Everything IFS Blog

Internal Family Systems

A tranquil still life on a stone surface featuring a small bonsai tree growing in a shallow stone bowl filled with pebbles, a young sprout emerging from soil, stacked smooth stones, a lit candle, an unfurled scroll, old books, a brass bowl, coiled twine, scattered pebbles, and soft draped fabric. The scene feels calm, natural, and contemplative, suggesting growth, patience, and quiet balance.

Chapter 64 – Tao Te Ching

A clear, IFS-informed reading of Tao Te Ching Chapter 64, revealing how early attention, gentle timing, and non-grasping allow change to unfold without force.

Tao Te Ching

4 min read

A seriously ill Black woman sits in a recliner at home, carefully reviewing healthcare proxy and power of attorney documents. Wearing a robe and a nasal oxygen cannula, she appears tired but focused as she reads paperwork that will designate who can make medical and financial decisions on her behalf if she becomes unable to do so herself. Surrounding her are organized folders, legal documents, prescription medication, family photographs, and a notebook containing end-of-life planning tasks. A portable oxygen concentrator stands nearby, while soft daylight filters through a window, illuminating the quiet, weighty process of choosing trusted decision-makers and putting important legal protections in place before death.

🗝️ Module 4 — The Healthcare Proxy and the Powers of Attorney | Dying: Getting Things in Order

A free course by Everything IFS Academy on the healthcare proxy and powers of attorney: the person you name matters more than any checkbox, and choosing well is its own art. Untangle the one role with many names, healthcare agent, medical power of attorney, surrogate, and see what an agent can and cannot do. Cover naming alternates, the conversation that makes the appointment real, the durable financial power of attorney with its springing powers, and how to get a document ba

Everything IFS

An overweight middle-aged man with red hair and a full red beard sits in a large recliner in his home, studying a living will document with a serious, focused expression. A nasal oxygen cannula runs across his face, and medical supplies, prescription bottles, and paperwork are scattered on nearby tables. A walker stands beside the chair, while family photographs and personal belongings in the background suggest a life and family he is trying to protect. Soft daylight filters through a nearby window, illuminating the difficult task of making end-of-life decisions and documenting wishes for future medical care. The image conveys illness, vulnerability, responsibility, and the emotional weight of preparing a living will.

🗝️ Module 3 — The Living Will | Dying: Getting Things in Order Course

A free course by Everything IFS Academy on the living will: the document that records which treatments you would want when you can no longer say so. Walk through each decision inside it, CPR, mechanical ventilation, the feeding tube question, dialysis, antibiotics near the end, and comfort measures only. Meet Earl, who traded a worse last month for a better last week, and Lillian, who wrote her open window into the form. Plus the values questions behind the checkboxes and the

Everything IFS

A seriously ill middle-aged woman sits upright in a hospital bed, wrapped in a robe and patterned headscarf, carefully reading an advance directive document. Her expression is thoughtful and solemn as she reviews instructions about future medical care and end-of-life decisions. Medical equipment and IV poles stand nearby, while a framed family photograph rests on a bedside table beside a notebook and coffee mug. Soft daylight enters through a nearby window, illuminating the quiet room. The image conveys the deeply personal process of documenting healthcare wishes and making important decisions about future treatment when one may no longer be able to speak for oneself.

🗝️ Module 2 — The Advance Directive | Dying: Getting Things in Order Course

A free course by Everything IFS Academy on the advance directive: the umbrella document that carries your medical wishes when you can no longer voice them. Learn its two halves, the living will that records the what and the healthcare proxy that names the who, plus the difference between wishes documents and medical orders like the DNR and POLST. Discover why state forms are free, who can witness, why Roy's safe deposit box failed him, and the surrogate hierarchy that takes o

Everything IFS