I met Charles Eisenstein when he and I both lived in State College in the late 90s. I had heard there was a yoga class in my apartment building and decided to sign up, since I had not done yoga in awhile. And all I had to do was slip into my sandals and trot down one or two floors to the apartment-turned-yoga studio. Charles was a delightful being, full of gentle words and ease as he stretched his six-foot plus slim torso into yoga postures. He was so tall that when he reached overhead in the Sun Salute, his fingertips grazed the ceiling. (Come to think of it, he reminded me of my favorite animal, the giraffe, with his long torso and gentle mannerisms. Thus, a giraffe photo below, taken at Disney’s Animal Kingdom.)

During this time, I had the privilege of reading the beginnings of his first book, The Yoga of Eating. It was quite interesting and I encouraged him to continue writing. (Since he is young enough to be my son, I felt like a mother hen.) Little did I know that he would publish not only this book, but several more, using his background in philosophy to write books and essays that are simply astounding. As he says on one of his websites, “My development of reason and intellect brought me no closer to any truth I cared about.”

Fast forward to the present. The intervening years were important for both of us, but especially for Charles, during which time he entered a long period of searching. He now travels to give seminars on the topics of his books, and I was fortunate to be in two of his seminars in the last few months. The words in his two books I own, The Yoga of Eating and Transformational Weight Loss, have come to life and his philosophy of trusting ourselves to eat what we want, as much as we want, so long as we enjoy it, is what I have been working on. (I plan to review these books in a future website posting.)

What I like about Charles when I hear him speak is his calm, gentle tone in a world of noise and platitudes. As a single father of three, he talks about his children in his seminars, and I know that his attitude about life extends to his children, to whom he is very devoted. And he and his former wife are on good terms, which to me mean that the children are not pawns in a battle between he and his former spouse.

At 40, Charles is about the same age as my older two children. But his wisdom seems far beyond his years. The “identity crisis” he experienced in his late 20s has blossomed into a man for all seasons: father, philosopher, and friend, because he wants to share his gifts to anyone willing to listen. Since his work focuses on two areas of importance to me—holistic health and the transformation of human consciousness and civilization—-I have chosen Charles to be the first male in Profiles.

This quote from his website seems to be a good summation of Charles: “I have never made much money, but I have become rich in connections to other people. Friends and strangers from all over the world write to tell me how my books have affected them; they sustain my faith and nourish my passion for my work.”

I hope you will find this Profile interesting enough to check out one of his book websites, www.yogaofeating.com or www.transformationalweightloss.com. And for an even more recent, mindstretching essay by Charles entitled “Mutiny of the Soul,” go to: www.realitysandwich.com (Click on Charles Eisenstein under contributors and when that page comes up, see Featured Posts on the right of the Home Page and you will find Charles’ article, one of the most popular, that goes beyond both of his books and gives us real food for thought, no pun intended.)

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