THE SUBTLE ART OF DYING
(this a piece of contemplative writing, allow yourself to use it as a meditation, or read it with a mind of reflection)To begin…
Death is …?Let us shed light on death -Its purpose… our relation to it… and why it is such a mystery.
To get the most out of this contemplation, please take a few moments to contemplate or write about the following:

The meaning and purpose of death is…._________?
Read the question -pause- then allow your mind to come to stillness before jumping into thought… allow yourself to have a thought, pause, come to silence, and look deeper.
See how when you sit with a thought for a period the content and meaning has an opportunity to marinate?See how various levels of your mind can explore the vast notion that is death.
Philosophers, mystics, and people of all walks have sat with the notion of death for eons and they will for eternities to come. For there is a richness and depth to death that few other concepts and contemplations can offer.
Death is a source of meaning, fear, inspiration, and emotion.
[next]
Please sit with or write about the following:
Death means __________ to me and my life.

Draw from the surface. Come to silence and let the contemplation sink into your inner quietness and ask again, what does death mean to your story?
[transition]
Contemplations on death are essential meditation.

Essential because it is fundamental to you and your being. You cannot know yourself except through death. Why is this?…?

Pause and reflect.
[transition]
Death as a mystery.Death has a nature, and that nature is mysterious.Why? Why is death beyond the nature of the known?It is an eternal mystery.
That is why it has been contemplated for eons and will be for eternities.

An eternal mystery is an inaccessible dimension of knowledge and experience.
But, just because it is beyond the capacity for you to know, does not mean it has no effect on your life.

It is the opposite, I’m certain if you have sat with the above contemplations you will see that despite being an unknowable dimension of knowledge and experience, death has a purpose, a meaning, and place in your life that is deeply significant.

[side note]
For those who have solid beliefs about the nature of death and would disagree with me that it is a mystery and its meaning can be known as an accessible dimension of experience.Fair enough.
If you have an understanding of death wherein it is not mysterious, is your understanding complete? Is there is room for some mystery? If you are certain of heaven, or reincarnation, of certain astral or celestial realms… are all the details known? Or like tomorrow, though you may have some level of certainty that the sun shall rise and you shall awaken, is there any true certainty you will awaken? For thousands go to bed and do not wake up from their slumber.
[end: side note]

Thus far we have contemplated the purpose and meaning of death, our relationship to it, and its mysterious nature.

Let us now explore its opposite.
What is the opposite of death?
The opposite of death is…._______(blank)?Are you certain of your answer?

So then we have (blank) and death.
What is their relationship?

What is the role of the relationship of (blank) and death in existence?

You’ll note that there is room for more than one answer, and I will not be explicit on there being any one ‘right’ answer. This is a contemplation on an eternal mystery, do not expect any answer, just a deepening into the mystery, and an opening into the self and the nature meaning.
To approach a problem without hope of a solution is unsettling for the goal-centered mind that sees life as a problem to be solved, fixed, and understood.
To be clear, I could have written an article perhaps named ‘the problem of death’, in which I address death as a problem to solve, and how we can develop strategies to utilize death for specific purpose and achieve certain goals. There is nothing wrong with an article of this nature, and there would be a wealth of information and insight to be gained from using death as an axis of motivation to achieve or accomplish.
If death is a problem, it has a solution, and there is then a way to prepare for it. If the nature of death is such, then it is not a mystery.

What then is your truth?
Is death a solvable mystery, an axial source of understanding that leads to insight and understanding, and even liberation.

Or is death an eternal mystery, in which its very nature resists understanding and thus it acts as a continual source of unquenchable mystery and renewal?
Can it be both?

Can death be simultaneously a giver of knowledge and a source of eternal mystery?

Pause, contemplate……move on when ready.
[transition]
Death…and the nature the reality\

Assertion: you are not separate from the universe. As above, so below. The nature of existence is a fractal, holographic mirror reflecting itself at various levels of organization and complexity.

The nature of the life…the nature of existence…the nature of the external world…is the same nature as your internal world…is the same nature of the self…
It is your nature.
Pause, read it again and assess whether it holds a harmonious truth value in your body.

Allow your truth to be the cornerstone of understanding and contemplation.
What good is an understanding if it is not your own?

If then, death is a part of life, then it is a part of you.

There is an aspect of your essential nature that is death.
Contemplation:
How then is death a part of your body, mind, and being?

Sit or write it out to explore various levels of your being and body and see the legacy of death.

[final exercise]
Estimate time – 5 minutes

Take your time to come to silence…a point of stillness in the mind… an inner quite… before doing the following

Become aware of the energy and space in front of you, behind, to the left and right side, above and below. Then find your center.
Sit or Write

Death is…..Death is ….Using single words or sentences and clear your mind and come to new understandings.
Example…death is love.

Death is the source of meaning.

Death is the bringer of life.

To end, take several deep breaths and fully sigh and relax.

Sift into a few moments of meditation or reflection.

Enjoy.

[end]