Hospice of Santa Barbara Offers "The Five Invitations Workshops" to the Community

hsb.png

Jeanne West, R.N., M.H.A. and Suzanne Retzinger, M.F.T., Ph.D., are the instructors of the Five Invitations workshop series. They use The Five invitation discussion questions developed by Frank Ostaseski to share what we can learn from the dying

Last weekend, Hospice of Santa Barbara had the pleasure of hosting the second of its Five Invitations Workshops, “Welcome Everything, Push Away Nothing.”

Since May 19, Hospice of Santa Barbara’s Community Education and Engagement Series has been presenting two-hour workshops focusing on a specific “invitation” from Frank Ostaseki’s book, The Five Invitations: Discovering What Death Can Teach Us About Living Fully. About 105 people attended the June 2ndworkshop and 70 people attended the May 19th workshop. These workshops are a follow up to Frank Ostaseski’s visit to Santa Barbara in March at the Marjorie Luke Theatre.

Frank Ostaseki is the cofounder of the Zen Hospice Project, one of San Francisco’s first residential hospice facilities, and the Metta Institute, which offers educational programs related to spirituality and dying. He is a well-respected Buddhist teacher and has lectured at Harvard Medical School, the Mayo Clinic, and at major spiritual centers throughout the world.

Through video presentations of Frank Ostaseki’s lectures, students learn how death can teach us to live life to the fullest, embrace opportunities, and make every day meaningful.

“We’re excited to be offering this unique series to the community,” said David Selberg, Hospice of Santa Barbara CEO. “Death is something that affects all of us, but that’s not a bad thing. Frank Ostaseki teaches us to embrace that fact, and to be encouraged to live our lives more meaningfully.”

WHAT: Five two-hour workshops focusing on Frank Ostaseki’s Five Invitations

WHEN: May 19th, June 2nd, June 16th, June 30th, and July 14th from 10 a.m. to 12 p.m.

WHERE: Bonaventure Room, Old Mission Santa Barbara

COST: Free

Pre-registration is required to attend the workshops.

To learn more or to register for one of the workshops, visit http://www.hospiceofsantabarbara.org/five-invitations-workshops/.

Hospice of Santa Barbara provides professional counseling, support groups, and patient care services free of charge to individuals and families who are grieving the death of a loved one or experiencing the impact of a life-threatening illness.  Hospice of Santa Barbara also provides counseling in our offices and on eleven local junior and high school campuses to children and teens who are grieving the loss of a loved one. For more information about Hospice of Santa Barbara, including volunteer opportunities, call (805) 563-8820 or visit www.hospiceofsantabarbara.org.