When Death Becomes the Teacher - Dr. Adam Rizvi
Sun Feb 08 2026
"When he shall die, take him and cut him out in little stars, and he will make the face of heaven so fine that all the world will be in love with night and pay no worship to the garish sun." — William Shakespeare, Romeo and JulietA Conversation with Dr. Adam Rizvi - What happens when a physician who witnesses death daily discovers it holds no power over love?
Dr. Adam Rizvi is a critical care physician and neurointensivist whose decades on the frontlines of America's ICUs have given him an intimate understanding of mortality —and its transcendence. In his luminous book Love Does Not Know Death, he offers a radically compassionate guide to meeting our greatest fear without flinching, drawing on both his clinical experience and deep contemplative practice rooted in A Course in Miracles.
Based in California, Dr. Rizvi leads hospital teams, teaches workshops on awakening and end-of-life care, and co-hosts the spirituality podcast Letters to the Sky. His work invites us into a grounded, loving community devoted to transforming grief into peace and remembering love's enduring presence.
From the Book: One of the most extraordinary accounts in Love Does Not Know Death is a Shared Death Experience Dr. Rizvi had at a patient's bedside: Despite the chest tube being placed and multiple liters of blood being transfused, it became clear to me that this young man would be unlikely to survive. Then, almost imperceptibly at first, in the stillness at the foot of his bed, I could feel the young man standing next to me, looking at his body. I sensed him to my right and slightly above, floating. I turned briefly and saw a faint outline but could not see distinct features. I could hear him, though. He asked, "Is that me?" In my mind, I responded, "That's your body. But it's not you." — Chapter 7, page 122
On Practicing from a Different Place: Writing on Substack, Dr. Rizvi reflects: "I still order CT scans and adjust ventilator settings. I still have difficult conversations about prognosis and place DNR orders. But I've learned to do all of it from a different place—not from fear of death, but from trust in something that death cannot touch."Learn More: 📖 Love Does Not Know Death — lovedoesnotknowdeath.com ✍️ Dr. Rizvi's Substack — adamrizvi.substack.com/p/when-death-becomes-the-teacher
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"When he shall die, take him and cut him out in little stars, and he will make the face of heaven so fine that all the world will be in love with night and pay no worship to the garish sun." — William Shakespeare, Romeo and JulietA Conversation with Dr. Adam Rizvi - What happens when a physician who witnesses death daily discovers it holds no power over love? Dr. Adam Rizvi is a critical care physician and neurointensivist whose decades on the frontlines of America's ICUs have given him an intimate understanding of mortality —and its transcendence. In his luminous book Love Does Not Know Death, he offers a radically compassionate guide to meeting our greatest fear without flinching, drawing on both his clinical experience and deep contemplative practice rooted in A Course in Miracles. Based in California, Dr. Rizvi leads hospital teams, teaches workshops on awakening and end-of-life care, and co-hosts the spirituality podcast Letters to the Sky. His work invites us into a grounded, loving community devoted to transforming grief into peace and remembering love's enduring presence. From the Book: One of the most extraordinary accounts in Love Does Not Know Death is a Shared Death Experience Dr. Rizvi had at a patient's bedside: Despite the chest tube being placed and multiple liters of blood being transfused, it became clear to me that this young man would be unlikely to survive. Then, almost imperceptibly at first, in the stillness at the foot of his bed, I could feel the young man standing next to me, looking at his body. I sensed him to my right and slightly above, floating. I turned briefly and saw a faint outline but could not see distinct features. I could hear him, though. He asked, "Is that me?" In my mind, I responded, "That's your body. But it's not you." — Chapter 7, page 122 On Practicing from a Different Place: Writing on Substack, Dr. Rizvi reflects: "I still order CT scans and adjust ventilator settings. I still have difficult conversations about prognosis and place DNR orders. But I've learned to do all of it from a different place—not from fear of death, but from trust in something that death cannot touch."Learn More: 📖 Love Does Not Know Death — lovedoesnotknowdeath.com ✍️ Dr. Rizvi's Substack — adamrizvi.substack.com/p/when-death-becomes-the-teacher