Comeditation: A Thanatological Aid

Abstract

Ancient traditions have employed powerful meditative practices at the time of death. This article explores one of these practices originating in Tibetan medicine,which relied upon specially trained practitioners in the science of consciousness. The goal is to maintain "clear mind and peaceful heart," which is accomplished by sharing a meditational breathing technique that brings about a deep state of relaxation. Studies in autonomic nervous system response and in the physiology of pain indicate that stress reduction is becoming a necessary modality in modern health care. This article describes a breathing and meditative procedure called "comeditation" to deal with anxieties and stress associated with life-threatening illness. This method involves no religious belief system and brings some of the psychological effects of the meditative state to patients who have never meditated. The meditative practices described in this article were transmitted through the Clear Light Society, Boston, Massachusetts(Patricia Shelton Harvey, executive director). I offer these techniques to deal with the pain and anxieties that may flood one's consciousness during a life-threatening illness. The methods can be used by anyone, sick or healthy,who wants to center his or her spinning mind and achieve serenity. Let your life lightly dance on the edges of time like dew on the tip of a leaf.–Rabindranath Tagore