Ram Dass – Here and Now – Episode 1 – First Meeting

Welcome to the Here and Now Podcast with Ram Dass!

Never heard of Ram Dass? Picked up a copy of Be Here Now and want to explore deeper practices for cultivating love, non-attachment and awareness? This episode will introduce you to Ram Dass and his work. Ram Dass takes you through his early days as a psychologist to his life-changing psilocybin trip with psychedelic pioneer and colleague, Timothy Leary.

Click here for the transcription of this episode.

Show Notes

Here and Now (Opening) – Raghu Markus of the Love Serve Remember Foundation introduces Ram Dass and his transformation from a Harvard scientist looking for a deeper truth to the spiritual teacher whose teachings have affected the lives of countless individuals. Raghu briefly shares how he met Ram Dass and introduces one of the first talks given by Ram Dass after returning from India with some incredible stories to tell.

“What I would like to do is to present a model to you – that specific model being my life experience. That is really all I have to offer you are my own experiences.” – Ram Dass

Circumventing our Circumstance (3:40) – As true today as it was then, Ram Dass discusses the predicament we have found ourselves in the Western world – the cultural and ethical disarray and disconnection from a deeper and more meaningful experience. He discusses the lessons learned since leaving Harvard about how psychedelics and spiritual practice might offer a remedy to the situation.

“As a result of all these circumstances, many people in the West appreciate the possibility of states of consciousness other than our normal waking state of consciousness. We are presented with a possibility that filters through to us from one source or another that there is a very ancient tradition of people who have realized other states of consciousness; who have sent messages back and made maps. The problem we have as Westerners is that we can’t understand the maps.” – Ram Dass

Attachment and Surrender (8:15) – Ram Dass reflects on the importance of surrender along every step of the spiritual path. This starts by surrendering the attachments that we have developed around our cultural perspectives about what is and what isn’t and what might be possible. Ram Dass shares his own story of surrendering these attachments and the journey of awakening that it set him on.

“We are all on a journey and what we can do is help each other along. We can be the Satsang or the Sangha, the spiritual community and support for one another. Giving each other the confidence to keep perusing this possibility and we give each other our service to help in that. That is what I would like to do today, to present a model because maybe there will be some clues in it that will be of some use to you in your own spiritual journey.” – Ram Dass

A Long Strange Trip (21:10) – We meet Timothy Leary, whose own experiences with psilocybin mushrooms inspired Ram Dass to first experiment with psychedelics. Ram Dass describes that first trip and the process of shedding the identity of Richard Alpert, Ph.D. for just a moment and becoming pure awareness instead.

Meeting Maharajji was a life-changing moment for Ram Dass. Listen to Raghu Markus and Krishna Das describe how meeting Maharaji changed their own lives.

Ram Dass - Here and Now - Ep. 1 - First Meeting

        

 

 

 

 

31 thoughts on “Ram Dass – Here and Now – Episode 1 – First Meeting”

  1. Love it! But is that a bunch of consistent laughing in the background? He is making such great points and people are cracking up? Which is why everyone should not just listen to this podcast, but buy Be Here Now as well to read and enforce the story!

    Reply
  2. I LOVED hearing his story and am wondering if and when you are gonna continue from where that one left off! ?? I am anxious to hear the rest of it!

    Reply
  3. Jenna, I too am guilty of cracking up. Ram Dass is a wonderful, light hearted storyteller. Laughter is a powerful medicine and it sounds like you could use a spoonful!
    Namaste

    Reply
    • Kevin,
      It is a musical group called MPath that is a collaboration between Raghu (the show host) and the musical producer Gardner Cole.

      Thanks for listening!

      ~Rachael

      Reply
  4. the story about the tragicomic hallucinatory witnessing of a boy playing with a dog siriusly made me laugh. brilliant.

    this is all golden. thank you so much to every one involved.

    Reply
  5. the revelry of the tragicomic hallucinatory witnessing of the son playing with the dog siriusly made me laugh. thank god the dog wasn’t dead after all.

    brilliant.

    thank you so much to every one involved in this project.

    namaste.

    Reply
  6. What is the name of this lecture series and how do I come upon listening to the rest of it? I wish Raghu would have left some show notes, references, or something. Add one to the list of individuals who ended up here due to the trust held in Duncan Trussell.

    Reply
    • Hi Shane, thanks for listening! We’re still getting this podcast up and running, but you can be assured that we will be posting show notes & references here in the next few weeks – Raghu is out of town but as soon as he returns we will put something together. The podcasts aren’t necessarily from a specific series of lectures but rather a compilation of several of Ram Dass’ earlier talks.

      Be well!

      ~Rachael

      Reply
  7. Thank you it has changed my morning into joy in my heart that
    It was all Ok me not wanting to work as therapist
    any longer. My detachment from my son became
    Full of love for him and the meaning of our lives is joy
    of living. Wish you Love and Thank you for being.

    Reply
  8. Starting wth the first episode, was this the talk given at the University of British Columbia, Vancouver, B.C., Canada in August of 1969?

    Reply
  9. This is the series that were broadcast on KPFK in either 1969 or 70 on a succession of Friday nights. I had recorded most of them on cassettes, but in the ensuing decades, they were lost. Good to hear them again. Was the 5th one the last of the series?

    Reply
  10. Do you ever wonder what abandoning your anger and negativity might empower or weaken? Do you wonder why your ego was formed? Do you wonder what traditional family values were created for? And what it means to support police and attachment? What is love if not attachment? what is community without family? What is family without loyalty? What is loyalty without anger at the broken bonds of our system, the bonds that hold a life of meaning together, supported by anger and sadness at loss, determination to hold on, fight, drive… things that seem to be ignored or demeaned in the name of preserving peace. Well if you can remain peaceful no matter what, doesn’t that marking much matter?

    Reply

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