Ep. 265 – Ram Dass and Timothy Leary: No Signposts

Nov 26, 2024

Timothy Leary and Ram Dass reflect on their transformative journeys during a heartfelt reunion at Harvard. They humorously recount their groundbreaking experiments in the psychedelic movement, including the notorious Good Friday Experiment. The duo emphasizes the significance of 'set and setting' in exploring consciousness. They also share anecdotes from their post-Harvard lives, touching on their collaborative spirit and personal transformations. The conversation highlights the intertwining of psychology, spirituality, and gratitude over the decades.

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ANECDOTE

Leary's Homecoming

Timothy Leary describes his return to Harvard as a homecoming, connecting to his Irish ancestry who migrated to Boston.
He reflects on leaving Massachusetts for California, becoming a frontier person on the Pacific coast for 30 years.

INSIGHT

Harvard's Transcendental Tradition

Leary highlights Harvard's tradition of transcendental thinking, tracing it back to Ralph Waldo Emerson.
He notes Emerson's influence from European thinkers and his call for self-reliance and inner divinity.

ANECDOTE

Early Psychedelic Research

Leary recalls the early days of the Harvard Psychedelic Research Project, emphasizing the simplicity and lack of guidelines.
They explored altered states of consciousness with various individuals, including prisoners and divinity students.

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In this talk from their 20-year reunion at Harvard, Timothy Leary reflects on the journey he and Ram Dass shared as they explored the boundaries of consciousness with no signposts to guide them.

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This episode is part two of the Ram Dass and Timothy Leary reunion event at Harvard University on April 24, 1983. Don’t miss part one: The Explorer’s Club. In this recording:

Timothy Leary takes center stage to share his perspective on the journey he and Ram Dass took when they came together at Harvard. He begins with a brief history of the tradition of transcendental thinking at Harvard which began with Ralph Waldo Emerson.
Timothy talks about the simplicity of their work in those early days as he and Ram Dass explored the boundaries of human consciousness with no signposts to guide them. He shares some thoughts on the notorious Good Friday Experiment and discusses the important insights into psychopharmacology they discovered, including the concept of set and setting.
Shifting topics to their post-Harvard lives, Timothy talks about the “happiness hotels” he and Ram Dass were running. They share some laughs about the Harvard Crimson, being tracked by the CIA, and Timothy’s description of Ram Dass in his autobiography. Finally, they discuss the mileage they got out of various myths over the years and what their post-Harvard voyages of discovery were like for each of them.

Today's talk was chosen in celebration of the new book, Dying To Know, which chronicles the epic friendship between Ram Dass and Timothy Leary that shaped generations of seekers. Get your copy today!

“In those days, it did seem almost miraculously simple. We gave, we shared; we took these drugs as novices, as amateurs, hesitantly moving into a field that had no signposts or guidelines. There was simply no language in Western psychology to describe altered states of consciousness or ecstasies or visions or terrors. A psychiatrist said these were psychotomimetic experiences, but that didn’t seem to tell us too much. We were smart enough, and I give us this credit, to know how little we knew.” – Timothy Leary

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