Today we’d like to introduce you to Petra Weldes.
Hi Petra, so excited to have you on the platform. So, before we get into questions about your work-life, maybe you can bring our readers up to speed on your story and how you got to where you are today?
My story begins with alcoholism, drugs, and suicidal depression along with a ravenous curiosity, desire for intellectual stability, and a definite leaning toward the sacred. Longing for belonging and spirituality that made sense, I found myself exploring New Thought and the Science of Mind in Seattle, WA. There I began ministerial training and founded my first spiritual community.
That was both amazing and a disaster. This practical, positive spirituality gave me back to myself, helped me become clean and sober, and grew my emotional as well as spiritual intelligence. But my training and my mentor didn’t teach me anything about leadership, self-care, or organizational development.
I left that community that I had grown from 4 people to 125 and went to live in a cabin in the woods, 30 miles from the nearest town, to discover or remember why I had been drawn to this work in the first place. Later I moved, with my infant son to Dallas and become involved with the community now known as CSLDallas, a Center for Spiritual Living. This has been my home and my work, my community, and my place of spiritual practice for almost 30 years.
Here I have grown myself and others in spiritually aligned leadership, authentic community, and a deepening commitment to a spirituality that leads us to experience better lives while turning our collective consciousness to the raising of humanity’s awareness,
My personal purpose is to grow people, organizations, and ideas that are spiritually grounded, personally fulfilling, and make a significant impact on creating a world that works for every9one.
We all face challenges, but looking back would you describe it as a relatively smooth road?
The greatest challenges I have faced along the way include:
1 – actively and fully applying the powerful spiritual tools and principles that we teach, that my life may model a joyous, integrated, fulfilled, and spiritually grounded way to live.
2 – learning to deal with conflict, how to have hard conversations while maintaining heart-to-heart connections, and the ability to lead from vision and purpose, not personal agenda or needs.
3 – teaching myself and then those around me about leadership that is steeped in values, spirituality, and inclusivity with9out dogma, pretense, or arrogance.
4 – raising a son while working more than full-time.
5- learning my own strengths and weaknesses and being ok with them while empowering others to do the same.
We’ve been impressed with CSLDallas, a Center for Spiritual Living, but for folks who might not be as familiar, what can you share with them about what you do and what sets you apart from others?
We are a diverse spiritual community that seeks to deeply practice conscious awareness of our deepest inner reality and the sacred spiritual reality as the truth of life and of our being. Teaching meditation, mindfulness, metaphysics, and manifestation, we empower people to co-create lives that truly are fulfilling and making a difference while working collectively to create a world that works for everyone.
CSLDallas teaches the Science of Mind, Ancient Wisdom/New Thought, which recognizes the golden thread of truth running through all sacred and spiritual traditions yet is embedded in the nexus of unique individuality and the deep connection which comes with an understanding of the Oneness. We are truly panentheistic, practical, and committed to the raising of consciousness. We are open and affirming of ALL while being diligently supportive of creating an equitable, just, and sustainable reality for us all.
We offer everything from meditation to spiritual education to empowerment to community gatherings to home study groups along with inspired teachings and powerful music, artistic and creative experiences. We believe in the power of the community and collective consciousness to change the world and practice the power of changing our own beliefs/habits and actions to co-create more fulfilled lives.
What we do best is long-term, sustainable personal and spiritual growth which translates to growth and fulfillment in every area of life, that then make a truly amazing impact on the world.
The crisis has affected us all in different ways. How has it affected you and any important lessons or epiphanies you can share with us?
Oh yes! I’ve learned to dig deeply into my trust in the Universal Power and Presence of Life as the very creative force moving through me and those I work with. I’ve become more flexible, nimble, and agile in responding to changes and way more willing to be creative in areas that are new to me. I’ve remembered how to learn and pushed myself to do things I’ve never done before. I have also learned, again, the power of, and the need we all have for, connection; an empowered outlook; tools that actually work for dealing with stress, uncertainty, and crisis; and the value of steady, spiritually grounded leadership.
I’ve learned that we can be intimate over zoom; that we can support each other through isolation and loneliness; that no one should face death alone; and that our leaders need to be held accountable for the impact of their decisions on society and the individuals that make up our nation.
I’ve learned, again, that critical thinking never goes out of style and that it is ever more important in our fragments and polarized media. And I’ve learned that there is so much good happening, everywhere, and so many good people than we see in the news and on social media.
Contact Info:
- Email: therock@csldallas.org
- Website: csldallas.org
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/csldallas
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/petra.weldes
- Twitter: https://twitter.com/CSLDallas
- Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/user/csldallas
