Speaking across the decades from the 1960s through the 1990s, Ram Dass shares his thoughts on expanding the boundaries of consciousness through the use of psychedelic chemicals.  

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This episode of Here and Now is a compilation of Ram Dass exploring the use of psychedelic chemicals. 

• We begin in the mid-1960s, back when Ram Dass was still Richard Alpert. In this interview with the CBC, he talks about how the psychedelic experience can help us see past individual differences.  
• The next stop is 1968 and the famed WBAI radio talks. Ram Dass details his first experience with psychedelic chemicals and the process he went through of losing his attachment to his social roles. 
• We move on to 1977 and a radio interview at the University of California, Santa Cruz. Ram Dass touches on the role of these chemicals in the spiritual awareness of people, recreational versus sacramental use, and the importance of set and setting.
• Up next is a retreat in 1989 where Ram Dass answers questions from a breakout group. He gives a brief history of psychedelic chemicals and talks about how they can provide a fresh look at the universe, expanding the boundaries of consciousness. 
• The final stop is a psychedelic conference at Chapman University in 1994. Ram Dass reflects on the impact that psychedelics had on his life and how they influenced his work with death and dying.

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“And the predicament is that as you develop a model of who you are and how the universe works, it’s extremely hard to get out of that, which is called the ego, really. It’s very hard to get out of that. And what the chemical allows you to do is set that aside for a moment and see the universe from a different vantage point and find places in yourself, which is why it was used in religious traditions, find the deeper parts of your being that lie behind your thinking mind.” – Ram Dass

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In this talk from the 1980s, Ram Dass explores different forms of yoga—hatha, dhyan, jnana, bhakti, tantra, and more—and answers questions from the audience. 

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This episode of Here and Now comes from an event in Irvine, CA, called “Living Consciously in the 1980s.” 

• Ram Dass talks about how it’s only when we realize we aren’t who we think we are that the journey of awakening begins. Fortunately, there is help along this path in the various types of yoga, or methods for coming into the One.
• Ram Dass explores different forms of yoga, including hatha yoga (energy), dhyan yoga (meditation), jnana yoga (wisdom), bhakti yoga (devotion), and tantric yoga (senses). He says we should work with whichever form calls to us, or we can be a “chicken soup eclectic” like he is. 
• Finally, Ram Dass answers some questions from the audience. He talks about intuition, the darkness that comes before spiritual growth, social identities, dealing with attachment to your child’s predicament, and more.

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About Ram Dass:

Ram Dass’s spirit has been a guiding light for generations, carrying millions along on the journey. Ram Dass teaches that through the Bhakti practice of unconditional love, we can all connect with our true nature. Through these teachings, Ram Dass has shared a little piece of his guru, Maharaj-ji, with all who have listened to him. Learn more at ramdass.org.

“What I’m saying to you is, which yoga is appropriate for any human being, only that human being can figure out. And you can only figure it out by trying and testing and looking and quieting your heart and opening. One of you, it will be perfect for you to study and read holy book and Vedic tracts and things. For someone else, it’ll be absolutely perfect to start to work with the energy. For someone else, it’ll be perfect to do tantra. And it is not better or worse. These are merely different strategies. And some you will be sort of like I am, sort of like a chicken soup eclectic. And I do sort of play with all of these at a kind of superficial level.” – Ram Dass

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In this special December treat, featuring kirtan from Jai Uttal, Ram Dass speaks about opening to change and merging with the Beloved.

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This episode of Here and Now comes from an event at Spirit Rock Meditation Center on July 31, 2000. 

• Ram Dass begins by exploring how Shiva is the aspect of God that rules over change. He talks about changing our self-concept from identification with our egos to identification with our souls. Devotional chanting, or kirtan, is one way to work on transforming ourselves. 
• Speaking about merging with the Beloved, Ram Dass shares how his relationship with his guru evolved after Neem Karoli Baba left his body. He talks about the place of joy that exists inside all of us. That’s the yum-yum place.
• Jai Uttal takes over and leads a rousing kirtan to connect us all to that yum-yum place. He begins by explaining the chant: “Sita Ram, Sita Ram, Sita Ram, Jai Sita Ram. Sita, the infinite Goddess. Ram, the infinite God. Jai or Jaya, praise or victory.”

About Jai Uttal:

Jai Uttal is a Grammy-nominated sacred music composer, recording artist, multi-instrumentalist, and ecstatic vocalist. Having traveled extensively in India, he met many great saints and singers, and Bhakti Yoga became his personal path. Jai has been leading, teaching, and performing kirtan around the world for nearly 50 years. He creates a safe environment for people to open their hearts and voices. Kirtan Camp with Jai Uttal starts on January 25, 2026. Nurture the seeds of love and take a journey into the healing power of sound. Sign up now.

About Ram Dass:

Ram Dass’s spirit has been a guiding light for generations, carrying millions along on the journey. Ram Dass teaches that through the Bhakti practice of unconditional love, we can all connect with our true nature. Through these teachings, Ram Dass has shared a little piece of his guru, Maharaj-ji, with all who have listened to him. Learn more at ramdass.org.

“You know those cherries, chocolate-covered cherries? They’re like hard on the outside, but they’re soft and yum, yum, yum inside. We are just chocolate-covered cherries. That’s all we are. And that yum, yum, yum, yum, that’s the joy, that’s the bhakti. Yum, yum, yum, yum. Because we meet each other in the yum-yum place.” – Ram Dass

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Speaking to a room full of Buddhists and psychotherapists, Ram Dass explores the impact that Eastern traditions have had on his life and his extraordinary adventure of coming home to being human. 

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The Ram Dass community gathers regularly to engage in meaningful discussions about the podcast. We invite you to join us and share your curiosities, insights, and wisdom. Sign up for the General Fellowship to receive event invitations directly in your inbox.

This episode of Here and Now comes from the keynote address Ram Dass gave at the 2nd Annual Buddhism & Psychotherapy Conference in 1987, which was sponsored by the Karma Kagyu Institute. 

• Ram Dass begins by outlining his connection with the Kagyu lineage of Buddhism, sharing stories of his time with Trungpa Rinpoche. He then gives a brief recap of his journey in life and how he was eventually drawn towards Eastern writings and teachings.
• Ram Dass talks about embracing Buddhist practices and his spiral path of bouncing back and forth between being in retreat and being in the marketplace of life. He explores how his work with dying people helped him embrace the extraordinary adventure of coming home to being human.
• Sharing a story about Kalu Rinpoche, another friend in the Kagyu line, Ram Dass discusses honoring compassion and the different levels at which we can do service in the world. He wraps things up by saying, “I cannot conceivably repay the debt that I feel to the Eastern traditions for having introduced me to myself.”

About Ram Dass:

Ram Dass’s spirit has been a guiding light for generations, carrying millions along on the journey. Ram Dass teaches that through the Bhakti practice of unconditional love, we can all connect with our true nature. Through these teachings, Ram Dass has shared a little piece of his guru, Maharaj-ji, with all who have listened to him. Learn more at ramdass.org.

“And I see that as an extraordinary adventure of coming home to being human. It’s interesting that more of the letters I’ve gotten in the past year have said to me, ‘Thank you for being human.’ Isn’t that bizarre? I mean, I’ve spent 25 years trying to be divine, and people write and thank me for being human. I mean, that just seems like a bizarre paradox to me.” – Ram Dass

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Speaking across the decades from the 1960s to the 2010s, Ram Dass shares stories about his mother and father, and explores what it means to honor our parents and incarnation. 

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This episode of Here and Now is a compilation of Ram Dass discussing what it means to honor our parents and our incarnation. 

• We begin in 1969 at the family farm in New Hampshire. Ram Dass talks about how most of our efforts to help other people are simply high drama. He tells a story about wanting to speak with his mother about dying when she was going through that process, but she had to be the one to open the door to the conversation.
• The next stop is the 1970s at the Abode of the Message in New Lebanon, New York. Ram Dass explores how part of the spiritual journey is about honoring incarnation and honoring our parents. He shares stories about spending time with his father, and how moments of intimacy between them were born of Ram Dass not trying to be someone special anymore.  
• We move on to a 1985 Seva benefit in San Rafael, California. Ram Dass discusses moving back home at 50 to care for his aging father. He then tells the story of being called home from a meditation retreat to help his sick stepmother, and a moment of anger he felt towards his guru about what was happening.
• Up next is a trip to the 1990s at the Conscious Aging Retreat in Clearwater, Florida. Ram Dass responds to a question about helping a child awaken. He talks about how you have to become somebody before you become nobody, and recalls a memory where he and his mother overcame their roles of parent and child for a brief moment.
• Finally, we end with a conversation between Ram Dass and John Welshons on Maui in 2011. Ram Dass tells the story of a meditation retreat that turned into a therapy group, which triggered a memory from when he was a young child and his mother was holding him down during a temper tantrum. Ram Dass tries to reconcile this memory with the moment when his guru told him his mother is a very high soul. 

The Ram Dass community gathers regularly to engage in meaningful discussions about the podcast. We invite you to join us and share your curiosities, insights, and wisdom. Sign up for the General Fellowship to receive event invitations directly in your inbox.

About Ram Dass:

Ram Dass’s spirit has been a guiding light for generations, carrying millions along on the journey. Ram Dass teaches that through the Bhakti practice of unconditional love, we can all connect with our true nature. Through these teachings, Ram Dass has shared a little piece of his guru, Maharaj-ji, with all who have listened to him. Learn more at ramdass.org.

“Now, I’ve done this, being with my father once a month now, for several years, because I said to myself, ‘Look, you have to honor your incarnation. And one of the aspects of your incarnation is that you are your father’s son.’ And even though, on some level, that seems kind of funny, it happens to be part of what it’s about. Just like I have to honor the fact that I am an American. I have to pay my taxes. I have to do a lot of stuff. And this is one of the things, I must honor it. And then I have to figure out—what does it mean to honor it? What does it mean to honor it? What does it mean to honor parents?” – Ram Dass

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Ram Dass talks about finding a balance between emptiness and compassion, then answers questions from the audience, including on how to deal with fear around current events. 

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This episode of Here and Now comes from a weekend workshop Ram Dass held in San Jose, CA, in May of 1992, not long after the LA riots took place:

• Ram Dass begins by discussing how it can be difficult to find a balance between the plane of emptiness and the plane of compassion. He talks about the paradox of seeing suffering as grace and still working to ease the suffering of those around us. 
• Ram Dass takes questions from the audience, including about seeing synchronicities, practicing compassion with people who are hard to love, whether consciousness survives death, and how to best honor the guru.   
• The final question is about dealing with fear related to current events, particularly the LA riots that had just happened in 1992. Ram Dass gives an abbreviated version of his lecture on “Riding the Waves of Change,” talking about how the art form is to be part of that in the universe which can handle change without being reactive to the fear by cultivating the parts in yourself that are not afraid. 

About Ram Dass:

Ram Dass’s spirit has been a guiding light for generations, carrying millions along on the journey. Ram Dass teaches that through the Bhakti practice of unconditional love, we can all connect with our true nature. Through these teachings, Ram Dass has shared a little piece of his guru, Maharaj-ji, with all who have listened to him. Learn more at ramdass.org.

“So we’re talking about the balance between emptiness and compassion. We’re talking about the balance between control with the mind and boundless love with the heart. I’m just giving you the balances or tensions that you and I, as human species, play with. We’re dealing with the tensions between ourselves as separate entities, with ego structures and bodies and so on, and ourselves as part of one thing that has no separateness at all.” – Ram Dass

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Celebrating the release of There Is No Other, a new book of teachings from Ram Dass' lectures, Parvati Markus and Raghu Markus listen to and reflect on some of the material used in its creation. 

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This special episode of Here and Now celebrates the new book, There Is No Other, a collection of teachings taken from Ram Dass’ lectures. In these times, Ram Dass’ teachings on wholeness and unity are more needed than ever. 

• We begin with a clip of Ram Dass exploring the mindset of “us versus them.” Who exactly is us? Who is them? Raghu and Parvati reflect on how this clip is central to the theme of There Is No Other.
• The next clip features Ram Dass talking about the balance of heart and mind. Sharing a powerful real-life example, he explores how we cut ourselves off when we veil our hearts. Raghu and Parvati share how the book is about walking a path to harmony and wholeness.
• The third clip finds Ram Dass examining Ramana Maharshi’s concept of “God, Guru, Self,” and how we can begin to appreciate that the Spirit is everywhere. Parvati and Raghu discuss how Ram Dass' new book speaks to this really important moment in our lives.
• We end with a brief clip of Ram Dass talking about the path of love. “Finally,” he says, “you become an environment, a vibratory rate…” 

“So the mind, if it gets too strong, out of balance with the heart, shuts down all the information that the heart can give. It cuts you off from your wisdom, really. You don’t even see all the stuff. I mean, you and I are simultaneously existing on so many planes of reality, but because of the power of our minds, we keep limiting which realities are real, and the rest of it we either treat as error or we don’t even notice. It’s so deeply unconscious, we just don’t even notice all the rest of us, of ourselves.” – Ram Dass

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Ram Dass explores facing fears of the future as we age, opening up to the mystery of death, and seeing dying as a window of opportunity for awakening.

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This episode of Here and Now comes from a talk Ram Dass gave in August 1995 as part of an aging study group. If you’re interested in stepping even deeper into the mystery of aging and death, check out Love Serve Remember Foundation’s new course: Walking Each Other Home. 

• Ram Dass begins with a brief meditation centered around the words of Dudjom Rinpoche. It’s used as an example of how we can learn from these powerful texts. 
• Ram Dass discusses facing future fears as we age and how death has begun to emerge from the cultural closet. For him, death is an incredible movement of consciousness into the mystery; it’s a window of opportunity.
• Ram Dass explores dealing with pain as we age and face death. He shares the story of a friend who created an incredible space for the process of her death, rather than being in a space where there was denial around the idea of death. He urges us to remain students of the mystery of life and death.
• Ram Dass ends by reading a series of quotes about death and near-death experiences. He talks about opening to death and making friends with it, rather than seeing it as a dreaded, dark hole. 

The Ram Dass community gathers regularly to engage in meaningful discussions about the podcast. We invite you to join us and share your curiosities, insights, and wisdom. Sign up for the General Fellowship to receive event invitations directly in your inbox.

About Ram Dass:

Ram Dass’s spirit has been a guiding light for generations, carrying millions along on the journey. Ram Dass teaches that through the Bhakti practice of unconditional love, we can all connect with our true nature. Through these teachings, Ram Dass has shared a little piece of his guru, Maharaj-ji, with all who have listened to him.

“It’s like the moment of birth, the moment of death, it’s the same thing; it’s an incredible movement of consciousness into the mystery. It’s a window of opportunity. Every death or every birth I’m present at is like a gift from God, as far as I’m concerned.” – Ram Dass

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In this powerful lecture on responding to suffering, Ram Dass draws on the wisdom of the Buddha, Trungpa Rinpoche, and Wavy Gravy, and offers his insight into the secret of compassion.  

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This episode of Here and Now comes from a lecture Ram Dass gave at the Omega Institute on June 28th, 1983. 

• Ram Dass talks about how suffering is everywhere. He examines the different kinds of reactions to it, including denial, pity, cynicism, or trying to “do something about it.”
• Ram Dass invokes the wisdom of the Buddha and Wavy Gravy to provide a path for us to open to suffering, and offers some insight into the secret of compassion.
• After a brief review of the Four Noble Truths, Ram Dass explores the concept of being nobody. He discusses the predicament of identifying with anything in form and how we aren’t who we think we are. We exist behind form.
• In the final part of the talk, Ram Dass introduces the rascally Trungpa Rinpoche, sharing stories of their early meetings. He recalls a dialogue between Trungpa and Wavy about responding to suffering and how they were representing two parts of the same dance.

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About Ram Dass:

Ram Dass’s spirit has been a guiding light for generations, carrying millions along on the journey. Ram Dass teaches that through the Bhakti practice of unconditional love, we can all connect with our true nature. Through these teachings, Ram Dass has shared a little piece of his guru, Maharaj-ji, with all who have listened to him.

“Because part of the secret of compassion is being able to embrace darkness into light. It’s being able to embrace suffering into yourself. It’s being able to acknowledge and allow. And then, the impeccable warrior hears what to do about it.” – Ram Dass

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In this often fierce talk from Ram Dass, he reflects on the pull of God versus the pull of humanity and how we can find the balance between keeping one eye on God and one eye on the world.  

The Ram Dass community gathers regularly to engage in meaningful discussions about the podcast. We invite you to join us and share your curiosities, insights, and wisdom. Sign up for the General Fellowship to receive event invitations directly in your inbox.

Ram Dass Here & Now is brought to you by BetterHelp. Give online therapy a try at betterhelp.com/ramdass and get on your way to being your best self.

This episode of Here and Now comes from a talk Ram Dass gave in Florida in 1975. 

• Ram Dass describes how, through practice, we can come to a point where we have a choice between fully merging back into God or returning into form. “That moment,” he says, “You have choice. Choice to give up the form, go into the formless. Or, choice to play in the formless, but come back into the form.”
• Why would we come back into form? Ram Dass talks about seeing the perfection of the universe, including all of the suffering, but also playing your part as an instrument of the Dharma. “You are a statement that will enlighten those who are ready to be enlightened. That is your only function, it’s the only reason you’re on Earth.”
• Ram Dass explores how true service arises not from the desire to help, but the desire to find freedom for ourselves and others. He talks about how the spiritual path requires balancing the pull of God and the pull of humanity; to recognize the perfection of the cosmic dance and the reality of human suffering. 

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“You get so fascinated with God, with enlightenment, with the wisdom of the ages. And in your zeal to do that, it’s very easy to forget. To forget humanity. To forget politics. To forget human concerns. To overlook the daily stuff around you.” – Ram Dass

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