By Ram Dass Conscious Aging Audiobook (2006) Audio CD

by Ram Dass

Addresses the fear of aging and death, offering spiritual guidance to help accept their inevitability in a society which places an inordinate value on youth.

Genres: Spirituality, Audiobook

Audio CD

First published September 1, 1992

About the author

Ram Dass (Richard Alpert), was one of America's most beloved spiritual figures, making his mark on the world giving teachings and promoting loving service, harmonious business practices, and conscious care for the dying. His spirit has been a guiding light for four generations, carrying millions along on the journey, helping free them from their bonds as he has worked his way through his own.

Reviews

[Laura Siegel · Rating 5 out of 5]

Truly amazing, wise, and enlightning, and funny two. A real spiritual gift.

[Naomi Bayer · Rating 5 out of 5]

Thank you to Avi for gifting me this short insightful and thoughtful book.

[Lynn · Rating 5 out of 5]

Such a wonderful book. Ram Das’ voice is so engaging. The book was fascinating and helpful.

[Natalie · Rating 5 out of 5]

I deeply admire Ram Dass and cherish his profound teachings, which he shares from his own spiritual journey. Although he has left his body, I continue to benefit from his wisdom that is shared through the Be Here Now podcast and the books he has authored. Ram Dass possesses a remarkable ability to simplify complex life events and make them comprehensible.

One area I’m constantly striving to gain a deeper understanding of is aging and death. As I age, I make an effort to maintain realistic expectations, gracefully embrace my aging process, and come to terms with my mortality. This topic became particularly pertinent as my husband and I navigated my recent retirement. Additionally, I’ve struggled to cope with the deaths of those closest to me. It’s important to note that I have no concrete idea of what constitutes “dealing well” with death. Instead, I’ve pushed away the concept of death and dying, and through the teachings of Ram Dass, I’ve come to realize that my attachment to my losses has been a significant contributor to my emotional suffering.

Conscious Aging: On the Nature of Change and Facing Death is a two-part recorded session featuring Ram Dass delivering a talk at the Omega Institute. At the time of the recording, Ram Dass was 60 years old. He begins the teaching by sharing humorous and relatable stories about aging, allowing him to laugh at himself while simultaneously offering a profound spiritual application for the listeners. His use of humor creates a sense of comfort and openness, enabling the audience to fully engage with the more significant material as the teaching progresses.

Ram Dass offers insightful perspectives on people confronting their own mortality. However, he dedicates a significant portion of his work to exploring the acceptance of losing loved ones. He has spent considerable time with individuals as they were passing away and shares personal, heartfelt examples. As a caregiver, he provided support to his stepmother during her battle with cancer and also to his father. He intentionally sought to work with individuals diagnosed with AIDS and also assisted those who reached out to him, requesting his assistance.

In this two and a half-hour audiobook, Ram Dass provides insightful and rational perspectives on confronting our aging process and exploring attachments to the people we love. It’s important to note that Ram Dass acknowledges the natural tendency to form attachments to others. He doesn’t view this as inherently problematic or wrong; instead, he explains the underlying reasons behind these attachments. By recognizing our thought processes, we gain the ability to navigate our responses effectively.

I thoroughly enjoyed listening to the audiobook of Conscious Aging. Ram Dass’s captivating and enlightening talk to a group is always a treat to listen to.

I have photos and additional information that I'm unable to include here. It can all be found on my blog, in the link below.
A Book And A Dog

[Geekfork · Rating 3 out of 5]

First Ram Dass work I've imbibed. Listened to audiobook. Was pleasantly surprised that it was more like a David Sedaris/Dave Barry Type of thing than the heavy spiritual tome I expected (at least during the first half).

However, and maybe I'm misinterpreting things or taking certain things too seriously, I feel like he leaned too heavily on "don't become so attached to life you reject death" and glided right past the inverse: don't fall so in love with death that you reject life.

I also feel he was a wee bit too comfortable with suicide and dying young. He says (paraphrasing)"this life is like 4th grade [the other planes of existence are like the other grades]. If someone graduates 4th grade early, why is that bad?" --> If you truly believe "noone dies a minute before or after they have to", of course it;s not a big deal to you; but if, say, my 11 year old daughter is raped and murdered (a real life example he expounds upon in this book), *I* feel that's akin to being graduated from 4th grade without learning to read because your teachers sucked.

This whole idea of "everything is according to plan" has been a major sore spot for me for a long ass time, and why I believe books like "When Bad Things Happen to Good People" make a hell of a lot more sense than what I call P-L-A-N literature. If everything happens according to a "plan," then how can morality exist? How can we say anything is wrong? How can a rapist-murder be evil if he's just following the plan and allowing a child to die in the manner she was "supposed" to? Why should anyone mourn anyone if it's all according to plan?

People have been debating this forever, and I certainly won't solve this issue here and now, but I wanted to provide context for my review and rant a little :D

[T. Laane · Rating 4 out of 5]

In western society we don’t talk about death, and we do not see death - we put the elderly “away” from our homes to die. In India everyone sees death, it’s a normal part of life. And everyone talks about it. So this book - actually a lecture - is only needed in western society. And throughout the lecture, the author shares his vision of us only “dropping the body” (as they say it in india), not being identified with it. You fear death only as much as you are identified with what can die.
“When You age, you become irrelevant, so You can do inner work” :)
And when someone is dying from an illness and You find it unfair, do not go visit the patient with the illness - rather go and visit THEM. See THEM, not their illness, not their situation.

[Levi Pierpont · Rating 5 out of 5]

"Counting" this as a book is like counting a podcast series or a movie, as it wasn't so much an audiobook as it was a recording of a talk Ram Dass gave live many years ago, when he was 60. Even so, it was incredibly engaging and I have the feeling I'll think back to it often. This was my first encounter with a full session or body of work from Ram Dass, and while it was largely what I expected, I was still impressed. I know I enjoy discussions on death more than the next person, but I would truly recommend this to anyone who is in the process of dying, which is everyone.

[Mary Anne · Rating 5 out of 5]

Ram Dass humour and compassion shine through every image in this invitation to view old age and death as something not to fear or avoid but as a stage to savour and appreciate. Our culture is afraid of death; there are no real discussions of death and dying.

[Holly · Rating 4 out of 5]

Wonderful! Eye opening. Provides comfort and expansion.

[Ren · Rating 5 out of 5]

Puts everything in perspective. Will suggest this to my parents and reread it with them.

[Justin · Rating 3 out of 5]

It's always nice to hear the author's voice but I think he covers this material and more in some of his other more recent books

[Shai · Rating 5 out of 5]

Quick audiobook. I’ve heard one of the talks included before but I always get something new out of Ram Dass talks. Using “you never know” as my reaction for everything now :)

[DeAnn Christensen · Rating 5 out of 5]

I listen to this book at least once a year it keeps aging real

[Betsy Gonwa · Rating 5 out of 5]

Excellent. Very insightful look at aging. It is about just what the title says: Conscious Aging. Very worthwhile read.

[Mckinley · Rating 3 out of 5]

I listened to this; the start sounds like stand-up comic with spiritual bent. About aging and death. Using them to deepen awareness.