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Zen and the Art of Living and Dying Well: Justin Magnuson on Facing Death and Living Life with Courage and Clarity

Justin Magnuson is a Zen Buddhist who works with the elderly and terminally ill. In this episode, Justin reflects on how approaching death and dying with intention can be an invitation to a fuller way of living.

RESOURCES:

Earth & Spirit Center: https://www.earthandspiritcenter.org/

University of Louisville Trager Institute and Republic Bank Foundation Optimal Aging Clinic: https://www.tragerinstitute.org/

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Roots and Wings?
Recently, the tectonic plates of our family life shifted as our oldest children, our dear twin daughters Eva and Clare, began their freshman year of college. We settled them into their dorm room, floated home on a lake of tears, and began processing what this change will mean for our family life. 
 
They say that a parent’s job is to give their kids roots and wings: a good upbringing and a solid foundation of support, and the ability to go their own way as adults. My wife Cyndi, however, thinks that analogy isn’t quite right, and I agree with her. Our kids certainly need roots, and we worked hard to create a safe, supportive environment in which they could grow up. But wings? Self-determination and mature adulthood, of course. Wings, however, implies that your kids’ leaving is the point of raising them, and while I don’t want our kids living jobless in our basement in their 30s, neither does it seem a given that they should just fly away to their own entirely separate lives. There are plenty of other cultural models and expectations for intergenerational family life that don’t at all conform to the roots-and-wings idea.
 
I’m much more drawn to the analogy of roots and branches. Branches do go their own unique way, seeking the light. But they also stay connected, both nourishing and being nourished by the trunk and roots. Or even better, I like Dr. Suzanne Simard’s image of the mother tree, nurturing the nearby younger trees – her own offspring and even other species – all of them woven together in a complex underground mycelial network of exchange.  To me, these images seem so much more true to what we are coming to understand about interdependence – whether in family systems, ecosystems, or quantum entanglement. 
 
Whatever the analogy, the point is this: we’re made for groundedness, connection, and freedom – all constantly interacting and evolving with each other as our circumstances change. When you think about it, those three qualities are the fruit of meditative practice, as well. Mindfulness can ground us in present-moment experience amidst the storms of life and the chattering of our ego. With mindfulness, we can experience the world through a lens of non-duality, helping us see that we all belong to each other. And mindfulness gives us the freedom to act with skill and wisdom, rather than compulsion and reactivity.  
 
In a few days, we’ll begin our fall meditation classes at the Earth & Spirit Center – a perfect place to get grounded, stay connected, and grow in freedom. We hope to see you, and we’d also be deeply grateful if you’d share these opportunities with those you know, to help us regather and grow our community after COVID-19. Thanks so much!
 
Take care,
Kyle Kramer, CEO
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We Come from Oneness: Musician Peter Mayer on Love, Creativity, and the Evolving Cosmos

Peter Mayer is a singer and songwriter whose music reflects a profound love of the world, as we’re coming to understand it through the new story science tells us about our place in the 14-billion-year-unfolding of our universe. This conversation reflects on science, spiritual practice, social justice, and environmental care, all animated by a sense of our belonging to deep history, to each other, and to the entire cosmos.

 

RESOURCES:

Peter’s website: https://www.petermayer.net/

Earth & Spirit Center: www.earthandspiritcenter.org

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From the Archives – Like River Stones: Zen and the Art of Community, with Jeanette Prince-Cherry

Jeanette Prince-Cherry had careers in the Air Force and as an industrial engineer before dedicating her life to Zen Buddhism. A Zen priest and instructor, she divides her time between the Louisville Zen Center and the Rochester Zen Center in New York. In this episode, Jeanette explains the basics of Zen, how it is similar to and different from secular mindfulness, and how it provides tools and resources for mental health, resilience, and the strengthening of communities, especially in a post-pandemic world. This episode is from the archives and was originally released July 31, 2021.

RESOURCES

Earth & Spirit Center homepage: www.earthandspiritcenter.org

Louisville Zen Center homepage: https://www.louisvillezen.org/

Rochester Zen Center homepage: https://www.rzc.org/

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Relationships of Respect and Reciprocity: Chris Isgrigg on Healing and Wholeness for Individuals and Culture

Once a farmer in rural Kentucky, Chris Isgrigg is now a practicing psychotherapist in Louisville, KY. He’s thought deeply about the relationships that weave each of us to each other and to the more-than-human world and has integrated the natural world meaningfully into his therapeutic approach. This conversation explores how a deeper spiritual connection to our places can help heal and mature us as individuals and as a culture.

RESOURCES:

Chris Isgrigg’s counseling practice, Deeply Rooted Counseling: https://www.psychologytoday.com/us/therapists/chris-isgrigg-louisville-ky/156084

Bill Plotkin’s Animas Valley Institute: https://www.animas.org/

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Grounded: Conversations on Nature and Climate Change

Over the past year, the Earth & Spirit Center, with funding from the Kalliopeia Foundation, has collaborated with Bernheim Arboretum and Research Forest to create two documentary films featuring environmental activists working on climate change and watershed health. In this episode of the podcast, we’ve taken audio clips from some of the interviews we conducted and have woven them together to present the perspectives of several activists of various ages, races, and backgrounds, united by their common concern about our changing climate.

Resources:

Earth & Spirit Center homepage: https://www.earthandspiritcenter.org/

“Grounded” film: https://youtu.be/fL_rHzS3rcQ

“Reflections on Water” film: https://youtu.be/LwgJZPmQugE

Dr. Justin Mog’s “Sustainability Now” program on Forward Radio: https://www.forwardradio.org/sustainabilitynow

Renewable Energy Alliance of Louisville: https://renewableenergylouisville.org/

Outdoor Afro: https://outdoorafro.org/

Sisters of Charity of Nazareth, office of ecological sustainability: https://nazareth.org/office-of-ecological-sustainability/

Bernheim Arboretum and Research Forest: https://bernheim.org/

Kalliopeia Foundation: https://kalliopeia.org/

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Aging with Grace and Dignity: Phyllis SanAngelo on Claiming the Spiritual Gifts of Elderhood

Phyllis SanAngelo is a mother, grandmother, and great-grandmother with decades of experience from a long career in spiritual formation and hospice work. She also facilitates a “Conscious Eldering” course at the Earth & Spirit Center. This conversation is a reflection on what it means to age with grace, dignity, and active intentionality, claiming the great spiritual gifts of elderhood.

RESOURCES:

Earth & Spirit Center website: www.earthandspiritcenter.org

Phyllis’s course on Becoming a Conscious Elder: https://www.earthandspiritcenter.org/class/becoming-a-conscious-elder/

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Showing up Curious and Intentional: Deryl Sweeney on the Power of Mindful Questions

Deryl Sweeney is an entrepreneur, business coach, and the co-founder of Cure CF, a nonprofit that raises funds to support cystic fibrosis research. In this episode, Deryl and host Kyle Kramer reflect on how mindful curiosity and intentional commitment to core values can help all of us show up as leaders, deeply rooted in love and connection.

RESOURCES:

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