About this site: My mother, Marjorie B. King, met Richard Alpert (aka Ram Dass) in 1964. This picture of him was taken by my aunt, Jean Mayo Millay, at that first meeting, at Esalen Institute in Big Sur, CA. My mother and ‘Dick’ Alpert discovered an array of common interests and stayed in touch for the next ten years, through letters and a few visits. They had only one visit with each other after that close friendship. They remained in each others’ hearts until my mother made her transition in 2002.
I met Richard Alpert in 1966 when he came to visit us in Venice, CA. I was only 12 years old but we discovered a common passion for a particular science fiction book. I have created this site to share the pictures of him my family took and the ten letters he sent to us, and to tell the stories that frame those pictures and letters. They are from the mid 60’s to the mid 70’s in general. Thankfully, Marge saved these letters from him, and carbon copies of the letters she typed to him, because she knew what would be of interest to future generations. It is also our mission to find and publish the many letters that Ram Dass wrote.
About the the My stories section
My name is Storm A. King. Some people think that must be a nickname. I was named after a childhood friend of my fathers whose Native American name translated to ‘Storm.’ My culture of origin was West Coast hippie. My mother and my aunt, who raised me jointly, were a half a generation older than the hippie generation of the late 60’s, but that is the crowd they hung with. In this section you will find pages that all relate directly to Ram Dass. Follow the links to side stories that add detail to my personal experience with Ram Dass.
I am grateful to have this opportunity to make public the story of my personal involvement with this beloved spiritual teacher. My goal is to be of service to the fast growing fellowship of like minded individuals who share the teachings of Ram Dass.
In this section you can find Ram Dass ‘memorabilia,’ including a book autographed to my mother in 1966 from ‘Dick’ Alpert. Also, a few photos taken by Jean, both before and after he became Ram Dass. Also included are ten handwritten letters he sent us. They are transcribed here. Within them you will find my own interpretation of his teachings and how they continue to affect me to this day.
I am not a ‘scholar’ of Ram Dass. I have not read every word of all his books. I haven’t listened to hundreds of hours of his podcasts. But his influence on me continues to be profound. His teachings have greatly influenced my thinking since 1970. I would like to thank my mother and my aunt for opening my eyes to the way of Ram Dass. I dedicate this site to their foresight. They knew then, his ways would impact us still today.
I believe my stories about my personal interactions with Ram Dass, though few, will be of interest to many of his followers. Marge was never one of his closest personal friends. Ram Dass was beloved by millions and he had uncounted close friendships. However, they came to know and love each other deeply, both before and after he became Ram Dass. People who are scholars of Ram Dass will be interested in the letters and stories presented here, as they document the evolution of Ram Dass from psychedelic psychonaut to preeminent spiritual leader.
About the site logo picture
This stunning photo of Ram Dass is from 1974. I found it among the items I inherited from my mother. The mystery of this photo is how Marge came to possess it. We do know it was used to make an announcement, shown here, to advertise a lecture he gave in the Pauley Ballroom on the U.C. Berkeley campus in April of 1974. It is very unusual to find a picture of Ram Dass wearing anything on his head. His bright eyed huge smile and the pointed finger orders us to ‘Be Here Now!’
About the the Others’ stories section
Ram Dass uniquely made eastern mysticism and spirituality accessible, understandable and attractive to us in the west. His teachings continue to attract new people by droves as they are timeless in their content and eminently useful in so many contexts. This section of this site will publish encounters with Ram Dass that people submit that are reflective of his lessons. It will be managed as a blog, with the pages in it being updated with new posts when they arrive. It is known that Ram Dass wrote lots of letters to people over the years. It is hopeful that many of them will appear on the pages here over time.
About the the Meme and Photo Archive section
In this section you will find around 400 Ram Dass memes. I collected them off of social media. I have categorized them. There is also a separate page where copies of the ones that I made. And a page just for copies of the amazing ones made by Timothy Burgoyne. In this section you will also find around 100 photos of Ram Dass. Including a separate small section of photos of him with a cat.
There is a page for artwork of Ram Dass that I collected from Facebook. I have listed the attribution to the artist in the caption where I know it. I would like to fill in the attribution for the ones I do not know. Please use this submission form on this site to update me about any that you might know who the artist is.
There is a separate page for the artwork by Ram Dass! Two of the letters he sent us contained little stick figure drawings that he made of himself. They have been isolated from the letters. They are presented here for anyone to use in any way they like.
About the My blog page, found under the About this site page (forthcoming)
On this page you will find posts from me that represent some of what I have learned from, and integrated from, the teachings of Ram Dass. I will share stories that I believe will be of interest to people familiar with Ram Dass, but do not directly involve him. Here you will find the stories about my experiences growing up as a hippie and my thoughts about the spiritual nature of life as it has been revealed to me.
