Be Here Now

Recently I finished reading Be Here Now by Ram Dass (formerly Richard Alpert), written in 1971.  The edition I purchased is the Nook e-reader enhanced version, complete with the reproductions of the author's handwritten text and illustrations.  Thankfully, there is a transcription of the handwritten writings, as I cannot tell which direction to turn my Nook to read some of the drawings/writings!  The author was obviously under the influence of LSD or some such mind-altering drug when he did the original writing.  I didn't let that scare me off though!   Notwithstanding the books idiosyncrasies in style, it does have a lot of good ideas.   In fact, I actually quite liked the book.

I often struggle with trying to do too many things at once, with the result that none of the things I'm working on get my full attention.  Sometimes, my husband has made me realize that I wasn't REALLY listening to what he was saying, since I could not respond to his question or statement - my mind was somewhere else.  If anything, this book has awakened more awareness that I need to BE HERE NOW more often than not.  Give my full attention to the person I am talking with.  Give my full attention to the recipe I am preparing.  Yoga helps us to return to the NOW by focusing on our breath and noticing how we feel in different asanas.