What is Art of Dying?
The Art of Dying Institute, an initiative of The Open Center, is dedicated to fostering an engaged community of practitioners; researchers & scholars; educators; front-line innovators; partners; and investors to address the need for a cultural awakening around the theme of death and our mortality, how we die and the consequences for how we live. Join the 25th Anniversary Event Oct 31 and Nov 1st 2020.
Spiritual, Scientific and Practical approaches to Living and Dying
When we launched the first Art of Dying conference in the spring of 1995 with our friends Tibet House we had little idea that, not only would The Open Center be engaged with this vital theme for a quarter of a century, but that our efforts would evolve into an Institute offering in-depth certificate programs and courses throughout the year. It has been our good fortune to pioneer holistic approaches to the end of life, and today we offer a broad range of innovative practices with leading teachers.
Now, as the world deals with the coronavirus pandemic, death has rarely been as pervasive and tragic in American society, and the need for holistic and innovative approaches to dying is greater than ever.
This unique virtual event celebrates the increasingly effective and widespread emergence of fresh spiritual and practical approaches both to living and dying. The intense demands of the present moment require us also to also look to the future:
- What are the new healthy and transformative approaches to working with the dying?
- How can we and our families best prepare for death, and how do we lessen the fear associated with it?
- How does living with an awareness of the reality and inevitability of death enhance our ability to live full lives?
This weekend we have gathered some of the most accomplished speakers and pioneers from the Art of Dying program, each of whom provides a unique perspective on compassionate and wise ways of addressing death. Each day will be paced to accommodate the online format with space between presentations and break-out sessions. We will also hear contemplative music used to soothe the dying and their families and have experiential sessions on bereavement.
At this time of widespread death in America and the modern world, when grief and suffering abound, compounded by systemic racism, we invite you to join important innovators in palliative and hospice care for an inspiring and informative weekend. Together we will learn many of the new and necessary, heartfelt and holistic, approaches to the great matter of life and death. We will also meet others who share our sense of the great importance of this issue today as we help to shape the future of death and dying in the 21st Century.
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