Episodes

It's challenging when we feel despair or depression hovering around us and we don't really know why it's there. But, like Rumi's poem The Guest House, it's important to welcome in even the feelings we don't like and wish would leave us alone. So today I'm recommitting to accepting my own despair and letting it in the door. I'll stop rejecting this down time, allow it to be present, and receive whatever it has to teach me. I'll also stop judging myself for wanting to push away the negative feelin...

In this episode I share a simple model for how spiritual growth occurs based on the work of Fr. Richard Rohr: Order, Disorder, Reorder. We'll talk about each of these 3 stages and how to navigate them with a focus on finding a "thread" that carries you through each time of life, loving the life you have, and learning to cherish change and impermanence.

For the very first episode of this podcast I introduce you to the 7 lessons I learned from my hospice patients and wrote about in my books: 7 Lessons for Living from the Dying and The Journey from Ego to Soul. We'll be diving into each of these lessons in upcoming episodes but this is a brief overview to get you started. These lessons are the foundation of all the spiritual work I've been doing and I hope they will help you visualize your own journey to becoming the best person you can be, even ...

In this episode I discuss how our greatest tragedies can ultimately lead us to growth through the gift of grace. This is the lesson of Suffering, the first of the 7 lessons I learned from my hospice patients. This episode includes: How my father’s suicide changed the trajectory of my life. Why the remedy for pain is found “inside the pain” as Rumi wrote. There is no “other side” of the tunnel of grief. How our grief journey can only be viewed clearly in retrospect. How to “burn o...

In this episode I share how love can transform and heal our lives even during our last days. This episode includes: The story of my “Love Project”. The importance of love for those at the end of life. How forgiveness makes room for even greater love. The many ways love can break our hearts. Why we need to remain open to love even after we have been hurt. The “violin metaphor” and why we should allow love to hollow us out. Practices for opening to love. Learn more about the...

Learn the importance of forgiveness for moving forward in society, personal life, and spiritual growth. This episode includes: Why there is so much outrage in our society today. Why we need to remember our interconnectedness and interdependence in order to solve the problems we are facing, How hospice patients focus on forgiveness as they face the end of life, How forgiveness benefits health, relationships and spiritual growth. Why forgiveness should be an intentional, daily practic...

Learn how to make the most of the present moment and give the gift of presence to those you love. This episode includes: Presence is an essential skill for working with dying patients. Many dying patients seem to have a new-found ability to focus on the present and appreciate each moment. According to Buddhist monk Thich Nhat Hahn presence is the ability to align body, mind, spirit, emotions in a single focus on the here and now. Being fully present with a patient or a loved one allows...

Learn how to find more clarity about your life’s purpose and why it’s not just about choosing the right career path. This episode includes: The difference between “inner” and “outer” purpose. Why it’s important to recognize that there is a larger reason for our existence. Why we must change ourselves before we try to change the world. Steps to discovering your inner purpose: Awaken to the fact that you are here to learn, Look for recurring themes in your life so far, Journal about the pai...

Learn how to let go of expectations and your bitterness over life’s disappointments. This episode includes: How suffering increases when we believe that things should have been different. How clinging to the need to control the events of life can lead to bitterness and regret. Life flows like a river and we cannot control or stop the flow by resisting it. Why staying attached to our expectations keeps us from experiencing what life is offering us in each and every moment. How to ref...

Learn the lesson of impermanence and why it is essential for life. This episode includes: The Buddhist concept of impermanence. How everything that is fleeting becomes more precious to us. Entropy – the 2nd law of thermodynamics – from the Greek word entropia, which means a turning toward or transformation. How life moves from order to disorder, structure to non-structure, physical form to energetic form or Soul. The benefits of mortality: Creativity, growth and transformation are m...

Today let's talk about how our greatest devastation can lead to transformation and growth. I've experienced it in my own life and have been excited to read the research on Post-Traumatic Growth. This coincided with reading about Dr. Edith Eger who is a survivor of Auschwitz and wrote about her own healing and growth after the horror of her experiences in early life. She writes about having been victimized but not being a victim and how she chooses to be responsible for her own growth and happine...

What Really Matters is hosted by Dr. Karen Wyatt who shares the lessons she learned from her patients facing the end of life. She'll share this life wisdom along with what it actually takes to put these lessons into practice in our own lives. She'll be sharing how we navigate the ups and downs of this life and these challenging times while we work to become our best selves. This podcast makes sure we focus on the important stuff of life and don’t lose sight of What Really Matters when things ge...