The phrase "a place of healing" struck a chord in me when I first heard it in 1973, and in many ways, it's what led to my lifelong career in hospice and palliative medicine. Let me explain. I was a medical student in the early 1970s, or, should I say, a disillusioned medical student, and about to leave medicine to pursue an interest in movie making and the humanities. One day, I was sitting with a mentor figure, whom I'd just told of my decision. He listened carefully and then replied,...

On August 9, 2025, I had a brief audience with His Holiness the Dalai Lama in Ladakh, India. As I stood waiting in line, holding my white kata scarf in both hands, I looked around. Hundreds of Tibetan pilgrims, dressed in traditional attire, stood or sat on every side, awaiting their turn. We were in a grove of tall poplar trees, which gave dappled shade, their leaves fluttering like green wings. From somewhere in the distance, I could hear chanting that waxed and waned, “Om mani padme hum,”...

Hi everyone, I am writing this just one week after my beloved mentor and dear friend, Joanna Macy, died at the ripe old age of 96. While...