Volunteers have always been available to hear clients tell their life stories in an informal way, but the Zen Hospice Project has some volunteers who are particularly adept at encouraging storytelling. Ostaseski recalls an English professor who would record oral storytelling sessions, then transcribe them into a booklet for the patient, who in turn could decide whether to give it to a loved one. The Zen Hospice Project's workshops and other educational programs are in great demand. Invitations have come from everywhere from New York to Montana to bring the project's work to those sites. In San Francisco, a meditation support group is being created for people with HIV, and retreats are planned at places like the Esalen Institute in Big Sur, Calif., for people facing life-threatening illness.
Many models exist for integrating alternative and conventional medicine.
Alternatives focuses on organizational structures and philosophical frameworks in which practitioners are achieving improved patient outcomes with alternative and cross-cultural therapies.