Memento Mori: Remember You Must Die (Mindfulness Meditation)

This isn't a typical relaxation meditation. It's an invitation to sit with mortality and let it wake you up. "Remember, you must die" is an old contemplative phrase (memento mori) used across traditions to cut through distraction and return us to what matters.

You'll be asked to stay open and honest, to feel whatever arises (sadness, grief, anger, fear) without rushing past it, to explore what "you must die" means to you.

As the practice unfolds, we alchemize heavier feelings into presence, gratitude, and life force — tapping into your heartbeat as proof that today, you are here.

Come resourced and honest; let this one impact you.

Optional journaling prompts:
What feelings come up when you really consider your own death?
Go gently, but bravely. Be honest about what comes up.

Use the awareness of death to bring you closer to life.
What feels more important now? Less important? Is there something you've been waiting to say, make, change, begin, forgive, release, or experience?

Transcript

Hello and welcome to The Artist's Morning. My name's Darius, And I'm so grateful you and I get this time together. Today's practice will be on the theme of death. These practices can be very challenging so I want to prepare you and I want you to check in and see if on this day you feel resourced, Open, And willing to go on such a journey. Before. You make your decision, I want to let you know that. Death. Has an incredible way. To bring us back to life. If you are able to sit with the feelings and the emotions that come off. There is a path to an awakening and aliveness. They can be quite incredible. And so if you'd like to continue. . . Let's begin our journey. I want to invite you to close your eyes. As we begin to go inwards together. Nice and slow. Taking a few deep breaths. Sitting with a tall, Gentle spine, Channels open, Chakras open. Feet against the floor, Grounded. Heart space open, Voice open, Vision open. Crown, Tall, Open, Ready to receive. Take a few deep breaths here. Noticing if there's any place in your body that is holding that is tense We breathe into those places. We soften those places. And by doing so, We continue to open and deepen. Our journey. In our practice today, I will share two statements several times. You might receive these statements. You might reject them. You might shut down to them. There is a way in which if you are able to stay open and honest. And allow them to impact. You, Whatever that means. That impact. Is the key that will open up. Chambers. To a deeper journey. And so take a moment. To prepare yourself. And I want to encourage you to give yourself permission to feel anything that's real and honest. There's no way you can get this right or wrong, Whatever comes up. Is a piece of the puzzle for you. So here we go. Remember. That you must die. And remember, That today you are alive. Focus. Now I can feel my emotions building up, Particularly with the first part. In this moment, I feel sad. I feel angry. I feel grief. I'm gonna keep my heart open and stay honest and real with those feelings. And let's go in again. Remember? That you must die. And. . . Remember. That today you are alive. Focus. Keep breathing, Keep softening places that start to close down. And allow yourself to feel whatever is there, Whatever is real. Let's go in again and see what we discover about ourselves. Remember. That you must die. Remember. That today you are alive. Focus. Take a deep breath here together, Breathing in. Big exhale out. There are some open loops in this statement, Some things that perhaps make absolute sense, Some things that don't make sense, Some things that are left with space for you to figure out, To play, To explore. Let's experiment a little bit here. Let's change it to an I statement. And I want to encourage you. To follow along and see if anything changes in your body, In your mind, In your spirit and soul. Remember. That I must die. And Remember. The today. I am alive. Focus. Focus. Today I choose. To focus on what means the most to me and my soul. Continue taking deep breaths, Opening your channels. Awakening awakening parts of us that refuse to acknowledge these two statements, These two facts. Your sadness, Your anger, Your grief, Your joy, Your excitement, Whatever is underneath, Whatever is activated or triggered by these statements. We can alchemize them. We can use them to bring more life and aliveness to our day, To our life. Remember. That you must die. And? Remember that today you are alive. You If you're open to it, Place one or two hands on your heart. Feel the warmth. Perhaps you can feel your heart beat. What's it like to hold yourself? What's it like to love yourself here? Through your touch, Through your embrace. This is our last song coming up. And I want to leave lots of space for you to tap into your life force for you, To tap into your life force for you to awaken any part of you that is asleep. Any part of you that refuses to acknowledge the preciousness, The blessing, The gift of life Dear one, From the depths of my heart and soul, A reminder. One day. You and I must die. That's how it works. That's what we signed up for. Nobody gets out alive. And. . . A reminder and a wake-up call that today You and I are alive. Today you and I are alive. Not everyone gets today, But we do. Bravo, Dear artist. Bravo dear creator, You made it to the end of another meditation. Meditation that perhaps was a higher level of challenge. Infinitely grateful. I hope it serves you, I hope. It supports you. I hope it does. Awakens parts of you that have forgot these two key elements of life on planet earth. For those that are joining us live at the artist morning, I'm going to share an optional journal prompt and put 20 minutes on the clock and allow us to do. Some journaling and continue this exploration. Of course, If you're catching us on a replay, Perhaps on Insight Timer, You can do the same. Thank you once again for meditating with me. My name is Darius, And I will see you next time.

Reviews

Thankful for each breath, and exceedingly grateful for your gift and sharing.

I wasn’t sure I would be able to listen to this one. After loosing my parents I was in such a deep state of grief and it took close to a year for me to realize I would be ok.
But what I’ve learned is that in our deepest darkest days I’ve learned to appreciate everything! Big and small, go live with no regrets, try new things, meet new people, go places that open your heart and live!!! But one of my biggest things I’ve learned is to look up…. The sky is absolutely beautiful! Cloudscape, Northern Lights, the Moon , Sun rises, Sun Sets, the Star. These are all so magical and calming for me. Some mornings very early if I wake up I will go outside ( sometimes bundled up) and just listen and look up. It’s very peaceful and healing.
I’m so glad I listened to this meditation. Thanks my dear friend.
I’ve been thinking of you and hope you are doing well. 💕🙏🏻

Powerful