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Writer's pictureLinda Odhner, with photos by Liz Kufs
Dec 10 min read

Excerpted Inspirations #155


In the old days, like many of you (I suppose) I was a good oral-type person. You open the refrigerator and you can’t stuff your mouth fast enough. Everything turns you on. The stimulus arouses the response. Uummmm – I’ll have a little of that! & there’s some ice cream – and! There’s some coleslaw; here’s a real sour pickle – that’ll go good with the ice cream. [...] You can go on the oral trip about everything. I come right out of that tradition. I want you to know where I started from – from what depths – WHAT DEPTHS [...] So you can understand that I speak of the oral trip with a certain amount of empathy. And now, suddenly, comes this new ruling sent down from above. All your acts will be consecrated. All your acts will be consecrated. Wow, that’s great. But what about food? Ah ... Now in the West we have a thing. You see the Norman Rockwell cover ... THANKSGIVING DAY! There’s the turkey & everybody has his eyes closed saying grace & the kid’s hand is already on the turkey ... Okay! Let’s say grace & EAT QUICK! So in India I was taught this thing to say to consecrate the food & it was very funny. I’d been taught it but I still had this old orality business. So I would say it but I could not THINK it. And ... I could not stop long enuf [sic] to EXPERIENCE it. At last I had to confront myself and see where I wasn’t. You’ve got to go at the rate you can go. You wake up at the rate you wake up. You’re finished with your desires at the rate you finish with your desires. The disequilibrium comes into harmony at the rate it comes into harmony. You can’t rip the skin off the snake. The snake must molt the skin. That’s the rate it happens. Ram Dass, Be Here Now (1971), “Brown Pages” 57-58

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