Dear Readers,
I am thrilled to have watched an inspiring documentary about Ram Dass yesterday, "Fierce Grace." In this documentary many references were made to psychedelics and how they opened the doors for people like Doctors Richard Alpert (aka Ram Dass) and Timothy Leary to experience a spiritual oneness or personal god. Let go into greater detail in this blog as I wish to present an important point with regard to meditation.
Dr. Alpert was born to a Jewish family and grew up to become a Professor at Harvard University. At Harvard University, Alpert would come to befriend and work with Dr. Timothy Leary. The two of them worked together on a project at the University that administered psychodelics to volunteers as part of a research study to find helpful medicinal uses for psychodelics.
Soon after the project began to stir up contronversy, Harvard shut it down and fired both Dr. Alpert and Dr. Leary. The pair stayed together a while longer and commented that in the time following their friendship after leaving Harvard University, to take LSD in controlled doses every four weeks. This lifestyle brought Dr. Alpert to go in search of other (less rollercoaster-like) ways to achieve the same state of bliss that he experienced during LSD.
Richard Alpert traveled to India and under the guidance of another westerner was introduced to his "guru" or spiritual teacher (I'll add the name of this Saint when I remember). The day that he met the Guru, Richard was a little heistant to observe the customary greeting of bowing down before the Guru and touching his feet; as his traveling western companion did this he stood with his hands in his pockets and watched. The Guru noticed this and said something that would change his life. The Guru spoke to Richard and told him that he knew that he was thinking about his mother (who had just died) earlier that evening and he also stated that she died from unhealthly kidneys. Richard having stared at the stars nostalgically thinking of his recently passed mother, before arriving at the Guru's monestary, was taken-a-back by this. Shocked Richard stayed to learn from the Guru for many months and soon recieved the name Ram Dass (which I will now refer to him as).
Ram Dass later would return home to America and become a spiritual leader in many communities especially amongst the Hippie generation. Ram Dass is the auther of the best selling book about yoga and meditation entitled "Be Here Now." Anyways the important part of this story came during Ram Dass's stay with his Guru at the monestary. The Guru was (of course) aware of the LSD with which Ram Dass carried with him in his travel packet and expressed interest in trying the tablets of LSD to Ram Dass. Heistant at first, Ram Dass decided, since his Guru knew about most things naturally the Guru would know what effect the LSD would have, that he would give the plastic bag for his Guru to choose from. The Guru looked carefully and laid 12 tablets of LSD out in front of where he was sitting to look at. Then something strange happened, the Guru took all 12 tablets of LSD. Ram Dass was fearful but soon realized that nothing was happening. The LSD seemingly had no effect on the Guru.
(Fierce Grace, Zeitgest DVD 2006)
I truely believe that the Guru was unaffected by this drug/medicine because of his involvement with the yogic superconscious state and it's unlimited and untold of effects on our body, mind, spirit.
Trevahr
Waking Within A Yoga Company
760-713-6710
I am thrilled to have watched an inspiring documentary about Ram Dass yesterday, "Fierce Grace." In this documentary many references were made to psychedelics and how they opened the doors for people like Doctors Richard Alpert (aka Ram Dass) and Timothy Leary to experience a spiritual oneness or personal god. Let go into greater detail in this blog as I wish to present an important point with regard to meditation.
Dr. Alpert was born to a Jewish family and grew up to become a Professor at Harvard University. At Harvard University, Alpert would come to befriend and work with Dr. Timothy Leary. The two of them worked together on a project at the University that administered psychodelics to volunteers as part of a research study to find helpful medicinal uses for psychodelics.
Soon after the project began to stir up contronversy, Harvard shut it down and fired both Dr. Alpert and Dr. Leary. The pair stayed together a while longer and commented that in the time following their friendship after leaving Harvard University, to take LSD in controlled doses every four weeks. This lifestyle brought Dr. Alpert to go in search of other (less rollercoaster-like) ways to achieve the same state of bliss that he experienced during LSD.
Richard Alpert traveled to India and under the guidance of another westerner was introduced to his "guru" or spiritual teacher (I'll add the name of this Saint when I remember). The day that he met the Guru, Richard was a little heistant to observe the customary greeting of bowing down before the Guru and touching his feet; as his traveling western companion did this he stood with his hands in his pockets and watched. The Guru noticed this and said something that would change his life. The Guru spoke to Richard and told him that he knew that he was thinking about his mother (who had just died) earlier that evening and he also stated that she died from unhealthly kidneys. Richard having stared at the stars nostalgically thinking of his recently passed mother, before arriving at the Guru's monestary, was taken-a-back by this. Shocked Richard stayed to learn from the Guru for many months and soon recieved the name Ram Dass (which I will now refer to him as).
Ram Dass later would return home to America and become a spiritual leader in many communities especially amongst the Hippie generation. Ram Dass is the auther of the best selling book about yoga and meditation entitled "Be Here Now." Anyways the important part of this story came during Ram Dass's stay with his Guru at the monestary. The Guru was (of course) aware of the LSD with which Ram Dass carried with him in his travel packet and expressed interest in trying the tablets of LSD to Ram Dass. Heistant at first, Ram Dass decided, since his Guru knew about most things naturally the Guru would know what effect the LSD would have, that he would give the plastic bag for his Guru to choose from. The Guru looked carefully and laid 12 tablets of LSD out in front of where he was sitting to look at. Then something strange happened, the Guru took all 12 tablets of LSD. Ram Dass was fearful but soon realized that nothing was happening. The LSD seemingly had no effect on the Guru.
(Fierce Grace, Zeitgest DVD 2006)
I truely believe that the Guru was unaffected by this drug/medicine because of his involvement with the yogic superconscious state and it's unlimited and untold of effects on our body, mind, spirit.
Trevahr
Waking Within A Yoga Company
760-713-6710
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