Rehearsal for her own funeral – Undertaker teen pioneers memory preservation service: Let death teach us how to live

“When you really understand what death is, you will know how to live.” A physician once said this in a public lecture. Such an important life issue happens to be what the social innovation organization “Heguangli” is working on. The founder of Heguangli, Xu Yifei, is only 27 years old, but has more than 10 years of funeral experience. She even studied at the Japanese Coffin Institute and obtained certification, becoming the first Japanese-certified sender in Taiwan. At a young age, I have witnessed countless farewell stories.

Serve the living and soothe the wounded with digital innovation

Working in the funeral industry in the past, Xu Yifei had contact with countless deceased and their families. But after the funeral was over, the family members were still full of regrets, and the pain did not end with the funeral. She began to ask herself: What can I do to help the family really let go of the pain? Last year, she connected her past front-line funeral experience, further studies in Japan, and her own life experience to establish the Heguangli team, which subverts traditional funeral thinking and encourages people to face up to and embrace life and death issues, and launched the “Memory Preservation Public Welfare Project” “Planting new seeds for the cause of life and Taiwan society. “I have seen too much remorse and regret in the funeral industry in the past. Now I want to use the method of memory preservation to promote end-of-life services in Taiwan, so that more people’s regrets can be reduced.” She said with a delicate mind and a strong sense of mission, ” The name of HEKALI in Heguangli symbolizes “finding the light and precious gift in everyone’s life”. Xu Yifei further analyzed that traditional funerals are relatively standardized and may not meet the needs of every deceased person and family members. What we want to do is to abandon the framework of the traditional funeral industry and provide everyone with a better way to welcome themselves. Death planning and courses, such as memory preservation, fulfillment of last wishes, farewell ceremony, memorial party, posthumous make-up class, etc. Heguangli combines professional funeral knowledge and digital innovation to provide “end-of-life services” that few people in Taiwan have heard of. It actively promotes the public’s advanced deployment, faces the inevitable death issues in life in advance, and also accompany and comfort the bereaved family members Overcoming pain, “Simply put, the funeral industry serves the dead, and Wakori serves the living.”

Create a realistic near-death experience and end regret with professional guidance

In addition to providing innovative services, Heguangli also actively participates in public welfare. The “Memory Preservation Public Welfare Project”, which was recently launched and has attracted wide attention from all walks of life, is to help people experience and learn to face death, re-examine the meaning of life through a series of courses, and preserve the process through digital technology, leaving a unique memory. Life records, through digital archiving, can also reduce the risk of loss, do not take up space and are more environmentally friendly. Xu Yifei pointed out that every interviewee had difficulty imagining how he would face death and what he wanted to leave behind before officially stepping into Heguangli for memory preservation, which highlighted the atmosphere creation and memory preservation in Heguangli The importance of teacher guidance, “Professional guidance can allow respondents to have a peace of mind experience.” Participants will experience the real feeling of dying. Before the service begins, the memory preservationist will make full preparations for the case, including telephone interviews in advance and the establishment of exclusive life profile files. Then, the parties will be invited to Heguangli. The atmosphere, props, and costumes are arranged to feel the approach of death. At the same time, the memory preservationist’s professionalism guides the deepest memories of the case. Finally, the “prayer” is passed on to the relatives and friends designated by the case. When the appointed time comes , He Guangli will be the angel on earth who handed over the files, and let the farewell come to a successful conclusion.  

Promote the positive cycle of society and help patients and cancer friends free of charge

It is worth noting that in the first phase of this “Memory Preservation Project” project, as long as 300 people support it, Heguangli will provide free memory preservation services for 30 patients with progressive frostbite and hospice patients who are counting down. Life leaves a precious record, and it also becomes the motivation to support living relatives and friends to live. Xu Yifei added that with different support plans, supporters can also get different feedback items such as “Timely Love Postcard”, “Life Guide Book”, “Memory Treasure Box”, “Heguangli Life Lecture”, etc. Experience memory preservation in person, and you can also choose the early-bird fundraising plan for single “adjacent to light” and “resident with light” for two people. “Too many people are caught by death before they are ready. At this time, it is not only myself who have regrets, but the living relatives, friends and lovers will bear more regrets.” She lamented. In 2020, the new crown pneumonia is raging around the world, taking away countless precious lives. Xu Yifei chose to establish Heguangli at this time, which highlights the special significance. Behind the project initiated by the Heguangli team, we see that the more important value is to give the world a gift of “reflecting on the meaning of life and living again”.