Mike Posner joins Rachael and Raghu to share on meeting Ram Dass, walking across America, climbing Mt Everest, and going through the Dark Night of the Soul.
Mike Posner is a Grammy-nominated singer, songwriter, record producer, poet, and artist who famously walked across America and climbed Mount Everest for charity. He is best known for his track, I Took a Pill in Ibiza. Rachael Fisher is the Creative Director for Love Serve Remember amongst wearing many other hats for the foundation. Find out more about Mike Posner at MikePosner.com, and check out his April 22nd performance on the Soul Land Music Series: Songs & Stories Inspired by Ram Dass.
Explore the intersection of Buddhism & Bhakti at the inaugural Love Serve Remember Summer Mountain Retreat August 25th – 29th in Boone, NC!
Meeting Ram Dass in Soul Land
Welcoming singer, songwriter, producer, and adventurer, Mike Posner to Mindrolling, Rachael and Raghu invite him to share about his upcoming April 22nd performance on the Soul Land Music Series: Songs & Stories Inspired by Ram Dass. Speaking to how the Ram Dass Here & Now podcasts helped transform his life, Mike shares his strict upbringing and how he opened music and spirituality, and describes meeting Ram Dass on Maui.
“Ram Dass said to me, ‘All day you’re going around and you’re categorizing and deciding what to love and what not to, what’s good and what’s bad, what’s acceptable and what’s unacceptable.’ He goes, ‘That takes a lot of energy; much easier to just love everything.'” – Mike Posner
Sitaram Dass describes meeting Ram Dass & lovingly caretaking for him, in Ep. 389 of Mindrolling
Walking ‘Each Other Home’ Across America (20:19)
After soaking up all the Ram Dass bhav, the group dives into Mike’s inspirational ‘Walk Across America,’ the near-deadly rattlesnake bite which occurred, and the deep recovery which took place in order for him to complete his dharmic mission. Explaining how this journey came on the tail end of a hit song that exploded success and every possible desire into his face, he shares how he learned to move past this dead-end to begin to live from simplicity and love.
“In the moment, I thought maybe this was my last few hours alive, and if it is my last few hours alive, I ain’t gonna waste them worrying about if they are my last few hours alive; I’m just gonna enjoy them. Actually, it was a tremendous amount of peace and presence that flowed in.” – Mike Posner
Krishna Das describes how to cultivate the will to keep going forward, in Ep. 56 of Pilgrim Heart
Ram Dass & The Dark Night of the Soul (38:30)
From here, the conversation turns to the remarkable courage of Ram Dass for loving so deeply and caring so much for others despite all the maladies incurred through his stroke. Through this lens, they share on how the fierce grace of the stroke actually helped open Ram Dass deeper into the loving awareness of his heart. Next, they explore how to traverse the Dark Night of the Soul we all inevitably get forced into by ever-changing circumstances; before Mike closes with an impromptu live performance.
“Ram Dass faced some really dark stuff and came out the other side. Those of us who knew him from the early days knew that he was pointing to who he became through this stroke.” – Raghu Markus