What is a Good Life? #38
Breath, Death & Spirit with Anthea Grimason
On the 38th episode of the What is a Good Life? podcast, I am delighted to have Anthea Grimason as our guest. Anthea is a Death Doula, Reiki Master, Certified Yoga & Breath Teacher, as well as a Psychedelic Guide, focusing on the research and healing impact psychedelics are having on people at all stages of life, including facing death.
In this episode, Anthea shares with us her journey of studying various philosophies and practicing numerous spiritual methods across several continents. We discuss how losing her mother at a young age, as well as her studies of Eastern Philosophies, has made her more comfortable with death throughout her life and guided her toward her present work. Anthea also delves into a number of her profound experiences of working with the dying as well as significant moments from her own life when she felt connected with spirit and guided by a deeper intuition.
We also reflect on our experiences with, and perspectives on, psychedelics, as well as elements of research that are being done in terms of their impact on people at the end of their life.
If you feel you are taking life for granted and going through the motions, or you’re feeling disconnected from yourself and your intuition, this episode will give you plenty to contemplate and provides numerous perspectives, anecdotes, and methods for you to consider.
The weekly clip from the podcast (3 mins), my weekly reflection (2 mins), the full podcast (65 mins), and the weekly questions all follow below.
1. Weekly Clip from the Podcast
2. My weekly reflection
In this episode, Anthea shares her perspective on what she believes may happen after death and suggests that she might have existed in various forms before—not as Anthea, but as some aspect of herself. This concept aligns with the Buddhist sense of reincarnation.
When I contemplate the question of our origin and potential future travels, I never expect to arrive at a conclusive answer in my mind (I sense that somewhere in this body, the answer is known) or to argue with anyone else about their interpretations.
I contemplate it as I’m fascinated with it, but I also love the headspace that it generally shifts me into. Whatever scenario I am considering, the thought in my head is rather profound and eloquent, “holy shit, that is wild”.
Think about it, even if you believe in God, it’s still just a wild thought that all this was deliberately created (even assuming it is absolutely true). If the Big Bang is your thing, something came from nothing and all this has transpired 🤯. While the consensus amongst Physicists presently is that we live in a Multiverse with an infinite number of Universes like ours simultaneously coexisting 🤯🤯.
There are also many intelligent people out there that believe this is all a simulation. While this is all within a Universe composed of 95% Dark Energy and Dark Matter, concepts we presently have zero understanding of.
Whenever I consider these things it leaves me in a deep state of wonder, I start to look outside, as I’ve just done while writing this, and I find wonder in the fact that anything exists at all, that the tree outside my window, and the wind that is blowing it, exists at all.
It also helps me to gain some perspective on life and my own existence and gives me long pauses from sweating the small stuff.
Considering the things we usually focus our attention on—sports news, social media, celebrity gossip, community rumors, Netflix, etc.—I am amazed that we rarely discuss both the origin of life and death. These topics fill me with incredible appreciation for the experience of existence and offer humility and comfort in the uncertainty of never knowing anything for certain.
3. Full Episode - Breath, Death & Spirit with Anthea Grimason - What is a Good Life? #38
Click here for Apple and Google.
4. This week’s Questions
What would it take for you to be comfortable with the idea of your own death?
Why and how do you think we have come into existence?
About Me
I am a Coach based in Berlin, via Dublin, Ireland. I left behind a 15-year career in Capital Markets after I became extremely curious around answering some of the bigger questions in life. I started this project in 2021, for which I’ve now interviewed over 150 people, to provide people with the space to reflect on their own lives and to create content that would spark people’s own inquiry into this question. I am also trying to share more genuine expressions of the human experience, beyond the facades we typically project.
If you would like to work with me, or you simply want to get in touch, here’s my email and LinkedIn.