I always go to my local farmers market when it in season, to get my Organic local produce and check out whatever goodies people are making and selling. There is a small used book vendor that I can never pass up, Always finding a couple gems to come home with me.
A couple years ago, while browsing the Spirituality section, I came across “Be Here Now” by Baba Ram Dass aka Richard Alpert.
The book took me by surprise when I read through it, Its got a couple small chapters, an introduction, then chapters on spirituality, meditation and yoga. The majority of the book is full spread pictures, amazing pictures,like Mandalas, Sigils, enlightened beings, deities goddess,and demon-esque type creatures. With the large text flowing through the pictures like a river . I had an Amazing experience just reading this book. I also picked up “Autobiography of a Yoga” by Paramahansa Yogananda (this is quite a longer read). which is amazing as well.
Lets just say I devoured “Be Here Now”. I went on to listen to all of his lectures or “Sat-sangs” online, as well as this other books, documentaries, and anything else I could find.
Let me tell you a bit about Ram Dass for people that are new to him, his story or his material.
He was a professional and had a doctorate in psychology and had a a permanent position at Harvard, where he worked with the Social Relations Department and the Psychology Department where he was a therapist. This is also where Timothy Leary worked and the two came good friends. They both started to experiment with psychedelics, in and out of the work environment and, after a scandal at Harvard both left their positions.
Now Richard Alpert , considered himself an atheist and as “inured to religion. I didn’t have one whiff of God until I took psychedelics.” But after his years with Leary and his psychedelic experiences he became a seeker and left for India in 1967 on a spiritual journey.
He wanted to find out if there was a way, or people that understood why Psychedelics can cause mystical experiences, and if there was a way to do it without mind altering compounds. In India he met Neem Karoli Baba, called Maharaj Ji which became his Guru and he spent some time with. He spent many years working and learning with different gurus and spending time in different spiritual retreats and meditation centers. All the while he was still working with LSD and other psychedelics.
He came back to the states, and was well know in the psychedelic and spiritual movement. He traveled around for years giving talks and lectures. Sharing his experiences and wisdom. He is gifted speaker, and the talks are deep,charming and funny. He covers things like his Psychedelic and mystical experiences, Self awareness , love, death, yoga, mediation and eastern religions and teachings.
He turned into the Psychedelic Guru.
He still is, in my book.
When asked if he could sum up his life’s message, he replied,
“I help people as a way to work on myself, and I work on myself to help people … to me, that’s what the emerging game is all about.”
That resonated with me on a deep level.
I recommend Listening to some of the talks on YouTube. I will post some here that are my favorite to get you started. There are hours and hours of these talks out there. I have listened to all I could find. Some of them 2 or 3 times. Just something I keep coming back to.
Ram Dass, Here We All Are, Be Here Now.
This remarkable collection of tapes by Ram Dass was recorded at a workshop at the opening of Naropa Institute in the summer of 1974. It represents Ram Dass’ core teaching on the Bhagavad Gita, one of Hinduism’s essence spiritual texts.
Course focus on karma yoga and bhakti yoga, predicament in teaching the Gita, pure transmissions, rituals, reinvesting Spirit by becoming it, Gita as living experience, stages in the evolution of consciousness, identifying with a different plane of reality, emptiness, creating your own universe, making life a vehicle, experiencing the Gita, identifying with Arjuna and identifying with Krishna.
There plenty more to find online. Ram Dass had a stroke some years back and has stopped traveling and giving lectures , but he still teaches from his website and holds retreats in Hawaii every year.
who are your favorite spiritual teachers?
Ms.Mystic 