The Mortal Method Meditation

The Mortal Method Meditation is an immersive audio experience that takes listeners on a journey of examining and unpacking their relationship to the various qualities of mortality, including finitude, eros, connection, etc. While the Mortal Method PDF defines these qualities, and the Mortal Method blogposts detail our process of arriving at and applying these qualities, the Mortal Method Meditation offers participants an opportunity to engage with these qualities and understand their relationship to them in real-time. It is:

• A sermon that offers more questions than answers.
• A story that holds the material alongside the existential.
• A sonic experience that is designed to presence us to a reality that we are otherwise taught to flee. The reality that we will die, and that we are not dead yet.

How long is it?

The full meditation is about 40 minutes in length, however there are multiple moments throughout the journey where the narrator* will offer participants the option to pause the audio and return to it when they feel ready.

*This meditation was written and narrated by Mathura Mahendren.

When/How can I use it?

The meditation – which is 40 minutes in its entirety, and is divided into smaller sections with natural pauses to bookend them – can be used as resource in various contexts, including:

• As a prompt(s) for a writer’s workshop
• To begin a class, course, or workshop on death & dying (you could also build an assignment based on completing and reflecting on this meditation)
• As a reflection tool at the beginning or end of a project
• At a moment when one is feeling scarcity around time
• At a moment when one is re-examining their priorities
• On an occasion that involves marking the passage of time (e.g. birthday, anniversary, etc.)
• To ground a conversation about end-of-life care
• As an accompaniment during a moment of transition (e.g. on a flight or train ride from one place to another)
• At a moment when one is caught in the weeds of a situation, and needs a tool for zooming out.
• To open a retreat, gathering, or conference focused on personal development and/or growth
• As a series of journaling prompts
• As something to do with a friend or partner on a date
• As a part of a team-building exercise
• …contexts we have yet to anticipate! (if you end up using it in a context that is not listed here, feel free to send us a note and let us know – we’d love to hear from you!)