In this dharma talk from the 1980s, Ram Dass talks about hearing what our part in the dance is, opening to form to find the emptiness, and tapping into the higher connections of our intuitive minds.
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Our Part in the Dance
In this talk given under the teaching tree at the Ojai Foundation in the 1980s, Ram Dass begins with a brief guided meditation, tuning us to the energy that knows no limits. He talks about coming together to understand our unique part in the total design of things. To be able to hear what our part in the dance is, we must first acknowledge what is.
“Many of our sisters and brothers, at this moment, are so busy warding off starvation, are so busy avoiding the terrors that are created by the minds of humans, are so lost in the struggle of survival, that they cannot be with us today. But we can be with them. And we can bring them here by not excluding them. By realizing that what we represent is just a pseudopod of the totality that is the human play. That this is not an exclusive gathering, we aren’t special. We are merely part of the dance, and this our part.” – Ram Dass
Joseph Goldstein explores the truth of suffering in Insight Hour Ep. 130
Allow the Form (15:15)
Ram Dass talks about when we acknowledge what is, we need to stop identifying so much with the judging mind. In order to hear the unique message of our incarnation, we must open to the form. We have to allow ourselves to be independent of the models we have about how it should be. Ram Dass explores how we all go into “somebody training” when we are born.
“But first, if you’re going to hear the message, the unique message of your incarnation, the unique message of your manifestation, the unique message in which you will find the emptiness, the form in which you will find the emptiness, you must open to the form. You must allow the form.” – Ram Dass
Ram Dass talks about honoring our incarnation in Here and Now Ep. 114
Intellect and Intuition (28:20)
Ram Dass talks about how we have to become somebody in order to become nobody. He explores the concept of destruction and discusses how all methods are traps, but getting trapped isn’t always a bad thing. Ram Dass talks about how we worship the power of the intellect in this culture, but we really need to tap into the higher connections of our intuitive minds.
“I would not destroy beliefs, I would merely enjoy them as servants. I would not destroy rituals, I would delight in them. I would not destroy God, I would use God as a vehicle to come into the fullness of the moment. Methods are all traps. The methods of Yoga, of union, of coming into the One, of going from your somebody-ness into the Oneness beyond your separate somebody-ness, they are all traps, and for them to work, you must get trapped. And you just hope that they self-eject. Because if you’re too busy protecting yourself from getting trapped, you are indeed trapped.” – Ram Dass