Master Charles

1945 -

Master Charles is an amalgam of the old and new.

On the one hand, he is a traditionally-trained Siddha yogi who gives shaktipat to stimulate Kundalini activity; but at the same time, he runs a business that sells technologically-sophisticated sound recordings based on brain wave entrainment.

Born on March 14, 1945 in Syracuse, New York. According to his autobiography, The Bliss of Freedom. at the age of 24 he happened to glance at a photograph of Swami Muktananda and was plunged into an extraordinary state of altered consciousness for hours. Shortly afterward he went to live in India, where he studied for twelve years with Muktananda and became a monk.

In 1983 he returned to the United States and created the Synchronicity Foundation.

He lives today at the Synchronicity Sanctuary, a rustic retreat situated on 700 acres of rolling hills and woodlands in the Blue Ridge Mountains of central Virginia.

Master Charles is a disciple of Swami Muktananda, a yogi of the Siddha Yoga tradition who was famous for the power of his energetic transmission. For more information about Muktananda, see his autobiography, Play of Consciousness.

Master Charles's organization, the Synchronicity Foundation, produces sound recordings that use binaural-beat technology to induce meditative states. These recordings are sold through the mail and used on-site at retreats.

My Life With a Contemporary Master
By Alan Scherr
After practicing Transcendental Meditation for 25 years, this former college professor met Master Charles, a contemporary Western disciple of Swami Muktananda, and was plunged into an extraordinary state of blissful awareness beyond anything he had known before. This experience changed the author's life permanently. Two years later he moved his family to Virginia so he could live and work with Master Charles.

How Master Charles Met Swami Muktananda
An excerpt from Master Charles's autobiography.

Neurotechnology
Our reference page on machines that help induce meditative states. Overview, book recommendations, and links to articles and sites.

Siddha Mahayoga FAQ
by Kurt Keutzer
Excellent overview of Siddha Mahayoga, a type of yoga in which the seeker practices mudras, asanas, and other kriyas spontaneously, without training, following initiation. Swami Muktananda, from whom Master Charles received transmission, was of this tradition.

Synchronicity Foundation Founded in 1983 by Master Charles, the Synchronicity Foundation offers a combination of energy transmission (shaktipat) from a Siddha yogi together with brainwave entrainment technology.

THE BLISS OF FREEDOM By Master Charles From the author's description of the book: The Bliss of Freedom is the true story of my own spiritual journey under the guidance of Swami Muktananda, one of the greatest Eastern mystics of the modern age. As an American, I am aware that the guru/disciple relationship is completely foreign to the sensibilities of the vast majority of Westerners. There is much confusion on the subject even among those who are genuinely interested in meditation and the mystic's journey. This book is intended to deliver some clarity on subject, and to offer encouragement to those who are already inclined to embark on this magnificent path. .ORDER FROM AMAZON

PLAY OF CONSCIOUSNESS: A Spiritual Autobiography by Swami Muktananda Did you ever wish for a book that tells what it feels like to become a yogi at the highest level of attainment? The author would need a rare combination of qualities: first-hand knowledge of high yogic states, a modern empirical sensibility, a willingness to divulge information that has traditionally been guarded, and an ability to describe subjective phenomena. Swami Muktananda had those qualities and wrote such a book. He practiced Siddha Yoga, a form of Kundalini Yoga in which the classical asanas, mudras, and bandhas of Hatha Yoga occur spontaneously, without instruction, after transmission of energy by a guru. This is an excellent English translation of a work written in Hindi. Read more about it here on Amazon.com. ORDER FROM AMAZON