American Book of the Dead

I had this book back in the late 70's, bought by chance at a New Age bookstore when I was first becoming interested in things relating to consciousness, but before I had actually made the leap to become a buddhist practitioner. At the time it was much more approachable than the Tibetan Book of the Dead (Bardo Thodol) on which this one is heavily based. Sometime in the 80's I let that copy slip away as it had a strangely unsettling effect on my psyche, an effect combined with the non-prescription psychotropic drugs I had been taking in the 70's, which it took several years of sobering Tibetan practices to settle.Then a couple of years ago I decided to get this revised copy ('93 edition) which has interesting intro essays by Gold on "How to use this book" (a practical and literal approach), as well as an "introduction to macrodimensions" and "the six dimensions" (which are as esoteric as they sound), which I don't think were included in the 70's version, as well a fine little forward by John Lilly (pretty sure my '70's copy had that one though since I was a big fan of his back then and so probably bought the book for that reason).These introductory essays help lay the ground for what follows as the visions unfold from the clear light for the next 49 days within a dead person's consciousness. In fact looking at the text now it looks quite a bit changed from what I remember, and I would not be surprised it Gold indeed reworked it all incessantly (his collection of acrylic paintings and sketches also grace these pages, and further reinforces the generally unsettling effect of the words), but what really matters here is not the details as much as the gaps they point out and invite us to explore, (precisely the unsettling aspect...).The main point to keep in mind is that whether individual rebirth exists or not, it is surely NOT what we think it is (since our thinking is confined within a limited conceptual bubble), and so it is best to keep in mind the visionary/metaphorical aspect of these teachings. Let them speak to us poetically.With this in mind such teachings can awaken us to the dream we're currently living. There are many other books which can invoke such spaciousness (I highly recommend the Tibetan dzogchen writings of Longchenpa or the Cosmic Trigger books of Robert Anton Wilson), but this one gives a uniquely modern and American perspective.

In my opinion, this is probably the most valuable book, certainly one of the most valuable, that you could possibly own and learn from and put into practice in your life, and this is true in many ways. It is based to a large degree on the approximately eight-hundred year old Tibetan Book of the Dead. And Tibet is one of those countries most known for its exploration of and familiarity with the processes related to death and dying. On the one hand, the book is designed as a way to prepare oneself, or others, for the inevitable eventuality of death. On the other hand it is also designed, perhaps most importantly, for performing certain spiritual practices and, for lack of better words, special kinds of prayers designed to help guide and facilitate the voyage of someone after they have passed on to the other side of the veil of death and into the great unknown. It focuses largely around reminding the person/voyager of their true nature beyond the limitations and descriptions of themselves as simply a body/mind composite of matter and energy and into an ongoing appreciation and apprehension of their true nature as a spirit or essence being, a kind of reorientation from the perspective of being a body/mind seeking to contact some sort of soul or spirit into the much less limiting perspective of being a spirit living in and operating an organic body/mind destined to decay and die some day. Reading it makes it pretty clear, imo, that the author very much knows a lot about what he is sharing, and not just in an intellectual way but rather in an almost nitty-gritty experiential way. In any event, even apart from the focus on death and dying and the transition to the great beyond, it serves very well as a kind of navigational manual through the various experiences and attitudes and traps and confusions and delusions involved in working our ways through everyday life in such a way so as to have a lot more insight and control and behavioral certainty than is ordinarily the case with most people. The Boy Scouts motto is Be Prepared. And this book serves as a wake-up call, and sort of guide-map of how to actually be prepared for the greatest and ultimately most genuinely unknown, and most likely most important journey and adventure of our lives, or, perhaps more accurately, of our afterlife. It is a book that is extraordinarily useful and will inform you with all sorts of beneficial awareness, even with just one reading. At the same time it is a book that may easily be used as a life companion offering constant guidance and wisdom. I have read it probably forty times or so, and will most likely continue to do so for the rest of my life. It is not a 'new-age' or fluffy book by any stretch of the imagination but rather is dead serious, forgive the tongue-in-cheek reference. I cannot possibly recommend this book highly enough. It is a powerful touchstone both for living our lives here and now and for having a much better sense of what our deaths may be about, and how to face what we will no doubt one day have to face. We are mostly all well aware of the usefulness and necessity of preparing in advance for a trip we may be going on, or a date, or a job interview, etc.; then how much more might that same principle apply to how we prepare for, think about, and perceive the great big 'date', 'trip', 'job interview', new journey that we will be experiencing when we pass on from the mortal coil. If I had to recommend only one book to someone for their ultimate well-being and successful navigation through life, it would be this book.

I spend a lot of time studying metaphysical/spiritual concepts, including ideas on the afterlife. This book doesn't corroborate near death experiences or any other spiritual text about the afterlife. It's somewhat similar to the Tibetan Book of the Dead, but not the same in detail or sincerity. I also find it illogical that each of us needs someone to stand-by in the physical world to read a book over our dead bodies in order for our spirit to ascend. What happens when there's only 1 person left on the planet? The ending talks about an alien council called the Cosmic Coincidence Control Center (CCCC) and the Earth Coincidence Control Office (ECCO), and the author then states "This book can be seductive. ECCO (through Gold) set up a beautiful trap for you. After you read it, ask yourself, "what is the trap"?". The author is flat-out telling you that this book is deception.

I began reading this book in the 1970s, and have read it for people who were dying many times. The most recent was my Mom, who just died at 89. Even though she was unresponsive, I read the book out loud, and could tell when her spirit was hearing me. This is the most important book every person needs to handle death and the hereafter. (You will also see it referred to in a funny way in the movie "Beetlejuice.") Highly recommended for those who are dying, or who know someone who is dying, or who already died and are getting ready to do it all over again.

it was a very strong experience to read this book, to confront oneself with the mortality aof the body and mind should be an obligatory skill, during the reading i had some very uncomfortable experiences that lead to some ind of karmic transformation, this is not a book you read fore fun or out of interest