The giving and receiving is the tricky thing. It's not the gift. It's what the heart says in giving the gift, and from my point of view, one doesn't give or receive - that's a role we have to play. But the gift - it's God's gift. I think that it's better to be souls than roles.

I would like my life to be a statement of love and compassion--and where it isn't, that's where my work lies.

Treat everyone you meet like God in drag.

A Tibetan Lama said to me, "The best place to stand, Ram Dass, is halfway between hope and hopelessness." So I can write a scenario for the 21st century in either direction. One is that it all goes to hell and that it's truly the dark age.

In mystical traditions, it is one's own readiness that makes experiences exoteric or esoteric. The secret isn't that you're not being told. The secret is that you're not able to hear.

I get rid of the thoughts, and I get in my witness, which is down in my spiritual heart. The witness that witnesses being.

Everything in your life is there as a vehicle for your transformation. Use it!