Ram Dass discusses how spiritual work equals social action and emphasizes the importance of not waiting for personal freedom to take action. The podcast explores merging spiritual work and social action, the interconnectedness of beings, and the impact of separateness on fear and survival. The intersection of personal growth and meaningful social change is also explored, highlighting integrity, simplicity, and peace as key components.
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Quick takeaways
Social action rooted in separateness perpetuates societal issues, while social action rooted in spiritual awakening can bring about positive change.
Recognizing and embracing feelings of despair can lead to a sense of shared humanity and newfound strength.
Deep dives
The Power of Networking Consciousness
The podcast discusses the power of networking consciousness, highlighting the interconnectedness of individuals in the world. It emphasizes the need to recognize our interdependence and the impact our actions have on others. By embracing this networking consciousness, people can develop increased compassion and trust in their intuitive voices.
Awakening to Oneness
The podcast explores the concept of awakening to oneness, where individuals realize their identity with everything and everyone. This awakening goes beyond separateness and offers a sense of belonging and peace. It is described as a spiritual realization that transcends the limitations of the ego and intellect.
The Connection between Social Action and Spiritual Work
The podcast highlights the connection between social action and spiritual work. It explains that social action rooted in separateness can perpetuate the root cause of societal issues. However, when individuals perform social action from a place of oneness and spiritual awakening, it can be transformative and bring about positive change.
Finding Strength in Despair
The podcast discusses the idea of finding strength in despair. It suggests that acknowledging and embracing feelings of despair can lead to recognizing our mutual belonging and foster a sense of shared humanity. From that place of recognition, individuals can experience newfound strength and connection.
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.
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This episode of Here and Now, Ram Dass speaks about:
How spiritual work equals social action
The two ways that the game of awakening is playing out
How Gandhi molded his social action movement, bringing together social action and spiritual work
How 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