#738: Dr. Gabor Maté and Dr. BJ Miller

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:

[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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