by Patti Simpson

I recently wrote about the mistake we make when we compare ourselves to others and come out wanting because we haven’t used the correct yardstick. One of my favorite teachers in the world today is the man known as Ram Dass. I was fortunate, years ago, to be able to attend several weekend workshops with Ram Dass, and the more I was around him, the more impressed I was. The former Dr. Richard Alpert was a Harvard Psychology Professor and fellow researcher with Dr. Timothy Leary on the properties of LSD. What began as a clinical research project evolved interestingly. Timothy Leary came to see LSD as a recreational drug and almost single-handedly popularized it for public consumption. He took over a hundred LSD trips and in some ways, he became a caricature of himself. From my training in addictions and my experience with hospitalized addicts, he seemed to be in a category we used to call "Crispy Critters." These are people who have taken so many drugs that they have fried their brains.

Richard Alpert, on the other hand, saw spiritual openings and possibilities in the research and he chose to follow that up by going to India and studying the spiritual life with a beloved guru. He came back from India as Ram Dass, and became a teacher of great wisdom, humor and love. A very tall man, he would show up on stage in his golf clothes, always holding his mala beads in his hand, and would do a comedy routine, wryly the butt of his own jokes, and in the resulting laughter he would toss small, beautiful gems of wisdom that fell upon his audience like lightly falling snow.

It was Ram Dass who deeply moved me when he said, "It is so easy to unordain yourself." I thought this was so important, I wrote it down and have it on the wall over my small bookcase altar. And seeing it there helps keep me safe from the thought forms of myself or others which would make me be less than who I am, if I were to buy into them.

What does it mean to unordain ourselves? If we have chosen a life of thought, growth, study, curiosity about the true meaning of things and we are being impeccable in our personal path, that is to say, we conduct ourselves with respect for others and are not working out of ego and a desire for power over them, we have ordained ourselves on life’s journey. This is our sacred trail and it’s our sacred duty to be true to it. But there are those: people, books, ideas, religions, teachers, clergy, educators, governments, etc., whose concepts differ from ours. It’s the way of the world for them to make us feel we are wrong, mistaken or just plain off-track. These folks have a lot invested in reigning in our free spirits and if we hold them in high respect, we can unwittingly unordain ourselves. And then comes bad self-talk, lowered self-esteem, a sense of not being up to the task. The bad news is, we have become unordained. The good news is, we did it to ourselves and we can correct it by creating a new, firm intention.

How do we know when this has happened? We feel as if we’re ringing like a cracked bell. The inner harmony that is a natural state when we’re ordained is missing. Someone, some thing has thrown us out of our belief in ourselves. I recommend that one write down Ram Dass’ words and keep them in a favorite place: "It is so easy to unordain yourself." Then reach down into one's own core and say to self, "I deserve respect." When we do that we are telling that to others and to ourselves. It is surprising how many things fall into line if we do that little bit of mental and spiritual health care every day.

On the other hand, if one never has the slightest doubt regarding his or her correctness about everything, one may need to check in at their inner pharmacy and order up some humility pills. LOL