logo
episode-header-image
Nov 2024
35m 43s

Ep. 264 – Ram Dass and Timothy Leary: Th...

RAM DASS / LOVE SERVE REMEMBER
About this episode

In this talk from his 20-year reunion with Timothy Leary at Harvard University in 1983, Ram Dass shares some reflections about psychedelics and being part of the old Explorer’s Club.

Ram Dass Here & Now is brought to you by BetterHelp. Give online therapy a try at betterhelp.com/ramdass and get on your way to being your best self.

This show is also sponsored by Magic Mind, a matcha-based energy shot infused with nootropics and adaptogens designed to crush procrastination, brain fog, & fatigue. Use the code RAMDASS at checkout to get up to 50% off your subscription: Magic Mind

This episode is the first part of the Ram Dass and Timothy Leary reunion event at Harvard University on April 24, 1983. Check back soon for parts two and three. In this recording:

  • Ram Dass shares some reflections about psychedelics and why he’s still a part of the old Explorer’s Club. 
  • Detailing an extremely powerful trip he took at a hotel in Kansas, Ram Dass talks about how he was able to find peace in the space between the thoughts arising in his mind.
  • Ram Dass explores psychedelics as a method and how it helped him connect to the place of unity that lies behind the diversity of human beings.
  • Finally, Ram Dass talks about how using psychedelics has informed his stance on social action. It’s better for our actions to come out of a sense of joy and love rather than fear and hate.

This talk was chosen in celebration of the new book, Dying To Know, which chronicles the epic friendship between Ram Dass and Timothy Leary that shaped generations of seekers. Get your copy today!

“Now, I suspect that I’ve taken LSD once every two years since I first ingested [it] with Timothy. I’ve taken it many, many more times during the first five or six years. But I don’t think I’ve missed a two-year period. I always assume that I’m going to start from a different launching pad because all the things that happened to me in those two years will put me in a different space from which to take off. I’ll explore a new unchanneled kind of plane of reality. And then I also feel like I’m a member of an old Explorer’s Club that has a loyalty to have reunions.” – Ram Dass

See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

Up next
Oct 6
Ep. 288 – Opening to Death
Ram Dass explores facing fears of the future as we age, opening up to the mystery of death, and seeing dying as a window of opportunity for awakening.Ram Dass Here & Now is brought to you by BetterHelp. Give online therapy a try at betterhelp.com/ramdass and get on your way to be ... Show More
41m 29s
Sep 23
Ep. 287 – The Secret of Compassion
In this powerful lecture on responding to suffering, Ram Dass draws on the wisdom of the Buddha, Trungpa Rinpoche, and Wavy Gravy, and offers his insight into the secret of compassion. The Ram Dass community gathers regularly to engage in meaningful discussions about the podcast. ... Show More
1h 5m
Sep 10
Ep. 286 – The Pull of God Versus the Pull of Humanity
In this often fierce talk from Ram Dass, he reflects on the pull of God versus the pull of humanity and how we can find the balance between keeping one eye on God and one eye on the world. The Ram Dass community gathers regularly to engage in meaningful discussions about the podc ... Show More
29m 34s
Recommended Episodes
May 2025
Zach Leary: Psychedelics in the 21st Century and How to Use Them
He's the son of Timothy Leary and one of today's leading voices in the psychedelic renaissance of the 21st century. But Zach Leary's journey hardly unfolded in the way you might expect. In this deeply informative and myth-busting podcast, Tami Simon speaks with Zach about his new ... Show More
1h 4m
Mar 2025
Oprah and Harvard Professor Share How Psychedelics Are Actually Healing
BUY THE BOOK! “How to Change Your Mind: What the New Science of Psychedelics Teaches Us About Consciousness, Dying, Addiction, Depression, and Transcendence” by Michael Pollan “Fire in the Hole!: The Untold Story of My Traumatic Life and Explosive Success” by Bob Parsons In this ... Show More
57m 47s
Sep 17
Talk Tracks Ep. 18: Transcendental Meditation and Consciousness
In this episode of Talk Tracks, neuroscientist and global leader of the Transcendental Meditation movement Dr. Tony Nader turns the question of consciousness upside down. Trained at Harvard and MIT, Dr. Nader once studied the brain as the source of awareness—until his research le ... Show More
37m 22s
Sep 12
Psychedelics and the structure of reality | Julian Baggini, Eileen Hall, and James Rucker
Truth, delusion and psychedelic realityDo psychedelics reveal hidden layers of reality, or are we simply tripping?Psychedelics are back in the cultural zeitgeist, this time as a treatment for mental health issues. However, critics argue that psychedelics only work by replacing me ... Show More
46m 51s
Jun 2025
Talk Tracks Ep 11: Tom Campbell's Theory of Everything Explains Telepathy
What if consciousness—not matter—is the foundation of reality? In this episode of Talk Tracks, physicist and consciousness researcher Tom Campbell joins Ky Dickens to share his “Big Theory of Everything,” a model that unites quantum physics and spirituality by proposing that we a ... Show More
50m 13s
Mar 2025
Talk Tracks Ep 5: Consciousness Beyond The Body: When a Coma Projects a Ghost
In this riveting episode of The Talk Tracks, we explore two astonishing stories that challenge our understanding of consciousness and the limits of the human mind. First, we meet Elodie, who recounts her near-death experience at 18—a moment that profoundly altered her perception ... Show More
39m 26s
Aug 27
Ep. 36 – Seeing through The Net
In this new, technological age, Alan Watts explains how seeing reality via only one perspective can lead to a fragmented view of the world; instead, he encourages listeners to adopt both the analytical and the organic. This series is brought to you by the Alan Watts Organization ... Show More
46m 17s
Apr 2025
Krishnamurti on Existence
‘What does it all mean, the existence that we lead? What is the meaning of all the work, misery, confusion, and this sense of meaningless existence?’ This episode on Existence has four sections. The first extract (2:40) is from Krishnamurti’s fifth talk in Bombay 1981, and is tit ... Show More
1h 7m
Jul 13
Emergent Phenomena with Daniel M. Ingram
Today, host Prof. Pierce Salguero sits down with Dr. Daniel M. Ingram, a retired ER physician, co-founder of the Emergent Phenomena Research Consortium, CEO of Emergence Benefactors, and a noted adept in Buddhist meditation. Together we explore “emergent phenomena,” or the spirit ... Show More
1h 11m
Sep 2022
Krishnamurti on Krishnamurti Schools
‘We saw the necessity of a new school. The meaning of the word 'school' is leisure, leisure in which to learn; and a place where students and teachers can flower as human beings, without fear, without confusion, with great integrity.’ This week’s episode on Krishnamurti Schools h ... Show More
1h 1m