Rating: 
Summary: Ram Dass At His Best ... Guiding Us Again.
Review: Another epoch in our lives (us Baby Boomers) and Ram Dass is right there to point the way once more. I can't say enough about how appropriate this book is for anyone getting on in years that wants a proper approach towards aging with happiness and a spiritual focus.
Rating:
Summary: Ram Dass At His Best ... Guiding Us Again.
Review: Another epoch in our lives (us Baby Boomers) and Ram Dass is right there to point the way once more. I can't say enough about how appropriate this book is for anyone getting on in years that wants a proper approach towards aging with happiness and a spiritual focus.
Rating:
Summary: Understanding the Great Paradox
Review: As Ram Dass so astutely observes, one of the benefits of aging is wisdom. A big part of that wisdom is coming to understand paradox. Perhaps the biggest paradox has to do with overcoming our fears. The secret, we learn, is not running from those fears, as so many people do, but turning around and confronting them. Better yet, embracing them. That's what Ram Dass advocates with the greatest fears of the western world -- aging, changing, and dying. Plato wrote about Socrates "practicing death." Michel de Montaigne, the 16th Century French philosopher, wrote: "To practice death is to practice freedom. A man who has learned how to die has unlearned how to be a slave. Knowing how to die gives us freedom from subjection and constraint." Carl Jung said that he was convinced that it is hygienic to discover in death a goal toward which one can strive. Ram Dass discusses the psychology and philosophy of embracing aging, change, and dying, or, to put it in other words, of "practicing death." Unfortunately, the average materialistic Westerner will not grasp the wisdom of Ram Dass. It is likely too advanced for the pure scientist or for the religious fundamentalist. In order to fully appreciate this book, one must have at least attempted to expand his or her consciousness to things outside the material world, beyond the ego. For the person on a truly spiritual path, Ram Dass provides the words to explain what that person has intuitively felt but has never been able to explain. The real paradox is that in learning how to practice death, we learn how to fully appreciate life and how to live it joyfully until it is time for transition.
Rating:
Summary: at age 58
Review: at age 58 this book is extremely relevant, now, and in the future, having read ram dass't books, listened to ram dass in person, and having listened to his tapes this book sends me thorough the roof, this book is timeless wisdom, to much wisdom for just one reading. At omega instutute ram dass sat at a table with me for breakfast and i asked ram dass about going to india and doing service work, his reply was do not invite the elephant trainer unless you have room for the elephant, my recommendation is make room for the elephant.
Rating:
Summary: Make this book a gift to yourself
Review: I first met Ram Dass when he spoke at Drake University in Des Moines many years ago. Such wit, charm, humor-and light! Since then I have read most of his books and have several of his audiotapes in my car, too. He never fails to make me laugh at my own failings-and keep going in spite of them. He also has helped me achieve a greater understanding about other people's failings, too-and what I can learn from them. His basic spiritual philosophy does not change, of course; after all, it is centuries old. But in his various books, he applies that philosophy to different situations, thus deepening and enriching my understanding of it. Now he applies his practiced spirituality to aging and dying, putting a whole new spin on the basic premise of learning to let go. This is a winner. All of his books are. I don't know if I will be able to laugh at my own death, but Ram Dass-with his humor, humanity, and wisdom-is helping me step back and consider my life and eventual passing in a more peaceful light. Light being the operative word, of course.
Rating:
Summary: Make this book a gift to yourself
Review: I first met Ram Dass when he spoke at Drake University in Des Moines many years ago. Such wit, charm, humor-and light! Since then I have read most of his books and have several of his audiotapes in my car, too. He never fails to make me laugh at my own failings-and keep going in spite of them. He also has helped me achieve a greater understanding about other people's failings, too-and what I can learn from them. His basic spiritual philosophy does not change, of course; after all, it is centuries old. But in his various books, he applies that philosophy to different situations, thus deepening and enriching my understanding of it. Now he applies his practiced spirituality to aging and dying, putting a whole new spin on the basic premise of learning to let go. This is a winner. All of his books are. I don't know if I will be able to laugh at my own death, but Ram Dass-with his humor, humanity, and wisdom-is helping me step back and consider my life and eventual passing in a more peaceful light. Light being the operative word, of course.
Rating: 
Summary: 'Still Here' a dear friend on a dark sojourn made light
Review: I purchased "Still Here" at the Pittsburg airport enroute to my brother's funeral. Throughout the weekend as I prepared to lay my brother to rest, Ram Dass' exploration of aging, change and death was with me every step of the way. It is about letting go, accepting, meditating and dispelling fear of aging, change and death. I found it a wonderfully life-affirming book and very informative. It was like having Ram Dass beside me, in his wheelchair, saying every once in a while throug the silence of my mourning, "Ah, and now this..." Thank you Ram Dass. This book is highly recommended, but please materialists and realists may need to find succour elsewhere.
Rating:
Summary: Conscious aging with Ram Dass.
Review: I'm the "advance scout for the experiences of aging," Ram Dass reports in his new book, STILL HERE, "and I've come back from the scouting party to bring good news" (p. 204). In the eight chapters (essays, really) of his book, RD offers his insights into "aging, the mystery of death, and how to remain conscious in the face of physical, social, and psychological challenges" (p. 108). "Getting old isn't easy for a lot of us," RD observes. "Neither is living, neither is dying" (p. 6). In Chapter One, "Slipping out of Zumbach's Coat," RD first examines our society, which "would like to pretend that old people don't exist" (p. 13), and he then contemplates the aging spots on his hands--"suddenly it's just autumn leaves" (p. 14). In Chapter Three, "Old Mind, New Mind," he explains that old age provides opportunities "to liberate us from the traps of the past" (p. 34), enabling us to understand the power of the mind (p. 35). In this Chapter, he also confronts "the Usual Suspects" of aging: senility, loneliness, loss of meaning, depression, and fear. For RD, "old age is a time for reflection and inner work" (p. 108). RD finsihed this book two and a half years after suffering a stroke. He writes this book from experience. This is a good book about aging mindfully. Although it has something to offer all of us on our journey to old age, readers older than 50 might relate better to this book. And by the way, Ram Dass, keep smiling! G. Merritt
Rating:
Summary: Just the same old, same old
Review: If you are not familiar with Ram Dass, then my guess is that it will take more than a brief review to explain. Among other things, his philosophy is that in addition to looking at the world from your own perspective, you can try to look at it from a higher perspective, as if you were outside your mind/body, looking in. So, when you are facing a particularly melodramatic moment in your life, while part of you is feeling the anxiety, you also have this higher perspective that is saying, "Hmmm...interesting." It is especially challenging to include the "Hmmm...interesting" perspective when confronted with aging and terminal illness. Those phenomena are particularly melodramatic. Thus, "Still Here" would give someone who is new to Ram Dass a particularly striking illustration of his ideas. For those of us who have been exposed to Ram Dass through earlier books or tapes (unfortunately, my favorite old tape, "Who are you?" no longer seems to be available), "Still Here" is just the same old, same old. His philosophy is not different, but now there is a focus on the issue of aging. What I like to do with "Still Here" is keep it at bedside. I might have been reading a magazine about business or technology, where the tone is very intense and urgent ("this new trend/development affects everyone--NOW"). To restore my serenity and perspective, I will read a section or two of "Still Here" before going to sleep.
Rating:
Summary: Just the same old, same old
Review: If you are not familiar with Ram Dass, then my guess is that it will take more than a brief review to explain. Among other things, his philosophy is that in addition to looking at the world from your own perspective, you can try to look at it from a higher perspective, as if you were outside your mind/body, looking in. So, when you are facing a particularly melodramatic moment in your life, while part of you is feeling the anxiety, you also have this higher perspective that is saying, "Hmmm...interesting." It is especially challenging to include the "Hmmm...interesting" perspective when confronted with aging and terminal illness. Those phenomena are particularly melodramatic. Thus, "Still Here" would give someone who is new to Ram Dass a particularly striking illustration of his ideas. For those of us who have been exposed to Ram Dass through earlier books or tapes (unfortunately, my favorite old tape, "Who are you?" no longer seems to be available), "Still Here" is just the same old, same old. His philosophy is not different, but now there is a focus on the issue of aging. What I like to do with "Still Here" is keep it at bedside. I might have been reading a magazine about business or technology, where the tone is very intense and urgent ("this new trend/development affects everyone--NOW"). To restore my serenity and perspective, I will read a section or two of "Still Here" before going to sleep.
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