Ep. 276 – Approaching the Mystery

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May 5, 2025

The conversation delves into the fear of suffering associated with aging and death. Ram Dass encourages embracing mortality as a means to enrich life experiences. He shares insights from his relationship with Timothy Leary, viewing death as an adventure rather than an end. The importance of confronting uncomfortable truths and transcending identity is emphasized, promoting mental wellness and a deeper understanding of existence. The talk advocates for community and compassionate end-of-life care, framing death as a natural part of the life journey.

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INSIGHT

Facing Future Suffering Fear

Fear of future suffering during aging often leads to massive denial and avoidance.
Bringing future fears into present awareness helps reduce their power and integrates them into consciousness.

ADVICE

Befriend Future Suffering

Befriend the fear of future suffering instead of pushing it away.
Make suffering 'habitable' by changing yourself to bear what once felt unbearable.

ANECDOTE

Dying Before You Die

Ram Dass worked with dying people to confront his own attachments and fears of survival.
He found spending time with those dying helped him "die before I die," easing his own death process.

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In this exploration of the fear of suffering as we get older, Ram Dass talks about approaching the mystery of aging and death in the same adventurous manner as his friend Timothy Leary.

For more on the relationship between Ram Dass and Timothy Leary, please check out Dying to Know, a book that details their epic friendship and Timothy’s process of dying.

The Ram Dass community gathers regularly to engage in meaningful discussions about the podcast. We invite you to join us and share your curiosities, insights, and wisdom. Sign up for the General Fellowship to receive event invitations directly in your inbox.

This talk from June 1996 is part of an aging study group Ram Dass conducted to help guide his book on aging, Still Here.

Fear of future suffering is a major issue for all us, but especially when it comes to aging. Ram Dass explores how we tend to respond to that fear with massive denial, and how we can work on coming to terms with those fears through a shift in perspective.
Ram Dass talks about how his work with people who are severely ill or in the process of dying has helped prepare him for his own death. He talks about the fear of losing one’s analytic, linear mind, which is so valued in this culture, and how we can open ourselves up to the value of non-linear thinking.
Finally, Ram Dass details the time he spent with his old friend Timothy Leary as he approached his death. For Timothy, death was another glorious adventure. Ram Dass wonders if we shouldn’t all add a touch of the “Leary Method” as a way to approach the mystery of aging and dying.

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“What Timothy added was the fun of it, the adventure as you approach the mystery. When you’re approaching a mystery, what space do you want to be in in your head? Getting free of guilt? I mean, is that the one you want? Which one do you want? Which one opens to the possibilities? And Timothy was an adventurer, I mean, as I can tell you from being in the backwash for years. Timothy took me fighting and screaming into adventure. He opened up the whole image of dying into the possibility that it was a celebratory, adventurous, exciting part of life.” – Ram Dass

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