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The Life Stylist

How to Die: Facing Our Death Phobia & Embracing Our Elders w/ Stephen Jenkinson #488

The Life Stylist

Luke Storey

Health & Fitness, Society & Culture, Spirituality, Alternative Health, Religion & Spirituality

4.82K Ratings

🗓️ 1 August 2023

⏱️ 71 minutes

🧾️ Download transcript

Summary

I'm thrilled to present to you an incredible episode delving deep into the often uncharted topic of death, our fears surrounding it, and the realm of palliative care with the wise and insightful Stephen Jenkinson. As the author of profound books such as "Die Wise" and "Come of Age," Stephen has transformed our understanding of mortality and the societal roles of elders.

We discuss the chances he took in institutional hospital settings and how our western culture has diverted from age-old practices surrounding death. Through our conversation, you'll realize the importance of reconnecting with our roots and gaining a more profound respect for the natural cycle of life.

We also delve into some unsettling trends seen in today’s society, such as our tendency to remove ourselves from ancestral traditions to form an identity while disconnecting from our heritage. We discuss the concept of elderhood, its vital cultural function, and the loss it has suffered in our modern culture. Stephen also sheds light on the fears of aging and dying and how understanding life's limitations can lead us to better self-improvement.

Swimming to the deep end, this episode ventures into the controversial topic of euthanasia's legalization in Canada, examines the impacts of a death-phobic culture, and contemplates suffering and pain as essential parts of our life and death narratives.

DISCLAIMER: This podcast is presented for educational and exploratory purposes only. Published content is not intended to be used for diagnosing or treating any illness. Those responsible for this show disclaim responsibility for any possible adverse effects from the use of information presented by Luke or his guests. Please consult with your healthcare provider before using any products referenced. This podcast may contain paid endorsements for products or services.

00:01:58 — (Re)introducing: Death, Phobias & Palliative Care

Ancestral Amnesia & the Village Mind - Stephen Jenkinson #151

• Read: Die Wise by Stephen Jenkinson

• How Stephen’s path led him to palliative care

• Overcoming institutional limitations around death and birth

• Taking chances in institutional hospital settings

• How the West diverted from historical practices around death

00:11:25 — Inheriting a Ghost Culture and Reconnecting With Our Elders

• Pillaging other ancestral traditions to find a sense of identity

• Disconnecting from one's own heritage

• Elderhood as a cultural function

• The loss of respect for elders in modern society

• Read: Come of Age by Stephen Jenkinson

• A conversation in Oaxaca City about elderhood

• Brief observation around the phobia of aging and dying

• Who goes into self improvement to obey the limits of life?

• Understanding the limits that have been entrusted in you

00:33:09 — Legalization of Euthanasia in Canada & Dying in the Manner of One’s Living

• How a death phobic culture masks euthanasia as “Maid Medical Assistance in Dying”

• English language has no passive voice for our relationship with God

• Anticipatory grief, understanding the verb "to die"

• Finding a way to say goodbye while you still can

• Medication as an end-of-life value vs. end-of-life presence

• Remembering Aldous Huxley's death involving an LSD journey

• Why suffering and pain belong in matters of life and death

• Three teachers that have impacted Stephen’s work

More about this episode.

Watch on YouTube.

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Resources:

• Website: orphanwisdom.com

• Read: Die Wise by Stephen Jenkinson

• Read: Come of Age by Stephen Jenkinson

• Read: Reckoning by Stephen Jenkinson and Kimberly Ann Johnson

• Instagram: @griefandmystery

• Facebook: Orphan Wisdom

• The Nights of Grief & Mystery 2023: orphanwisdom.com/nights-of-grief-and-mystery

• Are you ready to block harmful blue light, and look great at the same time? Check out Gilded By Luke Storey. Where fashion meets function: gildedbylukestorey.com

• Join me on Telegram for the uncensored content big tech won’t allow me to post. It’s free speech and free content: www.lukestorey.com/telegram

Related:

The Holistic OBGYN on Conscious Birth & Death Practices & Traditions w/ Dr. Nathan Riley #421

Somatic Experiencing, Birth, Sex, & Trauma W/ Kimberly Ann Johnson #362

The Life Stylist is produced by Crate Media.

Transcript

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0:00.0

So it's timely that we're having this conversation, well for a couple of reasons, one is I've been

0:15.6

doing this podcast for, I don't know, seven years or something, and one topic that I've

0:21.0

always wanted to cover has been death and are, as you put it, our phobia around death and

0:28.3

how it's such a ignored and dysfunctional part of our culture. And I've kind of just been

0:35.7

waiting on the right person to talk to. I see. And when you couldn't find him. But interestingly

0:43.8

enough, I didn't realize it until we had booked this, but I heard you some years ago on my

0:49.4

friend Daniel Vitalis' podcast. Oh yeah. And it was really moving at the time and then it

0:54.0

just disappeared in the feed and I kind of forgot about it. And so when Kimberly and Johnson

0:59.0

alerted me to you being in town, I realized that's the guy. He's the guy I wanted to talk to. Oh

1:05.4

good. So there's that. And just last week, I have two half brothers and their mom just died

1:15.2

last week. And you know, it was kind of new. It was coming and it was a pretty intense process as it

1:21.4

goes. And so that's kind of on top of my mind as I've been in communication with them and doing

1:27.0

my best to support them as someone who's never had a lot of direct experience with loved ones

1:33.0

dying. And so here we are. In preparation for that, after we booked, I started listening to your

1:41.0

book, Die Wise, quickly downloaded it as I do in preparation for interviews. I found that it was

1:47.2

18 hours. So I'm like two hours. Sorry. I'm like, you should have asked. Yeah, I'm two hours.

1:52.5

I could have given you the the tight version. Yeah, give me the cliff notes. Yeah. So so here we are.

1:59.0

I guess my first question for you is, you know, thing that is always curious to me is what motivates

2:05.0

someone to go into an area of work. And I know you do a lot of different things now, but you spent

2:10.2

20 years in palliative care. You know, what do you think drew you to that as a career for that long?

2:17.6

Actually, it wasn't even that long. It was maybe six. Oh, okay. I think. Oh, okay. I just look

2:24.7

old. That's what you spent 20 years in the death field. Well, the notion of motivation credits me

...

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