Choices, choices, choices.. You have more options than you think!

“Final Disposition” is a legal term for the plan you have for your body after you die.  The two most classic styles are burial and cremation, although newer options are gaining traction in our modern time.

Burials.  There is natural burial (in ground as natural as possible, no embalming or chemicals), traditional cemetery burial, above ground “burial” in a mausoleum (free standing memorial/building containing the remains), entombment (above ground, sealed in a crypt)..  There are more of the same, of course, but you get the gist of the styling options.

Cremation.  There is traditional flame cremation (body is reduced to ash and bone by intense heat), and there is water cremation (body is naturally decomposed by water and alkaline salts).  There are still a few countries where cremation on an open-air pyre is an ancient tradition.. including India and Nepal.

Terramation.  Also known as natural organic reduction or human composting.  The body is placed in a vessel with organic materials (such as alfalfa, straw and sawdust), oxygen flows through the vessel which stimulates microbes in the body.  These microbes rapidly transform the body into soil in 30 days.

Body Donation.  There are programs to donate your body for medical education or scientific research.  There are conditions, such as the body must be free of infectious diseases, there are weight limits, there was no violent death or suicide, the organs were not removed for transplant donation, etc.  But all in all, you could be helping the medical and scientific industries with invaluable practice and advancements.  Most of the time the body is cremated for fee afterward.

The takeaway..  Know that you have options and that each different option may or may not be allowed in your city/state/country, BUT they are all worth checking out if one peaks your interest.  Do your due diligence, do some research.  Make it your choice.  Remember, bodies can also be transported to a facility that offers what you are looking for.