real People
The Peace of Mind planning process helps people organize their advance care documents, clarify and communicate their care values and priorities, and simplify access to critical “life admin” information - so those they trust will have what they need when they need it most. Our process is designed to work with the way we, as busy and “imperfect” humans, handle matters in real life. Our process is simplified, guided, emotionally and energetically “bounded,” carried out with compassion and unconditional positive regard - and it can be completed in a time-efficient manner and updated easily and routinely, as you make it your own over weeks, months and years.
“If one does not know to which port one is sailing, no wind is favorable.”-Seneca
Peace of Mind Planning with Heartful Transitions is currently donation-based.
[Beginning June 1, 2026, our we will move from a donation model to a priced model: $360 for one person with an additional $180 for each additional person, up to 4 participants.]
At this time, our suggested donation for all three sessions is $240 for one client with an additional $120 for each additional client, up to 4 participants. (Working through this process with a small group of family or friends can be a meaningful and enriching experience.) This means that a couple or other duo could complete the process for $360 (a total cost of $180 each), while a family or friend group could complete the Peace of Mind planning process for $600 (or $150 each).
Three 60-90 minute sessions, in person or virtual. (Efficient plan: first session in-person, following sessions virtual.)
Weekly coaching calls (15-20 minutes) available between each session and after the third session.
Binders, proprietary templates, guides, and accompanying care partner folders included. (Some binder components are available freely to the public, and there is no cost for these materials.)
Clients with serious illness or a terminal diagnosis may create a Peace of Mind Plan on a donation basis or at no cost, if needed, simply by requesting this accommodation. (This will remain in effect after we move out of the donation model.)
People who wish to sponsor all or part of the suggested donation for others are welcome to discuss this with us.
“I have an advance directive, not because I have a serious illness, but because I have a family.” - Ira Byock, MD
About the Peace of Mind Plan Coordinator, Michelle Stewart, MS, M.Ed…
Michelle Stewart is an end-of-life doula, family caregiver (of decades), and certified life planning specialist with the International Doula Life Movement. She is also a registered nurse, bringing experience and insight gained through more than 10 years in the healthcare system to this work, though she does not serve Heartful Transitions clients in a clinical role.
If you work with Michelle to create a Peace of Mind Plan, she will sit down with you and walk through each section of the binder-based system, designed to help you clarify your healthcare values and goals, document your medical care wishes, organize your critical information, and make the right choices for you, when it comes to memorial and legacy matters.
Please Note!
Heartful Transitions provides educational, facilitative and organizational support only. We do not offer legal, medical, nursing, psychotherapy, or financial advice or services. Clients and others who utilize our resources are encouraged to consult licensed professionals for guidance specific to their circumstances, whenever possible.
Prevent Confusion & Conflict When Your Family Need Each Other Most
The Peace of Mind Plan was created in response to a reality I have witnessed repeatedly, both personally and professionally: during moments of serious illness, illness or worse, families are often overwhelmed not only by fear or grief, but by preventable confusion that creates serious conflict.
Important documents cannot be found - or were never created in the first place. Critical information needed to take care of business and personal responsibilities is missing. Decisions must be made under pressure without guidance, clarity, or confidence. The resulting anxiety and confusion can steal precious time and peace of mind from people who need to be together, united, loving each other through a painful experience.
I have personally witnessed at least a dozen families torn apart by conflict during a medical crisis or end-of-life experience — not because the family members did not love one another, but because they were not on the same page about what their loved one would want in the situation. Often, one family member remembers one conversation one way, another remembers it differently or recalls an entirely different conversation - and there is no reliable reference point to resolve those differences. Lasting rifts, or even permanent estrangement, are not uncommon in this scenario. This is a widespread issue in our culture, and it is heartbreaking precisely because so much of it is avoidable.
Complete advance life planning, clearly communicated to loved ones, is the best protection possible for the peace of mind that protects relationship peace when it matters most.
-Michelle
“It’s good to do uncomfortable things. It’s weight training for life.”-Anne Lamott
Does a very young adult need a Peace of Mind Plan?
Accidents are the most common cause of serious injury and death in young people (age 24 and under) - and by definition, they happen without warning. (Thankfully, they are rare, compared to aging-related illness and death.)
It is critically-important that every young adult make and document informed decisions about what they would want for themselves if the worst should happen - and designate a healthcare proxy (and alternates) whom they trust to carry out their wishes.
If a young adult does not have a living will and healthcare proxy, or if this information is not communicated, or if the required documents quickly accessible for those who need them, precious time may be lost, decisions made without the necessary knowledge.
Yes, most young (unmarried) people want one or both parents to make these important decisions for them, in an emergency. And most (not all) states will turn to the parents for guidance when the worst happens.
But even if parents can be found in a timely, manner, the decision making process, itself, can mean even more life-long trauma for all involved, if parents do not know what their child would want, do not agree on decisions, or face family backlash because of decisions they have made - without documentation from their child outlining their wishes.
And a parent (no matter how loving or wise) is not always the right choice to serve as their adult child’s healthcare proxy. Many adult children do not want their parents to carry the burden of making such decisions, knowing the pain and anxiety it will cause. Others do not have relationships with their parents that allow them to allow them decision making trust.
Regardless, every young adult needs to have at least the most important directives and consents in place.
“The pain passes, but the beauty remains.” - Pierre Auguste Renoir
Advance Life Planning & Attorney Assistance vs "DIY”
Retaining legal counsel is “the gold standard” for completing DPOAs, wills and other sensitive estate-planning documents. We highly recommend you work with an attorney to assist you with these important instruments if at all possible.
Still, the truth is, many individuals simply cannot afford to retain an attorney - at least, not in a timely manner. (The funds are just not available, in the now.)
If retaining an attorney is truly not an option for you at this time, you may consider utilizing state-created documents and instruments available from other reputable sources, such as those provided by established nonprofits and respected organizations like Trust & Will (which provides you an opportunity to have your documents reviewed by an attorney licensed in your state at a reasonable cost), and others.
This “DIY” (bridge) option, carried out with care and thought, may be preferable to the “waiting until we can pay for an attorney” option, which has caused so many people so much unnecessary stress, conflict and heartache.
Alternatively, you may be able to do as much as you can on your own, then pay an attorney for a modest amount of consulting time for a review and guidance, making adjustments based on their recommendations..
Whatever you choose to do, you can move forward with a Peace of Mind Plan now.
When we help you organize your Peace of Mind Plan, we will sort these critical documents into your binder, whether they are attorney-assisted, attorney-reviewed, or created on your own using available “DIY” resources. You can easily replace them later with updated and/or attorney=assisted documents, simply by switching them out.
“We are all just walking each other home.” - Baba Ram Dass
The Peace of Mind Plan is designed to help people organize for unexpected or serious health events, so they can minimize anxiety, confusion and conflict and maximize precious time, energy and family unity - when it matters most.
"Life is what happens when we are busy making other plans." - John Lennon
If you would like more information, or if you are ready to set an appointment, please complete this contact form.
“You can’t go back and change the beginning, but you can start where you are and change the ending.” - C.S. Lewis
What is an End-of-Life Doula?
An end-of-life doula (sometimes called a "death doula") is a holistic care practitioner specializing in the end of life. We help people prepare for death and journey through their dying experience with the most peace, comfort and connection possible, given their unique situation.
This can include: providing physical/comfort care and teaching caregivers how to keep the dying person clean and comfortable, offering referrals and connecting families with important resources, assisting with advance directives, organizing care schedules, advocating for the client and/or family - and many other services - all based around the unique needs of the client and their circle of care.
We bring peace into the room. We look for unmet needs and work to find ways to meet them, "walk alongside" and act as a sacred witness, support person and safe place for all involved.
What birth doulas do for those welcoming new life, we do for those leaving this life - and for those they love.
Note from Michelle: At this time, I focus my doula practice on helping families prepare for serious illness, injury and the end of life before the worst happens, as well as helping families organize care for loved ones with calm and maximum family cohesion.
"If there ever comes a day when we can't be together, keep me in your heart, I'll stay there forever." —Winnie the Pooh
Diversity & Inclusivity
Heartful Transitions does not discriminate on the basis of race, color, religion, creed, gender, gender expression, age, national origin, disability, marital status, sexual orientation, family design, political affiliation, or military status.