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.
“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
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 psychedelics
- He and the host discuss the profound experiences that can occur with psychedelics versus using them as a recreational vehicle
- They 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 alone
- Ram 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
“This is the inner guru, the inner guide. This is your own true self. For who you are when you finish with all your clinging to this and that, you are a being of pure love, pure compassion, pure wisdom, pure consciousness. You are perfectly present. And any time you need a friend to hang out with, sitting in your heart the size of a thumb is undoubtedly the grooviest friend you could ever have.” – Ram Dass
