In this Q&A session from 1994, Ram Dass talks about the importance of honoring lineage, the potential of the rave scene, how to bring a heart quality to academia, and much more.

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This episode of Here and Now is from a question and answer session Ram Dass conducted at a talk in Boulder, Colorado, in June of 1994.

• Ram Dass begins by answering questions about self-destructing methods, lineage versus eclecticism, and advising people on what methods are best suited to them. He talks about the importance of honoring lineage and respecting each other’s journeys.
• Next up is a dose of psychedelics and politics. Ram Dass answers a question about the burgeoning rave scene in 1994 and includes his thoughts on the state of psychedelics at that moment. He then takes on a question about fundamentalism, which prompts him to talk about the Clinton administration.
• Ram Dass wraps things up with questions about bringing a heart quality into academia, his view on open marriages, and the importance of honoring our teachers. He talks about being able to respond to the presence of uncertainty and chaos in a reflective way, rather than a reactive way.

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“In the story of lineages, the transmission is passed from individual to individual through specific teachings. I think we should honor and appreciate and treasure the fact that human consciousness has valued and transmitted ways to become free. I think that’s what honoring a lineage means. I think that we’ve got to separate the practice of honoring a lineage from the result of honoring the lineage, which is to be free. And that means free of lineage. You can’t be free of all form, you’re free within form. And within form, you can be in the lineage.” – Ram Dass

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In this continuation of his address to the American Psychological Association, Ram Dass talks about integrating different planes of reality and offers 10 recommendations for psychologists.

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If you haven’t done so already, listen to Here and Now Ep. 259 to hear the first part of this talk. This episode is a continuation of Ram Dass’ address to the American Psychological Association in Montreal, Canada, on September 3rd, 1980.

• Ram Dass examines the paradoxes that we must incorporate into our beings as we start to play with different planes of reality, including issues of free will and determinism. He talks about embracing his humanity and taking the curriculum that’s offered to him in this life.
• Ram Dass explores systems that exist in other cultures that are usable by psychology, including the Chakra systems. He reads a story about an Eastern doctor as an example of someone who has integrated different planes of reality into his work.
• Using his clock analogy, Ram Dass details the process of awakening from identification with our separateness and how we evolve from seeking pleasure to seeking freedom. He ends the address by offering 10 recommendations for psychologists that he’s gleaned through his life experiences.

“You and I met here today in a way that our hearts touched. You can’t convert what I said into any simple psychological stuff right away. But you and I are meeting in a way that we know we are touching something that is real for both of us. We may not be able to say what it is that’s just happening to us, but we know it’s happening. We can point at the moon, a little bit.” – Ram Dass

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Presenting his unique life as a case study, Ram Dass offers insights into the human mind and altered states of consciousness to a gathering of the American Psychological Association.

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This show is also sponsored by Magic Mind, a matcha-based energy shot infused with nootropics and adaptogens designed to crush procrastination, brain fog, & fatigue. Use the code RAMDASS at checkout to get up to 50% off your subscription: Magic Mind

This episode of Here and Now is from the first part of Ram Dass’ address to the Meeting of the American Psychological Association in Montreal, Canada, on September 3rd, 1980.

• Ram Dass presents his case to the American Psychological Association, talking about a set of experiences and shifting perceptions that confronted him with the issue of what reality truly is.
• He explores his time as a professor at Harvard, meeting Tim Leary, and the power of his first psychedelic experience. That experience propelled Ram Dass to years of research with these consciousness-altering chemicals and a deep exploration of the human mind.
• Having become a master of getting high, Ram Dass talks about the horrors of coming down. But these studies with psychedelics helped him to empty his mind, become more of a witness to his experiences, and be less associated with his emotional states.
• Finally, Ram Dass shares what led to him going to India, his experience of giving his guru psychedelics, and how his concept of time started to change. He closes by talking about the different planes of consciousness.

“I found myself becoming less identified with my emotional states and my psychological qualities and characteristics, and perplexedly enough, at the same moment, more involved with them. I seemed to be living more fully in the moment of the feelings, and yet, at the same moment, being more spacious around them.” – Ram Dass

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