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Ram Dass Tapes
There's no way I can convey in words what Ram Dass means to me. I probably couldn't paint you a picture or sing a song about it, either. Perhaps I could dance my love for Ram Dass in such a way that you would understand, but I'm much too shy to dance on the Internet. So I guess I'll have to settle for the first option: words. On December 5, 1985, 1 had a dream that changed my life in a big way. In the dream, a handsome, white-haired, moustached man with a dazzling grin came to be with me. He said his name was Ken Book. When I woke up, I drew his face in my drawing journal because I sensed that there was something unusual about the dream. Later that day, I had an appointment for a massage. I hadn't seen the masseuse in a long time. When I walked into her home office I almost passed out, because there on her refrigerator was a picture of the man in my dream! Actually it was Ram Dass, but it wasn't the Ram Dass I remembered. The last image I had of Ram Dass was from the seventies when he looked like a classic hippie, complete with flowing shirts and a wild, salt-and-pepper beard bushy enough to house squirrels. The man in the recent picture, on the other hand, was clean-shaven with a neatly trimmed white moustache and a closely cropped circle of white hair. He wore a simple T-shirt with the word SEVA emblazoned across his chest [see link to SEVA's Web site in this section]. Ram Dass was doing a fundraising tour for SEVA, so his face adorned the poster on the refrigerator. As I stared at the man in the picture, my mind worked furiously to re-sort my outdated images of Ram Dass. In the midst of my disorientation, some part of me knew that something fishy was going on. I had a strange feeling that I was being tricked—in a good way, I mean. A while later, I journeyed shamanically to see if my hunch was correct. It was. When I pressed my shamanic teachers for answers, they admitted the ruse. They explained that they wanted me to pay attention to Ram Dass because he is a good example of being spiritual while being in a body. Fortunately for the world, Ram Dass has created a rich legacy of tapes over a period of many years. He has never been afraid to speak his mind—and his heart—about a multitude of topics. I usually don't enjoy listening to people talk on tape, but Ram Dass is an exception. I could listen to him recite the alphabet, because his voice is so healing. As it happens, the content of his tapes is as powerful as his delivery. No personal annotation for Ram Dass' Web site would be complete without a special acknowledgment of Ganga and Yamuna (formerly Marlene Roeder and Jo Anne Baughan), his longtime friends and trusted assistants. You can contact them through ramdasstapes.org to order tapes and other goodies by one of the world's greatest treasures—Ram Dass. You can also join Ram Dass' interactive cybercommunity by visiting his own Web site at ramdass.com. Seva Foundation
I found out about Seva Foundation from Ram Dass. As far as I'm concerned, if Ram Dass helped create Seva, it must be good! Aside from this personal bias, Seva Foundation has also won my support by virtue of its own merits, which are substantial. Seva, which means "to serve" in Sanskrit, was founded in the late 1970s by Ram Dass and a group of his friends and colleagues. While the organization's main purpose is to relieve suffering in the world, those involved in Seva also use the work to help themselves grow spiritually, and they try to keep their humor alive, no matter what's happening around them. This can be quite a challenge, considering the fact that Seva's worldwide projects include the eradication of blindness, refugee survival, emergency health care, and the alleviation of homelessness. I bet if you explore their Web site, you'll discover many wonderful ways that you can benefit Seva—and Seva can benefit you.
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Soaring Heart FutonsSeveral years ago, the owner of Soaring Heart Futons called me and said he wanted to give me a new kind of wool futon they were making. Needless to say, I said yes. After all, I'd been sleeping on futons for a long time, and I'd been sleeping on Soaring Heart Futons for a big chunk of that time. I knew that Soaring Heart's owner, Doug MacQuarrie, had told me a while back that he'd read my work in The New Times (see link in this section). But I still had no idea why he wanted to lay a top-of-the-line futon on me. There had to be a catch. "No catch," Doug said. He only wanted to know what I thought of it after I slept on it for a while. Within a few days, my partner and I were the lucky recipients of a king size wool futon, which is designed to be laid over a 100% cotton futon, which we already had. Let me tell you, it was love at first lay! When I stretched my body out on its cloudlike surface, the futon nestled around me like the arms of a lover. It was truly luxurious, with a winning combination of softness and support. It even affected my dreams in a positive way, though I can't really explain how. In short, our wool futon has spoiled me forever. Doug and his talented crew at Soaring Heart are deeply into natural fibers, which means his futons are doubly wonderful for those of us who are chemically sensitive. In addition, Soaring Heart's attention to detail is remarkable. From the tone of their "Futon Care Sheet" to the stitching on every seam, care is communicated in every aspect of their work. Now that Soaring Heart Futons is on the Internet, you can order one of these beauties from anywhere and thus take advantage of Doug's invitation to treat yourself to the best sleep you can possibly have. With Soaring Heart Futons, nightly bliss is a regular occurrence!
Steven M. Hall, M.D.
Steve walked into my life–-literally-–in 1995, when we both attended an evening seminar that was hosted at his medical clinic. I was milling around after the talk, when a tall, nice-looking man came over to me, smiled, and extended his hand in greeting. He introduced himself as Steve Hall, said that he was a doctor there at the clinic, and that he'd been reading my articles for years. I was struck by his strong handshake, his gentle manner, and the clarity of his eyes. We chatted a few minutes and parted ways amicably. A while later, I was in the market for a new doctor, having been disappointed for the nth time by the inadequate level of care I was receiving from my medical helpers. I wrote Steve a letter and explained that I was looking for a holistic, multidisciplinary physician with a broad range of expertise, who would not be intimidated by a complicated and difficult-to-troubleshoot case (namely, me). I also said that I needed someone who would work in partnership with me, without any power-tripping. I wanted a doctor who would respect my own knowing over and above anyone else's, including his. Steve called me back personally (I found out later he handles most of his own phone calls himself--how rare!). To make a long story short, I became his patient and I've been spoiled by his care ever since. I remember when I first started seeing Steve, I would often find myself in tears upon leaving his office, because his kindness and his deep honoring of me touched and healed many old wounds of abuse, pushing up layers of grief and dissolving the pain into tears of gratitude. Steve is a unique combination of "country doc," highly credentialed family practitioner, and energy/body worker. His roots as a country doctor include early practice in the backwoods of Maine. This experience is still evident in his earthy, "down home" style–-the kind that instantly puts you at ease. Steve came to medicine from a background in chemistry, so his understanding of pharmaceuticals, herbs, and nutritional supplements is exquisitely developed beyond anything I've ever known from a conventional doctor. He's also a gifted, Upledger-trained cranio-sacral practitioner. During bodywork, Steve supports my process wherever it's at, and through this support, I can find my next step naturally. In the years since Steve and I first began working together, he has consistently encouraged me to trust my own knowing, and he has always believed in me even when my own faith faltered. During a long and brutal period of adversity, he continually helped me find ways–-both conventional and alternative–-to keep going in the face of all odds. Steve relates to me as an equal, treats my fears and concerns with respect, and reciprocates my self-disclosures with personal stories of his own at my request, so I don't feel overexposed in my vulnerability. He also has a great sense of humor! Steve teaches workshops and lectures internationally. In Washington State, he and his family reside on a farm in the foothills of the North Cascades, and he commutes to Bellevue to see patients. To read more about Steve's work or to contact him, please visit his Web site at www.stephenmhallmd.com. You might also enjoy my interview with Steve called "Growing Wings."
The Sun Magazine
When I first encountered The Sun, I was intrigued by its lack of advertising and its abundance of melancholy. I submitted an interview with Ram Dass, which brought me my first check for published writing. Afterward, I stayed in touch with Sy. I'd write long-winded letters, as is my bent, and he'd almost never respond, as is his inclination. Now and then we'd exchange answering machine messages, and, rarely, we'd talk in person on the phone.
At first, this was confusing. After all, I lived across the country from Sy, and we were both in love with other people. Eventually, I decided to simply enjoy my feelings, the way a schoolgirl enjoys the adolecent urges that will never see the light of day. I figured that if I let these feelings be, they'd teach me something. Over time, the crush revealed its true nature: it was merely a reminder of what I valued in myself. When I heard Sy's voice, it tugged at my heart like a fish biting at a line. But if I pulled on the line, I wouldn't catch Sy. I'd catch certain parts of my own soul: authenticity, tenderness, attentiveness, poignancy, compassion, integrity, courage. It's not that other friends don't touch these same parts of me, but Sy does it just so. It's the same with The Sun. There are many magazines that delight me, make me laugh, and inspire me to reexamine my thinking, but only The Sun can do it just so. Links to favorites outside this site
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Cat Saunders, Ph.D., is a personal and professional consultant, shamanic practitioner, and nonsectarian minister. She is the author of Dr. Cat's Helping Handbook (available at bookstores or Amazon.com). Click here to contact Cat or learn more about her work by returning to the home page. To schedule in-person or telephone consultations, please call Cat's 24-hour confidential voice mail at (206) 329-0125. For permission to reprint any of the articles, interviews, or other information
included on this Web site, please contact Cat. | ||||
How do I write a tribute to someone who has saved my life
over and over again? Whatever I could say here seems woefully inadequate
to convey the gratitude I feel for my longtime personal physician, Steven
M. Hall, M.D. Whenever I express my enthusiasm to Steve about his compassionate
care and brilliant medical guidance, he says he's "just doing his job,"
but I know better. I've seen countless doctors in thirty-plus years of
nonstop health challenges, and I can tell you from personal experience
that Steve is not just doing his job. He's doing his passion, and
it shows.
A friend gave me a copy of The Sun in the mid-1980s, and I've been
hooked ever since. At some point, I began submitting interviews to the
magazine, and to my delight, some of them were published. For The Sun's
25th anniversary issue in January of 1999, Sy Safransky (the publisher
and editor) asked me and many of their other writers to submit something
to commemorate the magazine. This is what I wrote: 
I was overcome with shyness every time I heard Sy's voice. His ten-second
messages would take my breath away. I realized I had a crush on Sy, though
I'd never even seen him. The truth was, I didn't need to see him. His
voice was enough. It came into my body like a white-hot wind and wrapped
itself around my heart.