This two-and-one-half hour presentation was recorded live at the 1992 Omega Institute Conference on Conscious Aging in New York City. Ram Dass was an early leader in the hospice movement and has devoted quite a bit of time and energy to the spiritual practice of being with the dying. His views on aging and death reflect an integration of Eastern and Western philosophies.

Ram Dass begins with reflections on turning 60 in a youth-fixated culture. He moves on to a discussion of the physical and psychological changes that accompany the aging process. He recommends that instead of kicking and fighting these diminishments, people accept them in a spirit of equanimity. Going further, he suggests that these changes actually work in our favor: being slowed down, we have more time to do inner work and meditation. Elderhood is a period of life that can be devoted to our spiritual unfolding.

Facing death can also be used as a catalyst for enlightenment. Ram Dass discusses what he's learned from the dying. He bows to the mystery of death and challenges us to see the last stages of life as a time of great meaning and letting go.