Ram Dass explores the paradox of suffering a spiritual person lives with, the perfection of it all, better living through chemistry, how we’re touched by grace, and the path of service and love.

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This episode of Here and Now continues the talk from Here and Now Ep. 254—The Up-Level. It was recorded at a meeting of the San Francisco Christian Community in 1978.

• Ram Dass begins by explaining the paradox a spiritual person lives with when it comes to suffering and the perfection of all things. He touches on karma and righteousness.
• Ram Dass talks about how he came into spirituality through his experimentation with psychedelics and better living through chemistry. He explores the power of the mystical experience, motivations for service in the face of suffering, and the limits we place on ourselves by defining who we are.
• Ram Dass touches on our attachment to our methods, and how we’re all touched by grace. We can fight it all we want, but we can’t fall out of grace. He tells the story of how he began to give up his anger and ends the talk with an exploration of love. For Ram Dass, his path was simply one of service and of love.

“We have been touched. We have been touched by grace. That’s what we’re doing here. That’s why we’re in this room rather than at movies or out getting more and more sensual gratification at a punk rock concert or whatever. The reason we are here is because we’ve touched something. That is the grace, that is the thing. It has happened.” – Ram Dass

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In a talk from 1978, Ram Dass explores stepping onto the spiritual path, different planes of consciousness, the process of awakening, and the spiritual up-level game we can get caught in.

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This episode of Here and Now comes from a 1978 recording of a talk Ram Dass gave at a meeting of the Christian Community of San Francisco.

• Ram Dass begins by speaking about the ups and downs of stepping onto the spiritual path, and how the nature of his personal journey had to do with the relationship of thought forms to the universe. There are more ways to know the universe beyond the rational, analytic mind, including intuition.
• Using meditation as an example, Ram Dass explores how we can lessen our identification with our thinking mind and start identifying more with our awareness. He talks about the different planes of consciousness on which we exist, from the physical and psychological planes to the plane where we’re all one.
• Ram Dass describes the process of awakening as a process of extricating ourselves from attachment to any of these planes. He talks about the confusion people encounter as they jump from plane to plane and the spiritual up-level game that people can get caught in. Ultimately, what we have to realize is that there’s no place to stand. We’ve got to allow it all, all of the time.

“‘Peter, it’s your turn to do the dishes.’ Peter answers, ‘We’re all one.’ Now, it is true we are all one, and it’s also true that it’s your turn to do the dishes. That’s what would be called a confusion of levels, you see. That’s what was known as the up-level in the original jargon of the consciousness movement. That was the up-level. You up-level everybody. Whatever they said, you just jumped one level up. Then you get the penultimate where somebody is saying, ‘It’s all nothing, it’s all empty, there is nothing, there’s nowhere.’ Then you’d say, ‘Yes, but do the dishes.’ And that would be your new up-level, that would be the twist.” – Ram Dass

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In this 1981 Q&A session, Ram Dass addresses surrender, astrology, dharmic anger, the illusion of separateness, relative reality, love, hallucinogens, and more.

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This episode of Here and Now is taken from a talk given in Melbourne, Australia in 1981.

• Ram Dass begins the Q&A by taking questions about dealing with disturbances in meditation, the relationship between concept and perception, and letting go of our identification with different roles and stances.
• In response to a question about the role of the guru in the unfolding of his spiritual journey, Ram Dass talks about how his relationship with his guru is like that of a child with an imaginary playmate. He cautions us about getting too caught up in the concept of the guru, saying that there are no rules to this game.
• After answering a question about free will, Ram Dass takes on an inquiry about being too formless and feeling disconnected from the physical. He talks about the importance of being grounded and getting your act together. Ram Dass ends this part of the session with a question about responsibility, especially as it pertains to social action.

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“Once you are without anger, then you can get really angry. I mean, there’s nothing more beautiful than dharmic anger.” – Ram Dass

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