Hello and welcome to this death contemplation meditation.
It may go without saying,
But the subject matter contained here involves death and dying.
And so if you feel that that may be psychologically challenging for you,
Please do what you need to do to keep yourself safe,
And perhaps save this meditation for another time.
For this meditation,
You'll ideally be lying down,
But if you'd prefer to sit up that's perfectly okay.
And if you'd like,
You can close your eyes.
Softly relax the eyes,
The face,
And the jaw,
Letting go of any tension you may be holding in your neck and upper back.
Letting go of tension in the chest and the abdomen.
Letting go of tension in the buttocks,
The thighs,
The calves,
And the feet.
We are allowing all things to be in this space.
All emotions are welcome.
All thoughts are welcome.
All sensations are welcome.
You are safe here.
Now imagine that you are lying in a bed in a simple room.
There are four blank walls.
No pictures are hanging.
There are no possessions around you.
Nothing of interest.
There are no windows.
Aside from you and the bed,
There is nothing and no one else here.
You are dressed in simple clothing,
Pajamas or a hospital gown.
You are in the final moments of this life,
Preparing to die.
You have said your goodbyes to everyone.
Your friends,
Family,
Loved ones.
No one else will join you in this room now.
No one will visit you from this point forward.
The point of relinquishing this life is approaching,
And you will have to leave every single thing behind.
Everything must now be abandoned,
Let go,
And set free.
First are your material possessions.
Your clothes,
Your belongings.
Everything you have collected throughout this life.
Every memento.
Every meaningful item or trinket.
All the money you have ever made and accumulated.
None of it can come with you.
It must all be left behind.
It is of no use to you now.
What does it feel like to give up every single material possession?
Everything.
As the moment of death draws closer,
You realize that there is more that you must give up.
Next are all of the people you have ever known and have met.
All of the people most dear to you,
That have meant so much over so many years.
Your husband,
Your wife,
Your partner or lover.
Your closest friends.
Your children,
Perhaps grandchildren.
Acquaintances.
People you know from the neighborhood.
People you haven't seen for years.
Everyone you know and have ever known.
You must let go of them all.
It is time to say goodbye to them in your mind.
Wish them well.
No one can take this journey with you.
How does it feel to leave everyone you have ever known and loved?
The moment of your passing is drawing closer and closer,
But still there is more you must give up.
So too will you have to leave behind all the things you take yourself to be.
Your thoughts and ideas.
Your opinions.
Everything you've ever learned.
Your background.
Your gender.
Your identity.
All the content of the mind.
These too belong to this world.
You must become empty.
And while it may seem frightening to relinquish everything you have taken to be you and yours in this life,
Giving up the sense of self,
Perhaps too there is a spacious,
Beautiful emptiness in the place of the problems and challenges for this person that once existed.
Perhaps now there is only peace.
Each and every problem has been left behind.
What would it feel like if there was no longer any problem to solve?
The moment of your passing is very close now.
It could happen at any time.
But you still have more to surrender.
This body too must be left behind.
Give up any attachment,
Any holding on to this physical body.
Move toward this beautiful emptiness where everything is at peace.
Where none of the external things and matters of the world are required.
Give up your body.
What does it feel like?
You have given everything up.
This sense of you is not the person you took yourself to be in the lifetime now past,
But just a spacious,
Open and beautiful sense of peace.
An eternally safe and beautiful emptiness.
You are freed from all burdens.
Nothing to cling to.
Nothing to be responsible for.
Nothing to do.
Nothing to be.
Freedom.
You don't know where you are or where you're going,
But you trust what is happening.
No harm will come to you,
For who or what could be harmed.
As you allow this process to continue to unfold,
You wonder why you were ever afraid of dying.
Now there is only boundless appreciation and gratitude for all the people,
All the encounters,
And all the moments that have allowed this process of a beautiful death to occur.
All your guides,
Teachers,
Friends,
Animals,
And even the people you once thought as enemies.
All of it and everyone guiding you here to this incredible moment.
Allowing this gratitude to arise in the heart.
Reflecting on all the people in this life now past that have helped to make this possible.
Allowing the expansion of metta,
Of loving kindness in your heart,
To radiate outwards in magnificent appreciation.
An expansion of infinite,
Limitless love.
You becoming it,
And it becoming you.
Until there is no separation.
May all beings throughout beginningless time be happy.
May all beings be safe.
May all beings be at peace.
May all beings be free.
May all beings be happy.
May all beings be safe.
May all beings be at peace.
May all beings be free.
May all beings be happy.
May all beings be safe.
May all beings be at peace.
And may all beings be free.
Coming home now to the sensation of breathing.
Sensation of the breath coming in and out of the body.
Without effort or strain.
Here you are in this beautiful,
Alive body.
Incarnated here without reason or explanation.
But perhaps only gratitude.
For all the life you still have yet to live.
Thank you for being here.
Sending you love and gratitude.
Take care.
