The magical world of Enlightenment

Everywhere in the 1990's we see people experiencing pains and pressures associated with the complications of an over-crowded planet. Relief from that pain is what an Enlightened teacher offers the world, the opportunity to go away into quiet moments of knowing, of love, of joy, of ecstasy, of reflection. Rama gave us this chance to experience the magical world of Enlightenment. I am forever grateful to him for the light and the teachings he has shared with me.

Many years ago in my early twenties I realized that in order to experience lasting happiness, I needed to go beyond the ordinary routines of my daily life and reach for something deeper inside of myself. This awareness grew as I explored dance, yoga and meditation during my college years.

I began to participate in meditation retreats where I would meditate deeply, gain new insights into life and emerge refreshed and inspired. The problem was that integrating this new awareness into the duties of family relationships, school and work was very difficult in the modern world. I did not feel that I was successfully maneuvering through the challenges of an increasingly demanding and chaotic world, nor was I stabilizing my newly discovered consciousness effectively. In fact, I was "spaced-out" a good deal of the time.

One day something very wonderful happened. I heard about a meditation teacher, an American, who was giving talks at a beautiful old church in San Francisco. He was an English professor interested in promoting the "Enlightenment of Women" and he was reputedly very funny!

The meditations he led, I was told by other meditating friends who had attended, were very powerful and people were having a lot of exciting experiences. He radiated a golden light when he meditated. I began attending Rama's weekly meditations and immediately launched into a whole new world of beauty and wonder unparelleled in my then 32 years.

Once a week I drove two hours to meditate with Rama to incredibly beautiful electronic music. I listened to him talk on how to provide structures in life to bring about rapid progress in consciousness, while simultaneously learning how to meditate effectively.

Rama's teachings were highly pragmatic. He taught us how to recognize the things in life that deplete our energy and how to replace them with new, happier structures.

He taught us to take stock of our lives, make lists, set goals, plan our careers effectively, eliminate things that held us back and plunge into a life of high adventure! Life is magic and Rama showed us this directly. He spent hours giving us lectures and assignments to learn from the best Eastern and Western teachings combined.

He recommended pursuing education, living a self-sufficient lifestyle, exercising our bodies rigorously, improving our self image through meditation and learning about fashion and health. He encouraged us to work hard using our intelligence and to take time to enjoy beautiful places -- from natural settings to the serenity and joy of dinner in a refined restaurant or hotel.

We learned how to stop losing energy by plugging up the holes in our lives. We learned ways to gain energy, for instance, by maintaining a solid career, going to power spots, and keeping our personal finances , business and all aspects of our life in impeccable order. From a strong base we could begin to build our awareness and see tangible progress.

Fifteen years ago, I met Rama, Dr. Frederick Lenz, and my life changed radically. I have watched this incredible man perform genuine acts of kindness towards everyone he has come into contact with. I thank him for the wonderful teachings he has passed on to me and to all of his students.

Rama has helped literally millions of people improve their lives. He has given thousands of meditation lectures night after night for many years to large public audiances in every major American city. He has traveled and lectured all over the world offering the knowledge and direct experience of "Enlightened Mind" to anyone who attended his talks. He always stood by his students despite the physical hardship of taking on the karma of so many people and being such a refined person in an adversarial and unrefined world.

Rama was the bravest, boldest, noblest person I have ever come into contact with, a true warrior of light who has made planet earth a better place for all of us by his endless generosity of heart and spirit and his purity of mind.

I encourage anyone interested in the pursuit of light to read his books, especially Surfing the Himalayas and Snowboarding to Nirvana and to listen to his musical works: "Mystery School," "Canyons of Light," "Atlantis Rising" and so many others. His music, literature and software will continue to give us experiences of heightened awareness, a glimpse into nirvana, the place of perfect stillness within each of us.

Thank you, Rama!

-- Anne Linford