E.J. Gold

Stuart Davis

The author of well over two dozen books, E.J. Gold is most well known for The American Book of the Dead, a provocative and contemporary interpretation of The Tibetan Book of the Dead. Celebrating its thirtieth year in print, with over 125,000 copies sold, E.J.’s pioneering text has secured a place in the annals of modern esoterica.

In Part 1 of this dialogue, Stuart Davis, a dharma-rock musician with more than a passing interest in mysticism, suggests to E.J., “Let’s talk about death.” As E.J. explains, in his work, the process of dying is called “transitioning” and the one undergoing this process is the “voyager.” Traditionally, the ABD has two uses: to help the voyager prepare for the transition to non-physical realms, and to instruct the voyager’s loved ones on how they can help his or her transition.

In this second half of their conversation, E.J. and Stu explore the nature of some of the phenomena people may encounter after dying to their physical body. Specifically, E.J. shares his thoughts on post-life realms (often called the “bardo”), and some practical techniques for navigating through them and attaining a “higher rebirth.”

Whether you believe in these post-mortem states or not, we invite you to “bracket” their empirical status and treat them as phenomena in themselves, with their own realities and their own stories to tell. And E.J. Gold is a terrific story teller.

For millennia the great spiritual traditions have attempted to shed light on the territory beyond death’s door, often through myth but also through esoteric investigation. The mystics in each tradition are unanimous on at least one thing: the source, suchness, and center of every human being is pure, timeless, unqualifiable Spirit. That Spirit was never born, will never die, and as that unmanifest Spirit, does not endure birth and death. What the contemplative traditions do not agree on, however, is what happens to the unique identity or “soul” of an individual at the time of physical death. Some traditions say that nothing unique remains, and that Spirit is the only thing that survives the passing of the individual body. Other traditions suggest that unique, individual qualities of the “soul” can indeed survive death, and a third category of traditions suggest that only general attributes (such as “merit” and “wisdom”) can persist after death. In either of the latter two cases, those characteristics can then be passed on to a new birth, or reincarnation.

E.J.’s American Book of the Dead is a contemporary interpretation of The Tibetan Book of the Dead, and so along with his own contributions (such as non-denominational wording), his general stance echoes the Nyingma branch of Tibetan Buddhism, which posits that enough of an individual’s self-identity survives physical death to warrant the creation of a sophisticated guide to post-death experiences. Much of the fascinating material E.J. explores in this dialogue relates to explaining what one is likely to see after death, according to the ancient wisdom of Padmasambhava (author of the TBD and founder of the Nyingma tradition) and E.J.’s own extensive speculations.

An integral, AQAL approach to spirituality suggests that it’s possible to preserve the pioneering insights of the great traditions, but without postulating “pre-given” and metaphysical realities—none of that “ontological baggage” is needed to support the same experiences. This post-metaphysical approach is new and exciting, because in many ways it has been the traditions’ reliance on premodern metaphysics that has kept spirituality from having a legitimate place in the modern and postmodern world. Hence, an important question on the path towards more integral forms of spirituality is: what does a post-metaphysical approach to “after-life” experiences look like? This question is one of the central issues of a newly forming integral spirituality.

This captivating dialogue with E.J. is an excellent summary of the great metaphysical traditions’ view of the post-mortem states, and we invite you to listen in....