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31st out of 409 books
—
464 voters
Be Here Now
Describes one man's transformation upon his acceptance of the principles of Yoga & gives a modern restatement of the importance of the spiritual side of human nature. Illustrated.
Journey; the transformation: Dr Richard Alpert, PhD into Baba Ram Dass
From Bindu to Ojas; the core book
Cookbook for a sacred life; a manual for conscious being
Painted cakes; books
Journey; the transformation: Dr Richard Alpert, PhD into Baba Ram Dass
From Bindu to Ojas; the core book
Cookbook for a sacred life; a manual for conscious being
Painted cakes; books
Paperback, 1st, 416 pages
Published
October 12th 1971
by Lama Foundation (San Cristobal, NM)
(first published 1971)
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462nd out of 3,656 books
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5,802 voters
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Feb 12, 2013
Erik Graff
rated it
4 of 5 stars
Recommends it for:
everyone
Recommended to Erik by:
peers
Shelves:
biography
With drugs, particularly pharmaceuticals, being so regularly abused in our culture, it is a salutary exercise to reconsider the sixties, when some psychoactive drugs, used considerately and independently of profit-driven corporations, turned millions towards the serious study of psychology, philosophy and religion. Richard Alpert and Timothy Leary were two prominent examples of this existential turn.
Of the two erstwhile Harvard academics, Alpert's is the happier story, Alpert the wiser man. This...more
Of the two erstwhile Harvard academics, Alpert's is the happier story, Alpert the wiser man. This...more
May 29, 2008
Katie
rated it
3 of 5 stars
Recommends it for:
I feel like I'm supposed to say, "The book will find YOU"
So there was this this guy I went to high school with, Michael, and he fancied himself a gangster. He wore his flannels buttoned all the way up, put sad-faced airbrushed clown stickers all over his books, and, though not Mexican, developed a Mexican accent. Then he dropped out of school, grew dreads adorned with seashells, and joined some cult out in the mountains by Neverland Ranch. He now considered himself a guru and also, in a past life, a bird . He was very committed to not wearing shoes or...more
30 likes · like · see review
This book helped me a lot. It was one of many that my husband brought home from work and left around the house so someone would find it at just the right time. I'd flipped through it and thought it was just a collection of philosophical sayings in the form of trippy graphics (which it is, mostly.) I noticed a copy at Ashanti's house, which impressed me, but not enough to actually start reading it.
One night I was tripping for the last time with my best friend who was about to move to another stat...more
One night I was tripping for the last time with my best friend who was about to move to another stat...more
Ram Dass takes the wisdom of the East, and wraps it in a package a Westerner can open. This book had a profound effect on me at a time when I was at a spiritual crossroads... well, maybe the beginning of my spiritual road is more accurate.
I was an atheist until about 21. Then I had my gnosis, or series of events that brought me into a direct experience with something larger than me. Call it what you want, the divine plan, the ground of being, the true self, insanity, a hallucination... all of t...more
I was an atheist until about 21. Then I had my gnosis, or series of events that brought me into a direct experience with something larger than me. Call it what you want, the divine plan, the ground of being, the true self, insanity, a hallucination... all of t...more
12 likes · like · see review
I first read this book at 20 years old when I was just barely beginning to realize that my beliefs might be different from those of my parents. So, alas, my review of this book is purely personal in nature. However, I believe this is how Ram Dass would expect his book to be reviewed.
Reading "Be Here Now" could only be likened to having the top of my heart ripped out of my chest and shown to me. I felt as though it contained all the beliefs, fears, and questions that I had kept secret for so long...more
Reading "Be Here Now" could only be likened to having the top of my heart ripped out of my chest and shown to me. I felt as though it contained all the beliefs, fears, and questions that I had kept secret for so long...more
This book is was perhaps the beginning of my interest in the eastern/mystical thought where I began to take meditation and Buddhist thought as less an academic study and more of an integration to my action and my belief. This book, like some others I shall review, possess not only the opinions, thought and methodology of one man, but takes the tradition of many religions and 'revealed truths' and quotes them here. I think it is perhaps necessary to the western mind to see that the perceived cont...more
3 likes · like · see review
Jun 17, 2008
Maureen
rated it
4 of 5 stars
Recommends it for:
cool people
Recommended to Maureen by:
Maher Baba
There is something about a square book (the shape, not the content, man), printed on paper that is almost as thick as construction paper, with the wackiest insides EVER. And, yes, while we are treated to an overview of Ram Dass' life, and given a primer for becoming practicing Hindus, it is the part in the middle with the mind-melding/melting pen and ink drawings accompanied by words on a page like, "You're standing on a bridge watching yourself go by," that make this book such a trip. Literally...more
Weird. Just plain weird. And, dare I use the word...lame-o? Because that's kind of the way I see it.
And just in case anyone was wondering: no, it is not actually possible to live on light alone. One lady who makes a lot of money claiming that she does this was exposed as a fraud on 60 minutes, and some people have still died trying even after this media exposure.
Rumor has it that God gave us a planet so that we would have stuff to eat.
That damaging dietary advice nonsense aside, it's kind of, w...more
And just in case anyone was wondering: no, it is not actually possible to live on light alone. One lady who makes a lot of money claiming that she does this was exposed as a fraud on 60 minutes, and some people have still died trying even after this media exposure.
Rumor has it that God gave us a planet so that we would have stuff to eat.
That damaging dietary advice nonsense aside, it's kind of, w...more
1 like · like · see review
I am not finished yet but I wanted to go ahead and write this review because I already know that this here is a great book. The answers are all in there man and there are pictures too. It is really a work of art, this book. Be here now contains so much wisdom sweetened and condensed so as to help it reach right down into your soul. Will having had experience with psychedelics help you to understand this book? Perhaps, but I swear there is so much Truth in it that you wouldn't even need to be ab...more
3 likes · like · see review
It wouldn't be fair to open this book holding on to any preconceived notions about some "hippie counterculture", you might miss the message. You must be able to accept that a book can be square in shape and that the story can be delivered as art and not only straight lines of text. And to push you just a bit further, you must be comfortable reading most of the book "sideways", not like a "regular" book.. Some of those very things are what I love about Be Here Now, to read it you must truly Be He...more
High on hashish, a clay chilum smoke kiss is "shotgunned" into your mouth. Be Here Now. Afterwards, don't take the elevator, learn to use your own physical gifts and discover your brain and body are(Be here now) connected. When America celebrated its 200 birthday, this "classic" had its eighteenth printing and 22,500 copies were in circulation. This may have been the menu guide book for America's "spiritual supermarket" approach as the baby boomers searched the world's aisles, taking samples fro...more
This book is really like three books in one. The first part of the book is an autobiography of Dr. Richard Alpert and his life journey to spiritual freedom. The middle book is a spiritual text that is composed of Alpert's spiritual findings incorporated with quotes from spiritual leaders and his own illustrations. The third book is Cookbook for a Sacred Life which gives very specific instructions on how to make your own personal transformation. For this assignment, I read the second portion of t...more
This is powerful stuff. Be careful with this one. Also, drugs are bad please keep that in mind at all times. Gave it a three star, but in all honesty I hated and loved this book equally, though at different times. At first, I loved it. As it impacted my life, I slowly developed a feel for it that turned into a plain outright "I deeply wish I had never read this" That said, for me this book was profound and ground breaking, and certainly left its mark on me. (Big like the crater formed from an as...more
This is a good way to start for every soul seeking enlightenment. How can we comprehend the essence of pure existence in an Infinite Universe, and the eternal magnificence we carry within, wrapped in ephemeral matter? How to find balance between an inner divinity, and the chaotic outer world? Try this book if you want to know some more about these subjects.
Baba Ram Dass is such a bright light in the path of spiritual matters. I personally found his writing touching and inspiring, and the illust...more
Baba Ram Dass is such a bright light in the path of spiritual matters. I personally found his writing touching and inspiring, and the illust...more
I love this book. You can dismiss it if you want as ex-hippie/druggie New Age blather, but the fact is, this book has some serious wisdom. So get over the stigma and read this book for what it has to say, not the movement you think it represents.
The central message of this book resonates powerfully with me. How many of us spend inordinate amounts of time in the past or the future? How much of our day is spent wishing we were somewhere else, doing something else? How many of us live with the ass...more
The central message of this book resonates powerfully with me. How many of us spend inordinate amounts of time in the past or the future? How much of our day is spent wishing we were somewhere else, doing something else? How many of us live with the ass...more
I really appreciate the concept of living in the now. I truely believe that if we can find happiness now, our life will not be filled with regret. I did feel like the book was very disjointed, and that the message would have probablly have been better portrayed if the author had not done quite so much LSD on the path to spiritual enlightenment, but nonethelass, the message is a good one. The illustrations are beautiful in a very trippy way. Overall, I am glad to have read the book.
3 likes · like · see review
Goodbye Dr. Richard Alpert, Harvard Psychology professor. Hello Baba Ram Dass, Hindu spiritual seeker and devotee of the great monkey-God Hanuman!
'Be Here Now' was a phenomenon born out of the sixties counter culture movement and became "the book" that turned the spiritual consciousness of the Christian West eastwards, thus altering the metaphysical landscape forever. Not only were the ideas within this 416 page softcover book made of recycled materials a shock to the religious nervous system o...more
'Be Here Now' was a phenomenon born out of the sixties counter culture movement and became "the book" that turned the spiritual consciousness of the Christian West eastwards, thus altering the metaphysical landscape forever. Not only were the ideas within this 416 page softcover book made of recycled materials a shock to the religious nervous system o...more
What a doozy of a book! I found it totally by accident. I had no idea it was by Alpert, or rather Baba Ram Dass, colleague of one Timothy Leary whose book Change Your Brain I'd just read months earlier.
This is a one-of-a-kind "trip." No, strip back those quotations marks, they dull the effect. This book IS a textual trip. I've never seen another like it. Ram Dass writes a tasty and linear account of his transition from successful doctor Richard Alpert to spiritual explorer Ram Dass. The middle s...more
This is a one-of-a-kind "trip." No, strip back those quotations marks, they dull the effect. This book IS a textual trip. I've never seen another like it. Ram Dass writes a tasty and linear account of his transition from successful doctor Richard Alpert to spiritual explorer Ram Dass. The middle s...more
This book is definitely for someone who has been on acid and experienced a mind altering occasion, or at least someone who has experienced or wants to experience something that is "out of there own body." The first time I did acid it changed my life. It helped me rid myself of a ton of anger, anxiety, and fear. This book just exemplifies the thoughts I experienced during the times I was alone and on acid. My thoughts moved so quickly from an anxious thought to an enlightened one. I realized some...more
Always a few of these lying around the house. A recommend to anyone. Interesting stuff that can be cross-referenced with various other sources of hallucinogenic/Buddhist/meditative works for a broad idea of the power of human consciousness and Ram Dass' various imports therein. Bonus for enlightening, intricate illustrations and heavy name dropping.
This is THE book that turned on an entire generation to eastern philosophy. Ram Das, originally named Richard Alphert, taught with Timothy Leary at Harvard in the 1950's. Together they experimented with psychedelics such as LSD and conducted clinical studies with students. As the LSD controversy swelled, both Alphert and Leary were fired from their positions. At this point, Alphert left for India in search of someone who could teach him to attain these about these higher states of awareness with...more
I went through a profound experience all of the last year. One that I didn't necessarily ask for or welcome, but one that changed every single fiber of my being -- mentally, physically and spiritually. The best way to describe it is probably in terms of my own sadhana. I didn't go looking for this journey. It found me when I needed it; when I was ready. Like everyone else, I spent a good deal of this summer reading about Steve Jobs and George Harrison and they both held this book in their hearts...more
Be Here Now is one of those books that will find you in the right place at the right time. My best friend would read my excerpts from her books frequently, and I usually just tuned them out. She started repeating lines from Be Here Now and they started to pull on me, or from inside of me. Eventually I found my own copy and I can honestly say it changed my life. It is a symbol of the summer in which I began my spiritual journey. As I was once ignorant to religion and quite the non-believer, this...more
I bought this book 12 years ago and it didn't make all that much sense to me. It was too tripy, to out there, I didn't understand what the heck he was talking about. Now 12 years later (and much more mature - hahaha) I am really, to use the author's phrase, DIGGING IT! Have just finished my yoga training course and wanting to understand more spiritual philosophy, this was a great book to come upon, again. There are still many things in it that I "understand" in my head more than totally "feel" a...more
This book is the worst of everything wrong with the "new age" movement and its adherents. Coming from an author who claims that LSD crippled him, a physical impossibility, you know that there is going to have to be a total suspension of disbelief to even approach this book. Even with that, this isn't a book. This is a collection of platitudes and mindless drivel that appeals only to the mindless and the stoned. Do not for one second look for an original idea in this piece of trash that is merely...more
Hippie scripture. The brown pages are a wonderfully succinct summation of spiritual search and arrival, clearly conveying how Ram Das arrived at oneness by accepting all contradictions and stepping outside his earthly body. The irony is that after the author's all-knowing guru died a secret passageway was discovered that was used to spirit female acolytes to his bed. This secret life would have been unnecessary if the guru had truly, as he claimed, risen above all bodily desire. This book still...more
I'm not going to claim that I came anywhere close to fully understanding, let alone processing, let alone absorbing, this book-- it's far too Far Out, and I'm far too grounded in (trapped by?) Western rationalism, for it be comprehended and digested in one pass. Or even in five passes, probably-- I imagine this is a book that benefits greatly from frequent revisitation. For now, I'll just say that even though I didn't Get It, I'm definitely glad that I read it, if for no other reason than that i...more
This book is the literary equivalent of playing with cornstarch mixed with just enough water to blow your mind.
Ⓘ ⒽⒶⒹ ⓉⒽⒾⓈ ⒷⓄⓄⓀ ⒷⒺⒻⓄⓇⒺ ⒶⓃⒹ ⓃⓄⓌ Ⓘ ⓁⓄⓈⓉ ⒾⓉ . Ⓘ ⓁⒾⓉⒺⓇⒶⓁⓁⓎ ⓁⓄⓈⓉ ⒾⓉ. ⓉⒽⒾⓈ ⒷⓄⓄⓀ ⒾⓈ ⓉⒽⒺ ⓂⓄⓈⓉ ⓅⓈⓎⒸⒽⒺⒹⒺⓁⒾⒸ ⒷⓄⓄⓀ Ⓘ ⒺⓋⒺⓇ ⒽⒶⒹ ⒷⒺⒻⓄⓇⒺ, ⒾⓉ ⓃⒺⓋⒺⓇ ⒹⒾⒹ ⓂⒶⓀⒺ ⓈⒺⓃⓈⒺ ⒷⓊⓉ ⒾⓉ ⒹⓄⒺⓈ ⓁⒶⓉⒺⓇ ⓄⓃ. ⒾⓉ ⒾⓈ ⓈⓄ ⒼⓄⓄⒹ ⒷⒺⓎⓄⓃⒹ ⓌⓄⓇⒹⓈ. Ⓘ ⓂⒾⓈⓈ ⓉⒽⒾⓈ ⒷⓄⓄⓀ, ⓌⒽⒺⓇⒺ ⒶⓇⒺ ⓎⓄⓊ ?
I bought this book in 1972 (at age 11) to read in secret, then return to the bookstore some days later, for fear of discovery by my fundamentalist Christian father. I was seduced by the woodblock print on grocery-bag colored paper middle section. It left an indelible impression on me--one that would germinate 30 years later in my face-to-face encounter with Bhagavan Das, a much younger version of whom I first encountered in its pages.
No other book has done more to support the healthy cross-polle...more
No other book has done more to support the healthy cross-polle...more
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Ram Dass (Richard Alpert), one of America's most beloved spiritual figures, has made his mark on the world giving teachings and promoting loving service, harmonious business practices, and conscious care for the dying. His spirit has been a guiding light for four generations, carrying millions along on the journey, helping free them from their bonds as he has worked his way through his own. He mak...more
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“Be here now.”
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“If you think you're free, there's no escape possible.”
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Feb 14, 2013 09:48am
Feb 14, 2013 09:52am