This is a talk that will try to make sense of the despair that is endemic to our way of dying and fuels the debate over decision-making, and offer up a little heartbreak as one sane response to our palliative poverty.
My wife and I saw him speak in the Philadelphia area a while back while I was doing some volunteer work for a local hospice service. What a truly amazing man. His honesty, courage and compassion are truly to be admired...
An amazing video ... thank you... yes, we must first address our " death phobia"... it is so sad within western culture that death, is left in the closet, and only asked out, if we deem it necessary, even then, death most times stays forever in the closet and is never allowed out or dealt with.... Life is in charge, let life do what is needs to do...great video....thank you Stephen......
Stephen is the Leonard Cohen of reflections on Death and Dying... and one of his accompanying musicians Gregory Hosken is the Paul Simon of Sung Soul Poems....
Wow. I am madly in love with this man right now. Am I the only one who thinks he sounds and even looks a bit like Robin Williams, especially in Good Will Hunting? I have been researching human Euthanasia quite a bit lately, and it was that search that led me to this video. The right to die at will, and with dignity, is something I have always felt strongly about, and now that I am suffering with the unpleasant symptoms of MS, I want to know what my options are, legal or not. Dr. Jack Kevorkian was always a hero of mine, and the legal trouble he faced as a result of his compassion, was absolutely tragic . This speech was brilliant & compassionate. Stephen Jenkinson might be one of my new heroes. Thanks so much for sharing this video.
MJ - Consider picking up his book DIE WISE - In it, he talks specifically about medical assisted death. In short, he is against it. But read it for yourself.
MJ...I,too, just found him...like 6 hours ago...read an article by him in The SUN 'zine , dated August 2015.....and now I am "off to the races" with him....I have a "looking forward to it", death , that is, attitude..... and now I know I am 'on the right track'...have not been afraid of death for a very long time, so he has come into my life at the right time...as it should be !!
BIGGLES flys again your “relief” (i.e. competency) of being on the “right track” IS the death phobia speaking loud and clear. Death phobia is hidden in plain sight until it is the only thing in your sight.
Thank you for sharing this deep dive and thought provoking talk. What a wonderful idea to transform the death phobia to what I imagine is a more spiritual process of “going home” . It is the human psyche trapped in the competence of logic and reason that harbors the death phobia. The spiritual dimension of the soul helps us to transcend our rational selves and make peace with our fragile mortal existence. Would honoring death not serve our human condition better than fearing if? if we were more conscious of the inevitable ending of life, perhaps rather than fear death, we could more fully revere both life and death as the natural process of all living things. Both life and death with dignity. Namaste
Watch "Griefwalker" instead of this video. I watched both of them today and Griefwalker was outstanding while this was somewhat confusing. Finally at the end of this deeply intense talk, he says that death is at the center and death should be making the decisions. Huh? How do you make a care plan out of that? Someone has to make the decisions. "The patient can't make them cause they've never been through the dying process before and they can't know what they'd want in that situation until they get there." I agree with that. I don't know. I loved the movie. Watch it on Netflix! Don't wait. I think this is a truly remarkable and amazing man and I hope to grasp his simple yet mind-boggling concepts. There is great beauty and peace within him.
Aloha, from my limited perceptions I think we start from the beginning and change the death phobic perceptions from the very get gate. When we lose the fear and we have years and years before we actually do"Die" then we can live our life and InVision how we would like to crossover in beauty and joy, letting go and receiving it as the gift that it is. In this way death is at the center as he is saying, we are accepting it, we are loving it as we do birth. Again please excuse me this is from my own limited perceptions. Aloha
In India, we call talk like this mind-blowing.....and also amazing sometimes. Thanks Sir....Thanks Jenkinson Sir. And thanks for the opportunity of letting me watch Griefwalker.... :)
...very insightful perspective from his years of working and `seeing’ the business. I have worked LTC for many years. I had thought these observed anomalies were merely my singularly `skewed’ viewpoint of those `dangerous thoughts’. I will share this one with others.
He's right, palliative care HAS become a customer satisfaction business. And people are dying with a low grade terror nonetheless... a madness masquerading as a compassionate care regime - quality of life, bucket-list bullshit . So true! where is the morality or the true compassion in this high paid business of "what dying people want" or what they are offered by the hospices and palliative care industry as being what they want? I wanted dog walking from my hospice, but they didn't offer it. So my death was bad and incompetent. And continued to serve and perpetuate the death-phobia.
Our society rejects death. Fluent Death in our system are our horror movies. Personally I think that this process is an individual one and the separation from the individual and the community will happen anyways - with the external right or wrong steps. In my expectation the last dialogues will be between you and the Death Deity - in a very personal way. Exactly as during life. The “community” doesn’t matter to your very Self existence.
I can't believe any one could want bureaucrats,police,politicians to have that kind of power. I have cancer and I thank god i live in a choice state. To have a govt agency tell me what to do when i'm suffering and dying?
I'm not sure if you're responding to Jenkinson or someone else, but the idea that the government should make choices about one's living or dying is not what this speaker is saying.
Oh my God! How so On the contrary, the life that I live where I take all the difficulties There is no such thing as the dignity of death Death is death Life is life In life you can make beautiful things What about death, something unknown do not know what I do not think that option is true that someone so Thank you
Not so long ago, approximately 70 years ago, we had someone called Gandhiji...who ultimately gave India independence by, among other things, teaching a Marie Antionette like English character (or probably the Queen herself) that "He must Not measure his knees (and loincloth) in Her Presence !! " This was in response to Her question to Him about why does He need a loincloth, or probably, why he was Only wearing a loincloth...... Today, of course, we have you, Sir! As a Medical Language Specialist wondering what managed-care and resultant medical-malpractice is all about (terminal illness or not), I thank you for the opportunity of letting me listen to this particular lecture/talk. And Thanks to RU-vid !
I think the "issue" lies in the usage. Are we talking noun or verb? From my VERY entitled position those that think they have "issues" (noun) should issue (verb-action) smiles, dollars, food, unwanted useable material goods, help, gifts w/ no expectation of return). It's been my experience when you issue (verb) the things I describe, your perceived issues (noun) seem to disappear.
God lets you live your life just by the fact that He/she/it created you. Go and live your life to th fullest whatever it means for you and just enjoy ebery breath!
Evil government. They have no right to tell people whether they should live or die. It should be their choice 100%. That goes for all adults. It's their life they should be in control and the decision should come to them. To let people suffer like that should be a crime. We will win! There should be no one to tell us what to do with our life. This is the 21st century and doctors that help out should be looked upon positively
