Learn how business leaders and entrepreneurs are being taught to find meaning in life from the stories of the terminally ill.

My guest Travis Luther MA is a sociologist and entrepreneur and a recognized expert in childhood trauma. He teaches business leaders through workshops, one-on-one coaching, and keynote speaking about finding deeper meaning in work and life. He is the author of the forthcoming book What We Learn When We Learn We Are Dying: Life Advice from the Terminally Ill. He discusses his current work and his advice for entrepreneurs based on what he has learned from numerous interviews with people dealing with terminal illness. Learn more at his website:

travisluther.com

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If you enjoy this content please share it with others and consider leaving a review on iTunes. Thanks again to all supporters on my page at Patreon.com/eolu, especially to my latest supporter Susan and to Connie WS for upping your pledge. Thank you also to Taya Levine who made a donation on Paypal! Your contributions make all the difference and ensure this podcast stays ad-free.

Check out this recent episode from my podcast What Really Matters that includes why we need death-aware spirituality.

This week I’m taking a little summer break from interviews and sharing with you a recent episode from my newly-relaunched podcast What Really Matters. I discuss the importance of spirituality right now at this particular time in our society and specifically what I think of as “death-aware” spirituality. I hope you find it interesting. You can check out the archives of the What Really Matters Podcast at the following link:

https://www.podpage.com/what-really-matters-everyday-spirituality

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If you enjoy this content please share it with others and consider leaving a review on iTunes. Thanks again to all supporters on my page at Patreon.com/eolu, especially to my latest supporter Suzanne, and thank you to everyone who bought me a coffee or made a donation on Paypal! Your contributions make all the difference and ensure this podcast stays ad-free.

Learn about a helpful workbook and a free workshop toolkit to support people who are navigating a life-changing diagnosis.

My return guest Dr. Hsien Seow is a palliative care researcher and a professor in the Department of Oncology at McMaster University. He is a co-host with Sammy Winemaker MD of The Waiting Room Revolution Podcast and they are both the authors of the book Hope for the Best Plan for the Rest. Today we discuss the new workbook that accompanies the book and a workshop toolkit they are offering at no charge. Learn more at the website:

waitingroomrevolution.com

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If you enjoy this content please share it with others and consider leaving a review on iTunes. Thanks again to all supporters on my page at Patreon.com/eolu, and to Molly Byock for buying me a lot of coffee and Aralyn Hughes who made a donation on Paypal! Your contributions make all the difference and ensure this podcast stays ad-free.

Learn about innovative educational programs for medical students and the impact they are having.

My special guest Dr. Kevin Dieter is a family medicine and hospice and palliative care physician who helped to develop the nationally recognized palliative care curriculum at Northeast Ohio Medical University. He created a virtual learning module called “Being with Dying” for medical and pharmacy students to teach them what they need to know to be at the bedside of a dying patient. He discusses the course he offers, including training healthcare providers. Learn more from his website:

walking-home.com

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Get the booklet: Facing Death with Grace

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If you enjoy this content please share it with others and consider leaving a review on iTunes. Thanks again to all supporters on my page at Patreon.com/eolu, and to @yogat3ch for buying me a coffee and James Schultz who made a donation on Paypal! Your contributions make all the difference and ensure this podcast stays ad-free.

Learn about an exciting new training to become a Death Literacy Educator and teach in your community.

My return guest Francesca Lynn Arnoldy is a doula and a published researcher with the Vermont Conversation Lab and she runs a program for Death Literacy Educators. She is the author of The Death Doula’s Guide to Living Fully and Dying Prepared, My Death Journal, The Map of Memory Lane, and Cultivating the Doula Heart. Today she discusses the importance of training educators who can help our communities grow in knowledge, understanding, and awareness of death. Learn more at her website:

francescalynnarnoldy.com

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If you enjoy this content please share it with others and consider leaving a review on iTunes. Thanks again to all supporters on my page at Patreon.com/eolu, especially my newest patron Stephanie Heilker, and to Curtis Robertson who made a donation on Paypal! Your contributions make all the difference and ensure this podcast stays ad-free.

Learn about Dr. Ira Byock’s strategic vision for approaching the major issues facing hospice and palliative care.

My guest Dr. Ira Byock is a leading palliative care physician, author, and public advocate for improving care through the end of life. He is the author of the books Dying Well, The Four Things that Matter Most, and The Best Care Possible. He discusses his recent white paper “A Strategic Path Forward for Hospice and Palliative Care” and his 4-point approach for dealing with the current issues facing end-of-life care in the U.S. Learn more at his website and read the paper below:

irabyock.org

Read the Paper here

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If you enjoy this content please share it with others and consider leaving a review on iTunes. Thanks again to all supporters on my page at Patreon.com/eolu, and to Frank Voelker and Katie Daco who made donations on Paypal! Your contributions make all the difference and ensure this podcast stays ad-free.

Learn about a helpful book with resources for dementia caregivers.

My guest Dr. Beverly Thorn is dual trained in the neurosciences and clinical psychology. She is the author of hundreds of articles, two books, and four workbooks on coping with chronic illness. She has also been trained as an end-of-life doula and served as her husband’s caregiver through his dementia illness and at the end of his life. She is the author of the newly published book Before I Lose My Own Mind: Navigating Life as a Dementia Caregiver. Learn more at her website:

drbeverlythorn.com

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If you enjoy this content please share it with others and consider leaving a review on iTunes. Thanks again to all supporters on my page at Patreon.com/eolu, and to everyone who bought me a coffee or donated on Paypal! Your contributions make all the difference and ensure this podcast stays ad-free.

Listen to an important discussion about how spiritually-focused people can speak up about social justice issues and work toward community healing.

In this episode I’m sharing with you part of the recent workshop on Sacred Activism I hosted with Terri Daniel and Brian Smith. Terri is an inter-spiritual hospice chaplain and end-of-life educator certified in death, dying and bereavement by the Association of Death Education and Counseling and in family-focused grief therapy by The Portland Institute. Terri is the founder of The Conference on Death, Grief and Belief and the author of four books on death and grief. Brian is a certified grief educator, author and speaker. He is the host of the podcast Grief 2 Growth and a book by the same name. Learn more about Terri and Brian at their websites:

deathgriefandbelief.com

grief2growth.com

Register for conference here

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If you enjoy this content please share it with others and consider leaving a review on iTunes. Thanks again to all supporters on my page at Patreon.com/eolu, and to everyone who bought me a coffee or donated on Paypal! Your contributions make all the difference and ensure this podcast stays ad-free.

Learn about the specialty of pediatric palliative care and how one doctor has benefitted from his relationship with his seriously ill patients.

My guest Dr. Bob Macauley is one of only a few hundred pediatricians in the U.S. specializing in palliative care for children with life-threatening illness. Uniquely Dr. Macauley attended both divinity school and medical school at the same time, which gives him a spiritual perspective on palliative care as well. He is the author of the recently published book Because I Knew You: How Some Remarkable Sick Kids Healed a Doctor’s Soul. Learn more at his website:

robertmacauley.com

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If you enjoy this content please share it with others and consider leaving a review on iTunes. Thanks again to all supporters on my page at Patreon.com/eolu, and thank you to Yoshimi Kanagawa for buying me 5 coffees and to Kathleen Cheetham who made a donation on Paypal! Your contributions make all the difference and ensure this podcast stays ad-free.

Learn how death doulas are improving end-of-life care in our medical system by tending to things that often get ignored.

In this episode, I’m joined by Kacie Gikonyo, founder of The Death Doula Collective and Death Doula School. Drawing on more than a decade of nursing experience, Kacie shares how death doulas are helping to transform end-of-life care by addressing the emotional, spiritual, and relational needs that often go unmet by the medical system. We discuss the gaps in Western medical care, the shifts needed in how we approach dying, and how death doulas are bridging the divide with presence, advocacy, and compassion. Learn more at her website:

deathdoulakacie.com

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If you enjoy this content please share it with others and consider leaving a review on iTunes. Thanks again to all supporters on my page at Patreon.com/eolu, and to everyone who bought me a coffee or donated on Paypal! Your contributions make all the difference and ensure this podcast stays ad-free.