The first time I undertook a death bed meditation I was terrified. It was a shock to my outlook on life that woke me up by forcing me to see the end and to reflect on my life.
The meditation is simple: you picture yourself lying on your death bed, your body is old and cold, your muscles have evaporated leaving only withered skin that clings forlornly to your aching bones. Shallow breaths loosen the chains that bind you to your body and fatigue sets in. You are surrounded by loved ones, but they are hazy ghost-like apparitions of a dream of a life once lived. And here is the crux, you take this chance to see your end, to experience it as directly as you can and from this vantage point, you reflect on your successes and failures and the dreams you left unfulfilled. In the life that has just gone before you, did you follow your heart? Achieve your dreams? Or have you stalled, failed and lived a lie of a life, one that you didn’t really want?
On your actual death bed it will be too late to change anything; everything fades to grey and then you are gone, but in this death-bed meditation you can get up again, you can make amends, start anew, and, if you wish, completely change the direction of your life. Or it may confirm that you are where you want to be: content with everything and everyone, if so, perfect! If not, the death meditation is a really powerful motivational technique, because you really are going to die.
Horror challenges us to face our weaknesses, our desires, our shadows. It brings out the best, or worst, in us, as only the darkness can. I have undertaken this death meditation many times and it has fired me up to undertake a 40 day spiritual retreat into the wilderness, to write my books, and, to the best of my ability to fulfil my dreams of a great life (still a work in progress).
We need shocks like the death-bed meditation in our life, even if we don’t want them. They wake us up and force us to confront the mechanical living that dominates our days. They smash the accepted boundaries of our experiences, of our habits and reactions, and challenge us to rebirth ourselves into the person we truly desire to be.
The first time I read about the death-bed meditation I was horrified and yet I was still drawn to it. Horror does that doesn’t it? To some of us, it is magnetic. We want to know what horrors lurk in the darkness. And when we do venture into that forbidden territory we often find it far more rewarding than we could ever imagine.
Happy meditating.
PG Devlim writes dark erotica featuring powerful female vampires and their naked male servers.
He has three books available and is currently working on a new novella set in the same world.
Vampire’s Key
Book 1 in the Sisters of Annis Series:
'The women — vampires she reckoned — were dressed in different outfits: some in long gowns, others in jeans and t-shirts, while others wore transparent jumpsuits that exposed more flesh than they covered, or stylishly low cut, mini dresses of lace, leather or latex. But the men... the men were all naked, as far as she could tell.'
Vampire’s Fire
Book 2 in the Sisters of Annis Series
An excerpt from Vampire’s Fire:
‘“I…” Lilly gawped at the feeding vampire. Persia had a rapacious appetite, greedy and indifferent to appearances. Thick droplets of blood oozed over the man’s chest when she withdrew. Her tongue flashed over her full lips, lapping up the beads of red nectar.’
Katie’s Server
A Sisters of Annis novella
An excerpt from Katie’s Server:
‘Like a scavenging raven, Katie perched on the edge of his bed. She pushed off her heels and coat, and slipped in behind him, lifting the duvet to marry her slender form against his bare back.’
PG Devlim can be found on:
X @pgdevlim
Instagram @pg_devlim
And his website:
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