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i noticed the bold orange spine and the name Ram Dass on one of the bookshelves at our counseling clinic, and as the weight of compassion fatigue and confusion/helplessness fatigue has been bearing down on me in my role as a school therapist, i decided to take it and read it mostly that night. it was a comfort and reassurance to read that there is no comfort or reassurance in this work of "helping," and to just have that clarity of transmission through the writing...of what is real and what is c...
This was exactly what I needed this year, and this month. I'm drawn to service (equally?) by guilt and compassion, and it can be an overwhelming combination, and the former often gets in the way of the latter, but in a way I find hard to articulate. This book gets it. I'm a huge fan of Ram Dass, though I wasn't a huge fan of Be Here Now, particularly the format, which was too weird and hard to read and reminded me some of the bullshit hippy-dippy stuff I grew up around, although the narrative an...
It’s hard to put into words how great of a companion this book has been. I just finished, and told myself I need to read this again. Initially, I would have recommended this read to anyone in a helping profession, and soon realized how we can all fit into the timeless question, how can I help?
Simply one of the most important messages to human beings ever penned. The title says it all. Service. Helping others. Selflessness. What else needs to be said?
I found this book to be very interesting and helpful for anyone over the age of 14 because it is a little boring. The first couple of chapters focus on how to better understand yourself. Throughout the novel, some stories inspire me. The authors perspective was super interesting and made it somewhat interesting to read. Personally, I would give it 3/5 stars and would recommend it for people that want to help others and help better your personality.
I chose to read this book in search of understanding my role as a nurse and how to deal with the burnout I’m feeling only 6 years into my profession. Almost every shift for the past 1.5 years I wish I wasn’t at work and find myself sick of “helping” people who won’t get better and planning a way out of nursing that won’t leave me in debt. This book spoke directly to me the entire time. My identification with the role of helper and viewing patients as those who need help is the problem- it is so
This was a must read for my life journey. This book taught me that if you feel like giving, give. Don't overthink it. Don't question it. Don't over judge who/what you're giving to and what they might do with your gift. *Giving is not about controlling how your gift is utilized.*And yes, others will always judge you on how much you give/don't give (along with everything else), but... We're all students in this game of life. And this book is a great teacher.
Wonderfully helpful to anyone in any field of service or anyone that just wants to re-kindle the love they have for the world that is so smothered by our preconceptions: How much can I help? Am I strong enough? I couldn't do much, etc.
I enjoyed this book. Was it a favorite? No. Was it useful? Yes. It's a simple book that address some complex issues within the helping realm. There are a handful of topics addressed in the book that do make you think deeply, evaluate your own motives and unconscious habit reactions. I found that valuable.
the most accessible Ram Dass I've read so far. Timing is everything and this book came across my reading at just the right time. We get reminded that being human is a messy, confusing and paradoxical state - when we think of ourselves as "separate" we are doomed to loneliness and suffering. When we see ourselves in others and become "we" suffering automatically lessens and we are reminded that this is true help. The book challenges you to question how and why you feel compelled to help - the ans...
I found this book to be very wise and helpful for anyone. It starts by focusing on how to understand and find yourself. If you are helping to feel better about yourself you aren't really helping. Throughout the novel, there are inspirational stories which create a balance of discussion and insight with stories about service. The authors perspective of burn-out was super interesting and was my favorite part of the book. would give it 4/5 stars and would recommend it for people that want to help o...
This was the continuation I was looking for after be here now.
As a student in the field of therapy and counseling, the requirement to read this book was one of the most enjoyable that I have been asked to meet in the last 12 months. This book, written in several long chapters, but broken up into short testimonies from professionals was an easy, enjoyable, and intellectual read.I found myself frequently book marking phrases and passages because of how closely they resembled my own thoughts, fears, reservations, and passions in regards to mental health servi...
Puts you in touch with what trust and unconditional love is all about. A must read for all those in the helping professions. A gentile, tender, and spirtual book, that will touch your heart.
I'm a sucker for this type of read so my 5 stars say more about me than about the book. Anyway the book goes like this: testimonies from people who lived remarkable experiences in the act of helping followed by the authors' reflection on the subject. I got the audio version and boy talk about an appropriate man for the job! It was as if a deity was reading his inspired words of wisdom to me.Bottom line: helping is beautiful, but it ain't easy. This is a point worth repeating: helping ain't easy....
This book was especially difficult for me to get through, for how out-there much of its content seems at first. However, a few chapters in it started to click much more with me for some reason or another and I began to feel a greater sense of profoundness for some of the messages that the book has to give regarding helpers and the helping professions. At some point in the hopefully not-too-distant future I'd like to go back and give it a reread to determine if I can draw that same sense of profo...
This is a sweet, simple book that was fodder for more than a few sermons in my preaching days. Ram is the real deal. A wonderful book to turn to if you've had a bad day. Like an eastern version of Henri Nouwen.
Not what I expected but I’m not disappointed. I honestly read this to get ideas on great things to do with my life with which I could help other people. But instead, I learned important lessons on listening and being present to be able to really help. And this applies mostly to daily stuff.So it’s one of those books that I’m sure will change my life. However, I did felt that something is missing, probably my first expectation. And I think it got repetitive at some points. So I would give it 4 st...
This book is a compilation of moving vignettes, gathered over time and space, and shared within the themes of each chapter's title name. The book motivates the reader to consider what it means to 'help' and to be of service within the context of unity consciousness.
This book is useful for those whose rearing imbued them with the middle class concept of the charity hierarchy: to help "others," we first engage in othering. Ram Dass, like Alan Watts or Pema Chodron, can help us see things in a new perspective. My favorite vignette was the one from the soldier with the gun that the flower child put the daisy in: he said the daisy girl turned him off because she was self-righteous and not actually trying to connect; but he joined Veterans for Peace when he star...