Krishna Das explores the possibility of cultivating presence & compassion through spiritual practice and answers questions about Maharajji, working with longing, fostering generosity, & dealing with people at their worst.
Giving Yourself Fully: Being Here Now
How can we fully offer ourselves to the world? Krishna Das reflects on a synchronistic moment where he first inquired about total surrender. Visiting the Lama Foundation in New Mexico with Ram Dass, they went to learn meditation from a practitioner. When leaving the session, the teacher grabbed Krishna Das and instructed, “You have to find why it is you can’t give yourself 100% to whatever you’re doing.” This moment sparked a deep awareness in Krishna Das, into the nature of being fully present.
“This is the key to everything; to be able to give ourselves 100% to whatever we’re doing; to be here now.” – Krishna Das
Explore your heart and soul with a like-minded community. Join the Ram Dass Fellowship to connect here & now with Satsang/Sangha locally, and around the world.
Spiritual Practice: Attention, Altered Traits, & Holy Names (4:07)
Krishna Das sheds light on how consistent spiritual practice can help us become more fully present, attentive, and wakeful in our daily lives. Sharing the power of ‘coming back from being gone,’ Krishna Das touches on Danny Goleman’s and Richie Davidson’s scientific research demonstrating the physical neural pathways and altered traits that are created through sustained meditation practice. Using mantra practice as an example, he illuminates how chanting the Holy Names brings us into our true identity.
“You go away, and you come back…and gradually but inevitably, we’re carving out a deeper seat for ourselves in our own hearts, in our own being, in this moment. As time goes on and we keep doing these practices, we don’t stay gone for so long, and we don’t disappear so quickly.” – Krishna Das
For an explanation of Danny and Richie’s scientific discovery of lasting ‘Altered Traits’ and new neural pathways through meditation, tune into, Ep. 122 of Here & Now
Dealing with Assholes: Being a Good Human (23:00)
How can we deal with people who create friction in our lives, triggering us into an ‘us’ vs ‘them’ separation mentality? Answering an unapologetically direct question on working with difficult people in this often turbulent world, Krishna Das focuses in on the very-human reality of figuring out how to be a good, compassionate, caring person. Only by moving past our self-cherishing, and through cultivating inner-gratitude, can we find true compassion for ourselves and others.
“You have within you everything you need, and it behooves us to find a way to get through the day in a good way. That’s what spiritual life is about. It’s not about building walls to protect ourselves. It’s about becoming good human beings, people who feel and care for other people.” – Krishna Das
For a deep and embodying guided meditation practice & Dharma talk surrounding compassion and the spacious heart, check out Ep. 51 of Healing at the Edge
Images via Love Serve Remember Foundation