Beyond Awakening

A Free Teleseminar Series hosted by Terry Patten

  • Home
  • Blog
  • Download Dialogues

January 5, 2016 by Terry Patten 9 Comments

Death Phobia and Grief Illiteracy — How They Distance Us from One Another, Our Planet, and Our World Crisis — with Stephen Jenkinson

photo credit: Mark Tucker
Stephen Jenkinson, founder of the Orphan Wisdom School — photo credit: Mark Tucker

This Sunday, Jan. 10th, at 10am PST, I’ll be joined by activist, author and founder of The Orphan Wisdom School, Stephen Jenkinson, for a dialogue entitled:

Death Phobia and Grief Illiteracy: How They Distance Us from One Another, Our Planet, and Our World Crisis

Stephen has devoted his life and career to working with dying people and their families, and he is bringing a revolutionary perspective to the process of facing death, grieving and dying in North American culture. He brings a fierce heart and clarity of vision to this work, good medicine that can help people make healthy, embodied end-of-life choices, and attend to the care of the soul.

On Sunday, we’ll be examining “death phobia” and “grief illiteracy,” two wide-spread conditions Stephen has diagnosed, the fundamental dynamics by which we disconnect culturally from one another and our planet, contributing to our global crises. 

It is painful to face death, destruction or loss. But we flinch, and try to avoid that pain. Thus, for most of us grief is a vast unexplored territory. Because we don’t dare to go there, we dwell in only a small portion of our existential estate.

Stephen will share his thoughts on why that is, and how we can go beyond our own death phobia and be deepened and strengthened by an honest, wholesome engagement with appropriate grief.

Stephen has also deeply contemplated the human relationship to climate change and the degradation of nature. It is easy for many of us to look at the deep existential insanity in the psychology of those who deny climate change. But Stephen goes further and illuminates the paradoxical death phobia underlying most ecological care and climate activism; and how this mis-orientation renders environmentalism so profoundly ungrounded and ineffective.

You’ll also hear Stephen explain why grief and discernment are profoundly intertwined, and how grief is a form of moral intelligence. We can confront our own death, and that of our loved ones, in healthy, honest, and empowering ways. It is how we as individuals can do our part to prepare our species for a great, honest collective confrontation with our current loss—a destabilized atmosphere and biosphere.

I hope you’ll join us on Sunday.

About Stephen Jenkinson

Stephen teaches internationally and is the creator and principal instructor of the Orphan Wisdom School, founded in 2010. With Master’s degrees from Harvard University (Theology) and the University of Toronto (Social Work), he is revolutionizing grief and dying in North America.

He has worked extensively with dying people and their families, is former program director in a major Canadian hospital, former assistant professor in a prominent Canadian medical school, consultant to palliative care and hospice organizations and educator and advocate in the helping professions.

He is the author of Die Wise: A Manifesto for Sanity and Soul (2015), Homecoming: The Haiku Sessions – a live recorded teaching (2013), How it All Could Be: A work book for dying people and those who love them (2009), Angel and Executioner: Grief and the Love of Life – a live recorded teaching (2009), and Money and The Soul’s Desires: A Meditation (2002), and contributing author to Palliative Care – Core Skills and Clinical Competencies (2007).

HOW TO PARTICIPATE:

*Sunday, Jan. 10th at 10:00am Pacific; 11:00am Mountain; 12:00pm Central; 1:00pm Eastern

*Find Your Local Time

Please Note: There will be a limited number of lines available on the live conference call, so we encourage you to listen online if possible. To make sure you can get through by phone, we encourage you to dial in early.

ACCESS INSTRUCTIONS

  • To listen live by phone, dial: (425) 440-5100 (alternate #: (415) 633-4267 )
  • Then, enter Access Code: 991220#
  • To listen live online go to: http://iteleseminar.com/79207347
  • To download the audio after the teleseminar is complete go to the Beyond Awakening Audio Page

Join the Dialogue: About one hour into the dialogue, we’ll open up the lines and you’ll have the opportunity to interact with us directly over the phone or via instant message. Here’s what to do:

To interact live by voice, dial into the conference line number and wait until we ask for a question from someone in your region, or

Send us your question via instant message in the teleseminar window on your computer, or

Send us your questions and comments before or during the live dialogue by posting them on our Beyond Awakening Community Facebook page

We look forward to your attendance!

Sincerely,
The Beyond Awakening Team

Filed Under: General

Comments

  1. MaryLinda says

    January 12, 2016 at 4:16 pm

    I just listened to Terry and Stephen dialogue on death and grief. I found myself saying ‘yes’ and ‘wow’ many times. Many pearls of wisdom.
    I wrote this poem on death several days ago as a response to grief within me. Thank you Terry and Stephen.

    Death

    I am going to die;
    I just don’t know
    when, how or where.

    There is that fear
    of opening this door
    called death. So I
    spend my entire
    life afraid to Live.

    This death fear is
    Synched with fear
    of a death of change.
    Change is going to
    occur. We just don’t
    know when, how or
    where will show up.

    Change of systems
    dying and new ones
    being born. Whether
    politics, religion, culture,
    or how we relate to each
    other. These changes
    often must break old
    patterns structured in
    our brains. Known
    as beliefs……………..

    Beliefs are programs; the
    hard drive in our minds.
    Thoughts and emotions
    become the software driving
    the beliefs. We can’t just change
    the software; We must change
    our hard drives. We must Die
    to these old systems. Not easy!

    If We face our own fear
    of death. If We can open
    this long, locked door and
    face the unknown maybe
    it can open all the locked
    doors of fear around any
    unknown. We become Free
    from our minds prison of
    century’s of old wired hardware;
    these old beliefs, often never
    questioned because to question
    is part of the system of fear too.

    Fear holds us prisoners; keeps
    us locked into beliefs of being
    separate from each other and
    our Divine Source, the very
    means of direct experience of
    Unity and wholeness that frees.

    What is the key to open, activate
    these old structures. Where, how
    and when do We, as a collective
    Humanity, switch the old out-
    dated information to receive the
    higher, more loving Grace found,
    ready to download into our hearts
    and minds from a greater, more
    God like presence, already within
    each of us, wired right into our
    very own DNA.

    That key is called our very own
    Soul. We begin to listen closely
    to its higher messages from within
    our heart. Every heart wired the
    same. Love must replace fear.
    Our Souls call each of us now to
    switch over from the hard drive of
    fear to the hard drive of Love.

    We must return home. Within
    each of us is that same greater,
    love of Grace. Our only requirement
    is to make the switch. The question
    of how, when and where always gets
    answered and revealed through
    Grace. Always through Love.

    I surrender my will, fear, to that
    higher Will, Love. I ask Grace,
    my own Soul, who I Am, to shine
    through that I may now Serve
    only Love and its virtues of Truth,
    Goodness and Beauty in the world.
    Grace is always, already within;
    waiting for each of us to key into
    its open door where higher action
    gets activated through Grief.
    I finally let go…..

    Reply
    • Terry Patten says

      January 18, 2016 at 11:32 am

      Dear Marylinda, many thanks for for the gift of this touching, intimate beautiful poem. And your words of appreciation.You are an ever dearer friend. Warm blessings, Terry

      Reply
  2. Jean Ogilvie says

    January 11, 2016 at 6:23 am

    Two of my favorite teachers in conversation! What an awesome dialogue Terry. Congrats on your decision to bring Stephen’s work to the attention of your community and how beautifully you received it. It really takes work to take it in but the blessing of Stephen’s deep experience and matching eloquence just make it possible. For those wanting more resources, a good intro to his work is a gorgeous documentary made by the National Film Board a few years ago called Griefwalker. Available at http://orphanwisdom.com/shop/griefwalker/. He is doing a number of events around the world, but the Orphan Wisdom School scholars in Ottawa are sponsoring a workshop in Ottawa Oct. 21-22 this year that will be gorgeous. Will soon be announced on his website. Would be grand to see people from this community there! There are also a number of integral scholars in Ottawa who usually join us.

    Reply
    • Terry Patten says

      January 18, 2016 at 11:32 am

      Dear Jean, I remember you vividly, and I’m so glad that you were able to tune in. And thank you for the links to Stephen’s other work. I invite you, if it feels right, to post them, and your comments, on the Beyond Awakening community facebook page under the announcements for Stephen’s show here: https://www.facebook.com/beyondawakening/ I hope and trust that our paths will cross again before long. In the meantime, I send my warmest blessings.
      Be well, Terry

      Reply
  3. Mark says

    January 7, 2016 at 1:04 pm

    Terry, Thanks for continuing to serve the greater good through your work. Looking forward to listening to Stephen on Sunday.

    Reply
  4. Daniel Peralta says

    January 6, 2016 at 10:00 pm

    What a fascinating take on the issue of climate change. This webinar is compelling. I plan to be present for it. Thank you. I love the terms ‘death phobia’ and ‘grief illertacy.’

    Reply
  5. Liz says

    January 6, 2016 at 6:55 pm

    I’m really looking forward to this one, Terry. Hoping I can read some of his work before the call. Is there anything you would recommend?

    Reply
    • Terry Patten says

      January 6, 2016 at 9:23 pm

      Glad you’ll be joining us Liz! Stephen’s latest book is called Die Wise: A Manifesto for Sanity and Soul (2015) You can find out more about his work here: http://orphanwisdom.com/ Enjoy!

      Reply
  6. Sharon Rose says

    January 6, 2016 at 6:39 pm

    I am looking forward to this wisdom. It has been my experience of the deaths of my parents that has led me to my deepest wisdom and most sacred art….. I look forward to hearing your teachings.
    Thank you for this powerful work you are doing,
    Sharon Rose Dozar

    Reply

Leave a Reply to Mark Cancel reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

Free Registration

If you're not a registered member of the Beyond Awakening community, register now for FREE

Meet Your Host

Terry PattenTerry Patten is a key voice in integral evolutionary spirituality, culture, leadership, and activism. He is the founder of Bay Area Integral. With Ken Wilber and a core team, he developed and co-authored Integral Life Practice. He speaks, consults, and coaches on four continents and via the web. To learn more about Terry and his work, visit www.TerryPatten.com.

Blog Archives

See the full list here, or read by year:

  • 2016
  • 2015
  • 2014
  • 2013
  • 2012
  • 2011
  • 2010
Live Recording of Death and Rebirth

Copyright © 2018 — Terry Patten • All rights reserved. • Log in