Be Here Now

I can't believe it took me this long to read this book, especially considering its similarity with the majority of books I read. I was completely blown away by how mind-bending and honest the book appears to me. "Be Here Now" includes a brief autobiographical introduction from Ram Dass (formerly known as Richard Alpert), a zen koan-like middle passage full of different ways to see reality, a concluding section detailing various methods that one can undertake in his or her spiritual journey, a glossary of terms, and an amazing list of books to read at the end. The autobiographical section did not impress me as much as I had originally hoped, but that was mainly because I was looking forward to reading the middle passage, with its inspiring artwork and psychedelic calligraphy. I zoomed through the introduction, but I consider it to be a very important section of the book because it really sets the tone and helps the reader to understand how Ram Dass became the person who he was when he wrote the book. The middle section blew my mind. I don't know what else to say about it. It reminds me of Lao Tzu's "Tao Te Ching" in some way - full of wisdom and a unique way at looking at reality. I couldn't help feeling like the words printed on the page were the truest things I had ever set my eyes upon. Honest in some way that I don't yet understand, but hope to one day. The third section, with its descriptions of various spiritual practice was at once both a great overview of things I have read about in the past and also an introduction to some new approaches that I may choose to incorporate on my own spiritual journey. This section in particular was really motivating for me and reinvigorates my desire to continue on the path I have already begun. The glossary of terms does an effective job at explaining the foreign words and concepts that are found throughout the book. It would be extremely beneficial to anyone (including myself) that is not familiar with Sanskrit or traditionally Eastern religious ideas and ways of expressing them. By far the best part of this book is the section of three lists of other books to read. They are: 1. Books To Hang Out With 2. Books To Visit With Now & Then 3. Books It's Useful To Have Met I plan on building a larger portion of my To-Read list out of the books that are contained on these lists, and have great faith that they will be eye-opening and helpful on my journey. "Be Here Now" is without a doubt one of the most impactful and uplifting books I have ever read. Although I found myself confused while reading the majority of the book, I do believe that in time I will come to understand more and more. I would easily recommend this book to everyone I know, and everyone you know too.

I purchased this book after reading the Walter Issacson biography of Steve Jobs, which stated how impactful the book had been to Jobs. I have to admit I didn't know what to expect, and after receiving the book that notion was reinforced after shuffling through the middle section. I wanted to give it a fair chance anyway so I started to read. The first part of the book tells the story of how Ram Das goes from a Harvard professor to becoming Ram Das and I was immediately sucked into a story that captured my full attention. The second part of the book however really threw me at first. The formatting is odd, and there are parts that are challenging to read as in some places it seems like words are just all over the place and don't really seem to go together (Later I understood that it was derived from pages of his journal, and didn't necessarily have to go together, but could be read as individual pages / notes). In honesty I thought, ok this poor man lost his mind somewhere between the first part and the second part. Being that I had heard so many good things though I continued to read through it. The 3rd section, the Cook Book, immediately captured me again, and as I continued to read I was blown away at how profound it was. So many just pure Gems that I thought wow, this amazing person hasn't lost his mind at all, in fact, he seems to understand, he really gets it, and there were parts that just spoke to me. I actually remember thinking something, then reading about that topic, and then thinking, ok this book is inside my head, It's literally talking about a topic that I was just thinking about. I will read this book again, and again, and I am confident that no matter how many times I read it, I will pull something else out of it each time. Its formatting is a little odd, and if you have flipped through it and thought: "This won't have anything useful in it", I highly encourage you to reconsider. Think of the middle section as a daily read. They are thoughts and deep concepts that can be taken as one-offs for daily reflection, while the Cook Book will give you such depth of knowledge and a peek into his wisdom that it will literally blow your mind!! This book is truly an amazing read!! What a rollercoaster, I don't believe I have ever read anything like it before. Must Read!!

My first encounter with this book, was when my partner read it to me next to the beach...at the time it completely went over my head, because I didn't understand the context or much about spirituality. The main message that I got from it at that time was to be more in the moment and not to get so caught up in my worries about the past or future. This book was what got me into spirituality though, because after I learned that lesson, my life started to evolve in ways that I never expected, I became more content with my life, by just being more mindful and living in the present. I went on to borrow my partners book many a time and each time I started to learn more and more beautiful lessons, which would always end up helping with a "problem" in my life, the solution was always to be more mindful, present, and loving (whether that be with myself, others, or the universe). I was at an all time low before this book came into my life I had many demons in my life as well, but Be Here Now reminded me just that...to be here now with my demons just as much as with my angels and in the end they became one. One beautiful symphony that is just loving awareness. Many beautiful things came about from this book, I ended up being able to meet Ram Dass even though I didn't have a penny to spend to see him. I'm so grateful for this book entering my life! Oh yeah... and I only recently purchased my own and quite honestly I would say it's the only book which anyone ever needs to own/read. All of the rest of the books on spirituality say the same thing as this, but then again whatever book you chose is meant for you, so go ahead! hahaha Enjoy!

Bought this as a gift. I may buy one fore me. It is very interesting to look at

This book is no joke. Heard you don’t find it, it finds you. Check it out!

It's a life-changing book!

Amazing book about the journey of Baba Ram Dass, with a lot of art and beautiful teachings.

Item is excellent but damaged due to Evri leaving it out in the rain.

The book is heavy — it really makes you think. At times it can feel overstimulating, and at other times it gives you exactly the answer you were looking for… very similar to a spiritual journey. The stories with Baba are a must-read in this book, and the photos of Baba are absolutely beautiful.

Amazing book