1. Think about your first experience with death. How old were you? Was the deceased an important person to you? If you were a child, what were you told about death? Did you participate in or witness any part of the dying process? Were you involved in any rituals related to the death? Were you encouraged to grieve? Did those closest to the deceased display their grief to you? How was their grief manifested? Did this experience contribute to your fear of death? If it were possible to change that experience, what would you change so that the experience would help you (1) accept the reality of death as a part of life and (2) face your own mortality (that is, your own inevitable death) without fear?