80 of 83 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Hip and Full of Cosmic Insights, October 10, 2006
This review is from: The Only Dance There Is (Paperback)
"I can only believe in a God that dances..."
-Friedrich Nietzsche
I love Ram Dass. For those of you who are in the "dark" about him, he is formerly known as Richard Alpert...no relation to Herb. He and fellow psychoanalyst, Timothy Leary (anyone ever hear of him) promoted LSD as the way to change EVERYTHING in your life. From curing alcoholism to feeling as though there is a deeper side to everything that we see, LSD was the "wonder drug" that made it all possible. Instead of going fullbore into the trip that made Leary so famous, Alpert went to India seeking Spirituality and came back as Ram Dass. You see, when the consciousness changes, the name changes, as well. Our name must reflect our inner nature. In some circles I am known as Mi Che Lob...which simply means, I like Michelob beer...
This book is a written account of Dass' visits to various institutions. He was trying to get "prisoners" to see that there is way out of the game they were currently in. Whether we're in a brick and iron facility or in a prison of our own making makes little difference to Ram Dass, we can be free from those prisons when we begin to identify ourselves not with a body, but with the Spirit of all Creation...with God...y'see, Christianity does not own God. They would like to think that they do, but God does not promote only one type of religion, God does not only allow "certain" people to experience bliss and peace, God does not vote Republican. God is the Impersonal made personal; a Love that knows no bounds that is within and around each being. Everything is God and God is everything.
This is the book that got me to start chanting OM MANI PADME AUM every morning and every evening and got me strange looks from my dad. It helped me to clarify what I really wanted from my life and it made me realize with real eyes all I really want is God. I may say I want riches, or power, or money, or sex, or Michelob beer, but what I really want is a feeling that none of these things can ever provide for in the long haul...only in seeking the Eternal can I find true peace and bliss. This is not to say that a million dollars, a prestigious career, a fabulous sex life with my soul mate, and good food and drink cannot provide happiness, they most certainly can...and do! But one must always remember that in back of all form is No Form. You see, people in the west tend to think that one can either "have" God or riches. We don't understand that when we have God in our hearts, we are in the lap of riches. That is why the Master Jesus said, "Seek ye first the Kingdom of God within you...and all things will be added..."
Heaven is a consciousness, an awareness, a feeling of being full already. Maybe this is why we are such an addicted bunch of people. We keep reaching for things that never really fill us up because we are reaching for things that cannot outlast themselves, but when we reach for that which has no beginning and no ending, we reach for the only thing that is ever really real; God. You are God. I am God. We are God. These skin encapsulated egos, these bodies, these fragile shells are not the end all, be all of life. I will shed this "clothing" one day and evolve into something even greater.
I betcha some "born againer" is reading this review saying, "Yeah, but first you're gonna fry for believing in something other than Jesus Christ." Oh, I believe in him...I really do...I just don't believe in the perverted and twisted teachings that others have made about him. Salvation is a guarantee. If God threw us in hell, God would be right there with us. God loves Its creation; that is why we are who we are so we may one day discover that behind all these weird beliefs, behind all these carefully engineered personalities and ideas we have about the world and about life, is the One Light that can never fade or die. We are Eternal now and forever. This is the Only Dance there is...God dancing with Itself in everything, as everything...
I believe in a dancing God.
May You come to dance with Spirit...to waltz with your own faults...to be the beautiful You you already are.
Peace and Blessings...
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48 of 49 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
this paperback changed my life, March 19, 1999
This review is from: The Only Dance There Is (Paperback)
I hesitated to accept this book from a friend since I thought it would be too way out, but once I started reading it, I relished the insightful observations and openness of Dass. He is a genius and obviously very in touch with himself. The day I started reading this, I was in a terrible mood, but afterwards I was unbelievably optimistic. I went out immediately and bought it for my brother and have been recommending it to all of my friends. Everyone should have a copy!! I've been looking all over Berkeley for another copy for myself to no avail since my friend wanted hers back. Now, thanks to Amazon, I can get my own. Seriously, though, this book emphasizes the importance of living in the moment, taking risks in life, the value of altered states of consciousness, and accepting and embracing your innate humanity. Dass engrosses the reader with amazing stories and relates abstract religious concepts well to real life.
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24 of 26 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Brilliant spiritual reflections from Ram Dass, March 31, 2001
This review is from: The Only Dance There Is (Paperback)
An excellent, underrated spiritual book. Ram Dass is brilliant, spontaneous, and loving -- his messages are clear as a bell.
For reference, the book is a sort of "transcript" of talks given at the menninger Foundation in 1970 and at Spring Grove hospital in 1972.
Here is a classic quote from the book: "I used to hang out with the Mellon Family. The Mellon family is very rich. Each of the parents has 700 million dollars. That's rich in my book. The kids were poor. They each had only 20 million. I hung out with one of these kids who had 20 million dollars and he felt like a bum... That's far out from my point of view."
Ram Dass skillfully uses stories like this to illustrate the spiritual truths that craving objects leads to suffering, that peace of mind lies within, and so on.
Excellent book. Thanks Ram!
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