Jai Rama

This blog is about one person's interactions with an enlightened teacher, Rama - Dr. Frederick Lenz.  Rama is no longer physically teaching.  But even though I studied with him for 17 years and sat in countless lectures and participated in many amazing journeys, it is only now that the teachings are starting to manifest in my awareness. 

Rama taught his students the full range of mystery school knowledge in a 21st century context.  What he taught was not simply words, although the words (preserved in tapes and books and available as free downloads) are brilliant.  What he taught and transmitted are states of mind -- luminous, precise and magical.  You have to learn to meditate well and stop thought, and in order to do that, you must leverage all the many ways Rama taught.

Like everyone who studied or currently studies with Rama, I have my own lens and access points that Rama instilled in me.  In this blog, my goal is to share these with you, the future students of Rama, so that you develop your own luminous connection with an enlightened teacher. 

Enlightenment is real.  Buddhist magic is real.  Mystery school teachings are precise and are doorways.  Rama taught higher Buddhist magic and expressed it in every fiber of his being.  All of the core teachings are beyond words but the words are pointers and may grab a filament of your being and spin you into higher vortexes of energy, as Rama did and continues to do for his students. 

There are many stories of power to tell, and they are still unfolding.  But to begin at the beginning... 

In the early 1980s I lived in Los Angeles.  It was a hotbed of spiritual teachers and dedicated aspirants.  I had been meditating for many years, using one of the popular methods.  I had become disenchanted with the Indian guru who was teaching the techniques and I was definitely not looking for a new teacher.  I had a friend, however, who was always cruising for the newest teacher.  She saw a poster for "Atmananda" (who later became Rama) and went to his talk.  Now this friend of mine saw auras -- the subtle physical body of energy around people.  After she heard Atmananda speak, she phoned me, quivering with excitement.  "Honey, you have GOT to see this man.  He's young and funny.  He has a beautiful golden aura.  I've never seen anything like it.  Honey, you have GOT to go."

Over the years I had been meditating, I had read widely.  I knew that golden light emanating from the subtle physical is a sign of enlightenment.  I could tell from my friend's voice that she was speaking the truth.  So I went to UCLA to hear what turned out to be the last in a series of talks Atmananda/Rama was giving for a while on that campus.  I told myself to be open minded -- neither cynical nor hopeful.

I sat about ten rows back in the lecture hall.  Atmananda walked in wearing a plaid madras shirt and corduroy pants.  He looked to be about 30 years old.  He had curly hair.  He spoke very easily about meditation, and I was enjoying the talk.  When it came time to meditate, he asked us to keep our eyes open and gaze at him with a light focus.  I had never meditated with eyes open before, but OK, whatever.  He put on some melodious electronic music.

So it's a few minutes into the meditation and I'm gazing at Rama as he sits there in a full lotus position on a professor's desk, the soles of his feet facing the ceiling, and all of a sudden, he levitates.  By this I mean that in total stillness, without moving a muscle, his cross-legged body rises into the air several feet and hovers there, and then gently, in stillness, without bodily motion, returns to the desk.  His eyes are closed and I see him doing this several times. 

I am pretty stunned but not that shocked in the sense that a)  the group I used to study meditation with claimed to teach meditation even though it was a bunch of people hopping like frogs around a mat and braying like donkeys; and b)  the literature of Vedanta speaks of levitation as one of the powers possible in advanced meditation and de facto in the state of enlightenment. 

The group I used to study with also claimed to teach people to disappear.  But no one, including the guru, ever did.  A few minutes after seeing Rama levitate, I'm still gazing in his direction and suddenly all I see is the desk.  No Rama.  The desk looks kind of old and scratched.  Behind the desk -- nothing, no Rama.  I kept gazing and about 20 second later, Rama reappeared -- no physical effort, all in profound quietness. 

This was great stuff, but still, I had a reference for it -- "siddha powers."  Nice to haves in the literature of seeking.  At the end of the talk, Rama stood at the front of the hall and spoke to people individually.  I decided to say hello and thank him for the talk.  When I walked up to him, Rama extended his hand and we shook hands.  That surprised me, as most teachers do not like to do that. 

We chatted for a few minutes, then I turned around and started up the stairs towards the large, beige metal classroom door.  As I walked, energy began pulsing up my back along the area of the spine.  The energy spun from my spine and filled my mind with a deep joy and recognition.  It was the most powerful and transformative experience I had ever had, and my feet were still walking upstairs.  I realized I had found my teacher, even though I had not been looking for one.  I knew, in the core of my being, I had studied with him before. 

My hand hit the bar on the metal doorway.  I kept walking.  It was an auspicious start.

Tonight, December 27th, is my birthday.  I want to write and share my continuing story with Rama in this blog.  I see many topics:

Teaching Meditation
Meditating
Travel & Places of Power
Work
Fellow Monks
Rama's Biography
Women and Enlightenment
Musings
Other!

Jai Ram and Cool Beans,

Kali