meditation practice – End of Life University

Learn some quick and easy stress management tools to improve health and joy during challenging times.

My guest Roger Moore is a certified hypnotherapist who helps people at the end of life with anxiety, depression, pain and other symptoms. His latest book Becoming the Greatest Expression of You contains tips and practices for overcoming the shame and fear of the past to live life more joyfully now. He discusses how these stress-reducing practices might help caregivers stay healthier as they offer care and support to their loved ones. These suggestions are also perfect for all of us as we navigate the stresses of life. Learn more at Roger’s websites:

www.palmdeserthypnosis.com

Get the book here

Read the transcript

Watch on YouTube

Listen here:

This episode includes:

How we can rewire the brain even until the moment we die
How to experience joy even during times of pain and difficulty
When we are able to recognize the presence of stress in our bodies we can more easily shift out of it into a state of joy
How laughter can change an entire day
Using a practice of “mental rehearsal” to envision things going well instead of badly
How caregivers can learn to ask for help from others
Simple tips for using meditation to help with stress
The importance of practicing gratitude every day
How to use self-forgiveness to move past blame and shame when things go wrong

Links mentioned in this episode:

Check out What Really Matters Podcast

Leave me a message by email: karen@karenwyattmd.com, Twitter, Facebook or Instagram
Support your local bookstore by buying my books on Bookshop and Indiebound: 7 Lessons for Living from the Dying and The Journey from Ego to Soul
Subscribe to this podcast on Apple, Google, Spotify, iHeart Radio, Stitcher Radio
Check out the Series I’ve recorded in the past here
Join the team at Patreon.com/eolu and receive free gifts like the “Mind if we talk about death?” mini-poster or Love Your Life sticker or coffee mug. PLUS get our regular bonuses: the monthly EOL News Update, occasional movie reviews from 2 Doctors and a Movie, and automatic access to A Year of Reading Dangerously!

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! Your contributions make all the difference.

EOLPodcast

Ep. 297 Compassion 101: Why We Are Failing and How To Do Better

May 3, 2021May 1, 2021 kwyattmd

Learn how to increase your own capacity for compassion toward yourself and others and make the world a better place in the process.

In this episode I share some of the research and articles I’ve been reading in the book Compassion: Bridging Practice and Science, edited by Tania Singer and Matthias Bolz. It seems to be that we are in need of greater compassion as a society right now to help us cope with our current adversities and grow stronger in love and kindness in the process. I have some poems and practices to share that hopefully will inspire all of us to higher consciousness. View Tania Singer’s website:

www.taniasinger.de

Listen here:

This episode includes:

Why we need more compassion in our society right now
5 reasons why we are “failing” at compassion
The difference between empathy and compassion according to researchers
Why overdoing empathy can lead to burnout while practicing compassion can prevent it
The positive benefits of compassion practices
How and why to begin practicing self-compassion
The difference between self-compassion and self-esteem
Study results on using the Lovingkindness Meditation (Metta) as a regular practice
Mantras to use for self-compassion and Lovingkindness

Links mentioned in this episode:

Books by Tania Singer
Sign up for the 2021 online reading group A Year of Reading Dangerously at this link
Support your local bookstore by buying my books on Bookshop and Indiebound: 7 Lessons for Living from the Dying and The Journey from Ego to Soul
Subscribe to this podcast on Apple, Google, Spotify, iHeart Radio, Stitcher Radio
Check out the Series I’ve recorded in the past here
Join the team at Patreon.com/eolu and get access to the EOLU mug: “Mind if we talk about death?” (only Patrons can purchase it). PLUS get our new bonuses: the monthly EOL News Update, movie reviews from 2 Doctors and a Movie, and automatic access to A Year of Reading Dangerously!

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 supporters Stefanie Elkins and Claire Murphy Jones! Your contributions make all the difference!

EOLPodcast, Spirituality, Tragedy

BONUS 10: Love Over Fear – Stories for Precarious Tims

May 15, 2020 kwyattmd

Welcome to this weekly bonus series of brief stories designed to touch your heart and offer you comfort, joy, laughter, and inspiration as we face uncertain times together! Remember always to choose LOVE over fear!

Story 10: What Life is Bringing Me Now

What Life is Bringing Me Now

Featured Quote:

Viktor Frankl – Man’s Search for Meaning pp. 98-99

What was really needed was a fundamental change in our attitude toward life. We had to learn ourselves and, furthermore, we had to teach the despairing men, that it did not really matter what we expected from life, but rather what life expected from us. … Life ultimately means taking the responsibility to find the right answer to its problems and to fulfill the tasks which it constantly sets for each individual. … When a man finds that it is his destiny to suffer, he will have to accept his suffering as his task; his single and unique task. He will have to acknowledge the fact that even in suffering he is unique and alone in the universe. No one can relieve him of his suffering or suffer in his place His unique opportunity lies in the way in which he bears his burden.”
Viktor Frankl

End of Life, EOLPodcast, Spirituality, Tragedy

Ep. 231 How to Prepare for the Unimaginable as a Death-Aware Person

January 27, 2020January 26, 2020 kwyattmd

Learn what steps you can take now to be ready for whatever life brings you in the future.

NOTE: This episode is dedicated to the memory of Kobe and Gianna Bryant and 7 others who died in a helicopter crash on the morning of January 26th – an unimaginable tragedy.

In this solo episode I share my thoughts on ways we might begin now to prepare ourselves for the inevitable challenges of life–when disaster strikes and death comes for those we love. Though we can never be fully prepared for the uncertainties of life there are things we can do to increase our resilience and improve our chances of surviving “the unimaginable.”

Listen here:

This episode includes:

What to include in a “Go Bag” for sudden crises when there’s no time to spare
Recommended books for your “Go Bag”
- Sacred Dying by Megory Anderson
- Vigil: The Poetry of Presence by Pamela Heinrich MacPherson
- Present Through the End by Kirsten DeLeo
- Home Funeral Ceremonies by Donna Belk and Kateyanne Unullisi
- The Tao of Death by Karen Wyatt
- Safe Passage by Molly Fumia
Soothing music for difficult times
- Graceful Passages by Gary Malkin and Michael Stillwater
- Rosa Mystica by Therese Schroeder-Sheker
- Threshold Choir Music
Where to get Green Burial Wash for a bathing ritual after the death of a loved one
The inner work that is necessary to strengthen your “boat” to carry you through the unimaginable
Why you need to learn to be alone with your thoughts and emotions
The importance of a forgiveness practice as you prepare for future challenges
The “Five Remembrances” Meditation from Thich Nhat Hahn

There are moments that the words don’t reach
There is suffering too terrible to name …
We push away what we can never understand
We push away the unimaginable
From “HAMILTON”

Related episodes:

Join the team at Patreon.com/eolu and get access to the EOLU mug: “Mind if we talk about death?” (only Patrons can purchase it). PLUS get our new bonuses: the monthly EOL News Update, movie reviews from 2 Doctors and a Movie, and automatic access to A Year of Reading Dangerously! Thanks again to all supporters on my page at Patreon.com/eolu, your contributions make all the difference!

If you enjoy this content please share it with others and consider leaving a review on iTunes!

End of Life, EOLPodcast

Ep. 98 The Benefits of Mindfulness Meditation for Caregivers and Health Professionals

July 10, 2017July 7, 2017 kwyattmd

Learn how to get started with your own practice of mindfulness and enjoy improved health in body, mind and spirit.

In this episode my guest Gia George, who is a yoga and meditation teacher, will tell us why and how to start a simple meditation practice. You’ll learn what you need to know to get started with mindfulness and maintain a routine that will help with stress and life’s challenges. Visit Gia’s website at divinelygia.com.

This podcast is supported through generous contributions on my page at Patreon.com/eolu. If you would like to chip in $1 or $2 per month you’ll receive access to our monthly “Hospice Happy Hour Hangouts” and I will promote your EOL-related book, business, organization, or website on the podcast. THANK YOU to all of my Patreon supporters! You make this podcast possible!

In this interview you will learn:

The physical, mental, emotional and spiritual benefits of a mindfulness meditation practice
How meditation can specifically benefit those in the caregiving and healthcare professions
Why meditation is actually a form of “listening prayer”
How to begin if you’ve never meditated before
- When to meditate
- Frequency
- How to sit
- Dealing with thoughts
- Avoiding self-judgment
- Maintaining the practice
How “guided meditation” can be a good way to get started
Being mindful during every day activities to improve focus and relieve stress

Check out Gia’s Zen Quest Guided Meditation CD if you’d like some help getting your practice started:

Zen Quest: Guided Meditations, Healing Journeys is a compilation of 7 guided meditations, each 10-minutes in length. These vision quests take you on relaxing journeys through your mind, heart, and soul, as you explore the healing metaphors and symbols of the Universe. Each meditation is rich with hidden gems of wisdom, woven through a beautiful quest. Go to this link to listen to samples and purchase the CD if you are interested: Guided Meditation CD

Watch Gia’s FREE weekly meditation videos on YouTube: Meditation Monday

Tune in every Monday to a new episode! Until the next time remember:

Face Your Fears. BE Ready. Love Your Life.