Sleeping with Ram Dass

Now that I have your attention, there is a reason for the title. But first, I'm certain some of my many readers (both of you ;) are a bit judgmental when you think of Ram Dass. You may know of him vaguely, or recall his crazed 1960s psychedelic experiences with Timothy Leary. I suggest taking another look now that he's becoming the Guru of Aging.
I've always known of Ram Dass, but must admit I didn't really know his story. That he was a Harvard professor before he "tuned in and turned on" -- a classically trained Jungian psychologist who gave that up to spend years in India studying with Yogis, or that the title Ram Dass Servant of God was given to him-- he did not select it for himself. How did I get swept up into a Ram Dass frenzy?

On the last day of 2009, as part of my New Year rituals, I was listening to Wayne Dyer's "Excuses Be Gone" seminar on how to change habits and life patterns. He introduced his teacher, Dr. Richard Alpert who had made a remarkable recovery from a crippling stroke. Told us that for nearly ten years this man had been confined to a wheel chair and had to relearn everything from speech to simply moving his hand. Doctors had not given him any hope of feeding or clothing himself, much less walking. Yet, Dyer was holding back the tears as he introduced this man, who he said was slowly walking onto the stage. A man who taught him everything about life and now about true Grace. Dyer said, "A man you know as Ram Dass." What??
I was so shocked. I did not know that Ram Dass was Richard Alpert, that he had a major stroke in 1997, or that after ten years of patient self therapy, had brought himself back from the loss of most physical ability. Wow! It was very strange listening to Ram Dass speak so slowly, to realize he was nearly eighty years old. It was all mind blowing, but incredibly inspirational.
I learned of his newest projects, his 2000 book "Still Here" on aging written remarkably just before and published AFTER his stroke, and the movie "Fierce Grace" produced midway during his "come back" around 2003. I had to see that one right away. And, I highly recommend it. What an achievement, yet again proving we truly control our thoughts and physical abilities.
So why the title I used on the blog? Well, watching the movie I kept thinking I have a couple of Ram Dass books. I found the famous "Be Here Now" easily, it was on a shelf with other Buddhist, Tao and Yoga books. But, I could visualize a small paperback about meditation. Where was that one? After searching for about thirty minutes, I remembered it being on the bookcase part of my bed. But, it wasn't on those shelves either. Amazingly, it had slipped down behind my pillows. I had been literally sleeping with Ram Dass for who knows how many days. Friends, there are no coincidences!

I was going to stop there, but I must add how I attribute his healing ways to my own remarkable recovery from a nasty fall that same day. I spent about 36 hours reading his books, watching his videos and website and meditating while my leg was elevated. I let go of my belief that I was going to be devastated by this knee injury. (For the first 24 hours I couldn't stand any weight on it at all.) But, after visualizing my knee working properly, two days later I just got up. At first it was scary and I was favoring it, but I've come to believe it will be fine and I'm well on my way to mobility. If a person can recover from a stroke, then there's no reason my knee can't, too! It's healing itself as I write. Thank you, Ram Dass, for hiding under my pillow!