Namasté Reader Spotlight

Camille Carrión – Puerto Rico
Namasté reader since 2006

Almost three years ago, Camille Carrión found herself approaching her 60th birthday with a sense of dread, feeling like the best years were behind her and that there was little to look forward to.  Fast forward to today: Camille has created a new path for herself and says she is now happier than she has ever been. In just a short period of time, she has become a certified Primordial Sound Meditation instructor and is on the path to becoming a certified Perfect Health teacher. Based in Puerto Rico, Camille is now teaching others how to meditate and discover their own infinite potential, no matter what their age.

How long have you been a Namasté reader and what led you to subscribe?
I‘ve been reading Namasté since 2006. I went to The Chopra Center’s website to find out more about Deepak and David and their programs, and that’s where I found the link to Namasté. I immediately subscribed and have been an avid reader ever since.

What kind of practical, real-world guidance does Namasté give to you?
The first thing I do when I receive Namasté is forward it to all my meditation students. I always read David’s and Deepak’s columns for guidance and inspiration. Then I look at the featured articles and there is always something that interests me. I have also found many good book recommendations and answers to many of the questions my meditation students ask. I have also found answers to questions that many times I ask myself.

What was going on in your life that led you to enroll in a Chopra Center experience?
It was the year I turned 60 and I was in a deep “funk” about it. I thought the best part of my life was over and I believed I had nothing to look forward to. Then I had a visit from a dear friend whom I had not seen in many years, and I was stunned by the wonderful change I saw in her. She was so happy and centered and focused.

I asked her what had brought about the change, and she told me that she had been practicing Primordial Sound Meditation for the last couple of years and that it had completely changed her life. I had read a couple of Deepak’s book but I’d never heard about Primordial Sound Meditation and I decided to look into it. The first Chopra Center course I took was SynchroDestiny and I thought it was wonderful.

I attended SynchroDestiny in Massachusetts, and it was the beginning of everything. It opened my eyes to all the possibilities and opportunities I had before me, and it led me to enroll in the Perfect Health program with its wonderful Panchakarma treatment as a gift to myself for my 60th birthday. So on my birthday I learned Primordial Sound Meditation, I started my Panchakarma cleansing process – releasing all the physical and emotional toxins stored in my body – and I began a completely new life that never ceases to amaze and delight me.

How have you transformed?
I went from thinking that my life was at an end to realizing that I have infinite possibilities. The best part is that I am opening up to them. I have begun to consider things I would never have considered before.

When I learned to meditate and would ask myself the three questions (Who am I? What do I want? What is my dharma or life’s purpose?), I always felt a little frustrated when I got to the third one. I did not know what my dharma was. I had consulted with Deepak about this and he told me I could not decide upon my dharma . . . that it would find me.

I continued attending Chopra Center programs and during one of them (Seduction of Spirit) I got the wonderful insight that led me to get certified as a Primordial Sound Meditation instructor. Interestingly enough, I had never liked teaching . . . I thought I didn’t have the patience for it. I entered the teacher training course mostly to better understand the miraculous change that was taking place within me.

Once I got certified (I celebrated my 61st birthday during my certification week at the Center), I felt an incredible sense of power when I realized that I had the ability to transform other people’s lives the way mine had been transformed. I began teaching, and that has been the greatest gift of all. Teaching meditation is my true dharma. I am happiest when I am sharing this knowledge with others and my students have enriched my life in so many ways.

What is the favorite thing you have experienced at a Chopra Center program?
The Ayurvedic massages! They are the best! But all kidding aside, I am so grateful for the complete change that has come about in my life. I am the happiest I have ever been. I wake up each day expecting a miracle and I am never disappointed. I feel that I have a second home at the Center. I have made deep lasting friendships with many of the people there, and every time I visit, I make more wonderful friends.

The best time I ever had was last March on my 62st birthday (for some reason I always end up at the Center on my birthday!) when I was able to share attend the Soul of Healing program with my daughter. I saw such a transformation in her, and now we are both looking forward to sharing many more of the programs. We hope to attend a href="/seduction">Seduction of Spirit in 2009.

How would you describe your life at this point?
I am happy. That is the best way I can put it. I see my life as a magical journey that amazes me every day. I am now in the process of studying for my Perfect Health teacher certification and guess when I will get certified? Yes, in March, just before my 63rd birthday! My many meditation students are all eager to take the course as soon as I get back to Puerto Rico.

I am so grateful to everyone at the Center and most especially to my teachers Deepak, David, and davidji. I look forward to the rest of my life and hope that I can continue to attend courses at the Center and all over the world.