Mar. 9, 2015–Growing up, BJ Miller understood what it meant to live with a disability. His mother had polio. But until a college accident, Miller never imagined he would live out a similar fate. In college, he had an accident that left him a triple amputee. After, he knew he wanted to use his experience to help others. Miller went onto become a doctor and is now the executive director of the Zen Hospice Project in San Francisco. In this next piece, he speaks with his colleague Diane Malley about the accident. … [Read More…]
Listen: Healing the mind by way of hospice
Feb. 10, 2015–When someone is dying, sometimes the best medicine is not medicine at all. And sometimes what needs to be healed, is not the body, but the mind. That’s the kind of care taking that Paul Kelley takes pride in doing. When Kelley began his career as a hospice worker in 1983, he knew instantly that he had found his calling. “I can’t fix my toilet at home, I can’t fix the car, I can’t do bookkeeping, I can’t do computers. But I can be with someone who is dying,… [Read More…]
Listen: Learning from the dying at the Zen Hospice Project
Nov. 6, 2014–Tracy Grubbs grew up fascinated, curious and also afraid of death. Her curiosity, plus her interest in Buddhism led her to volunteer at the Zen Hospice Project, a San Francisco center for the dying supported by the Buddhist community. Grubbs spoke with her colleague Lisa Messano. When I heard there was something like the Zen Hospice Project and they would train you to be with people who were dying, I was intrigued. I was also afraid. The piece was produced by KALW’s The Spiritual Edge series, in collaboration… [Read More…]
Listen: A good attitude until the end
October 7, 2014–Frank Hatch lived with HIV for more than 20 years, only to be diagnosed with late-stage prostate cancer in 2010. For comfort and guidance, he turned to his Buddhism practice. And then, with encouragement from his nephew Jason Friend, he decided to do something he never thought he could: a 16-day rafting trip in the Grand Canyon. The two discuss Frank’s determination to live life to the fullest. Buddhism just sort of put to words what I’ve always sort of inherently known. The key to being happy is to… [Read More…]
