Living in a Time of Dying

In this FINAL episode of the Living in a Time of Dying podcast, Meghan is once again joined by her co-author, friend, and mentor, William Douglas Horden, this time to discuss his book Facing Light: Preparing for the Moment of Dying about his own experience of dying, due to a massive heart attack in his fifties, and the deep wisdom he brought back to share with us all.

In this episode, Meghan is joined by Ian Tapscott to discuss themes of addiction, acceptance, and resistance.

For this episode, enjoy the audio version of the full chapter from the book. Commentary to follow in the next episode.

In this episode Meghan is joined again by Che Broadnax to discuss the concept of the Inner Fascist, introduced in the book Living in a Time of Dying. Put succinctly, the Inner Fascist functions as a kind of inner colonizer, a process which lies at the heart of fascisms in the social and politics sphere. In contrast, they discuss a vision of Spiritual Anarchy based in respect, reciprocity, and care. Together, Che and Meghan traverse and weave together themes of trauma and harm, bifurcation and binary ruptures, fractal freedom, and the dreams that will lead us off the planation. One note: this was originally a longer recording that got edited down to one hour, so some parts may seem a bit choppy and out of context--podcasting is not always smooth or seamless--but trust me, it's better this way. I told y'all this would sometimes be awkward and messy! ;) Che mentions Robin D. G. Kelley's Freedom Dreams: The Black Radical Imagination (Twentieth Anniversary Edition, 2022), as well as the Netflix series The OA (2016-2017), the film V for Vendetta (2005), various scenes from Empire Strikes Back (1980) and Return of the Jedi (1983), and, of course, Black Panther (2017).

Y'all, this is a BIG episode, and not just in terms of length, although we definitely needed to take the extra time to grapple with some of the complex themes raised in the previous episode. In this episode I am joined again by Dr. Jason Corwin to continue our discussion of the crisis of belonging wrought by the traumas of colonization. Our conversation spans issues of Eurocolonial history, cultural appropriation, identity politics, the "subtle knife" that is the construct of race and other boxes and borders which the imperialist white supremacist capitalist cisheteropatriachy have trapped us in, as well as the need for personal and collective healing work and the false dichotomy of inner work versus social enagement. It's a long one, but deep, tender, and well worth a listen! I also mention the organization White Awake (https://whiteawake.org/) which offers courses in political education for Euro-descended peoples.

In this and the next episode, Meghan is joined by Dr. Jason Corwin, professor of Indigenous Studies at the University of Buffalo and filmmaker (, to discuss the colonial trauma that has separated us from the land and one another, and which has created a deep crisis of belonging. We mention Dr. Corwin's previous work as director of the youth media project Green Guerrillas (https://guerrillagriots.wordpress.com/who-we-be/; http://www.susted.com/wordpress/content/green-guerrillas-youth-media-tech-collective-sustainable-storytellers-challenging-the-status-quo_2020_05/), as well as his independent film about the fight against the Dakota Access Pipeline at Standing Rock, titled Denying Access: NoDAPL to NoNAPL (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TA-h4UYwPfQ). Dr. Corwin also uplifts the work of the late Indigenous philosopher, author, and activist John Trudell (https://www.johntrudell.com/). The clip of Trudell's poem titled "Look At Us" from his album Tibal Voices (1983) can be found at https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=v5szsygmZmY&list=RDEMh9M2AI2QZikRWWvDhH5frg&start_radio=1 We also mention the political prisoner Leonard Peltier, who has been behind bars since 1977 and remains in prison despite having served his complete term and now ailing and close to death. To learn more about his case and to donate to his legal defense please visit: https://www.whoisleonardpeltier.info/donate-now/ And finally, we mention the Indian Child Welfare Act (ICWA) which is currently under scrutiny by the Supreme Court. To learn more listen to the podcast This Land with Rebecca Nagle (https://crooked.com/podcast-series/this-land/).

As an addendum to the last episode on the philosophical, Whiteheadian process relational ontology of feeling, in this episode Meghan sits down again with Christine Goulding to excavate the immanent human experience of feeling. We ask: What is feeling? What does feeling feel like? and, in times of so much pain and fear, Why feel? Christine can be found at: http://www.christinegoulding.com/menu I also mention the work of Jenna Milner, LMT who can be found here: http://www.eightwaves.com/

In this episode Meghan is joined by Matthew David Segall, professor of Philosophy, Cosmology, and Consciousness at the California Institute of Integral Studies and author of the recently published Crossing the Threshold: Ethic Imagination in the Post-Kantian Process Philosophy of Schelling and Whitehead. Meghan and Matt discuss Alfred North Whitehead's process relational cosmology of feeling, the role of imagination in dreaming a new world into being, and the inherent worth, value, and meaning in all beings/things. Listeners can find Matt's work at https://footnotes2plato.com/ and on Youtube https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCtagZg14RFF2pWZcUSt28rA

Sitting in conversation with William Douglas Horden is a bit like listening to and learning from the timeless wisdom of a mountain stream. Meghan has had the great fortune to spend many such hours in William's company, and now extends this opportunity to listeners as, in this and the previous episode, Meghan and William discuss the major philosophical, spiritual, and psycho-social themes that they engage in their book. Come, sit with us and join in the conversation!

Sitting in coversation with William Douglas Horden is a bit like listening to and learning from the timeless wisdom of a mountain stream. Meghan has had the great fortune to spend many such hours in William's company, and now extends this opportunity to listeners as, in this and the next episode, Meghan and William discuss the major philosophical, spiritual, and psycho-social themes that they engage in their book. Come, sit with us and join in the conversation! In this episode we reference the work of Nahuatl scholar and artist, Martha Ramirez-Oropeza--her work can be found at http://martharamirezoropeza.com/

In this episode Meghan enlists friend, teacher, and healer Christine Goulding (http://www.christinegoulding.com; http://www.thedynamicself.com/) to discuss the sacredness of life and how we may honor that sacredness through the felt experience of the emotions of Grief, Rage, Love, and Hope, both individually and in relation. Note: This episode was recorded in early February 2023, just following the earthquake in Turkey and Syria, and makes mention of that tragedy. We also mention the work of spiritual teacher Thomas Hubl (https://thomashuebl.com/) and Dr. Gabor Mate (https://drgabormate.com/).

In this episode Meghan is joined by Juan Lube to discuss the paradox of the living perfection of the moment always entwined with the grief of its passing. They engage with William Douglas Horden's chapter on the Nahuatl difrasism of Flower-and-Song as it relates to how we meet each moment, each relationship, and indeed the whole world with grace and compassion. This episode was recorded in the fall of 2022. In the episode we reference Soulfire Farm (https://www.soulfirefarm.org/), Sylvanqua Farm (https://www.sylvanaqua.com/), Edible Acres (https://www.edibleacres.org/), and the work of Tricia Hersey (http://www.triciahersey.com/), Martin Prechtel (https://floweringmountain.com/), and Stephen Jenkinson (https://orphanwisdom.com/).

In this episode Meghan is joined by Che Broadnax (https://ko-fi.com/chebroadnax) to discuss scarcity-mindedness, the meaning of survival, and the liberating capacity of pleasure and joy. A correction from the episode: I (Meghan) misquote Layla Saad as saying "Blackness is the agenda that saves us all," but the actual quote, significantly, is "Blackness is the agenda that FREES us all." That quote can be found in the Good Ancestor Podcast #032, released October 1, 2020. Also important to note, several times Che and I reference Baldwin, that is James Baldwin, the late preeminent author and activist (if you're not yet familiar with his work, do yourself a favor--The Fire Next Time is one of my most sacred texts).

Welcome to the Living in a Time of Dying podcast! This podcast will discuss the issues and themes arising in the eponymous book, Living in a Time of Dying: Cries of Grief, Rage, Love, and Hope (2021), co-authored by host Meghan Elizabeth Tauck and Taoist mystic William Douglas Horden. The book can be found in print wherever books are sold, and the audio version is forthcoming--stay tuned!