Discover the mystical side of golf as a path to mindfulness and self-awareness. Ram Dass shares how the game helps him confront anxieties and embrace being present. He delves into the transformative connection between concentration and spirituality while encouraging listeners to enjoy each moment without attachment. The conversation also weaves in thoughts on emotions, karma, and the playful nature of identity, all illuminated by personal anecdotes from his journey on the golf course.
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question_answer ANECDOTE
Gym Experiences
Ram Dass describes his experiences with different gyms.
He realized that gyms didn't offer the kind of joyful engagement he sought, leading him back to golf.
question_answer ANECDOTE
Learning to Fly
Ram Dass recounts learning to fly with a harsh instructor.
He connects this experience to anxieties about learning new skills, like golf.
insights INSIGHT
The Mind's Role in Golf
Ram Dass highlights the importance of understanding one's mind.
He explains how an agitated mind affects performance, using golf as an example.
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In this unique recording from 1995, Ram Dass talks to the Shivas Irons Society about the mystical nature of golf and how he’s using the game as a practice to become more conscious.
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This episode of Here and Now is from a talk Ram Dass gave to the Shivas Irons Society at Stanford University in August 1995.
Ram Dass shares why he decided to take up the game of golf and how it helped him work out some old anxieties around the process of learning a new skill.
Ram Dass talks about how his concentration practices and cultivation of the Witness allow him to connect to the mystical nature of golf. He explores not being attached to being the actor or to the fruits of an action. Are you being the golfer or are you playing golf?
Finally, Ram Dass shares how he’s using the game of golf as a practice to become more conscious and develop qualities such as equanimity and joy in the moment. We can live our storylines, which means picking the right club for the next shot, while simultaneously having a free awareness that delights in the timelessness of each moment.
About Ram Dass:
Ram Dass’s spirit has been a guiding light for generations, carrying millions along on the journey. Ram Dass teaches that through the Bhakti practice of unconditional love, we can all connect with our true nature. Through these teachings, Ram Dass has shared a little piece of his guru, Maharaj-ji, with all who have listened to him.
“What I’m saying is the game of golf is an exquisite practice for cultivating the qualities of mind that, in the long run, relieve suffering for you and other people. So I’m saying to you that you have the attraction to and the skills in and the involvement with something that is basically a vehicle for liberation. And to see it as less than that is interesting, but it’s not the full ballgame at all. And it doesn’t diminish the beauty of the game of golf. In fact, it seems to me it enhances it because you’re just appreciating the whole process, including the humor of your own mind.” – Ram Dass
Ram Dass Here And Now