Ram Dass Here And Now

Ep. 246 – How to Be Responsive, Not Reactive

Mar 6, 2024

Ram Dass talks about working with suffering, keeping our hearts open, finding intuitive heart space, being responsive instead of reactive. Stories of unconditional love, escaping the mind trap, and caring for aging father. Exploring awakening and spiritual growth through challenges and unconditional love.

01:10:29

Episode guests

Ram Dass

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Episode notes

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Quick takeaways

Embracing suffering as a means of awakening and personal growth.

Cultivating unconditional love and keeping the heart open.

Choosing responsiveness over reactiveness for transformative outcomes.

Deep dives

Importance of Prioritizing What Matters Most

Understanding what is important to you and making it a priority can lead to a more fulfilling life. Therapy can assist in identifying and focusing on what truly matters, enhancing self-awareness, developing coping mechanisms, managing negative emotions, and more.

Introduction

2min

Exploring Awakening Through Stories and Relationships

4min

Letting Go and Embracing Life

10min

Embracing Challenges for Spiritual Growth

9min

Learning Unconditional Love and Acceptance

21min

Embracing Boredom and Non-Reactivity

16min

Unexpected Intervention

5min

Navigating Life with Responsiveness and Compassionate Action

7min

In this classic talk from 1987, Ram Dass explores working with suffering, keeping our hearts open, finding the intuitive heart space, and being responsive rather than reactive. This episode is a continuation of the talk started in Here and Now Ep. 245 – Taking Off Our Spacesuit.

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In this week’s episode:

Using his stepmother’s death as an example, Ram Dass explores how pain and suffering can become a curriculum through which one awakens.
Ram Dass discusses how he has begun to fall in love with everyone, and how his guru opened him up to the possibility of unconditional love. If we’re caught in our separateness, it’s hard to keep our hearts open.
Ram Dass shares classic stories of how other beings, including a dolphin, have helped him escape the trap of his own mind and find the intuitive heart space. He talks about taking care of his aging father and learning how to just be present with him.
Finally, Ram Dass explores the difference between being reactive and being responsive, reading a story from ‘How Can I Help?’ to illustrate his point. He talks about how, when we are quiet enough on the inside, we can begin to hear how to awaken through the journey of the spirit.

“As you quiet your mind just a little bit, you get so that you’re not automatically reacting to everything. You become what’s called responsive rather than reactive. In other words, something happens and there’s a moment when it’s just happening, you’re just with it. As your awareness expands to include more than your separate self, it’s as if you’re part of the gestalt of it all, and you experience the totality of it. And then, out of that quietness comes an act that is appropriate to that moment.” – Ram Dass

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