My Teaching Journey began at age 17 when I was asked to teach Sunday School to 3^rd Graders by Pastor Vance Knutsen at the Hope Lutheran Church in Santa Clara, California.  I remember questioning some of the material I was given to teach.  I also pointed out the changes as I shared them with the youth in the class.

I then continued in the following in my Dad’s footsteps when I taught Pony League baseball while in the Army stationed at Fort Leavenworth, Kansas.  While living in the barracks a fellow soldier, Tom Rush, brought me to his locker; Tom opened the locker door and I saw a “stary” poster on the inside of the locker door, it reminded me of a Donavan album.  He said to me, “Your Mantra is Om”.  It was the first time I heard of that word.  A few months later a local girl, Babs Brown, took me to a large indoor mall in Kansa City where I bought the book, “Be Here Now”, by Ram Dass (Richard Alpert).  This was my introduction to Yoga.  (In the middle of the book there is a drawing of a Long-haired guy (yogi) on a surfboard with a disc balanced on his finger.

My “Teaching” continued when I moved to Santa Cruz in 1975 and taught/coached Little League Baseball at the Soquel-Capitola League with my Frisbee friend Tom Schott.  We had one of the first girl players in Little League, Stacey, one of the best pitchers in the league. I wish I had been better at instilling confidence…but then one needs to know it to teach it.

A few years later, while I was working with the Special Olympics at Cabrillo College, Tom brought some Professional Frisbee players, from Santa Barbara, to do a demonstration for the Youth at the event.  I was totally inspired.  I began practicing learning how to “Delay” –spinning the disc on my fingernail.  This, after a few months of study, led to tricks and playing Ultimate Frisbee which led me to have the desire to become a Pro myself.  Tom brought the first “Flying Disc Classic” to Santa Cruz in 1977, at Cabrillo College Football Stadium.  At that event a couple of fellows from New York came and won the Freestyle part of the Classic.  They were pretty flexible and put on a great show.  I was even more inspired and realized if I was to compete with them, I would need to take dance classes.  So, I joined a Creative Movement class at Cabrillo.  Then one day while walking to my car from another class I walked by a Yoga class.  I stopped and watched for a couple minutes and journeyed along.  A couple days later I was passing the same room at the same time and the Yoga class was going on.  I stopped and watched till the end of the class and then I spoke with the Teacher and asked if I could join in.   She responded, “Well it is an intermediate class and we have been going for a while, so I think not.”  I assured her (sort of begged her) that I could do it and she relented and allowed me to start.  As of writing this “Bio” it has been about 45+ years and I have pretty much done Yoga every day since beginning that class.

In 1983 I was asked by a couple friends from the “original” Spa Fitness in Capitola to Teach Yoga.  I said I would and talked with the Director of the Santa Cruz Recreation Department, Neil Smart who I had meet through the Special Olympics Events, if he knew of a space available that I could use to teach Yoga.  He gave me a room at the Veterans Memorial Building.   In May of 1983 I began teaching Yoga Classes there.  I offered the classes on a “Free with donations accepted basis”. The initial rent was only $3 a class.  (In 1980, after having met Baba Hari Dass and the Mount Madonna Community at a Satsang in Live Oak Santa Cruz, and then getting a copy of the Bhagavan Gita from the Krishna’s while getting my Driver’s license renewed, while I was briefly living in Santa Clara selling Wheatgrass Juice for a few months.  They asked me if I wanted a copy and I said, “Yes”, and they gave me one and then said, “That will be $5.”  So, I gave them the $5.  I then read it about three times, rather quickly, and made three commitments, one of which was to never charge for “Healing”.  At the time I did not have much of a clue as to what “Healing” really meant.  So, when I began to Teach Yoga, I knew that Yoga was a Healing tool, so choose not to charge to honor that commitment.  I was given a fair amount of “grief” from some for that choice, yet never have I doubted the choice.  In Fact, I know it was one of the best decisions I have made in my life.

In 2007 I chose to leave the Veterans Memorial Building.  Did not know what I was going to do next.

In 2008 I first met the Twelve Tribes of Israel Rastafarian Community who reconnected me to the Bible. Bro Rusty Zebulun had a Bible with a leather cover he had made.  It jumped out to me, and I made sure to stay in contact with him so he would make me one.   As Prophet Gad suggested, “A chapter a day from Genesis to Revelations”.  Rarely have I missed a day.  I do love reading the Bible.  At this point I do read more than a Chapter daily…

Within a week of meeting the Twelve Tribes Community (early December 2008) I flew to Los Angeles to reunite with Pastor Knutson. It had been about 40 years since I had seen him last, right before going into the Army (about the same time that the Israelites spent in the Desert after leaving Egypt). Pastor had been reassigned to the Los Angeles area when I was in Leavenworth.

As we were driving to a place for lunch it seemed to me that Pastor was a little challenged with directions.  I thought it had to do with his age.  At that point he was about 85 years of age.  I felt he was not so clear in thought.  At lunch he told me his 50^th year message to the Church was, “Grace is always Present.  And Grace is always sufficient.”

I had often told my Yoga Teacher Ramanand, “Karma is Grace.”  He would always say, with a strong Hindi accent, “No! Perry.”  I can honestly say that often when I had heard people in the Yoga Community talk about the “Guru” giving the aspirant Shakti/Spiritual Knowledge or energy that my Heart would always say, “That’s Pastor Knutson.”

At Lunch, Pastor said to me, “Perry, I remember when I Communed you.”  I responded, “Pastor I do not remember that.”  Maybe only 5 minutes later Pastor again said, “Perry I remember when I Communed you.” Now, to myself I said, “Oh yeah, Pastor is not remembering he just said that.”  But to him I said again, “Pastor I do not remember that.”  Now just a few minutes later Pastor again stated, “Perry I remember when I Communed you.”  At that moment I caught a glimpse of the Alter and the Communion Ceremony at the Church in Santa Clara which took place nearly 40 years prior and every time since that I have shared this story it brings back that same memory and energy of Communion with Pastor the other youth and God.  What greater of a Blessing can one receive.  That is “Shakti—Grace/Perfect Love.  Whose memory was weak?

The day I left the Veterans Hall I left a note, which I taped to the front doors.  That was almost to the exact date exactly 490 years after Martin Luther had left the Catholic Church and nailed a Proclamation on the door of the Church (part of which, as I understand–I must admit I have yet to ever read the Proclamation–addressed his displeasure of the need to charge the church members for penance/forgiveness of sins—similar to the “money changers” of which Jesus Christ strongly objected). 490 is a very strong Prophetic number in the Bible.  Jesus Christ also suggested that the disciples forgive 7X70 times.  At the time of leaving the note on the door of The Veterans Memorial Building I was unaware of the date similarity of Martin Luther.  It was maybe 5 years later that I realized the congruency.   To me this is such an undeniable sign that God/Love is in control…I say that is an excellent thing.

And then…Up 2 Peace came forth and began to Free, Heal, and clarify my Life.  Peace is my Passion, my Mission.  I remember the Pink Florescent Peace sign on the inside roof of my 1963 MG 1100 Sedan in 1968 listening to the Doors, The Beatles, and Rolling Stones on 8 Track tapes.

At the last Satsang I went to Baba Hari Dass asked the Community, “What is Grace?”  I nor anyone else had an answer.  Since then, I have been given the answer.

I see this as the Power of Love/Peace shared from my Parents and Family, Pastor Knutson, The Twelve Tribes of Israel, and Baba Hari Dass and of course countless Yoga Students/Teachers, Friends and Community I have Blessed with while Teaching Yoga at the Veterans Memorial Building and in life in general.

Yes, I am Blessed!

I have often told people. “Many times, after working at a job for 25 years, they give you a gold watch.  I got Peace.  Yes I, I am Blessed!”

As Randy Newman sang, “…and there’s Surfing too.”  Aloha Nui Loa

And it keeps getting Better.

Join in.  It is worth the effort.

Peace n One Love,

Perry

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