Swami Chetanananda and The Movement Center in Portland, Oregon

If you knew why you were alive, would it make a difference to you?? If you could get up every day and know what you were here to do, would it help?? Every living being in this world is here to grow... we are here to grow intellectually, emotionally, and spiritually. "Growing the flow" allows us to absorb all our life experience as nourishment.. even bad experiences become beneficial…Swami Chetanananda

In 1988, my cousin Wendy gave me a wonderful, spiritual book called The Breath of God by Swami Chetanananda (I just now looked in that book, noticed the date, and her inscription to me). After the Bible, it was my first of many books of spiritual teachings. I remember it distinctly because of a few things… Perhaps the most important was the wonderful teachings within. The second was the cover picture. It is of a stunning finger-like tornado and as I am a little bit of a weather junkie I noticed it and was intrigued. The third thing was the author’s “weird” name. I couldn’t even pronounce it, so I didn’t try any further to learn it, and then promptly forgot about it (hmm how American of me).

Fast forward twenty years to 2008 where we, along with my colleague Barbara Schaetti, found ourselves teaching a Personal Leadership (PL) workshop at a place called The Movement Center in Portland, Oregon. The Movement Center is an ashram, a hindu-based communal house. It is also a center for yoga, meditation, as well as other spiritual teachings. The center is led by their teacher and spiritual leader, Swami Chetanananda. I did not “pick-up” on the name then, as you will recall I had really forgotten it.

As Barbara and I were preparing to teach, we asked about placing our PL book in their bookstore. As we passed a display of books, I noticed a picture on a cover that I recognized. It was of a finger-like tornado! “Wow, I read that book. What’s it doing here?” Then I noticed the name of the author and by that time I did know how to pronounce the author’s name. “Oh my, you mean swami wrote that book?!”

So twenty years later after my cousin gave me a book—I was getting the opportunity to work with a great teacher and author of that book and many more! Amazing, humbling, exciting, and mere coincidence you may say?—I think not. It felt somehow led, somehow “set-up,” somehow perfect.

For those of you who live in Portland, check out the classes in yoga, meditation, and many other things at: www.themovementcenter.com

For those of you who are coming to Portland for a visit, this is a wonderful opportunity to go experience this community of people who are committed to growth. They have public sessions for meditation and yoga. The people you will meet at the center are welcoming and wonderful and surprisingly to this Christian-raised person anyway, they’re not exotic or weird! (yeah, I’m probably the weird one-LOL).

For those of us who don’t live in Portland here’s another of Swami’s teachings and some places to go to get more information:

In growing… we must forget everything we think we know, every day... so that rather than becoming an expert, we become fully human, looking upon the world with wonder..!! "Growing the flow" gives us a stable, inner point of reference in a continuously changing world. Swami Chetanananda

The Swami’s teachings can be found on Facebook as well as The Movement Center website.

[Note: many thanks to Chris Cartwright who was an intern of ours at the Summer Institute for Intercultural Communication many years ago and has since become a much appreciated friend and colleague. Chris is also a member of the ashram. He’s the one who clearly got that PL would be beneficial to the ashram and others. Thanks again Chris!]

For more information on Personal Leadership go to: www.plseminars.com

Pictures at:

(1) http://shaktisunfire.files.wordpress.com/2009/01/deep-breath.jpg

(2) http://ecx.images-amazon.com/images/I/41GWGJXZ0DL._SL500_AA300_.jpg

Comments

Gordon; You are too kind to mention me in your blog. I am overwhelmed w/ gratitude that you & Barbara & the fine work you do w/ PL & spiritual enegery has come into my life.

So many members of The Movement Center have benefitted from PL, we are sop grateful for your willingness to work w/ us.

I knew w/in the 1st hour of meeting you & Barbara & hearing re: PL that I had to connect you w/ Swamiji & The Movement Ctr ... now I know that my near obsessive networking 'jones; has paid-off.

Love & Respect,
C2

Posted by: Chris Cartwright | 06/29/2010 at 11:11 AM