How Thinking About Death Can Improve Your Life | Alua Arthur

How Thinking About Death Can Improve Your Life | Alua Arthur

New episodes come out every Monday, Wednesday, and Friday for free, with 1-week early access for Wondery+ subscribers.

---


There seems to be one clear bug in the human operating system — most of us do not like talking about death. Yet when we do talk about it, it can genuinely upgrade the quality of our lives.


Our guest today is Alua Arthur, a former attorney who is now what’s called a death doula, which is someone who helps guide people through the end of their lives. Through this work, she has learned some extraordinary stuff about how to live life right now.


Alua is also the founder of Going with Grace, a death doula training and end-of-life planning organization. She is working on her debut memoir, which will be coming out next year called, Briefly Perfectly Human.


This conversation took place at the 2023 TED Conference in Vancouver, immediately after Alua delivered her triumphant talk, which is out now. Special thanks to the TED Audio Collective. You can listen to Alua's talk and other TED talks on the TED Talks Daily podcast.


In this episode we talk about:

  • How death can be a powerful motivator
  • How consistently being aware that you’re going to die can be a “stress reliever”
  • The utility of imagining your ideal death
  • Her view on reincarnation
  • How the concept of “healing” can sometimes be used as a weapon against ourselves
  • The importance of not leaving things unsaid
  • How “hope” at the end of life can sometimes be unhelpful
  • What surprises her about death
  • How her work helped her out of her depression
  • The five steps that you should take when confronting your own death
  • The harm that can sometimes result from too much medical intervention toward the end of life
  • The often fraught relationship that vulnerable and marginalized people can have with the medical community
  • The benefits of thinking about what version of yourself you want to meet on your deathbed
  • The death meditation that she uses when working with people
  • What to say and do when you are with somebody who is grieving
  • And a practice she calls, “The dying things exercise”


For tickets to TPH's live event in Boston on September 7:

https://thewilbur.com/armory/artist/dan-harris/


Full Shownotes: https://www.tenpercent.com/tph/podcast-episode/Alua-Arthur-619

Jaksot(903)

Paula Faris, Journey of Faith

Paula Faris, Journey of Faith

You may know Paula Faris as the former co-host of ABC's The View or Dan's former co-anchor on ABC's Good Morning America weekend edition. What you don't know is why she decided to leave these TWO dream jobs, and the role that meditation and her faith played in that life-altering decision. Have a question for Dan? Leave us a voicemail at 646-883-8326. The Plug Zone Check out Paula's podcast: Journeys of Faith http://abcn.ws/journeys

19 Joulu 20181h 13min

Oren Jay Sofer, Practicing Mindful Communication

Oren Jay Sofer, Practicing Mindful Communication

In every conversation we have, from mundane to serious, our personal motivations drive what we say. But most of the time we are not aware of what our personal motivations are and we can end up mindlessly saying something that causes conflict with someone else. Oren Sofer has spent years studying this and has written a how-to guide to help people apply mindfulness techniques to have more meaningful conversations. He describes the importance of learning to communicate better as a "life hack" that will have a positive effect on every area of your life.

12 Joulu 20181h 11min

Ruth King, Being Mindful of Race

Ruth King, Being Mindful of Race

For many years it was Ruth King's job to work with large corporations, making them aware of racial bias within their company and helping them rectify it through diversity training and leadership development programs. Over time, for a variety of reasons, she decided it was time for a change. However, just as she was about to move in a new direction, she met a woman who would introduce her to meditation, which in turn would revolutionize how she approached the challenges of her career from that point forward. Have a question for Dan? Leave us a voicemail at 646-883-8326. The Plug Zone https://ruthking.net/

5 Joulu 20181h 26min

Michael Gelb, Applying Genius Thinking

Michael Gelb, Applying Genius Thinking

Michael Gelb found his calling during a tumultuous time in American history. It was during the polarized 1970s Gelb decided he wanted to look for ways to help people clearly think through and debate real issues. He found meditation to be a good starting point, which eventually led him to England, where he studied the spiritual traditions of the world and how they're interconnected. Gelb explains how he took these studies of consciousness and self-awareness and translated them into practical techniques to help people think more clearly and creatively. Have a question for Dan? Leave us a voicemail at 646-883-8326. The Plug Zone Website: https://michaelgelb.com/ Twitter: @MichaelJGelb

28 Marras 20181h 13min

Amos Lee, Reaching Out Through Music

Amos Lee, Reaching Out Through Music

Musician Amos Lee started meditating in college as a way to cope with his mother's breast cancer diagnosis and his own Generalized Anxiety Disorder. For two years, he was going on retreats and meditating two hours a day. Lee knows what it's like to face personal hardships, so he views his music "as a service," a way to reach out and comfort people who may also be suffering. He talks about how working on his new album, "My New Moon," was therapeutic for him, writing about some very personal experiences. Finally, Lee performs a song he wrote after witnessing his grandmothers passing, in this touching episode. Have a question for Dan? Leave us a voicemail at 646-883-8326.

21 Marras 201854min

Matt Gutman, The Boys in the Cave

Matt Gutman, The Boys in the Cave

ABC News Senior National Correspondent Matt Gutman is, unfortunately, no stranger to tragedy, both in his career as a journalist and his personal life. He learned the practice of meditation at just 12 years old, mere months before his father would be killed in a plane crash. And now, nearly 30 years later he's reporting on how meditation played a role in the miraculous rescue of 12 boys trapped in a cave in his new book, "The Boys in the Cave: Deep Inside the Impossible Rescue in Thailand." He opens up about his own personal tragedy and gives a riveting account of that rescue in this week's conversation. Have a question for Dan? Leave us a voicemail at 646-883-8326.

14 Marras 20181h 1min

Jordan Harbinger, Networking and Relationship Development

Jordan Harbinger, Networking and Relationship Development

7 Marras 20181h 3min

Judson Brewer, Unwinding Anxiety

Judson Brewer, Unwinding Anxiety

31 Loka 201852min

Suosittua kategoriassa Terveys ja hyvinvointi

unicast
psykopodiaa-podcast
tiedenaiset-podcast
voi-hyvin-meditaatiot-2
vakeva-elama-viisaampi-mieli-vahvempi-keho
selvin-pain
fitnessvastaanotto
katilon-kahvitunti
rss-uplevel-by-sonja-hannus
meditaatiot-suomeksi
aamukahvilla
terapiassa
paritellen
rss-rentoudu-podcast-rentoutumiseen-hanna-viljanmaa
rss-onnistunut-laihdutus
selviytyjat-tarinoita-elamasta
rss-narsisti
kierron-verran-toivoa
paaasia-podcast
rss-duodecim-lehti