ABOUT THE AUTHOR : RAM DASS
Born Richard Alpert, Ram Dass was a noteworthy psychology professor at the prestigious Harvard University. At Harvard he worked in multiple psychology departments and also as a therapist specializing in personality development and human motivation. In the 60s he was also a prominent psychedelic pioneer by including substances like mushrooms and LSD in his experimental research. (Of course at the time these substances were legal and very popular.) So, in simple terms, he was a professional hippie. "Be Here Now" was not his first book, in 1965 he collaborated with Robert Sears and Lucy Rau to produce "Identification and Child Rearing" - a study which studied specific childlike behaviors and how children react to them when placed in a parental role (with a doll of course). Ram Dass would go on to become a spiritual teacher and yoga guru with dozens of published books, audios, and documentaries. Many still follow his teachings on yoga, spirituality, and mindfulness today. He passed on at the age of 88 in Maui, Hawaii in 2019.
You can learn more about Ram Dass at his website: ramdass.org
Book Review: Be Here Now, 1971
**WARNING: This book contains sensitive content on drug use. This book also implements graphics to help teach and explain. Often times, it can be difficult to follow the graphics and may require you to rotate your book in various ways. If you are not open to this type of content, then this book may be harder to enjoy for you.**
I found this book at a local crystal shop in Atlanta, GA - Crystal Blu. I had just moved into my new apartment, and I can vividly remember how high my energy was on that day. I kept seeing angel numbers (specifically 999) which symbolized that I was ending a cycle and beginning a new one. It was the start of a new journey and I was more than excited to see what was in store for me. I went to the store to get some new crystals for my house and something drew me to their book section, and this book screamed "TAKE ME HOME N O W !!" when I saw it. I loved how unconventional it looked from the cover to the shape to the pictures I saw when I flipped through it. Plus the title "Be Here Now" was a concept I was studying at the time. The book is divided into three main, distinct sections, so I will do a separate review for each.
Part 1: The background story
The first part of the book introduces the author to you and how he became Ram Dass. It is written in a reminiscent first person point-of-view which quickly seems to be from a reliable source. He spends some time highlighting his successes and explaining how empty he felt even with riches. He then goes on to recall his drug use and abuse and how psychedelics helped to jumpstart his spiritual journey and denounce his previous luxurious lifestyle. We learn of his travels through India and of the individuals that taught him to be the spiritual leader we know of today.
I enjoyed this part of the book extensively and got through it pretty fast. It is the easiest portion of the book to read and kind of entertaining. His studies on psychedelics intrigued me, but what intrigued me even further was his over-awareness of all of his actions. Reading this section made me feel more comfortable in relying on this text as a guide because I got a better understanding of the man behind the name. And with any spiritual guide, you should feel comfortable with the person behind the words. The message may sound good, but are the intentions good? And by reading this first section I felt validation that the author was someone who I trusted to guide me.
Part 2: The journey
So this is where the book gets a little interesting. After reading the first part, this part may make a little more sense as to why it is illustrated and arranged how it is. I'm not going to lie - it's going to be hard to read at first. Not because the content is difficult to comprehend, but moreso because the words sometimes form pictures or run into each other or do not form the traditional sentence structure. That's one of the reasons I wrote the warning - if you aren't willing to literally follow the message however it is given to you, then you will not be able to finish the book.
HOWEVER,
If you are willing to dive into this unconventional section, then you will be intrigued, confused, completed, excited, etc. by the actual message. I was so engulfed in the message that it wasn't hard following the graphics. It was different, sure, but as an artist I appreciated how the message often coincided with the graphic.
This is the meat of the book. This section is basically an introduction to modern spirituality and will allow you to see the world and yourself differently. I can honestly say I think differently after reading this section and I am cautious about my intentions and actions.
Part 3: The guide
Part 3 is more of a guide that should be practiced. I found myself skipping a lot of its parts while reading it because I was doing just that - reading it. I would like to go back through this last part and go through the exercises physically. I have read that it is a great starting point for if you are interested in becoming a yogi or just in gaining a deeper understanding of yoga and meditation as a whole.
Overall, I give this book 🌟🌟🌟🌟🌟/5 stars
I really enjoyed and can definitely label it as a favorite. I think it's an excellent guide to someone who is curious about learning more about spirituality. In fact, it often times prompted me to do deeper research into some of the topics mentioned. Well worth the time and energy!
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