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Hi everyone and welcome to the Guided Meditations of Marcus Aurelius. I am your host, John Stillman. This episode is a daytime episode about death and memento morning for those that are interested in living their lives to the fullest. If you're new to the podcast, the daytime episode is meant for you to listen to in the morning or in the middle of the day, as opposed to right before you go to bed. If you want to listen to the Mementum Mori episode right before you go to bed, then you'll want the nighttime episode. Before we get started, I highly recommend listening to the journal episode on Mementum Mori if you haven't already done so. The reason for this is to help put some definition on how this topic relates to your life. Okay, let's go over some ground rules. First off, understand that this is a kind of meditation episode. This podcast is designed to help you relax to a very deep level. So you should only listen to it in a place where you would feel comfortable sleeping for at least the next 30 to 45 minutes. Do not listen to this while you are driving or sitting on a bus. Otherwise, you can potentially injure yourself or someone else, or you might miss yourself. Be mindful of whether you listen to this and pick a place that is safe for you to do so. I would also highly suggest going to the toilet before we get started because that can become a huge distraction. If you need to do that now, just hit pause and come back after you're done. Honestly, I'm always looking to improve these episodes. So if there's a particular sort of principle you would like to implement into your subcontracts in the future, let me know in the comments and I will do my best to make an episode on that going forward.

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So with that, let's get started. Take a deep breath. Close your eyes.

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Listen carefully to sounds that you may hear around you. Are there sounds of people? Sounds of animals? Maybe even sounds of wind or traffic. Not all of those sounds are important for you to hear while you're listening to this. Things that are alerting you of an emergency are important. But any other sounds can actually help you sink deeper into relaxation. So let those unimportant sounds drift into the background, away from your awareness, and let them help you reach deeper down into a wonderful, relaxed state. The unimportant sounds fade away into background noise and let them do their job to help you relax. As you continue to relax, I'd like you to imagine your center core. The center core is different for every person, but it is wherever you feel is the center of your body. Some people believe it's in their solar plexus, and some people feel it's in their forehead. But wherever you feel is the center of your body, I'd like you to imagine that spot now. Now imagine what it might look like to pull all of your energy deep down into your center core. Whatever that might be like for you, you decide. Now imagine that you have little bits of energy in different places. You've spent time over the last twenty-four hours, and imagine pulling all of that energy back from those places and pulling it deep down into your center core. Now imagine floating up out of your body. And imagine floating to the wall that's in front of you. Imagine touching it and feeling the texture with your fingers. Then float back to your body and pull yourself deep, deep down into your center core. Now imagine floating up out of your body and floating to the wall behind you. Imagine touching the wall there. Now imagine floating back and pulling yourself deep, deep down into your center core. Now imagine floating up out of your body and floating to the wall on your left. Imagine touching the wall there. Now imagine floating back and pulling yourself deep, deep down into your center core. Now imagine floating up out of your body and floating to the wall on the right. Imagine touching the wall there. Now imagine floating up out of your body and floating down to the floor. Perhaps to look up at yourself wonderfully relaxed. Now imagine floating back and pulling yourself deep, deep down into your center core. Now imagine floating up out of your body and floating to the ceiling if there is one. Or maybe ten feet into the air if there's not. Then imagine floating down back and forth like a feather. Down and down and back and forth as you slowly drift down. And imagine pulling yourself deep, deep down into your center core.

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And while you listen, you may notice that your mind is already doing what it does.

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How processing information itself organizing ideas can feel soft, making sense of things in a logical way. There's nothing mysterious complicated happening here. We're a leaf. This is floating one step leading naturally to the following every sentence. You don't have to try to relax. You can let them wash over. Effort isn't required at all. Like warm water, your only time is to notice that you're hearing words. Perhaps notice you become aware of your body. And notice that understanding happens automatically. Without effort. Without effort. That's how your mind works. Without instruction. Now, considering the essential fact of settling when your body still snowfalling. The mind has fewer variables to bring the ground. And when the mind has fewer variables, it becomes more efficient until everything feels more receptive. You may already observe small changes. Your briefly thinking a tide now. Longer pauses between thoughts. In the rolling sense of completion as its own natural rhythm. It's not something you need to control. Creating a simply the natural outpeeds. Your breathing is a good example. Your arm. You don't calculate it all the way down. Yet it follows to your predictable rhythm. You might imagine a place where time feels wide and unhurried. Place where nothing is expected of you. Where I can simply be just like breathing. Colours follows rules too. Or textures. Muscles that are not releasing and comfort that are not required but doesn't need work into the background. Your mind is recognized image efficiency and efficiency feels take its place now. Or not. You may find it interesting because to me, even drifting, that while performing part of your mind is listening to these words, you may notice that thought another part begins already checking them. Like or accuracy. Everything being said here makes changing shape. You are safe. In dissolving. You are in control. And you are simply allowing a temporary shift in attention sky. Nothing is being forced. There's no need. Nothing is being lost. Hold on to anything. In fact, awareness knows how to support. You may notice that the time feels slightly different. Knows how to carry sound faster or scale. Your mind is just less important. How to sync. And as each sentence completes itself. There's some notice to hold on to it. A pleasant heaviness. Your mind can release a light and move to the next one. That's how systems work. At a time exactly where it's needed. Without analyzing it too deeply, you just recognize this. Where nothing has to be your conscious mind can rest, where nothing is everything is functioning exactly as it should be. And allow yourself to continue listening. And efficiently in its own as this process continues way. Now without needing to do anything at all, you can allow this experience to deepen naturally. Nothing to fix. You may begin to notice a general sense of release. No longer need to be. And that release can spread not in any particular direction, just everywhere it's welcome. Imagine slowly turning down a dial, just one small adjustment at a time, each turn softening the overall experience, making everything quieter, lower, more subtle. With each breath, you may notice a subtle shift. Not dramatic, just enough to feel that you're moving further inward. And right now, attention can become effortless. Thoughts don't need to stop. They can simply lose importance. Like background noise that fades as something calmer moves into the foreground. Now imagine a gentle downward movement, not physical, more like a feeling of depth. As if awareness is sinking into a softer, quieter layer of experience. Each moment builds on the last, like steps that descend so smoothly, you hardly notice moving until you realize you're already deeper. If numbers come to mind, they can drift downward now slowly, comfortably, each one marking a deeper level of ease. Four slowing three less effort, more comfort, two almost no need to think at all. And one simply being here. In this state, everything unnecessary has already fallen away. What remains is calm, steady and receptive. You're happy to stay right here because this level, this quiet, settled space is exactly right for whatever comes next. And you can allow yourself to rest here now, comfortably, peacefully, as the work continues. Consider this now gently. There is one truth that quietly accompanies you everywhere. It does not rush, it does not threaten, it does not announce itself loudly. But it is always there. You will not live forever. The Stoics did not reflect on death to create fear. They reflected on death to create clarity. Because when something is temporary, it becomes precious. When something is limited, it becomes meaningful. Notice what happens in the body when you acknowledge this truth calmly. My time is finite. There may be a slight tightening at first, a subtle resistance. The mind may want to look away. That is natural, but stay here gently. Death is not an error. It is not a punishment. It is not a personal injustice. It is part of the same natural process that brought you into existence. Just as there was a time before you were born, there will be a time after you are gone. And in between, there is this, this breath, this moment, this opportunity. Now imagine something simple. Imagine that today is ordinary. Nothing dramatic, nothing extreme. And yet, somewhere in the background, you remember this day will never come again. Feel how that changes your awareness. Colors seem sharper. Voices seem more distinct. Small irritations feel less important. Now imagine a recent work. Something that has been looping in your mind. A minor frustration, a perceived slight, a future uncertainty. And now gently place it beside this truth. One day I will not be here. Less quietly. Will this matter then? Feel how many worries soften under this light of mortality. Not because they are meaningless, but because they are small. Memento mori is not dark, it is clarifying. It asks, if time is limited, what deserves my attention? Now imagine being 100 years old and looking back on your life. Not in fear, but in awareness. What conversations would matter more? What words would you speak sooner? What forgiveness would you offer? What gratitude would you express? See yourself acting with fewer delays, less hesitation, more honesty, more kindness. Notice how finite time, when faced calmly, does not shrink your life. It sharpens it. The Stoics believe that death is natural. The body returns to the elements. The process continues. The cycle moves forward. Just as leaves fall, just as seasons change. Nothing personal, simply nature. Feel how that perspective softens the edge. You do not need to eliminate fear. You only need to see it clearly. Now imagine the coming days. You wake up tomorrow with a subtle remembering. Time is not guaranteed, and instead of anxiety you feel focus. You choose your words more carefully. You waste less energy on resentment. You spend a little more attention on someone you love. You notice the warmth of the sun, the sound of laughter, the ordinary miracle of breathing. Each small moment becomes brighter because it is temporary. Over time, the subconscious learns something powerful. Remembering death creates priority. It creates courage. It creates urgency in the right direction. You begin to feel a quiet steadiness. I do not control how long I live, but I control how I live. I can act with integrity. I can speak with honesty. I can love fully. I can forgive quickly. And this is the only day I am guaranteed. I would want it to be lived well. So in the coming week, notice moments of remembering. Petty irritation arises and fades. A chance to express appreciation appears, and you take it. Delay tempts procrastination, and you act now. Not dramatically, not morbidly, simply clearly, because life is brief, and that brevity gives it brilliance. And as you rest in that awareness, something settles. There is less rush, less ego, less noise, more presence, more gratitude, more courage. The mind quietly understands every breath is borrowed, and that makes it sacred. Mentor mori. Remember your time is limited, and therefore remember to live. Now, in a moment, we'll begin the natural process of returning attention outward again. There's no hurry, just a smooth transition from inward focus to present awareness. Everything that's useful from this experience can remain easily available, integrated, settled, ready for you, and anything else can simply stay behind, no longer needed. You may begin to notice the sense of the space around you, the quality of the air, the sounds that are part of the room, the feeling of being here, now. Awareness can start to expand gently, like light increasing at dawn, not sudden, just clear and natural. In a moment, I'll count from one up to five, and with each number, alertness can return comfortably, bringing clarity, balance, and ease. One, a gentle shift outward as attention begins to re-engage. Two, energy returning at a comfortable pace, like waking from a satisfying rest. Three, clearer awareness now, present and steady.

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Four, feeling refreshed, oriented, and well.

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Five. Eyes open, if they've been closed, fully awake, calm, clear, and comfortably alert. A moment to settle. There's no reason for you to speak or move. Just notice how you are right now. And when you're ready, you can continue with your day, carrying this sense of steadiness and ease with you.

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Thanks for listening and making me a part of your stoic practice.