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Embrace the Moments That Matter Most

Insights from Charles Bush on Observing the Dying Process
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Dear friends and neighbors,

Charles Bush, a philosopher and educator, is both brilliant and articulate. Interviewing him is like taking a short course from a great teacher on whatever the topic happens to be. In this case, he discussed his experience with thousands of seniors facing end-of-life issues. He also spoke about the personally devastating effects of being unable to provide the seniors with "psychedelic nourishment.”

You can listen to the audio here, or subscribe to read the transcript below.

Mind Body Health & Politics
How many hours have you spent in the company of somebody dying? – Charles Bush
Listen now (72 min) | What does it take to build community and connection at the end of our lives? In this episode, we sit down with our guest Charles Bush to discuss his experiences working with those nearing the end of their lives. Charles shares his insights on the ideal end-of-life experience, emphasizing the universal desire for connection and love, which is something w…
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NOTE: I am currently embarking on a new series featuring healing stories from those who have benefitted from psychedelics at the end of life, or in the face of a terminal diagnosis. I hope to interview those with direct personal experience, as well as relatives, friends, and clinicians with stories to share. Please email my producer if you would like to be interviewed on my program, and featured in a future book on this topic.

Wishing you Golden Light,

Dr. Richard Louis Miller


This podcast will always remain available at no cost. However, I’d like to offer my most loyal listeners additional options for enjoying my interviews – both as videos and transcripts.

Further Reading:

Transcript

*Lightly edited for clarity

Dr. Richard Louis Miller (00:00:59): Welcome to Mind Body Health and Politics. I'm your host, Dr. Richard Louis Miller. The mission of Mind, body, health and Politics is to enhance your physical and emotional wellbeing and encourage community. I say encourage community because I believe that human beings are friendly tribal animals. We like doing things together. We like hanging out together. We like cooperating with one another. We like being neighborly. In fact, to the extent possible, we enjoy one another's company. At the very same time, we have to acknowledge, it's almost our responsibility to acknowledge that there is a very small percentage of us who are extremely different. These people are predators, they're avaricious, and they believe in a very different philosophy of life. I refer to them as social darwinists. They believe in the survival of the fittest across the board, and everybody else is down the line. These are the kind of people who would turn us back to subjects from being citizens, and that was a battle we fought over 200 years ago.

(00:02:30): It is our duty as American citizens to watch and be careful about our fragile democracy and our republic.

I was raised to believe we live in a democratic republic modeled after Greece and Rome to some extent, though certainly evolved over 1700 years. I thought it would last forever. Now I realize we must actively maintain our democracy like a beautiful garden. We can't expect it to last on its own. There are forces who would take our democracy and republic away from us. That is a real threat. As my hero Thomas Jefferson said, "Eternal vigilance is the price of liberty."

Today I have the privilege of interviewing Charles Bush, an American philosopher and educator. Charles founded prominent schools in Taos, New Mexico and Mendocino, California. He also served for 12 years as director of the Fort Bragg Senior Center. Currently, Charles and his wife Sukina are leaders in the national sustainable farming movement. Throughout his 60-year career, Charles has carefully and responsibly experimented with psychedelic medicines. Welcome to Mind, Body, Health, and Politics.

Charles Bush (00:04:16): Absolutely delightful to be with you, Richard. And hooray, here we go again, another conversation delving into the depths.

Serving lunches to seniors

Dr. Richard Louis Miller (00:04:25): Into the depths we go. You, you have had an extraordinary working career, including, as I said, your work at the Fort Bragg Senior Center. And I know one of the things that you're very proud of in terms of that work is the lunches that you typically served. Remind us, how many lunches did you typically serve to seniors each day?

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Mind Body Health & Politics
Psychedelic Wisdom
Psychology, Medicine, and Spirituality
Authors
Richard L. Miller