Where Rama meet “Reindigenizing”
An exploration of teachings of Dr. Frederick Lenz
Polycrisis and the need for sacred systems
I have been arguing that the global polycrisis—the interdependent risks of ecological, democratic and economic collapses along with spiritual loneliness—demands more than policy solutions; it requires a radical belonging to the “invisible sacred realms”, human and more-than-human communities. I have called this framework for radical belonging “Reindigenizing”.
Many notable spiritual teachers and elders did not experience the current state of the polycrisis in their physical bodies but foresaw this unraveling, nevertheless. Dr. Frederick Lenz (Rama), the American Buddhist teacher, was one of them. He did not use the word “trauma” often but taught that “collective doubt” as a barrier to clarity. I investigated Rama’s teachings on self-acceptance, love, nondual awareness, kundalini awakening, and energetic mastery to see if they might map to my framework of “reindigenzing”. Indeed, Rama’s teachings do offer a roadmap to navigate the polycrisis by addressing its root: humanity’s disconnection from the invisible fabric of life and his teachings aligns well in many ways with my framework of Reindigenizing—a return to belonging through trauma healing, community building, and ecological reciprocity. Lenz’s work, though framed in Zen and Vedanta, echoes Indigenous wisdom: we cannot solve the polycrisis without restoring our relationship to the unseen (ancestors, elements, deities) and the seen (body, community, land).
Lenz’s warning about societal collapse aligns with the polycrisis:
"The world is a dream, but a dream that can turn into a nightmare if we don’t wake up. The chaos you see is the result of disconnected consciousness."
— Surfing the Himalayas (St. Martin’s Press, 1995), p. 112."Governments, religions—they’re all corporations selling illusions. Real power is silent. It doesn’t need to advertise."
— Audio Tape: "The Politics of Enlightenment" (Sedona, 1993).
My framework for Reindigenizing invites pilgrimage across four essential and inter-connected layers of spiritual work:
1. Connecting with hurting parts of our own bodies and minds
2. Building relationship with ‘othered’ parts of our human community
3. Belonging to our local ecosystems (trees, rocks and waters)
4. Knowing our ancestors and Invisible realms
First Layer: Individual level trauma healing
Most of us need to take care of our grief, rage, fear or shame before feeling open to invisible energetic realms. Therefore, the first “basement” layer of Reindigenizing for me is taking care of our layers of trauma. At the heart of Lenz’s teachings was the idea that personal suffering (or trauma) is a distortion of energy. He taught that trauma—whether from violence, oppression, or existential dread—lodges in the subtle body as blocked prāṇa (life force). His prescribed remedies? Meditative reprogramming: using breath, light visualization, and mantra to dissolve these blocks. For example, he guided students to visualize “diamond shield” protecting them or "golden energy" dissolving fear—a practice mirroring somatic trauma therapies now validated by science. His teachings align with the first layer of Reindigenizing: healing the self by restoring flow to the "colonized" nervous system. Lenz’s emphasis on kundalini (the coiled serpent power) mirrors Indigenous rituals that awaken the body’s innate intelligence to release trauma. His oft-repeated phrase, "You are not your pain; you are the space around it," echoes the Indigenous understanding that healing begins when we remember our wholeness.
"Fear is frozen light. Melt it with your breath, and you’ll remember who you are."
— Audio Tape Lecture: "The Power of Breath" (San Diego, 1992)."Golden light dissolves all pain. It’s not a metaphor—it’s physics."
— The Last Incarnation (Lakshmi Publications, 1984), p. 89."The universe is waiting for you to wake up—not later, now."
— Surfing the Himalayas, p. 211.
Second Layer: Human Communities across difference
I was delighted to note that Lenz insisted that enlightenment is not a solitary pursuit—it requires "power environments" where seekers amplify each other’s energy. He created sanghas (communities) where students practiced group meditation to harmonize their collective field. This mirrors my second pillar of Reindigenizing: taking care of human community. Lenz warned that "mental noise" from societal chaos (e.g., fascism, inequity) disrupts these circuits, breeding spiritual loneliness. His solution was conscious collaboration: "When you meditate together, you create a shield against the world’s chaos." Here, his work intersects with Indigenous circle practices, where collective prayer and storytelling fortify community resilience. In a polycrisis marked by institutional betrayal, Lenz’s model offers an alternative: micro-communities where power is shared, not hoarded.
I note that Rama did not address racism in ways that I have found to be skillful and kind in my work. He powerfully addressed human conflict, systemic oppression, and power dynamics—but through an “absolute" level” esoteric and energetic lens by framing interpersonal strife or conflict as energy mismanagement. He dismissed "mass consciousness" (e.g., consumerism, nationalism and maybe racism) as "karmic collective delusional or illusion" and prioritized individual transcendence over structural change.
"Most human conflict comes from unconscious people trying to steal your light. They’re not evil—they’re hungry."
— Lecture: "The Politics of Enlightenment" (Sedona, 1993)."Societies build prisons of thought. The bars are made of fear, and the guards are your own beliefs."
— Tantric Buddhism in America (Lakshmi Publications, 1987), p. 203.
Lenz’s teachings didn’t address the lived reality of racism and pain that it causes to all of humanity and so he did not address building human community across differences related to race, sexuality, gender, class or countries. His insistence that "enlightened beings don’t engage in protests" (Last Incarnation, p. 177) did not seem to differentiate between protests rooted in Nonviolence of Martin Luther King or Mahatma Gandhi verses protests that blame and shame others.
Third Layer: Belonging to local Ecosystems
Dr. Lenz perceived Nature as consciousness:
"Trees are plugged into the infinite. Sit under one, and you’ll download wisdom older than civilization."
— Audio Tape: "Meditation in Nature" (Big Sur Retreat, 1991).In rare mentions, Lenz spoke about nature as sacred, aligning somewhat with Indigenous animist views:
"Mountains, rivers—they’re not just scenery. They’re alive with consciousness."
— Lecture in Sedona (1993), archived by the Frederick Lenz Foundation.He encouraged meditation in nature, but his purpose was energy absorption (e.g., "downloading prana from trees") rather than reciprocal relationship-building with ecosystems, a core Indigenous principle.
Though less explicit, Lenz’s teachings implied that awakened individuals must steward the earth. He described nature as "a mirror of consciousness" and urged students to meditate outdoors to align with its intelligence. In one lecture, he said, "Trees are older sages than any of us; their roots are in the infinite." While Lenz didn’t organize river cleanups, his view of the material world as sacred geometry—a manifestation of divine energy—resonates with Indigenous cosmologies that reject the separation of "spiritual" and "ecological." In a polycrisis fueled by extraction, his teachings suggest a antidote: See the land as a partner in your liberation.
While Lenz deeply respected nature’s intelligence and was steeped in Asian animism, there is no direct evidence that Dr. Frederick Lenz (Rama) engaged deeply with Indigenous land based traditions (e.g., Native American, African, or Pacific Islander cosmologies) in his recorded teachings, books, or lectures. His work primarily focused on Asian-derived systems (Zen Buddhism, Hinduism, Tantra) and modernized American esotericism. I have found no evidence that he studied or honored place based Indigenous spiritualities as distinct, sovereign knowledge systems that we could benefit from in a confused world. There seem to be no recorded collaborations with Indigenous teachers, ceremonies (e.g., sweat lodges), or references to specific Native elders/texts in his works. I’m curious what would he say if I could have a dialog with him today or if he had a chance to engage with Indigenous or Tribal Nations which organize their human communities in ways that make humans a “keystone species” of their local ecosystems.
Fourth Layer: Respecting and communicating with the Invisible Realms
I have been arguing that Invisible realms often tend to get left out of mainstream popular mindfulness or meditation programs. So I have been delighted to note that Rama taught that deities (like Shiva or Kuan Yin), ancestors, and even "light beings" could guide practitioners—not as metaphors, but as intelligences in the energy field.
"Kuan Yin isn’t a story. She’s a frequency. Tune in, and she’ll rewrite your DNA."
— Tantric Buddhism in America (Lakshmi Publications, 1987), p. 145.I have pointed out in my article on Animistic and Shamanic elements of Asian Buddhism that there are many overlaps between spiritualities of Tribal Nations and Asian tradition. Indeed, based on Asian Hindu/Buddhist frameworks, Rama taught that "disembodied beings" (ancestors, deities) could guide seekers—similar to ancestor veneration in Indigenous cultures. He also referenced "astral realms" as real dimensions, somewhat mirroring Aboriginal dreamtime.
Rama’s teachings align beautifully with the fourth layer of Reindigenizing in my framework: connecting with the unseen. For Rama, the global delusions were, at their core, a crisis of perception: "Humans are trapped in a hologram of fear," he said, "but the divine is always broadcasting." I understand that his advanced students practiced astral travel and deity yoga to commune with these forces— an echo of Indigenous spirit-work.
Infact, I want to say that Rama’s most potent contribution to American Buddhism was his insistence that the invisible realms are real.
Spiritual Loneliness & Internalized oppression
I often find myself saying that our biggest issue in these times is our spiritual loneliness and internalized oppression that makes us think we are alone in our quest for healing and justice. Colonization makes us think that we are seperate from ancestors, rivers and mountains and we forget that Invisible realms and ecosystems might be rooting for balance with us and for us. Rama warned that modernity’s "auric field of doubt" isolates us from each other and the divine. His remedy was energetic hygiene: shielding practices (e.g., visualizing a "diamond shield") to repel collective despair. This mirrors Indigenous teachings about psychic protection in times of collective trauma. Lenz’s message is clear: Your loneliness is not personal; it’s the symptom of a severed world. Reindigenizing, then, can mean rebuilding the "circuits" Lenz described—between self, community, earth, and spirit.
"Most people are haunted by ghosts they can’t see—ghosts of fear, of lack. Shield yourself or they’ll drink you dry."
— Lecture in New York (October 31, 1990), archived at fredericklenzfoundation.org.
Lenz distinguished power (aligned with invisible divine energy) from force (coercion). He saw fascism, racism, and greed as "force" masquerading as power—a distortion that disconnects people from their sovereignty. He hoped for his students to avoid being sucked into these systems. This aligns with reindigenizing’s call to dismantle internalized oppression. Lenz’s teachings suggest that the polycrisis cannot be fought on its own terms; instead, we must cultivate alternatives that operate outside the oppressive structures.In conclusion
"I’m not here to fix the world. I’m here to show you how to leave it."
— Frederick Lenz, Final Public Lecture (Malibu, 1998)
Lenz acknowledged that he wasn’t trying to fix the brokenness of this “relative” world. Who knows what else he might have taught if he were alive today. By weaving his energy work with the framework of Reindigenizing that is relational, place-based and more fully acknowledges “relative” differences across gender, race, class and geographies, we can craft a response to the polycrisis that is as spiritually potent as it is politically urgent.