Ram Dass Here And Now

Ram Dass’s precise enquiry into the real nature of purification and liberation – jumping into your own individuated Dharmic fire, not ignoring your weaknesses and neuroses.  The bliss is one part, the reality of life on Earth at this moment is another – he firmly suggests embracing all of it.  There is “no irrelevancy in the whole system” he says and this includes suffering and loss and major difficulties.  Ram Dass’s expliqué of the long, incarnational progression is particularly exquisite in this talk – detailing the gradually emergent, awakened embodiment and then the ineffable potential of the bodhisattva manifestation.   See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

Ram Dass takes a number of questions on how to navigate our paths in life. He talks about how to deal with fear and sit with it, watching our reactivity, wanting to create resistance against what we are afraid of. Allow yourself to notice the resistance and keep softening, embrace it into yourself. The resistance against something makes the fear more intense. See the fear as a process that comes out of conditioning and identification. Ram Dass talks about “out of body” experiences and suggests that one does not preoccupy oneself with what the experience is. It’s more about what the experience is offering in terms of a deeper understanding that one can use in personal growth. Remember, the intellect wants to know it knows. Intuitively, one can feel the validity of the experience and that validity colors our future life. See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

Ram Dass, a celebrated spiritual teacher and author of 'Be Here Now,' shares his profound insights on the separateness that brings suffering, referred to as 'the vale of tears.' He discusses how our belief systems impact perceptions and the need for spiritual work to navigate life's chaos. Delving into self-awareness and detachment, Ram Dass emphasizes embracing life fully while recognizing its transient nature. He intertwines wisdom with personal anecdotes, guiding listeners towards unity with the divine and encouraging gratitude for the journey of consciousness.

Ram Dass takes questions from the audience on a variety of topics including letting go of boundaries, "What is the Guru?", psychedelics, methods as traps and the human agenda to name a few. “Trust your intuitive heart - everyone has an inner guide. Maharaji is my inner imaginary playmate - I talk to him all the time - He turns out to be real and I’m the imaginary one.” “We move in and out of our roles in life. And finally as we get true detachment we are free to play the roles without being trapped in them.” “It’s up to the most conscious person in a relationship dynamic to let go the soonest.” “As Gandhi said, My life is my message." See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

We keep closing off the door of entry to a higher state of consciousness because of the fear of the implications of a true spiritual journey. We have embarked on a game that is much more profound than we usually think we are in - we’re ready to slip by and make everybody feel good. As in the metaphor for the Bhagavad Gita - Arjun fights an army of attachments - attachment to family, to a secure and comfortable life, to the prestige of habit and comfort, to shine in society - they may have served as guides and teachers in the past but they have been part of what has kept us from God. See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

The soil into which spirituality from the East was planted was not so rich in the early days. In India, everyone believes in re-incarnation and sees life from that perspective. In the West words like "Guru", "devotion" and "surrender" have a hard time being digested. Most of the people who are Saints in India would be hospitalized in the West. Now there seems to be a shift where we can honor these traditions in a way that does not water them down. See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

In this lively conversation, Daniel Goleman, author of Emotional Intelligence, and Mirabai Bush, founder of Contemplative Mind, dive into the insightful realm of emotional awareness and its connection to spirituality. They reflect on their experiences with the Dalai Lama and their time in India, discussing the importance of compassion in education and leadership. The talk emphasizes small actions creating positive change and how integrating emotional intelligence can transform personal growth. Listeners are invited to explore their journeys toward a more compassionate world.

When you begin to awaken, you are not coming from such a needy place when you enter into a relationship, not looking to “lock in” so quickly. Your need is still there as a human incarnation - but you are not so identified with that need and because you are already resting in a place of love, and you can experience the sharing of love and oneness without fear.  You don’t need a person to get into that space, you are already in it.            See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

"Renunciation is internal dropout, not external dropout" This is often in direct contrast to the Western model of achievement oriented success. But we are not required to move off into a cave in order to find enlightenment. Through complete devotion to our work and our love for that process, we can absolutely move in the direction of realization. "By letting go, everything gets done. The world is won by those who let it go. But when you try and try, the world is beyond the winning" Through cultivation of the witness we move out of the melodrama and into the place of pure perspective and peaceful awareness See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

Ram Dass answers questions from the audience on the predicament of Grace and Karma- the predicament of judging- the predicament of social responsibility. Also same sex relationships and the relation to divinity. “Only when you are honoring the plane on which it is all totally perfect just the way it is, can you assume on the other plane the responsibility to change it; recognizing that the desire in you to change it is part of the perfection of it all." See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.