Still Here: Embracing Aging, Changing, and Dying Reviews

• Make this book a gift to yourself

  
  By A1AYJGVOUJ3F8R on 2000-08-15
  I first met Ram Dass when he spoke at Drake University in Des Moines many years ago. Such wit, charm, humor-and light! Since then I have read most of his books and have several of his audiotapes in my car, too. He never fails to make me laugh at my own failings-and keep going in spite of them. He also has helped me achieve a greater understanding about other people's failings, too-and what I can learn from them. His basic spiritual philosophy does not change, of course; after all, it is centuries old. But in his various books, he applies that philosophy to different situations, thus deepening and enriching my understanding of it. Now he applies his practiced spirituality to aging and dying, putting a whole new spin on the basic premise of learning to let go. This is a winner. All of his books are. I don't know if I will be able to laugh at my own death, but Ram Dass-with his humor, humanity, and wisdom-is helping me step back and consider my life and eventual passing in a more peaceful light. Light being the operative word, of course.
  
  

• Inspirational, uplifting

  
  By ABN5K7K1TM1QA on 2001-06-21
  Indeed Ram Dass is still here in this moment after a crippling stroke to guide us toward an understanding of our place among our fellows in the world as we grow old. Once he was Richard Alpert, Harvard professor, and then, after turning on and dropping out in the sixties, became Ram Dass, author of the best-selling Be Here Now (1971), the axiom of the title from the ancients of the East thereby becoming a mantra for a generation of flower children.

  In this inspiring and eminently readable book, Ram Dass celebrates aging as a time of self-discovery and of selfless service to others. What could be more appropriate for a man who has lived so passionately, who has traveled so widely and learned so much than to share his experience and wisdom with others? And Ram Dass does it well, without sanctimonious posturing or self-serving claptrap, in a prose style that is familiar, warm and sharing, and at times brilliant. Especially beautiful are the passages on pages 141-144 in which he recalls his Jewish home and then a visit to India in 1970. Of course he does remind us of the many friends and note worthies he has met along the way; and, true, he is not adverse to indulging himself a little with reflections about how HE has been of service to the aged, the infirm, and the dying. But this is only right. There is, as we are freed from many of the constraints of society and its shallow proprieties, no place for a false modesty, and if one has done well, one should be pleased with oneself, and like Walt Whitman, celebrate oneself. As a young man, Ram Dass went against the shared "wisdom" of the society that had so well nurtured him and sought his own way, and he found it. He is to be admired and listened to.

  His way now is not that of renunciation, as one might expect from the Hindu influence on his life, but a more social orientation. He practices karma yoga, from the Bhagavad Gita in which one finds salvation and freedom through the non-attached performance of one's duties--one's dharma--without expectation, without seeking reward or the fruit of labor.

  Ram Dass believes he suffered the stroke through the "fierce grace" of his guru because of this continued "attachment to the Ego" (pp. 200-201). By learning a deeper level of suffering first hand he drew closer to God. As his guru once said, "See? That's the way it works. Suffering does bring you closer to God." He was unable to totally renounce the delusions of this world, the social and political fruits that he loved so much, being such an intensely social person, and so the attachment remained. Now confined to a wheelchair he spends more time "hanging out" with his guru (p. 202), the deceased Maharajji, whom he reveres as a god, which is the way of the guru-devotee relationship. His faith was tested by the stroke, but he came away with his faith intact. He writes in closing the book, "I know now that my faith is unshakeable. That assurance is the highest gift I have received from the stroke..."

  I think the most important thing this book does is to inspire us to treat our advancing years with wisdom and dignity, with a sense of self worth and to discard the empty notions found in the noxious and insidious suggestion that growing old is some kind of disease or reason for shame. Instead one embraces the natural changes that are taking place and sees them as a new challenge, full of unique surprises and experiences, and yes, pain and sorrow and loss. It takes a strong and focused person to grow old gracefully. (Growing old is not for the faint of heart!) And finally there is an understanding that death is part of life, its fulfillment to be sure. As Ram Dass writes on page 156, "by allowing the mystery of death...to inform our everyday life, we begin to see things anew." The key word is "inform." Death informs our life and makes it whole. Like Browning's Rabbi Ben Ezra, we might also say, "Grow old along with me!/The best is yet to be"; and in believing that and living it, and knowing that death itself is a great adventure, we are freed.

  Ram Dass shares his experience through little stories about inspirational people he has met and how they guided him to an appreciation of what it means to change and grow old. His gentle and uplifting style, emphasizing the spiritual aspects of life, make reading this book a warm and fulfilling experience. Incidentally, the typographical style of the book, with its tinted pages with muted yantra symbols and the light wine/purple color of the letters makes for a very pretty book, pleasingly reminiscent of the wildly decorated, paper bag-colored pages of his best seller from long ago.
  
  

• Genuine Understanding and Compassion

  
  By A2RN7HX5CALKHO on 2000-05-24
  Ram Dass, a long time spiritual teacher of myself has written an extraordinary account of his learnings about aging. His work, influenced by Buddhist and Eastern teachings remind us all of the multiple planes of reality we exist upon, simultaneously. Easilly read, and written with authenticity and exceptional clarity, this work is destined to become a classic in a time when our Western world is so ready to dismiss our aging population. This book acknowledges the losses, pains, and out attachments to holding onto what was. It reminds us that our age is a concept we hold onto to identify ourselves on an earthly level, but on a spiritual level, we always are, have been, and will continue to be the same self that we always have been--that being the loving essence of our soulful self. Forget self pity. This book, while normalizing the experience and difficulties on a physical level, will remind you who you truly are. Highly recommended without reservation.
  
  

• 'Still Here' a dear friend on a dark sojourn made light

  
  By A2YXOJTOQ988E0 on 2000-06-15
  I purchased "Still Here" at the Pittsburg airport enroute to my brother's funeral. Throughout the weekend as I prepared to lay my brother to rest, Ram Dass' exploration of aging, change and death was with me every step of the way. It is about letting go, accepting, meditating and dispelling fear of aging, change and death. I found it a wonderfully life-affirming book and very informative. It was like having Ram Dass beside me, in his wheelchair, saying every once in a while throug the silence of my mourning, "Ah, and now this..." Thank you Ram Dass. This book is highly recommended, but please materialists and realists may need to find succour elsewhere.
  
  

• Ram Dass Rules

  
  By A3C5B1HLAH9VK on 2000-10-13
  When I was embarking on middle age, Ram Dass' Be Here Now, helped make it an easier transiton.

  Now, that I've become a "geezer", again it's Ram Dass to the rescue.

  In my late 60's, it was getting so confusing - that I finally took some courses in Gerontology at nearby American River College.

  Ultimately, I became a gerontologist; I was a perfect student - my interest was keen...and personal.

  Then, Ram Dass wrote Still Here - it is, I think, the definitive text-book on what it's like to be a wonderfully wise and validated Elder.

  If you could only read one book on the subject of aging - this is it !

  God bless you Richard...

  And, me too...

  Dave Robinson daveyrob@juno.com

  ...Make the price right and I'll order ten.
  
  

• Just the same old, same old
  By ANQJQYB6PJ0IL on 2000-07-26
  If you are not familiar with Ram Dass, then my guess is that it will take more than a brief review to explain. Among other things, his philosophy is that in addition to looking at the world from your own perspective, you can try to look at it from a higher perspective, as if you were outside your mind/body, looking in. So, when you are facing a particularly melodramatic moment in your life, while part of you is feeling the anxiety, you also have this higher perspective that is saying, "Hmmm...interesting."

  It is especially challenging to include the "Hmmm...interesting" perspective when confronted with aging and terminal illness. Those phenomena are particularly melodramatic. Thus, "Still Here" would give someone who is new to Ram Dass a particularly striking illustration of his ideas.

  For those of us who have been exposed to Ram Dass through earlier books or tapes (unfortunately, my favorite old tape, "Who are you?" no longer seems to be available), "Still Here" is just the same old, same old. His philosophy is not different, but now there is a focus on the issue of aging.

  What I like to do with "Still Here" is keep it at bedside. I might have been reading a magazine about business or technology, where the tone is very intense and urgent ("this new trend/development affects everyone--NOW"). To restore my serenity and perspective, I will read a section or two of "Still Here" before going to sleep.
  
  

• Understanding the Great Paradox
  By A3APJMSML413TS on 2000-06-28
  As Ram Dass so astutely observes, one of the benefits of aging is wisdom. A big part of that wisdom is coming to understand paradox. Perhaps the biggest paradox has to do with overcoming our fears. The secret, we learn, is not running from those fears, as so many people do, but turning around and confronting them. Better yet, embracing them. That's what Ram Dass advocates with the greatest fears of the western world -- aging, changing, and dying.

  Plato wrote about Socrates "practicing death." Michel de Montaigne, the 16th Century French philosopher, wrote: "To practice death is to practice freedom. A man who has learned how to die has unlearned how to be a slave. Knowing how to die gives us freedom from subjection and constraint." Carl Jung said that he was convinced that it is hygienic to discover in death a goal toward which one can strive. Ram Dass discusses the psychology and philosophy of embracing aging, change, and dying, or, to put it in other words, of "practicing death."

  Unfortunately, the average materialistic Westerner will not grasp the wisdom of Ram Dass. It is likely too advanced for the pure scientist or for the religious fundamentalist. In order to fully appreciate this book, one must have at least attempted to expand his or her consciousness to things outside the material world, beyond the ego. For the person on a truly spiritual path, Ram Dass provides the words to explain what that person has intuitively felt but has never been able to explain. The real paradox is that in learning how to practice death, we learn how to fully appreciate life and how to live it joyfully until it is time for transition.
  
  

• Conscious aging with Ram Dass.
  By A3D9VXSUDX8J36 on 2000-06-12
  I'm the "advance scout for the experiences of aging," Ram Dass reports in his new book, STILL HERE, "and I've come back from the scouting party to bring good news" (p. 204). In the eight chapters (essays, really) of his book, RD offers his insights into "aging, the mystery of death, and how to remain conscious in the face of physical, social, and psychological challenges" (p. 108).

  "Getting old isn't easy for a lot of us," RD observes. "Neither is living, neither is dying" (p. 6). In Chapter One, "Slipping out of Zumbach's Coat," RD first examines our society, which "would like to pretend that old people don't exist" (p. 13), and he then contemplates the aging spots on his hands--"suddenly it's just autumn leaves" (p. 14). In Chapter Three, "Old Mind, New Mind," he explains that old age provides opportunities "to liberate us from the traps of the past" (p. 34), enabling us to understand the power of the mind (p. 35). In this Chapter, he also confronts "the Usual Suspects" of aging: senility, loneliness, loss of meaning, depression, and fear. For RD, "old age is a time for reflection and inner work" (p. 108).

  RD finsihed this book two and a half years after suffering a stroke. He writes this book from experience. This is a good book about aging mindfully. Although it has something to offer all of us on our journey to old age, readers older than 50 might relate better to this book. And by the way, Ram Dass, keep smiling!

  G. Merritt
  
  

• still listening
  By AWQFCLBQFVD5J on 2000-06-13
  Ram Dass has done it again; he's focused into the moment and brought forth the intimacy and superb subtleness of his life's experience for fellow travelers to explore and ponder. The advance guide and Uncle, as he calls himself, has a profound ability to articulate and impart the spiritual wisdom brought on by the advance of the years. A cerebral stroke has made this all the more amazing, for Ram Dass brings us to the threshhold of Death where he confirms that the Light of the Immortal Soul shines forth. This is a message that will remain with you and lighten your heart in these times of trouble. With grace, good humor and an understanding heart, Ram Dass again shares his wisdom for the benefit of those who will but stop and reflect upon the silence within of which he speaks. "In My house, there are many mansions" There we are! I recommend this book for all who would know the truth from a fellow seeker.
  
  
• Plush Velvet Sometimes, Sometimes Just Pretzels and Beer
  By A19N3GRTJ0S8J8 on 2002-07-18
  Ram Dass explores the profundities and challenges of human frailty in a very personal way in Still Here: Emracing Aging, Changing and Dying. Written in part after Ram Dass's stroke in 1997, Still Here touches the core of weakness and all the bogeymen that come with it. Loneliness, embarrassment, powerlessness, loss of role/meaning, and depression are explored in the early part of the book--and that's all before Ram Dass gets to the good stuff. As in Journey of Awakening and Be Here Now, the author does a wonderful job of clearly explaining the cause of human suffering and its remedy.

  I bought this book because I wanted to better understand my grandmother's world and what my parents are beginning to face, but I ended up experiencing its apt relevance to 36-year-old me.
  
  

• A gift to the middle aged as well as older adult
  By A2DX715FNW40Z2 on 2000-06-09
  This is a beautiful book, packed with wisdom from Ram Dass. He draws from many traditions to paint a picture of aging with grace and with joy in the midst of the inevitable pain. He shares his own journey, his own struggles, his own overcomings, and invites us to make them in some way our own. I found it hard to put this book down since it spoke to so many of my own concerns and questions.
  
  
• This book contains the antidote for troubled times
  By A328S9RN3U5M68 on 2001-11-17
  Ram Dass has once again established his role as mentor for those who seek solace at times of despair. The world situation at present set aside, this book dares to raise a mirror to our mortal fear of aging and dying. But that mirror doesn't reflect sagging skin, bruised egos, and loneliness of marching toward demise. Quite the opposite. Ram Dass re-cycles his always potent understanding of Eastern philosophy and focuses those tennants on our preoccupation with remaining youthful. His patient reiteration of the diferences among Ego, Soul, and Awareness leads him into a very warm, personal, sensitive aura of learning to embrace aging and dying as processes within the framework of the cosmos. The fact that he has had a debilitating stroke makes his words of nurturing and care all the more credible. This man knows how to write/think/share in a way that makes the reader feel as though this book is a private session with the guru. His personal experiences are good humored, delicate, and poignant. Here is a book we all need to read, to share, and to join in the obligation to enlighten our fellowmen about the entire cycle of being. It is food for contemplation, for immediate advice on how to help ouselves and our friends deal with "tragedy", and for sharing. Please read it.
  
  
• Still Here: Embracing Aging, Changing, and Dying- A Book Rev
  By A3ITJE13UHUOF0 on 2005-01-19
  When I picked up the book "Still Here" from a roadside bookstall at MG Road, Bangalore, I was attracted by the title and the face on the front cover that looked very Western and yet carried a Hindu name, Ram Dass. The title raised certain questions in my mind. Why still here? Where was the author before?
  
  This book is about an American Professor who gave up a cosy middle-class life for drugs, regained his paradise lost through a spiritual awakening and lost it again: this time to be wheelchair bound from a massive stroke in 1990. "Still Here" is not an academic work on social gerontology but an account of how one copes with disability and embraces the frailty of ageing. One may well call it a book on spiritual ageing or conscious ageing.
  
  Ram Dass, born Richard Alpert, was a professor of psychology at Harvard. Together with Timothy Leary another psychology professor at the same university he explored human consciousness through the use of LSD and psilocybin ("magic mushrooms"). They promised a new experience for the restless American youth of the 1960s through the free use of drugs. That led many of the youth of that era down the slippery road of LSD tripping. Their book, the "Psychedelic Experience" became a sort of a guide for experiencing such drugs as LSD and psilocybin. In 1963 they were both dismissed from Harvard for the controversial nature of their research.
  
  In 1967 Richard Alpert sought spiritual enlightment and became a disciple of Neem Karoli Maharaja a highly respected yogi who lived in the Himalayas. He went through a spiritual transformation and took on the name RAM DASS or "servant of God" given by his Master. He returned to the United States charged with the desire to do what he could do to alleviate the suffering of his fellow human beings, to "spread the grace around". He set up many helpful projects such as the Prison Ashram Project, Dying Project and Creating Our Future Project. He became an inspiration to a new generation of spiritual seekers and his book, "Be Here Now *", that sold millions of copies, changed the lives of many including prisoners.
  
  Leaving spirituality aside, "Still Here" is a must read for the "young old" who need to face the inevitability of increased frailty as they age even further. Health care providers and social workers engaged in the care of the frail and aged sick, stroke patients, and also those providing hospice care will find it a timeless compendium. Written in a caring and sharing style, the book is easy to read and comprehend. It exudes an honest and unpretentious attempt to reassure that growing old or being afflicted with stroke and becoming wheel-chair bound, is not the end of the world but a new challenge to embrace the changes that are going on within and without us.
  
  It is an inspiring and warm personal account of the physical and psycho-social problems that one has to confront with advancing age or physical disability. He draws immensely from the anecdotal experience of others. Among his "top ten hits" of possible inevitable medical woes are arthritis, insomnia, constipation, high blood pressure, hardening of arteries, blindness, deafness, loss of bowel and bladder control, prostrate cancer, osteoporosis and stroke.
  
  The usual psycho-social aspects are even more difficult to handle: for example, loss of role and meaning and independence. These are accompanied with a sense of powerlessness, depression and fear. With the feeling of powerlessness comes a loss of meaning. As our roles to which we were accustomed change, we "cease to become individuals" and tend to view ourselves as meaningless and a burden to our family and community: the more so when we find ourselves in nursing homes, homes for the aged or a home for the destitute aged. Our lives become deprived of socially activity and our decision making process sadly curtailed.
  
  Ram Dass devotes a whole chapter to coping with his stroke. For some days after the stroke he was just observing, not thinking wide-eyed he was watching "everything that was taking place with a kind of wonderment". As he went through the medical world of doctors and therapists of various disciplines, he observes with affection that "therapists and doctors believe it's their techniques that make the difference, but I've come to realise that it's much more the power of the certainty that counts. It's their heart-to-heart resuscitation".
  
  The message, Ram Dass projects is clear. The problems of ageing need not overwhelm us. We need to embrace them for all the ups and downs as a natural response, and age gracefully with worth and dignity even in a "society that would like to pretend that old people don't exist." In a culture where old people are sometimes treated like yesterday's old computers, the real treasure the old have is wisdom and it cannot be ignored: "wisdom is one of the few things in human life that does not diminish with age."
  
  There is no right or wrong way of growing old, says Ram Dass. If we could have managed to live through marriage, parenthood, work and other areas of social functioning, age should not pose intractable problems. We must, however, accept the futility of our continued attachments to power and other worldly possessions and persuasions. We need to give them up. The pursuit of spirituality can help. As Ram Dass points out, "cures aim at returning our bodies to what they were in the past, healing uses what is present to move us deeply to Soul Awareness, and in some cases, physical improvement".
  
  Ram Dass, past seventy, is still learning the joy in being "STILL HERE".
  
  
  
• So Glad That You Are Still Here!
  By A209IU9ZLCQEIJ on 2000-06-02
  What can I say the book is wonderful! Yeah, somehow that word fits. Ram Dass shares himself with such candor that I truly know and feel that we are all on this 'life's journey' together. I feel that the style in which it is written can open the heart and calm the mind. I encourage both Elders and Youngers to read this WONDERFUL book. Bhavani
  
  
• at age 58
  By on 2000-05-25
  at age 58 this book is extremely relevant, now, and in the future, having read ram dass't books, listened to ram dass in person, and having listened to his tapes this book sends me thorough the roof, this book is timeless wisdom, to much wisdom for just one reading. At omega instutute ram dass sat at a table with me for breakfast and i asked ram dass about going to india and doing service work, his reply was do not invite the elephant trainer unless you have room for the elephant, my recommendation is make room for the elephant.
  
  
• The audio version- Sorry I didn't think the reader fit the book
  By on 2003-09-28
  This review only refers to the audio version. I must say that the book "Still Here" is WONDERFUL and has inspiring information on the personal journey of Ram Dass before and after his stroke...or as he would say-"he was stroked." Once you read the book version I recommend seeing the documentary "Fierce Grace". Keep in mind that the only reason I gave this a low rating was because the reader didn't match the spirit of Ram Dass!!
  
  
• Ram Dass At His Best ... Guiding Us Again.
  By A2XRU7RWOATTYE on 2004-05-02
  Another epoch in our lives (us Baby Boomers) and Ram Dass is right there to point the way once more. I can't say enough about how appropriate this book is for anyone getting on in years that wants a proper approach towards aging with happiness and a spiritual focus.
  
  
• wry wisdom for budding geezers
  By A2OX4DH9UB1MCG on 2002-06-04
  ram dass presents us with another good book of counter culture wisdom and insight. while not up to the standard of some of his previous works, it yet contains much wisdom both spiritual and secular for those like me "of a certain age". the first half of the book meanders a bit but the last few chapters are worth the wait. his philosophy is mainly derived from Vedanta, and therefore timeless and often profound. he is one of the few true american hippy holy men and is always a pleasure to read and learn from. if you are getting older, heh heh, you will enjoy and benefit from this insightful look at aging. i'm glad ram dass is "still here."
  
  
• The yoga of aging consciously
  By A3BOVTUMR07P71 on 2006-04-27
  This is a book on the yoga of aging consciously. In 1997 Ram Dass experienced a stroke that left him with expressive aphasia and partial paralysis. He has learned the hard way that aging can be unkind to the body, but in every situation Dass seeks the opportunity for spiritual growth. He teaches us how to diminish our suffering despite the aches, pains, and limitations that come to us with age by stepping away from the ego-self to embrace the soul-self, where we can witness our thoughts and emotions and evaluate their effects on us. No one gets out of life alive. Read this book and enjoy the journey.
  
  
• Peek-A-Boo...I See You
  By A1AT0GONN4A9NA on 2006-10-10
  I remember when I first got into spirituality and metaphysics, I was so naive about certain things. I really thought that once a person begins to practice their True Self...their Inner Spirit...when they remember that they were a Soul with a body and not a body with a Soul...than they were automatically free from all things human; they were impervious to any thing from the sniffles to cancer to death. But the thing is, that no matter how "advanced" we are on the Spiritual Path, and I use that word with some hesitation, because there is no advancing on the Spiritual Path, we are already as Spiritual as we are ever going to be, the bottom line is that we are still in the world of form. This is where the words of Jesus ring so clear, "Be in the world, but not of it..." In other words, remember that no matter what may be going on in your world, you are still a Spiritual Being NO MATTER WHAT!
  
  I love this book because I love Ram Dass. This man has added so much to humanity in so many beautiful and wonderful ways so when I learned that he had a stroke, I was really taken aback. I almost slipped into judgment about it and I almost thought and felt more than a few times of how unfair that he should be going through such a thing.
  
  But I believe that the Soul that we truly are knows exactly what it needs to be doing on Its path. There is a lot of talk in metaphysical circles that if you manifest a certain disease your thinking is out of alignment with the Divine. For instance, a manifestation of cancer might mean hidden rage, or a stroke might be unability to deal with life, or developing cataracts may be that you are refusing to "see" something in your life that needs to be healed. In some ways, I believe that these metaphysical "diagnosis" may have some validity, but in some ways I really feel that the Soul is always and in all ways in charge and is always seeking Higher Understanding of Itself and if It can manifest a disease or condition to learn from, so be it.
  
  I read this book when I was recovering from back surgery. By the way, a problem with the spine means that I am out of alignment with my true Purpose. I had many well-meaning friends tell me that this is what was going on with me. I did listen to them, but not as much as I listened to my own heart. Being laid up allowed me to get even more quiet and just reflect on the Blessing that is Life Itself; that each and every day is sufficient unto Itself.
  
  I lost my mother when I was very young. When I saw her body laying in that coffin, I had an "instant" awakening. I knew that that body in the coffin was not my mother; that it was only her "shell" that my real mother was still very much alive and continuing her journey in a splendid way. Of course, explaining this to the rest of my family made me about as popular as a turd sandwich. Somehow I was made to feel guilty and bad that I wasn't mourning the loss of my mother, so instead of feeling joy that she was now free of a body that no longer worked, I was made to feel bad...in fact, horrible that she was no longer with us when the Truth was she was with me more than ever.
  
  I thought that realization was gone forever when at 22 years old, after 13 long years of unnecessary grieving and mourning, I had the same ephiphany. This time I kept it to myself and let her Love be a guide to the Love that is also within me...the Same Love that everyone really is behind the various masks of illusion.
  
  And that is what this book gave me, that we are all playing "peek-a-boo" that everything is an illusion...albeit a persistent one...that the only Reality is the Eternal; that every thing is just backdrop. Even my cherished spiritual practices are part of the illusion because in Reality I am already there, so are you, so is everyone. Our life spent here while on this Earth Plane is just to learn how to make the hallucination work for us. Going through painful rehabilitation became easier when I remembered I am not the body.
  
  This book is a gift and it can really make us clearly aware that although we are Life Itself, our form is but a temporary shell that we can either use to free us from illusion or to imprison us in limitation. It is a read well worth it.
  
  Peace and Blessings.
  
  
  
  
• Touching Ram Dass
  By AQTS55DNE5IXM on 2000-07-06
  We're fans of Ram Dass at his most ebullient -- i.e., Be Here Now, when he was like a teenager in love with his newfound guru.

  However, Still Here is insightful, meditative, and profound at times. Loving, certainly. Ram Dass is still here in all his spiritual glory, open-minded as ever (note the part in the book about taking channeled guidance from "Emmanuel.")

  Ram Dass's ideas, to us, often seem Buddhist-oriented. Patience, acceptance, and peace of mind are highlighted -- especially in this book.

  We wish Ram Dass nothing but joy, and are pleased to read his newest sharing. The only thing lacking, perhaps (perhaps not) is the bubbling, risk-taking joy that first brought Ram Dass to the spotlight.
  
  

• He Gets Better With Age
  By AR94DS4BRS63 on 2006-03-03
  I loved this book - Ram Dass has been a pioneer in so many areas, and now he's leading the parade of aging baby boomers into a whole new territory. I admire his courage, his humor, and his boundless spirit. This book is simply written, yet the message is profound. It was just what I needed to hear at this time of my life.
  
  
• Stroke Yoga And Beyond ~ Lessons In Living In The Present
  By A141HP4LYPWMSR on 2006-05-25
  Could anyone other than Ram Dass bring such a light-hearted, unattached, almost whimsical approach to the subject of aging and the accompanying physical problems that go with it as we journey towards death. Ram Dass shares his personal journey of aging with us just as he has everything else in his life for almost half a century now. Though his body has changed with time he still maintains that infectious smile, those bright, mischevious eyes and a beguiling wit and wisdom that has so endeared him to a generation of seekers who still look to him not so much for answers, but to posit the questions we cannot quite grasp ourselves.
  
  One of the greatest gifts of understanding Ram Dass has given me is the realization that EVERYTHING in life is a lesson to be embraced. For him even a catastrophic stroke can be transformed into a form of yoga.
  
  The lessons continue! Enjoy!!
  
  
• Aging, Changing & Dying & The Soul Consciousness
  By A3EJT905S6ZS4K on 2005-06-01
  Here is a book continuing the path of help and service to others, except this time Ram Dass, from a stroke, has more personal experience in the receiving end of helpful service, which makes his book that much more meaningful.
  
  I'm jumping around, but here are some of the ideas raised in this book.
  
  Here is information to help cope and understand the habits of thinking that occur as the body gets older and death is approaching. In this he touches on how society values information over wisdom; the wisdom found in aged persons, how many ancient cultures and spiritual teachings value elderly and wisdom, the spiritual over the material society, the eternal soul or jivaman and reincarnation, the ability to go outside the subjective self seeing three areas, the ego, the soul and the awareness level, the leap from self to awareness difficult for the ego as it signifies going home to what we are in union with God or the Universe.
  
  In growing old we can shift from our loneliness to aloneness, objectively accepting what is without suffering or pushing away, anotherwards ways of developing a new frame of mind as the mind becomes older, we become newer; Zen mind Beginners minds. The wisdom in aging, "being" over role playing, the ego mind and the witness soul, how what we do is only a part of what we are, how others perceptions are their problems not ours, how to face the silence without rushing back into activity, how are dharma is our karma in the world, how to face ourselves in the present moment and drop our personal histories and future obligations as the problem is not thinking of the past, but getting locked in the subjective waves of attachment - or race, culture, self-pity, etc. "The key to freedom is understanding that in the present moment, there is no time." p.135 By viewing all time or taking a time as the Sabbath or daily meditation times we consider as sacred and free from past and future, we can find the soul view, God, Awareness.
  
  We learn to take on the soul view of life with acceptance which equals wisdom. The soul can rest in silence, it needs no meanings, we let the ego cease to tyrannize us, we embrace our fears over denial, escape the ego prison. If we take things slow in mindfulness, we cease the cruel rush of "time is money" or "time is efficiency," then we can taste the freedom of experiencing life and communicating with others - soul to soul communication - as he took his father to a childhood farm in two trips; one rushed, the other slow with the communication and connection.
  
  And as our bodies age we need to accept them. It is the ego which rejects as the king rejects the messenger or prophet with his news. We help ourselves by sitting in soul quietness over speaking. bringing listening calm over conveying our models of reality. In this as we can cope with pains by watching verses experiencing, letting it pass as the clouds pass by.
  
  There is advise on learning how to die, knowing the Soul consciousness at the time of death in mindfulness to stabilized us through the tumult of dying. The dissolution of the ego structure, of the conceptual map by which we have chartered reality.
  
  
• not unlike Signals by Joel Rothschild an important book
  By on 2000-06-18
  Well worth the read. It's a book like Signals that will changeyour life forever.
  
  
• GREAT BOOK!!!
  By A18NDFP31RQODJ on 2005-10-22
  This is one of those books you end up buying copies for your friends. It deals with something we are all going to have to face.. the transition from this life to the next one. I really love this book Thank You Mr. Dass
  
  
• Still Here
  By A173KRJNH9K5L2 on 2007-01-10
  Have you ever read a book and wished that it would never end? That is what this book was like for me. I got so much from it that I am purchasing another to give away to a friend.
  
  
• Still Here Ramm Dass
  By A13VPWD8L4Q13D on 2007-01-21
  Exceptional book for those with a realistic view on mortality and aging. For those who have aging parents, a must have! To truly understand life and growing.....not only growing older, growing wiser.
  
  
• Still Way Ahead Of His Time
  By A1D9DY8JZTHWN1 on 2007-04-16
  It's been said that Ram Dass was "there" before everyone else. This statement holds true regardless of how you choose to define "there." He continues to show us the way in this, his first post stroke book. Let me quote from the book. "We struggle against the inevitable and we all suffer because of it. We have been trying to find another way to look at the whole process of being born, growing old, changing, and dying, some kind of perspective that might allow us to deal with what we perceive as big obstacles without having to be dragged through the drama of misery. Understanding that we have something-that we are something-that's unchangeable, beautiful, completely aware, and that continues no matter what, really helps."
  Ram Dass practices what he preaches. He not only tells us the way, he lives it. That is why we trust him . He's always been ahead of his time. Now, regarding aging, changing, and dying, he still is. "Still Here" is a must read.
  
  
• Why we like sunsets
  By A34U0B84YB7FL2 on 2007-02-21
  For a person who has read broadly over the years, this book might raise suspicions that it will contain little that is new. Certainly most of the ideas can easily be found elsewhere. But, this is a personal report by a fascinating man who represents an important take on our times. It's worth the read as well as enjoyable. About the time it seems we've heard it all before, the author makes a statement that causes us to sit up a little straighter and say "I've actually never thought of that before." It seems to me that is why we read.
  
  

• Remember, Be Here Now
• Journey of Awakening: A Meditator's Guidebook
• The Only Dance There Is
• Ram Dass: Fierce Grace
• How Can I Help? Stories and Reflection on Service