COURSE

Embracing Life, Death & Impermanence

Being more consistently aware of the impermanent nature of life is very helpful in the life of a human being. It automatically brings clarity and gratitude for each precious moment in this precious life. Since fear of death is very common within humans (even unconsciously), contemplating by listening to the stories and guided meditations positively affects how one will experience life. Contemplating impermanence, death, and dying will have you experience ‘The Pure Wonder Of Life’ amidst all daily circumstances. This online course contains profoundly heart-opening stories and guided meditations about life, impermanence, death, and dying. Listening will automatically open the heart and show the preciousness of life. After the 'groundwork meditation' on day one the first introductory story on life, death, and impermanence will start on day two. At the end of each story, several ways of dying will be explored in a very warm and gentle way during the guided meditation. With this online course, you learn to relax into the ever-changing nature of all phenomena. By listening to the stories and guided meditations you will automatically gain trust and clarity in life, impermanence, death, and dying. All is brought to you very soft, warm, loving, and gentle.

Contemplation Unconditional Love Meditation Abundance Health & Happiness Self-Observation Buddhism Spirituality Spirituality Anxiety Stress & Anxiety Acceptance Awakening Spiritual Contemporary Buddhism Freedom from Suffering

Meet your Teacher

Ruben Bach

Dieren, Netherlands

Ruben Bach is a consciousness trainer, writer, and meditation teacher. He provides sessions on various themes that focus on 'living from clarity' and the research into the (loving) essence of our existence. Ruben’s guidances on impermanence, death, and dying are known to be greatly helpful for those who fear death and are in search for ‘Truth’. Additional background information: Volunteer and non-profit projects: Ruben is the founder of The Love Trail As a volunteer, Ruben works for The Living Dying project Founder and co-creator of the ‘Embracing Death project’ Ruben’s findings in his own research over the past many years have been woven into the stories and guided meditations of the ‘Embracing Life, Death, And Impermanence’ course. He himself followed an online Buddhist meditation series on impermanence, dying, and death by Ajahn Achalo and Ajahn Sumedho. In addition to his work as an ‘awareness trainer’, Ruben is a certified volunteer active in Dale Borglum’s Living/Dying project. Here Ruben guides people who are directly involved with their imminent death. The Living/Dying project is a worldwide organization that has been active since the 1970s. In collaboration with Charmaine Kachibaia, who is also affiliated with The Living/Dying Project, Ruben created the project ‘Embracing Life, Death And Impermanence’. The texts for this project, written by Ruben, were recorded by Charmaine. The course ‘Omarm de dood en kom tot Leven' is a free translation in Dutch and has been written and recorded by Ruben. It is Ruben's greatest passion to introduce people to the transience of this life. To have them experience that every moment is so incredibly precious. To show that, as it were, all life experiences can be looked at through completely different eyes. Less from a closed ‘state of mind’, more from openness in a spatial manner. Beyond all thoughts, there… somewhere, with no location, Ruben takes you along in great amazement. It is with amazement what he likes doing most, whilst apparently being here in this human form.

7 Days

1.6k students

4.8 stars

40 min / day

Abundance

English

Lesson 1

Groundwork Meditation

This meditation is created for you to return to more frequently during the week. Listening several times a week can have a very soothing, relaxing, and clarifying effect. As we get more familiar with who we truly are, our relationship and understanding of death and dying will become clearer. By relaxing into listening to the sentences during this ‘groundwork meditation’, you may receive an insight that automatically brings more clarity. Don’t try to understand this with the thinking mind. Just relax and be peacefully open to receive the message underlying all the upcoming suggestions. After day one of this online course each day contains a story on life, impermanence, death, and dying. At the end of each story, there will be a guided meditation that is related to the end of life. Several ways of dying will be explored in a very warm and gentle way.

Lesson 2

What Is Always Unchanging & Stable?

The story: In all six upcoming stories, the listener will be ‘travelling’ with Charmaine. In the first story, this will be explained and it will also be the start of the journey. Conversations about life and death are discussed whilst being on the road together. No unexpected things happen during this first story. All stories contain sounds and soundscapes. Guided meditation: A guided meditation follows at the end of the story. This introduces you, as a listener, to a broader 'non-personal' awareness. Source, The Loving Source, Consciousness, The Divine, Love, The Unchanging, The One, The Essence of existence - that which has no words. That which IS beyond the feeling of being a person. This introductory meditation is supported by words such as 'let go’, in order to deepen a greater relaxation whilst listening. 'Short Moments of Stillness' are also part of the meditation. Always connecting to that beautiful, unchanging, stable space: Source. In this first meditation, you are invited to examine your relationship to dying and death in a very gentle way. What would change in your life if you became a friend of death, as it were? The first guided meditation is a first introduction to a wider consciousness and provides an open and clear view of impermanence, life, dying, and death. It is recommended to listen to these meditations several times thus, the human form, the body-mind system, can slowly get used to the fact that death is a very normal part of life.

Lesson 3

It's Truly Safe

The story: This is a continuation of the journey and a conversation between you and Charmaine. There will be a few unexpected moments that clearly illustrate the transience and unexpected side of life. This story makes you contemplate the fragility of the human form. It will bring you into relaxation by frequently being aware of the possibility of letting go, whilst listening. Guided meditation: At the end of the story, you will say goodbye to a dear friend during a guided meditation. In a very gentle way, Charmaine will bring you to a wider 'non-personal awareness' that will create more understanding of the nature of this mysterious life. It may well be that loving tears will flow during this meditation. This clearly has a healing effect and is a wonderful part of this way of contemplating.

Lesson 4

Release

The story: This is a continuation of the journey and a conversation with Charmaine in the car about old age, life, and death. There are no unexpected twists. Guided meditation: At the end of the story, there is a visualization of the process of dying as a result of old age. Charmaine gently leads you toward the last breath. So much wonder and love! It's okay. You'll be able to experience that it's all so loving. Life and death, the transition - so much gratitude.

Lesson 5

Deep Gratitude

The story: During the story, you take a walk together in beautiful nature. After some time you unexpectedly come face to face with a poisonous snake. A sudden change. During this event, you will be guided in a very clear and gentle way. While unexpected and perhaps a little exciting, this is not a serious or dramatic event. Guided Meditation day 5: At the end of the story, we move on to the meditation. During this meditation, you visualise your own dying process when you are at home and die as a case of cancer. Again, a very gentle, warm, and loving guidance applies here.

Lesson 6

Non-Personal Awareness

The story: During this story, you notice that you are not feeling well and you choose to lie down in the grass. Soon you fall asleep and wake up after some time. As you wake up you notice that you don't immediately know where you are - this sense of 'Being Without Knowing Where' makes you feel curious. Still, with your eyes closed, you will be exploring, what it is like to Be, without location. This will be a beautiful experience because you curiously continue to ignore your emerging thoughts and will thereby stay in a spatial 'non-personal' experience. After some time you realize that you are lying on the grass and know where you are, yet you can experience deep relaxation and wide open space. It makes you lie with closed eyes. A guided meditation follows naturally. Words flood into your consciousness as you lie there on the grass. Words that refer you to the essence of life. Guided meditation: At the end of this fifth story, in which a large part has already been a guided meditation, another guided meditation starts about dying as a result of a bicycle accident. This story lets you experience that life can come to an end in a very unexpected way. That it is not always the case that you are lying in bed surrounded by your loved ones. This is a story full of wonder, connection with nature, wisdom, and surrender. Here, too, you are gently taken to your last moment in this life.

Lesson 7

Unconditional Love

The story: During this last story, you take a walk after dinner at the campsite to see the sunset just in time. After some time, something unexpected happens. In the distance you see an elderly man standing next to a woman who recently collapsed as a result of a heart attack. She's dead on the ground. You approach the old man and the deceased woman. Other people also arrived. You enter into a miraculous conversation (without many words) with the older man. A wonderful connection is created. Emotion, wonder, and letting go. Love, pure love. The transience of life. Guided meditation: During this visualization at the end of the sixth story, your life ends with an unexpected heart attack. This may sound annoying or harsh if you read it this way, but it is expressed in a soft and understanding way. It makes you experience once again that life can take very unexpected turns. By going deeper into this, you will gain more understanding during your daily experiences for the experiences you encounter as a human being.

Ask your teacher

This course includes 29 community questions and 16 audio replies from Ruben Bach. The community classroom and teacher audio replies are only available via the app.

4.8 (40)

Recent Reviews

Lynne

October 14, 2025

Peace has come over me.

Lisa

October 13, 2025

This was such a wonderful course after my mum Dying in april the emotions within my stomach were unsteady but by doing this course by the end I have noticed that my feelings in my stomach have become still like stillness upon a lake Each day of this course made me gain more each day & being out in nature everyday has helped so much all is well Thankyou so much 💜💫🙏🏻

Cittamoksa

March 3, 2025

Some very good aspects and others which didn't resonate so much. I appreciated the overall approach. Thank you

Diane

March 28, 2024

Thoughtfully done

Joe

March 24, 2024

Absolutely beautiful!

Diane

February 1, 2024

This course is for anyone wishing to advance their understanding and acceptance of the inevitable. This course is for anyone READY to face their fear of death head on and deal with whatever comes up in order to live a fuller, more fulfilling life. Years of searching, reading and therapy did not do for me what this course did for me. I am so grateful to Ruben and Charlemagne for their work and bravery in producing this seven day course.❤️It’s impact is profound. I will revisit this course again in order to elevate my awareness further. Thank you!

Tito

August 14, 2023

Very profound focus on impermanence

Patrick

December 19, 2022

Splendid. If there is some doubt, say thank you and go for it. It’s a great way to explore this theme. I love(d) it and will come back for sure. 🙏🏻

Deenise

December 18, 2022

Everyone could learn from this beautiful course. It wasn’t scary, as I thought it might be, it was graceful,living and intuitive. Thank you Charmaine and Ruben for helping me embrace aging and my mortality . After the sudden death of a loved one I listened to the course a second time. It was a big help with my grief process and reminded me of the beauty of impermanence. Thank you so much Ruben and Charmaine

Clare

October 4, 2022

Very well thought out & paced & written. So sweet & gentle. I appreciate every moment. Thank you both.

Jen

September 6, 2022

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