What happens when the theology you were raised inside begins to soften, and the person who taught it to you is willing to soften too?

Last year, I completed what was my own "Year to Live" exercise. At the top of that commitment was my relationship with my mom. She raised me and my siblings inside the Seventh-day Adventist church. Faith shaped everything—what to eat, what to fear, what to believe, what to bury.

And yet here we are…sitting on the kitchen table, reading The Third Jesus by Deepak Chopra together. No microphones. No plan. Just two former Adventists, opening a book neither of us could've touched when I was a kid.

In This Episode:

• The revelation: "I thought it was heartbreak... it was all the grief" - unpacking depression after Peace Corps service
• Why we sometimes prefer heartbreak to grief - the devil we know versus the one we don't
• Understanding emotions as "disguises" and what lies behind evil
• Finding profound love and Christ consciousness through prison work
• The vital practice of learning to "Protect Your Peace"
• Healing divides through nourishment - a mother's realization about seeing unmet needs
• Seeing the "God" or innocence beneath everyone's surface
• How focusing on the afterlife can rob us of the present moment
• Moving beyond duality - challenging "good vs. evil" thinking

Key Insights:

• Grief wears disguises - sometimes as heartbreak, anger, or busyness
• Christ consciousness is about seeing the divine in everyone, especially those society has rejected
• Moments of peace must be protected - a spiritual practice of creating boundaries
• The transition from religious dogma to spiritual understanding creates space for deeper connections
• Finding divinity not as something external, but as the essence within each person

This isn't a polished podcast. It's a prayer you overheard - a raw conversation about what opens between a mother and son when grief softens, and religion lets go.

Watch on YouTube

Connect with David:

• Newsletter: Passages and Perspectives
• Instagram: @mor.intune

Episode 2: Not About Death — What You're Really Afraid Of

Most of us aren’t afraid of dying. We’re afraid of what death reflects back at us. Our regrets, our tenderness, our joy, and everything we’ve been avoiding.

In this episode, I share my story and the vision for this podcast. I talk about what it means to live with one year left, and how that question has shaped the way I show up now—as a poet, death doula, and someone who helps others reunite with their humanity.

What to expect in this episode:

• The origin story behind A Year to Live
• What this podcast will explore
• How my own year to live changed my life
• A reframing of what we’re actually afraid of
• An open invitation to begin your own journey

This podcast is here to help you return to what matters most.

—

Hosted by David Morin
Poet | Death Doula | Prison Facilitator
@mor.intune 

A Year to Live 
Apprenticeship of the Unknown

Ep 1: Darkness, Surrender, and the Poet Within with Sarah McCash

In this first episode of A Year to Live, David Morin and Sarah McCash dive deep into David's life-changing experience of a darkness retreat four years ago. What began as a casual phone call between friends turned into a moving, unfiltered conversation that helped shape the very structure of this podcast.

As Sarah prepares for her own darkness retreat, she reached out to David to reflect on his experience. Together, they rehash his transformative journey of surrendering to darkness, embracing the unknown, and discovering the poet within.

This is not a polished studio interview. It's a real, spontaneous phone call full of raw, honest, and unexpected magic.

*A Note on the Title*
A Year to Live is inspired by the book of the same name by meditation teacher and author Stephen Levine. While this podcast is an independent project, the heart of this idea—that reuniting with your mortality can radically transform the way you live—finds its roots in his work. May this serve as a living continuation of that invitation.

Meet Sarah McCash
Sarah McCash is a Manhattan-based storyteller and death doula, obsessed with all things death, mortality, and soulful transitions. Her presence is equal parts deep feeler and curious seeker. As someone called to care for the dying, Sarah brings a refreshing enthusiasm to conversations about grief, fear, intuition, and awakening. She’s a member of David’s first A Year to Live cohort and has agreed to document parts of her journey through recorded conversations like this one.

In this episode, we discuss:

• The Power of Surrender: Why facing the darkness and confronting our deepest fears can lead to profound personal transformation.
• Darkness Retreat Experience: What it's like to spend days alone in pitch-black darkness, and how it can awaken new parts of ourselves.
• Uncovering the Poet Within: How David realized he was a poet during the darkness retreat and the poetic journey that followed.
• Intuition and Spiritual Growth: The importance of listening to your intuition and how it leads us to the places and experiences we need most, even if we're not "ready" for them.
• The Sacredness of Darkness: How the darkness serves as an ancient teacher and a place of deep self-discovery.

Resources:
Join David's Cohort. If you're ready to explore your own mortality with a small group of other seekers like you, book a call with David here or send him a message on IG. https://calendly.com/morindavid9113/60min

 David on Instagram: @mor.intune

More from David Morin:

• Listen to his previous podcast: Art 2 Heart 
• Explore the mini-series on Spotify: Meet You There (co-created with a public media journalist)

Thank you for listening! If this episode resonated with you, please subscribe, rate, and review.