When we think about death,
Specifically our own death,
We don't often think of our own bodies and imagine the moment where they will cease to function.
In traditional Buddhist meditation,
There is a practice which helps you visualize and contemplate your own physical death.
It's a powerful and evocative way of beginning to accept death.
And today,
Get excited.
We'll be exploring this practice.
But before we do,
It's worth noting that this exercise may be challenging for some.
This can be a graphic and visceral experience.
So we ask that you take a moment to center yourself and decide if you are prepared to sit with images of your own death.
At any time,
If you choose to close your eyes,
Feel free to open them,
Look around,
And know that you are here and safe.
Now let's begin.
Take a deep breath and take a moment to picture each of the following in as much detail as you feel comfortable.
Imagine your body at the moment of your death.
It is resting in a field surrounded by nature,
No longer living,
No longer breathing.
Imagine your body beginning to decompose.
It is being eaten by crows,
Vultures,
And other animals from the nearby forest.
Now,
Only your skeleton remains.
It rests peacefully on the earth.
Imagine now your bones have fallen apart,
Loosely scattered all around.
Imagine your bones sinking into the earth as plants and flowers grow around them.
Imagine your bones as time moves on,
No longer visible in the soil.
And now imagine your bones reduced to dust as time sweeps them back into the earth.
Take a moment here to breathe,
Inhaling and exhaling,
Connecting back with your body in this space,
In this moment.
And if you wish,
And if it's comfortable,
Use this practice as a way of remembering that you are alive and you are connected to an ongoing and beautiful process of life and death.
