Today we ask that you put what is dead to rest.
Most people fear death. But that is because they do not understand it. They see it as annihilation, a snuffing out of existence. Nothing could be further from the truth.
Death is a great release. Especially if there is sickness and suffering, death is truly a miraculous event. You who dwell in a physical body cannot really fathom the feeling of this liberation. You glimpse it in your peak experiences. And part of you remembers this state of freedom, which is why many humans feel homesick for a place they’ve never been.
It is good to experience death in a healthy way, even while you are in a body. It is good to experience healthy transitions, as you move through life. You embrace change. You embrace new experience. You gracefully let your old identities drop away.
The ancient mystery cults always gave their initiates a death and rebirth experience. In the ancient world, initiates “died” to their old selves, often by going through an elaborate funerary rite. They were sealed up in a lightless cave for a period of time, left alone in the primal darkness to face and transcend their fear of death. When they emerged, they had left an old self behind, finding rebirth as a new person.
The modern world lacks such mystery rites, and this is unfortunate. Death is seen as an enemy of science. It is something that must be staved off at all costs. Life is prolonged by medical science long past the point of any joy or meaning. Death is seen as a disease that human ingenuity has thus far failed to cure.
But what do your myths and stories tell you about the human urge to flee death and prolong life? What of your vampires?
The vampire avoids death by parasitically feeding upon the living. He causes harm and misery, and he does not live in joy for all his efforts — usually he is a miserable, gloomy creature, or at best manic depressive. The death of the vampire is always a cause for relief, not only for the vampire’s victims, but most of all for the vampire himself. The dead vampire finds a peace in death that he never experienced in his parasitically prolonged life.
There is a deep truth to your vampire mythology.
Clinging to life and avoiding change goes against the flow of nature. The person who clings to earlier states of existence inflicts harm upon himself and others, often the people he loves the most. Someone who is very rigid and clinging often has a parasitic quality. People feel drained around such a person. Such people tend to impede or block the flow of energy among the living. When such a person dies, often there is a sense of enormous relief. Just as with the vampire, a miserable being has found peace. He will no longer cause harm to himself, or others.
Do not be a “vampiric” person.
Put what is dead in your life to rest.
Let go of your past. Let go of your grievances. Let go of your stories about how you have been victimized. Let go of people in your life who have changed and moved on, even if you did not want them to or do not like the people they have become.
Imagine you are experiencing your own funeral. Really let yourself experience what is like to be “dead” to the world. Allow your identity, your ego self, to drop away. You no longer have to be that person anymore. That person is dead. All that person’s stories are dead. You may feel a great relief as this sinks in.
Bring this with you as you return to life. Let your old selves die, and be at peace. Be reborn into a new life. You can do this every day, every hour.
Imagine that the people in your life with whom you experience deep conflict are now dead. They are dead and gone. You are at their funerals. You will never have to deal with them again. The drama is all over and done with. How do you feel? It is okay if you feel relief. Do not feel guilty about this. Let yourself fully, deeply experience the relief.
If you really give yourself over to this meditation, you will discover that even though the people do not die, something else dies. Your fear of the person dies. Your drama dies. Your projection of them dies. Next time you see this person, you will not have the same story about them. You might even be happy to see them.
Put the past to rest. Put what is dead to rest. It is the only way to fully live.
wordfromthewell 