Welcome to this meditation,
A conversation with your dying self.
Death is a topic that has become quite taboo in our culture,
But as it's our ultimate destiny,
I think it's healthy to talk about it and think about it openly.
There is so much wisdom to be taken from this stage of life that can be utilised to ensure we live life to the full.
This meditation is split into two halves,
The first half discussing the top five regrets of the dying,
And the second half using a technique where we have a conversation with our dying self.
I look forward to taking you on this journey,
And my intention is that you get some beautiful insights from it.
To begin with,
Take five deep breaths to help you relax and bring your heart and mind into the present moment.
If you haven't already,
Close your eyes for the remainder of this meditation.
So nice deep inhale through the nose,
Two,
Three,
Four,
And exhale through the nose,
Two,
Three,
Four.
As we inhale,
Inhale right into the belly,
Two,
Three,
Four,
And out,
Two,
Three,
Four.
Do a couple more breaths now on your own.
Just feel yourself deepening to a more relaxing state.
Wonderful.
So just relax the breathing now as we continue the meditation and begin the first half.
Bronnie Ware was the author behind the book,
The Top Five Regrets of the Dying.
This book is where they pulled together a huge study asking people close to their passing on their biggest regrets during their lifetime.
The results were fascinating.
Let's look at the five regrets and contemplate on each one of them for a minute.
This will help us ensure we don't have the same regrets when we reach our time.
Regret number one.
I wish I'd had the courage to live a life true to myself,
Not the life others expected of me.
Sit with this first regret of the dying for a moment.
Is this something that resonates with you?
Are you living your life to meet the expectations of your parents,
Your friends,
Your partner,
Or society in general?
I'll repeat the regrets one more time before allowing you to sit with it.
I wish I'd had the courage to live a life true to myself,
Not the life others expected of me.
I wish I'd had the courage to live a life true to myself,
Not the life others expected of me.
That's great.
Let's look at regret number two.
I wish I hadn't worked so hard.
This one for me isn't surprising.
Working hard is ingrained into our culture in the West,
Which is widely regarded as virtuous.
I'd imagine most people would agree we often take this too far and our work-life balance can become too weighted on the work side.
Sit with this regret and consider if this is something that you may one day regret.
I wish I hadn't worked so hard.
I wish I hadn't worked so hard.
Superb.
Now let's look at regret number three from Brownie's book.
I wish I'd had the courage to express my feelings.
As a male,
I know all too well about this one.
Are there moments where your heart wanted to open up,
But you were too scared to express yourself?
It's never too late to start doing this.
Sit with this one for a minute.
I wish I'd had the courage to express my feelings.
Hello,
Everyone.
Lovely,
It might be a good exercise to try and push yourself to do this more often and express your feelings.
Number 4.
I wish I had stayed in touch with my friends.
There's no lack of research on the importance of social interaction for our mental health and wellbeing.
Friendships and friendship are vital parts of our lives and the fulfilment of our life.
Do you make sure you make time to spend with your friends?
Meditate on this one and see where it takes you.
I wish I had stayed in touch with my friends.
I wish I had stayed in touch with my friends.
Last one now.
I wish that I'd let myself be happier.
The wording of this one I find particularly interesting.
I wish I had let myself be happier,
Implying that there was some sort of guilt and blockage around being happy.
Meditate on this final regret of the dying.
I wish that I had let myself be happier.
Fantastic.
I hope you had some profound realisations from sitting with these regrets of the dying.
And I wish to give you full permission to allow yourself to be happy in life.
The incredible thing about life is that we can change direction and live more abundantly whenever we choose to.
In writing this meditation,
It has given me insights into ways I might be self-sabotaging myself.
Now,
I would like to discuss another way we can use our passing for wisdom and utilise it in our lives.
When looking for wisdom in life or looking to make an important decision,
One technique we can use is having a conversation with our dying self.
This is where we visualise an image of an elderly,
Wise version of our self,
With not long left to live.
Many,
Many years from now,
I hope.
I love this technique because we're not actually looking outside ourselves for answers.
It's just an extension of our own consciousness.
It can be a very powerful tool.
So now I'd like you to try this technique.
Simply imagine yourself on your deathbed.
Imagine your present self walking into the room for a one-to-one conversation with your dying self.
Sit next to your future self and ask them anything you would like and see what they say.
This could be about anything you are unsure of right now.
Your career,
Relationships,
Tough decisions,
Anything where a wise hand would be helpful.
I'll give you two minutes for this exercise and just see where your intuition and imagination takes you.
Wonderful.
I hope you've got some wisdom from this exercise.
I recommend to try this practice whenever you have a big decision to make.
I have found it a very useful tool personally.
If you would like to share any revelations from this meditation or the one in the first half of this meditation,
Please feel free to share and love to hear from you.
May you have no regrets when your time comes to pass.
All my love.
