During the Autumnal Equinox period I replaced the skull’s floral caplet with a wreath of fallen oak leaves. Most of them were left over from last year and I added a few new leaves gathered during recent walks. Another “new” item is the bowl of dried flower petals, mostly gathered from fallen flowers found over … Read moreAutumnal Equinox Vanitas Shrine 2021
Click here to access over eighty in-depth conversations facilitated by Michael Dowd on what it means to live meaningful, fulfilling lives in the face of climate chaos, societal breakdown, and economic and ecological “doom”: Those with a post-doom mind and heart haven’t given up; they’ve stood up. Empathy follows naturally in the wake of realizing … Read morePost-Doom Conversations
Here’s author Lisa Wells’ new essay on the ethos and practice of human composting at Recompose: As a matter of convenience, one might be deluded into thinking their ecological sins in life could be absolved in death. Recompose claims that each person who chooses composting over conventional burial or cremation will prevent an average of … Read more“To Be a Field of Poppies”
Follow this link to artist Michelle Turriani’s online exhibit featuring vanitas assemblies with the skulls of endangered species: The human skull of the Vanitas or Memento Mori painting is substituted by an animal one. The viewers are invited to review their existential questioning beyond the confines of their own individual destiny and to embrace their … Read more“In the Tradition: Memento Exstingui”
I’m happy to learn that my upcoming online course via the “Morbid Academy” educational initiative has just sold out. “The Art of Ritual” is a 5-week interactive deep-dive into the counterculture of end-of-life, funerary, memorial and memento mori ritual creation, based on the memento mori ergo carpe diem premise. “Oh, come with old Khayyám, and … Read moreSOLD OUT: “The Art of Ritual: Changing Ways of Life and Death” (August/September 2021 Edition)
Existential coach Daniel Lev Shkolnik offers insight into one of the ultimate questions, with special reference to the work of the Austrian psychiatrist, philosopher and Holocaust survivor Viktor Frankl.
I live near the shore of Lake Michigan and daily meditation walks are part of my Way of Life and Death. I hope this ritual may be of use to you – noting that it’s an embodied practice, not just a thought experiment. Most mornings and evenings I go down to the shore, form my … Read moreThe Handprint Ritual
Part of my practice is to find memento mori rituals in daily (and not-so-daily) activities. Whether it’s sporadic, regular, spontaneous or planned, the simple act/thought of acknowledging the reality of mortality is good medicine. A lot of that has to do with accepting loss of control. Roller coasters offer an almost unique opportunity to practice … Read moreMemento Mori Roller Coaster Ritual