Remembering ‘Mama Lama’

In evolutionary cycles to come, how will Asha be remembered? Before she peacefully passed into the great mystery, she generously shared her interior with the world. She was a myth in her lifetime. A large woman, at least 6 feet tall. A co-founder of Lama Foundation, affectionally known as Mama Lama, she likely knew every goat, chicken, cat and dog on the mountain and could summon them with her voice.

Forty-plus years ago, Asha was my principal at Da Nahazli, a private alternative school in Taos. I had not yet become a mother and bowed to the wisdom of this woman with four amazing daughters, one of whom was in my second grade class. Aurora, a shy blonde little girl, did not seem particularly affected by the fact that her mother was our esteemed leader, except when in need of a hug.

I loved teaching in my counterculture community where many parents were friends, which could sometimes be a double-edged sword. In all my years of teaching, staff meetings were typically uninspiring events filled with bureaucratic minutiae. Not so with Principal Asha. A fellow teacher remembered meetings with Asha soaking in hot sudsy water. (Bathtubs were always important to her. Before any buildings at Lama were complete, she’d bought an old 6-foot tub.)

I remember sitting in a circle on an old oriental rug, some leaning on soft pillows, experienced meditators cross-legged with straight backs. Everyone enjoyed the sweet-smelling smoke arising from burning incense. At the start of every meeting Asha would declare, “I believe in healthy nervous systems. Beyond that, I know little about being a principal.” Her statement felt like a back rub. It was the first and last time I ever had an administrator concerned about my emotional well-being.

Decades later, life’s unpredictable trajectory found us still connected. I remember one particular summer afternoon on Dolores Road. After having accidentally eaten an edible she mistook for candy, Asha was in a state of bliss. Not particularly helpful to her friend who was undergoing an edgy medical treatment in her struggle to survive bone cancer. So Elaine sent her home. At first I was disappointed that my visit with