<p>Contemplating your own death can feel like a massive bummer at first, but there’s good news: how you react to that inescapable fact really matters. </p><p><a href="https://vinnyferraro.org/" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">Vinny Ferraro</a> has practiced insight meditation (vipassanā) since the mid-90s. He’s the Guiding Teacher of the Big Heart City Sangha in San Francisco and has led a weekly sitting group for almost two decades.</p><p>As a fully empowered Dharma Teacher thru Spirit Rock/IMS, he has taught residential retreats at Spirit Rock, Insight Meditation Society, and the Esalen Institute. Currently, he leads Spirit Rock's <a href="https://spirit-rock.secure.retreat.guru/program/a-year-to-live-yl6t25/?lang=en" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">Year to Live</a> course and teaches retreats and daylongs through Big Heart City and meditation centers across the country.</p><p>He is a respected leader in developing and implementing interventions for at-risk populations. leading groups in schools, juvenile halls and prisons since 1987. He has led emotional intelligence workshops for over 100,000 youth on four continents.</p><p><br></p><p><strong>In this episode we talk about:</strong></p><ul><li>Why it’s important to think about your own death even if you’re not expecting it anytime soon</li><li>The distinction between the actual conditions of your life and how much you suffer</li><li>A practice called the five Daily Remembrances, which Dan started doing myself right after we recorded this — and which has made a real difference for him</li><li>And some of other practices they do in the class, including the “life review” and “housekeeping”</li></ul><p><br></p><p><strong>Related Episodes:</strong></p><p><a href="https://www.meditatehappier.com/podcast/tph/vinny-ferraro" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">Three Buddhist Practices For Getting Your Sh*t Together | Vinny Ferraro</a></p><p><a href="https://www.meditatehappier.com/podcast/tph/alua-arthur-archive" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">How Thinking About Death Can Improve Your Life | Alua Arthur</a></p><p><br></p><p><strong>Join the waiting list for </strong><a href="https://spirit-rock.secure.retreat.guru/program/a-year-to-live-yl6t25/?_gl=1%2A16apfmp%2A_ga%2AMjEzNTMyOTM0NC4xNzM1MzA3NjUy%2A_ga_JJL3LQYNTV%2AMTczNTMwNzY1Mi4xLjEuMTczNTMwNzc2Mi42MC4wLjA.&lang=en" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank"><strong>A Year To Live</strong></a><strong> at Spirit Rock.</strong></p><p><br></p><p><strong>Find out more about the </strong><a href="https://spirit-rock.secure.retreat.guru/program/young-adult-retreat-246r25-on-land/?_gl=1%2A1rfbgn%2A_ga%2AMjEzNTMyOTM0NC4xNzM1MzA3NjUy%2A_ga_JJL3LQYNTV%2AMTczNTMwNzY1Mi4xLjEuMTczNTMwNzk3Mi42MC4wLjA.&lang=en" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank"><strong>Young Adult Retreat at Spirit Rock</strong></a><strong> (taught by Vinny Ferraro, Matthew Brensilver, Cara Lai, and Hakim Tafari).</strong></p><p><br></p><p><strong>Use code TENPERCENT for 10% off these two courses at Spirit Rock: </strong></p><p><a href="https://spirit-rock.secure.retreat.guru/program/anxiety-as-teacher-a-dharma-and-yoga-daylong-dj1d25/?_gl=1%2Aftjrn%2A_ga%2AMjEzNTMyOTM0NC4xNzM1MzA3NjUy%2A_ga_JJL3LQYNTV%2AMTczNTMwNzY1Mi4xLjEuMTczNTMwNzY2OC40NC4wLjA.&lang=en" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">Anxiety as Teacher: A Dharma and Yoga Daylong</a></p><p><a href="https://spirit-rock.secure.retreat.guru/program/cultivating-the-beautiful-factors-of-mind-204r25-on-land/?_gl=1%2Ac6487a%2A_ga%2AMjEzNTMyOTM0NC4xNzM1MzA3NjUy%2A_ga_JJL3LQYNTV%2AMTczNTMwNzY1Mi4xLjEuMTczNTMwNzg3NC42MC4wLjA.&lang=en" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">Cultivating the Beautiful Factors of Mind</a></p><p><br></p><p><br></p><p><strong>Sign up for Dan’s weekly newsletter </strong><a href="https://bit.ly/3QtGRqJ" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank"><strong>here</strong></a></p><p><strong>Follow Dan on social: </strong><a href="https://bit.ly/3tGigG5" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank"><strong>Instagram</strong></a><strong>, </strong><a href="https://bit.ly/3FOA84J" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank"><strong>TikTok</strong></a></p><p><strong>Ten Percent Happier online </strong><a href="https://bit.ly/46TZglY" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank"><strong>bookstore</strong></a></p><p><strong>Subscribe to our </strong><a href="https://bit.ly/3FybRzD" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank"><strong>YouTube Channel</strong></a></p><p><strong>Our favorite playlists on: </strong><a href="https://spoti.fi/3Qa8kMT" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank"><strong>Anxiety</strong></a><strong>, </strong><a href="https://spoti.fi/3MjtMxF" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank"><strong>Sleep</strong></a><strong>, </strong><a href="https://spoti.fi/3QvyA5J" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank"><strong>Relationships</strong></a><strong>, </strong><a href="https://spoti.fi/3QxZASc" rel="noopener noreferrer"