In this podcast Joost van den Rijnders speaks with Ineke Visser (1963). Ineke worked for years as a volunteer and later as a coordinator in a hospice. She is the author of various books about dying and the initiator of the National Center of Expertise on Dying. As a teacher she is connected to the Intensive 'Dealing with Dying' at the post-HBO level of the expertise center. The conversation is about her experiences in a hospice.
'I learned my greatest lessons in hospice, in the vicinity of people on the border between life and death. Dying is an autonomous process. It's something that happens to us, we can't direct it. My work in the hospice has taught me to move with the rhythm of life'.
One of the goals of Ineke's work is to give dying a new place in the consciousness of people and of society as a whole. 'Dying is a layered process. In addition to the physical process, a lot is happening on an emotional, mental and spiritual level. Dying, you might say, is living intensely. People turn inwards, the outside world gets smaller and the inside world gets bigger'.
There are certainly interfaces between meditation and death counseling. 'The dying phase requires a meditative attitude, becoming still and being aware of what is happening there'.
Ineke is the author of 'In the light of dying. Experiences on the border of life and death', 'Dying. Time for a different story', 'A different view on organ donation. Explorations of the dying process'. Ineke's books are for sale at www.weerschijn.nl.
Listeners of this podcast can order DREMPEL, magazine about living with dying with a 10% discount by adding the discount code DREMPEL2122 in the order procedure. Instead of € 13,95 you pay € 12,55 including postage. The magazine has 106 pages, has no advertisements and is richly illustrated. It contains inspiring interviews, reports and articles.
National Center of Expertise on Dying nationalexpertisecentrumsterven.nl
so profound and inspiring…
To die is to live intensely. To live is to die intensely. Thank you so much for this poignant podcast. That does something to you as a person. It actually brought me to the movie 'Supernova' that I recently saw in the cinema. And how the supernova phenomenon in this film was gently explained by one of the main characters to a niece at a surprise party. A supernova is a dying star, a star that explodes in the universe, creating new life. The hallmark of a supernova is a large increase in brightness during the explosion/death of the star. And that affects me in relation to dying and the dying process. The booklets 'Dying. Time for a different story' and 'Completing life, 10 personal stories about the value of living with dying' by Ineke Visser I took in in small bites. Very worth reading.... Read more »