FRANK OSTASESKI has dedicated his life to service. He is the cofounder of the Zen Hospice Project, founder of the Metta Institute, a Buddhist teacher, an international lecturer, and a leading voice in contemplative end-of-life care. He has been honored by His Holiness the Dalai Lama, and AARP named him one of America's Fifty Most Innovative People. He has offered seminars at Harvard Medical School, the Mayo Clinic, and Heidelberg University, and he teaches at major spiritual centers around the globe. His work has been featured on the Bill Moyers PBS series On Our Own Terms and The Oprah Winfrey Show, among other programs. The Five Invitations is his first book.
"Frank is a pioneer in mindful care at the end of life. He embodies
the wisdom and compassion he shares in these magical and compelling
pages. You feel it instantly, because it is real, and it is really
about you and your life." --Jon Kabat-Zinn, founder of MBSR and
author of Full Catastrophe Living and Coming to Our Senses
"I love this book and its gentle, radical, charming, wild and
comforting truths about how to live and die and be. It may well be
the most important book you read this year." --Anne Lamott, New
York Times bestselling author of Help, Thanks, Wow "[This]
beautiful book softened my heart and taught me things I did not
know I needed to learn. As The Five Invitations shows, death is
more than a medical event. It happens within a web of
relationships. Frank Ostaseski shows us how to act--and simply
be--with a skillful heart, when supporting those in our care."
--Katy Butler, author of The Art of Dying Well and Knocking on
Heaven's Door "This is a wise, lucid, beautiful book that will help
you be less afraid and more alive. Read it as soon as you can; it
will change you." --Dr. Lucy Kalanithi, widow of the late Dr. Paul
Kalanithi, author of the #1 New York Times bestselling memoir When
Breath Becomes Air "I keep this book by my bedside. It's the best,
most true, penetrating advice I know. How to live, how to die.
Written with clear, engaging prose--it's unbeatable. Do not waste
your life--get it!" --Natalie Goldberg, author of Let the Whole
Thundering World Come Home and Writing Down the Bones "This book
distills a compassionate shepherd's lifelong experience with death
and dying." --Bill Moyers, journalist, social commentator, and
producer of On Our Own terms: Moyers on Death and Dying "These
moving teachings can open your heart and change your life. For
decades, Frank has been a compassionate guide to thousands of
people facing death. In The Five Invitations, he shares his
timeless wisdom, beautifully, as a blessing to all." --Jack
Kornfield, international Buddhist teacher and author of A Path With
Heart "Written from the heart, Ostaseski's experiences and
observations are invaluable." --Boing Boing "As a physician, I
often work with people who view death as the ultimate isolating
experience, solitary confinement for eternity--the ultimate dark
terror. In this extraordinary, eloquent, and powerful book, Frank
Ostaseski reveals how we can transform this darkness into a bright
light (brilliant in every way), a return to the source, the
ultimate in intimacy, healing, and meaning--the essence of love.
What could be better than that?" --Dean Ornish, M.D. and New York
Times bestselling author of The Spectrum "Our capacity to live and
love fully awakens as we open our hearts to death. Frank Ostaseski
guides us in this opening with a luminous wisdom derived from his
own full immersion in the journey. Please give yourself to The Five
Invitations; these teachings reveal the mystery and beauty of our
essential Being." --Tara Brach, author of Radical Acceptance and
True Refuge "Stephen always had great trust in Frank's good heart.
As his teacher and longtime friend he encouraged Frank to write and
share his wisdom on conscious living and conscious dying. Finally,
we have this gift to the world. This book is a beautiful, loving
gift and a manifestation of a lifetime of selfless service and
compassionate care." --Ondrea Levine coauthor with Stephen Levine
of Who Dies: An Investigation of Conscious Living and Conscious
Dying
"Frank Ostaseski is one of the great contemporary teachers of
ancient Buddhist wisdom and practice. Over the years, his teachings
have informed both my meditative and clinical practices. Now,
through The Five Invitations a broader audience can benefit from
Frank's insights, soulful perspectives, and practical guidance.
What a gift!" --Ira Byock M.D., international leader in palliative
care, Chief Medical Officer for the Institute for Human Caring of
Providence Health and Services, and author of The Four Things That
Matter Most: A Book About Living and The Best Care Possible: A
Physician's Quest to Transform Care Through the End of Life. "The
Five Invitations is a remarkable book, one that is deeply needed by
all of us. Five invitations to live our lives fully, in the
present, all the way through. Frank Ostaseski, whose journey spans
over three decades of creating and participating in the hospice
movement, imparts timeless wisdom that should inform our every day:
How to embrace uncertainty and live with joy, peace, and
acceptance. This is not a book about death, it's a book about life
and living. Buy it, share it, live it--I know I will." --Henry S.
Lodge, M.D., Robert Burch Family Professor of Medicine, and
coauthor of the Younger Next Year series "A powerful book by my
good friend Frank Ostaseski, who has brought together wisdom and
compassion in his life and his long years of work with the dying.
We will all be enriched, inspired, and edified by his extraordinary
book on how facing death can enrich our life." --Joan Halifax
Roshi, Ph.D., founder and abbot at the Upaya Zen Center, and author
of Being with Dying: Cultivating Compassion and Fearlessness in the
Presence of Death "As a physician and neurosurgeon, I have learned
that those who have truly lived are those that understand death as
an integral part of life. In Frank Ostaseski's profound book, The
Five Invitations, he shares this reality, giving us insights and
wisdom on the nature of dying but more importantly on how to truly
live." --James R. Doty, M.D., Professor of Neurosurgery, founder
and director of the Center for Compassion and Altruism Research and
Education, Stanford University School of Medicine, and New York
Times bestselling author of Into the Magic Shop: A Neurosurgeon's
Quest to Discover the Mysteries of the Brain and the Secrets of the
Heart "Frank is a very dear friend. I have worked in the field of
death and dying close to Frank and this book represents the
distillation of many years of his efforts. He shows us that if you
are to die consciously, there's no time like the present to
prepare. This book is a loving, compassionate reminder that the
best preparation for death is a life fully lived" --Ram Dass,
international spiritual teacher and author of the bestseller Be
Here Now and Still Here: Embracing Aging, Changing, and Dying
"Frank inspires us to live with joy by fully embracing all facets
of life including our dying. With heartfelt compassion and wisdom
gathered over thirty years as a Buddhist teacher and hospice
founder he helps us understand that love matters most."
--Chade-Meng Tan, Google's "Jolly Good Fellow" and author of Joy on
Demand and Search Inside Yourself "Exquisitely profound and
gut-wrenchingly real, I'm not sure a wiser book has been written in
the digital age. Frank's storytelling helped me to see that to step
fully into life we need to embrace death as an adventure rather
than an adversary." --Chip Conley, author of the New York Times
bestseller Emotional Equations and head of Global Hospitality and
Strategy at AirBnB "How to die and how to be with the dying are
questions everyone faces. Here are sharp, insightful answers from
one of the great end-of-life counselors." --Stewart Brand, creator
of the Whole Earth Catalog "This is a gem of a book! With a
lifetime of inspiring service and deep spiritual wisdom to draw
from, Frank Ostaseski has given us all a gift straight from the
heart." --James Baraz, author of Awakening Joy: Ten Steps to
Happiness and cofounding teacher at Spirit Rock Meditation Center
"Frank Ostaseski speaks with clear wisdom and deep compassion.
Sharing stories and insights from his decades of working with
people at the very end of their lives, his ultimate revelation has
to do with how meaningful, in both our living and our dying, is the
capacity to be open to and present in grace. His words offer much
worthy of contemplation and his service to all of us is worthy of
deep respect." --Kathleen Dowling Singh, author of Grace in Dying:
How We Are Transformed Spiritually As We Die and The Grace in
Aging: Awaken As You Grow Old "This book is deep, right and rare.
The compelling lessons shared in The Five Invitations are valuable
to people at any phase of life. Whether facing your own imminent
death or that of a loved one, navigating a crisis, or looking to
embrace and enjoy living your life more fully, you will find the
wisdom lovingly offered in these pages inspiring and enlightening."
--SARK, coauthor and artist of Succulent Wild Love "Every sentence
in this book is written with a velvet pen from deep within Frank
Ostaseski's heart. The authenticity of his life and his work is on
every page. It is a sharing that, ultimately, our own reality is
love and that when we remember that, fear has a way of disappearing
by becoming valueless. It takes a lot of courage to write a book
that is so beautifully transparent." --Gerald Jampolsky, M.D.,
cofounder of Attitudinal Healing and author of Love Is Letting Go
of Fear and
Diane Cirincione-Jampolsky, Ph.D., cofounder of Attitudinal Healing
International and coauthor of Love Is The Answer "[Frank Ostaseski]
has found the space where awareness of death is revealed as a
powerful elixir for living more abundantly, and he shares that
secret brilliantly in this landmark book. If you want to live fully
and free from fear, read it and give yourself and those who love
you a rare gift!" --Robert A. F. Thurman, Professor of Religion,
Columbia University, and author of Infinite Life
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