On our last best act, planning for the end of our lives and aligning our end-of-life choices with our values. Exploring new, sustainable practices such as green burial, aquamation, conservation cemeteries, home funerals and human composting. 

• (0:00) - Introduction and Background of Mallory McDuff
• (2:05) - Defining Green Burials and Their Importance
• (5:47) - Exploring Cremation and Aquamation
• (14:06) - Choosing a Green Burial Site
• (29:53) - Personal Stories and Final Wishes
• (36:28) - Practical Considerations and Resources
• (36:39) - Final Thoughts and Closing Remarks

In this second conversation with Mallory McDuff, environmental education professor, we discuss her book, Our Last Best Act. She is the author of four books, with essays featured in the New York Times, The Washington Post and more.

On the women who've designated themselves as voices for the Earth and prioritizing joy amidst the truths of our times. 

• (0:00) - Introduction to Mallory McDuff and the Podcast
• (1:52) - Hannah Herman's Connection to Mallory McDuff
• (4:49) - The Power of Climate Storytelling
• (6:20) - Colette Pichon Battle's Story
• (12:03) - Ayanna Elizabeth Johnson's Focus on Ocean Justice
• (24:50) - Mari Copeny's Activism in Flint, Michigan
• (36:11) - Kendra Pinto's Fight Against Fracking in New Mexico
• (44:55) - Conclusion and Call to Action

Mallory McDuff discovered the field of Environmental Education as a Peace Corps volunteer in the Central African Republic, where she saw the critical importance of integrating local communities in conservation. She's the author of four books examining the intersection of spirituality and the climate crisis: Natural Saints (OUP, 2010), Sacred Acts (New Society Press, 2012), Our Last Best Act: Planning for the End of Our Lives to Protect the People and Places We Love (Broadleaf Books, 2021), and Love Your Mother: 50 States, 50 Stories, and 50 Women United for Climate Justice (Broadleaf Books, 2023).     She also co-authored a book for practitioners Conservation Education and Outreach Techniques (OUP, 2015) and written more than 50 essays for the New York Times, Washington Post, WIRED, Newsweek, and more.    In this episode, we discuss Love Your Mother.   Much of her writing draws on her life at Warren Wilson College, where she lives with her two daughters. In her classes, students collaborate with diverse community partners—from youth to senior citizens—to teach and learn together using the forests, farms, and fields of the campus.

On living your fullest life so you can meet the end with grace.

• (0:00) - Introduction and Book Reading
• (2:08) - Alua's Journey from Law School to Death Doula
• (3:57) - Meeting Jessica and Reflecting on Judgments
• (7:04)- Alua's Background and Going with Grace
• (9:23) - Alua's Childhood and Adaptability
• (12:47) - Life in Los Angeles and Death Doula Work
• (14:37) - Peter's Illness and Its Impact
• (18:11) - Reflecting on Peter's Death
• (20:02) - Alua's Family and Legacy
• (24:43) - Final Thoughts and Resources

Author of BRIEFLY PERFECTLY HUMAN: Making an Authentic Life by Getting Real About the End, Alua Arthur is the most visible death doula in America today. A recovering attorney and the founder of Going with Grace, a death doula training and end-of-life planning organization, Alua has been featured on The Doctors and in Disney's Limitless docu-series with Chris Hemsworth, as well as Vogue, InStyle, the Los Angeles Times, The Cut, The New Yorker, and the New York Times. Her TED talk entitled “Why Thinking About Death Helps You Live a Better Life,” went online in July 2023 and has already received over 1.5 million views.

Alua has appeared on dozens of podcasts, and a Refinery29 video feature on Arthur and her work received ten million views across social platforms. For her clients and everyone who has been inspired by her humanity, Alua Arthur is a friend at the end of the world. As our country’s leading death doula, she’s spreading a transformative message: thinking about your death—whether imminent or not—will breathe wild, new potential into your life.

Warm, generous, and funny AF, Alua supports and helps manage end-of-life care on many levels. The business matters, medical directives, memorial planning; but also honoring the quiet moments, when monitors are beeping and loved ones have stepped out to get some air—or maybe not shown up at all—and her clients become deeply contemplative and want to talk. Aching, unfinished business often emerges. Alua has been present for thousands of these sacred moments—when regrets, fears, secret joys, hidden affairs, and dim realities are finally said aloud. When this happens, Alua focuses her attention at the pulsing center of her clients’ anguish and creates space for them, and sometimes their loved ones, to find peace.

Going with Grace, Alua's work

Alua's TED Talk: https://www.ted.com/talks/alua_arthur_why_thinking_about_death_helps_you_live_a_better_life

This has had a profound effect on Alua, who was already no stranger to death’s periphery. Her family fled a murderous coup d’état in Ghana in the 1980s. She has suffered major, debilitating depressions. And her dear friend and brother-in-law died of lymphoma. Advocating for him in his final months is what led Alua to her life’s calling. She knows firsthand the power of bearing witness and telling the truth about life’s painful complexities, because they do not disappear when you look the other way. They wait for you.

Briefly Perfectly Human is a life-changing, soul-gathering debut, by a writer whose empathy, tenderness, and wisdom shimmers on the page. Alua Arthur combines intimate storytelling with a passionate appeal for loving, courageous end-of-life care—what she calls “death embrace.” Hers is a powerful testament to getting in touch with something deeper in our lives, by embracing the fact of our own mortality. “Hold that truth in your mind,” Alua says, “and wondrous things will begin to grow around it.

On the gift of childlike faith, guarding your mind and the crucial connection between your well-being and your success.

• (0:00) - Introduction
• (2:50) - Chaz's Journey to Writing the Book
• (5:40) - Guard Your Mind and Meditation
• (12:09) - Self-Talk and Affirmations
• (16:13) - Work toward ascension and childlike faith
• (21:58) - Success and Self-Care
• (26:33) - Conclusion and Call to Action

Chazz Scott is an author, speaker, mindset and resilience coach. He is the founder of Supra Mentem, a consulting firm specializing in training leaders in peak performance, well-being, and sustainable success. His clients include the D.C. Hospital Association, the Maryland Association of Election Officials, and the U.S. Black Chamber of Commerce. Chazz is the Executive Director of Positively Caviar, Inc., a nonprofit focused on using optimism to build resilience and disrupt youth mental health stigmas. He lives with his wife in the Washington D.C. area. Chazz is the author of his latest book, Success Starts Within: Achieve Your Potential Through Radical Self-Care, which seeks to bridge the gap between wellness and accomplishment by illuminating a simple principle: our outward success is only as viable as our inner well-being. On Amazon: https://amzn.to/3TpQvvY

On sonic gratitude, developing our deeper gifts, the peril of expectation, the potency of the present, and the beauty of self-acceptance.

• (0:00) - Musical Journey and Transformative Work
• (5:12) - Early Career Challenges and Breakthroughs
• (12:25) - Personal Transitions and Professional Growth
• (14:57) - The Power of Gratitude and Creative Process
• (15:38) - The Role of Meditation and Yoga in Creative Work
• (19:35) - The Impact of Friendship and Support
• (19:57) - Arlie's Musical Projects and Future Aspirations
• (20:21) - The Influence of Elena's Writing on Arlie's Music
• (20:42)- The Importance of Self-Acceptance and Present Moment Awareness

Arli Liberman is an award-winning screen composer, producer and guitarist who creates vibrant, immersive music for film, TV, multimedia and live experiences. With an unwavering dedication to his craft, Arli's approach to music serves as a transformative force that resonates both on and off the screen. As a screen composer, Arli has worked on a wide range of films, including Sam Kelly's gang movie 'Savage', winning the 2021 APRA Best Original Music in a Feature Film Award. In 2024, he collaborated with Tiki Taane to create the score to the historical drama in Te Reo Māori 'Ka Whawhai Tonu - Struggle Without End' directed by Mike Jonathan, with the theme song 'Hold On To The Dream' featuring Louis Baker, released as a single. Arli composed the original score for NZ film 'The Mountain' (2024), with music by Troy Kingi, directed by Rachel House and produced by Piki Films and Sandy Lane Productions. In 2023, he scored 'Stylebender' a documentary directed by Zoë McIntosh about Nigerian - New Zealand mixed martial artist Israel Adesanya, which was premiered at Tribeca Film Festival. His signature sound can be heard on the 36th America's Cup theme, the opening titles of the FIFA Women's World Cup, The All Blacks Experience at SkyCity, and in the Auckland Art Gallery's filmic exhibition Te Mata. As a solo artist, Arli is also prolific, with his fifth solo album coming out on Bigpop Records, in addition to creating a new collaborative album with renowned composer Rhian Sheehan due out in 2024. Arli's production work on Ngatapa Black's album 'I Muri Ahiahi' earned a nomination for Māori Album of the Year at the Aotearoa Music Awards, and he has performed at MoMA New York and the Montreux Jazz Festival, among other international festivals. Originally from Israel, Arli was a member of the groundbreaking White Flag Project, a pioneering crossover band uniting Palestinian and Israeli musicians. Under the mentorship of platinum-selling English record producer Mark Smulian, he was urged to 'find the back door of the electric guitar sound', which marked the beginning of Arli’s journey in developing his sonic identity. In 2009, Arli moved to Aotearoa New Zealand, where he continued to develop his innovative approach to music and began exploring the synergy between composition and visual storytelling.

On rest as our birthright and the vital importance of remembering to pause.

• (0:00) - Rest and relaxation with a focus on honoring ancestral heritage and claiming birthright to rest.
• (5:09) - Rest and self-care, with a focus on yoga nidra and inner peace.
• (13:06) - Rest and self-care with a meditation course and 21-day program.

Born in the Caribbean Dominican Republic and living now in Mianjin/Brisbane, Australia, Rocío is dedicated to finding inner resources of ease. Offering Restorative Yoga, Meditation and Nidra for almost 10 years, building bridges with community and world, Rocío is a woman of color, devoted to honoring the space her ancestors missed to pause.

Claiming rest today, she nurtures the lineage before her. She encourages us to "Think less. Feel more."

https://rociomarte.com

On growing up at fifty, practice as a modern-day chaplain and cultivating a domestic monastery.

• (1:48) - Parenting Practices and Transitions
• (3:51) - Addiction Recovery and Personal Experience
• (5:33) - Talking to Children About Addiction
• (10:02) - Living in a Domestic Monastery
• (15:24) - Marriage and Personal Growth
• (23:50) - Chaplaincy and Palliative Care
• (26:13) - End-of-Life Celebrations and Legacy
• (29:07) - Connecting with the Community and Future Plans

Melissa Berry Appleton is a Buddhist Chaplain, lay ordained in the Soto Zen Prajna Mountain Order, by Roshi Joan Halifax of Upaya Zen Center.

Currently serving as a Chaplain with the University of British Columbia Okanagan, British Columbia Interior Health Physicians and the clinical counselling and social work graduate intern practicum program, Melissa has worked as a front-line worker in geriatric cognitive impairments, palliative care, and residential treatment centers for addiction.

Almost complete with her Masters of Clinical Counselling in Psychology she's practiced and taught yoga, somatics and meditation for more than 20 years.

Melissa is mama to three incredible humans now launching as young adults; her deep commitment to practice in the Domestic Monastery is her greatest source.

On rest as the way to reclaim your brilliance, at the altar of now.  

• (0:00) - Octavia's Background and Introduction
• (2:16) - Losing Parents and Spiritual Connection
• (2:58) - Rest as a Healing Practice
• (16:03) - Reading from the Book "Rest is Sacred"
• (16:19) - Personal Reflections on Rest
• (16:38) - The Power of Rest and Collective Care
• (27:01) - Daily and Collective Rest Practices
• (27:19) - Protecting Energy through Rest
• (31:57) - Practicing Self-Care and Listening to Oneself

Octavia Raheem is a mother, author, yoga teacher and practitioner, and activist. She has received national attention for her work training yoga teachers and diversifying the yoga and wellness industry. Her work as a yoga professional focuses on practical tools to teach individuals how to manage stress, anxiety, and fatigue through yoga and meditation in a way that is accessible to all levels/abilities, and restorative to the nervous system. Her work has been featured in Yoga Journal, Mantra magazine, Well+Good, CNN, WXIA, and Atlanta Magazine.

Excerpt from Rest is Sacred by Octavia F. Raheem:

Divine One of Rest, You said come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest. Come with me by yourselves to a quiet place and get some rest. You said I will fight for you; you need only to be still. You said be still and know. And here we are. Here, being this portal within these pages. Here, being this place. Here, at this altar called right now. We come in gratitude for our Ancestors who are well enough in spirit to tend to our wellness. Because of them, we found a way to rest. We made a way to rest. We are here to reclaim rest as our birthright. Let it be so.

On the temple of your regular life, and the daily practices of attention, surrender and wonder.

• (0:00) - Introduction to Mirabai Starr and Her Work
• (2:16) - Discussion on "Ordinary Mysticism"
• (5:15) - Accessibility and Intended Audience of "Ordinary Mysticism"
• (7:18) - Personal Stories and Everyday Mysticism
• (11:34) - Mirabai's Identity and Role as a Young Elder
• (14:29) - Current Rituals and Spiritual Practices
• (19:03) - Memories from Taos and Early Influences
• (21:29) - Embodying Contemplative Practice
• (25:44) - The Practice of Wonder and Surrender
• (32:13) - Final Reflections and Mantra Practice

Mirabai Starr is an award-winning author, internationally acclaimed speaker, and a leading teacher of interspiritual dialogue. In 2020, she was honored on Watkins’ list of the 100 Most Spiritually Influential Living People. Drawing from 20 years of teaching Philosophy and World Religions at the University of New Mexico-Taos, Mirabai now travels the world sharing her wisdom on contemplative living, writing as a spiritual practice, and the transformational power of grief and loss. She has authored over a dozen books including Wild Mercy, Caravan of No Despair, and God of Love: A Guide to the Heart of Judaism, Christianity and Islam. Mirabai has received critical acclaim for her revolutionary contemporary translations of the mystics John of the Cross, Teresa of Ávila, and Julian of Norwich. Mirabai offers the fruit of decades of study, teaching, and contemplative practice in a fresh, grounded, and lyrical voice to a growing circle of folks inspired by the life-giving essence of feminine wisdom. Mirabai continues to teach seminars, workshops, and retreats, both in person and through her online community Wild Heart. She lives with her extended family in the mountains of northern New Mexico.

https://mirabaistarr.com

On the soul of our work, the re-indigenizing of our minds and the vital force of sisterhood.

• (2:21) - Nisha's Background and Family Life
• (4:09) - Hiro Boga's Influence on Nisha's Work
• (7:55) - The Concept of Devotion and Partnership
• (10:43) - Civilization and Disconnection
• (15:26) - The Muse and Creative Practice
• (23:37) - Global Sisterhood Day and the Importance of Friendship
• (36:43) - Cultivating Friendship and Community
• (42:52)- Closing Remarks and Final Thoughts

Nisha Moodley is an integrative leadership coach that holds her work – and our collective work – within devotional, animist relational ways. Nisha has 15 years of experience leading mastermind groups, online courses, and nearly 60 retreats. She was first trained to work with subtle energy nearly 30 years ago, and has since received in-depth Health Coach and Executive Coach training, become a Family Constellation facilitator, and deepened her practice through breathwork training, Ancestral healing, and archetypal studies.

All of these teachings and modalities (and others) are integrated for guidance that works not just on the level of mindset, but also through much deeper listening and moving.

Nisha is the mother of two small children, a newbie land steward, constantly seeking to understand the deeper systemic and historical implications of the individual and collective challenges we face today, weaving those considerations into the work as well.