Gita's Blog

28 - Gemini - Radiation - Podcast

2017-05-31T14:26:00.000-07:00

Dear Friends:

Welcome to the third of three Podcasts on the topic of the 3 Major Festivals. The third major full moon is the Gemini Full Moon also called the Festival of Humanity, the Festival of Christ.

The keynote for Gemini is radiation.

After contact comes radiation. We radiate our wisdom, our understanding, our love and our higher values to all of life around us. During Gemini, an Initiate radiates his or her contacted and actualized wisdom.

In our daily life we hear mostly what is wrong with the world, the mistakes leaders have made, the failures of people, the illnesses, famines, diseases plaguing humanity.

Is there a place for radiating something other than doom and gloom? Yes. When I observe the history of the world in the last 100 years, I see great progress for humanity. Certainly, not all areas of life are perfect, but human beings have achieved great improvements in life in every part of life.

These improvements are the result of people's curiosity, their belief that solutions can be found, their immense faith in the human heart, their tireless labor to do good in society. Human beings in all parts of the world are inspired, encouraged, uplifted by great ideas and belief systems. It is these inner values, the curiosity of exploration, the thirst for knowledge and solutions that drive human development.

The Ageless Wisdom advises us to hold our spiritual values in our hearts and have these values inform what we do and the path we take. During the Gemini period, find the inner values most dear to you, hold them in the light of your soul, and radiate them in every part of your life.

Our radiation flows through every action, thought, and feeling. We are always radiating who we are. Our subtle emanations, our speech, our non-verbal communications reflect the reality of who we are.

In this third lecture, I speak about the third part of the process of Initiation. Initiation is not a magic formula wherein someone gives us a badge or a higher position of power. It is rather a result of our own efforts to change our life into conscious communication with the Higher Worlds and conscious and deliberate manifestation of this contact. It is tangible evidence that the person has actualized the wisdom of the spiritual path and lives a purposeful and inner-directed life.

I hope you enjoy this lecture. Included are:

Hallmark of an Initiate
Hierarchical Radiation
Actualized Wisdom
World of Reality
Actualization and Initiation
Aura in attraction of energies
Meditation in Gemini

May the blessings of the Holy Ones be on you and yours.

Gita

You may listen to the entire lecture here:

Download this podcast

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Watch Gita's YouTube for the Wisdom of the Zodiac Gemini keynotes and meditation.

Let us know what you think. Contact us by phone or email; Give us your feedback! We would love to hear from you.

For more in depth information on Initiation and Self Actualization see the following:

Building the Lighted House Audio Set

Building the Lighted House DVD Set

Initiation: Spiritual Evolution Audio Set

Initiation: Spiritual Evolution DVD Set

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- Please remember that these lectures are delivered for spiritual enlightenment and upliftment. They are not meant to take the place of medical health care.

27 - Wesak and Contact - Podcast

2017-05-03T15:48:00.001-07:00

Dear Friends:

Welcome to the second of three Podcasts on the topic of the 3 Major Festivals: the Taurus Full Moon or the Festival of Wesak.

The keynote for Taurus is contact.

At the time of Wesak, we have a great opportunity to make contact with the Higher Principles that guide our life and to deepen their expression in all that we do.

What are those Higher Principles?

They are living a life of Beauty, Goodness, Righteousness, Joy, Freedom, continuous striving to surpass our limitations, and service for the betterment of life. These principles are based on the One Principle: The sacredness and oneness of all life.

In this time of rancor, doubt, hatred, greed, and fear, we can take an important step to remove these elements by making a link with the highest within us, our inner essence, and letting that sacred contact flow out of our lives.

What happens when we make contact? We achieve what is called in the Ageless Wisdom, an "initiation."*

I presented this series in 2008 and I am happy to share these lectures with you.

Here is what is included in this lecture:

What is Contact?
Contact at various levels
Results of Contact
What is Initiation
Reception/Assimilation/Expression
Meditation: Wesak and a reading of prayers for departed souls

You may listen to the entire lecture here:

May the Blessings of the Holy Ones be on you and yours.
Enjoy!
Gita
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Let us know what you think. Contact us by phone or email; Give us your feedback! We would love to hear from you.

* "Initiation is an expansion of your consciousness and a changing of your focus from one level to another level." (Initiation, p. 22).

- Books by Torkom Saraydarian referenced in the lecture:

- For other lectures by Gita Saraydarian, please see the following or contact us:

- Please remember that these lectures are delivered for spiritual enlightenment and upliftment. They are not meant to take the place of medical health care.

26 - Resurrection

2017-03-24T09:45:00.001-07:00

Dear Friends:

I would like to share with you the Podcast of a lecture I gave in 2009 about Initiation and how it coincides with the three major Full Moons.

Welcome to the first of three Podcasts of these lectures! We are releasing these Podcasts to coincide with the 3 Major Festivals of the year; Aries, Taurus and Gemini.

Aries and Resurrection: The Call

The Three Major full moon festivals of Aries, Taurus, and Gemini are considered by the esoteric wisdom Teachings to be a time of inner reflection and inner observation. Aries emphasizes meditation on the purpose and direction of our life. In Taurus, we consider the connection we make to the higher principles and core values of our life. In Gemini, we process the path of actualization of our inner contacts and inner values in practical life.

Aries helps us contact the inner direction, the purpose, or the most essential in our life. The energy of Aries helps us refine our direction and aligns us once again so that we are indeed on the path of conscious growth and conscious evolution. The Aries energies are fully supported and expanded by the energies of Easter, the power of the soul to resurrect itself from the hold and pull of matter.

“The moment must come in your life when, symbolically, the needle of your compass aligns itself with the magnetic current of the North Pole or to the ray of willpower.” (Challenge for Discipleship, p. 332)

The Wisdom Teachings emphasize that eventually we will resurrect, or graduate from our earthly life and move into greater consciousness and greater service. Resurrection is the answer to a great call. We are told that the voice of the Father, the Great Soul of this Planet, is calling us back to the essence and that “His Voice is tracing the path.” (Teachings of Christ, Volume. 4, p. 11)

In this lecture is discussed: What is the Cal that changes your life? How do we align ourselves to the current of the symbolic “North Pole” of spiritual life? Also discussed are the five ways that Christ/Jesus exemplified the process of alignment and Resurrection in His life and Teachings. The lecture ends with a beautiful blessing mantram and visualization.

You may listen to the entire lecture here:

Resurrection Podcast

Enjoy!
Gita

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25 - Torkom's Work Ethics

2016-07-29T14:58:00.001-07:00

I was looking over my many notebooks and came across some notes that I had taken back in August 19, 1993 from a group meeting conducted by Torkom. He was giving us advice for success. I find his instructions timely and important. These are simple rules that Torkom followed his entire life. When followed, they simplify life and help me have faith, hope, and the trust in the future. Here are some of the things that he said that you may find useful in your life.

The Teachings used by me [Torkom] are for success, which means happiness, health, joy, continuity, and abundance. Here are 15 ways that success is a sure outcome:

1. All that he does for the group is the best work that he can do.

2. He dedicates all that he does for the Hierarchy of Great Ones, the Highest that he can. What do you do that demands the best from you? Find it, give the best to others. This forms the “crown” of your head.

3. He puts all his “capital” into his work without holding anything back: his family, his money, his body, his talents and abilities; all are great factors for success. Otherwise, you ruin yourself with halfhearted attempts. Think: you are His soldier. If you are halfhearted, doubtful, you cannot make it.

4. He holds the future victory always in his vision, no matter what. Be successful, defeat failure only in this way. Concentrate always on future success. Say: “It is impossible that I won’t make it.” It is not a victory that is personal.

5. He is never worried about himself. So, always he is strong and healthy. So, sacrifice yourself. Use the power inside of you to work.

6. He always wishes the best for each person, no matter what they did.

7. He has gratitude to all who worked for humanity, no matter where, how; he praises them, prays for them.

8. Work for humanity and you will always be in abundance.

9. He is always grateful to all who helped him and the group in any way.

10. He never counted his time, but kept going until the job is finished.

11. He gives money without showing it. He gives time without counting it. He gives whatever is needed.

12. He does not condition his relations, speech, actions based on rewards. Must do this especially with group members. It is an opportunity to be a future hero. Detach yourself from all things that attach you. You really have nothing; whatever you have, use it to produce something in the world.

13. He is very economical, in everything. The Law of Economy is not stinginess; it is the greatest and most important Law in the Universe. Be economical so you can give. Economy makes you generous. Economize in everything. Don’t be pleasure seeking.

14. He always follows directions from his own heart.

15. The Great Ones tell us that future Initiates will be picked from groups that They organized. Prepare yourself to be chosen.

This was very inspiring to read after all these years. Because of his direct and wholehearted approach, he wrote, taught, created, composed and left a rich legacy that is for all humanity. He was never defeated; the work continues and will continue.

Gita

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- Gita Saraydarian is the Founder and President of TSG Foundation.

24 - Meditation on God

2016-07-09T10:47:00.002-07:00

“In this age we must expand our understanding of the word God.” *

I meditated on God and my universe expanded. My heart became more peaceful; my mind serene.

There is no human being on earth who does not ever ask about God.

God is unfathomable; yet we try. So why ponder on the imponderable?

Because we get parochial otherwise; we want only our “God” to be the one. This creates separatism and shrinks our mind, our world. We do not see other possibilities and views. Our consciousness shrinks. A shrinking consciousness then identifies a turf — then works to protect it — creating ideologies to buttress the view, and then takes action preemptively. Slowly our soul shrinks and we create a space for evil to take root. When the soul shrinks further, we lose our divine connection; evil has free play. Evil does not just come and sit inside of us; we invite it by commission or omission. Then we identify us vs. them; we then make “them” less than us, less human. We see the world as limited. Less than “us” therefore creates a philosophy of not deserving the privileges and opportunities that we feel we have a right to have. This fractures our inherent moral fiber and we disconnect further from our soul. Then evil takes root ever more deeply and eventually the soul is kicked out; the elementals are in charge. We blame others, the "them” for all our troubles. It is a predictable death march after that; it will end in death because evil cannot triumph for long; the elementals will return to earth. Evil goes down and takes its body with it. But it is always ready to reactivate itself. Until we “seal the door where evil dwells” it will wait for opportunities to rise up. We certainly provide many such opportunities.

Have you pondered on the meaning of God?

What are our “Gods”? Our religious definitions and exclusive identities and opinions are on the top of the list. Then we have our positions, diplomas, special
interests that we need to feed continuously; we have exclusive ways of doing things that are far superior to those of others; political ideologies, partisanship; our money and its power; our race and our culture and color of our skin; our nation and our family heritage. It is the false notion of power and leadership. It is gender identities meant to demean. It is fear, slavery, aggression, hatred and more. It is lust for power, addiction to power at any cost while pushing others down. It is “my” way!

What are your Gods?

What about the leadership of an all pervasive God, one who has breathed through all of us. We return to Him and ask Him: “Come into my life; let me understand as much of you as I can bring into me. Let my soul rise and bloom and never lose contact with You. Let me be as you.”

We say together:

“We the members of this Group, we are one in essence.

May our souls rejoice.

We are one with humanity.

May our souls rejoice.

We are one with all life forms.

May our souls rejoice.

We are one with the Sun.

May our souls rejoice.

We are one with the life of the Galaxy.

May our souls rejoice.

We are one with the stars.

May our souls rejoice.

We are one with Infinity.

May our Spirits rejoice.” (Torkom Saraydarian, unpublished writings.)

Repeat this daily. Visualize the expansive universe with each line. Let your soul rejoice in this knowing.

Let your spirit rise and unite with the Spirit of the Universe. Enlarge your space.

Read and meditate on the One Hundred Names of God. It will change your life.

Raise me Lord to your heart. Let me embrace all, in one God, the indivisible God of all.

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*One Hundred Names of God, p. 9.

- Inspired by One Hundred Names of God by Torkom Saraydarian

-Mantram quoted above is copyrighted by The Creative Trust of Torkom Saraydarian.

- Gita Saraydarian is the Founder and President of TSG Foundation.

23 - Permanent and Impermanent

2016-06-11T10:57:00.001-07:00

My Father is a permanent part of my life!

As we plan to launch our TSG Fundraising for our permanent TSG Center, I sense the energy of continuity in the work that I do. I see it in context of something larger than myself. What we do, what I do, matters. What Torkom wrote and exemplified matters. What comes after us matters. What we do to make the future a continuity matters. There is both permanence and impermanence in life; we have to make wise choices as we let the energy flow in permanence.

It is easy to serve for a minute; continuity is much harder.

It is easy to love and give for one minute; continuous loving and sacrifice is much harder.

Permanency, continuity, takes courage and faith. The courage to continue without seeing the accomplished goal. The faith in knowing the mystery eventually becomes material. There is a courage and faith beyond words and beyond tangible life. Their reality is in the intangible and this reality is felt deep in our hearts.

I work daily, for 29 years, non-stop. I believe in what I do. I believe in the good that I help happen. I believe in the Teaching and its great principles that inform the lives of all who love and cherish life. I see the continuity of these traditions in all cultures and faiths. Yes, humans distort and impose. Humans hate and become racists and bigots. Humans kill and starve people. Humans close their eyes when hatemongers ply their trade. But, humans also love, save, help, uplift, heal, and sacrifice for others. Humans impact life in myriad ways, every minute of our lives.

I see how what I do now will have a huge impact on the lives of those whom I have never heard of. What comes after me matters. What I build now matters. When I enjoy the old books in our library, books printed 100 years ago, I cherish the courage that it took for someone to write these words, to print, to make into a book, to teach others about its principles. When I hear beautiful music, I cherish the courage of its creator. When I see a beautiful, timeless building, my eyes take it in; I cherish its creator and its caretaker.

This week, I received news of the death of a young man — father, husband, and son. Then news came of another death of a 93 year-old friend. Then news of several people with incurable cancers. Then more news about various illnesses and challenges people are suffering. Requests for prayers — healing, nurturing from multiple sources came. This along with the “normal” vicissitudes of life of ageing bodies, crises in every part of the planet — war, displacement, starvation, abuse and neglect and so on and on — has left me thinking: what is real after all? And, I wanted to hold onto that permanence and trust in it.

I recently read a lovely note on Facebook by a friend who reminded me to love, laugh, read, enjoy, eat, and live. I liked this and very much wanted to be “in the moment” and not let life slip away or get me down.

There comes a time in life when we can no longer allow the past to inform all we do now. For how many years will we walk forward and look backward? The past is past; it is done. What about now and the future? Something shifts when I note that the old no longer needs to inform who I am.

I will celebrate life at the Grand Canyon. I will see its grandiose, wild beauty once again through the eyes of grand-kids who have never visited the Grand Canyon. I will stare at the vastness of this natural wonder and ponder on the millions of people who have come and gone, who have visited and are now no longer on this earth. I will remember how my Father loved to visit the Grand Canyon and hike its trails. I will think of the billions of years that it took to create this phenomenal beauty of nature. I will go out in the night and, in inky darkness, let the sky and its luminous bodies engulf me and my senses. In that space, time, and vastness, what am I but a speck of dust. I am of the earth and I am of the sky! I am impermanent in the permanent filaments of cosmos.

I had been there many times with my Dad, and had great times and memories. Now, to see it all through the eyes of grand kids. We walked through a wooded area for a mile, breathing in the scents of pine trees in the hot air. They did not know what awaited them. Suddenly, a different light was visible through the trees and, on a rise in elevation, the kids ran up and behold, the Grand Canyon. We were trailing behind, and all we could hear were the WOWs coming from their little bodies..."WOW...nothing like the pictures we have seen." All the memories of wonder, of joy, of love, of being one with life came flooding back to me and I knew at that moment, that the kids would cement this memory into their minds and in the future, take their kids there and have that moment of WOW. The flow of love, of unity with life, had just made a new bridge from us grandparents, to them, the kids. This is what brings the mystery down to manifestation, to marry the WOW factor of life, the non-identified factor, and feel it and sense it and hear it and pass it on. Remembering this, life has deeper meaning, for I can understand what is permanent and what is impermanent. I can see the impermanence of my life against the billions of years of life of the Canyon and the permanent record of stone and dust. I can also see the intangible memories handed down from one generation to the next become permanent. The art of loving is the love between the infinite and the finite, the bridge that unites the mystery into actualization.

I am more alive when I consciously experience life around me. I remind myself: Be in the natural rhythm. Watch children as they live. Listen to the birds sing, the trees swaying in the wind. Listen to the sound the eucalyptus leaves make as the wind rhythmically flows through them, stops, then silence, then the planet releases one more gust of wind; the pattern is repeated. Listen to the swish of palm trees in the wind, like gigantic pieces of paper rustling rhythmically. Listen to the soft hum of bees and insects, the quail and the cactus wren. There is that neighborhood cardinal making its calls first thing in the morning and until sundown. He never tires! I hear the distant sound of motorcycles and cars going somewhere. Then look, see the multiple shades of greens shimmering in the hot desert, colors and moods of life around me. I become increasingly silent. I am in the life, not outside of it making a list of things to do, remembering to do this or that…just look up and out; listen; close the mouth.

I went to the doctor for knee pain. I got a treatment and it felt worse after I got home. I hobbled around wondering where life was taking me. After a while, the knee stopped throbbing; healing was taking place. Some processes are inevitable. Living longer has its advantages and drawbacks. The body in which we are does show evidence of wear and tear, “mileage” as one doctor put it! We need to care for our bodies, for our lives. I do believe in the cycles of life. I know I will go to another layer of existence when my body is no longer. I will return; but never as me now; what I am now is all I have; it is a one-time deal. Next time, different deal!

In the impermanence, find the permanent. In the eternal, find that one momentary fragment of life and live it, experience it, and make the soil and air better for your existence. Pass on the sense of wonder to those who come after you. This is the permanent, the thread that unifies the past, the present, and the future.

I imagine a new TSG Center in the not too distant future, a permanent home. It needs to be built on earth. It exists in the imaginations and creative world of the Cosmos, in Torkom's mind, in my mind's eye I see it. For every book, a library. For every teacher, a schoolroom. For every group of striving souls, a place to meet and meditate. For every Teaching, a home that stands the test of time. We, together owe Torkom our labor to anchor his creative genius and not let it get lost; not to turn into dust. We hold our hands out to the next generation and hand over the permanent part of us, one that never dies, the essence and the soul that is housed in beauty, in the desert, under the skies.

I invite you to help build the permanent home of TSG Center. That is a permanent testimonial to the genius of a great man, Torkom Saraydarian. His writings are changing lives one at a time; and eventually, Torkom’s writings will change the lives of millions; the testament of permanence.

Happy Father’s Day Dad!

We love you and we cherish you. We support you and your work. May you continue to bless us.

Gita

22 - Gemini Full Moons

2016-06-06T14:39:00.002-07:00

In Wisdom of the Zodiac, we are guided to take a few minutes every month and meditate and send blessings when the sun aligns with a Zodiacal sign.

This is a very beautiful practice. It helps us be mindful of the life around us that is bigger than us. It puts our own life into perspective and reminds us of the beauties and wonders of the universe. In linking with something larger than us, we give meaning to the daily contacts that we have. Our friends, our family, our work associates are all part of the universe. There is a holistic understanding of what is going on around us and it is not limited by the news we read, or the agonies of daily life.

This year, 2016, we have two Gemini full moons; in May and in June. The complete meditation has been recorded in two parts and you are welcome to use one or both.

Take some time off your busy schedule. Sit quietly and go through the meditation. Breathe deeply and become part of the universe. Feel the life around you. Share your blessings.

The Gemini full moon inspires us to release the hidden beauties in us and bless the world around us with our creative work. I welcome you to view both videos.

(Below are links to the videos on YouTube. If you do not see links, click on "Gita's blog" on the bottom of the page and you will see the video link.)

Part one is here:

Part two is here:

Enjoy!

Gita

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Based on the Wisdom of theZodiac, Volume 1, by .Torkom Saraydarian,

Gita Saraydarian is the Founder and President of TSGFoundation and TSG Spiritual University. Monthly Wisdom of the Zodiac lesson and meditation are available free on YouTube. Aries 2016 is now available.

The 4-volume set of Wisdom of the Zodiac by Torkom Saraydarian is available online.

The 4-volume set of Teachings of Christ by Torkom Saraydarian is available online.

21 - The Process of Renewal

2016-04-15T16:19:00.000-07:00

Every year at this time, spiritual people from all around the world celebrate what is often referred to as Wesak, or the Festival of Buddha. The Festival coincides with the Full Moon of Taurus, or when the Sun is in Taurus. This most often falls in May, but at times, it falls in April, as it will this year.

I like this Festival, because the key ingredient is “contact.” Contact is what human beings most want in their lives. We want to contact our loved ones, our pets, our friends. Note social media and how many people all over the world make contact with each other. Old and young, we like contact. There is no life without contact.

In the spiritual realms, contact means to connect with the essence within us and within nature. We have a thirst for this contact inherent in us. Every person who is beyond survival mode wants to know what is beyond the life. So, we seek cultural explanations, religious explanations, and spiritual explanations. We ponder denial and we ponder possibilities. But we keep on asking and seeking.

Why do we seek and ask? It is because we sense a need for renewal. We want change and we know that change means life, means solved problems, means to see a new way of life and new meaning. So, renewal is important to us as human beings. We do not keep our children in the same habits, nor do we want ourselves trapped in the same habits. We want renewal.

How then to find the path of renewal? Take nine days, and each day, ponder on one of the questions given below. Think and write your findings. Here they are, taken from Torkom Saraydarian's Wisdom of The Zodiac, Volume 1:

1. See what you are and what you are doing in this world. Be factual and honest. What are you doing?

2. Go deep inside of you and find ways to clean yourself from physical, emotional, mental rubbish. Find the way to purify your nature and let your divinity shine out.

3. Find what kind of influence you have on others. This is important and do not skip this. Observe and observe and see whom you influence and how. Consider seen and sensed influences.

4. Bring the inner light to shine on what humanity is doing, where humanity is going. This is huge and can be shocking. Can we see what humanity is doing without reverting to partisan politics or personal hatreds? Just see clearly.

5. Have your inner reality guide you and reveal to you what to do in your own life, in your own field; as you speak, think, and act, what can you do to purify the atmosphere in which we all live?

6. Note if you have contacts with the supermundane worlds. Do you have guiding dreams, instincts, guidance? These inner contacts guide us and show us we are not alone. Note them and see when in your life you receive guidance and how this guidance comes to you?

7. Find your real teacher. If you are searching, what are you looking for and what are you willing to do to find the real teacher?

8. See what the future holds for you. Based on what you are doing now, what is the logical outcome of your life? If you want to change the outcome, it is the time to change the cause.

9. Take time on the ninth day to sit in solitude and “connect” with all of life. Listen to nature, to the movements around you, connect to the stars. Connect to all the men and women in the world who are heroically working to change the world. Connect in your heart to all the Great Ones of all religions and spirituality who ceaselessly guide humanity toward purity and goodness. They can be found everywhere, right here on Earth.

A joyous contact to you!

Gita

Material taken from Wisdom of the Zodiac, Volume 1, Chapter 24.

- See Wisdom of the Zodiac by Torkom Saraydarian. A four volume set that covers all 12 signs of the Zodiac in multiple Chapters. Gita Saraydarian gives monthly lessons and meditations based on the Wisdom of the Zodiac. You may view all videos free on YouTube.

- For more information about Gita and the work of TSG Foundation, please visit us online.

- Support our work and our mission: Building bridges to Happiness, Joy, and Bliss through the work of Torkom Saraydarian and the Ageless Wisdom Teachings.

20 - Resurrect Our Collective Spirit - Easter and Aries

2016-03-21T16:49:00.001-07:00

Below, you will see two YouTube links for brief presentations on Easter and Aries Full Moon.

In the esoteric wisdom Teachings, the spiritual New Year begins with the Aries full moon. When the Sun is aligned with the Aries Constellation, the New Year begins. This coincides with the onset of Spring and all the energy that we feel in the process of new growth. The potential for new growth and new beginnings is never better than at this time of the year.

Aries also is related to the celebration of Easter. Easter is a major holy day for Christians around the world. As a child, I remember Easter as the foremost holy day in our family celebrations. The holiday began the Sunday before Easter with the celebration of Palm Sunday. My mother collected flowers from her garden and the neighbor’s garden. I still remember the pink roses we collected from our neighbor’s yard. If Easter was early, the weather not quite warm, the roses would not be in full bloom. If Easter was later in the year, the roses may be wilted by the heat. It was always a tug at us to find just the right colors and right blooms from our garden and the neighbor’s garden to decorate with. Mom would buy palm leaves for each of us, as tall as each of us. The leaves were woven into beautiful little pockets that would hold flowers. She would tuck bunches of flowers into the woven palm leaves. The stem would be tied with a satin ribbon and off we went to Church. We rode the bus and walked and joined the congregation to celebrate Palm Sunday. The next Sunday, we arose early, put on new clothes that Mom made for us and again made the trek to Church in the next town. Our treat after Church were circular, crunchy, sesame covered breads purchased from a vendor just outside the Church. This was the treat we had on the bus home. We walked, rode the bus, walked home and ate our lunch, cracked colored eggs, and had a great time. By the way, the eggs were colored with onion skins into silky deep earth colors, daisy flowers created bright yellow colored eggs, various leaves created green colored eggs!

We lived side by side with people of different religions and nationalities in safety and security. The Middle East of my childhood is no longer there, alas, changed into fanaticism and sectarianism and unbelievable cruelties against human beings. Yet, people still celebrate Easter and throng the streets and Churches in joyous hope and faith. People have found a way to live side by side with violence and mayhem. Could we go on doing the same things, year after year, and expect different results?

As we celebrate Palm Sunday, Aries, and Easter and contemplate the deeper meanings of resurrection and renewal, of hope and faith in new possibilities, I wonder how to manage the dichotomy of the violence and extremism in much of the world versus the message of hope, faith, and future visions that are given by religions and spiritual traditions. How can we, people of faith and hope, bring out the meaning of these traditions and have them inform what we do in our lives? Are these traditions and celebrations just another yawner of bygone eras and silly spirituality? Or, is there something in these observances that make us more human and less belligerent in our daily life choices?

“The Aries full moon is related to the resurrection of the life that is in every form. We are advised to start the annual process of resurrecting our nature at this full moon. At this time, we try to resurrect our spirit from materialism, separatism, and many kinds of attachments and identifications. We try to focus ourselves within our True Self.” ¹

We cannot change our life, our old patterns, and the results we see in every place in our life without changing the very foundation of our actions, thoughts, and feelings. As long as our spirit is engulfed in hatred and separatism, we cannot change the results. As long as our spirit is imprisoned in selfish desires and materialism gone berserk, we cannot change the results. All that we do in religious and spiritual traditions of any kind are simple platitudes if we are unable to change the foundation. The Teaching says to resurrect the spirit. Do we even know what that is in us? We are so attached to materiality that we forget we are a spark of God, we are the spark of divinity; everyone is! God does not have a religious identity. God does not side with one religion or another. We can use our religious and spiritual traditions to release and resurrect the spirit in us if we really understand them. When we understand the underlying spirit in our traditions, we will be able to see that they exist to free us irrespective of the frozen ways we have come to understand them. Then all our actions can be informed by a release rather than imprisonment. That to me is the message of Aries, the resurrection of Christ, and the celebration of Easter. When the foundation is changed, the rest of our life will emerge in a new way, a new consciousness, and on a new platform.

Is it time for every person of faith and hope to demonstrate the spirit in our daily life? Is it time for every person of any faith to renounce hatred and separatism from our daily life? Can we all stand together, regardless of our faith and spirituality, and stand for the spirit that unites all of us? As individuals release the imprisoned spirit, we hope also that religious groups and nations do the same. This cannot come about without true leadership. Religious leaders and political leaders especially have a duty to help release and resurrect the spirit. We can only hope and pray for leaders to do this.

Start today by defining what it means for you to release the spirit in you.

Happy Easter, happy Aries, and wish for each of you a resurrection of your spirit.

Here are two videos for your enjoyment:

1st, the Aries Full Moon
2nd, Easter Celebration: The Reappearance of Christ

Gita

__________________________

1. The Wisdom of theZodiac, Volume 1, by Torkom Saraydarian, p. 15.

See also Easter celebration lectures and presentations on YouTube by Gita Saraydarian.

The 4-volume set of Wisdomof the Zodiac by Torkom Saraydarian is available online.

The 4-volume set of Teachingsof Christ by Torkom Saraydarian is available online.

19 - Growing New Branches

2016-02-10T16:01:00.003-07:00

Dear Friends:

I would like to share with you a beautiful opportunity that has been given to me personally and to my work: A wonderful Challenge Grant has been offered to fund a permanent home for TSG!

As anyone who has founded a non-profit organization knows, the most challenging part of the work is to have continuity and financial support to see that initial impulse actualized. It is easy to dream big and make plans; it is another to see the dreams and plans actualized.

At every turn in my career in building TSG Foundation, I had to put my dreams into practical projects. I wanted to inspire people to see life as an open system where so much is possible. I wanted to inspire people to take steps to change their lives for the better.

For this, financial resources have been and are always the essential ingredient. Without finances, no amount of dreaming and planning gets off the ground.

I have been truly lucky. At every juncture when the need was truly great, someone stepped up and offered a helping hand to get us to the next point. This has taken us through 28 years of continuous work. Whenever I felt I was against the wall, I had to put aside my fears and doubts, renew my faith in the Teaching, and reset my faith and optimism and, be patient. The help would come at just the right time and when I least expected it.

Last year was a pivotal year for us. We raised the funds to publish the remainder of Torkom's beautiful Teachings and you can see how many wonderful, useful, insightful books we have released last year alone!

This year, we have to move toward finding a permanent TSG Center. Imagine, I began this work with a wish and a dream in my own bedroom. Slowly, as the years went by, the bedroom became two rooms, then a part of a house, then a garage, and now a private home dedicated to this work. Now, we have the opportunity to get to the next point: a permanent home.

A helping hand has been extended to us in the form of a Challenge Grant. But I also need your help and support. Please read my entire letter outlining where we are and what we need. See the link below. I promise you it is detailed, but only two pages! Please read it, let me know how you can help. Help me spread the Teaching far and wide. Spread the word and share my letter with anyone who is interested. Together we can spread the Teaching in ways I never imagined when I first started.

Thank you, and sending all of you the love and joy of new beginnings.

Gita

Matching Gift Challenge Letter from Gita Saraydarian: 2016

18 - Remembering Torkom on January 5th

2016-01-04T01:30:00.000-07:00

Nineteen years ago, on January 5th, 1997, my Father passed away. Life was never going to be the same from that moment on.

As the years fade away, life is more and more simple and steady. I sense the one sound that reverberates in my life. I see the distance I have traveled, the continuous waves, coming and going. I remember this day. The pain of loss was heavy, but slowly, it passed and passed. What I remember now is his greatness, his gifts to humanity, his deep and sensitive insights, and most of all, his deep love for all people. He saw who we are and steadily held a transformative image of us in his heart. The heart of the true warrior of light is mighty; it protects all who come near it.

I love Dad’s poems; they present a person I did not readily see at the time. What people see in us is not what we are truly. But, if we have someone who is able to see into our souls and see the true person we are, then that is a magnet we can rely on. That will be the light that guides us. Poetry reveals a hidden side of us and lays it out for all to see, without apology. I would like to share a poem with you here.

Let us hold beauty and freedom in our hearts for each other. We can hope that by holding this image, the other can then rely on that steady heart to guide his or her steps.

As I read these words over and over again, I gain more courage to travel toward that light. I know someone is holding a steady image for me. Life is full of possibilities and is a wide open system, waiting to be defined.

May you sail enthusiastically into new, uncharted waters without fear or worry.

Happy New Year 2016

Gita

“For You”

By Torkom Saraydarian

From My Heart, Volume 1, p. 169

I am now able

To see

Exactly

What you are,

To see

Under what pressures

And forces

Your mechanism

Is running.

Now

I am able

To hold a vision

For you

In my soul

And leave it there

As a magnet

For your steps.

This magnet

In my soul

Will provide

For you

All the inspiration

And courage

You will need

In the future

To transcend yourself.

I will not

Limit your

Ascent

Nor plan for your steps,

But I will

Provide for you

An anchorage

For inspiration

And challenge

Until

The agitation and storm

Of your ocean

is over,

Until

The echoes of your deeds

Fade away,

Until the shadows

In your mind

Clear away.

Then the magnet

Of my heart

For you

Will turn into

A distant call

To open your sails

And direct your steps

Toward the open seas.

_____________
- Gita Saraydarian is the Founder and President of TSG Foundation and TSG Spiritual University.

- From My Heart, Volume 1 is available directly from TSG Foundation.

- Find out more about TSG Foundation.

17 - What Would You Ask From Christ?

2015-12-21T16:24:00.001-07:00

From the Tiniest Acorn Grown the Mightiest Oak....

The Ageless Wisdom Teachings tell us that the Lord Christ contacts humanity on seven specific occasions. These are times that a deliberate attempt is made by Christ to connect to us, to have us hear Him and respond to him.

These times are:

When we are baptized.
When we receive Holy Communion.
At the time of Wesak.
Every Full Moon, when the Sun is in direct alignment with Earth.
Every Saturday night.
Every sunset.
Every midnight on Christmas Eve.

This year, we are aligned to receive the blessings of Christ three out of the seven occasions mentioned above:

Christmas Eve, the full moon is early Christmas day, and when millions of people receive Holy Communion on Christmas Eve and Christmas Day. This year, 2015, can be a special year and a turning point in our life.

How can we connect to that energy point of the Universe and find clarity and answers to our inner yearnings?

What I consider to be a good approach to this holy period is to find a period of silence, an inner silence where several conditions are met:

You are not talking out loud.
You are not talking in your mind.
Your mind is not wondering all over the place.
Your emotions are quiet and your body is at rest.
Your mind is open and receptive to guidance; you are not blank but are poised to ask and listen.
Your mind is free of the grooves of the past, the default positions, the old tired methods. You are looking ahead and not backwards.
You have identified areas in your life that need clarity and fresh insight.

This means the lines of communication are open and I have no prejudices and self-centered expectations.

So, I asked myself, “What then do I want to hear from Christ?” Well, it depends on what I ask from Him. So, I asked myself, “If I came face to face with Christ, what would I ask of him?”

I made a list; then I made another list; then I made another list. They all seemed so petty and silly. Why would I ask Christ to save humanity, to bring sense into us, to clean our hearts, to end terrorism and anger and hatred toward each other, to end religious wars, to end suffering and religious and sectarian fanaticism, and so on and so on.

Then I thought, why not ask to give us all continuity of consciousness, ability to travel the Higher Worlds, and really see and appreciate the big picture of all of life. Silly girl, I thought, what good are these abilities if we do not earn them through our own efforts? Scratch that one too.

Then I thought, how petty is it that I would expect someone to be always at my beck and call? Does Christ have nothing else to do but to wait for questions and then answer them? If you ask for quick fixes, it is like running to Dad and asking him to fix our life. Why would any father fix our life; we need to learn to do it. We are adults now. Why would we bother Christ with these?

Perhaps the question is: “Please Lord, be patient with us as we learn how to be real human beings.” That is silly too. Christ is patient, eternally patient; He already is. Can you imagine how patient a Great One must be to stay with humanity and continue to guide us?

What is there that He did not already tell us, teach us? If we want guidance, then all we have to do is to get into the life stream of the Teachings of Christ and just listen. Read the Holy Books of all religions and the Wisdom of the Cosmic Christ is there. Ask to open our hearts and our minds so we can discern the real question inside of us, so that we can discern what the true answer is.

All we have to do is go into a deep solitude, be ready to hear, and just listen. The Christ will speak and you will be able to hear just what you need to hear at this time. He is near and is speaking to all of humanity at this time. Christ is not a religion, but Cosmic and universal.

Try to be in solitude. Take time to quiet the mind, the emotions. Find out what you really want in life and what you really need to ask. What do you want to hear at this time?

“Lord, will humanity grow up? Is there hope for us?” I could almost hear Him say, “Yes, indeed; see the evidence all around you. Open your eyes. Spread this message of hope.” From that little acorn of hope, will grow tall, stalwart trees.

Every year we celebrate the birth of Christ and, if we take it seriously, it will be as precious as that newborn child in your family. He or she is open-eyed and full of wonder and expectation of a life full of blessings. We give Christ the opportunity to take birth in us if we remember the hope and positive affirmation of life that He bestowed on us. I would think that is all I need to hear from Him and that should give me the ability to understand the human condition and equally my condition!

"Christ in you, the hope of Glory." That is what we need to remember for each other, to be reminded.

A blessed Christmas to you and yours. May the blessings of the Holy Ones fill your life with insights to help you become joyful, creative, prosperous, and healthy. Be patient and have faith. The future is already unfolding.

Gita

-Gita Saraydarian is the Founder and President of TSGFoundation.

-See monthly YouTube videos on the Wisdom of the Zodiac.

-The Teachings of Christ, The Birth of Christ by TorkomSaraydarian is a beautiful book to inspire you with the great Teachings of the Cosmic Christ.

- Christ, the Avatar of Sacrificial Love by Torkom Saraydarian chronicles the esoteric journey of Christ, from birth to resurrection.

- "From the Tiniest Acorn Grows the Mightiest Oak" Learn how to support TSG Foundation.

16 - Hello once again…Continuing the work

2015-12-16T15:00:00.000-07:00

After so many, many months of not writing a blog, I am ready to share my thoughts and activities with you ….

What have I been doing all this time? Here is a brief summary:

After my last blog post, midway in 2014, I felt the time had come to give our publishing work a little bit bigger push. I wanted to be sure to get all of Torkom’s unpublished manuscripts completed and printed in my lifetime. I designated the publishing and archiving portion of our work as part of “phase one.” I cleared my desk and, among other activities, shelved my blogging activities.

By December, 2014, I had a plan and I shared those plans with our supporters and patrons. I asked for financial support. The response was generous and beautiful. As the support came in, our publishing activities increased and we released 5 books in 2015 and began work on next year’s releases. The increased flurry of activities further postponed my blog activities!

Then, I had to look ahead and ask myself “What else needs to be done?” I realized we faced a very important step for TSG to take: In order to make sure we have continuity into the future, we needed to plan for a permanent and sustainable TSG Center. So, I took a deep breath and dedicated most of this year to make a plan and articulate a change in the flow and focus of the work. I had to move from a focus on publishing to a focus of something far more expansive and demanding.

I wrote out my plans and you are welcome to read my report online. Here is a link: 2015 End of the Year Report.

Now with the end of the year coming close, I want to say how grateful I am for the warm and generous support of family, friends, and co-workers. What a great year this has been! Five more books printed, seminars expanded, YouTube videos posted, and much more.

Thank you for your interests in my blog posts. I plan to stay a little bit more engaged from here on and I look forward in continuing my communications with you and sharing my thoughts.

I want to extend greetings to each of you and hope this year has brought you great joy and wisdom. I wish you a blessed Christmas, joyful New Year, and Happy Holidays.

Looking forward to the New Year and looking forward to hearing from you.

With appreciation,

Gita

______________________________

GitaSaraydarian is the Founder and President of TSG Foundation. For events, classes, and services, please visit our website www.tsgfoundation.org

15 - How Joy Changed My Life ... Student Comments

2014-07-02T11:02:00.000-07:00

Comments from the first online graduating class of Joy and Healing:

A group of people from around the world began The Joy and Healing Group study class November 2012 and completed all 18 lessons in June 2014.

Each person emerged a different person than when they went in. Sure, there were times of stress, wanting to give up, and discouragement. People found how much they were entrenched in their pain patterns. But this small band of “Joy Bothers & Sisters” kept going and going. They managed to overcome their resistance to joy and became first class to graduate from our online course!

Here is what they said:

· I have learned so much reading this book and thank you for all you have done by encouraging us in every way.

· The most important insight for me was that it is much better (or the only way?) to remember in every situation joy and love than anything else. It helps being soul-centered and positive. And it helps to see a bigger picture.

· The most impressing part for me is the story of Torkom’s Father at the beginning of the book; how he acted in the situation when they closed his pharmacy. I often remember this great example of a joyful person.

· My focus is more on the beauty of the world now. Also I´m more positive generally and remember to be joyful. Not always with success, but more often.

· It was a great joy for me to be part of this group. Meditating with others is easier and more fun than alone. Alone I never had managed to meditate and be so constant and to do all these exercises. It was very interesting and sometimes touching to read your reports every month. Often I wanted to quit the group when I had to write my report. It was really challenging to write about deep insights in a foreign language. It is difficult for me to find the right words even in German, so every month it was a little struggle to report. Now I´m proud having persevered. (Oops! pride – the 11^th obstacle!)

· Your responses Gita for all of us were always uplifting and inspiring. Thank you so much.

· The Mantrams at the beginning and at the end of our meditation were very important for me. I used the” More Radiant than the Sun…” often during the day. It helped me in several difficult situations. I loved the closing Mantram, too and all the ones that were assigned. They revealed for me amongst others that our meditation group is more than personal development.

· After the closing Mantram “My Lord, Thank you for the joy of living today in the spirit of beauty, goodness, and righteousness. …” I often sat a little bit longer and visualized how joy, love and light reaches the people all over the world. It showed me as well, that the more joy I am, the more I am connected to my inner core and God. Thank you Gita for giving us those beautiful Mantrams.

· Dear all of you — thank you so much for this wonderful time together, taking care, being joyful.

· For the first time in my life I managed to stay on the schedule and to meditate regularly (nearly) each day for such a long time. This helps me to trust in myself more and to develop a kind of discipline.

· I notice that my everyday interaction with others is many more understanding, tolerant and less critical. I am looking in a different way at situations, I am looking for the beauty in my life and I am much more grateful for all the things I am blessed with.

· I want to thank all of you for this wonderful group work and for your reports which I enjoyed very much. And of course I want to thank you Gita and Tonia for your responses to all of our reports and your steady motivation to keep on keeping on.

· When one asks questions and is provided with an answer, it gives them a sense of achievement and therefore increases their level of self-confidence. I feel that Torkom is very much alive through his books and his memory lives on.

· I feel that what is the most important lesson for me has been to draw daily on the tools and pointers taught here to continually re-focus on joy, wholeness, healing, love and what is actually true beyond the programs of the personality/ego.

· I thank you Gita from the bottom of my heart for all you have given us throughout these past 18 months. The time and energy spent reading our summaries, and kindly encouraging us to keep going further has been invaluable. I will continue this practice, for it is a lifelong practice, of waking up to the truth of who I am.

· I feel sad that this is the end of our joy and healing journey together, but I also feel joyful because it has increased my joy so much and it has been such a wonderfully, beautiful, connecting experience for me.

· If I have learned anything over these last 18 months it is that life is a great mystery. It is filled with Beauty and hope. I've never seen this so clearly as in these last 18 months. I have experienced moments of such joy I did not even know they existed. I feel enchanted by life... I've slowly been opening up to it. To be here willingly and intently. I've been slowly opening up to joy as well. I remember in the beginning it was very difficult for me to remember moments of joy from my childhood. There was a huge blockage for me doing these exercises. I remember this dissolving slowly...

· I've become more joyful. Whenever I missed a few days and I came back to this work, it felt like coming Home. I would not notice my own increasing depression until I started doing the work and I felt the relief of joy. It's a beautiful substance and I am so glad to have the opportunity to invite it into my life. I am also deeply, deeply grateful for how this course helped me establish a connection to my Solar Angel.

· Thank you everyone, for doing this work with me. For giving me support. I've felt your presence with me. Thank you Gita for making this course available and guiding us towards greater happiness, joy and healing. I very much appreciated this beautiful experience. Thank you all very much

· These 18 months really helped me in understanding what I call it the “game” theory: When we were kids (but also as adults sometimes) and we started playing a game we already know that there would be obstacles, enemies, difficulties and eventually in some cases the final “monster” in order to pass to the next level of the game. I am now more and more taking life like that… When I incarnated I “inserted the coin” to this life-game and now… no surprise that all I expected when I decided to start this game is happening! Just take it with Joy and put all the virtues at work to win the game. But if I fail… well.. I have so many “coins” that soon I’ll win!

· Joy is really a key for success in our lives, physically, emotionally, mentally and spiritually.

· I am so happy to have been part of this Joy family! I have been so much enriched by your reports and thoughts.

· Thanks so much to all, and thanks SOOOOOO MUCH to you Gita! Your feedbacks, your encouragements (and your patience with all my delays) were very inspiring and nourishing.

· Thanks to all for your sharing, thanks for your reading and being now part of my life.

· Loads of Love and Loads of blessings to all.

· Much gratitude, respect and love to you Gita

Remember:

- If you live near the TSG Center, you may attend classes in person. Ongoing monthly joy classes take place the second Monday of each month. See our Events Calendar for details for each month.

- Online group study will begin work on July 12,2014.

- Students 18 years of age and older are eligible, no upper age limit!

- If you cannot afford the full tuition, let us know. After committing to three classes, we will match the three classes with a scholarship for three additional classes. We want you to enjoy Joy and Healing and not let anything stand in your way.

- Go to TSG Website Group Study for Registration Information:

- Order book Joy and Healing from TSG Website.

14 - Change Your Life With Joy and Healing

2014-06-30T10:51:00.002-07:00

An online study group on Joy and Healing is now being formed and due to begin on July 12^th. If you want to bring real joy into your life, read on....

I recommend the class “Change Your Life with Joy and Healing” group study to everyone who is seriously ready to make a change in their life and wants to heal the emotional body. Joy and Healing work over a sustained period of time is the premier way to heal yourself from emotional anxieties and uncertainties.

Torkom first published the book Joy and Healing in 1987 after giving several seminars on joy and seeing firsthand the tremendous release of pain and suffering with each lecture and each joy exercise. His first-hand experience convinced him that the work of joy is key to our progress. His work proved itself over and over again in the work TSG has been doing over the years.

Joy is not logic and reasoning; it is the fire of spirit working itself in every fiber of your being, if you dare to release it.

People carry their emotional wounds and push them back into a dark corner of their life. They read, study, do meditation and somewhat succeed to cover up the pain and disillusion with life with smart sounding esoteric knowledge. But, no matter how many esoteric books they read or how many facts they know, they still have the story of hurt that they tell in numerous ways in their daily life. The mind cannot cover up a broken heart, wounded self-esteem, painful memories. Esoteric information cannot heal your emotions. Only Joy will heal you if you are willing to do the work daily.

You are never too old, too sophisticated, too esoterically advanced, or too smart for Joy. Everyone needs joy and we need to make it a lifelong commitment to learn it, teach it, and practice it until the end of our life.

In Joy, we overcome fear. In Joy, we heal and we gain power. With Joy we form the foundation of discipleship.

What does the work entail?

1. Daily 15 minutes of dedicated time. Follow instructions.

2. Read the assigned pages and do the exercises given for each lesson. There will be a total of 18 lessons.

3. When blockages arise, work hard to maintain your schedule. Have the faith that you will be able to do the work regularly once you conquer and face the issues.

4. Briefly, write and share your monthly findings with your joy group forum once per month, or when each lesson has been completed.

So, our class will start on July 12^th. This is the Full Moon of Cancer, whose motto is: “I build the Lighted House and Therein Dwell.” What better way to start our building process for the rest of our lives than with filling our life with joy? It is a great time and a great opportunity to be surrounded with the joy of life every day of your next 18 months.

To register, go online to our website and register for the first six months of classes. We will charge you $15.00 per class, six months at a time. Order your Joy and Healing book, latest edition (red cover 2006 edition). Please do not use an earlier edition or the Kindle edition for the pages do not coincide with the latest version.

I look forward to working with you.

With love and joy,

Gita Saraydarian

Coming up next: comments from the first online graduating class

Remember:

- If you live near the TSG Center, you may attend classes in person. Ongoing monthly joy classes take place the second Monday of each month. See our Events Calendar for details for each month.

- Online group study will begin work on July 12,2014.
- Students 18 years of age and older are eligible, no upper age limit!

- Go to TSG Website Group Study for Registration Information:

- Order book Joy and Healing from TSG Website.

13 - The Dark Night of the Soul

2014-06-06T15:12:00.000-07:00

In spiritual traditions, we are often reminded that we, as human souls, go through a serious tension that is referred to as “the dark night of the soul.” This is when we feel that we are in utter darkness, and we see no way out of our current condition. It can be physically challenging, emotionally traumatic, mentally confusing, and overall, it can feel extremely serious and debilitating. We lose hope and faith, and have no sense that we can ever come out of it in one piece.

The good news is that it is temporary and it is an important part of our growth process. We as human beings do not know how to grow through joy, happiness, faith, and optimism. We often need a dose of heaviness to get us to learn anything in life.

We learn our lessons through pain and suffering. The day will come when we will learn our lessons in life through the release of joy. Until that happens, we need to learn how to handle that all too familiar “dark night….”

I believe one cannot help but go through this utter depth of the soul. When we feel this darkness enveloping us, we need to remember that this experience means we are moving, growing, and experiencing life. Going through these dark nights, we appreciate so much that life offers us. Our life grows because we learn to respond to the crises that arise in every aspect of our life on a regular basis. Everything in us gets a push. We want to survive, so we do what it takes to survive. But experiencing such a crisis and thrashing about does not necessarily mean we learn something from it. Our life has to change as a result of the experience. We have to show more depth and breadth.

The crises are “scheduled” to arrive to our doors in some form or another. How else do we learn anything? How else do we experience the real meaning of life? How else do we mature and find the core inside of us, the state of equilibrium inside of us that no one, and nothing can shake? How else do we see the beauty of life and the underlying meaning of life? How else do we learn that life is not just about us, our mothers and fathers, our culture and our belief systems?

The dark night of the soul has some important elements:

a. we feel genuine sorrow for what we have done and not done in our life We suffer just enough to compel us to take genuine action.

b. Our true friends help us by encouraging us, supporting us, forgiving us, letting the past go for us.

c. We make an important contact with something much higher than ourselves. That contact may come from our Solar Angel, or a reminder from the Higher Worlds, an important spiritual experience that removes the pain and debility from our hearts. We are reminded of the path available to get us out of the rut. And we breathe!

Experiencing these dark nights multiple times are an important part of our growth. At some point, we will welcome this intense experience and use it to re-focus ourselves and to re-calibrate our purpose, direction, and meaning of our life. When we “get” the process of the dark night, at that point it may change in meaning and be called something like “the re-aligning time of my soul.”

So what to do? Many times people contact me for guidance. But they do not hear me. It does not matter what I have to say; they are not listening because they are still talking, blaming, looking for excuses, and so on.

Make yourself receptive to guidance. Still yourself. Close down the emotional fumes. Quiet the mind. Come down to rest. Be like a bear hibernating. In a restful position, you will be able to hear what life is telling you; you will hear the inner voice of guidance; your real friend will be able to say to you what you need to hear; the voice of your Solar Angel will come to you loud and clear. If in that silence you do not hear, keep listening; it will come.

· Truly want to move out of the darkness and be convinced that you do not need this condition in order to get attention from others.

· Still all the emotions that inflate and suck the wind out of your life.

· Still the mind and all the false logic and reasoning.

· Stop blaming others and self-blaming.

· Face yourself.

· Take responsibility; only you can heal yourself if you really want to be healed.

· Rest so that you can find a space to heal and gather strength.

· Put down the phone; turn off the emails; turn off the news and the computer. Get unplugged.

· Keep yourself sober and alert on the inside so your “ears” can hear the sound.

Stop talking, stop obsessing, and stop complaining, stop posting silly nonsense on the internet and stop worrying in endless self-analysis, condemnation and the like. The heat is turned down, everything cools down, and we can feel being in a cave-like atmosphere to renew ourselves.

Silence is difficult and comes in many layers. In silence, we can separate ourselves from our external world and tune in to the internal voice that we need to hear. This involves the capacity to admit, to make amends, to forgive and ask for forgiveness, do good deeds to build a good “bank account”, and also more importantly, to change the very culture that gave rise to our dark night.

The benefits of overcoming the darkness are huge: we grow in a real way, we find the inner voice, we quiet the outer noise, we shift the energy pattern of our centers, and we mature.

We also prepare ourselves to mentor and guide others who are right now going through the dark night. The dark night of the soul is real and we can mentor others on how to live through it when we learn how to live through ours.

Thank you,

Gita

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Gita Saraydarian is the Founder and President of TSG Foundation. For events, classes and services, please visit our website www.tsgfoundation.org.

12 - A Mother’s Kiss

2014-03-31T11:37:00.002-07:00

It is a simple card from a mother for her daughter’s birthday; it held my heart.

We do not have a “kissy-wissy-lovy-dovy” mother daughter kind of relationship, but we treat each other with respect and understanding. My mother is a mature woman of 89 years old and is very much alert and strong in every way.

She came to our home for a birthday dinner that I decided to cook for the immediate family, simple but elegant and she was quiet and subdued and sat next to me at the table, continuously raising her glass to me. We were both drinking apple cider, but nevertheless, saluting each other and saying happy birthday. She was saying this in such an unusual manner that I did not really understand at first. It was tender, soft, like a wink and “just as girls” kind of saying. Then I opened her card and I had to hold back a huge welling of tears for just the few words she had written in my card.

We had just been talking among ourselves the virtues of writing cards vs. emails vs. text messages and I was saying that we are forgetting to express ourselves in deeply meaningful ways, connecting with people in our rush, rush ways that we communicate. We just say the little sound bites and do not get the emotions that a writer puts into the written form and so on.

Case in point, my mom wrote in her inimical handwriting… “Happy birthday daughter. When you were first born, the clock of the Arabic military depot struck six o’clock and I planted a kiss on your cheek. That kiss is still there every time I look at you!” Every time she would look at me that evening, she would look at me with her tender eyes, now framed with glasses, puffiness, and circles under her eyes, the eyes of an 89 year old as she looked at the cheeks of her maturing daughter. How moving it was to read these words. My eyes are obscured from tears as I write this, that a mom, so many years later, remembers that first kiss planted on a newborn baby’s cheek. It really touched me. I will treasure that card forever and never forget the huge love and tenderness that is contained in these few, simple words.

My mom is very special, and I am sad to think that someday she will have to depart from us. She is happy about this possibility because she feels she has done her duties with her five children and now she needs freedom in the higher worlds and has future lives to think about with more robust and strong bodies. She wants freedom to go to school, work, become a professional and serve her country in deeply meaningful ways. She is ready to come back and continue after a brand new body is taken.

I understand this theoretically; when it is time, we go and we need to go knowingly what is in store for us in the higher worlds. Mom already knows. She has scores settled, duties done, responsibilities carried out to the best, trees planted, roses pruned, food cooked, for years and years and years.

It took me a total of 13 ½ hours to cook, iron linen, set the table, serve, eat, entertain, then clean-up for one small dinner party. Mom used to do this for all of us regularly and still find time to entertain friends and school friends and also worked full time running a bridal shop. She had more strength and determination than I do, that is for sure. She did not go for simple dishes either, but complicated Armenian dishes that took two or more days to prepare, let alone clean up!

Recently I heard that my paternal aunt, the oldest surviving relative, just passed away at the age of about 103 (we guess) in Istanbul. Aunt Araxi was a trooper, loved by all the cousins. She never married, never had children, and devoted her time to support her parents. I saw her twice in Istanbul and found her a delightful lady. She told me stories, and sang songs that she and her brother (my father, Torkom for the rest of the world) used to sing. She was a violinist, a dental assistant, a first class lace maker, and much more. May her soul rest in the true Divine Light. Her sister, Angel, my youngest paternal aunt is still living in Istanbul, and I do not how this shock is going to affect her.

What happens to us? We get old and then we die.

Before that happens to me too, I have much yet to do. I have great family and friends and loved ones. I have also dreams that someday I will complete the publishing of books by Torkom and when that is almost done, in a few years, I will begin to plan for building a center for Esoteric Learning. This will be a place where serious and deeply committed persons come to study, learn, and train themselves in the process of critical thinking in light of Esoteric Science. Through this sort of training, we can develop a group of people from all around the world who will be able to teach and spread the esoteric sciences. I want to develop a peaceful place where deep thinking is encouraged and developed and cultivated.

We all have much to do. We all have dreams and plans in life. We have responsibilities. At every step of our path, we come to decisive moments that change our life forever. We make many little choices every day, every day taking a path that we never know where it will lead us. We each have to dedicate ourselves to our passion and never let it leave us. You will not get all that you want in life, but you will always have that little, first kiss planted on your baby cheek by the most loving person in your life. People have come and gone in my life, but my Mom has always had that love for me, from the moment I was born. What else can one ask for?

Do you have a passion for which you dedicate your life? Do you know anyone with a noble plan? Help them achieve their goals. Give the love that lasts and lasts, forever.

Plant a kiss on a project and no matter how much time goes by, remember that first kiss and keep up your tender love for that ideal.

I will keep and treasure that first, tender, motherly love and with that love, I will pass on that tenderness to my baby, the esoteric center of learning for TSG. And, I will keep and treasure the beautiful card from my Mom.

I never did have my own children, but I am happy to say that a mother’s kiss turned into an esoteric center! At least I can pass that on to you and to many others who come after me.

Gita

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Gita Saraydarian is the Founder and President of TSG Foundation. For events, classes and services, please visit our website www.tsgfoundation.org

11 - Cultivating the Culture of the Heart

2014-01-14T13:50:00.000-07:00

There is a beautiful meditation practice that I learned from my studies of the Ageless Wisdom. It helps differentiate between emotional, mental, and heart-known truths. It is designed to have us access our deep wisdom and verify it with reality and the principles that we hold most dear. It helps to remove cloudy thinking and mixed up memories, and to remove and fine-tune age-old beliefs that are no longer valid in today’s times. It is a method that filters, from our memory banks, the useful from the useless.

It is my experience that this practice can keep your brain and mind healthy and up to date. And, when done with consistency and especially at times when you feel confused and unsure about your decisions, this meditation practice will help you find clarity. Most importantly, this practice develops in you the culture of your heart, of developing the deep understanding of all of life’s happenings through the truth of the heart.

In order to appreciate the beauty of this meditation practice, it is useful to have a basic understanding of some parts of our subtle makeup. If we know about these tools and are willing to use them, we will be able to clarify everything that we think, remember, and feel. We will be able to subject our emotions and thoughts to rigorous questioning in light of our deepest wisdom and cherished truths.

Here is a brief outline of the Subtle Mechanism of the human being:

Our physical body records everything that we experience, conscious and unconscious, in the “physical permanent atom.” The recordings are not discriminatory; every experience, true or not, real or not, get recorded. And, they remain for all eternity until they are sorted through and cleared.
The emotional body records all the emotions that we experience in the “emotional permanent atom.” Emotions are not always in line with what is really going on around us; they are our perceptions of what we are feeling based on our expectations, experiences, and needs and desires. They are real for us, but not necessarily real in the larger context of life and nor real for all eternity. Emotions are subject to deceptive and misleading desires. Emotions are time and age relative. We may think we are right, we are entitled to something, and that whatever we are feeling is universally true for everyone involved with us. We may not see the whole truth, but selectively believe that what we are feeling is indeed the truth. The emotions as a whole cannot be counted on to be absolutely true because they are always clouded with our needs and desires, expectations and sensitivities and disappointments.
Our mental body records everything that we think and learn, good-bad-indifferent, in our “mental permanent atom.” When we consider how the emotional, mental, and physical permanent atoms record everything in our life, is it any wonder that we are often depressed, confused, sad, and overwhelmed with data overload?
The conscious level of the mind has a filter called the “mental unit.” It acts as the “truth filter.” It records all life experiences that you have understood, learned, and applied right now to your life. Everything that you learn is not necessarily applied in life. But, when you do apply it and it becomes a real experience for you, that experience and knowledge and wisdom is recorded in the mental unit. So, the mental unit contains only verified, practically applied, knowledge and experience.
We also have the Solar Angel, the Guardian Angel, or Soul. It watches over us, guides us in all lifetimes until we reach real, spiritual maturity. The Solar Angel is sometimes referred to as the conscience, the barometer of eternal principles.
We have a treasury inside of us that is the “Chalice.” In the Chalice we record, lifetime after lifetime, what we have learned to be truth, love, and life events and conditions worth sacrificing for. This truth, love, and sacrificial commitments no one can take away from us. This is a permanent part of us that shows the level of integrity and genuineness that we demonstrate inside and out. The Chalice is the birthplace of you as a soul. It is the seat of your heart. Whereas our physical, emotional, mental memories can be mixed with half-truths, our Chalice records only those life experiences that demonstrate qualities of undeniable love, truth, and sacrifice that are timeless, eternal.

How then do we access these recordings and, by doing so, clear out the mixed up memory banks of lifetimes? Here is a simple “seed thought” meditation. Do this for 5-10 minutes only every day, using one seed thought for one week.

Sample Meditation: The Meaning of Love *

Sit in a relaxed manner, on the floor or chair, with spine erect. Calm yourself and focus yourself. Do not drift off into sleep. This is active thinking meditation. Stay alert and keep your mind focused. Ask yourself the following questions in sequence. Ponder on each question briefly. If you cannot maintain your concentration with eyes closed, keep your eyes open and sequentially answer the questions.

What are my physical experiences of love?
What are my emotional experiences of love?
What are my mental understandings of love?
Go deeper. What is the meaning of love that I can access from my deepest wisdom?
Are all the ways that I have felt, thought about, and experienced love true now? In light of what I am now, are these true and valid now as they were in the past?
Go deeper once again and ask for guidance from your Solar Angel: What is the best way for me to think about the meaning of love right now in my life?
After 5-10 minutes, open your eyes and write your answers to these questions. It is essential that you write your thoughts in order to complete the cycle.

Use one seed thought or keynote for one week. But do not think and write the same thing each time. Go deeper each time; find a new angle to understand the keynote.

You may answer the questions all in one session, or answer one question each day. Write your insights after each meditation session. When you feel you cannot go further, read your notes and see what you have found is the true meaning of love in your life right now. You will see how the deeply comprehended, verified, and updated meaning of love compares with your past experiences, with your emotions, with your intellect.

What you will find is the wisdom of your heart. The heart always knows. The heart forms the core of the Chalice. The heart always sees the discrepancies. But we do not listen to our hearts nor validate its wisdom. We confuse our heart with our emotions. Only through serious questioning, going through the step by step process of learning to access your wisdom and verify it with the reality of your mature understanding, can you find the truth that your heart always knew! You may be surprised at your discoveries.

This is my gift to you for 2014. Find the voice of your heart, develop the culture of the heart in all that you do.

Gita

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* This meditation was created by Gita Saraydarian to be used during group meditations and seminars. It may be done individually with eyes open or closed. The key is to remain alert and focused and keep in your mind each layer of thinking and discovery. It is also essential to memorialize in writing all your thoughts and findings after each meditation practice. This practice completes the cycle of meditation and helps you bring your thoughts into actuality. Any virtue that you wish to understand more deeply may be used as a “seed thought”. For example, use beauty, goodness, righteousness, joy, freedom, sacrifice, kindness, and so on as seed thoughts.

For a list of virtues to use for meditation, see also The Psyche and Psychism by Torkom Saraydarian.

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Gita Saraydarian is the Founder and President of TSG Foundation and the TSG Spiritual University. The information and meditation in this article is extracted from Stepping Into the Teaching continuing classes presented monthly at TSG. Distance learning is available. For current schedule visit TSG Calendar of Events. Classes are recorded and available in multiple platforms.

10 - Rational Living — Esoterically Defined

2014-01-01T00:00:00.000-07:00

What does it mean to live a rational life? Mundane definitions are predictable and fit into societal norms; the esoteric definition of rational living is something altogether different.

“Rationality is one of the faculties that develops when people persevere on the path of aspiration and striving….People lose their power of rationality when they lose the power of perseverance. They begin to act in a way in which you cannot see in them any rationality. Their actions and thoughts lose the path of reason, and irrationality controls them.” (Initiation,the Path of Living Service by Torkom Saraydarian, p. 19.)

Rational living means to make choices in our physical, emotional, mental, and spiritual life that have positive, healthy, vibrant results. It means that our life choices are based on cause and effect and we see that whatever happens in our life is no accident, it has a cause somewhere and some place in time.

Desire rules most of our life. We can make list upon list of what we desire. Desire in itself does not produce results, so we cannot think that by virtue of desire, we have all that we want fulfilled.

When we put our heart into a desire, it means we are aspiring, we are actually moving toward taking some action that will result in an outcome that we want. So, for example, we have a desire to have a healthy and slim body. We can sit and desire it all we want but this will not give us a healthy and slim body. When we aspire to have a healthy and slim body, we start to search and learn how to bring about a healthy and slim body. We look into diets, exercise, join the gym, watch health shows on TV, and read the latest articles on health and wellness.

But, we still need to take another step. In order to have the kind of body we want, we need to do something about it, take action and this is called striving. We go to the gym on a regular basis. We follow the right diet for our bodies and lifestyle. We take appropriate supplements. We remove harmful foods and drink and become more conscious about our relationship with food. We observe what is making us better and what is still hindering the process. We become rational; our life makes sense, our decisions are based on evidence that is observable and provable by our life results. We also stop making excuses and silly remarks about our body that is counter-productive.

There is yet another step to becoming rational: help others to achieve the same results that you are striving toward. Work with someone else who has the same desires and help her or him to achieve the same rationality that you have found. Mentor, teach, write, post findings on your social sites. When we teach and mentor, when we better ourselves along with others, we achieve a community of rational people rather than a community of whiners. Even more importantly, we learn valuable life lessons.

When we become rational, our daily rhythm flows naturally and rhythmically with our life’s desires. We are not pulling in one direction, and breaking it down in the next. We are not up one day and down the next. We are not making all kinds of promises and show-off statements only to forget them the next. We are serene and healthy and mentally clear consistently.

Why do we need to strive to become a rational person? Being rational means we are dependable, stable, and healthy. We follow through with our promises. We think before we speak. We take into account a larger picture of life before we make decisions. We have a long range view of life. We are sane and balanced and a joy to be with. Think of people in your life who are sane and rational and those who are not. Whom do you prefer to be with? Whom do you prefer to employ? Whom do you prefer to work with, or partner with? A rational person is much preferred company than an irrational person.

The result is a healthy life, healthy emotions, sane mind, dependable relations and friendships, and integrity. Rational people make better leaders, parents, friends, spouses and so on. Irrational people are negative, sick, hurtful, and separative and are always moving from one desire to the next; such people are selfish, easily wounded, and reactive.

Esoterically, what happens to an irrational person? Patches of desires and wishes and dreams all accumulate on the person’s subtle mechanisms and clog his paths. Think of lists upon lists of desires floating around your body. If the person accumulates and accumulates information to feed his or her desires, this information also becomes patches of undigested materials. The person becomes “thick” and unresponsive. Nothing gets through and desires do not become reality; there are too many blockages.

Although being a rational person may not seem to be a “spiritually sexy” way to be, it is the only way to become a real person, a way by which others can achieve, a way to be in the vanguard in moving the hearts and thoughts of humanity toward the betterment of life.

Being a truly rational person does not mean we buy into the meaning of rationality from fleeting cultural norms. Rationality in a materialistic society means to buy into the illusions of marketing and artificially created values and desires. Smart marketing gimmicks compel us to spend our money, time, creative talents to fulfill the financial desires of corporations. Twisted rationality becomes conformity to the norms imposed on us. Whereas a truly rational person is the opposite.

Ask questions, think, ponder, consider cause and effect, consider what values and principles are at the root of anything that you desire, aspire toward, strive to have, and work to increase in the world. When you take the time to go through this process, you can become a truly gifted and rational person.

I wish for you a revolutionary, rational year!

Happy New Year.

Gita

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Gita Saraydarian is the Founder and President of TSG Foundation. And TSG Spiritual University.

9 - Eternal Memories

2013-12-13T16:00:00.000-07:00

If you want to feel eternal love and joy for all your life’s experiences, things past and things enjoyed, keep it simple. These experiences are never lost and do not have to be a source of pain and sadness. Eternal love and joy flow from being inclusive and simple. All of our life’s’ experiences belong to the eternal now. In simplification and continuity, we experience our life in its continuous and harmonious beauty.

When we face a holiday, or celebration of any kind, we tend to remember things from our current perspective, as we are now. But the key to joyful memories is to remember the joys as we were then, and bring that joy forward without all the baggage attached to them. So, instead of thinking of Christmas past as we feel now, how it was and how it disappeared and people have left and so on, we can instead keep it simple and remember it as it was and is recorded without embellishments.

When the Christmas time arrives, I like to remember all the childhood memories I so enjoyed. When we were children, we lived in a one-room house. Every Christmas morning, we would wake up and see complete outfits that my Mother had made for us children laid at the foot of our beds. We would have dresses and sweaters for the girls, pants and jackets for the boys, new pairs of wool socks, and our shoes were polished and set near the door.

We would be thrilled at seeing our new clothes. Mom would make entire outfits for us in secret. A huge surprise would greet us in the morning!

One morning, I remember awakening to a beautiful dark green wool dress. It had long sleeves and a big, flared skirt embellished all around with little knitted and stuffed cherries with leaves. My sister and I had identical dresses and we also had heavy knit sweaters with matching hats; light green for me, speckled green for Sister. Our hair was curled the night before into tight ringlets. We all got dressed and went to Church.

To make sure we appreciated the meaning of Christmas, Mom also took us to a big Catholic or Greek Church that had huge and elaborate decorations and Nativity scenes. She would tell us the story of Christmas and how important it was to remember the birth of Christ. We would walk around and marvel at the beautiful lights and decorations.

Gifts in our home were simple and practical. We did not get toys from Mom and Dad. But, our aunts sent us each a toy from the United States; large dolls, trucks for the boys, and a farmhouse set. We did have a Christmas tree: a three foot branch cut from a neighbor’s pine tree, set into a pot of soil, and decorated with ornaments and live candles. Mom lit the candles at night. We did not have to worry about setting our house on fire; we lived in a stone house!

Another time I remember she made us girls green plaid taffeta skirts with mint green angora sweaters. We looked so beautiful and fluffy!

As we grew older and came to the United States, our Christmas mornings grew more complicated and plentiful. We would have mounds of presents under the tree, homemade and store-bought. Mom would cook Christmas goodies, we would decorate a huge tree, dress up, go to Church, and have a great Christmas dinner.

As we all got older and moved away from home, our Christmases became smaller, more subdued, but still meaningful with friends and whatever family we had around. In all my years, I only had one Christmas alone and that was when I lived overseas for a year.

And Dad, every year he gave a lecture about the deeper meaning of Christmas. There was always a huge Christmas tree at the group Center. He would stand before it and, with passion and twinkling in his eyes, give yet another insight about the deeper meaning of Christmas. Dad loved Christ and the deeper meaning of Christmas and never tired of talking about it. ¹

Now, I have moved into a new phase and ask myself: What does Christmas really mean to me? The decorations, the crazy shopping, the stress of preparations and the forced gaiety have no place in my heart. I want to remember the simple beauty of Christmas of my childhood, the new clothes, the smells of food cooking, the joy of Church services and songs. I try to remember all the times with family and friends and the one time I felt completely alone. What lessons does my life have for me? Can I remember all these times with fondness and not sadness?

I still want to remember the old days, the innocence of childhood and the magic of lights and the simple meaning of Christmas, but also want to celebrate this very special time with something more special; something deeper. For me, I want to go inside of me and remember the cherished gifts and memories that make me who I am today. I want to know if I am also giving birth to the Christ within me, my true being, my own soul, something permanent to add to the stream of memories. That would be a birth of something deeply meaningful, it would never grow old, it would never die, and I would never feel alone, ever.

Everything in our life is recorded and we can remember them with joy. On the outside, events come and go; people come and go. But they never really leave us if we hold them in our hearts openly and without any remorse. Our heart is big enough to hold all the great things that we have experienced. If I remember them with simplicity, not making something out of them that was not, but in simplicity, and holding them in my heart with no tightness and no remorse, and moving those cherished feelings through myself to now, then everything and everyone is included. I bring the whole package through the river of my life. I create a huge treasury of wonderful and loving occasions and persons who will always stay with me.

Thank you all for reading my posts and supporting our work. You are part of the cherished tapestry of my life. I wish you a most joyous and wonderful Christmas. My you expand with simplicity and the beauty of your heart.

Gita

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1. These are now collected in the Teachings ofChrist, Volume 1, The Birth of Christ.

Gita Saraydarian is the Founder and President of TSG Foundation.

See Gita's YouTube presentation on the Gifts of Christ.

8 - What do you mean “I am your teacher”?

2013-11-11T14:49:00.000-07:00

While attending a seminar on Healing in 1991, listening to Torkom lecture, I heard him make, what was to me, a most remarkable series of statements. His words carry power and commitment and continue to inspire me.

Since Torkom was my father and he had always taught me about life and the Teaching, I had not thought of him as “my teacher”. I instantly had a sense that these were not mere words; they carried immense depth and responsibility. Before I could honestly call Torkom “my teacher” I had to be sure that I was truly a student.

What does it mean when we call someone “my teacher”?

Someone asks a question. Torkom responds briefly, then he takes an unexpected turn. Is he answering a hidden question? Or, is he setting a standard for us to remember both as teachers and as students? Here is the text:

“Question: Are there certain types of songs in your music that are meant to bring out certain qualities?

“Answer: Yes. With all humility, it is the whole Universe that is to be credited for creative expressions, not me, not you, not anyone. This music is coming from higher levels of consciousness, from my Core, and is challenging you to go to your Core and discover the way to find the beauty there.

“If you are not reading my books and listening to my music, and are not working with the Teaching presented to you, you are wasting your time by running after your ‘tail,’ after mirages. We have women and men who have been with us for fifteen or twenty years, and they have not even penetrated into the skin of the Teaching. They are flipping-flopping outside, running after dreams and stupidities. I do not know how to shake them and say, ‘Awaken, here is the Teaching.’

“Take, for example, the book, The Purpose of Life, and live it. This book is enough for you until you go to the moon and stay there for one hundred years. That book is enough for you. But many of you are reading everything and listening to every kind of music. Someone else must say this to you so that I do not appear that I am praising myself. He must say, ‘Hey, listen to this music! Read these books; they are exceptional.’

“Who among you is going to stand up and say these things? You must say, ‘Challenge for Discipleship is so beautiful.’ Well, stand up and say it to others.

“ ‘But what will people think about me if I do that?’ This is it! Cowards! Talk about the Teaching that is given to you. Listen to the music. Throw out this trash that is around you, in your mind.

“You are saying, ‘You are my Teacher, you are my Teacher,’ but for twenty or thirty years, you never do what I say. What kind of Teacher is that? Everywhere people are taking their disciples to mediums where the mediums are reading their past lives and blessing them, etc. And at the end, they ask, ‘Do you know Torkom?’ ‘Of course! He is my Teacher.’ Shame on me that I am your Teacher.

“Do you see how they find the best way to kill their Teacher? As if I am a Teacher advising you to take people to mediums. This is their ‘love.’ They crucified their Teacher by saying to a medium, ‘T. is my Teacher.’ It is like saying, ‘I am the best gambler, and you know who my Teacher is? T.’ This is a very sneaky way to humiliate people and the Teaching.

“Personally, I do not say the Teaching is mine. The Teaching belongs to all of the Great Ones. This morning at 5:00 o’clock I was dreaming about someone and I said, ‘It is all Yours. I do not take any credit for any of it.’

“I am just a laborer. That is all. I am bringing the Teaching to you. If you like it, take it. If you do not like it, who cares?

“We must feel that these books, this music, these lectures, are expanding our consciousness. But of course, it is ‘freaking’ you sometimes. Why is this? Well, if there are elements within you that are creating friction with these kinds of energies, you will ‘freak out’ for a while. But if you come to your Teacher and say, ‘I am freaking. What can I do?’ he will say, ‘Stay here, and stand there, and this is it.’ Then you do it. If you do not respect and follow his advice, then you do not have a Teacher, and you do not have any Teaching.

“In the book, The Flame of Beauty, Culture,Love, and Joy, I said to follow the art objects of those people who are spiritually advanced, because they provide you with all those elements that are charged with Beauty and their Core. If you come in contact with Beauty, you will really change. Nicholas Roerich said, ‘In beauty we pray; in beauty we achieve; in beauty we conquer.’ We have been trying to conquer others with atomic bombs. Actually, we can conquer everything with beauty. Why is this? When you conquer the Core of man, everything is conquered.”

Torkom was and continues to be a true Teacher. He had a vision and he stayed with that vision to the end. I strive every day to be able to call him “my teacher”. Everything that we do at TSG is to honor this great man and great server of the Teaching.

We can honor Torkom by making sure that his legacy is kept alive and thriving, always.

Gita

Quotes from Torkom's lecture are excerpted from the soon to be published book titled Esoteric Science of Healing. Contact TSG Foundation for details.

For information on how you can support Torkom’s Legacy, please visit us online.

Gita Saraydarian is the Founder and President of TSG Foundationand TSG Spiritual University.

7 - Grief and the Mysteries of Life

2013-10-10T14:30:00.000-07:00

Grief is an important part of spiritual growth. Through the process of grief, we learn the mysteries of life. Each period of grief, due to loss of loved ones or separation from loved ones, provides a platform for a deeper appreciation of the process of life.

I have learned in my life that it is better to be honest with our feelings than try to fit them into a preconceived “spiritual” mold. We feel what we feel; so it is better to look at our feelings honestly and accept them. Our feelings are an important part of our spiritual experience; they tell us exactly what we are all about at that very moment of facing momentous crises.

When my father was told he had four months to live, I felt a terrible sadness that I did not at first comprehend. For some time, people from around the world prayed night and day to heal him. But at some point, I remember him saying that if it is meant to be, then he will live for a few more years. If not, it was time to go and we should not try to hold onto him. During those four months, I did not know how to contemplate his passing, I did not know what that was yet. I did not know the journey I was about to take. I was too busy talking to him about the responsibilities that lay ahead for me.

When he passed away, I grieved, in waves, in some form or another, in some intensity or another, for five years. I noticed that after five years, the sting of grief left me and instead, I felt the joy of remembering my father. It became a natural process for me and I learned so much by letting myself go through this without feeling guilty for feeling the pain of separation.

Grief is a complex mystery that we can understand only by going through it. It is very natural to feel grief. As we learn more about the Greater Life, our grief shows us the path of learning about our life in context of the Greater Life. We know we cannot hold onto the departing one, yet we do naturally feel the pain of separation. We are in fact giving back to the whole of life, to a new life and new future, someone with whom we spent a lifetime. That person is part of the very fabric of our life, even impressed into our DNA, physical and spiritual. As a loved one goes through the separation process, part of us is also experiencing the separation from this material plane and the birth onto the spiritual plane. If we let ourselves, we will also experience the mystery of life and the process of life on many levels.
Grief is a useful aspect of life that allow us to process waves of memories, thoughts, feelings, conversations that can, in their wake, clean out so many blockages that we hold inside of us.

We let the Divine mystery flow its energy inside of us and clean us. We learn about life, about detachment, about living by the processes of birth, growth, marriage and children, death, and rebirth. We learn about angelic help and healing when we are in most need. Grieving teaches us about life on many levels. Who can describe life and death to us? Yet in grieving, we learn. We learn by observing how even in the most sad moments of our life, we found times when we enjoyed something, we smiled at someone, we were kind and loving, despite the pain in our hearts. We listened and we communicated, even when pain pulled us back. We remember moments when grief lifted and we experienced a great feeling of oneness and continuity.

If we accept grief as part of our life, then we can grieve and also observe what is happening to us. This is constructive grief. Constructive grieving helps us appreciate life, the higher worlds, the continuity of life, and the blessings of life. Importantly, it teaches us that we do not belong to ourselves when we are living; we are a part of the fabric of our families and communities. Experiencing grief makes us live better when we are alive! We learn that when we die, we do not belong to anyone to whom we belonged when living on earth. Suddenly, the outer ties that were limited by time and space are broken and something greater and momentous remains. Our loved one now belongs not just to us, but to everyone and everything. He is a soul in eternity who will return to earth under a new name and a new identity. What a huge mystery!

Through conscious grief we become more compassionate, loving, forgiving, and humble. We can feel the pain that so many others go through every day in some part of the world. We unite our heart with the hearts of others. It opens the sense of compassion in us, a blessed state of forgiveness, for all that transpired with this one person, at this time, at this place in our many lives.

No need to deny your feelings. Go ahead and experience them. Have the presence of mind to observe yourself and see how grieving is affecting you, your life, your loved ones both living and not. See how you are expanding into greater awareness.

A compassionate understanding of life is the path of discipleship. As we become dedicated disciples and we walk our talk, we learn that this path is often difficult, often joyful, and it definitely involves an honest approach to the process of life. We are not living a lie. We are not pretending.

The Spiritual Teachings of the Ancient Wisdom are not meant to deny our complex layers of humanity but to help us learn the mysteries of life through experiencing all the feelings of life, consciously.

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- Gita Saraydarian is the Founder and President of TSG Foundation and TSG Spiritual University. Please visit us online for more information about lectures and classes and activities.

- Gita's monthly Wisdom of the Zodiac lecture and meditation posted on YouTube.

6 - Spirituality and a Vegetarian Diet

2013-09-06T15:58:00.001-07:00

Question: I have been on the path of spirituality for many years now and been a lacto-vegetarian for my whole life.

I have met and spoken to many people who are on the path of spirituality who suggests that vegetarianism is the way to be more spiritually evolved and of course to have compassion for all living beings.

My question is, is the level of spiritual development depends on what we eat? I have been reading books written by Torkom for many years apart from reading books by many other authors across the globe, I didn’t find any book which has details about eating ethics. Hence, I am very curious about the eating ethics that one should follow to lead a more spiritual and compassionate life.

Gita Answer: Yes, first, being a vegetarian is a good choice, but in itself, it does not make you spiritual or make you more spiritually evolved. Being spiritual and spiritually evolved is a comprehensive inner and outer approach to all of your life that includes what you eat and a whole lot more. Spirituality is a level of consciousness where you have made a steady and definite shift toward a higher level of integrity and beingness.

“When you think of spirituality think about a tree, how the tree grows….The tree puts down many, many roots….there is a balance between the roots and branches….To have a balanced consciousness, you must have spirituality in the inner world, and spirituality in the outer world….Your spirituality must be grounded or else your spirituality remains suspended in the air. On one side you must further the expansion of your consciousness, and on the other side you must show the fruits of the expansion of consciousness.” (Consciousness Vol. 1, p. 278).

What we eat has an influence on how we feel and how our physical, emotional, and mental bodies are built. What we eat attracts similar energies to us and attracts us to similar levels of consciousness in the physical and subtle worlds.

When you make dietary choices based on facts and enlightened understanding, and when your bodies are ready, you can eat simply and be very healthy and energetic. Our outer life choices depend on the level of our consciousness and the focus of our consciousness. When that shifts, so do all our outer habits, including what we eat, how we express our feelings and thoughts, and the many choices we make every day.

There is now a growing body of evidence from the medical community that supports a Vegan diet. See for example the works of Dr. Fuhrman and Dr. Caldwell Esselstyn. See especially the movie “Forks into Knives.” There are also advanced brain studies that show how certain foods and behaviors affect the health of our brain and nervous system. I am a fan of these studies and feel they are very good to learn about.

As you expand in consciousness, then you will naturally make the right food choices based on health needs and ethical consideration for all of life. You will grow in compassion toward all of life. Whatever you choose to eat or drink, it will be part of a comprehensive plan that is part of your striving toward perfection. This includes a “diet” for all your bodies such as removing base tendencies from the physical body; removing base tendencies from the emotional body; and removing base tendencies from the mental body. What are these? Gluttony, addictions to drugs and alcohol and risky behaviors; emotional self-centeredness and fanaticism; mental self-centeredness, illusions and glamors and an inflated sense of self-righteousness. These are all the conditions that “spiritual” people may fall into without seeing it. We have all known Vegan and Vegetarian people who do not eat meat but are addicted to so many other toxic things!

Food choices should be made through your physical brain, the emotions, and the mind all acting in concert. Once you shift your consciousness to focus on higher centers in your bodies, your choices become simple and natural toward all of life. As you set yourself on a right course in life, you will see that all you do will be in line with your true spiritual development. This includes physical disciplines as well as emotional and mental disciplines. A comprehensive approach will take you to a new level of spiritual development.

Be non-judgmental of others and their choices of foods. Do not criticize others for what they eat, even in your thoughts. We poison through our feelings, words, and thoughts too! Spirituality concerns instilling our soul’s qualities into our daily life expressions.

I personally believe a Vegetarian or Vegan diet that is healthy and well planned is the best choice. I also believe that the entire humanity and the planet will be healthier and suffer less from debilitating illnesses if people consumed less animal products as well as less sugar and salt! When we clean up what we consume, in every way, we will see a growing respect for all of life, all of resources, and a sane attitude toward all existence.

A clear and healthy body and brain allows you to study, think, meditate, and serve in the most efficient manner. Serious students need to make serious choices in life and it needs a comprehensive plan that is taken one step at a time.

With love and dedication,

Gita

Here are some wonderful quotes on the subject of diet and eating ethics from three Wise Teachers:

“No set diet could be entirely correct for a group of people on differing rays, of different temperaments and equipment and at various ages. Individuals are every one of them unlike on some points; they require to find out what it is that they, as individuals, need, in what manner their bodily requirements can best be met, and what type of substances can enable them best to serve. Each person must find this out for himself. There is no group diet. No enforced elimination of meat is required or strict vegetarian diet compulsory. There are phases of life and sometimes entire incarnations wherein an aspirant subjects himself to a discipline of food, just as there may be other phases or an entire life wherein a strict celibacy is temporarily enforced. But there are other life cycles and incarnations wherein the disciple's interest and his service lie in other directions. There are later incarnations where there is no constant thought about the physical body, and a man works free of the diet complex and lives without concentration upon the form life, eating that food which is available and upon which he can best sustain his life efficiency. In preparation for certain initiations, a vegetable diet has in the past been deemed essential. But this may not always be the case, and many disciples prematurely regard themselves as in preparation for initiation.” (Esoteric Healing by A. A. Bailey, p. 334.)

“Refinement of the heart predicates the eschewal of a meat diet; furthermore an understanding of the Subtle World not only indicates the harm of assimilating decaying products but also reveals what neighbors decomposition attracts. Truly, it is difficult to decide where lies the greatest harm from the assimilation of meat or from attraction by meat of undesirable guests. Even the dried and smoked meats, which are relatively less harmful, nevertheless, by their odor, attract hungry ones from the Subtle World, and if they are welcomed by abominable speech, the most harmful associations result. As you have heard, many partake of food in silence, or accompany it by worthy conversation. Of course, no decay is permissible, even vegetables must not be permitted to decompose. People need little: two fruits, some cereal, and milk. Thus one not only may be purified internally but also rid oneself of many neighbors. Is it not necessary for the physicians who study the means of fighting cancer and gallstones to pay attention to this elementary prophylaxis? People speak of burning incense and the use of perfumes. But certain poisons are aromatic and kill the consciousness! This study also should not be forgotten.” (Agni Yoga Society, Heart, paragraph 331.)

“To function on the subtle planes, one must develop healthier bodies in each incarnation. The correct foods are very important for the astral and physical bodies. For the mental body, the best nourishment is virtues, pure thinking, strong aspiration, and devotion.

“A vegetarian diet builds the subtle body. If one eats predominantly vegetables for seven years, his entire system changes and he develops a new astral body.

“Meat damages the astral body: the influence of blood passes into it, inviting low entities which surround and impress low animalistic urges, drives, and actions into it.” (OtherWorlds by Torkom Saraydarian, pages 252-253.)

See also Torkom’s little charming book The Unusual Court. You will be surprised what animals will say about us if we could only hear them!

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Gita’s Blog is intended for spiritual insights and is not intended to give medical or dietary advice. If you have diet and health issues, ask a professional for the course best suited for you.

- For more information about Gita Saraydarian.

- Read Gita’s entire report of inner conversations for the first half of 2013.

- To support our work, please visit us online.

- You can be an agent for change in the world. Here is how.

- See Gita's Wisdom of the Zodiac YouTube videos on monthly full moon summaries and meditations.

- Stepping into theTeaching — comprehensive training in the foundations of the Ageless Wisdom Teachings.

5 – Communications in Truth

2013-08-16T15:15:00.001-07:00

What would our communications be like if we took the time to discover the truth inside of us; to think deeply and ponder, and then find good listeners to share our insights with? How would our communications improve if we developed good listening skills, tuning in with the rhythm of the speaker and then responding appropriately and with co-measurement?

I find that some of the most fulfilling times of my life have been when I spent a few hours with one person who listens to what I have to say and to whom I listen attentively. Whenever I spend any time with such a friend, I find neither one of us has dominated the conversation; it has been a unified rhythm. I walk away feeling nourished and filled; not emptied and drained. It is the deep and insightful conversation, as well as the listening and the appropriate responding, that is uplifting. I find that during those times, a poised and expanded consciousness holds the key to a mutually satisfying conversation.

Our conversations build or destroy life around us. A meaningful conversation resembles a soft, steady rain. It is non-intrusive, yet nourishes all that it touches, one little drop at a time. The earth has the time to absorb; the trees have the time to unfold; the birds have the time to come out and explore; the flowers open one petal at a time and unfold outward toward the life energy.

The beauty of the meaningful conversations is not simply to talk about the technicalities of the Teaching; it is about inner thoughts and feelings, the workings of the mysteries inside of us. It is not intellectual, but heart-sharing. It is not about complaining about the mishaps of life; it is the expansion of our inner understanding about life. Complaining, one directional conversation collapses the space inside of us. Give and take, listening and speaking, going beyond our commonly held views expands our space. Space expands with truthfulness and open-ended insights. With the right kind of communication and conversation, we feel energized and expanded because we have increased our inner space.

I have realized a lot about good communication as a result of my work on the Consciousness books. ¹I don’t think a series of books exists with this kind of depth and breadth and clarity of what is consciousness.

As I read page after page, volume after volume, I would simply sit in stunned silence, and wonder: how did Torkom know these things? How deeply he was able to penetrate into the Wisdom of the Great Ones and explain these insights in clear and lucid ways! We need clear and insightful explanations about what is consciousness, how we achieve an expanded consciousness, what is a decaying consciousness, what is sanity and so on.

Clear and expanding communication is an integral part of an expanded consciousness. We cannot communicate in meaningful ways unless we have a broad view of life and an exquisite sensitivity about life around us. We need to consider: What part of us is speaking when we speak? What are we really saying to ourselves and to others when we speak, when we wait, when we listen, when we respond, when we pause…?

The cornerstone of a nurturing conversation is an expanded consciousness. As we expand our consciousness, the space inside of us is expanded and becomes multi-layered. We are no longer obsessed with a personal agenda. We are moving from truth to truth, from glory to glory. As we, one by one, expand our points of view and expand our consciousness, we each can be a constructive agent of change in the world by the very conversations that we have.

In my quiet corner of the world, I do not have to feel helpless. Every day, I read one or two pages from Consciousness, slowly and with deliberation, starting from the beginning and unfolding slowly through the author’s process. I discover something beautiful and worthy of deeper meditation. I read and think and broadcast what I learned in my thoughts and conversations.

“The thing we most want to hide from is the truth. We do not hide from anything else but the truth…Think about it. If somebody speaks the truth about you, you hide, you cover yourself, and you change your color and position so that you are not observed….Search for the truth and the truth will make you free.” (Consciousness Volume 1, p. 198.)

The conversations that you have with yourself are the most revealing and the most pregnant with insights. These are the beginnings of meaningful speech. It is with this inner truth that you speak with others and listen to others. When your conversations with yourself are based on truth, you will listen and speak with the heart of truth.

Expand your consciousness with truth. Speak and communicate with truth. Be the beauty that you want the world to be.

Gita

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These are three volumes of Consciousness by Torkom Saraydarianavailable exclusively through www.tsgfoundation.org. For details and table of contents for each volume, click on each below:

· Consciousness Volume 1: Evolution of Consciousness

· Consciousness Volume 2: Adventures inConsciousness

· Consciousness Volume 3: Group Consciousness &the Destiny of Humanity

- For more information about Gita Saraydarian.

- Read Gita’s entire report of inner conversations for the first half of 2013.

- To support our work, please visit us online.

- You can be an agent for change in the world. Here is how.

- See Gita's Wisdom of the Zodiac YouTube videos on monthly full moon summaries and meditations.

4 - Between the Minutes: Finding Meaning

2013-07-23T15:18:00.001-07:00

Life moves all too quickly nowadays. Every time I look up, it is already Friday and the weekend is coming up. And, every weekend, I stop for a second from my weekend duties and it is already Monday, the start of the week. I wonder what the mirror will tell me if I dare to dwell before it just a bit too long. Somewhere in between all the comings and goings, I try to find the meaning of life and what I am really doing each day.

Stop between the minutes. Observe and take a picture of that moment. Study that picture. What is it telling you?

There is so much that goes on inside of us. With the rush, rush of life, where do we find the time to write about it or speak about it? We speak in “twitter-speak” when we do communicate. Or we speak in “text-speak” when we talk to anyone. We are in a rush, rush, rush, yet we have our cell phones glued to our ears. What keeps us so busy I wonder and yet with no time to dwell on meaning?

When we do speak about something important and we do so in detail, setting up the scene and adding details and texture, people get that glassy-eyed look telling us in essence to “Stop”. When I write, I do so in detail and have been accused of writing too much, too long, “why don’t you get to the point already”? Click, and the page is gone; “send” and the message is gone…we lose so much of our rhythm and style and story when we rush around so much.

Someone asked me at the start of the year, “So Gita, what is it exactly that you do every day at TSG”? I wondered if I could say it in a few “twitter-speak” words.

“Do you want a short or long answer”….

“Well, just tell me....” OK, here it goes….

The short answer is “I read all day.”

The long answer, well, if you have time, I will tell you.…

So I started to write about what I do every day, focusing only on one segment of it at a time and found myself unable to make it shorter than “I read all day.” If more details are needed, then the questioner has to be willing to read too in order to understand what it is that I do all day.

How do I explain that I read every day; I correspond with people everyday; I plan every day where we are going and how we are getting there. I have to prioritize what we do according to our resources, always keeping in mind the target as well as the context of my work. At the meantime, for my own inner wellness, I find meaning. To find meaning, I have to stop and ponder and ask: What does it all mean? How do I feel? What are its implications? Can I communicate the deep meaning of the work to you, the reader? Can I inspire you to search for meaning and take the time to find it, cultivate it, share it?

So in order to make what I call a “civilized response” I wrote and wrote and wrote. Then I decided to organize the answer into little summaries and post them as blogs. Then I decided to compile them together and present a Quarterly summary to our Board of Directors, friends and co-workers. Then the Quarter got away from me and, as the pieces multiplied, I decided to put all the sections into one six-month summary and then I had to make myself stop. I saw that the work is outer…reading and managing; and the work is inner…thinking, responding, pondering, finding meaning. The inner feelings are not easily translatable. The outer movements are easy to document. But what do they mean? What does it mean to read everyday, index, proof, publish, decide what goes where and so on?

But I always have lots to say, so no apologies needed otherwise you would not be reading this material! That is the philosopher in me and I like to share what I philosophize internally about. How else would we share in that very human experience that we all experience: how something is seen, interpreted, and told? How our experiences become paintings, novels, stories, biographies, histories, plays and symphonies, and even a business, a profession? Each of these is telling the story of a person, a moment in the life of a human being, the whisperings of a heart that paused and took notice, an insight that became wisdom for others. We all have stories within the story of our life. Our hearts hold the story that no one hears from us. We whisper it and wonder if anyone really understands.

A friend once called me the “romantic esotericist.” I wondered about that for a long time. Yes, that is what I am. I am a romantic, not just in the sentimental sense of romance, but also in the sense of knowing that things are possible and doable, despite what it looks like on the outside. A romantic believes in the human spirit and its capacity for growth and change. An esotericist is someone who studies and learns about the non-physical dimensions of life and is not happy with discovering just one level but keeps digging to see what else there is in the universe that explains life. I am therefore, happily both of these. Romantic people like to express and express. That is what I do indeed as I search for the meanings between the frozen minutes.

So, if you want to see a little bit of my daily work, take a look at our 12-page summary, yes, summary of our work for the first six monthsof 2013. I am happy to say this gives a little part of the picture of the one section of our work, and that is the production section. There are other components of course to my daily work, but that is for another time. History is written in segments and in layers.

This writing is not the shortened into “text-message”; it is rich in detail and wordy. How can any of our lives be shrunk to just a few words? We sell ourselves short if we think it can.

Here is the link to the entire document….and you can read it in segments or any way that you want, provided you have the time?

Enjoy!

Gita

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- See the 1st Six Months of 2013 PDF online to read it in its entirety.

- Gita Saraydarian is the Founder and President of TSG Foundation.

- Visit Gita on YouTube for monthly Wisdom of the Zodiac classes and guided meditation.