Afterlife and the Journey of Consciousness in Tibetan Buddhism and Kabbalah

This workshop invites participants to explore Tibetan Buddhism & Kabbalah as mythic and archetypal maps of the psyche and soul.
About this Event

Across cultures and throughout history, human beings have sought to understand the great mysteries of birth, death, the soul’s journey, and what lies beyond the threshold of mortal existence. Within the ancient teachings of the Bardo Thödol (The Tibetan Book of the Dead) and the mystical traditions of Kabbalah (Jewish mysticism) are visionary maps describing the unfolding journey of consciousness through life, death, the afterlife realms, and reincarnation. Although arising from distinct religious and cultural worlds, both traditions offer profound symbolic languages for understanding impermanence, divine judgment, the visionary dimensions of dying, and the mysteries revealed in near-death experiences.

Through the study and interpretation of sacred texts, guided meditation and contemplative practice, and group dialogue and shared inquiry, this workshop invites participants to explore these wisdom traditions as mythic and archetypal maps of the psyche and soul. Together we will discover how these medieval spiritual teachings illuminate the processes of dying, grieving, transition, and rebirth, while offering profound insights into the nature of consciousness beyond physical death.

Special attention will be given to practical applications for end-of-life care and spiritual companioning. Participants will explore how these teachings can inform contemporary approaches to hospice and palliative care, chaplaincy, pastoral counseling, funeral and memorial practices, trauma healing, and bereavement support, offering spiritual resources for those accompanying individuals and families through life’s most profound transitions.

This program is designed for chaplains, clergy, therapists, counselors, hospice workers, funeral professionals, healthcare practitioners, spiritual directors, and others engaged in end-of-life care and the helping professions. It is equally open to seekers, students of Buddhist Dharma and Jewish mysticism, and anyone navigating their own journeys of grief, loss, transformation, and spiritual awakening.

, is Founding Director of the DA’AT Institute for Death Awareness, Advocacy and Training. He completed his PhD in Integral Counseling Psychology at the California Institute of Integral Studies, and was ordained by Rabbi Zalman Schachter-Shalomi as a Rabbinic Chaplain. He works as a transpersonal psychotherapist and bereavement counselor in the Philadelphia area, and has served as Adjunct Professor in the Religion Departments of LaSalle University and Temple University and the Aleph Rabbinic Ordination program and in the Art of Dying Institute. He is the author of eight books on death and Judaism, including the groundbreaking text Jewish Views of the Afterlife, and and the recently published Spirits, Ghosts and Dybbuks in Yiddish Lore: An Afterlife Journey (2025).