While living in the 1960s San Francisco counter-cultural incubator the author encountered an iconic wise man from India who imparted a tempting taste of tranquility and bliss. Intrigued by this, the author decided to study with him. This led to a 30 year association between the author and his teacher, Swami Satchidananda. The swami was the bearded, orange robed, one-of-a-kind master from India who opened the Woodstock festival. He helped to revolutionize many lives with his "egodectomies" and other non-clinical methods that can reverse emotional dysfunction. Part of the book focuses on the techniques that the swami used to help people move-on from mere adulthood into robust and happy maturity. The swami also taught a transformational type of yoga that bears scant resemblance with commonly taught generic and esoteric varieties. The Calm Lake provides detailed accounts of the exceptional capabilities, paradoxical simplicity vs. complexity and the mundane aspects of the famous swami who the reader begins to know intimately. Along the way we gain insights about the linkages between humanistic psychologies, physical & emotional wellness and spiritual mentor-ship. The author shares his objective evaluations of and emotional reactions to what he encountered. Smatterings of history, humor and the unusual are woven into the book's fabric. Tantalizing off-beat tales are served-up such as: Beat & Hip, Gift of the Bush Fairy, Wise Old Man, Portable Personal Guru, Peacock Bliss and the Invisible Man. The author asserts that emotional wellness, spiritual development and the ability to dwell in one's essence is probably not the result of drugs, therapy or a mysterious process infused with some sort of obscure magic. Instead, he suggests that accessing the pinnacle of existence is accomplished by reworking one's attitudes and spending some moments without thinking about anything at all. He adds that persevering until the goal is reached is the hard part.The author provides us with ample motivation by describing his experience of a tranquil, joyous inner realm. Cowan makes it easier to access this ourselves by pointing to pathways that lead to its threshold.
About the Author: Errol Ishwara Cowan lived in San Francisco during the 1960s counter-cultural revolution which led to a 30 year association with Sri Swami Satchidananda. Learning under the direction of the swami, Cowan practiced, taught and lectured about a comprehensive system of yoga that can correct physical and emotional dysfunctions. He harnessed and melded yoga with his professional activities as community developer and consultant. Dr. Cowan holds an MBA and a triple PhD from UC Berkeley. He served as a professor in business administration for the California State University system and as a professor in urban and environmental planning at the University of Virginia. He is qualified as an expert witness in superior courts and has consulted for city, county and federal governments, major corporations and Fannie Mae. The author developed housing, a sustainable "green" community, an ecological retreat and conference center and co-founded several yoga institutes and communities.