What if remembering that you will die is the way to feel more alive? In this live conversation, Anu Arora talks with John (Hoppy) Hopkins, a former film director turned soul midwife.

Recorded live, this episode opens with a short grounding meditation and closes with a practice done together.

Hoppy is the creator of Aliveness, a newsletter and daily practice built on the idea that normalizing your mortality is what lets you stop taking life for granted. After years as a film director and the founder of a drone light show company, panic attacks and a persistent question pointed him toward end-of-life work. He trained as a soul midwife and sits with dying people, including patients in hospital who have no one else with them.

Anu and Hoppy talk about:

• Why death is a difficult subject in Western culture, and how other traditions prepare for it, including the Hindu stage of life known as Vanaprastha and the principle of vairagya, or non-attachment

• How Hoppy and his wife sold their possessions, traveled with their three children on one carry-on bag each, and settled in a community in Costa Rica

• What fades at the end of life, and what stays: being brave enough and kind enough

• Why Hoppy believes the fear of death sits beneath our smaller fears, and how gentle conversation can turn fear into courage

• Anu on a year of limited mobility, the impermanence of ability, and the Tibetan sand mandala

• The two-minute daily aliveness practice: remember you are mortal, feel grateful, do one thing you have been putting off, then check in at night

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About John (Hoppy) Hopkins: Hoppy writes the Aliveness newsletter and offers a six-part mini-course.

• About Anu Arora: Anu is an executive and team coach, speaker, mindfulness teacher and host of this podcast, working at the intersection of neuroscience, mindfulness and leadership.
• Website
• Substack
• Instagram
• Watch the video on YouTube
• Read the essay on Substack

This episode discusses death and dying. If it brings up difficult feelings, please reach out to someone you trust. In the US you can call or text 988, and findahelpline.com lists free support lines in many countries.