Notes on the Human Experience: Part 1

Richard Alpert (aka Ram Dass) once said, "We are not human beings having a spiritual experience. We are spiritual beings having a human experience."

In my opinion, the above quote is an elegant way to express the frustration many of us experience in these clumsy, awkward and claustrophobic shells we call bodies. For many of us, it is not uncommon to emotionally detach from our human experience, or spend a great deal of time and money to learn how to astrally project or experience an OBE - just to get outside ourselves.

Personally, I like to think of the human body as an initially awkward...but ultimately an extremely high performance vehicle - like a kayak.

I am not a big fan of kayaks. In my untrained hands, paddling a kayak is a clumsy and uncomfortable experience. However, I am an excellent swimmer. If I was left alone in the middle of a lake with a kayak, I would slip out of the kayak and swim ashore towing the kayak behind me. While this is an effective solution, if I took the time to learn how to harness the power of the kayak, I would be able to paddle ashore much faster and more efficiently than by swimming.

For many of us, detaching from the human experience and towing our bodies through life is the preferred choice - to get through the day.

Why would we as powerful spiritual beings choose the human experience?

Personally, I like to think of the human body as a high performance vehicle to be mastered. The human experience has the potential to be the ultimate symbiotic relationship between the body & spirit.

If we can simply learn to stay in our bodies and learn to harness the power of the human form, there is an abundance of amazing things we can experience that is impossible in the spirit form.

Knowledge + Experience = Wisdom

As spiritual beings we have an enormous reserve of knowledge but are lacking in experience.

The human aspect of ourselves is rich with experience but is hungry for knowledge.

The symbiotic relationship of the human spirit gives rise to wisdom.


DeAngelis, B. (2006) Everyday Spirituality Discovering Real Moments With Yourself. Retrieved February 6, 2006, http://www.intouchmag.com/BarbaraDeAngelis.html