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Excellent memoir of one of the greatest teachers of our times. If you have been interested in the history and background of Ram Dass, this book will you give you more and then some! Highly recommended for those who have listened or read through his teachings.
20th book of 2021 (188 Books read overall) Quote from the Book I Liked - ‘At times, I feel like I’m on a spiritual staircase, looking back at my former selves on the landing below, while above I am the witness, ensconced in my soul, watching myself traverse the steps in this incarnation.’ (Page no. 6) Rating - 5 Stars *Important take from the book* - We hold memories, yes, but we are not those memories. We are who we are, today. (Page no. 332) Plot Summary - Set against a
what a journey. what a trip.when talking about great books, I often hear people discussing character development, and it's so damn rich in here. a misunderstood kid.a Harvard professor.a researcher of psychedelics.a guru.talk about a character arc. going from simply learning about ideas, to sharing them, to applying them, to creating them. a circle of life.and that matters, as it seems like everyone knows what to do and yet barely anyone actually acts on their exquisite knowledge."when you get t...
Ram Ram Ram.
Ram Dass began working on this nearly-400 page biography in 2010 at the insistence of his friend and co-author Rameshwar Das. Considering the last 10 years of his life were physically agonizing it took much persistence to complete.Ram Dass begins with his childhood as Richard Alpert ,born to a wealthy New England couple., giving a portrait of his family and family dynamics. He spends quite a bit of the book delving into his childhood and also the psychedelic era he and Tim Leary helped shape and...
I learned about Ram Dass ( given name Richard Alpert) when I was in college in Boulder during the first year of Naropa Institute. He was giving talks along with Bhagavan Dass, Alan Ginsberg and many others. I remember how enthralled I was with the whole scene. Shortly after, I wrote Ram Dass a letter about a dream I had and he was in it. He actually responded with a note that said,” where I am is closer than than in your dream”. Over the last 40 years I’ve read a few of his books and attended so...
I was a college student in the mid 1970’s when Be Here Now was making a splash on college campuses across the country. Yes, I was intrigued with the author Ram Dass and curious about the path that took him to writing this unique book. I will admit that Be Here Now was not an easy book for me to read. One reason is that the formatting does not follow the usual book publishing rules. I had to physically adjust myself and work just to read it. The different formatting along with the dark writing on...
Wow. I absolutely loved the autobiography, “Being Ram Dass.” At 488 pages, it is a long, beautiful and comprehensive look at his two lives. We meet Richard Alpert, the chubby Jewish kid-turned Harvard psychology professor who used psychedelics in his research. And we watch Richard transform into Ram Dass when he met his guru in India. Ram is well-known for bringing to the West a heightened awareness of Eastern spirituality and practices.If you’ve read Ram Dass’s best-known book Be Here Now—refer...
A bit too long winded
https://rogueliterarysociety.com/f/be...…”No matter what someone else does to you, never put anyone out of your heart.”__Maharaji-ji That creed is not something I was ever gifted with. Life has many pitfalls and I found plenty of them. However, I was first introduced to the writings and lectures of Ram Dass back in the late sixties, early seventies. I liked both him and his work then and I certainly love him now. One pretty cool dude. Ram Dass has always been consistent in his representation of
Although the facts, names and details were overwhelming for someone not familiar with Ram Dass, this book creates the right atmosphere for a deeper understanding of the man and his look on the cosmos.My suggestion if you find the details of some sections make you nod off: start reading the first sentences of paragraphs only, you'll get the idea and you can concentrate on the more engaging pages.
This book was both fascinating and inspirational from beginning to end. It was a journey of almost 90 years. Of Richard Alpert starting life as a young boy, becoming a grown man, experimenting with LSD, meeting his guru, Maharajji (Neem Karoli Baba), becoming Ram Dass and finally the long journey to just becoming a soul. There were so many interesting characters that pass by along the way. So many of whom have had a role in shaping my life. Living, dying, psychedelics, faith, devotion are just s...
This is a beautiful book written more as inner and spiritual growth than a summary of triumphs and failures. There are touching lessons throughout the book sprinkled with humor and insight. I found myself wondering if maybe he got too high on psychedelics and the rest of his life was a result of just flying too close to the sun, but I didn’t get that sense. He and another Harvard professor Timothy Leary are basically responsible for introducing the western world to psychedelics in the 60’s. To m...
A full of love account of Ram Dass's life before, during and after Richard Alpert. A detailed look into the rise of psychedelics in the 70's, including appearances on the scene by Timothy Leary, Aldus Huxley, Alan Watts and the likes. It must have felt like being at the frontier of their kind of exploration before stepping into the exploration of his own path, the frontier we all share, that makes us common yet vastly unique. For me this book was a very warm read, written in a light way, conveyi...
Come for the Acid trips, stay for the enlightenment ....Or, If Richard Alpert/Ram Dass didn't exist, mankind would have had to make him up.Throughout my adult life I have searched for a form of spirituality that I could identify with and settle into. About 15-20 years ago, I settled in Buddhism with some Taoism and Hinduism sprinkled in. I have been to several meditation and/or yoga retreats to Kripalu in Western Mass. over the years, including a couple where I have met some amazing people and l...
Simply an account of the dance of a yogi’s soul as he journeyed home. “Love holds the universe together. Love is the emotion of connection and merging. Viewed from the soul, the world is a manifestation of love. Love is the bridge, the transfer of energy between form and formless, matter and spirit.”
What a life. So inspiring. Incredibly grateful for the existence of this book. 🤍
It is impossible to overstate the cultural and spiritual significance of Ram Dass (formerly psychologist Richard Alpert) and his work. As a pioneer of the 1960s counterculture, both as a psychologist and as spiritual explorer, he has had a powerful impact, even if some of it has been under the radar.You may not want to embrace the Hindu cultural and spiritual trappings that provided a context for his work. Nevertheless, there is a lucidity and a joyful sense of wonder about the heart of his life...
I didn't plan to read "Being Ram Dass." Having previously read three of his books and Parvati Markus's "Love Everyone," I figured I knew enough about Ram Dass; however, the Love Serve Remember Foundation put on an online discussion group about the book so I joined in the fun. I'm so glad I read "Being Ram Dass." It provided some extraordinary detail and anecdotes that I hadn't read or heard before. Rameshwar Das, who was with Ram Dass in India and a long time friend, coauthored this wonderfully
Thank you so much Indic Book club for sending me this bookPerhaps no other teacher has sparkled the fires of as many spiritual seekers in the west as Ram Dass. If you have ever embraced the phrase "be here now" practiced mediation or yoga, tried psychedelics, or supported anyone in a hospice, prison or homeless center then the story of Ram Dass is also a part of your story. This book is a memoir that puts us in the passenger seat with the one-time Harvard psychologist and lifelong risk taker Ric...