Gita's Blog

Becoming Your True Self — Detachment

2009-10-09T16:21:00.012-07:00

In the process of becoming our True Self, a pivotal practice is the conscious act of detachment. Without detachment we do not grow, nor expand or evolve in any direction. In order to make any forward movement, we have to let go of something. In a more conscious and advanced stage of detachment, we know intuitively when an attachment to any form — be it physical, emotional, mental, even spiritual — is a worn-out form, no longer benefiting the growth of our soul or expression of our True Self and we make a conscious decision to detach where it is needed.

As we mature spiritually, we become keenly aware of the movements in life and know when to move on, when to stop, and when to take action that is different from before. Otherwise, even with the most sophisticated education or most beautiful spiritual practices, we can create our own prisons.

When we do something, even a good thing, over and over again, it creates a groove in our brain. If we continue to do the same thing, the same way, every time, it resembles skiing downhill on the exact same spot over and over. Eventually, we will create a deep groove which becomes a rut. Ruts are created in the physical brain as well as in our emotional and mental bodies.

Detachment is emphasized by the Wisdom Teachings as a path of spiritual evolution, also called “transmutation.” Having a healthy brain means to continuously challenge yourself to create new neuropathways. Creating new pathways in the physical brain also creates new pathways in the subtle bodies.

What are we attached to? We have physical attachments such as persons, property, furnishings, food, and ways and habits of living…. Emotional attachments include how we feel, expectations, fears, memories, pains and sufferings, how we define happiness and love, even happy memories that freeze and do not allow for new experiences. Mental attachments involve mental patterns from our education, study and reading and training, interests, music, and books and even discussions and ways in which we write and talk and communicate. How about spiritual attachments? We certainly have plenty of these such as the way we pray and meditate, the way we believe, the way we interpret a religious/ spiritual teaching. Imagine sitting around a man or a women who talks without interruption, and always about the same old, same old thing, in the same tone of voice, in the same way every single time! They remember when….They eat only this….they read only that book….they believe only in this or that….You can see people slowly moving away from such people and avoiding them altogether. Why would anyone want to be with a boring person always living in the past?

Whatever we attach to eventually creates its own reality. These are called delusions, illusions, glamors, ego, vanity, and generally self deceptions — another way of saying “ruts”. Such a state takes all the joy out of life; the creativity and the ability to evolve and grow and expand and see life in new ways. As children, we are open and fresh, flexible, and expectant. As we get older and we let ourselves freeze, we draw the curtains around us more tightly, put up the walls, create comfortable ways of living and ask not to be bothered with anything new or challenging.

To become our True Self we need to have the courage to detach from anything that is no longer viable. Just like cleaning our physical closet, we can do the same for our emotional, mental, and spiritual closets. Periodically, we need to clean them out of the old stuff. Interestingly, when we feel confident that we can detach and clean out, we diminish the power that old associations have over us. We feel free and alive again. Old people who are thinking, doing, growing, are curious and have fresh expectations, are fun to be with and have lots of friends seen and unseen!

In the process of detachment, we feel in touch with an essence inside of us that does not change. The most important and key point in my life is that with detachment we become fearless and open and forever growing and expanding. What a joy this is!

We detach voluntarily every day of our life from little things. Life teaches us through illness, loss and grief, separation, that we need to detach if we want to go on living a healthy life. It is a little more difficult to detach from emotional, mental, and spiritual habits, but we can do it. Healthy people make choices every day and learn to make choices that help them on many levels.

“We may think that to detach ourselves means to hate, to ignore, to divide, to separate, to stand aloof, or to be cold and rough toward a given object. These are not signs of true detachment. True detachment is a Soul attitude, a function carried out on the Soul plane rather than on the physical, emotional, or lower mental planes. Actually you are not detaching from your True Self, from anyone or anything. You are detaching your Self from the inertia of the body, from the glamors of your emotional world, and from the illusions of your mental realm. You are also detaching your Real Self from the objects with which you were identified only through inertia, glamors, and illusions.”

“In true detachment your spiritual identification deepens and widens on the spiritual side of an object. At the same time you identify less and less with phenomena until, eventually, you are able to see the object as it is, free from your personal, mechanical reactions and free from your imposing, forcing will of the lower self, expressed in many ways. According to your degree of success in detaching from any object, your soul love increases, your light becomes brighter, your will stronger, and your joy deeper. Attachment makes you smaller; detachment makes you greater.” (The Science of Becoming Oneself p. 49.)

In the Process of becoming our True Self, the fourth lesson is to learn the art of detachment.

Spiritual evolution, or transmutation, involves all your bodies, your whole life. As we learn to observe using all our senses and learn to meditate and expand our view of life, we build the important bridges to health and joy.

Wishing you freedom and youthfulness!

Gita

A brief YouTube clip of the fourth step of finding your True Self is attached below. You may also view the clip by linking directly to the YouTube site:

______________________

- The Process of becoming your True Self is a 12-part series of lectures delivered monthly in 2009-2010. You may subscribe to the entire set of lessons. Please link here for more information on the audio CD or download versions, or the DVD version. A magnificent companion for this process is the book The Science of Becoming Oneself by Torkom Saraydarian.

Gita Saraydarian is the Founder and President of TSG Foundation, an organization dedicated to the Ageless Wisdom Teachings. See the complete list of past blogs and other writings on this link.

-Copyright Notice: Gita’s Blog articles are copyrighted by The Creative Trust, 2009.

-The information in this Essay is for spiritual upliftment and does not claim to give medical advice nor psychological advice.

My Wisdom on Life and Love

2009-09-25T16:18:00.017-07:00

By Gita Saraydarian

A friend recently asked me what is my wisdom on life and love. Well, I thought, how could I answer such a complex question? It is huge. Then, I pondered on it. Yes, of course I can answer this question. After all, I have developed some insights about life as I have lived and loved and struggled to find truth. However, my insights are governed by my focus.

In the greater life, I am a speck of dust moving according to my focus of consciousness. Wherever is my focus, that is the part of life that I experience and narrate. I am not 100% focused on any one level at any particular time, but on multiple levels simultaneously and in various degrees. My wisdom on love and life is limited and defined by what parts of me are experiencing and to what degree each part dominates the experience and the narrative.

I am a physical, emotional, mental, and spiritual being. If my life focus is on the physical body, then my “wisdom” of life will be primarily physical, even though the other bodies are also involved in anything that I do. Similarly, if my daily focus is emotional in nature, then my emotions will rule my life and my wisdom will be primarily emotional in nature. Whichever part of my life dominates, that is how I would see the world; that is the source and definition of my wisdom. Being spiritual does not guarantee that I always make the right decisions and choices. Rather, the wisdom I garner depends on what is the most dominating factor, or body, in my life, or what holds the most power in my life.

Discovering the truth for myself — truth of facts, feelings, and memories of life are important to me. I ask myself: What is real? We can find the real from our own perspective. And, if people address themselves to each other in truth, then the truth is discovered in more layers. Truth is complex and multi-layered. Truth becomes richer and more layered when people interact with openness and honesty and speak from their personal wisdom. Truth is not static, but ever growing and expanding. If I am seeing truth only from my physical senses and experiences, then that is what I know is true. If I am able to expand into the emotional levels, and then mental levels, the truth is deeper and more layered. If I am able to penetrate into my mind and consciousness at even higher levels, then there are more layers of truth to be discovered and thereby, more layers of wisdom to be experienced. And, when I can truly listen to you with as many parts of me that I can muster, then new layers will be added to my wisdom on love and life.

Wisdom then is to be able to say truthfully that you understand a part of life, its cause and its effect; you have experienced it clearly and learned from it, and the experience changed something in you. Knowing something is not wisdom. Wisdom is not knowledge; it is experience of a reality that is embossed in you. Wisdom is love and knowledge through experience.

Love is an energy that keeps us alive and connected. If there is no love, there is alienation, separation, depression, and end of life. Love makes energy circulate if it is real and truthful and slowly integrates more levels of the person beyond the physical. If it is selfish and clinging love, it stops the movement and the growth; it makes us stagnate. The more layers we add to love, the more nourishing and connecting it is. Love can connect us to others and to the whole of life depending on our approach: what part of us is approaching? Or, rather, how many parts of us are approaching and how integrated are the parts that approach? And, is the integration deep and multi-leveled, continuously growing and expanding, or simply material based or self-centered? The wisdom of love is that it does give strength and joy and depth of character and meaning to our life when we fully understand that we cannot feel other than love.

Love includes our physical, emotional, and mental and also our spiritual self. To feel love is to have a better sense of self worth. To feel a deep love toward others, I need to love myself and appreciate who I am. Without love and actively loving ourselves we really cannot love humanity nor can we see any potential for healing or betterment of life. Our perspective on what life and love means are firmly rooted in our capacity to love, our capacity to be loved, and our capacity to express love truthfully on whatever level of complexity that we are able.

Love is a rose, or thorns, or both — the heavenly fragrance. True love means to forgive and to heal. Forgiveness means you relegate the pain of the thorns as a redemptive experience, means you entangle yourself with the fragrance and not the thorns. The thorns of love often make you appreciate the power of love and the reality of love and, even more importantly, give us the inner strength to serve and give and see life as a system of possibilities.

It is liberating to love without expectation. It is liberating to say you love no matter what the other does or does not do. It is liberating to see love in the rose and the thorns alike.

There is no separation between love and life. Wisdom is to know the unity of life.

My wisdom to what is life and love is applicable just for now. As I experience more facets of life, the roses and the thorns alike, then surely my wisdom about love and life will also deepen and grow in complexity. The answer is a moving and growing and organic expression, all depending on when you ask the question and when I take a snapshot of my life, and how deeply I understand the picture that I just took!

Thanks for asking.

Gita

- Gita Saraydarian is the Founder and President of TSG Foundation, an organization dedicated to the Ageless Wisdom Teachings. See the complete list of past blogs and other writings.
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-Copyright Notice: Gita’s Blog articles are copyrighted by The Creative Trust, 2009.

Becoming Your True Self – Harmlessness

2009-09-18T15:28:00.007-07:00

By Gita Saraydarian

“Let harmlessness . . . be the keynote of your life.” (A Treatise on White Magic, p. 103)

What a concept to be harmless in this day and age! With the increasingly toxic rhetoric and behavior all around us, the idea of being harmless seems quaint and irrelevant. But, harmlessness is a fundamental principle that compels us to consider our life in the context of the greater life. In practicing harmlessness, we search for the root causes of karmic liabilities. Harmlessness conditions our inner and outer life and matures us. How much inner growth we show when we are able to listen to each other, to disagree with each other and still be harmless; have a difference of view, believe in a different way to live our life, and even have a different interpretation of God and still be able to have love, respect, and share time with each other? Can we walk with each other’s God or even gods?

Harmlessness is a fundamental principle that is based on living a life based on greater values. In the Western Civilization the Ten Commandments have been the guiding principles for the rules of private and public behavior and are referred to as the “first principles” in esoteric writings. (See A Treatise on White Magic, pp. 116-121 for discussion on levels of principles.) These are the “Thou shall not…” set of laws that extract obedience and promise immediate action — instant karma — if they are broken. The legal system operated by God, the religious elders, society, or your parents make sure that you are immediately punished and corrected if you break any of these laws. They are relevant and important as they shape our personality life — especially our material/physical life — and enable us to interact with others in a civil society. Once we learn to behave outwardly with respect to these principles, albeit enforced by forces external to us, then we begin to wrestle with the reasons why we follow these principles in a context greater than fear of punishment. Certainly the prophets of old had a reason besides punishment and control?

As we mind the “Thou shall not’s…” then we are able also to consider “Thou shall do’s….” This process leads us to the second level of principles.

The second set of principles deal with what we do proactively. When we strive to live life according to these principles, we start to develop an inner awareness and no outer force needs to discipline us or prod us into obedience. We simply know how to behave, speak, feel, and think. We do what we do, and we do not do certain things, because we know the inner causes and effects of our actions on emotional, mental, and spiritual levels. Being keenly aware of karma and its causes, we start to move deeper into the sources of our behavior and begin to put into place those causes that will result in conditions that are conducive to our health, joy, success, creativity, and continuous spiritual growth and evolution.

The “second principles” are such things as living in beauty, goodness, righteousness, joy, freedom, striving continuously, serving and sacrificing for others. Struggling with the meaning of these huge ideas, putting them into practice at any level, and facing the seemingly incongruent nature of the inner and outer realities, help us eventually to understand how life moves and evolves. We see how an inner understanding may take a lifetime or hundreds of lifetimes to actualize individually or in society at large. Eventually, a higher consciousness comes into focus wherein the immediate reality is always seen in the context of the larger human potential on its many levels.

As we ponder further on the complexity of these principles and their application at any time in the history of humanity, we develop another side, an even deeper and more reflective side. For example, there is no hard and fast rule to what is beauty, or what is goodness; we have to figure it out and see how it applies and why it applies to our life as well as where and when we see its application. We may notice that they have differed in meaning throughout time and culture. What was considered freedom 100 years ago seems so limiting now. What is beautiful in one culture may be considered ugly or gauche in another. We observe and experience and try to find unifying threads in human expressions. Understanding complexity, being comfortable in subtleties, and trying to find unifying threads in the varieties of life makes us grow and mature.

Harmlessness grows out naturally from the first principles and is an integral part of the second set of principles. When we aspire to live in beauty, goodness, and righteousness, we are also learning to live harmlessly. Consider being emotionally harmless where our feelings and moods do not harm others. What about our mental issues — thoughts, opinions, and decisions? Can we unravel our egos and our vanity? Can we put aside our self-centeredness whenever we engage with others? We need to consider being harmless even in our thoughts and mental responses. Can we be harmless even in the practice of our virtues? Every action, feeling, and thought has a certain current and vibrational quality. Whatever we focus on, we create corresponding chemical changes in our bodies. Our vibrational envelope, the aura around us, is thus affected and is conditioned to attract the same qualities to us from external sources. So, consider what “germs and viruses” we are attracting to us if we maintain the mental and emotional toxicity in our life?

In the process of becoming our True Self, the third requirement is to practice harmlessness in action, feeling, and thought. In doing this every day, checking our life at the end of each day, and noting the harm and the harmless ways in which we behaved for the day, we build a line of conscious awareness that will link us eventually to self control, detachment, and true discernment to what is real, what is truthful, what is eternal, and what is really worthwhile. This is the source of healing, joy, and true spiritual growth in us.

A brief YouTube clip of the third step of finding your True Self is attached below. You may also view the clip by linking directly to the YouTube site:

I wish for you today a most joyful day, full of the wonders of a harmless life.

Gita

______________________

-The Process of becoming your True Self is a 12-part series of lectures delivered monthly in 2009-2010. You may subscribe to the entire set, or individual lectures. Please link here to more information on the audio CD or download versions, or the DVD version.

- Gita Saraydarian is the Founder and President of TSG Foundation, an organization dedicated to the Ageless Wisdom Teachings. See the complete list of past blogs and other writings on this link.
-Copyright Notice: Gita’s Blog articles are copyrighted by The Creative Trust, 2009.
-The information in this Essay is for spiritual upliftment and does not claim to give medical advice nor psychological advice.

Becoming Your True Self – Perfect Love

2009-09-04T14:51:00.006-07:00

By Gita Saraydarian

Love is wonderful and we all want it and we search for it everywhere. We want love that lasts forever and is perfect and immortal. Nothing wrong with that except for the fact that we look for that kind of love in all the wrong places! In the world of illusion, a world that is always changing, we are looking for permanency and eternity.

We think we know how to find love and we go about it in ways that are familiar to us, or biologically or emotionally make sense to us. We are attracted to a certain look, a certain smell, a certain way of dress and behavior. It is all based on our biological needs as well as on our upbringing, culture, media, and education. We think love is a special person who looks and smells a certain way, does things in a certain way, sends certain gifts or gives us gifts in a certain way. Love is that special music; that special poem, or that special color. When there is recognizable love, we think we know it because it fits our expectations and conditioning.

We are constantly matching the outer signals with our inner expectations and conditioning in order to feel loved, to give love, to accept love, to behave lovingly, or to choose lovingly. If these inner and outer signals do not match up, then there is no love or love shrinks or love is held back or limited, or the vibrant love that we once felt is shriveled up and dies and we start to look again for that special love....

The most precious thing in our life is love, a love that lasts forever, a love that is immortal, fearless, nurturing, perfect in all ways. We want our parents, spouses and children, lovers, and friends to have this love toward us and we toward them. We want to feel this toward ourselves and most often, are not even aware of the fact that we do not consider ourselves lovingly. We can find it only when we understand that it exists in a place that our normal education and culture does not show us. That perfect love we seek is inside each of us, part of the immortal self that is the soul in us.

We have not realized that love energy in its essence is unconditional, immortal, never begins and never ends. We cannot love one day and stop loving the next day. When you decide to love, it cannot be taken away from you regardless of what happens around you. We cannot grasp the true essence of love until we expand our consciousness to be able to grasp a picture of life that is beyond our personality life. Real love is on the level of the Higher Self, the level of the divine essence in us, the True Self in us.

One of my all time favorite travel companion book says it beautifully:

"Oh, there is a Love which fears nothing, which is greater than life and greater than death. I am that Love. There is a Love which knows no limit, which is everywhere, which is in the presence of death, and which is all-tender even in the Terrible. I am that Love. There is a Love which is Unutterably Sweet, which welcomes all pain, which welcomes all fear, which drives away all sadness, which is wheresoever thou dost search for it. I am that Love. Oh, I am the very Essence of that Love. And, O, My own Self, I, that Love, am Thine Own Self, My nature is Love! I am Love Itself! (In the Hours of Meditation by Frank Alexander, p. 29.)"

If you want immortal and unconditional love, you can find it. But, you are not going to find it in the limited parts of life. Yes, it is possible and I have seen it operate. When you decide to love, even in the terrible, no matter what happens, a tremendous healing takes place inside of you. You feel released. You do not have to hurt, nor grieve, nor regret; you can simply decide to love.
Divine love asks of us, and requires it from us, that we give up our attachment to every pain, every memory, every loss, every grief, every sadness and we are open and secure in our hearts to love and to know that we are an inherently lovable person. If we can find that source of love inside of us, we can then find it in people and life conditions around us. It is the greatest human strength and testimony to the resilience of the human heart to be able to find love in the terrible, the fearful, and the painful parts of life and to turn these around to the most nurturing and fruitful energy that heals us and helps us carry out our purpose and direction as human beings.

A brief YouTube clip of the second step of finding your True Self is attached below. You may also view the clip by linking directly to the YouTube site.

If you wish to see or hear the entire lecture, please link here to more information on the audio CD or download versions, or the DVD version.

I wish for you eternal love.
Enjoy!
Gita

- Gita Saraydarian is the Founder and President of TSG Foundation, an organization dedicated to the Ageless Wisdom Teachings. See the complete list of past blogs and other writings on this link.
-Copyright Notice: Gita’s Blog articles are copyrighted by The Creative Trust, 2009.
-The information in this Essay is for spiritual upliftment and does not claim to give medical advice nor psychological advice.

Becoming Your True Self – The Real Alchemical Process

2009-09-02T11:34:00.005-07:00

By Gita Saraydarian

(See the YouTube link at the end of this essay)

A challenging part of life is to find out who we truly are and how to be that true person. This takes many years of living, suffering, searching, and mostly feeling like we are living a lie or at best, not really being true to ourselves. We think we know who we are and what we want out of life. After all, we have likes and dislikes and we certainly have convincing opinions on everything and everybody! But, whenever we have a quiet moment, when we look at ourselves in the mirror, or reflect on life, we have that nagging feeling that something is not real.

These questionings may last a fleeting moment and then the daily life comes once again and washes them away. They re-surface now and again to nag us just long enough to ask the Big Question once again. Over and over, we ask, and finally, at some lifetime, at some magical moment in time, we start to see and hear the answers.

The path of finding our True Self is the real alchemical process. Legend has it that in ancient times, wise teachers secretly taught the process of turning metal into gold. This is a veiled way to explain the process of changing our base selves into the True Self. It is an indication that we can indeed change our base selves, the outer crusty and habitually shallow part of our life, and become a deep and highly conscious and evolved individual. There is no higher sense of exhilaration than when we feel connected to the essence in life. This is the result of the real process of transformation. When we read that ancient Sages had bodies of light, their life and teachings describe exactly that process of transformation that changes the solid particles of the physical/emotional/mental bodies into the finer, higher equivalents of light, energy, and power. As difficult as it is to imagine how one can change base metals into gold, it is the same degree of difficulty to change our whirlpool of emotions, hang-ups, and obsessions into the real and pure energy of benevolence, love, and dedication to the truth.

How do I become more of my True Self? The answer is, take it step by step, work hard, face yourself, and don’t think it can be done overnight!

To find the best proven process, I started re-reading a magnificent book titled The Science of Becoming Oneself. I wanted to reach deeper and experience the process and, at the meantime, provide for others a series of doable exercises to change base chemistry into the chemistry of “gold”.

To the degree that we are our True Self is the degree of freedom that we have. So, the process involves taking steps that increase our real freedom and clear our base selves so that higher energies can flow and circulate within us. The journey begins by decoupling ourselves from our outer, personality life and all its dramas by doing something very simple: doing good.

This is STEP ONE of the process. Find out in how many ways you can do good and do them. You are going to be surprised!

In doing good for ourselves and for others, we start the flow of a higher level of energy. Instead of our energies whirling within us with the same-old-same-old stories and narratives of how hard life is and how unfair and so on and on, we stop and we re-focus on an energy that is outside of us and link that to the highest counterpart in our heart. In so doing, we open ourselves for an energy that is different from the stagnated pool of emotions and self blame that we are mired in. We reverse our usual mode of living, and we start to see, feel, and think of life differently; as we step out of ourselves, we begin the true alchemical process.

Our inner life and our outer life do not always reflect each other. Eventually, this realization will be the single most important factor that will catapult us in a new direction.

What compels us to change from a meaningless, outer directed life to a life of meaning and inner direction? Crises such as death of loved ones, illness; depression; troubled marriage and relations; un-manifested talents and ideals; an awareness of the deceptions we have lived in; suffering physically, emotionally, mentally; losing everything we have will certainly get us moving. The process of aging and our own mortality is also compelling reason to do something worthwhile. It is surprising how much we put up with, day after day, doing the familiar and the expected.

If you want to start on this process for the coming 12 months, consider the first step and consider working on each of the steps that I will outline in the coming months. You have to really do the work in order to make chemical changes within you. It is the chemistry inside of you that affects your life. Chemistry changes by doing, feeling, and thinking differently. This is seemingly a simple and inconsequential process, but you will be surprised how it helps break down the dam that blocks the flow of higher life energies.

What we will eventually see is that our outer life reflects who we are on the inside, and the inner life is constantly fed and adjusted by the life that we live on a daily basis. There is always a sense of reality, a balance, and truthfulness. The path to a genuine relationship with ourselves, in our marriage and with our children, with our friends and co-workers, and even with the world of the spirit and spiritual is to find out who we are in essence and to bring that into expression in everything that we do. This is the system of “checks and balances” of the true spiritual life.

I am certainly looking forward to these next 12 months and I hope you come along with me on this journey of discovery!

Thank you,

Gita

A brief YouTube sample of the first step is below to introduce you to this subject, or link directly to YouTube.

The complete lecture is available. Please go to our website for details for either the audio on CD or downloadable versions, or the DVD.

-Gita Saraydarian is the Founder and President of TSG Foundation, an organization dedicated to the Ageless Wisdom Teachings. See the complete list of past blogs and other writings on this link.
-Copyright Notice: Gita’s Blog articles are copyrighted by The Creative Trust, 2009.
-The information in this Essay is for spiritual upliftment and does not claim to give medical advice nor psychological advice.

Spiritual Nobility: Bhagavad Gita and Devotion to the One Soul

2009-06-13T10:13:00.011-07:00

By Gita Saraydarian

I was watching a DVD lecture on the Bhagavad Gita given by Torkom Saraydarian about devotion to the One Soul. This lecture reminded me about spiritual nobility at its finest. Imagine that this Teaching was written around 200 BC and is still relevant today to millions of people. We can certainly learn a lot from it and its universal themes.

Click on the link below for a an inspiring excerpt on YouTube. Or, click here to link directly to the YouTube video.

The lecture reminded me of the need to develop spiritual nobility and not succumb to spiritual arrogance. Arrogance sneaks in slowly and makes us think we are always right and it is the other person who is wrong. No matter how lofty we think our beliefs and opinions are, if we push them onto others, and we think we are the only way to “heaven” then we run the risk of being totally marginalized and irrelevant in today's times. Worse yet, people will be completely turned off from us even if we do have something wonderful to say. Life is organically moving to inclusiveness, synthesis, unity, tolerance, and understanding. When we represent ourselves as exclusive, special, or the only way, we turn people off rather than have them listen to us. Learning to be spiritually noble is not so easy but very much needed.

Two ladies came to our office door today and immediately began to tell us that we needed to convert to their brand of religion. They never asked us about who we were and what we believed in. They assumed we absolutely needed to be converted. One lady started reading from the Bible (I do have great respect for the Teachings of the Bible) breathlessly as the other lady watched her with a blank look on her face. We stood at the door, unable to utter a word. After reading a lengthy passage, they told us this was the only way to save the world. They were nice ladies, but they looked so tired and full of pathos. We listened politely and then said thank you and closed the door. I thought to myself, “how arrogant”! I did get tempted to want to say or do a few other things, but prudence prevented me from doing anything that would also engage my spiritual arrogance! I thought that after all, it does take some courage and stamina to go door to door in the desert and I needed to consider a few other things before sitting in judgment.

Thinking about the two ladies I wondered, how does someone who knows nothing about you know exactly what you need in your life? Are we imposing our own thoughts and beliefs on others all the time without knowing? Are we assuming we know the exact “medicine” or advice each person needs? Do we “share” our faith and our wisdom very much like over-zealous missionaries without any consideration to what people may want or need?

All of us are capable of spiritual arrogance. Someone writes to me with a simple statement about their life and I immediately “prescribe” a spiritual solution to the problem! Was I being helpful or was I being arrogant? What if the person simply wanted to say something and not necessarily asking for a complicated solution? What if all they needed was to express and be heard? What if they just needed a friend to talk to? All I needed to do was listen and try to understand what is really being said behind what was being said; not always the same thing. There are many ways of being supportive. Simplistic spiritual prescriptions are often not the answer nor are hell and damnation sermons! Everyone needs loving human interaction and communication. People are looking for sane and useful spiritual tools to better their lives. There is a way to help people without being arrogant.

Life is demanding that we change. Parochial thinking is no longer relevant, regardless of the bloggospheres and rampant opinions and “my way is better than your way” approach in every facet of life. Is there a different approach? I found what I was looking for in a lecture on the Bhagavad Gita titled “Devotion to the One Soul”. Thousands of years ago, the Great Sages of India wrote about the method to appreciate and love diversity. If we can all devote ourselves to the One Soul who is in everyone and in everything, then we will see no separation in essence. Sometimes though we take even these universal Teachings and turn them into sectarianism. We turn universal themes into separative and hateful methods to demean others. Christ said to love one another, and I don't think we have been practicing that in the last 2000 or so years!

Of course, I offer this with all humility and not at all as the only way to fly....A Great Sage said to try to walk with someone else's God for a while. What a nice thought that I need to accept your way of worshiping God and to walk with your God for a while so that I can understand you. I guess that would be the same as walking in someone else's shoes for a while too. Then we are less apt to judge and prescribe for others; we can accept and love more and let people be themselves. It is far easier and better to love a person like they are and to accept them; a lot less friction and emotional energy spent on changing everyone to our own image. Besides, if we have the real recipe for salvation, then our very life should be example enough to convince others.

Enjoy the day!

Gita
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Link here to complete References and Resources on the Bhagavad Gita at TSG Foundation.

Bhagavad Gita means the song of God, or the song of the beloved. It is said to be written around 200 BC and contains the traditional Hindu Teachings.

Torkom Saraydarian translated the Bhagavad Gita early in his ministry and lectured extensively on these Teachings. Available are his lectures on DVD, CD, and Downloadable; translation of the book The Bhagavad Gita by Torkom; and a complete meditation course on the Gita.

-Gita Saraydarian is the Founder and President of TSG Foundation, an organization dedicated to the Ageless Wisdom Teachings. Link here for the complete list of Gita's blogs and writings.

-Copyright Notice: Gita’s Blog articles are copyrighted by The Creative Trust, 2009.

Loneliness and Contact

2009-05-19T10:57:00.010-07:00

By Gita Saraydarian

“....loneliness creates an atmosphere of contact.” (Psyche and Psychism, Torkom Saraydarian, p. 957)

The YouTube excerpt below is a short clip from the lecture on Contact given at the Wesak Conference earlier this month (May, 2009). Since the process of contact is the theme of the Wesak celebration, I wanted to write my thoughts about the process of loneliness and contact.

In the Ancient Wisdom tradition, meditation, worship, observation, purification and other disciplines of the physical, emotional, and mental bodies are tools to enable us to make contact. Contact means to communicate with and to receive impressions from a higher level of consciousness. That consciousness can be from our own inner wisdom or in the form of our Guardian Angel, saints or other Great Ones, ideas and visions and expansive thoughtforms, or direct communications with the Higher Worlds. The objective of high level contact is to learn about higher ideas and visions, find solutions to the impasse in our lives, and to be able to express these findings in our field of service so that everyone is uplifted around us. Humanity benefits hugely from men and women who are able to articulate high level contacts in their fields of work.

What kind of contact and how these contacts are translated depends on our approach. Emptying ourselves from the “noises” of our life is a precondition or necessary aspect of making a high level contact and being able to translate it into useful and conscious decisions. High level contact and the translation of that contact through the senses of universality, right direction, and synthesis help us proceed on the path of conscious evolution and conscious adaptation.

What is that “loneliness” that Great Ones and spiritual traditions have spoken about?

In my experience, loneliness means to be isolated physically, emotionally, and mentally from all external as well as internal patterns that distract us from our essence. To become our True Self, and to express this genuine being in our daily life as well as see the True Self in others is the greatest gift we can give to ourselves and to the world.

In our everyday busy lives, we are seldom quiet and we do not like the feeling of loneliness. Being lonely makes us sad and uncomfortable, so we try to fill that space with people, activities, and all kinds of noise. We give ourselves too much to do, we keep our children moving and making appointments for play dates, we are continuously hooked onto the computer and cellphones, we cannot stand not to talk to someone or be with someone. We do not want to be quiet and empty; we fear it.

I notice a man taking a brisk walk in the morning all the while speaking on his cell phone! A woman is taking time out to have her nails done, and she is talking loudly on the cellphone; no one in the salon can relax and have a brief time of relaxation and quiet. Two women are walking holding their toddlers and one of the children is holding a cellphone to his ear talking! I have a lunch appointment with a friend and she has to answer the cellphone during our visit. We go to hear a lecture and do not hear it nor listen to it; we are too busy with a problem circulating in our mind. Everything we hear and experience is colored by that one issue, one problem. We cannot let go even for a minute. It goes on and on in every part of our life. We cannot stand to “waste one minute” of time: so we eat at our desks, we are on the cell phone while we drive and walk and exercise, we constantly stuff ourselves with news, articles, and information. We want to fill every minute with multiple activities. Even at work, we must “catch” the news, check online, watch that video, and we are so proud of our abilities to do multiple tasks and do not realize the damage we do to our spiritual life. We are crazed and have no clue that we are.

The result is increased stress and strain and the inability to be focused and careful and make an internal connection that is the most essential part of our life. Then, in a rare moment when we feel sadness, pain, or loneliness, we feel anxious and threatened and don't know what to do with this strange feeling. This problem is widespread and is not limited to the average public. We are often reminded to turn off our cell phones when we enter a church or place of worship! I am always amused at the speed in which the Lord's Prayer is said in rapid fire rhythm; quick, quick, quick and get it over with!

Yet, when we embark on a serious spiritual path, the first step we must learn is to quiet ourselves and learn to practice quiet meditation, quiet and deliberate prayer; we must learn the art and science of loneliness and emptying of ourselves from the non-essential. This is the most difficult part of serious spiritual practice. We often try not to do this and go around it as much as possible, avoiding it with spiritual noise as well as mundane noise. We will do anything not to face the emptiness and loneliness that is really our friend and our most important teacher.

In this above quote there is a profound meaning: become empty of physical noise, emotional patterns, mental patterns and go outside of these and try to find a deeper level of silence. In that silence, we could begin to hear the most essential path for our life. In trying to find solutions to our problems, to find creative ways of solving life issues, we can try to be silent and quiet and even lonely. It is in the true lonely feeling that we can finally meet with our true being, our essence, and our direction in life.

Being lonely is hard work! I know how this feels. I know the feeling inside of me when I experience it. At first, it is like a sickening feeling that does not go away; a rock inside of me that pushes me. Then, if I persist, it becomes a feeling of understanding, opening, linking, and appreciating a broader part of life that I did not see before. My heart opens and relaxes and a flood of understanding envelopes me. My sadness may not go away; I understand this and appreciate it. But my deeper realization is there and makes my decisions better. If we can maintain our poise and observe during times of loneliness, we can fill our hearts with the love and joy of the universe and realize that connection and understanding and be able to express that deep smile of knowing.

There is no short-cut. In order to find the healing, the solutions, the answers to my prayers, I have to get to a point of serious reckoning; I have to feel lonely and then I start to reach for the answers that really matter. I look outside and inside, beyond the noise and the expectations, and in that loneliness, I connect.

If we approach the idea of contact with the noise of our bodies circulating inside our mind, we will not be able to hear or understand what we should hear. We get from any experience whatever we approach it with. Our patterns, our expectations, our desires will always color our contact. In this very simple quote is a most profound discipline to help us make the greatest contact that we can reach to, and to be able to bring from that contact the deepest truth that we can understand and articulate.

I wish for you a renewed contact with your Essential Self, with the most profound meaning in your life. As we face the impasse in our lives, moments of quiet are the best ways to find the true causes and the real solutions.

Gita
_______________________

References and additional information:

-The lecture Contact is available on CD and download and DVD.
-Gita Saraydarian is the Founder and President of TSG Foundation, and TSG University spiritual training center, an organization dedicated to the Ageless Wisdom Teachings.
-See the complete list of Gita's blogs.
-For upcoming events and seminars, please see here for U.S. and International events.
-See YouTube to subscribe to the video clips from Torkom Saraydarian and Gita.
-Subscribe to the newsletter Outreach for continued updates and articles from TSG.

Copyright Notice: Gita’s Blog articles are copyrighted by The Creative Trust, 2009.

My Mom: An Educated Person

2009-05-01T16:07:00.006-07:00

By Gita Saraydarian

The best example in my life of an educated person is my 84 year-old Mother. I have never written at length about my mother, but as Mother's Day approaches, it is time to tell her how I see her.

My Mother finished high school in Jordan and she got married at age 17. She had four children before she was 30 and had her fifth child in her late 30's. She raised well adjusted, educated, and talented persons.

My parents were divorced when Mom was in her early 40's and she never married again. She leaped headlong into making her business thrive (making and selling bridal gowns and formal wear), pay for her children's college education, and keep herself financially afloat in the most trying circumstances.

At age 50, while she still maintained her business and support of her children's education, she enrolled in a Community College. She took all the needed courses to complete the two year general education program. As a business owner she had good English language skills. Yet, she had great difficulty taking notes in English. She listened to lectures in English, wrote the lecture notes in Armenian; studied texts in English, took notes in Armenian. Then she would write her papers and exams in Armenian and translate them into English! She earned high grades and the accolades of all her teachers for her depth and understanding. She would then give parties and invite her teachers to our home to have serious discussions about culture, anthropology, history, language, food, and philosophy. They all agreed that Elizabeth already knew the subjects she was studying, especially in the humanities; attending classes was a mere formality.

When people came to our home for a dinner party (there would at times be up to 75 people in our living room) they were treated to gourmet Armenian and Middle Eastern foods, culture, music and dancing. We usually made new, gorgeous dresses to wear to the party. We, the ladies of the house, (my Mom, sister, and myself) were the center of attention as we moved around in beautiful dresses serving and talking and mixing great food with great cultural experiences. My Mom cooked for two days before the party and we cleaned and put things back into their places for two days following the party.

She graduated from Community College and then attended a local University for one semester. Due to lack of funds, she stopped going to college, much to her disappointment! She wanted to get a degree in psychology and I know it would have been fantastic if she could have. At the time, we had so little money and all the children were in school and their needs came first. Now, when I think back, I wish we could have been awake enough and conscious enough to see this desire in our Mother and helped her to finish school. We should have done that for her; a deep regret indeed for me.

My Mother is educated not because she is a college graduate, but because she is a graduate from what I call “The University of Life.” My Mother never stopped reading and studying and being curious about life in its many facets and its many fields. A few years ago she was reading the Rise and Fall of the Third Reich and she told me that I also had to read it once again (I had done so in my history class in college and did not remember much of it) and really understand the psychology in it. Then, we would be able to discuss it. So, I read it carefully this time and we had some very deep discussions about politics and the fragile human condition. She felt that it is important to understand the ways in which human beings succumb to totalitarianism and fascism and find there is relevance for this understanding in our life today.

She has always read serious books on history, politics, art, philosophy, ethics and religion of all nations, and anything that helps her understand life around her. She is well versed in European, Armenian, and Asian and Middle Eastern history and is keenly interested in world politics. She subscribes to several newspapers and magazines. Every time I see her, she updates me on the latest issues facing our country and the world.

She also reads novels both in Armenian and in English. Mention any major folk tale or biblical story (she has read the entire Bible, Old and New Testaments, seven times and can provide an esoteric explanation of any part of it), or any mythical figure or story from Greek, Roman, Armenian, and Middle Eastern fables and stories. She knows the story in several versions and will also tell you what its symbolic meaning is in its many complexities.

She is also knits woolen clothes for all of us without looking at her work (as she reads or watches TV; not just simple knitting but complex patterns and styles), embroiders the most intricate lace and needle work that is museum quality, is an expert tailor and seamstress and clothes designer; she loves music of any kind, poetry, and singing and has a huge music and video collection. She is an avid gardener and is passionate about her trees and plants. Now that she lives in the desert, she is ever watchful of the many “critters” that inhabit the area; plants and trees need vigilance to survive. Nesting birds find a friend in her and when they lay their eggs in her flower pots, she is so careful not to scare the birds and spoil their nests.

She has been a serious meditator since she was 18 and has a deep appreciation and understanding of the Ageless Wisdom Teachings. She is very sensitive psychically, although she would be upset if she knew I mention this. I do note this only for one reason; she is real, not the fake kind. She almost never talks about it; never preaches about religion (in fact she abhors the fake religiosity), never preaches about the Teachings, never talks karma, cosmic consciousness, or such topics that many spiritual people toss around like popcorn at the movies! She has a deep reverence of religion, great religious figures, the spiritual traditions of all nations and she does not talk about them and toss them around vacuously in her conversations. She never interferes with the karma and life of others and when asked for advice, she will mostly let you figure it out for yourself. If I ask her directly about something, she always knows I was going to ask her and she gives me such radical advice that I just look at her and wonder in silence, “how modern and real you are!”

She is passionate about the political events in the world. Once she noticed that her blood pressure was too high as she worried and worried about politics in the Middle East. We in turn worried about her and she knew that she had to do something to address the reasons behind her feelings. Next time I saw her, she looked very calm and philosophical and somehow “distant.” I asked what was on her mind, and she told me that she finally realized through her inner work the karmic problems that all countries are facing. She said human beings will continue to “eat each other” until a time comes when they finally grow up and realize the error of their ways. Until then, we will continue to see the senseless bloodshed and misery in the world. She said karma brings conditions back again and again until we all stop killing, hating, and exploiting others for our own personal or national good. Before change can take place, human beings needed to become human and to finally destroy their ego and vanity and selfishness. She related that she was able to comprehend the sad human condition through inner experiences and that we truly need to understand even politics from the inner perspective if we are to understand the entire evolutionary process of humanity. It was life-changing for her and helped her maintain her joy and not succumb to cynicism and sadness.

Mom comes from the real school of spirituality: no boasting of your inner experiences; these are experiences for you alone and provided for your growth and not for showing off.

One day not too long ago, she and I were chatting on the phone about some simple things and she changed the subject and she said to me: “Stop wasting your emotional capitol; you will need it when you get older.” Well, that was timely! I had been deeply worried about various things in my life and was wasting a lot of emotional energy on them. Her simple words opened a new layer of understanding for me.

I see as I observe Mom that the things that matter to her now are the things that really matter: her health and mental balance, her emotional capitol so she can deal with life. Knowing that she has done her best with her children and their life is now their own. She still cares and stays in touch with us. She also understands that we are souls given to her to guide and grow and nurture. She said she always knew how many children she would have and how they would grow up and what they will become. Mothers know their children are gifts and they are the caretakers. They know this and as they let go, there is a grieving process as well as a freeing process; it takes emotional energy to shift the focus.

And, as she continues to grow and expand, she is cooking up a storm to serve our final luncheon after our Wesak Conference. Mom has cooked and served our Wesak luncheon every year for the last five years. I asked her, “Mom, what are you making for us and what are you serving?” She said playfully, “None of your business; just do what you have to do and leave the food to me!” OK. I will do that. I get it!

Today, as I am getting ready for Wesak and our conference coming up, I wanted to share these thoughts with all of you, with the whole world, to show us how our Mothers shape us and imprint us deeply. I want to wish my Mother a happy Mother's Day. To every Mother who has suffered and raised children, may you be blessed by the Divine Mother of all. And, for women everywhere, with or without children, be yourself and be the best woman you can be. Be in your strength, glory, and sensitivity; there is nothing like you and no one can take your place.

What is an educated person? My Mother gave me the best example: it is a person who engages in life inwardly and outwardly and grows to appreciate the essentials in life as life unfolds itself.

I reflect on all the gifts my Mom has given me and made me who I am. She is in me. As I move forward, I do so with her in my heart and soul forever. I hope the lessons she has bestowed on me are carried forward and can be the same path of joy and enthusiasm for others as they have been and continue to be for me.

Gita

-Gita Saraydarian is the Founder and President of TSG Foundation, an organization dedicated to the Ageless Wisdom Teachings. See the complete list of past blogs and other writings on this link.
-Copyright Notice: Gita’s Blog articles are copyrighted by The Creative Trust, 2009.

The Call To Change Your Life!

2009-04-17T14:14:00.010-07:00

By Gita Saraydarian

There is an unforgettable moment in our life when something happened to us that moved us in a new direction internally and then, slowly, externally. We never forget that moment, the wake-up call that changed our life forever.

The Wisdom Teachings tell us that the Father in Heaven, or the Creative Force in the Universe, is communicating directly with us and sending out “calls” to bring us back home. It is the “sound”, the voice of the Creator. It is sound that creates and it is sound that traces the path of return for us. It is this “call” that eventually leads us through experiences to become fully conscious souls. We resurrect, we become fully alive; the pull of matter and karma no longer have a hold over us.

God communicates by calling us back home. In how many ways does He call us? How many meanings do our voices have and how much do we communicate through sound alone?

If we listen intently to someone speaking to us, we can understand what the person is really saying. The words may be one thing; the meaning something different. The voice carries so much meaning and energy. If we cultivate inner discernment, we can understand how we ourselves communicate. Most importantly, we can then train our ears to hear the voice of God in everyday events and everyday sounds.

The story of the prodigal son is an example of the call that changed a life. There is another lovely story of the lioness who gives up her cub to a shepherd for safety from predators. The cub grows up into a nice lion but acts just like a sheep. One day, the mother decides it is time to call the cub back to his true heritage. She stands on top of a mountain and lets out a roar! The cub, now a teenager, hears the call and runs up the hill to become a real lion once again! So, mom can call us back too!

That Creative Force, or Father in heaven, or God, is continuously sending out “Calls” that trace our path of return. When we hear the sound and respond to it, we begin the journey back home through the process of conscious evolution. Individually we have to awaken and respond. No one can do it for us. We have to find our true self, our true being, our true purpose and our true direction through our own efforts.

Every life form evolves. We can do it either through pain and suffering and continue to be thrashed around by life. Or, we can become conscious of the causes and effects and begin to make proactive decisions.

The survival of fittest in Darwinian terms is also relevant in the spiritual traditions. When we are fit and adapt to the demands of life physically, emotionally, and mentally, we have a better chance at surviving and living a more meaningful and healthy life. Better yet, as we build our higher bodies and our higher consciousness, we have a better chance at surviving all the crises and challenges in life and we truly become alive. In every incarnation, we build on what we had built in the previous life. In every life, we not only meet the challenges on multiple levels, but thrive and grow despite the material obstacles.

We are not really “alive” unless we become conscious in the material and subtle worlds as well. We are multi-dimensional beings. So, strictly being alive in the physical sense does not mean we are truly alive. Many people live physically but are fully unconscious. Many are dead emotionally; they simply do not feel their own or others' feelings. Many people are dead mentally; they cannot think and reason and make choices that sustain life despite all of life's hints. Many people isolate themselves and make no connection to the lives of people around them; in their isolation, they are not really alive.

There are also people who are alive on the physical, emotional, and mental levels as well as on the subtle levels of existence. When such people pass away, they are alive in the subtle worlds and function consciously in the multiple levels.

Much of humanity not only lives without being truly alive in the physical-emotional-mental levels, but they are also asleep on the subtle levels. We do not become holy and special just because we pass away and go to the subtle worlds! If we were “asleep” while in physical incarnation, we will be asleep in the subtle worlds as well.

To become alive and develop the bodies that carry us to the subtle forms of existence is the path of conscious evolution. This process begins the moment we hear “the call” from the greater sources of the universe. These “calls” are deeply moving in that a tiny little hint, a simple realization, will make a huge impact on our life and turn our life around. A seemingly insignificant connection will be remembered and will sustain us throughout the travails of life. It is important to remember and recognize the various “calls” your life has brought to you. It is empowering to recall how your life's experiences are connected and make you who you are today.

I gave a lecture on what is “The Call” and how it relates to the process of resurrection. The spiritual Teachings say that “resurrection is the answer to a great call.” Below is an excerpt from that lecture.

Write to me and share your stories of how and when you heard that “call” that made you change your life. What was it that sustained you through the difficulties of life?

I would love to hear from you.
Enjoy!
Gita

References:

- The Teachings of Christ, p. 11, “The Call”.
- One Hundred Names of God is an excellent book for meditation on the various ways God communicates through the meaning and sound of His names.
- The Call: lecture by Gita Saraydarian, available on CD or DVD, presented on April 12, 2009.
-Gita Saraydarian is the Founder and President of TSG Foundation, an organization dedicated to the Ageless Wisdom Teachings. See the complete list of past blogs and other writings.
Copyright Notice: Gita’s Blog articles are copyrighted by The Creative Trust, 2009.

Ode to joy – The Power of Music

2009-03-27T13:40:00.009-07:00

By Gita Saraydarian

I was inspired to write about my experiences with music after I read the following in the Economist January 15, 2009 issue By Charles Berry:

SIR – I appreciated your article on human evolution and music (“Why music?”, December 20th). However, I am a composer and none of the theories you posited helped explain my evolutionary development. I do not compose symphonies to get the girl. (I did play guitar songs to woo the girl in my teens, but with very limited success.) Indeed, you missed the vital reason why humans create and listen to music: joy.
Your suggestion that “little else would change” if music “vanished from the species” assumes no tangible loss of joy, which is relevant to human activity. Joy is both a perception of and response to beauty. We perceive beauty in all manner of diversity: a sunrise, a trout flashing in a stream, the grand impression of a 1965 Mustang in cherry condition; and we create beauty in ten thousand ways, all of which are important. Like visual art and dance, music remains an expression of human thought, separate from, and perhaps deeper than, our written or spoken languages.
Beauty must surely be essential to our lives and our evolution, even though the perception and creation of beauty are two abilities in human evolution that have nothing to do with sex, or social clans, or “cheesecake”.

This letter touched a cord in me! We need joy, we need beauty as much as we need air and water and food. Music is inherent in nature and we yearn for it and search for it and if it is not there, we create it by humming, tapping, walking, or just straining our ears to listen for that sound from outside that brings a certain rhythm to our ears. I cannot conceive of a life without music; I don't think we can have life without music.

I love all kinds of music. My father was a composer and musician and we had all kinds of music in our home all the time. Some music “sticks” to me and I find myself humming it all day, and some fly over me never to be remembered or thought of again. Some irritate me; others uplift me. Some put me in a romantic and quiet mood; others in a jumping-dancing mood. Some put me in a worship and introspective mood; others in a drive with the windows open with the radio blasting mood! Why one leaves such an impression and others do not is a worthwhile question to ask. More than the mechanics of the musical composition itself, I think it is the entire mood and time that is captured and encapsulated. That particular moment may give us tremendous joy or any number of complex feelings, all depending on the moment of imprint. Joy is no small thing in our life and it is what gets us through all that we face in life. Joy helps us survive life!

Think of the song “Stand by Me” and listen to it on the website “Playing for Change.” I saw this group on Television and the tune is still playing in my mind. I love the song and especially love the various renditions by people from all over the world. Listen to it and I promise you, you will be up and dancing in no time: http://www.playingforchange.com/pop.html

When I was a young girl and my mother would find me in a teenager's funky mood, she would simply play a flamenco album on our record player. Yes, we had a record player and the album in question was a red-colored, clear plastic album! I loved that album and it was a collection of some beautiful flamenco music. I would be up and dancing in no time, all my cares flew out the window, and my teenage pains or sorrows evaporated just as quickly! She knew how music affected me, especially the kind I could dance to. She never lost time with words or tried to coax me out of my moods. She simply played music. Sometimes she would break into song herself to change the mood around our house. My mother could sing with a beautiful soprano voice; but that is another story about my mother that I need to write.

I still feel the same way when I hear any kind of flamenco music. I have to get up, get my castanets out, and start dancing! It is healing and joyful and beautiful and full of life. I have to respond in singing or dancing and that makes the music come alive for me. I dance to whatever music moves me. That is how I experience music. Armenians celebrate anything with dance; dance is a national response mechanism to any kind of human emotion - sadness or joy, loss or sorrow, birth or death. Any kind of gathering can easily break into song and dance. Men, women, children of all ages will get up and spontaneously start dancing. I have this in my genes and I celebrate it wholeheartedly. I remember watching old ladies who could hardly move get up and start swaying to Armenian music. One old lady in particular could hardly move but managed to stand in place, close her eyes, and move her arms and sway to the rhythm of the song with a dreamy smile on her face! The lady in question was my first dance teacher and is still lively well into her late 80's.

Often, our life is punctuated by a special song or a special piece of music. The sounds imprint an image or a memory or a narrative of our life at that particular moment and it is frozen in time and place. Every time we hear even a few notes of that song, we instantly remember the time and place and immediately the entire picture is alive once again with all its corresponding feelings in our physical life, our emotions, and our thoughts and memories and expectations. Everything associated with that song is imprinted in one large mosaic. It is so beautiful and so complex and so whole! Our auditory memory is powerful and produces profound feelings.

The song does not have to be in a language we understand. I listen to songs in Turkish, Chinese, and Portuguese. I love some operas and can't understand the meaning of all the words. I find songs in different languages equally compelling. I listen to Turkish songs and find myself humming the melody and punctuating my humming with a few words that I remember. (Yes, my mother also played Turkish songs in our home and it is a part of our life and our gatherings to this day. Maybe Armenians and Turks can get together and just dance? Maybe we can heal our life just by dancing; stop the talking and the blaming? Now there is an idea; but I am sure someone has already thought of it!)

I now try not to feel sad with songs that bring sad memories. Over the years, I have tried hard to “re frame” those periods of sad memories and put them into perspective so that they no longer elicit heavy sadness but rather a nice memory of human frailties and human vulnerabilities. We could celebrate our humanity in all the feelings that we have. Sadness and feelings of loss or regret could bring up an inner joy that is not happiness nor sadness, but rather a subtle smile or a subtle knowing that we have crossed those borders of raw feeling and somehow, we have survived them. Once we “re frame” those periods, we no longer feel specifically sad , but rather the joy of knowing life: the quiet smile, the inner sense of peace, or the inner sense of wisdom that comes with age and graying. It is in some way a comfortable stage to be in as the edges of life lose their sharpness and become more rounded with time.

The joy comes from knowing that I made it and survived that crisis. Or, what I thought was a crisis is no longer holding that same intensity as it did in the past. This is why I so appreciated what Mr. Berry said in his letter to the editor; music brings joy to us and joy cannot be taken away from us and it does not depend on anything other than the inner response to something inexplicably touching and beautiful.

Healing our memories is a good thing; it is not the erasing of memory but rather coming to terms with that part of ourselves that is satisfying. How do we know we are growing up and maturing? By the way we address those sharp edges of our memories. That is according to me!

I am continuously adding all kinds of new memories of music. Every year, I help organize a retreat and conference for my spiritual work and we deliberately schedule times of singing and dance (these are sacred songs and sacred dance). This part of spiritual gatherings are always the most loved and appreciated. As I travel and give seminars about the Wisdom Teachings, I observe how others experience the sacred in music. After listening to lectures for hours, people need to relax the intellectual mind and let their subtle natures come into play. Some people resist this at first and then quickly fall into the magic of it. People always understand the profound meaning of wisdom when they feel it with song, with music, with imagery that the song or music brings forth from them.

In a seminar on Other Worlds in Switzerland, after a particularly beautiful singing of the song “Beloved Lord” everyone fell silent and looked outside at the high Swiss mountains, then slowly turned and looked at me, in total silence. The song is so simple and is taken from a Sufi prayer with music added by Torkom Saraydarian. (Sacred Songs CD-a collection of sacred songs recorded by a non-professional church group.) The words, the sounds, the group energy was so high that words cannot describe it. In all that we do in our life, we are essentially trying to understand the profound connection to the spiritual universe that is really who we are. Music and singing bring us to the closest understanding of our divine heritage. Music gives us joy and it is the joy that lets us experience that inexplicable feeling of connectedness with other human beings, with all of life.

So, whatever you are feeling right now, get up and play a CD of your favorite music and dance any way you like. Your mood will be uplifted and you will feel beauty and joy, even if you are sad or hurting. The secret is this: music and dancing integrates us. You can heal your emotions and put your subtle bodies into a better rhythm if you can dance and feel the rhythm of life.

Tonight, I will dance and celebrate the end of the week with my sister and a bunch of teens and young-at-heart ladies. Young and old, we meet at my sister Helena's dance class. We stretch and jump and dance to some of the liveliest music you can imagine, some of which I would never know how to find or what it is called!!! I go home humming and swaying and the week's cares just melt away!

The Wisdom Teachings have always used music in worship and ceremony and ritual. Various musical forms and instruments stimulate various parts of our subtle bodies. Here is an excerpt from the book The Creative Sound by Torkom Saraydarian on how various musical instruments affect our bodies (page 77):
-Wind instruments affect the emotions
-Brass instruments affect the etheric body and the emotions
-Strings are kama-manasic, in nature; they affect the higher emotions and lower mind
-Piano music affects the abstract mind, the atmic level, and also the lower or concrete mind
-Drums affect the etheric centers
-The santur affects the emotions and the Intuition
-The harp affects the subconsciousness and the Chalice
-The voice can act on all levels, according to the level of the singer or the listener

I hope you can enjoy some music and dance tonight!

Gita
_________________________

-Mr. Berrys' letter is reprinted by his permission.
-Gita Saraydarian is the Founder and President of TSG Foundation, an organization dedicated to the Ageless Wisdom Teachings. For a complete list of past blogs and other writings, click here.
Copyright Notice: Gita’s Blog articles are copyrighted by The Creative Trust, 2009.

Spiritual Progress through Meditation

2009-03-12T14:50:00.011-07:00

By Gita Saraydarian

“One of the purposes of meditation is to create a magnetic field around you, charged with psychic energy. It is this field that will eventually serve as a contact mechanism between you and the Higher Worlds.” (Challenge for Discipleship, Ch. 44.)

Scientific Meditation is focused and sequential thinking on the causal aspects of life. When practiced on a regular and gradient basis, meditation leads us into what is often called “enlightenment” or the process of “letting our light shine.” In the Ageless Wisdom Teachings, this light contains divine love, divine truth, and divine will.

We end the darkness of ignorance through searching, thinking, and pondering without letting our patterns and prejudices interfere in the search for truth. Perceived truth is relative to our state of consciousness. The higher we are able to build our vehicles to perceive greater truth, the more of the truth of life we will be able to observe and understand and apply. By doing so, we slowly begin to let the presence of the Divine Light come through us, first in a trickle and often interrupted by our ego and vanity and illusions, but then steadily increasing as we dare to look at life from an open and honest perspective.

This is the path of true, scientific meditation. Eventually, our entire life becomes a continuous meditation. Meditation does not mean to sit in some kind of prescribed position and do nothing. It is rather an inner poise to engage and express truth. (See five steps to Scientific Meditation.) It is a process of serious and open thinking; it is being present and conscious of all of life and the process of discovering the causes behind life's events.

The effects of such meditation are eventually visible and tangible, such as increased joy, health, love and understanding, heightened self confidence, serenity, creativity, a sense of belonging to the world and a deeply felt unity and connection to the world and humanity. In short, it is a healthy, happy, creative, productive, and engaged life. It eventuates into a life of adaptation to increasingly higher values. These improved life conditions help us proceed on the path of growth and expansion from the inner part of our life. A beautiful inner life expresses itself in the outer life as well. The inner and outer expansions move in tandem as long as the person meditating is truly expressing his or her meditation discoveries into daily, practical, and tangible expressions. Our inner life must be expressed in our outer world so that we are not spaced out but are examples of usefulness and practicality in all ways.

The great teachers, saints, philosophers, prophets as well as men and women of great impact on the development of human culture and civilization developed the ability to receive divine light, hold that light in their vehicles, and radiate it by translating it into practical expression in all fields of human endeavor.

How do you know you are progressing internally and externally?

Here are some signs to help you map your progress:

- Your dedication, rhythm, and regularity in spiritual striving becomes steady; you no longer make excuses for what you do and do not do. There is an inner honesty to face oneself in truth.
- You find practical ways to continuously serve and express your growing, inner wisdom; you remain engaged throughout your life.
- You have great humility, which increases with age and experience.
- You have a positive attitude toward the obstacles in your life; there is increased understanding of how overcoming obstacles make us grow.
- You are healthy; especially emotional, mental, and spiritual health.
- You are inclusive and non-separative.
- You listen to yourself; you keep your nose out of others' business.

These are signs that map the level of your spiritual maturity.

Here is a brief clip from a lecture I gave about “mapping our progress in meditation.”

Enjoy!

Gita
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References and Resources:

-See two of gita's blogs and links to YouTube on meditation: Scientific Meditation and Tangible Effects of Meditation.

-Psychic energy is the energy of the soul, the True Self or Spirit in each human being.

-Challenge for Discipleship by Torkom Saraydarian (Chapter on Creative Meditation)

-See the book The Science of Meditation by Torkom Saraydarian. This is a primer on meditation.

-Higher Worlds are levels of existence beyond the material-physical, such as emotional, mental and beyond. See the book Other Worlds by Torkom Saraydarian and also see gita'sblog on the subject of higher worlds.

-For a complete list of blogs by Gita see the list by date.

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Gita Saraydarian is the Founder and President of TSG Foundation, an organization dedicated to the Ageless Wisdom Teachings. For a complete list of past blogs and other writings, click here.

Karma: Commission, Omission, or Just Life?

2009-02-20T15:41:00.006-07:00

by Gita Saraydarian

Sometimes we think that karma is a mysterious condition that is inscribed on our forehead and we have to suffer its consequences for the rest of our life. In some spiritual traditions, karma is explained as something bad or something good that happens to you, like fate, and you have no control over it. So we are supposed to have “good karma” or we can have “bad karma”.

The Wisdom Teachings explain karma to be the result of the law of cause and effect. Karma is neutral. It can be seen as good or bad, depending on how you view your life. Things may seem bad from one perspective, but not so bad when seen from a different, more expansive perspective. Things may seem personal from one perspective, and global when viewed from another.

One thing for sure: karma compels us to make changes in our life. As we learn the science of cause and effect, we begin to put causes in place that result in what we do want and what is indeed good for us.

Someone once said to me: “When you plant potatoes, you get potatoes. So, why would you expect tomatoes and be surprised and upset when you get potatoes?” We get what we plant in life. We may see the results in this lifetime, or the results may manifest in the next lifetime. Whatever we put in place conditions our life and, by way of relationship, also conditions the lives of everyone.

Similarly, if we plant nothing, we get nothing!

If we live a life of higher principles, then everyone benefits from our choices. If we live a life of deception and ugliness, people around us will suffer as much as we will. For example, the global financial crisis is a reflection of a life lived completely against higher principles. The crisis is not simply one of financial mismanagement by the few, but a life that ignored higher values by a large number of people. All of humanity suffers the karmic consequences of depraved leadership and selfish living.

What are the higher principles of life? They are beauty, goodness, righteousness, joy, freedom, striving toward perfection, and service to others. If you exemplify these principles, the results will be reflected in your life and in all of life.

Karma is a pattern in our physical, emotional, and mental bodies that have been created by what we do. This is karma by commission.

Karma is also produced by omission, what we do not do. We may be afraid to do something, or we may think we are not needed, or we may think our work is not important or useful. For whatever reason, we refrain from doing something and we create conditions in our life as a result of omission. We may be insensitive to the feelings of others and wonder why our relationships suffer. Or, we may stay focused on our own needs and sensitivities and shrink back every time someone confronts us. Omission isolates us and keeps us at a “safe” distance away from both others and from our inner self. We will suffer the karma from this omission until we realize that we cannot be isolated from others nor from our inner being.

Karma also presents huge opportunities for learning the sacredness and beauty of life. It is life flowing all around us. I am often asked the profound question: “Why do bad things happen to good people?” People suffer and are born with challenges that try their very souls. These conditions are not meant to punish us, but are rather opportunities to learn the inner qualities of life. I have met men and women who face tremendous life challenges, losses, and grief and they are able to dig deep into their very being and learn how to cope, how to grow, and how to believe in the divine mysteries of life in ways that others can never understand. I met such a person recently. She had experienced deep loss and grief. Yet, she showed a depth and sensitivity to life that I had never seen before. I was awed and inspired by her. She came to talk to me and ask for my help; it was I who received a gift from her. For the rest of that day, I was in a space of wonder and inner search. I could not simply continue my work. I had to stop and take notice; she changed me. I asked myself: How would I respond to similar circumstances? She chose to respond to karma, and she became so deep and so mature and beautiful to behold.

We really do not know the exact sources of karma. Is it commission, omission, or life happening around us? It could be directly related to what we do and do not do, or it could be the tests brought to us by our Guardian Angel to help us grow in greater dimensions. Karma is often not personal at all, but related to the growth and expansion and maturation process of all humanity. We all face similar problems and we can grow through them.

How to deal with karma? Certainly not by fear and blame. It is deeply wounding to our heart to continuously blame our life on our bad karma and succumb to it. It is just as deeply hurtful and opportunistic to say to someone that this or that condition is their fault, their karma. The best way to deal with karma is to learn about the law of cause and effect and learn how to put causes into place that will result in what we want, truly want. If you don't know what specifically to do about your challenges, then serve and give to anyone who needs your help so that your spiritual savings account is filled up. This builds inner strength; it brings blessings and healing to you. Then, when you face a challenge, you can draw on that “bank account,” the source of your true inner strength.

Karma teaches us the unity of life, the unity of all peoples and relationships. It teaches us how we are connected to all of life in an organic whole. Our life is a tapestry of many threads and colors and weaves. This tapestry is woven and it grows, life after life. It follows us in the subtle planes and into the manifested planes. We can never escape the results of our life choices or actions. We can never escape by ignorance. And, we can never escape the life that others weave around us. Life will teach us, and eventually, we will make conscious choices that help us soar into a higher consciousness and learn to live a life that is connected and unified.

Here is a link to a short YouTube clip on what is karma.

Enjoy!
Gita
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References:

1. Karma and Reincarnation by Torkom Saraydarian.
2. YouTube clip is taken from an all day Seminar presented by Gita Saraydarian on the topic of Adaptation to Higher Values presented in November 2008.

Gita Saraydarian is the Founder and President of TSG Foundation, an organization dedicated to the Ageless Wisdom Teachings. For a complete list of other blogs and writings, click here.

Copyright Notice: Gita’s Blog articles are copyrighted by The Creative Trust, 2009.

Tangible Effects of Meditation

2009-02-11T16:30:00.005-07:00

By Gita Saraydarian

Your life should change for the better because you do meditation. Meditation is not the end; it is the means to achieve a more meaningful life.

Much of popular meditation practice is for the purpose of achieving relaxation and serenity through breathing and emptying the mind. This is the first step. Sometimes, we need years of practice to achieve a state of quiet mental poise or to achieve the ability to detach and empty ourselves from the personality life. To achieve such a state, we can practice what is called “gradient meditation,” slowly moving from simple to more complex and comprehensive meditation practice.

The objective of gradient meditation is to expand the consciousness slowly and deliberately in order to understand life from its causal levels. The causal level is any level of consciousness that is beyond what is called the physical, emotional, and concrete mind. These are the levels of higher mind and intuitional, and beyond. It is these levels that provide the deepest and most meaningful influence upon us. This is the world of higher thinking, creativity, inspirations, inventions, discovering the plans and purpose in life. When we learn to practice proper meditation, we will be able to link to the higher, non-material parts of life and then be able to articulate this contact in the many ways that we live and create.

You can be successful in the practice of meditation if you choose a method that suits you the best and if you are able to accomplish some of the key ideals in meditation. The goal is to progress to a state where you can focus and concentrate and tune into a higher frequency of understanding and awareness. You are conscious when you do this and thereby are able to express this contact through your life expressions.

Approach meditation with the intent for a deeper understanding, inspiration, and connection to your inner essence.

Five basic steps for meditation:

1. Focus through deep breathing, saying a prayer or mantram, and relaxing your body, mind, and emotions.
2. Detach from daily problems and do not let anything interfere. Align yourself to your essence, your soul.
3. Meditate by concentrating on a subject through observation and deep thinking. (See below for various forms of meditation). Limit this stage to a short time-frame wherein you can stay completely focused. Start with 3-5 minutes and increase only when you are sure to maintain your concentration.
4. Note the inspirations received and write the ideas or express them in some form.
5. Send blessings by letting the energy flow out toward others.
This is the basic format of what is called “occult meditation” or creative meditation.

Forms of Meditation:

1. With your eyes closed and thinking and focused on a subject.
2. With eyes open, especially if you cannot concentrate or cannot quickly detach.
3. With a group, such as a serious study group and question/answer/sharing of insights.
4. Reflective reading, listening, or observation with intensity and concentration of any high level creative expression or even being in nature.
5. Participating in group meditation and group meetings, worship, and observations especially during holy periods such as Wesak or other religious festivals.

Material for Meditation:

Choose your meditation source material carefully. Everything carries a certain vibration or rhythm. Whatever material you use to read, listen to, or observe and experience, make sure it is truly high level and has the capacity to pull you to a new level of awareness. It is for this reason that many Wisdom teachers use sacred scripture and deeply inspiring materials for meditation and deep thinking. Use material that takes you beyond the emotions and concrete mind, ones that have been created by truly gifted persons.

In many spiritual traditions meditation is done by weaving or creating tapestries or paintings or art objects or creating sacred music or dance. Meditation is not only observation, it is also participation and the act of creation.

When you use high level material, or create high level material, something deep inside of you moves. You are lifted and creative ideas flood your mind. This happens to me every time I meditate or create something and also when I watch a beautiful dance, or observe gorgeous paintings from old Masters, or hear a deeply moving song or symphony. Something inside of me shifts and lifts. Seemingly intractable problems are solved after being uplifted with this sort of high-level experience.

Effects of Meditation:

Meditation is scientific. When practiced on a regular basis, it gives us tangible effects in our physical, emotional, and mental life as well as giving us an expanded consciousness into the higher worlds. In the YouTube clip below, I present some of the effects of meditation, part of a one-hour lecture on the basics of meditation.

Enjoy!

Gita
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Resources:

The one-hour lecture on the Basics of Meditation was presented at TSG Center on February 8, 2009 and it is available on DVD as well as CD and Downloads.

Gita Saraydarian has created many online meditation courses using the Ageless Wisdom Teachings as source material. Link here for more information.

_____________________________
Gita Saraydarian is the Founder and President of TSG Foundation, an organization dedicated to the Ageless Wisdom Teachings. For a complete list of past blogs and other writings, click here.

Copyright Notice: Gita’s Blog articles are copyrighted by The Creative Trust, 2009.

Five Steps to Scientific Meditation

2009-01-27T14:15:00.005-07:00

By Gita Saraydarian

The Ancient Wisdom Teachers were men and women trained in scientific thinking. Their Teachings provided a road map to achieve healthy and balanced physical, emotional, and mental bodies as well as a way to reach the higher consciousness that is beyond the world of the three bodies. The instruments at their disposal, used to measure the effectiveness and results of certain practices, were their own highly developed psychic senses and their life experiences. They did not need MRI scanners; their senses functioned as scanning mechanisms. They could see, feel, smell, touch, and hear the effects of the Teaching in their own lives and in the life of their students! Interestingly, humanity took these guidelines as a matter of religious or spiritual faith until very recently. In the last 25 years or so, we have developed sophisticated machines that could see into our brains and map the changes that take place in our physical mechanism as a result of our physical, emotional, and mental lifestyles.

Take for instance the practice of meditation. Every spiritual discipline teaches some sort of meditation practice as the central theme of its system. Through meditation, we learn to discipline our physical, emotional, and mental bodies and slowly engage our mind to understand life from the level of causes. By so doing, we learn to distinguish the differences between the material life and the life of the non-material. In fact, we begin to appreciate the complexity of the non-material aspects of life and see to what extent our emotions, feelings, thoughts, expectations and such affect us every day in every part of our life. It is only when we consciously raise ourselves above the personality bodies (physical/emotional/mental) that we are able to make dramatic and systemic changes in our life. This is often called the process of building “soul consciousness” and comes about from the practice of serious, scientific meditation, which is the same as serious and deep thinking.

Scientific research is now providing compelling evidence that supports what the Wisdom Teachers presented to us for thousands of years! The research is showing that our brain can grow and be kept healthy through our life choices and practices, especially meditation. The emotion/mind/body connection is no longer an esoteric field; it is being studied seriously by leading Universities and medical professionals. (See below for interesting references).

In a recent lecture on Scientific Meditation, I discussed the basic form of meditation that will engage our mind in a deep and creative way. This kind of meditation is often called “seed thought” meditation. It is one of the most advanced and powerful mental training methods known. Taught by the Great Sage Patanjali, this kind of meditation trains us in clear thinking and slowly helps us develop the ability to link to the higher mind and higher spiritual bodies and levels of consciousness. In modern language, this is also called “critical thinking” or “scientific thinking” where our thought process is not hampered by habit, prejudice, personal agendas, ego, as well as illusions or expectations and so on. Rather, our thinking is guided by the process of discovering cause and effect in the material and non-material worlds.

In the YouTube clip attached below, you will see a brief introduction to four of the five steps of basic meditation. In the next few months, I will be presenting additional lectures on the topic of scientific meditation, parts of which will also be available on YouTube.

In brief, the Five Steps are:
1. Achieve a state of relaxation of physical, emotional, and mental bodies.
2. Disassociate from the three bodies and environment.
3. Think about a serious topic from a level of higher consciousness.
4. Write your thoughts and impressions.
5. Share the energy by sending blessings to others.

Enjoy!
Gita
__________________________________________

The one-hour lecture was presented at TSG Center on January 11th, 2009 and it is available on DVD as well as CD/Downloads.

Further References on Meditation:

1. Patanjali is said to have lived anywhere from 800 BC to 10,000 years ago! His treatise on meditation is explained by Alice A. Bailey in the book The Light of the Soul and remains, in my opinion, one of the most sophisticated and exhaustive treatises on how and why to practice meditation properly.
2. Torkom Saraydarian: The Science of Meditation is a very good introduction to the process of scientific meditation. See also other books on meditation by the same author.
3. TSG University-Meditation Courses focus entirely on the process of scientific meditation in all their courses.
4. We are not destined to have mental health problems, anxieties, disorders and dementia. See the work of Dr. Amen in support of how to achieve optimum brain health.
5. Below are links to exciting and informative articles on scientific research showing the influence of meditation on the brain:
Brain during Meditation
Brain scans show why meditation works
Compassion meditation changes the brain
Meditation increases attention
Meditation alters brain structure

_______________________________________________

Gita Saraydarian is the Founder and President of TSG Foundation, an organization dedicated to the Ageless Wisdom Teachings. For a complete list of past blogs and other writings, click here.

Dare to Dream - 10 Ways to Increase Hope

2009-01-19T15:38:00.010-07:00

By Gita Saraydarian

The idea of "hope" has been in the news the last few years in the United States in the most inspiring and brilliant fashion. Millions of people have enthusiastically responded to the call of hope from Barak Obama. No matter what the pundits and cynics said and trumpeted into our daily news, people paid attention to the message of hope and, slowly, they started to follow with their hearts, minds, checkbooks, and feet.

Hope speaks to our hearts and we respond because this is one element without which we have no life. Once we find someone who gives us hope and demonstrates hope, we fall in love with that person and the possibilities that he or she represents for us. It is difficult, if not impossible, to fall in love with someone who is full of doom and gloom. Even if we find a way to "fall in love" with such a person, we end up resenting and hating the person and we even hate ourselves and what we have become. This is certainly not a good place to be emotionally or mentally because it blocks our creative and life-giving impulses and makes us into spiritually “dead” people.

Why? Because we want hope; pure and simple. No matter how philosophically sophisticated and inellectually seductive are the arguments and discussions against hope and the condition of having “an over optimistic” view of life, we still want the stuff of hope. We do not want to succumb to hopelessness and misery, no matter how hard life gets. Inherent in every human being is the element of hope. Take that away, and we fall into deep despair. This is why we respond to it; we are genetically engineered to thrive on hope, just as we thrive with love and joy and kindness.

Hope is more than a useful political slogan; its helps us grow and expand in subtle ways that are deeply spiritual and meaningful in the depths of our souls. Here are some excerpts on hope that I love and wanted to share with you:

“Hope prevents negative thoughtforms from building themselves within your aura. Negative thoughtforms are the cause of many failures. Hope creates a sphere of consciousness in which negative thoughtforms cannot breed. When the consciousness is free from negative thoughtforms, higher impressions can reach it and register themselves upon it.”

When we seriously entertain negative thoughts, we embed these forms into our aura. In turn, they become blockages for the flow of energy within our bodies. We feel the weight of them and we feel disconnected from the world. We develop a sense of distance and, at the meantime, our entire world shrinks to a narrow and tight circle that suffocates us physically, emotionally, mentally, and spiritually.

“A person, a group, or a nation advances by hope. Hope creates a proper atmosphere in which growth and development become possible.”

How interesting is this statement that we advance by hope! It makes sense to me. As long as I have hope for my future and my expansion of understanding, I keep trying to search for ways to find that understanding and the answers to my questions.

“Those people who change crises into a process of purification and opportunities for transformation, victory, and achievement are called "the hopes" of the nation and the world, who stand in front of humanity as paths leading toward greater achievements, new courage, daring, and striving.”

This is so true. No matter how people try to undermine those who give us hope, it is those very people who give hope who will eventually triumph. We are all silently cheering for them because this is what we want to dare to have. We celebrate their courage and daring to hope. When we see how others triumph even in dire circumstances, we start to do the same. We are always waiting for those kinds of people to lead the way for us. This is so interesting. I often ask, “what does it take for people to dare and to question and to go beyond the ordinary?” It is usually when they can be inspired by someone or something that gives them hope and the power of the possible. Someone opens the path for us, and we willingly submerge ourselves into that lovely stream of hope.

How do you increase hope in your life? Here are10 ways:

1.Never hope for something harmful, neither for yourself nor for others.
2.Try to see positive elements in any person or event.
3.To increase our hope, we must also read the biographies of successful and victorious people.
4.daily, for a few minutes, visualize success, victory, and the manifestation of beauty in ourselves and in the world as a whole.
5.Do not run your life on the gears of defeat.
6.Do not feel sorry if you failed or were defeated. (There is always a good lesson even in failure.)
7.Whenever you see difficulties on your path and feel discouraged, look back and see how many miles you already crossed on the path of your progress.
8.Seek the company of successful and enlightened people.
9.Sit by a river and watch it flow.
10.Try to face all your labors as if the One Self is working through you for the benefit of the All-Self.

“When you limit your thoughts about yourself, you cut your contacts with the opportunity found in the One Self. Feel and know that it is the One Self Who thinks and acts through you. Recognize the One Self, and free yourself from the limitations of your separate self. All victories are achieved by the One Self; all failures are met by your separate self.”

I wish for you a day filled with hope. No matter what is happening in your life right now, remember that you can overcome any difficulty with the rays of hope. The whole creation celebrates when we are filled with hope and are able to overcome difficulties. This is the way of evolution, growth, and expansion. With hope, we travel the path of finding our own true voice.

Dare to dream and dare to Hope! That is what makes you the joy that you are.

Gita

For a free download of the entire Chapter on Hope, please click here for PDF copy.
_________________________

All quoted materials are excerpted from Challenge for Discipleship by Torkom Saraydarian.

Copyright: The Creative Trust. All rights reserved.

Gita Saraydarian is a spiritual teacher and the Founder and President of TSG Foundation, an organization dedicated to the Ageless Wisdom Teachings. For a complete list of past blogs and other writings, click here.

Longing

2008-12-31T15:42:00.005-07:00

By Gita Saraydarian

We all long for something and, especially as the New Year comes upon us, we seriously consider what our life is all about. I asked myself this question these last few weeks and I wrote this poem in response. It helped me put my dreams into perspective for the new year.

Happy New Year and I hope your own personal longings ring true for you.

______________________

Longing

(A poem by Gita Saraydarian)

For what are you longing my heart?
I hear the call and some part of me listens;
a short and brief hello and then back to the mundanes of life.

I hear the call and aspire...
there is a deep longing in my heart,
a beauty I search for,
a lasting impression I try to feel,
an immortal love and feeling of love never ending.

It flies away….

I hear the call and I accept.
What is it that I know is true?
The truth exits, somewhere.
All of life is one.
Life is never ending, cyclic, cause and effect.
Great Ones, mastery is a possibility….
What does it mean to be perfect in our love and compassion?

Life, as an open system, appeals to me.
It makes sense.

In a sense it is more compatible with the reality of life.
So life is an open system, and everything is possible.
The lessons are
1)do not be resigned to your past, in fact revolt against the negative past;
2)do not succumb to any physical illness, it is your abusive behavior that caused it whatever it is;
3)complain not, be not cynical, just do it.
However, one has to know who you are,
what your dreams are,
how to achieve them with hard working and persistence.
Work hard to be yourself. You have a great potential and future.

Yes!

Old doctrines of all kinds,
religious, esoteric, Eastern and Western
all manipulated us with the guilt doctrine,
or the "God" doctrine.

God wills it...
It is written...
It is karma...
God only gives you what you can handle...
God gives; God takes...
It is in the stars...

Well, then why bother?
Why do we have a brain and a mind?
Why do we have a heart that links at its best with the Divine?
Why strive?
Why learn?
Why try?

None of this makes sense with the reality of life.

For what am I longing?
For continuity.
A link with infinity.
A feeling of connectedness.
A sense of the infinite possibilities.
Of open doors.
Of love Divine.
Of light endless.
Of the greater will in my life.
Of conscious meaning.
Of continuity of consciousness.

In a word, link to the Cosmic heart,
nothing less,
nothing more,
a knowing of the larger Life,
the endless life,
and all that it entails.

These are what I long for.
_________________________

Gita Saraydarian is the Founder and President of TSG Foundation, an organization dedicated to the Ageless Wisdom Teachings. For a complete list of past blogs and other writings, click here.

Holiday Blues and Energetic Considerations

2008-12-24T12:27:00.004-07:00

By Gita Saraydarian

This is rather a lengthy blog, so please bear with me, for I think it is an important topic at this time of the year.

Just about now many people start to feel really weighed down by the emotional vacuum that they feel. I hear from friends and associates that they are feeling “blue”, sad, lack energy, not feeling “in the mood” for the Holidays, and so on. You know the feeling because either you or someone you know is feeling them.

There are reasons for these kinds of feelings and it is time we acknowledge them and understand them. There is no reason to deny them, or to completely succumb to them, nor try to drown them out by frivolity and drinking and partying. I suggest that a sense of proportion and logic may help you understand them and deal with them and even learn considerable life lessons from them.

Consider the following:

You may be feeling down and “blue” because it is cold, there is no sun, the nights are long and the days are short. You are not getting any prana from the Sun, so your energy level is way down lower than normal. (See below for a definition of prana and pranic triangle.)

You may be eating too much, too many sweets, not getting enough exercise, so your receptivity to pranic energy is not open but blocked. So, double blockage here.

You may be far from family, children, loved ones and everyone around you is so busy with their own families and their own shopping and their own parties and so on. You feel left out and alone.

You may be getting older and seriously considering the true purpose of your life and your direction. You may be taking some time out, having a cup of coffee, and pondering if what you have done with your life has any value at all. Right now, nothing looks promising and all that you have accomplished is not really meaningful. What is missing in your life, you ask, and the answers are escaping you right now. Nothing seems feasible or doable right now.

You are so busy “doing” the holidays that inside of you there is a recognized emptiness. You want meaning and it is simply not there.

Try as you can, you are not “in the holiday mood” whatever that is. You wonder what is wrong with you. It must be you and that makes you feel even worse.

You have lost loved ones. Your children have moved away and are grown up now. You remember how things used to be, and you miss that feeling of being needed and useful and wonder what you did wrong in your life to be where you are right now. Karma or fate or the gods or something is getting back at you and that makes you feel guilty and down.

You have lost loved ones and you are thinking: God, what can be next?
You have simply worked too many hours, ran around too many stores, and you are exhausted. A quiet bed, a thick blanket over your head is just about the medicine that you need.

You have a cold, a sore throat, and a nagging cough that won't go away. You are so tired that you have no energy to deal with anything. So, you ask, what is wrong with me anyway?

Do these sound familiar? I am sure you can add other items to this list but these are enough to help us see that there are many causes for feeling lonely, depressed, down, blue, or in a vacuum at this time of the year.

There is no easy and quick solution to any of these feelings. If you are feeling seriously depressed and down, see a professional health counselor, call a friend, email someone, so that you can get through the day. This is important.

There are other things that you may consider, and here are my recommendations that are specifically addressing the energetic component of your life. The idea is to open up the pranic centers in a natural and non forced manner. Take care from the inside out, move energy, and the rest will work itself out naturally. Here are some recommendations:

First, take care of the physical body: get out and walk and exercise and get the body moving. Getting outside is the best if the weather permits. I would go outside no matter what the weather is, unless it is an absolute blizzard and it is dangerous. Get bundled up, put a hat on and go for a walk or a jog, or play some sports with someone. What this does is very important from the energetic perspective: it opens your “pranic centers” and they will start to move and circulate the energy of the sun, or the energy of the light that is available to you.

Stop eating sugary and white flour goodies. If you feel you must eat these, eat some protein first so that the sugar is not depressing you. Cut back on alcohol too, that is really bad for you at this time.

Find someone whom you can help, anyone, who needs anything. What you are doing here is also energetic in nature. Depression of any sort is a blockage of energy. The energy is not circulating and there are many reasons for this. If you give it out, it starts the flow. When energy starts to flow out, it will create a vacuum into which more energy will come in. So, think of yourself as a receptacle into which nothing can flow in; it is stuck shut. When you push the receptacle open by giving, you unblock the body and the energy current starts to move. So, instead of me telling you what to give, think of all the people you know and what do they need right now and give something to them that you can give. Words, love energy, encouragement, help of any kind, money, gifts, voluntarism, even cleaning for someone and shopping for them is hugely appreciated. You can even visualize loved ones, friends, family members and imagine telling them “I love you.” When you give, you shall also receive. This is not a mystery but it does escape us at this time. There is no small or large giving; giving is the flow of energy; so give no matter what it is.

Second, think of your emotional nature. It is OK to feel a lack of energy and feel quiet and reflective. Why not? We don't need to be jumping up and down all the days of our lives! So, it is nice to take some time out, sit on a comfortable chair, look out a window, and let your feelings tell you what is going on. When there is less light and less energy from the sun, we naturally feel less energetic. So, you can use this time for really good thinking. If you honestly ask and ponder, life will reveal to you just what is going on in your life. You probably have not had the time to ask this question: what is really going on and why do I feel as I do?

I believe it is perfectly fine to feel sad, lonely, lacking somehow and acknowledge it and accept it as what is inside of you right now. At the meantime, have in your heart the knowledge of the subtle worlds of existence. You may be picking up the sadness and loneliness and lack of energy from millions of people all over the world who are really hurting now. There are millions who truly lack the basics of life, so in your time of intense sensitivity and vulnerability, you are picking up the very real pain of others. This is real and we can appreciate it and understand it. In this case, a period of quiet prayer and meditation will be of enormous help to you. Reflective thinking of what is wonderful in your life is important. Also, visualize people all over the world, or in your particular nation, and send prayers and blessings to them from the Great Ones, from God, or Whomever you wish. We individually can be conductors of loving and healing energy to anyone in the world. There is no separation of time and space in the world, so your prayers and blessings will reach people through the etheric network of nature.

Most importantly, think of who loves you. Many people love you right now. Also, God loves you. Christ loves you. Any Great One in Whom you believe loves you and gave the spiritual guidances to you in order to help you and uplift you. That guidance is there for you. Reach to it and grab it and make it your own. That kind of love is immortal, never ending, never lacking. Visualize the love you get daily, every minute, from the Great One in your life and feel it and surround yourself with it as a stream of violet/golden light. Let that light bathe your entire being without focusing on any one particular part of your body.

Third, mentally think of the continuity of life. We lived before this life and will live out this life and incarnate many more times before we reach a level of enlightenment and mastery. Give yourself the gift of the huge picture of many lifetimes. Our present condition can truly be useful and instructive and uplifting only if we can see life from the subtle levels of existence. Our feelings of being bound to something beyond our control comes from feeling that the material worlds of existence are the only ones we operate in. But think of the life of your emotions, your mind, your spirit, and beyond that into infinity. Open your horizons mentally and think of the various levels of life all over the Universe, in its myriad of forms and levels of existence. How lovely is the universe and how profound and deep. The human soul is fully aware of these, but not in full consciousness. Being unconscious of the vastness of life, we feel that our limited existence is the only life there is.

At this time then, your third tool is to expand yourself into the Universe and see life in continuity. You already know this in your heart and soul, so now bring it out into your conscious awareness. Uplift yourself by consciously knowing that life is a continuum, an open system, and everything evolves and moves and grows. Even at a seeming standstill, your life is moving.
Wait and be patient. The days will get longer and the warmth of the Sun will imbue life once again. Life will reveal its treasures and understandings to you. You will be filled with compassion and love for others because you have the experiences of loneliness and sadness and you know what that feels like. You will have more patience and understanding. Life will be beautiful once again.

With God and the Creative Forces of the Universe all things are possible. The Spirit in you, the Immortal Soul, the Higher Self in you is pure, radiant, and permeates all of life.

Here is a beautiful prayer that I love so much and say often:

More radiant than the sun
Purer than the snow
Subtler than the ethers
is the Self, the Spirit within my heart
I am that Self, that Self am I.

May the blessings of the Great Ones be on all of us at this time and help uplift us to our spirit and soul nature.

Gita
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References: what is prana? It is energy from the sun that is absorbed into our blood stream from three areas in our body. These are the three centers of prana, around our heart center, just above the solar plexus, and around the spleen. These centers receive prana and if they are open and active, will circulate the energy into our blood stream. The condition of these centers is based on our physical habits, emotional habits, and mental habits. Changing these three areas of our life will open the centers and the energy will circulate freely in your physical body. The more conscious are your decisions and more purified is your life in these three areas, the better the centers will operate and your health and healing will improve. This is the short version.

You can read more on prana and pranic triangle in the book New Dimensions in Healing by Torkom Saraydarian. If you want to know more about the subtle worlds of existence, see the book Other Worlds by the same author.

Gita Saraydarian is a spiritual teacher and the Founder and President of TSG Foundation, an organization dedicated to the Ageless Wisdom Teachings. For a complete list of past blogs and other writings, click here.

These ideas and recommendations are not designed to take the place of medical advise but are offered as spiritual guidance from the perspective of the Ageless Wisdom Teachings. Please see a medical professional if you are facing serious emotional, mental, and physical problems.

Other Worldly Interests

2008-12-23T14:05:00.006-07:00

By Gita Saraydarian

On my recent flight to London, I sat on a seat opposite from a very interesting gentlemen. Our casual conversation revealed to me once again the deep and abiding interest we have in understanding life in its complexity and beauty, and especially in understanding life from the non-material perspective. I learned from this casual conversation how each one of us, regardless of our religious affiliation, is intrinsically interested in matters of the non-material world.

I was on my way to present a seminar in Switzerland on the topic of Other Worlds, a subject that I felt was deeply esoteric and perhaps not a topic of interest to most people. During the dinner service, we chatted casually for a while, asking the customary questions of what we do and so on. I answered his questions gingerly and tried not to sound “weird”. I thought to myself, “Here is this grey-haired lady sitting in an airplane and she is talking about the Other Worlds to a complete stranger. How weird is that?”

He said he was a businessman and we spoke about the weather in Phoenix and so on. As we continued to chat, he asked me what exactly I did. I said, I was a publisher of spiritual books and I was a teacher of esoteric Teachings and I was on my way to visit a friend in London and then to Zurich to present a seminar. He seemed interested and kept asking more questions. He wanted to know what I was going to teach? So, I became more specific. I said the topic is Other Worlds. His eyes opened wider and he looked at me as if to say, “REALLY”? So, I thought I better explain quickly and clarify what this means! I said that there are various levels of existence other than the physical plane and that we are able to understand these levels of existence as we develop our higher bodies and the senses corresponding to these bodies. In other words, as we develop the instruments of observation, we will be able to observe and experience on increasingly multiple levels of existence. He indicated that this made complete sense.

He then explained that he often speaks to a lady who helps him know about his parents who had recently passed away. I was surprised to hear this, and wanted to know more. I asked about what she says and why he consults with her. He indicated that he is a very religious man, attending worship services almost daily and that he is also interested in life beyond the physical. I said that this is similar to what I will be speaking about, but that there are many levels of existence and that inhabitants of the other worlds exist on many levels. I continued that psychics can be very sensitive and able to connect to some of the levels, or they may be frauds. He said she was very helpful and that after his mother died, he was really grieving, having been very attached to her. The psychic helped him by letting him know that his mother was really OK. That was important to him. He also wanted to know if he could develop such abilities in himself. I responded that indeed we can if we take the time to engage in spiritual striving that is safe. The right kind of spiritual discipline would help us develop the ability to observe, think clearly and critically, and to be able to understand life from many perspectives: the micro and macro, the short term and long-term, the inner and outer and so on. This would help us rely on our own abilities and our own senses. I explained that proper study and meditation are some of the paths of achieving deeper observation skills.

In such a simple conversation, he confirmed to me that anyone who wonders about the meaning of life eventually wonders about life beyond the physical. What happens to us when we die? Where do we go? How are our loved ones doing? What is the purpose of our life? And so on. What we are really asking is to understand that life has much more meaning than simply physical living. We know that the intangibles in life, such as love, sacrifice, communication, depth of commitment and understanding of others cannot be explained in simple physical terms. These inner feelings are motivated by much more than our physical bodies. These inner searches are the very fundamental reasons why we engage in religious, spiritual, and wisdom teachings.

Those who approach life from the non-religious or non-spiritual perspectives are also interested in finding out about non material life. Rational and logical thinking does not negate spiritual depth and understanding of inner worlds. Life cannot be understood nor explained in our physical formulas alone. The inner world, or the world of the higher levels of existence can only be experienced, understood, and explained by our higher senses. These are the inner senses that reflect inner realities. If we want to have answers that the physical world does not give us, nor ordinary logic and reasoning reveal to us, then we need to develop the higher or subtle senses and find out about subtle realities by our own powers.

I went on to present a seminar in Switzerland, set in lovely snowy mountains, and spoke about life in its complexity and profound mystery. It was an experience that beautifully expanded the simple and meaningful conversation at 35, 000 feet above earth. Indeed, the flight was a fitting place to ponder on the deeper meanings of life and the role of the spiritual realities in our daily existence; it was a fitting place to begin the journey to the understanding of the higher worlds.
____________________________

Gita Saraydarian presented a weekend seminar and lectures on Other Worlds in Switzerland and London in November-December 2008. Additional seminars on Other Worlds and Breaking the Impasse (Wesak 2009 Conference topic) will be scheduled for 2009. Click here for calendar updates and details.

Gita Saraydarian is the Founder and President of TSG Foundation, an organization dedicated to the Ageless Wisdom Teachings. For a complete list of past blogs and other writings, click here.

Miracle of Continuity

2008-12-20T11:33:00.004-07:00

By Gita Saraydarian

Below you will find a link to my latest video clip taken from the lecture on the Sagittarius full moon.

The topic I chose for this month's lecture is the “Miracle of Continuity.” I like this topic very much because it fits my core belief system about life. I think of life as the art and science of the possible. I try always to take a long view of life and whatever is happening in the world around me. I know deep inside of me that humanity has the intrinsic urge to survive and to grow and eventually we come to our senses and start to make decisions about our life that will ensure our health and wellbeing.

I also know that this does not often happen in one lifetime. Humanity takes tens of years, or hundreds of years to make any real change. So, I also take the longer view of life by seeing it from the perspective of many lifetimes. This gives me the advantage of having patience and understanding when I have to look at the many ugly things that we do and the many atrocities that humans commit against each other and the world around them.

Whatever we do is governed by the beliefs that we hold, the thoughts that we have, the feelings that have been impressed in us. These form patterns of behavior and decision making that are directly influenced by what is inside of us. Real change comes to an individual or to society at large only from the inside out. If we do the inner work, the outer will show the changes.
This is where the miracle of continuity comes in. If we persist in striving to change our inner patterns, the results will show in the outer part of our life. It is impossible not to. The energy flow of life is cause and effect. The cause of our life patterns are in the non-material parts of our life, such as the emotional and mental aspects of our being. That is where the real change begins. The one single layer of our physical life is one small part of a much bigger picture that makes up a human being.

We often operate under the impression that life is a closed system and we do not have much influence over it. This happens whether we are thinking in spiritual or non-spiritual ways. For example, if we are spiritually focused and think karma or fate predetermines our life and, whatever is written is written for our destiny, then we see no reason to try to do anything to change our life. On the other extreme, if we think that life is one of chaos and unpredictability and determined by forces outside of ourselves, or worse yet, that life operates under the influence of chaotic and “chance” happenings, again we would have no incentive to try to change anything about ourself. Either way, we defeat ourselves before we even start.

The evidence of life shows the contrary to both of these world views. People do change and overcome tremendous obstacles. Human beings have human frailties and at the meantime have the capacity for systemic changes in every facet of their life. Contemporary and historical literature is full of such examples. See for example how Barak Obama overcame every kind of obstacle and challenge from his childhood and has been elected to one of the most advanced and influential positions in the world today! History is full of such examples. This is the power of the possible, the miracle of continuity. As a friend of mine recently put it, “life is an open system.” It is indeed!

I hope this little clip gives you the inspiration to continue your striving to better yourself and see the “miracles” happen in your life.

The entire lecture is available on DVD or CD or donwnloadable online.

May all your Holy Days be blessed and be full of miracles.

Gita

Gita Saraydarian is the Founder and President of TSG Foundation, an organization dedicated to the Ageless Wisdom Teachings. For a complete list of past blogs and other writings, click here.

The Battle of the Spiritual Warrior

2008-11-24T11:07:00.005-07:00

By Gita Saraydarian

The Scorpio Full Moon is the sign of battle for higher values. These higher values include, among other things, the belief that all human beings are one; that beauty, goodness, righteousness, freedom, and the ability to strive for betterment is the right of everyone, and that all of life evolves for the better as we work to instill higher values in all parts of our life. Karma and reincarnation also play a compelling role in the articulation of higher values. The idea of "what we sow, we shall reap" and that this transfers to all our subsequent lifetimes, are two very powerful motivators of right actions and right living.

We often think of battle in terms of physical killing and maiming others. Often, in myths and legends, the hero is depicted as doing battle for some cause or another. In the Wisdom Teachings, the battle is an inner struggle, where the person fights between two lines of energy: the soul power within him/her that tries to pull the person's life toward the eternal and timeless values and the personality/material part that tries to pull the person toward immediate needs and values. These are two lines of opposing force that have been depicted in many spiritual and cultural traditions under various names and guises. For example, the 12 labors of Hercules are a continuous battle, in 12 parts, of the soul over the pull of the material. The battles of Arjuna in the Bhagavad Gita is the same story: how can the warrior Arjuna face the many habits, relationships, memories that he has built over lifetimes and start to develop in him and in his life relations based on eternal principles?

Whatever kind of battle we do, it always begins with the inner values, beliefs, our particular approach to life, and inner systems of thought. The struggle starts from inside and then moves outward. When we battle, we are really struggling against inner patterns that propel us in a particular direction.

The following clip from the lecture on Scorpio is a brief discussion of the battle of the spiritual warrior. I have been enjoying presenting these topics and hope you are too.

The full length version is available on CD and download as well as DVD.

Gita Saraydarian is the Founder and President of TSG Foundation, an organization dedicated to the Ageless Wisdom Teachings. For a complete list of past blogs and other writings, click here.

Libra and Balance

2008-11-14T14:26:00.003-07:00

By Gita Saraydarian

YouTube Clip from a lecture on Libra ...

Below please find the link to a clip on YouTube from a lecture on Libra and balance. What follows are introductory remarks regarding what is balance. Balance in the spiritual-esoteric tradition is explained as a process of finding the middle point between the spirit world and the material world. In our process of advancement in our inner world, we confront many challenges that help us understand how to bring balance into our life. For example, I found that sometimes we have to come to a complete stop in our minds and emotions and look back in order to heal and reconcile our past with our present and our future needs and future visions. Sometimes, we cannot go any further, until this reconciliation and subsequent healing takes place. For the complete recording of this lecture, please check the links below.

(CD or Downloads of Libra Full Moon)
(DVD of Libra Full Moon)

Gita Saraydarian is the Founder and President of TSG Foundation, an organization dedicated to the Ageless Wisdom Teachings. For a complete list of past blogs and other writings, click here.

Spiritual Poverty and Its Psychic Wounds

2008-10-14T12:07:00.003-07:00

By: Gita Saraydarian

It is a great day for humanity when people from all walks of life discuss the very serious subject of poverty that face us in rich and poor countries alike. Millions of people all over the world lack the basic needs for their physical, emotional, and mental development. There is also the lack in many parts of the world an expansive, unifying spiritual nourishment that gives hope and allows for the development of the internal qualities that sustain all of life. This is a most serious, sinister, and hidden form of poverty. It inflicts psychic wounds that prevent the complete development of the human being through lifetimes.

Poverty in all its forms affects us in this life and in the next life. Poverty on the individual level has far reaching effects for the entire human family. As we heal the wounds of individual poverty, we will be able to see the healing of the entire planetary body. The wounds and pains of deprivation will no longer affect the next generation of incarnating souls. What a great vision this can be for all of us and for all future generations!

Eliminating poverty in all its levels requires spiritual magnanimity in the hearts of all of us, especially those who are religious and political leaders and opinion shapers in all fields of life.

Magnanimity comes from a deep love and understanding of the divine origin of every human being. It is enhanced when we see how life is affected on tangible and intangible levels, through multiple generations, and when we truly understand that whatever we do to others comes back to us in some form. Spiritual magnanimity means to be spiritually mature beyond the boundaries of a particular religious belief. Religions can be a source for good or can be very separative and exclusionary in nature. True spiritual values and principles go beyond a specific religious belief system and focus on the inner and deeper values that are the foundations of all religious and spiritual practices. Caring for others, compassion, forgiveness, the concept of one human family, hope, faith, healing, and dignity can be a motivating factor in all our actions.

Physical, emotional, and mental poverty leave long-lasting wounds. The wounds of physical poverty are easily visible. Emotional poverty leaves scars on the physical and emotional bodies and is even more lasting. Mental poverty takes us into a deeper crisis: it results in the inability to have a healthy mind that is used for serious and critical thinking. Such individuals and groups of people are more easily manipulated. Fear and separatism and the ugly and base belief systems are easily sold and find ready ears. Mental poverty inflicts wounds on the physical, emotional, mental bodies and is perpetuated through the generations.

Then there is spiritual poverty, which affects the physical, emotional, mental, and soul bodies of individuals and groups of people in this world and beyond. It exists where there is hatred, racism, the demonizing of people, or using people as pawns in political and religious warfare. These kinds of conditions inflict psychic wounds that are the most sinister and long-lasting.

We can kill the spirit even where there is physical, emotional, and mental “food”. More importantly, without the spiritual foundation, we kill hope and vision. Human beings who have no hope and vision hate themselves and hate others. Hatred in this world and beyond perpetuates more hatred and atrocities and creates a cycle of hatred and violence in both worlds.

Damage done by poverty comes back to us, lifetime after lifetime, until the root causes are eliminated. Those persons who live and die in poverty and suffering add to the pain and suffering of the subtle worlds, which in turn develop into a psychic cloud over humanity. By continuously causing harm and suffering to human beings, we perpetuate the suffering and hatred in our own lives.

When individuals achieve their potential, at whatever level that may be, every life form is enriched. Once we nurture and “feed” humanity in its multiple forms, eventually, every incarnating human being will be healed and will be able to contribute to the betterment of the world.

The cause of poverty is not the lack of resources. It is not the lack of ability, knowledge, or talent but rather it is the lack of spiritual understanding. If we could embrace the spiritual values that enable us to find solutions, we will see the quick alleviation of poverty in its many manifestations.

Poverty can be eliminated when we

1. Have the courage to change our internal belief system from separatism to unity.
2. Have a fundamental faith in the human potential for good.
3. Firmly believe that every human being is divine in origin.
4. An understanding that all resources to alleviate poverty are consolidations of the loving, living energy of divinity. We certainly have plenty of resources when we have the love and will to share and distribute.
5. An understanding that the greater the realization of love toward humanity, the more we will instill those values in our daily life that sustain life, help others less fortunate, and put into office those leaders who truly reflect our ideals and hopes for a better future.

This expansive spiritual understanding forms the philosophical foundation for alleviating all levels of poverty. When we change the mind-set that conditions our decisions and actions, we will be able to remove the heavy walls of separatism that hinder human development. Eliminating poverty will then be an easy task. We will see that ensuring the health and well being of every individual, on many levels, is the best course of action for our present and future lives. It is the duty of every individual to work toward this goal.

It is a privilege for me to be part of this global action on poverty and to be able to contribute my thoughts on this very serious issue.

Thank you.
Gita
President, TSG Foundation
www.tsgfoundation.org
Participant in Blog Action Day 2008 – Poverty: http://blogactionday.org/

Gita Saraydarian is the Founder and President of TSG Foundation, an organization dedicated to the Ageless Wisdom Teachings. Complete list of past blogs is available online.

Copyright Notice: All of Gita’s Blog articles are copyrighted by The Creative Trust. 2008

Blog Action Day 2008 on Poverty

2008-10-13T17:15:00.004-07:00

Hello Dear Friends:
I am participating in Blog Action Day for 2008 on the subject of Poverty. I will post my blog on Poverty on the 15th of October. Click on the video below for more information about this international effort to bring more attention to poverty today. Thousands of people are participating. So, come and join us and watch for my blog on the 15th!

Blog Action Day 2008 Poverty from Blog Action Day on Vimeo.

Your True Self and Spiritual Magnanimity

2008-09-29T15:05:00.004-07:00

By Gita Saraydarian

The Wisdom Traditions teach that we are more than the physical, emotional, and mental bodies. We have an inner essence, the divine in us, which is everlasting. This is referred to as the True Self. This inner essence eventually becomes so highly developed that our entire life is consciously imbued with it.

I have been developing a series of lectures on how to become part of the “spiritual team”, which in esoteric language is referred to as the “group chalice”. The concept of group work or teamwork is utilized now in many fields all over the world. This approach is changing the way we live and work. To work effectively in a group setting, we have to be able to operate under a set of principles that we apply to our own view of ourselves as well as how we view others. We must be culturally sensitive, personally sensitive, and non-judgmental; in a word, mature or better yet, having spiritual magnanimity.

Working effectively in a group or team rests primarily on how we view ourselves and how we treat ourselves. Why? Because our view of ourselves determines how we view and treat others. For humanity to overcome the extreme hurdles of separatism, racism, religious and cultural intolerance, hatred and extremism, we as individuals need to look seriously at how we understand and treat ourselves!

In order to have what is called “right human relations,” we need to start treating ourselves in the right way first. People who denigrate others and put others down are doing it first to themselves.

We can be mature and magnanimous, and have a much-improved life on earth, with care and opportunity for every person, if we fundamentally understand and practice the following three principles:

1. Right Human Relations: This includes the right attitude toward ourselves, fellow human beings, with subtle forms of existence, and with all of the nature around us.

2. The essential divinity of each individual: Every individual is of divine origin and therefore is worthy of respect, protection, and every opportunity to pursue greatness.

3. God is the parent of all: This is a profound basis on which to form our relations with our own self, with our family, and with the world at large. We say, “blood is thicker than water” and this forms our bonds with our family. What about the eternal family of humanity, where our bonds are not just blood, but eternal parenthood?

These are fundamental concepts that can drive us and help us formulate our approach to all of life. When we do, we will not tolerate pain and suffering inflicted on us, and we will not inflict pain and suffering and depravity on others regardless of who they are.

Here is a link to my latest YouTube clip taken from my lecture on the Virgo Full Moon on the topic of “Your Higher Self” where these three ideas are briefly presented.

For more information about the True Self, see Dynamics of the Soul. On the names of God, see 100 Names of God, both by Torkom Saraydarian

If you wish to know more about our work or, if you would like to know how to support our efforts to spread goodwill and right human relations all over the world, please contact us. Detailed information is available online on TSG Foundation.

Thanks, and I look forward to hearing from you.

Gita

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Gita Saraydarian is the Founder and President of TSG Foundation, an organization dedicated to the Ageless Wisdom Teachings. For a complete list of past blogs and other writings, click here.

Gita will present a web-seminar from Arizona on November 1st, 2008 and will be in Switzerland at the end of November 2008 for a seminar on Other Worlds.

Copyright Notice: Gita’s Blog articles are copyrighted by The Creative Trust, 2008.

Why Celebrate Full Moons?

2008-09-24T14:09:00.004-07:00

By Gita Saraydarian

There is a tradition in the Ageless Wisdom Teachings to have a period of quiet meditation during the time of the new moon and the full moon, as close to the actual time as possible. This is not the worship of the moon, or the celebration of the moon itself. Rather, it is the understanding that during the period of the full moon, the sun veils the energies of the moon and transmits the energies of a particular zodiacal sign to the earth. So, it is the energies of the sun and the zodiacal sign that are of importance and desired, since the moon itself is considered a dead planet that does not transmit positive and uplifting energies to humanity.

The ancient Sages taught that every heavenly body transmits energy. Life is a dance of energies. Our life is influenced by the energies that we take in and the energies that we distribute. The qualities of energies differ from one heavenly body to the next and, importantly, the qualities of the energies that we distribute differ according to our focus of consciousness.

I have followed the tradition of group or individual meditation at the full moon periods for over 30 years, and find them to be powerful times of self-reflection and re-focus on the purpose and direction of my life. I find some full moon periods much more powerful than others. There are certain keynotes that are indicated for meditative purposes during each of the full moons. You can find a list of them and a sample meditation by following the link here.

Below you will also see a YouTube link to my lecture on the Leo Full Moon on the topic of “faith in humanity.” I began the lecture by talking about why we celebrate full moons and how we receive and distribute these energies. The clip below is taken from this first part of the lecture. The first clip was on Courage and you can view it also on YouTube.

I am planning to have a short clip of the 12 lectures planned for the 2008-2009 full moon periods. More information is available on the series downloads or CD or on DVD. You can find a series on Hercules, a series on the Lighted House, 3-part set on Initiation, and the most recent series on The Group Chalice and Expanding our Service to Humanity.

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I would love to hear from you if you have any comments.

Gita

Gita Saraydarian is the Founder and President of TSG Foundation, an organization dedicated to the Ageless Wisdom Teachings. For a complete list of past blogs and other writings, click here. Gita will present a web-seminar from Arizona on November 1st and will be in Switzerland at the end of November 2008 for a seminar on Other Worlds.

Copyright Notice: All of Gita’s Blog articles are copyrighted by The Creative Trust. 2008.