Maharajji told me, 'Give up anger and I'll help you.' I found _x000D_ that love freed me back into the ocean of love and my righteous anger didn't do that. And I would rather be free than right.
Ram DassRead
In meditation we can watch the itch instead of scratching it.
Interpretation
What this quote means
Meditation helps us observe our desires and discomforts without reacting to them immediately.
In this quote, Ram Dass emphasizes the value of meditation as a practice that allows individuals to become aware of their thoughts and sensations, particularly the urges and habitual reactions that can lead to suffering. By watching our impulses, like the instinct to scratch an itch, instead of automatically responding to them, we cultivate mindfulness and the ability to choose how we react, which ultimately fosters a deeper understanding of our inner lives.
Themes
MeditationMindfulnessAwarenessReactivenessSelf-Control
In practice
Example use cases
This quote can be used in a workshop on mindfulness to illustrate the practice of observing thoughts and feelings.
More from Ram Dass
All quotes βThe gift you offer another person is just your being.
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The heart surrenders everything to the moment. The mind judges and holds back. _x000D_ _x000D_ In most of our human relationships, we spend much of our time reassuring one another that our costumes of identity are on straight. _x000D_ _x000D_ When we see the Beloved in each person, it's like walking through a garden, watching flowers bloom all around us.
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When I look at relationships, my own and others, I see a wide range of reasons for people to be together and ways in which they are together. I see ways in which a relationship - which means something that exists between two or more people - for the most part reinforces people's separateness as individual entities.
Ram DassRead
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