In the LSD sixties, Richard Alpert (1933-) performed controversial psychedelic research with his pal Timothy Leary and was fired from Harvard University, the only tenured professor in the school's history to be terminated.

Nonplused, he traveled to India's Himalayas in 1967, studied yoga and meditation with guru Neem Karoli Baba, and transformed into Baba Ram Dass, servant of God.

Since then, he has pursued a variety of spiritual practices and has written many books, including the famous Be Here Now (1971), the "cookbook for a Sacred Life," and Journey of Awakening (1990). He celebrated compassion, yoga, posture, mantra, and more.

"Counseling has to do with intuition, with work on oneself, with the quietness of one’s mind and the openness of one’s heart," he explained.

Born on this day in Boston, Massachusetts, Ram Dass suffered a serious stroke in 1997 and in recovering, gained greater insight on life. "The stoke made me aware of silence," he said. "Of the vulnerability of my body...how fragile my faith is." He called this transformation, "a new incarnation." 

In his continued quest for spiritual enlightenment, his book Still Here: Embracing Aging, Changing, and Dying (2000) examined the consciousness of aging. "The next message you need," he advised, "is right where you are."

Listen to silence and be amazed at what you hear.