Preparing for your own death,
A meditation on what happens to those you leave behind.
One fear about dying is what will happen to those people you care about and will leave behind.
Let's look at that directly with a guided meditation.
Please make yourself comfortable either sitting or lying down.
Become aware of your body,
The places of strong sensation where it touches the chair or the floor,
And the places of lighter sensation,
Perhaps where your clothing moves against your body as you breathe.
Now imagine as vividly as you can that you collapse and die right now wherever you are.
Quietly,
Without pain or distress,
You peacefully collapse and die.
To your surprise,
Your awareness is now free of your body and quite clear.
It floats up to the ceiling where you can look down and witness all that occurs.
Your awareness is now free of your body and quite clear.
You are left with pure awareness.
You have the ability to see and hear but no agency.
You cannot speak or touch or change anything.
You are only pure awareness and curiosity.
What is it like to be consciousness that is not tied to a body?
You observe the discovery of the body that used to have your name,
Perhaps people coming in,
Excitement,
Distress,
Trying to do CPR,
A 911 call.
Perhaps if you live alone,
No one discovers the body below you for hours or days.
People come in,
Do their jobs,
Put your body on a stretcher and take it away.
Your awareness is able to move through walls easily and can follow as your body,
The body that used to have your name,
Is taken to a hospital where it cannot be resuscitated or if there's been a delay after death to the morgue.
How do you see your body?
Next you see and hear people being notified about your sudden death.
Watch as calls are made or people speak to each other and their reactions.
Now move in time to your funeral or memorial service.
Is your whole body there or only ashes?
You have an in-person service.
Who would gather there?
Where would it be held?
You see your family,
Friends and co-workers gathered and grieving.
You hear them speak about who you used to be.
What do you wish you could tell them?
Now move in time ahead,
Six months.
Look again at your family members,
Your friends,
Your co-workers,
Your old workplace,
Your old home.
What is happening?
How are all the people who are dear to you doing now?
What are they doing in your former home or workplace?
Now move ahead in time one year.
Look once more at your family members,
Friends and co-workers.
What are they doing?
How are they doing?
Now move ahead ten years.
Look again at your family members who have now aged.
Look at your friends and your co-workers.
How are they doing?
What is their memory of you?
Now move ahead 50 years.
50 years.
Look again at your family members.
Are they all there in 50 years?
Your friends,
Your old co-workers.
What has happened to them?
How are they doing?
What are those who remain doing in their workplace or their homes?
What is their memory of you?
Now move ahead 100 years.
Look again.
Is there anyone who remembers you?
If someone came across a picture of you,
Would they know who that was?
Is there anyone who remembers you or anything that you did?
Is there anyone you need to be concerned about in 100 years?
Now letting all of that go and come back to this body that sits and breathes and is still alive,
Aware of the places that it touches the chair or the floor,
Aware of the rhythm of your breathing,
Movement of the chest and the belly,
And then if your eyes have been closed,
Allow them to open.
Thank you.
