EP 52 | Living More Fully Through Accepting Death with Jennifer Clark
Written by Tracy Spears on October 1, 2024
Humans require certain things in order to thrive… and once you move beyond food, water, and shelter, the list gets a little complicated. Understanding the full scope of your needs can enable you to shift in ways you didn’t know were possible. In this episode of Shift Out Loud, I’m joined by Dr. Jennifer Clark, a seasoned physician on a mission to heal, educate, and innovate toward the relief of suffering. When not volunteering at Clarehouse, Oklahoma’s first social model hospice home, she teaches at the University of Tulsa and collaborates with organizations fostering cultures of human flourishing.
Our discussion explores the shifts that led her to palliative medicine and the profound lessons she’s learned through this important work. You’ll learn how she built a career that satisfies her right-brain creativity and left-brain desire for structure, how Maslow’s hierarchy of needs serves as a framework for her practice, and why you should pre-order her incredible first book, Suffer.
Ready to play bigger? Listen now to discover:
- The mind-blowing hidden truth about Maslow’s hierarchy (and where that pyramid really came from)
- How the awareness of our mortality can powerfully change the way we live
- What it means to create and participate in true intimacy
Guest bio: Dr. Jennifer Clark has been in the world of healthcare for over 20 years. With Med-Peds training and board certification in Hospice and Palliative Medicine, Dr Clark is a physician and healthcare delivery consultant serving in various roles as a clinician-educator, -administrator, and -innovator. She is the author of Suffer, a book on the power of suffering.
Timestamps:
01:54 Intro
03:25 Meet Dr. Jennifer Clark
09:37 Path to palliative medicine
14:27 Emotional journey
16:17 Maslow’s hierarchy
20:20 Observing the family environment
23:50 “Putting back together”
29:59 The truth about Maslow
36:45 Intimacy
42:16 Shift to mortality salience
45:34 Shift to meditative practice
50:01 TED Talk
54:42 Next shift
58:26 Intense transition
1:01:20 Conclusion
Links:
Dr. Jennifer Clark
Big Magic: Creative Living Beyond Fear by Elizabeth Gilbert
Illusions: The Adventures of a Reluctant Messiah by Richard Bach
