Meeting the Ancestors
3 Week Practice Series
with Lama Rod Owens
August-September 2026
Virtual
The unseen realm of the ancestors is intertwined with our own physical experience. Ancestors connect our past and present while allowing us to witness and shift patterns in our lineage. Ancestors support us in amplifying our gifts and creating shifts in places we feel stuck.Â
Ancestor acknowledgment and practice lie at the heart of liberation work. They nourish the embodiment of freedom for those of us who hold ancestral trauma from carceral systems, and for those whose ancestors were perpetrators of those carceral systems. Ancestors provide the strength and resilience that we need to respond to the apocalyptic chaos with free minds and open hearts.
Our longing for our ancestral connection is a sign of our desire for decolonization and reconnection to our indigenous ways of being. This work is not always comfortable, because it also means we have to face ancestral legacies of violence, domination, and fear in order to transmute the patterns that we see personally, in our families, and among the collective.
In this series, we will deepen our commitment to healing and liberation by connecting to the unseen world of the ancestors. This work will invite us towards werking our grief through joy, celebration, and fierce love as we witness, acknowledge, and begin to heal traumas in our lineages.
Meeting the Ancestors will offer tools and practices for anyone to explore and begin to deepen their ancestral connections – whether you do not know your ancestors, have not practiced with them, or sustain ongoing ancestral relationships.Â
Join Lama Rod for this sacred medicine that integrates multiple wisdom lineages, including traditional Tantric deities, African spirituality, the Black Prophetic tradition, American Indigenous traditions, and sacred herbalism, to greet the ancestors with care, devotion, and grace.
The Practice Series will support you in:
This Practice Series includes:
When are the sessions?
Registration Options
(select the offering below that best matches your ability to pay)
All Members of Lama Rod's Learning & Practice Community receive a discount!Â
9% ($25) off for “Fierce” members // 5% ($14) off for “Fabulous” members (20% discount)
Join here to access the discount code.
Organizing a practice group with your local community? Contact us at [email protected]Â to inquire about group discounts.
FAQs:
Is this practice series open to all?
Yes, this practice series is open to all.
Please note that there will be preparatory practices that we will share with you before the series begins.
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When are the live sessions?
3 Sunday Online Live Sessions with Lama Rod
August 23, 2026 from 10:30am-1:30pm ET (3 hrs)
August 30, 2026 from 10:30am-12:30pm ET (2 hrs)
September 6, 2026 from 10:30am-12:30pm ET (2 hrs)
Plus 3 Additional Weekly Live Sessions for BIPOC* and White Descendants
For White Descendants: Wednesdays from 6-8pm ET: August 26th, September 2nd, September 9th
For BIPOC: Thursdays from 6-8pm ET: August 27th, September 3nd, September 10th
*Black, Indigenous, a Person of Color, and/or a Person of the Global Majority
What if I can't attend the live session?Â
The live sessions will be recorded and posted on the course platform for you to watch later.Â
How long will the course materials be available once I register?Â
All recorded live sessions and course module content will be available indefinitely on the course platform.
Is there a refund policy?Â
Refunds are available prior to August 16th, 2026, less a 20% admin fee. After August 16th, we are not able to issue refunds.Â
Is there financial assistance available?Â
Through the support of those who give at the Pay it Forward level, we have a limited amount of scholarships available. Email [email protected] if you are in need of financial assistance. If you are able to contribute to our ability to offer scholarships, your generosity by choosing the Pay it Forward supports our ability to offer more financial support.
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What does the registration fee support?
 Registration fees support Lama Rod and his team for the extensive labor, seen and unseen, and spiritual devotion that allows his work to remain accessible and sustainable. These resources help cover ongoing operational costs, such as the online platforms and services that are used to offer digital programs, team compensation, and the legal and accounting requirements of the United States, as well as physical spaces, materials, and nourishment for events when applicable.
As Lama Rod writes in The New Saints, he seeks to make the tradition of the Buddha relevant to our experiences in the present moment. This means inviting offerings and exchanges that honor the material needs of his energetic presence and livelihood — not in a conditional nor transactional way, but reflecting a tradition of reciprocity and universal balance similar to how you might leave food upon an altar for an ancestor. Giving and receiving are practices that embody the ethic of care that grounds Lama Rod’s work.
Therefore, your registration fees are one of the ways that Lama Rod is sustained so that he can continue his free and by-donation offerings such as Free Radicals, Medicine Buddha, and partnerships with organizations and schools to support their efforts. These offerings reflect our team’s commitment that no one be excluded from the teachings based upon their financial means. Those who register at the Pay-It-Forward price further increase accessibility by making financial assistance possible for those who need scholarships. Barter offerings and work exchanges are also welcome in some instances. Lama Rod believes that we can be well resourced while practicing an anti-capitalist ethic and is deeply grateful to be in a reciprocal relationship with you.
Other Questions?
For any other questions about this series, please contact [email protected].
About the Teacher
Lama Rod Owens is a Black Buddhist Southern Queen. An international influencer with a Master of Divinity degree in Buddhist Studies from Harvard Divinity School. Author of The New Saints: From Broken Hearts to Spiritual Warriors, Love and Rage: The Path of Liberation through Anger and co-author of Radical Dharma: Talking Race, Love and Liberation, his teachings center on freedom, self-expression, and radical self-care.
A leading voice in a new generation of Buddhist teachers with over 11 years of experience, Lama Rod activates the intersections of his identity to create a platform that’s very natural, engaging, and inclusive. Applauded for his mastery in balancing weighty topics with a sense of lightness, the Queen has been featured by various national and international news outlets.Â
Highly sought after for talks, retreats, and workshops, his mission is showing you how to heal and free yourself.
