07:32

Death Meditation

by Bill Belanger M.A.

Rated
4.4
Type
guided
Activity
Meditation
Suitable for
Everyone
Plays
3k

This guided meditation is a contemplation on death. This practice will help bring clarity on what is most important in your life. This is an analytical meditation that uses the thinking mind. This is a practice from the Gelugpa school of Tibetan Buddhism.

DeathMeditationContemplationClarityAnalytical MeditationTibetan BuddhismMortalityImpermanenceLifeRegretMortality ConfrontationMortality AwarenessLife ClarityRegret ReflectionGuided MeditationsImpermanence ReflectionsLife PrioritizationThinking MindVisualizations

Transcript

Take a moment and tune into your body.

Notice your breathing.

This is a visualization so you can close the eyes and find a comfortable position.

The point of this practice is to confront your own mortality.

In doing so,

You'll find more clarity in your life about what's most important.

Now bring to mind that everything in life is impermanent.

Think of things in your life that have changed.

Bring to mind things that felt permanent at the time but now are different.

Think about how short life is and how quickly time passes.

Now realize that one day you are going to die.

You have no control over when this will happen.

This could be in 20 years,

10 years,

Or maybe less than a year.

Feel what it feels like to realize that one day you will die.

What does it feel like in the body?

How does this start to shift your perspective?

When you die,

Everything that you have will be left behind.

All of your possessions will end up in the hands of other people.

Even your body at one point will no longer be your body.

What else?

Now imagine that today you found out you had one year to live.

What does that feel like?

If you had one year to live,

How would you live differently?

What things would you prioritize?

Now imagine that you had one month to live.

With such little time left,

What feels most important?

What feels like a waste of time and what things would you cut out of your life?

Now imagine today was the last day that you had to live.

Take a moment until this feels real.

Looking back on your life,

What was most important?

What do you regret?

What do you realize now that you didn't realize before?

Now come back from this visualization and begin to apply this insight to your life now.

With the awareness of death in mind,

What would you like to change about your current life?

What things would you like to prioritize?

What feels like a waste of time that you like to cut out?

What type of person would you like to be?

Stay in touch with this clarity as you go about your day.

Use this as motivation to focus on what's important and to focus on the type of person that you'd like to be.

And to let go of what's not important and to not waste your time on things that you ultimately don't care about.

Meet your Teacher

Bill Belanger M.A.Boston, MA

4.4 (192)

Recent Reviews

Theo

June 18, 2025

This is a really useful meditation to connect with my emotions. Thank-you.

Neil

April 7, 2025

Great reminder and a great practice. I realize I don’t have enough time today, but I’m not promised tomorrow so do more with today and prepare those for the inevitable be more present with those loved ones and eliminate the waste.

Teri

October 27, 2024

Just what I needed for clarification of what matters most. Thank you 🙏🏻

Upasaka

June 11, 2024

Great

Jo

January 11, 2024

Love that it’s right to business with no preamble. I’m on the floor so I wanna dance!

Michie<3

February 1, 2023

☯️⚛️⚘️☄️🖤🪔🕯 Thank you kindly✨️ Namaste🙏🏾🌟🕊

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© 2025 Bill Belanger M.A.. All rights reserved. All copyright in this work remains with the original creator. No part of this material may be reproduced, distributed, or transmitted in any form or by any means, without the prior written permission of the copyright owner.

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