TRU has welcomed Sandra Tait to its multi-faith chaplaincy team, where she represents Eckankar, a new North American religious movement that she has practiced for nearly four decades. For her, joining the chaplaincy is a chance to share a spiritual path that has guided her life.
“I wasn’t always in Eckankar, I used to be Christian[before] I started looking into other beliefs. Eckankar fulfilled that for me. I was looking for a live master to teach us,” Tait said. “In Eckankar, there is a live master, and he teaches us in our dreams.”
Tait’s journey is rooted in dreams and inner exploration.
“I have had many different experiences and many different dreams that have guided me,” Tait said. “It has been a wonderful journey in Eckankar since I joined it because it really opened my heart to so many things and inward journeys.”
At the heart of Eckankar is HU, a sacred chant Tait calls “the sound of God.” She says it brings peace and love to anyone who practices it, describing it as a simple way to reconnect when life feels heavy. For her, HU is more than just a word — it’s a love song to God and a tool she wishes she had leaned on earlier in life.
After moving to Kamloops about seven or eight years ago, Tait and her husband, also a long-time ECKist, learned about TRU’s chaplaincy program. “We wanted to bring the gifts of Eckankar to TRU for students to discover if they were open to it,” Tait said. “Anyone can join, and you don’t have to quit anything. This is our first year at TRU, and we are so honoured and thrilled that it is happening.”
Her search for a spiritual path began in her 30s after years of reading psychology and spiritual books. She recalls stumbling on In My Soul I Am Free, a book that introduced her to Eckankar. “It is the best thing I have done all my life,” Tait said. “Since joining, my life has improved in every way.”
Eckankar, Tait explained, is built on the principles of karma and reincarnation, which focus on the teaching that every lifetime is a part of a larger spiritual journey. Even small challenges, she said, can be guided by practice. She laughed as she recalled losing a jacket and then realizing during contemplation exactly where it was.
For Tait, Eckankar is both personal and universal. “There are people in Eckankar all around the world,” Tait said. “There are many temples, but the main one is in Minneapolis, and the other temples are in the inner planes of the different heavens.”
As TRU’s newest chaplain, Tait hopes to give students the same encouragement she’s found along her path. “My hope is that students find peace, love, and connection — whatever their path may be,” she said.