01 The Issue
We in the West live in a culture in which death is often misunderstood, feared and avoided. Many do not have a deeper understanding of its meaning, how it affects the way we live, and are underprepared to deal with it when it arrives.
02 Our Mission
The Living/Dying Project offers education, eclectic spiritual teachings, and personalized compassionate support services to help deepen our relationship and understanding of living and dying holistically, and ultimately, to heal fully into a realization of our inherent wholeness.
03 Our Vision
We aim to create a world where every individual has access to non-denominational and compassionate support and to transform our understanding of conscious dying so we may live a more conscious life. By addressing our collective fear of death, we believe there will be less violence, hatred, and suffering in the world and more acceptance, connectedness, and love.
04 Our Approach
Using wisdom gathered from decades of guiding the dying, intensive meditative and devotional practices, and the study of how our psychological development often limits the fruits of our spiritual practice, we offer face-to-face, telephone, and online opportunities for deep exploration of healing. The services, practices, and guidance offered are tailored to each individual.
Healing our individual and collective relationship with life and death.
“Conscious dying is really no different from conscious living. Dying brings to awareness those things that we have had a difficult time with and pushed away. . . . The fear of death is almost an exact outline of where it is you are caught.”
RamDev Dale Borglum
The core work of the Living/Dying Project is healing — healing of body, mind, and spirit. Healing that is inspired and motivated by the preciousness of human life and by the fact that we will all die but we don’t know when.
If you are confronted with a life-threatening illness, finding conscious and compassionate support for deep healing is essential.
For those who are not facing a life-threatening illness, investigating our mortality and the preciousness of life can allow us to lead a fuller, richer life with more courage and less fear.
We believe that regardless if one has a life-threatening illness or not, the work is the same.
The map of the healing path that we use is not a shortcut, but it avoids the detours and roadblocks that are common.
We are all caregivers and we are all seekers of healing.
Living/Dying Project History
Hanuman Foundation Dying Project
RamDev is Executive Director of Ram Dass’s umbrella non-profit service oriented Hanuman Foundation. Stephen Levine begins the Dying Project as part of the Hanuman Foundation. Ram Dass and RamDev join with Stephen in this initial effort to promote conscious dying offering lectures, workshops, audio and video tapes, books and articles.
The Hanuman Foundation Dying Center
RamDev founds and directs the Dying Center, a large house in the hills near Santa Fe, New Mexico, where dying people came to live and be cared for in an environment “optimally designed” to explore, “Who is it that dies? What is it in each of us that is untouched by death?” The Center closed in 1984 after serving 87 clients.
Renaming to Living/Dying Project
RamDev renames the nonprofit and moves to the San Francisco Bay Area.
Ongoing Work
The Project moves through iterations of staff and board members, all the while RamDev remains serving at the bedside of those transitioning and their caregivers and families.
The Project Goes Virtual and Global
A Refresh
The Project renews its staff and board members and continues to expand its operations garnering even more clients and volunteers.
Today
Today the Project continues to provide podcast episodes, support groups and 1-on-1 services all free of charge. It now offers online courses and Guest Speaker talks collaborating with other thought leaders in the Conscious Living and Dying space. RamDev’s new book How To Live So You Can Die Without Fear will be released in 2025.
