Mickey Lemle '69 screened his latest movie Ram Dass Fierce Grace, a biopic on Richard Alpert the influential 70s teacher and author of Be Here Now.Lemle runs an independent film company, which is dedicated to making movies about people who have led inspirational lives by working for spiritual enlightenment and changes in the environment.
"It's not a mass culture kind of thing but it's got a niche. We have a saying that form follows funding, and it's just a reality of the art form," Lemle said about his film company.

Lemle chose Ram Dass for this project because he felt that his work as a teacher in the 70s helped to inspire people to find a higher consciousness.

"His story just embodies so many things that I care about. All of my movies are [about] personal transformation, because without that then we have nothing in life," Lemle said.

The film spent a lot of time discussing Ram Dass' teaching on mental projection, the underlying theme being that we are just a mental projection and that how we feel is outwardly reflected through our actions. One can change his or her entire life by a simple attitude adjustment.

"Ram Dass says there are two ways of thinking about things. Right before he had his stroke, he bought a brand new BMW, and after his stroke he was unable to drive it," Lemle said about the teachings of Dass. "So he had two options: he could sit in the passenger seat and mourn because he was an ex-driver or he could think 'This is cool, I get to be chauffeured around.'"

The film also followed Ram Dass throughout most of his life. His spiritual journey started when he was in his 20s and went to India to study with the Maharaji Neem Karoli Baba, who taught him that happiness comes from serving others.

Upon his return to America, he started holding discussions and services at his parents' house. In the film, his father describes the sea of people who would come up to the house just to listen to Richard.

In later life, he continued to help serve others in times of need and started writing to spread his word to the populace. He also formed the Hanuman Foundation in 1974, which created the Prison-Ashram Project that helped inmates find spirituality.

Now he has completed his book on aging, Stroke Teaches Ram Dass Anew, and still continues to help other people. For Lemle, the making of the film was an incredible experience because Dass' story fits so well into his belief about why he makes film.

"There are writers who write what they know, and then there are writers who write to learn. I am definitely the former. The subject has to be able to articulate their experience and then that experience has to be able to transfer to the bigger picture. His story really shows that experience," Lemle said.
Lemle believes that the most important part is to find subjects who are interesting and can grab people. It is the job of the filmmaker to present a fair and balanced portrayal and then leave in little messages for the audience.

"Hidden in the works are keys, and if a person in the audience is ready to have a breakthrough then it's right there and if they don't then they still enjoy themselves," Lemle said.

Throughout his career, Lemle has had many spiritual experiences creating his films. He believes that it has helped him to gain a better perspective on life, and each film has added to the next project.
"However much you identify with the vehicle, you have to know it is all going to change. You're going to die...you're going to stay in tech stocks too long. But if you look at the energy then you'll be able to breathe when the shit hits the fan," Lemle said.