In this talk from 1993, Ram Dass reflects on our ever-evolving cultural myths and how we can shift our awareness beyond these narratives.
Links from this episode: 5th Ram Dass Legacy Immersion Retreat in Ojai, CA | Ram Dass & East Forest | Jadu Daner on Mindrolling Podcast
Show Notes
Our Myths (Opening) – Ram Dass looks at many of the myths about the world that mislead us from the true nature of ourselves and our purpose in this incarnation.
“Our society at this moment is between storylines. We are a culture that is living with dysfunctional myths. We are in a transformation period in which we are feeling our way into new mythic identities, new stories to justify or give us a functional meaning to our existence.” – Ram Dass
Navigating Change (28:30) – We examine the rough waters of change that emerge as the old paradigms of cultural mythology are upset and we settle into the new myths of how things are. How can we navigate the murky waters of uncertainty as our myths are eroded and reconstructed around us?
“Just watch as the myths change. Look at what has happened in these years. What transformations in one human life.” – Ram Dass
Caught in our Myths (41:25) – Ram Dass examines how so many of us in the West have gotten caught up in the myth of individualism. He looks at how the myth of individualism infiltrated the social movement of the 1960s and how it got in the way of that movement’s success.
“You and I have grown up in such a personality cult. Such an addiction to what ‘I’ need and what ‘I’ want and who am ‘I’ as a personality.” – Ram Dass
