Journey of Awakening: A Meditators Guidebook by Ram Dass

Journey of Awakening: A Meditators Guidebook Reviews

• 
  Denise

  I love Ram Dass. Great guide to familiarize the beginner with methods from which to choose. Great guidance on the myriad of possibilities one might expect on the journey. I was most interested in this part. Although I've been at it awhile I've never had a friend who has gone before me talk to me about things like not becoming entrapped in methods and how from our practices life and perspective naturally change. No need to push! When I read or listen to Ram Dass I feel as though an older, wiser and funnier friend is helping me.
• 
  Bhavya Tripathi

  Perfect for someone who is just starting meditation
  
  This book gave me a deep insight of what it means to meditate and where it can possibly lead you. I started this practice as a way of self development, fighting anxiety and, navigating consciously through the world, but this book made me realise that meditation is more than just a tool. It is a way of life.
  
  By biggest learning from Ram Dass has been that ego constricts your perspective of the world. It is a collection of habits which forces us to see the world as we have always reinforced it, it limits us. Breaking free from ego is the ultimate goal of enlightenment (correct me if I am wrong). And meditation is where you start that journey.
  
  I loved how Ram Dass left no religion out when it came to backing up his claims. There are quotes from all the holy books out there which resonate with his teachings and experiences. Making me realise that the end goal of all religious practices is the same, enlightenment and awakening.
  
• 
  Thunradee

  Humbled 🌱✨
• 
  Beale Stainton

  I have been reading this book on and off for a little over a month now. I read a lot and usually have multiple books on the go. A book like this is good to have to slow your mind down. I don't meditate in the conventional sense, but I do run long distances and this is a method of concentration and focus I enjoy for both mental and physical reasons. Reading this book is not the same as a normal read. There is no story to it. It should be read one verse at a time like any book of wisdom. It is full of quotes from a variety of religious teachers from Christianity to Zen. Each quote is a story and a meditation unto itself. To really understand literature like this requires a full day of devoted meditation into what it says. This is a book one should hold for a long time.
• 
  Anastasia Beaverhausen

  Changed my life for the better.
• 
  Koosha

  Excellent guidebook for people who are starting to practice meditation. The book is very eloquent and encouraging. Thank you Ram Dass!
• 
  I

  Spiritual rightness tends to leave a bitter taste in my mouth when reading books like this.
  A beloved saying by Jung goes, “There is only one way and that is your way. There is only one salvation and that is your salvation...What is to come will be created in you and from you. Hence look into yourself. Do not compare. Do not measure. No other way is like yours...You must fulfill the way that is in you.”
  I have a deep appreciation for Ram Dass and the way in which he expresses sentiments of life, love, being, and universality. This book however, reads like a guidebook (no duh), in a way that doesn't specify the immensity of unadulterated being, allowance of self, for in my eyes, that is where the I AM lies, everywhere, in everything. I appreciated the quotes & snippets from the words of various gurus; they were short and sweet, and abundant with wisdom in a way that didn't preach so much as told a story.
  I am following my way, the unknowns & knowns, allowing the infinitude of wisdom to greet me along the way. 'Journey of Awakening' is not for naught; it certainly is a good introduction to a certain practice that I have respect for, but I find it important to heed that the way is vast and multitudinous, that life is all.
• 
  Derek

  Didn't expect much from this book as two other books I started reading by Ram Dass seemed to be more of an autobiography and seemed to focus on gimmicks for enlightenment or peace of mind such as a picture type book with not very wise phrases put on each page in an artsy way with a picture of dancing Indian in an attempt to show the phrase was wise and cultured.
  This book on the contrary had some wise insights to incorporate into life and meditation and had less of a new age gimmicky feel to it which I found refreshing.
  The only big downside to this book is that 50% of it was a list of meditation schools throughout the USA and Canada. Looked into the ones near me and they do not exist anymore, since this book was written in the late seventies I'm sure they haven't existed for a while. The insights he wrote of are of a permanent nature though school locations are not and because of this and the invention of the internet the locations probably shouldn't make up 50% of the book anymore.
• 
  Janet

  If you only read one book about meditation, this is it. The chapters are short with great dharma stories that illustrate what Ram Dass has written about. Quotes from Zen masters as well as Christian writers makes this book accessible to all. You don’t need to believe in the Buddha to benefit from Ram Dass’s teachings. Don’t be put off by the size. Half the book is a directory of meditation centers. And if you want to read another and you should, I’d recommend Wherever You Go, There You Are by Jon Kabat-Zinn.
• 
  Laura

  Lo he disfrutado y le ha dado profundidad y matices a mi idea de la meditación, pero no me ha cambiado la vida. Es bastante informativo a la vez que simple e informal; se lee como si bebieras agua, cosa que no todos los libros espirituales pueden decir.
  
  Meditation is not a matter of trying to achieve ecstasy, spiritual bliss, or tranquillity, nor is it attempting to become a better person. It is simply the creation of a space in which we are able to expose and undo our neurotic games, our self-deceptions, our hidden fears and hopes. -Chogyam Trungpa
• 
  Sarah

  A simple, open overview of some of the ways that one might find a path in meditation. Ram Dass offers a refreshing perspective, that a successful path will be different for everyone, include different methodologies, and may change over time. This book might give you confidence that there is a meditative path for you.
  [NOTE: the back half of this book is a meditation center & retreat directory, which is partially obsolete.]
  
  [Borrowed from the public library network.]
• 
  Brennan

  Read this book on and off throughout 2022 picking it up when I felt present to trying to soak in all it had to offer. Ram Dass was such a gift to this world and his writings are nothing short of wonderful. Full of meditative practices, methods, stories, and feelings to help anyone seeking to deepen their thoughts and become more cognizant of the meaning of existence and the beauty of every moment.
• 
  Manuel Ernesto

  I love this book so much. It's a refreshing journey that every person has to take. We fight we our demons day by day, but life has incredible ways to teach us for good o for bad. Ram Dass is great, this book is all that you expect to read for your soul and mind and much more. One of my favorite books definitely!
• 
  Angela Rodgers

  This is a decent read for true beginners to meditation. For those who have researched the practice a bit (even via google), this will largely be a refresher. The resources section of the book is amazing, though!
• 
  Ken Cao

  Ram Dass is elucidating, humorous, and digestible. His writing radiates compassion and understanding.
  
  I read it fairly quickly but the book holds so much wisdom that it will serve as a perennial reference in my spiritual practice.
• 
  Edy

  “The need to proselytize, the need to cling to and talk about your experiences, the need to dramatize them by turning simple acts of meditation into spiritual melodrama, all will fall away in time, leaving meditation a normal daily affair— nothing special.”
• 
  Deborah Fassel

  This is not a book to gallop through. It should be read thoughtfully and, well, meditatively, and more than once. Extra points for clarity of style.
• 
  Emily

  A perfect accompaniment to any meditation practice.
• 
  Jacob

  top-notch pick-up-and-go reading. Packed full o' nuggets of sage advice and self-reflective meditative exercises from Zen/Hindu/Buddhist/Christian traditions. I guess you could say it's a journey.
• 
  Giorgos

  Recommended!
• 
  Bruce Geils

  Thank you Ram Dass. 🙏🏼
• 
  Briana Johnson

  60% a good read, 40% phone numbers from retreat facilities.
• 
  Dewi Rhys-jones

  Wonderful.