Followed by spoken-word poetry from Dreaming Bear, Ram Dass and Uma Reed explore how the union of Bhakti and Vedanta leads to unchanging bliss and eternal awareness.

Recorded in 2008 at Studio Maui, this mini-series features Ram Dass and guests from his satsang. Check out the first two episodes of this mini-series on episodes 245 and 255 of the Be Here Now Network's Guest Podcast.

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In this episode, Uma Reed and Ram Dass share insights on:

• Weaving together the paths of Bhakti and Vedanta
• Connecting to our blissful nature and a joy that is unchanging
• Ram Dass’s mushroom trip at Tim Leary’s house: seeing the roles vs. the soul
• Stripping everything away until you are pure awareness and love
• Spoken word with Dreaming Bear
• Loving all of each other the way we love our beloved
• Giving yourself permission to become wild and undomesticated

About Uma Reed:

Uma was first exposed to Hindu devotional chanting in the early 1970s, while studying meditation and spiritual practices with Ram Dass and various other teachers. Kirtan was a practice that touched her deeply, and as a devotee of Neem Karoli Baba, she often participated in kirtan gatherings with fellow devotees, as well as in other ashrams and spiritual communities. For years she held kirtan in her home, and for the past dozen years or so, she has led kirtan formally in yoga studios, spiritual centers, and retreat settings. She has taught workshops and led kirtan on numerous retreats and in satsang with Ram Dass and other spiritual teachers in the U.S. and abroad.

About Dreaming Bear:

Dreaming Bear is a master word-smith delivering his fervent message with extraordinary verbal dexterity and relevance. He's a nomadic bard, a hip mystic and modern-language Sufic style philosopher-poet. If you'd like to experience a living combination of Spaulding Gray, Rumi, Jack Kerouac, Robin Williams, Shel Silverstein, Michael Talbot and Thich Nhat Hanh, you owe it to yourself to see Dreaming Bear. The foundation for Dreaming Bear’s work as a transformational epic orator and poetic storyteller is deeply attuned to the natural world. His work as a university teacher/researcher was further defined by years spent living 'off the grid'. While in a deep communion with what the Hawaiians call the a'ina, or life force of the land, he began to take his artistry to a new level and developed many of the works that have proven to be inspiring to so many. Find out more about Nature’s Poet Laureate by reading a book of his poetry.

“You will always exist. Isn’t that reassuring? You always exist.” –Ram Dass

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With humor and wisdom, Duncan Trussell shares how the ego can turn spirituality into another achievement, and why freedom comes from realizing there's nothing to prove.

Help us celebrate 10 years of Be Here Now Network and support the next chapter of Ram Dass Here and Now. Gifts are matched dollar for dollar through June 30. Learn more and give here: BHNN 10th Birthday Fundraiser

Today’s podcast is brought to you by BetterHelp. Give online therapy a try at betterhelp.com/beherenow and get on your way to being your best self.

This time on the BHNN Guest Podcast, Duncan chats about:

• Lessons on spiritual materialism from Chögyam Trungpa Rinpoche
• Staying connected to everyday life while being spiritual
• Transcendental common sense vs. getting puffed up in the ego
• Staying connected to everyday life while being spiritual
• The trouble with actively ignoring parts of ourselves
• Reconciling higher consciousness with everyday affairs
• Surrendering to all of it and becoming ‘normal’ again
• Hyperfixating on suffering rather than the end of suffering

About Duncan Trussell:

Duncan Trussell is a stand-up comedian, podcaster, and actor. His popular podcast, The Duncan Trussell Family Hour, has been downloaded over 25 million times and is known for its blend of humor, fringe ideas, eclectic guests, and great interviews. The DTFH is the foundation for Duncan’s Netflix animated series, The Midnight Gospel, which he co-created with Pendleton Ward in 2020. To learn more about Duncan’s work, visit his website at duncantrussell.com.

“It’s a very frustrating thing to our ego to imagine that you don’t have to do anything. You don’t have to learn Sanskrit, know about your chakras, have those scars on your arm from frog venom, do 90 ayahuasca retreats, go to the Ram Dass retreats, listen to Alan Watts lectures. You don’t have to do anything because you’re already there.” –Duncan Trussell

About The Host, Jackie Dobrinska:

Jackie Dobrinska is the Director of Education, Community & Inclusion for Ram Dass’ Love, Serve, Remember Foundation and the current host of Ram Dass’ Here & Now podcast. She is also a teacher, coach, and spiritual director with the privilege of marrying two decades of mystical studies with 15 years of expertise in holistic wellness. As an inter-spiritual minister, Jackie was ordained in Creation Spirituality in 2016 and has also studied extensively in several other lineages – the plant-medicine-based Pachakuti Mesa Tradition, Sri Vidya Tantra, Western European Shamanism, Christian Mysticism, the Wise Woman Tradition, and others. Today, in addition to building courses and community for LSRF, she leads workshops and coaches individuals to discover, nourish and live from their most authentic selves.

See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.