A Year to Live: How to Live This Year as If It Were Your Last (Paperback) by Stephen Levine.
After seeing many people on their deathbeds, healer Stephen Levine noted a common regret for time wasted, unrealized dreams, and disputes between family members never resolved. Levine decided to address these issues in his own life before it was too late, to live for a year as if it were his last. The results of this experiment are recorded in this wondrous book, designed to help readers see the light long before it’s time to go. The reader is urged to find a spot in his or her home where they might want to die, a comfortable place from which to perform an array of meditations that change over the course of the year. “We imagine we own this body, but it is ours only on consignment,” he writes, and now is the time to ready ourselves for the expiration of that consignment period. Chapters cover topics such as “Life Review,” “Gratitude,” and “Fear of Fear.” Different meditations are suggested to help embrace each of the concepts, originating from many different cultures, including Buddhist and Native American. Appendices address group practice of the techniques, some great personal and mythological stories, and further reading recommendations.