This is a powerful practice I do once every few years.
I revisit my words, intentions, aspirations and see what has changed.
I started doing this about 10 years ago and it remains one of the most powerful action/ alignment /choice practices I have.
Last week, I went back to my journal and read the one from 2021, that included the dream of being an ordained Kohenet.
Here is my latest for this year, as I approach my 46th birthday at the end of this month.
And if you want to do practices like this with me using the book “ A Year to Live” by Stephen Levine reach out! pleasance@me.com
I’d also love to see your Living Obituary- so if you write one, send on over!!!
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Kohenet Pleasance Shamirah bat kol Lowengard Silicki Obituary
She loved generously. She lived passionately.
Pleasance lived her life fully. Alive, Aware, Intense. On Purpose.
She loved to be a student and was always engaged in some course, class, certification or curiosity. She loved sharing - words, ideas, theories, data, music, podcasts, books, quotes, plants, oracles cards, the list goes on and on.
She was a word witch, a community care doula, and she loved sharing ancestral healing modalities with others to find belonging, especially in her backyard “Red Tent.” She weaved her Jewitchy Priestessing into every aspect of her life. Actively engaged in her local DC community, She was always finding ways to bring people together, to solve problems and to sing & dance & weep together through the days.
As someone who turned towards challenge, she loved to be in deep discussions about meaningful topics around death, dying, sexuality, trauma, healing money, and grief. These were the most fascinating and life affirming movements for her - talking to strangers, neighbors, drivers, seat mates, friends/ family whomever she could to engage in the toughest conversations and questions around life and death.
She cared deeply about community, rituals for healing, grief practices and creating a more death aware, death curious, death literate culture. She wrote the reflective memoir “Death is My Teacher” which is a collection about the “tiny deaths” in her life that transformed and shaped her.
Later in life, she learned how to sew shrouds ( Jewish burial garments) which was a practice that her Great Grandmother also engaged in.
As a lifelong activist, she was committed to bringing people/groups to bear witness to the US history of enslavement and continued annual trips to Alabama for many, many years. She believed this was one of the best ways to address anti- Black racism in America, and that the visceral experience of the pilgrimage to Selma, Montgomery and Birmingham could be a path to collective justice, healing and liberation.
Marking time on the Wheel of the Year and honoring the changes of seasons was very important to her and Shabbat observance was part of her weekly rhythm. She loved her beloveds and wanted to be remembered as someone who showed up, was responsive, deeply cared about others, told the truth and was steady in her devotion to the sacredness of all life and death.
One of the things that brought her joy was connecting with other humans on their dreams and goals, and talking/ brainstorming/ supporting them. She would spend hours on the phone or on walks, mapping out plans for their projects. She loved thinking through how to bring ideas to life, infusing strategy, leadership and energy into each project so that others could also make their dreams come true.
Her proudest accomplishment was the connection and intimacy with her inter-spiritual- interfaith-intergenerational- global relationships. She loved to surround herself in diverse communities of care as a leader, facilitator and participant. Beyond her lifelong supportive connective partnership, to the bonds with her children, she shared “family” connections with people from such a wide range of backgrounds, ages, faiths and experiences.
She took life seriously by honoring each day with morning practices and rituals that infused intuitive spiritual connections and gave her space and time for grief and praise daily. Her morning practice was something she held very close and protected fiercely.
She died with a deep sense of belonging, and that felt like that work of her life.
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How to Plan Your Days
Write your obituary, as you are currently living into… it can be a mix of accomplishments, future dreams and ideas, unknowns and knowns- the only thing that really matters is what is MOST IMPORTANT to YOU to leave behind? Your legacy? How do you want to be remembered when you are gone?
What are the themes? Aspirations? Affirmations? Validations for what you are actively chosing daily?
Grab your calendar-to do list- What needs to stay on your calendar/list? What needs to go? What can be added in the future?
What are you most excited by living into? What feels complete?
How does all of this feel for your days ahead? I know sometimes we feel pride in the aligned actions and choices we make. I know sometimes we feel sad and uncomfortable at how far we are from who we want to be. Both are true.
I usually suggest printing this out- and keeping it close, so that over time, you get in the habit of saying yes or no based on what you wrote and then slowly- slowly- they match! There you really are. The real you. In life, in your days and what you will leave behind.
It’s possible to use this practice over time to align and align until you are able to go to sleep every night- blessing the day as it is, as it is. A day matched with how you want to be remembered, all actions aligned with your deepest values. And to go to sleep peacefully aligned full of gratitude, knowing that tomorrow may come or this life may be complete.
SHARE WITH SOMEONE! I’d love to read yours or talk with you about it.
pleasance@me.com
Thank you for sharing this beautiful practice. So powerful and affirming to see the beauty of your life unfold ❤️ You are definitely a word witch that has woven her way into my heart 💜
Love you my darling even though we haven’t seen each other for years !!
Beautiful words and very true to my perceptions of you. An amazing woman!