My Father, the VR Meditator: A Conversation on Life, Death, and the Power of Presence

Jeremy Nickel interviews his father, a longtime meditator, VR meditation guide, and newly trained death doula, about how decades of practice shifted from chasing “higher states” to using meditation as a practical tool for everyday ease and presence. They explore how VR lowers appearance-based judgments and makes group practice accessible, how meditation helps people face mortality and grief by repeatedly noticing and befriending endings, and why simple attention practices like “meditating through an itch” can transform fear into acceptance and deeper engagement with life’s transitions.