The Ancient Egyptians continue to fascinate people from all walks of life. Of all the knowledge we have of their culture, the rituals connected to death and the afterlife are the most compelling.

Experts from six traditions: Judaism, Christianity, Islam, Hinduism, Buddhism, and Chinese religions discuss rituals, practices, and emotions as they relate to death and the hope of life that follows death.

First revealed by a Tibetan monk in the 14th century, Bardo Thodol ("Great Liberation upon Hearing in the Intermediate State") - known more commonly as The Tibetan Book of the Dead - describes the experience of human consciousness in the bardo, the interval between death and the next rebirth in the cycle of death and rebirth. The teachings are designed to help the dying regain clarity of awareness at the moment of death, and by doing so achieve enlightened liberation. Popular throughout the world since the 1960s and overwhelmingly the best-known Buddhist text in the West, this classic translation by Kazi Dawa Samdup is divided into 21 chapters, with sections on the chikhai bardo, or the clear light seen at the moment of death; choenyid bardo, or karmic apparitions; the wisdom of peaceful deities, Buddhas and Bodhisattvas; the 58 flame-enhaloed, wrathful, blood-drinking deities; the judgement of those who the dying has known in life through the "mirror of karma"; and the process of rebirth. The text also includes chapters on the signs of death and rituals to undertake for the dying. Presented in a high-quality Chinese-bound format with accompanying illustrations, The Tibetan Book of the Dead is an ideal resource of ancient wisdom for anyone interested in Tibetan Buddhist notions of death and the path to enlightenment.

Ancient Egyptians imagined the afterlife as a kind of journey you had to make to get to paradise - but it was quite a hazardous journey so you would need help along the way. So spells and magic formulas written on papyrus were placed in coffins and burial chambers and believed to protect and aid the deceased in duat, or the underworld. These funerary texts were developed over many centuries into individualized collections known as the Book of the Dead. One of the best-known versions, the 'Papyrus of Ani', is featured here. Some 192 spells are known, although no single manuscript contains them all. The spells are designed to give the dead mystical knowledge in the afterlife, offer incantations to help preserve different parts of the deceased, and protect the dead from hostile forces. Some of the spells are to make sure you can control your own body after death. The ancient Egyptians believed that a person was made up of different elements: body, spirit, name, heart, all embodiments of a person, and they were afraid that these elements would disperse when you died. Presented in a high-quality Chinese-bound format with accompanying illustrations, Egyptian Book of the Dead is an ideal resource of esoteric wisdom for anyone interested in Ancient Egyptian notions of death and the path to the afterlife.

Look into the Lives of Our Most Beloved Celebrities--After Their Deaths

For the first time, renowned psychic Sylvia Browne reveals how cherished stars are using their talents since their deaths. Which celebrity is working on a cure for cancer? Who specializes in welcoming the newly departed to the Other Side?

From longtime regrets to newfound passions, Afterlives of the Rich and Famous includes everything these deceased stars most want to share with loved ones on this side:

John Kennedy Jr. and Jackie Kennedy Onassis work with a team of researchers on the prenatal detection, treatment, and cure of birth defects.

Katharine Hepburn's favorite golf partner is Christopher Reeve.

Brittany Murphy hopes to reincarnate quickly, and has charted an "exquisitely unremarkable" life in Portugal.