Welcome to
Meditative Heartbeat Therapy
Spiritual Presence. Clinical Attentiveness.
Meditative Heartbeat Therapy was born at the bedside.
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In the quiet spaces between heartbeats and breath, where language begins to dissolve and presence becomes everything, MHbT took form. It emerged not from textbooks or theories, but from the lived experience of sitting with the dying — listening not just to stories, but to silence. To the body. To the final rhythm of life: the heartbeat.
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MHbT is a gentle, integrative practice that uses the sound and sensation of the heartbeat to anchor individuals—patients, caregivers, and clinicians alike—in deep presence during life’s most profound transitions. It is especially suited for two sacred thresholds: the moment one turns toward hospice care, and the final 72 hours of life, when the nearness of death calls for accompaniment that is both reverent and real.
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Using a simple combination of breath awareness, recorded heartbeat sounds, flame-gazing, and contemplative stillness, MHbT opens a space for peace, meaning, and spiritual connection. It can ease anxiety, soften fear, support sleep, reduce pain perception, and allow both the dying and those around them to be present—not just physically, but soulfully.
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MHbT is not a replacement for medical care. It is an integrative therapy, meant to accompany other forms of treatment and support, rooted in the belief that the end of life is not a medical event alone—it is also a spiritual and emotional one. As such, MHbT honors the body as sacred, the heart as a guide, and death as a threshold deserving of reverence.
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Today, MHbT is being introduced in hospice care, universities, chaplaincy programs, and contemplative settings around the world. What began as a bedside practice is now becoming a movement—quiet, grounded, and deeply human.
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Coming January 2026 from Apocryphile Press, Meditative Heartbeat Therapy: A Contemplative Guide to Presence, Rhythm, and Care at End of Life invites practitioners into the heart of MHbT. Part philosophy, part hands-on guide, it’s a resource to carry with you and draw from every day.
​Whether you are a clinician, caregiver, spiritual companion, or someone seeking meaning in the face of mortality, Meditative Heartbeat Therapy offers a path into stillness, soul, and the sacred rhythm that carries us all.
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Comprehensive training is essential not only for mastering MHbT but also for enhancing patient-centered care overall. The MHbT Intensive equips clinicians with practical tools to deliver genuine whole-person care to patients during critical life transitions. To learn more about the MHbT intensive, please click here.
About Daniel
Daniel DeLoma, M.Th., MSPC, is a medical theologist, hospice chaplain, the author of Meditative Heartbeat Therapy: A Contemplative Guide to Presence, Rhythm, and Care at End of Life (Apocryphile, 2026), and the founder of Meditative Heartbeat Therapy (MHbT). His work is rooted in the belief that dying is not only a medical event, but a sacred passage.
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With nearly a decade of frontline hospice experience and a background in global palliative care, Daniel has companioned individuals across the full spectrum of end-of-life — from those living unsheltered on the margins of society to those in private residences and inpatient units. His work is deeply rooted in ritual, sacred presence, and the spiritual power of the heartbeat as both anchor and guide.
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A certified Reiki Master/Teacher and trained End-of-Life Doula/Educator, Daniel’s ministry centers on the two critical transitions in end-of-life care: the threshold between curative and comfort-based treatment, and the final 72 hours of life. These liminal spaces — often overlooked or rushed — are, in his view, portals of grace that call for profound presence, silence, and care.
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Daniel serves with the hospice team and the Transitions of Care team at Waveny Visiting Nurse and Hospice in Fairfield County, Connecticut. His work has been presented in both academic and clinical settings, and he continues to offer MHbT training to clinicians, caregivers, and spiritual companions around the world.
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He lives and works in Fairfield County, where he remains devoted to the sacred task of helping others die well — with dignity, ritual, and the rhythm of the heart.
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If you would like to host Daniel for a conference or event, please click here.