New age: Details about 'Namaste Retreat Center'
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Namaste Retreat Center was a retreat center headquarted in Wilsonville, Oregon. It shared grounds and facilities with New Thought church Living Enrichment Center. The retreat center took its name from the sanskrit word namaste, in tribute to the eastern spiritual philosophy that was embraced by many staff members, retreat participants, and members of the congregation. From 1997 until 2004, Namaste Retreat Center was one of the most popular retreat centers in the state of Oregon. In its literature, Namaste Retreat Center billed itself as "Oregon's leading spiritual retreat center." Namaste Retreat Center began with the intention of hosting mainly spiritually-based retreats. To that end, many personalities within the New Age and New Thought communities conducted retreats at Namaste Retreat Center. Retreat leaders included: Marianne Williamson, Wayne Dyer, Deepak Chopra, Jean Houston, Barbara Marx Hubbard, Alan Cohen, Joan Borysenko, Shakti Gawain, Stanislav Grof, and Arun Gandhi. Mary Manin Morrissey, head minister of Living Enrichment Center, conducted a yearly women's retreat that was attended by as many was 300 women from all over the United States as well as foreign countries. Eventually, however, Namaste Retreat Center found that the proceeds from spiritually-based retreats alone were not enough to sustain the business. Corporate retreats, for the likes of Sysco and Nike, soon began to dominate the retreat bookings. Retreats for non-profit groups, such as Habitat for Humanity, were also held on the grounds. Namaste Retreat Center closed its doors in 2004 when the umbrella organization of Living Enrichment Center folded amid a financial scandal.
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