Embracing Mortality Leads to a Kinder, Better Life

This episode is a two-for-one, and that’s because the podcast recently hit its 10-year anniversary and passed one billion downloads. To celebrate, I’ve curated some of the best of the best—some of my favorites—from more than 700 episodes over the last decade. I could not be more excited. The episode features segments from episode #298 "Dr. Gabor Maté — New Paradigms, Ayahuasca, and Redefining Addiction" and episode #153 "The Man Who Studied 1,000 Deaths to Learn How to Live."

Please enjoy!

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Timestamps:

[00:00] Start

[05:37] Notes about this supercombo format.

[06:57] Enter Gabor Maté.

[07:22] Compassionate inquiry and trauma vs. traumatic.

[11:06] Self-reconnection resources.

[14:40] How Gabor benefits from yoga.

[16:27] Gabor’s thoughts on the therapeutic value of psychedelics.

[18:14] What’s been revealed by Gabor’s experiences with ayahuasca?

[25:32] Essential intention.

[26:30] We don’t respond to what happens, but to our perception of what happens.

[32:48] Enter BJ Miller.

[33:07] What does BJ do?

[35:32] What does the first meeting look like for a new patient at the Zen Hospice Project?

[37:18] Defining palliative care.

[40:54] What happens when a patient dies in Zen Hospice compared to a regular hospital?

[45:03] How many deaths has BJ experienced?

[45:42] What has observing hundreds of deaths taught BJ about living?

[50:39] On keeping a mindfulness or meditation practice.

[55:05] About the Dinky (a terrifying story of electrocution).

[1:04:29] The miracle of a snowball in the burn ward.

[1:07:48] BJ’s experience as an undergraduate student at Princeton.

[1:08:46] On the idea of art.

[1:14:46] How BJ would support someone who suffered injuries similar to his own.

[1:16:57] What helps people most in hospice care?

[1:21:22] Why cookies matter.

[1:23:12] Thoughts on the use of psychoactive compounds in end-of-life care and treating existential suffering.

[1:33:46] BJ’s secret habit that might surprise most people.

[1:38:32] Suggested material for an introverted hospice patient.

[1:45:04] What comes to mind when BJ hears the word “successful?”

[1:48:13] Daily practices for seeing good in people.

[1:51:00] How to ride a motorcycle when missing three limbs.

[1:55:01] What purchase of $100 or less has most positively affected BJ’s life?

[1:56:53] BJ’s billboard.

[1:58:24] BJ’s advice to his 30-year-old-self.

[1:59:58] What has BJ changed his mind about in the last few years?

[2:01:26] BJ’s requests/asks/suggestions of the audience.

*

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Past guests on The Tim Ferriss Show include Jerry Seinfeld, Hugh Jackman, Dr. Jane Goodall, LeBron James, Kevin Hart, Doris Kearns Goodwin, Jamie Foxx, Matthew McConaughey, Esther Perel, Elizabeth Gilbert, Terry Crews, Sia, Yuval Noah Harari, Malcolm Gladwell, Madeleine Albright, Cheryl Strayed, Jim Collins, Mary Karr, Maria Popova, Sam Harris, Michael Phelps, Bob Iger, Edward Norton, Arnold Schwarzenegger, Neil Strauss, Ken Burns, Maria Sharapova, Marc Andreessen, Neil Gaiman, Neil de Grasse Tyson, Jocko Willink, Daniel Ek, Kelly Slater, Dr. Peter Attia, Seth Godin, Howard Marks, Dr. Brené Brown, Eric Schmidt, Michael Lewis, Joe Gebbia, Michael Pollan, Dr. Jordan Peterson, Vince Vaughn, Brian Koppelman, Ramit Sethi, Dax Shepard, Tony Robbins, Jim Dethmer, Dan Harris, Ray Dalio, Naval Ravikant, Vitalik Buterin, Elizabeth Lesser, Amanda Palmer, Katie Haun, Sir Richard Branson, Chuck Palahniuk, Arianna Huffington, Reid Hoffman, Bill Burr, Whitney Cummings, Rick Rubin, Dr. Vivek Murthy, Darren Aronofsky, Margaret Atwood, Mark Zuckerberg, Peter Thiel, Dr. Gabor Maté, Anne Lamott, Sarah Silverman, Dr. Andrew Huberman, and many more.

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