Alex and Allyson with Ram Dass February 15, 2009
At the Mystic Garden Party in Maui we reunited with Ram Dass, a spiritual friend who has inspired our journey for over thirty-five years. Here is some of the wisdom that he shared in his public talk.
" I see you all as Souls who have taken incarnation. Your karma is perfect for your life as a Soul. As Souls, we have to learn from Joy and Suffering. In this life I've learned a lot about suffering and a lot about compassion. Through psychedelics I learned that my consciousness lives at many levels. There are levels of ego and levels of soul and spiritual being. We're all Spiritual Beings, having found ourselves in this incarnation of the Body. Some of those levels generally are #1 -- Psychological Beings; #2 -- Spiritual Beings; #3 One Being.
At the level of Highest Spirit, we are One Being. We are all in the One. You see the world, but it is you. Since your identity is with the One.
The One exists in our hearts. The Many exists in our minds. The ego is who you think you are, but you are something else in your heart. The One is like the story of the blind men and the elephant. Every blind man only described one part of the elephant and none had a sense of the whole. Is the One the Divine Mother? Is the One Ram? Is the One Jesus? Is the One Buddha? I like to call the One, Awareness. The One is God. If you want The One, it's best you be The One.
Compassion starts from One-ness. When you can blend your awareness in the tree you are far along to One-ness. Connect with the heart.
"I AM loving awareness." This is a mantra. Your awareness is in your heart mind.
'I am loving kindness -- The One -- and I am aware of Ram Dass's melodrama.'
Maharaji, my guru gave me two instructions: '#1 Love Everybody; #2 Tell the truth.'
My ego felt cornered. Oh, I tried to love them all. But there are just certain people... I put a picture of George Bush on my altar. Every morning I would look at all the pictures of the enlightened beings and greet them, then look over and say sourly, "Hello George"... George Bush -- what a lousy incarnation. Think of all the karma there. You've got to have compassion.
Past and future are thoughts that cause suffering. Just stay in the moment with Loving Awareness. I love you as a Soul. Your incarnation is 'meshuggah.'
When you identify with your Soul, the Soul force is indestructible. We are vehicles of our Soul. We are born to make manifest the Glory of God in us. Souls meet in communion. Identify with the Soul, with your Loving Awareness. Plumb the moment and find the Soul. The One is Loving Awareness.
Quakers talk of the still small voice within. Hindus say the Atman is aware through us.
A nation is a big ego. Our president, Obama, is for Oneness. I am a devotee of a monkey -- Hanuman. He is a symbol of getting to The One through service. Barack Obama keeps a Hanuman in his pocket. Ram Das is asking Hanuman to give his power to Obama. We have to see him as a Soul. Only a Soul sees a Soul."
Hazrat Inayat Khan said, 'When radiance shines forth it shows your countenance and expression and will effect every person you meet. The Soul projects through you and the surroundings feel it.'
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