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In this essential talk from 1987, Ram Dass uses his life experience to guide us through the process of taking off our spacesuit of identity and embracing the curriculum our lives offer us. Want to be part of the discussion about this episode of Here and Now? Join us for the SoulPod Meet-Up on February 27th at 3 pm EST. Today's podcast is sponsored by BetterHelp. Click to receive 10% off your first month with your own licensed professional therapist: betterhelp.com/ramdass This episode of Here and Now is from a classic talk given in April 1987.Using his journey as a guide for this talk, Ram Dass explores the spacesuits of ego and identity we wear in our lives. He tells us how ill-fitting this spacesuit felt for him, and the feeling of freedom he found when he was first able to take it off. Ram Dass describes how he began to chase the high of not wearing the spacesuit through the use of mind-altering chemicals and spiritual practices. Eventually, though, those things became a different kind of suit he was wearing. Through the advice of a wise friend, he realized he needed to take the curriculum that everyday life has to offer and not just live with his head in the clouds.Once the object of the game shifted from getting high to getting free, Ram Dass chose to stop pushing away all of the things that brought him down. Instead, he embraced the many forms of suffering in the world, working with prisoners, AIDS patients, and people going through the process of dying. To get free, we need to embrace it all, the good and the bad.“As I took off the suit, I felt at home, I felt present. It felt extremely familiar to me, even though as an adult in society I didn’t remember having been in this space before. I was always constantly checking everybody to see if I was enough ‘somebody’ so that I would be allowed to exist.”  – Ram Dass See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

In this deeply meditative recording from 1976, Ram Dass talks about going beyond form and intellect and then is joined by Krishna Das to chant a love song between formless and form. Today's podcast is sponsored by BetterHelp. Click to receive 10% off your first month with your own licensed professional therapist: betterhelp.com/ramdass Want to be part of the discussion about this episode of Here and Now? Join us for the SoulPod Meet-Up on February 13th at 8 pm EST. In this episode of Here and Now: In a highly meditative fashion, Ram Dass speaks about the spiritual journey and how it is a journey of the heart. The intellect, while an exquisitely powerful tool, cannot know ultimate truth.Ram Dass explores the forms we must use to get beyond the intellect, including meditative practices and chanting. He talks about the identities we create with our minds and how we were born into the illusion of separateness. But the way the dance works best is that we keep shifting forms and understand that all these forms will take us to that which has no form.Ram Dass is joined by Krishna Das to chant “Jai Radha.” Ram Dass explains how it is like a love song between formless and form.“This is like a love song between formless and form, between Father and Mother, between the cow herdsmen and the Gopi, between Radha and Govinda.” – Ram Dass See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

In this essential talk, Ram Dass leans on the wisdom of the Tao Te Ching, Ramana Maharshi, and Groucho Marx to explore identity, change, and how incarnation is the blueprint for liberation. Today's podcast is sponsored by BetterHelp. Click to receive 10% off your first month with your own licensed professional therapist: betterhelp.com/ramdass Want to be a part of the discussion about this episode of Here and Now? Register now for the SoulPod Meet-Up on January 23rd at 3 pm EST. This episode of Here and Now is taken from a workshop in Los Angeles in May of 1991.Ram Dass dives into the concept of identity and how we’ve lost the balance between our identity as individuals and our identity as part of the unity of all things. We begin by being too attached to the somebody-ness that’s drilled into us from birth and then, as we awaken spiritually, we go in the other direction and cling too tightly to the unity. The ultimate goal is to be in the world, but not of the world.Offering the wisdom of Groucho Marx, Ram Dass talks about learning to play with reality and how part of what we’re awakening to is that there are many planes of reality. He references Ramana Maharshi and describes how the spiritual journey is ultimately about extricating yourself from your definitions of yourself. Part of the predicament of being so attached to these definitions of self is that all things change, including our bodies. Ram Dass addresses the very nature of change and reads from the Tao Te Ching to offer us a clue to the Way. Ultimately, as we awaken, we can begin to see how our unique incarnations are actually the blueprint for our liberation. There are no errors in this game.“It’s too beautiful. It’s too beautiful that your incarnation turns out to be the blueprint for your liberation. Who would’ve expected that?” – Ram Dass See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

Ram Dass explores how we can have perspectives and models about the universe without being attached to them, as long as we cultivate the state of no mind and trust our intuitive validity. Want to be part of the discussion about this episode of Here and Now? Join the Ram Dass Fellowship virtual meetup on January 9th at 5 pm PST. Sign up for the General Fellowship group here to receive more information. Today's podcast is sponsored by BetterHelp. Click to receive 10% off your first month with your own licensed professional therapist: betterhelp.com/ramdass This episode of Here and Now is taken from a Ram Dass talk at Colby College in April of 1970. In this talk:Ram Dass explores how it’s healthy to have perspectives and models about the universe and how things are, but it’s crucial that we don’t become attached to or stuck in that perspective. Telling stories of his time in far-out places like India, Los Angeles, and heroin treatment centers, Ram Dass shares how it’s all perspective. Having a perspective is harmonious with the Tao, with the way of things, but we can’t get addicted to it and have it become our “reality.” He talks about how things like school and television are designed to keep us stuck in our roles, models, and perspectives.Ultimately, we can learn to trust our intuitive validity and cultivate the Buddhist state of no mind, where we have finished with our models. We can know the difference between being wise and being knowledgeable.“As long as you are attached to any model of the universe, to any level of definition of who you are or how it works, you are closed off from the rest of it. And the state of no mind, the Buddhist state of no mind, is where you have finished with models. You don’t even be enlightened, you don’t be anything, there’s just no mind.” – Ram Dass About Ram Dass: Ram Dass’ spirit has been a guiding light for generations, carrying along millions on the journey. Ram Dass teaches that through the Bhakti practice of unconditional love, we can all connect with our true nature. Through these teachings, Ram Dass has shared a little piece of his guru, Maharaj-ji, with all who have listened to him. See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

In this radio interview from 1977, Ram Dass explores the power of psychedelics and the importance of a guru, plus he leads a guided meditation that connects us to a place of no place. Want to be part of the discussion about this episode of Here and Now? Join the Ram Dass Fellowship virtual meetup on December 28th at 3 pm EST. Sign up for the General Fellowship group here to receive more information. Today's podcast is sponsored by BetterHelp. Click to receive 10% off your first month with your own licensed professional therapist: betterhelp.com/ramdass This episode of Here and Now is taken from an interview with Ram Dass at the local college radio station in Santa Cruz. The interview is from October of 1977, right after Ram Dass had taken part in a conference that featured Albert Hoffmann, Timothy Leary, Ralph Metzner, and other luminaries of the early psychedelics scene:Ram Dass begins by sharing some of his personal history, especially as it pertains to the university audience and psychedelicsHe and the host discuss the profound experiences that can occur with psychedelics versus using them as a recreational vehicleThey explore the importance of having a guru on the spiritual path, but Ram Dass talks about how the process of awakening is ultimately a journey that must be taken aloneRam Dass leads a beautiful guided meditation that aims to connect us to a place of no place and help us see that the true guru lives within us “Any thoughts which come to your mind, let them go, breathe them out along with the out-breath. Any feelings, sensations, memories, plans… This is only going to take five minutes, you can set aside five minutes out of your busy life just to connect with a place of no place. To get behind your melodrama. Just keep the focus in the middle of the chest. Breathing in; breathing out.” – Ram Dass ---- In a world that often feels like it's teetering on the edge, it's not surprising that so many of us grapple with feelings of instability and overwhelm.  On Tuesday, December 19th, join acclaimed Buddhist meditation teachers Sharon Salzberg and Ethan Nichtern for a free online conversation on staying grounded, available, and engaged, even when the world is on fire. Sharon and Ethan will also discuss the upcoming Dharma Moon Yearlong Buddhist Studies program and offer their insights on how studying Buddhism can help us show up more fully for ourselves and others during these challenging times. Visit dharmamoon.com/event for more info and to reserve your free spot! See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

Ram Dass explores the art of how to bring the past into the present as we age, leads a powerful exercise centered around the atomic bombing of Hiroshima, and talks about working with grief. Want to be part of the discussion about this episode of Here and Now? Join the Ram Dass Fellowship virtual meetup on December 19th. Sign up for the General Fellowship group here to receive more information. Today's podcast is sponsored by BetterHelp. Click to receive 10% off your first month with your own licensed professional therapist: betterhelp.com/ramdass This episode of Here and Now is from a recording of a study group on aging hosted by Ram Dass in 1995. In the face of aging and death, part of the spiritual work we should consider doing is what Ram Dass calls the art of how to bring the past into the present. Using the example of his mother’s death, he shares the importance of processing events from our past with the perspective we hold in the present. We can also bring the past into the present in a cultural and historical context. Ram Dass leads an exercise centered around the atomic bombing of Hiroshima, having us contemplate and recognize that we are part of a culture that has models of reality that would legitimize the dropping of that bomb. Ram Dass explores the issue of grieving, especially as it relates to aging and loss. He reads a letter he had written to a family who lost their young daughter, and he talks about the importance of moving from the realm of ego to the realm of the soul. “There is a tendency that we do in our mind to romanticize our own existence. We become the center of ‘As the World Turns,’ we are the leading actor, we have been cast. We keep milking our history to justify our existence, to give our existence meaning. I want to suggest to you that there is a cost to that.” – Ram Dass See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

In this recording from 1995, Ram Dass explores the nature of time, especially as it relates to aging, and shares how his guru helped him see that being in the present moment is all there is. Today's podcast is sponsored by BetterHelp. Click to receive 10% off your first month with your own licensed professional therapist: betterhelp.com/ramdass This episode of Here and Now is from a recording of a study group on aging hosted by Ram Dass in 1995.Ram Dass begins his exploration of time and aging by looking at the nature of time from both the domain of the ego and the domain of the soulHe examines the perspectives on time we hold throughout our lives in this culture, from being fully in the moment as babies, reaching for the future as kids and young adults, thinking of time as money in middle age, and finally clinging to the past in our older yearsRam Dass reads from a book on aging that he’s in the middle of writing, sharing a tale of why time seems to work differently in India and how his guru helped him see that being in the present moment is all there isFinally, he talks about working on letting go of his personal history and the struggles he had with boxes of memorabilia he’d collected over the years“And they talk about gaining awareness is like snatching the pearl of awareness from the dragon time. That’s one of the mystical ways of talking about what awakening and enlightenment are. It’s freeing your awareness from being entrapped within time. Not that you don’t use time, but you’re not used by it.” – Ram Dass See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

Speaking to us from 1983, a time of widespread fear about nuclear war, Ram Dass explores how spiritual work equals social action, and yet, we can’t just wait until we are free to take action. Want to be part of the discussion about this episode of Here and Now? Join the Ram Dass Fellowship virtual meetup on November 21st at 3 p.m. Eastern Time. Sign up for the General Fellowship group here to receive more information. Today's podcast is sponsored by BetterHelp. Click to receive 10% off your first month with your own licensed professional therapist: betterhelp.com/ramdass This episode of Here and Now, Ram Dass speaks about:How spiritual work equals social actionThe two ways that the game of awakening is playing outHow Gandhi molded his social action movement, bringing together social action and spiritual workHow the path of social action and the spiritual journey comes down to karma yoga and using the stuff of our life to get free, but we can’t wait until we are free to take action“And when we are strong enough to look at ourselves, then we will be strong enough to demand truth. But most of us do not have integrity in our own lives. We are all full of righteousness and good here, and right over here we have deception, we have hoarding, we have all kinds of stuff. And to me, in my life, that isn’t good enough, it stinks. I can’t have any room any longer for guilt and self-deprecation about it. I have to appreciate that’s my evolving humanity, but I see where the path of real social action comes. I see what Gandhi’s talking about when he says make yourself into zero and your power is invincible.” – Ram Dass See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

In this wild Q&A session from 1976 that is teeming with frenetic energy from the audience, Ram Dass really just wants to talk about three things: God, sex, and dope. Today's podcast is sponsored by BetterHelp. Click to receive 10% off your first month with your own licensed professional therapist: betterhelp.com/ramdass Want to be part of the discussion about this episode of Here and Now? Join the Ram Dass Fellowship virtual meetup on November 7th, sign up for the General Fellowship group here to receive more information. In this episode of Here and Now:Dealing with a slightly wild audience, Ram Dass answers questions about how our actions can influence other people’s journey of awakening, what commitment truly is, and how to look at our predicament from different levels.But what Ram Dass really wants to talk about is three things: God, sex, and dope. He talks about moving beyond the desire for drugs, how people become attached to their sexual expression and what tantra truly is, and defines God to the best of his ability.Ram Dass ends the evening by singing, “Rejoice in the Lord.” Again, I say, rejoice.“Beyond all of the patterns of energy – physical, astral, causal – lies God, that which is beyond form. You aim for that, and in the course of it, if you are pure in your aim, you can do nothing which is adharmic, going against the dharma. And if you stay in the flow, in the Tao, in the dharma, then whatever needs to be for you and your fellow human being will be done, even though you may not understand what it is that’s happening to you. Your intellectual awareness of what is going on is not necessary for this journey. It can speed it up and help it, but it’s not necessary.” – Ram Dass See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

In this Q&A session, Ram Dass answers questions about how to love without emotional attachment, the relationship between karma and grace, and how he defines responsibility. Today's podcast is sponsored by BetterHelp. Click to receive 10% off your first month with your own licensed professional therapist: betterhelp.com/ramdass In this recording from 1976, Ram Dass answers questions from a lively Los Angeles audience:How to love without emotional attachment? Ram Dass explores the various levels of love, dealing with attachment, and working with the karma that exists in our life space.What is the relationship of karma and grace? Ram Dass talks about how he perceives grace and the ways it intersects with our karma.What’s his view on vegetarianism? And who is God? Somehow, those questions are connected.How does Ram Dass define responsibility? A responsible being lives in the Tao. “And what grace turns out to be is all the forces that exist in the universe that are free agents, that are available to support the process of your going back into the source. All the gurus, all the beings on astral planes, all of the elements, all of the forces in the universe.” – Ram Dass Discover the transformative practice of teaching mindfulness in a new FREE 30-page ebook by Senior Buddhist teacher and Emmy award-winning musician, David Nichtern.  With its blend of humor, wisdom, and accessible approach, The Art of Teaching Mindfulness ebook is a must-read for anyone interested in sharing the life-changing practices of mindfulness with others. Already downloaded by over 15k people, visit dharmamoon.com/ebook to get YOUR free copy of The Art of Teaching Mindfulness! See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

In this recording from 1976, Ram Dass explores the process of awakening and becoming enlightened. Featuring a musical interlude from Krishna Das and an introduction from Raghu Markus. This episode is a continuation of the dharma talk from Here and Now Ep. 234 – The Awakening of the Soul Ram Dass' Love Serve Remember Foundation and the Alan Watts Organization invite you to open your mind, open your heart, and tap into the living truth of Alan Watts and Ram Dass. Click to learn more about this special 4-week Virtual Course: The Presence of the Way: The Dharma of Alan Watts and Ram Dass Today's podcast is sponsored by BetterHelp. Click to receive 10% off your first month with your own licensed professional therapist: betterhelp.com/ramdass In this episode:Ram Dass, in a very meditative fashion, explores the place of the Mother in the lineage of devotional tantra, talking about taking each experience in your life and redefining it as a form of the MotherKrishna Das takes center stage to invoke the Mother through music, inviting the Goddess to come down and bless us allRam Dass gives a detailed breakdown of the process of awakening and becoming enlightened, from purification and opening the heart to quieting the mind and getting the energy to flowAre you interested in contributing to the wildfire recovery efforts in Maui and in the most impacted areas of Canada? Check out these resources below to find out how you can help:Hawaii Community FoundationCanadian Red Cross“The only thing that I am involved in is the game of perfection. And because of that, when I work with people, or even this teaching, I see the game as a game of moving up and then bringing up the ground with you. It’s like an inverted ’T,’ where you go up the center and then you pull the two bottom lines up with you. So that every new level of consciousness we get into, we then reassess the whole dance of life and keep it together on the physical plane.” – Ram Dass See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

In this potent talk from 1976, Ram Dass explores the channels of perception of individual differences and how every experience in life is grist for the mill of the awakening of the soul. Two cultural icons. Two unique perspectives... One understanding of the presence of the way. Ram Dass' Love Serve Remember Foundation and the Alan Watts Organization invite you to open your mind, open your heart, and tap into the living truth of Alan Watts and Ram Dass. Learn more about this special 4-week Virtual Course:"The Presence of the Way: The Dharma of Alan Watts and Ram Dass" Today's podcast is sponsored by BetterHelp. Click to receive 10% off your first month with your own licensed professional therapist: betterhelp.com/ramdass Straight from 1976 at the Shrine Auditorium in Los Angeles, Ram Dass explores:The journey of awakening and the predicament of how we perceive ourselves and othersThe different channels of perception of individual differences, from the physical level to the astral planes and beyondHow everything in our lives, including all the joy and all the suffering, can be used for the awakening of the soulsHow a truly conscious being experiences all the different channels of perception simultaneouslyAre you interested in contributing to the wildfire recovery efforts in Maui and in the most impacted areas of Canada? Check out these resources below to find out how you can help:Hawaii Community FoundationCanadian Red Cross“But what we are meeting as are these entities, or souls, or essences, that are passing through a set of experiences. And we are sharing consciousness as to the nature of these experiences and what their significance is to us as souls. And from that point of view, everything in your life is grist for the mill of the awakening of your soul out of its attachments to either the body or the personality or the astrological identity.” – Ram Dass See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.