How do you imagine your own death? What music would you like played at your funeral? Who would you like to attend? How would you like your body to be disposed of? What would you like your epitaph to be? These are some of the questions that a Death Café considers.
The subject of death is often seen as one of the last great taboos. We feel easy today talking about past taboos such as religion, politics, and sex, but death is not something we typically discuss in polite conversations. It is still seen as a macabre and morbid subject. A Death Café changes all that.
Based on the Swiss ‘Café Mortel’ experiment, the Death Café movement became established in England in 2011 and has since spread around the world. The practice of the Death Café is remarkably simple. It gathers people together in a friendly atmosphere and asks them to reflect and share what they might value in their own death experience. There is no judgement and no agenda. Participants are simply asked to listen and accept in a respectful manner and to share their own beliefs and values openly.
The results are quite remarkable. Death Café conversations are typically animated and humorous. There is often surprise at the variety of opinions expressed and the ways people imagine their own ‘exits’ might occur. Naturally enough, conversations might turn to contentious subjects such as assisted suicide, but this only occurs when individuals raise them as part of their own belief and value system. These views are noted and respected and the conversation then moves on to the next person.
A Death Café is a new way we can talk about death and learn from other people about the great diversity of opinion on death and dying.
The next Death Cafe will be held at the Gold Coast Arts Centre Cafe Monday 19th September 5.30-7.00pm $10 Bookings essential through Philosophy in Paradise on meetup, Facebook, or through this site
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Death_Cafe
http://www.theguardian.com/lifeandstyle/2014/mar/22/death-cafe-talk-about-dying
http://www.theguardian.com/lifeandstyle/2015/aug/29/death-cafes-embrace-last-taboo
http://www.abc.net.au/news/2013-10-15/death-cafe-brisbane-end-of-life/5018806
https://www.facebook.com/DeathCafeQueensland