At Hollywood Forever Cemetery in Los Angeles, a weekly meditation session offers participants a unique opportunity to practice mindfulness amid reminders of mortality. Held every Monday night in the cemetery’s Masonic Lodge, the sessions draw a diverse group seeking stillness and reflection in a setting where more than 90,000 people are buried.

Meditation teacher Nico Cary leads the class, emphasizing the cemetery as a fitting environment to confront impermanence. “It is quite grounding and an extension of some of the practice we do,” Cary said. Participants sit quietly in the ornate Italian Renaissance-style room, often engaging in guided walking meditations through the cemetery grounds.

For regular attendee Beth Kaiserman, the setting helps demystify death. “It’s accepting it as part of life. We’re walking by these gravestones that have been here for so long,” she said. Kaiserman views death not as taboo but as an integral element in the cycle of life and a focus of the mindfulness practice.

Hollywood Forever serves not only as a burial ground but also as a vibrant cultural site. The cemetery is home to a colony of about 60 feral cats cared for by volunteers and features peafowl roaming its grounds. It holds the graves of notable figures such as Cecil B. DeMille, Judy Garland, and a member of the Ramones rock band, where fans often leave offerings. Since 2002, the cemetery has hosted outdoor film screenings and summer concerts, drawing numerous visitors beyond those attending to mourn.

Insight LA, a Buddhist teaching nonprofit based in Santa Monica, has organized the meditation classes at Hollywood Forever for more than eight years. Founded in 2002 by Trudy Goodman, the organization offers year-round programs, retreats, and drop-in meditation sessions. The weekly cemetery class is donation-based, following Buddhist tradition.

Melissa McKay, Insight LA’s executive director, emphasized meditation’s broad benefits. “It decreases stress, bringing calm and clarity, becoming more aware of oneself,” she said. She highlighted studies showing meditation’s positive effects on brain function, stress relief, and immune response.

Participant Jared Swanson described the sessions as a way to cultivate emotional awareness and break personal cycles. “It’s a desire to be more responsible for my life, to be more present and responsible for my actions and choices,” he explained.

Sessions typically begin with silent meditation followed by a teaching component, which varies weekly. Recent topics have focused on the Buddhist “paramis,” or spiritual virtues, such as generosity, wisdom, and patience. Cary noted that the teachings often reflect what the instructor is exploring in their own practice.

In one session, Cary shared a childhood letter to the president warning of nuclear war, revealing his early preoccupation with mortality, which he connected to his later Buddhist path. He then invited participants to reflect on truthfulness and loving kindness amid a social media era that can distort reality.

As the session concludes, the room transitions from quiet contemplation to lively discussion, with attendees sharing thoughts and impressions. The atmosphere captures the unique blend of solemnity and vitality that defines Hollywood Forever Cemetery as a space where life, death, and mindfulness intersect.