Ven. Paisal Visalo, a Theravada Thai monk, offers useful and easy meditations to prepare ourselves for our own deaths. Here is one. Visit the "Meditations" page to read more.
We could apply anything we come across in our daily life to remind us about death. Some Tibetan meditation masters pour all the water from their drinking glasses and put them bottom up next to their beds because they are not certain if they will wake up and use the glass again the next day. The ritual serves as a reminder that death could come to them at any given time.
One person may make a determination to wash all the dishes before going to bed so that no dirty dishes will be left as a burden for others. Another may count down her expected remaining days as a reminder of the inevitability of death.
We can choose our own meaningful reminder. A flower purchased each week that we watch blossom, then fade, and finally die. Leaving the house each morning with a question, "Will I return this evening?"
The Buddha strongly recommended recollecting the transience of our existence as a spur to practice, to deepening our understanding and compassion, and to liberation.
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