Dying to Know: Ram Dass & Timothy Leary

source: Dying to Know: Ram Dass & Timothy Leary

Timothy Leary was an unforgettable explorer of "inner space" who influenced the hippie generation as much as any other person or group of those times. Richard Alpert, after seeking spiritual advice from Neeb Karori Baba (also known by other names) who renamed Alpert "Ram Dass" ("servant of god") was for many years Leary's research partner and co-explorer of psychedelic consciousness. The two men are tied inexorably together in the history of psychedelic exploration and spiritual awakening. Background notes: I was in the audience at one of Leary and Ram Dass's presentations at the Santa Monica Civic Auditorium during the '60's. I didn't know how to evaluate their message then. Later, I briefly met and exchanged a few words with the man I knew as Maharaji, Ram Dass's spiritual guru. Again I didn't know how to fit his message into my life's experiences I explored the psychedelic experience a handful of times during that era using street procured LSD. The experiences were both visual and surreal and at different times generated both paranoia and euphoria. (I suspect there was an amphetamine like stimulant present in addition to the acid.) I found (approximately) the first half of Dying to Know worthwhile viewing because I had personal knowledge of the times which corresponded with what was being presented. (One significant event that was conspicuous by its absence was any mention of the date LSD became illegal in California (Wiki article states October 6, 1966 but w/o a reference. That date rings at least approximately true according to what I remember.) For me the middle of the film became increasingly episodic and unfocused, at best loosely tying together incidents being related by different people being interviewed. Most of the audience was middle aged or older but there was one couple who appeared to be in their 20's. When the last portion of the film began to painstakingly delve into Leary's approaching death and the revelations he experienced as death approached, they, who were sitting toward the front and had a clear shot at the exit, walked out At the time, I thought if I could have walked out without causing others in the audience to become unduly distracted by my having to pass in front of them, I'd have left too. I had nothing more to learn, as confirmed by staying and watching the last 20+ minutes of the film. Yes, a great taboo in our culture is discussing experiencing death but one enlightened experience isn't a universal solution. Leary's views, while somewhat different from mine, were at least creditable. Ram Dass, OTOH, went completely off the deep end and spouted what for me was pure nonsense. In closing: I'm a materialist. Spiritualism isn't something I focus on. I believe after death a person's essence returns to the state it occupied before conception. Further I believe a place like this world is an extremely rare occurrence in reality; but reality is limitless and places like our "real" world, while extremely rare, probably exist (on and off) throughout eternity. Places like our world are so far apart they rarely have evidence of other such places. Of course, YMMV!

What starts off as a bit of a light trip, adorned in the most superficial of psychedelic and new- age imagery, ends up being a beautiful deep dig into the philosophy and psychology of death, as well as a fantastic history lesson that reminds us of just how simenal the work, minds and hearts of Timothy Leary and Ram Dass, both together and after they diverged, really were (or IS in the case of Ram Dass, who is still with us). I discovered Ram Dass' "Be Here Now" on my mom's bookshelf when I was, I don't know, twelve or thirteen years old. I was a latchkey single-chid, a product of Reaganomics, I had a single parent who had to work her ass off to support us, so I was home alone a lot. That's when Ram Dass first came in to my life. "Be Here Now" was pictographic and I was already a huge fan of comic books. It was easy to understand but far from simple. It blew the top of my head open. Eventually that started me down the path of discovering other "like-minded" minds. Alan Watts, Terrence McKinnon, Buckminster Fuller, Marshall McLuhan (whose "The Medium is the Message" was another pictographic work that rocked my brain) Anton Wilson, of course Timothy Leary, and on and on and on. All bricks in a road leading me to where I am today. A forty-five year old man who writes comic books for a living. And in my life, ever since those early days of discovery, I've realized that I have been most happy in the moments when I remembered to embrace the mind of Leary, but the heart of Ram Dass. This movie did that for me. Reminded me. And so it seems impossible to review this film without getting personal, which is a victory of any work of art. Right now I am so busy with my life. It's a good life, filled with authenticity, but I hate being this busy. When I'm too busy I forget all the things that make me who I am. I forget to meditate, stop exploring with psychotropics, do more "work" but feel less creative, etc. But then this morning this movie came along randomly. I saw it on a whim at a 10 am showing in Santa Monic, and was surprised to find Tim Leary's son, Zac, in attendance and willing to speak for a bit after. Finding it was a wonderful gift and a reminder of the kind of personalities I gravitated toward when I was just starting to try and figure things out. I am a huge fan of the film "Fierce Grace". I feel it to be a masterpiece. Every time I watch it, it emotionally destroys me and rebuilds me. "Dying to Know" isn't that, but this movie is a genuine delivery mechanism for true emotion and deep contemplation, and it brought me to tears more than once (I cry easily). There's not really more that you can expect a movie to do. So thanks to all who brought this project to my nieghborhood on a Sunday morning. I didn't even know how much I needed it. Love.

10/29/17. I thought this doc would be interesting to watch since I am a baby boomer. Sadly, I just found their conversations to be a bit out in left field, a couple of old hippies nostalgic about better days. Well, maybe their younger days rather than better days. The goals of the 60s were good ones - self-awareness, achieving a higher level of consciousness, love for fellow man, regardless of race or religion. Unfortunately, these lofty goals were mired by drugs and unprotected sex. Today, midway through the '10s, we are no closer to the goals of the '60s. People still use drugs to escape to only die from overdoses, and unprotected sex has resulted in a growing list of untreatable STDs. Maybe the better times are only those that exist in our minds.

source: Dying to Know: Ram Dass & Timothy Leary

Timothy Leary was an unforgettable explorer of "inner space" who influenced the hippie generation as much as any other person or group of those times. Richard Alpert, after seeking spiritual advice from Neeb Karori Baba (also known by other names) who renamed Alpert "Ram Dass" ("servant of god") was for many years Leary's research partner and co-explorer of psychedelic consciousness. The two men are tied inexorably together in the history of psychedelic exploration and spiritual awakening. Background notes: I was in the audience at one of Leary and Ram Dass's presentations at the Santa Monica Civic Auditorium during the '60's. I didn't know how to evaluate their message then. Later, I briefly met and exchanged a few words with the man I knew as Maharaji, Ram Dass's spiritual guru. Again I didn't know how to fit his message into my life's experiences I explored the psychedelic experience a handful of times during that era using street procured LSD. The experiences were both visual and surreal and at different times generated both paranoia and euphoria. (I suspect there was an amphetamine like stimulant present in addition to the acid.) I found (approximately) the first half of Dying to Know worthwhile viewing because I had personal knowledge of the times which corresponded with what was being presented. (One significant event that was conspicuous by its absence was any mention of the date LSD became illegal in California (Wiki article states October 6, 1966 but w/o a reference. That date rings at least approximately true according to what I remember.) For me the middle of the film became increasingly episodic and unfocused, at best loosely tying together incidents being related by different people being interviewed. Most of the audience was middle aged or older but there was one couple who appeared to be in their 20's. When the last portion of the film began to painstakingly delve into Leary's approaching death and the revelations he experienced as death approached, they, who were sitting toward the front and had a clear shot at the exit, walked out At the time, I thought if I could have walked out without causing others in the audience to become unduly distracted by my having to pass in front of them, I'd have left too. I had nothing more to learn, as confirmed by staying and watching the last 20+ minutes of the film. Yes, a great taboo in our culture is discussing experiencing death but one enlightened experience isn't a universal solution. Leary's views, while somewhat different from mine, were at least creditable. Ram Dass, OTOH, went completely off the deep end and spouted what for me was pure nonsense. In closing: I'm a materialist. Spiritualism isn't something I focus on. I believe after death a person's essence returns to the state it occupied before conception. Further I believe a place like this world is an extremely rare occurrence in reality; but reality is limitless and places like our "real" world, while extremely rare, probably exist (on and off) throughout eternity. Places like our world are so far apart they rarely have evidence of other such places. Of course, YMMV!

10/29/17. I thought this doc would be interesting to watch since I am a baby boomer. Sadly, I just found their conversations to be a bit out in left field, a couple of old hippies nostalgic about better days. Well, maybe their younger days rather than better days. The goals of the 60s were good ones - self-awareness, achieving a higher level of consciousness, love for fellow man, regardless of race or religion. Unfortunately, these lofty goals were mired by drugs and unprotected sex. Today, midway through the '10s, we are no closer to the goals of the '60s. People still use drugs to escape to only die from overdoses, and unprotected sex has resulted in a growing list of untreatable STDs. Maybe the better times are only those that exist in our minds.

What starts off as a bit of a light trip, adorned in the most superficial of psychedelic and new- age imagery, ends up being a beautiful deep dig into the philosophy and psychology of death, as well as a fantastic history lesson that reminds us of just how simenal the work, minds and hearts of Timothy Leary and Ram Dass, both together and after they diverged, really were (or IS in the case of Ram Dass, who is still with us). I discovered Ram Dass' "Be Here Now" on my mom's bookshelf when I was, I don't know, twelve or thirteen years old. I was a latchkey single-chid, a product of Reaganomics, I had a single parent who had to work her ass off to support us, so I was home alone a lot. That's when Ram Dass first came in to my life. "Be Here Now" was pictographic and I was already a huge fan of comic books. It was easy to understand but far from simple. It blew the top of my head open. Eventually that started me down the path of discovering other "like-minded" minds. Alan Watts, Terrence McKinnon, Buckminster Fuller, Marshall McLuhan (whose "The Medium is the Message" was another pictographic work that rocked my brain) Anton Wilson, of course Timothy Leary, and on and on and on. All bricks in a road leading me to where I am today. A forty-five year old man who writes comic books for a living. And in my life, ever since those early days of discovery, I've realized that I have been most happy in the moments when I remembered to embrace the mind of Leary, but the heart of Ram Dass. This movie did that for me. Reminded me. And so it seems impossible to review this film without getting personal, which is a victory of any work of art. Right now I am so busy with my life. It's a good life, filled with authenticity, but I hate being this busy. When I'm too busy I forget all the things that make me who I am. I forget to meditate, stop exploring with psychotropics, do more "work" but feel less creative, etc. But then this morning this movie came along randomly. I saw it on a whim at a 10 am showing in Santa Monic, and was surprised to find Tim Leary's son, Zac, in attendance and willing to speak for a bit after. Finding it was a wonderful gift and a reminder of the kind of personalities I gravitated toward when I was just starting to try and figure things out. I am a huge fan of the film "Fierce Grace". I feel it to be a masterpiece. Every time I watch it, it emotionally destroys me and rebuilds me. "Dying to Know" isn't that, but this movie is a genuine delivery mechanism for true emotion and deep contemplation, and it brought me to tears more than once (I cry easily). There's not really more that you can expect a movie to do. So thanks to all who brought this project to my nieghborhood on a Sunday morning. I didn't even know how much I needed it. Love.

Trailer—Dying to Know: Ram Dass & Timothy Leary

Dying to Know: Ram Dass & Timothy Leary