DEATH AND THE REALMS OF EXISTENCE

I attended a free three hour course on Tibetan Meditation lead by an ordained monk in the Gelukpa lineage of Tibetan Buddhism. It was interesting to say the least. I have never before meditated for 30 minutes straight. He guided us through a meditation on death that was full of imagery and insightful and pragmatic views on death. He then lectured on other topics like "why we suffer" and the usefulness of death awareness.
Here's his Biography:
Venerable Brian K. Smith (Lama Sumati Marut) is a founding Director of the Yoga Studies Institute. He has been teaching Asian Classics Institute courses, guided meditations, and informal Dharma talks in Los Angeles since 2000, in addition to teaching in New York, South Lake Tahoe, and Ireland. He is on the faculty of Diamond Mountain University in Arizona (www.diamondmtn.org) as a professor of Sanskrit. Brian is a member of the Board of Directors of the Yoga Studies Institute, and is Professor Emeritus of Religious Studies at the University of California, Riverside. He is the author of several scholarly books and translations based on Sanskrit materials.