Dr. BJ Miller is a longtime hospice and palliative medicine physician and educator. If you haven’t seen his powerful TED Talk titled “Not Whether But How” (aka “What Matters Most at the End of Life”), please watch it prior to listening to this episode. 

We go into territory BJ hasn’t typically talked about on podcasts.

“If we love such moments ferociously, then maybe we can learn to live well — not in spite of death, but because of it. Let death be what takes us, not lack of imagination.” - BJ Miller

We discuss:

Discovering awe and mystery of life through nature

Surrendering to the flow of life

Finding wisdom in daily life that’s right in front of us

Where can we source the courage to remember our unique medicine?

What happens after a popular TED talk

Finding peace with being a work in progress

Inhabiting a made-up social world

Why BJ Miller isn’t on Instagram or TikTok

Is conscious social media possible? 

Social media as a way to be more ourselves

Psychedelics as life-affirming vehicles 

Exploring meaning through existential crisis that can come up within the context of palliative care

Making space for both meaning and meaninglessness

The importance of palliative care

Expanding our perception of what’s normal 

The power of being love and receiving love 

Mentioned: 

125: Jasmin Jenkins: Lessons From Ayahuasca Plant Medicine and Alchemizing Grief Into Presence

Zen Hospice Project

Connect with BJ’s work: 

mettlehealth.com

nytimes.com/2020/12/18/opinion/sunday/coronavirus-death.html

BJ Twitter: @BJMillerMD

Mettle Twitter: @Mettle_Health

BJ Miller and Shoshana Berger’s Book – A Beginner's Guide to the End: Practical Advice for Living Life and Facing Death

Connect with Ksenia: 

kseniabrief.com

Ksenia's email list

Instagram @ksenia.brief

YouTube Ksenia Brief

TikTok @ksenia.brief

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