Monday, December 8, 2014
Tuesday, December 2, 2014
IANDS
(IANDS) focuses most of its resources into providing the highest quality information available
about NDE-related subjects. It is the only such membership group in the world.
IANDS serves a broad range of people:
Experiencers: People who have had a near-death or similar experience
Researchers: People who are interested in the objective academic or clinical study of near-death experiences and/or near-death-like experiences
Health care professionals: People who care for experiencers’ physical and/or mental health
People close to experiencers: Family and friends of persons who have had an NDE.
Educators: People who teach about near-death and near-death-like experiences
Interested other people: People with terminal illness, those in grief, and the general public.
As an educational nonprofit 501(c)(3) organization, the International Association for Near-Death Studies
In addition to maintaining this information-rich website, IANDS publishes a peer-reviewed scholarly journal and a member newsletter, sponsors conferences and other programs, works with the media, and encourages the formation of regional discussion and support groups.
We invite you to join today to become a part of this mission and keep up to date on what is known about this fascinating subject.
IANDS’ purpose is to promote responsible, multi-disciplinary exploration of near-death and similar experiences, their effects on people’s lives, and their implications for beliefs about life, death, and human purpose. Where scholarship does not indicate a reasonably clear position on the origin or interpretation of these experiences, we remain impartial and open to the presentation of varying points of view; however, while all personal beliefs will be respected, IANDS is under no obligation to consider them all equally supportable. Whatever the viewpoint, IANDS never supports proselytizing.
Saturday, November 29, 2014
Thursday, November 6, 2014
Blessings
How to Give Blessings?
Fill your heart with gratitude and compassion and link your consciousness with the Omnipresence of Bliss. Visualize yourself transmitting bliss to the person or object of your blessing.
Let the current of bliss be given to
enlighten
heal
strengthen
uplift
transform
charge
How Blessings Must Be Received?
With the determination that the blessings will be used for the service, joy, upliftment of others.
With an attitude of total mental and emotional silence tuned in with the person who is sending the blessings.
As if you are receiving the highest treasure of the person.
How To Be Worthy of Blessings?
Because of your sacrificial service to others
Because of the gifts that you have given to people to meet their needs or to express your gratitude
Because of the trust you create in the mind of the one whom you expect to bless you
Because of your dedication to a great cause
Because of your unconditional love for humanity
Blockage To The Flow Of Blessings Are
Malice, slander, treason, and the spirit of conspiracy in words, actions, and thoughts
Lack of faith, doubt
Irritation
Crime, hatred, revengeful actions
Ego and Vanity
What Blessings Do?
Bliss revitalizes your head center from energy is distributed to all other centers
A cleansing of the centers, glands, and organs start immediately
Emotional purification results in feelings of love, peace, gratitude, humility, and forgiveness
They expand your consciousness and cause you to think clearly
Creative energies increase and you bring greater beauties into the world to uplift the human heart
- Torkom Saraydarian
Monday, November 3, 2014
Books for India
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Friday, October 10, 2014
Wednesday, October 8, 2014
59 minutes of development
59 minutes
of development
"If I
had one hour to save the world, I would spend 59 minutes defining the problem
and only one minute finding the solution." - Albert Einstein
Tuesday, September 30, 2014
Formula Quotes:
“Unlike spiritual paths that arose from the ideas and inner experiences of lone, isolated human beings, the path presented by near-death experiences is emerging as a direct, grassroots revelation that millions of people from all over the world are receiving and sharing. If we explore this newly emerging path deeply enough, we discover that all religions, philosophies, and cultures are honored; that science and spirituality are celebrated; that both the human and spiritual side of our natures are cherished and embraced. In short, near-death experiences present us with a universal, all-inclusive, perfectly integrated spiritual path that revolves around three core truths: 1. We are all one; 2. Love is the essence of life; 3. We are here, in this world, to become perfect embodiments of the Divine.”
…
“Loving others allows us to become embodiments of the Divine in this world and wake up from the dream of life in a balanced, healthy, integrated way.”
…
“The more deeply we realize the world is a dream, three things happen: 1. We become less fearful; 2. We begin to master the laws of this world; 3. The more joyful and expansive our lives become.”
Thursday, June 12, 2014
What Do You Do With Negative Thoughts?
Many people try to substitute “positive thinking” for the disturbing thoughts they want to eliminate. On the surface this tactic may lead to some signs of improvement.
The mind can be forced into identifying only with pleasant or uplifting things. But in time the feared thoughts will surface again, and until then there is the exhausting effort of trying to maintain constant self-control.
Many people, in their well-intended efforts to accent the positive, do not escape their problems but only increase them. They want to put an end to suffering but mistakenly choose the tactic of denying their true feelings, on the grounds that the feelings are “too negative” to express.
Paying attention to one’s fear and pain is a great source of guilt in most people because it seems like self-pity, a trait we think of as wrong. But denying pity to yourself, when you would give it willingly to others, is also wrong. We all have hidden pain inside, and trying to suppress it is not a virtue. It’s only an impossibility.
You may consider it very important to maintain a good attitude, but in itself an attitude is not very reliable. After all, who’s keeping who’s spirits up? Everything inside you is just you, even though you might split it up into a brave you that is trying to suppress or defeat a fearful you.
Does opposing your negative thoughts lessen their power? Doesn’t it just delay the day when they will come out in one way or another? If we keep playing this game of opposing thoughts that are not acceptable to us, we will always lose. The serious question is, ‘Can I give the whole game up?’ Very few people consider that alternative.
Adapted from Unconditional Life: Discovering the Power to Fulfill Your Dreams, by Deepak Chopra.
The mind can be forced into identifying only with pleasant or uplifting things. But in time the feared thoughts will surface again, and until then there is the exhausting effort of trying to maintain constant self-control.
Many people, in their well-intended efforts to accent the positive, do not escape their problems but only increase them. They want to put an end to suffering but mistakenly choose the tactic of denying their true feelings, on the grounds that the feelings are “too negative” to express.
Paying attention to one’s fear and pain is a great source of guilt in most people because it seems like self-pity, a trait we think of as wrong. But denying pity to yourself, when you would give it willingly to others, is also wrong. We all have hidden pain inside, and trying to suppress it is not a virtue. It’s only an impossibility.
You may consider it very important to maintain a good attitude, but in itself an attitude is not very reliable. After all, who’s keeping who’s spirits up? Everything inside you is just you, even though you might split it up into a brave you that is trying to suppress or defeat a fearful you.
Does opposing your negative thoughts lessen their power? Doesn’t it just delay the day when they will come out in one way or another? If we keep playing this game of opposing thoughts that are not acceptable to us, we will always lose. The serious question is, ‘Can I give the whole game up?’ Very few people consider that alternative.
Adapted from Unconditional Life: Discovering the Power to Fulfill Your Dreams, by Deepak Chopra.
Saturday, May 31, 2014
Why Do I Write?
As far as I can, my intention is:
To create a love toward beauty,
To deepen the sense of righteousness,
To increase goodwill,
To inspire with the vision of right human relations,
To create courage,
To annihilate violence, crime, and exploitation,
To challenge to creative actions,
To invite people to purify their motives and work for the common good,
As far as I can, my intention is:
To create a love toward beauty,
To deepen the sense of righteousness,
To increase goodwill,
To inspire with the vision of right human relations,
To create courage,
To annihilate violence, crime, and exploitation,
To challenge to creative actions,
To invite people to purify their motives and work for the common good,
To inspire in them a love for all living forms,
To open in them the sense of direction, universality, and synthesis,
To inspire them to develop the spirit of cooperation with the vision of the great Avatars,
To inspire them to strive toward enlightenment, knowledge, and beingness,
To inspire people to bloom with the flowers of virtues and with the fragrance of nobility and kindness,
To inspire people to unite and form a universal brotherhood in which there is freedom from fear, from want, and freedom of religion and speech,
To inspire man to see those who stand as obstacles on the path of progress of humanity, those whose motives originate from separatism, totalitarianism, and materialism.
As far as I understand, my task is the task of all those who stand for beauty, goodness, righteousness, joy, and freedom.
I would say that I am not a medium but a man who is able to penetrate into the higher states of consciousness and intuition and bring down to the world a wealth of ideas, vision, and wisdom.
- Torkom Saraydarian.
Wednesday, May 28, 2014
Sunday, May 11, 2014
The Wesak Festival - 2014
The Wesak Festival, at the time of the Taurus full moon, marks the high-water mark of spiritual blessing in the world. There is an unusual inflow of life and of spiritual stimulation which serves to vitalize the aspiration of all humankind. The intuition of all who seek to serve the good, the beautiful and the true (regardless of their faith or spiritual background) is stimulated by this spiritual blessing.
At Wesak we can visualize the aspiration of all people of goodwill being fused into a concentrated invocation to the Buddha, the Christ, and all Enlightened Beings on the inner side of life. This is a time for dedication, a time to hold ourselves steadily in the light, and above all, a time to focus on the needs of our fellow human beings and the necessity of providing a group channel whereby the spiritual forces can be poured through the body of humanity.
Tuesday, April 29, 2014
Spiritual Warrior
A spiritual warriors path is challenging.
In The Four Agreements, Miguel Ruiz calls it a war. We will lose some battles, that’s okay. It may feel like a lot, even with the perspective of the victim persona at the time, hopeless. But it is only one battle. A Spiritual Warrior learns not to measure progress in the war using the metrics of only one battle.
A Spiritual Warrior learns to retreat, rest, recover, learn from their actions, regroups, then stands up again to take another step on his path.
Even in the process of losing a battle, much progress is made. The ego has pushed back, and so it is exposed, and we gain more clarity on our endeavor. The ego can even be weakened. At a minimum, we become more respectful of our foe, even if it is a dream. We become more grateful of those moments that are peaceful, and even grateful of moments where we are just holding our ground against a dream. And with that kind of experience a number of times we embrace humility, a kind of mile marker on the journey.
Sometimes it is best for a Warrior to realize they have done their best against their emotional reactions and inner demons of the mind, and to go rest and recover. A warrior learns there is a time for that too as they become wise.
Sometimes it is best to rest and recover. It will be necessary to take time to rest or you will not win many of the battles in the war for your happiness.
In The Four Agreements, Miguel Ruiz calls it a war. We will lose some battles, that’s okay. It may feel like a lot, even with the perspective of the victim persona at the time, hopeless. But it is only one battle. A Spiritual Warrior learns not to measure progress in the war using the metrics of only one battle.
A Spiritual Warrior learns to retreat, rest, recover, learn from their actions, regroups, then stands up again to take another step on his path.
Even in the process of losing a battle, much progress is made. The ego has pushed back, and so it is exposed, and we gain more clarity on our endeavor. The ego can even be weakened. At a minimum, we become more respectful of our foe, even if it is a dream. We become more grateful of those moments that are peaceful, and even grateful of moments where we are just holding our ground against a dream. And with that kind of experience a number of times we embrace humility, a kind of mile marker on the journey.
Sometimes it is best for a Warrior to realize they have done their best against their emotional reactions and inner demons of the mind, and to go rest and recover. A warrior learns there is a time for that too as they become wise.
Sometimes it is best to rest and recover. It will be necessary to take time to rest or you will not win many of the battles in the war for your happiness.
Sunday, April 6, 2014
Mystery
All life is surrounded by a mystery. Actually we live, move, and have our being in mystery. Every man knows that even a man is a mystery to himself, unless he becomes his True Self.
Every Great One is a mystery. Buddha, Christ, and others, despite Their historic existence, were the Word made flesh. The mystery is the Word; the flesh is Their historic existence. They are so powerful because They are both fact and mystery combined. For our narrow consciousness They remain as mysteries.
The mystic is one who has contact with the mystery, but he lacks the faculty to actualize his control in such a way that we can understand and make use of it. On the other hand, a scientist is occupied mostly with the body of the mystery, and he does not show interest in the mystery behind the form because his devices or instruments are not capable of contacting the mystery. Since his inner senses are not being developed yet, he becomes the slave of forms.
The mystery is like the shadow of the mortal man. The more he runs after the shadow, the more the shadow runs away from him. The mystery cannot be found by the physical senses, but one must develop astral, mental, intuitional, and even higher senses to follow the tracks of the mystery. Each contact of the mystery is an act of creativity.
Without a scientific mind the mysterious degenerates into superstition, and without a mystical vision, science turns into exploitation and worship of matter.
- Torkom Saraydarian
Thursday, April 3, 2014
Friday, March 21, 2014
Eight Spiritual Laws
The spiritual laws below will help us raise our- selves from the present crisis and help us strengthen our- selves for future challenges. In brief, the laws are:
1. The Law of Beauty: We can surround ourselves with physical, emotional, and mental beauty. Beauty in any form gives us spiritual satisfaction and releases our inner potentials. Beauty is soul inspired. Beauty helps us live and expand toward Higher Principles. Test this out on yourself: How do you feel after seeing beautiful works of art? How do you feel when you see a magnificent sunset? How do you feel when you hear beautiful words from others?
2. The Law of Harmlessness: We can strive to be harm- less in all our thoughts and actions. This is the Law of Consideration for the welfare of others. Its violation brings disturbances in our families, schools, and businesses. When our children are not taught to be considerate of others, they will open their hearts to evil; they will commit acts of violence against others.
3. The Law of Purity: We can purify our bodies, emotions, and minds. “Purity is a state in which the human soul is in full control of his mechanism and runs that mechanism in harmony with the Plan and Purpose of life.”
4. The Law of Unity: defined as follows: “…people must live a life as if they were one with all life- forms, as if they were cells in one body, as if all of them had the same urge to be happy, healthy, prosperous, and en- lightened…. Every time we think contrary to the Law of Unity, we weaken our mental mechanism. Every time we feel separative and selfish, we petrify our heart — that great mechanism of contact with the highest principles of the Universe.
5. The Law of Cooperation: We can step up to our responsibilities and do everything we can to help those who are working to expand the work of the Teaching. This is a fundamental law for real success in our lives. “In an atmosphere of cooperation, it will be difficult for criminals and opportunists to make their future at the expense of your happiness and health.”
6. The Law of Responsibility: We can take on added responsibilities to increase awareness of the Laws of the Ageless Wisdom. This is said to be one of the highest laws in the Universe. “To be responsible means to understand fully that you can make people either happy or miserable by your thoughts, words, and actions. When you have the sense of responsibility, you live in a way that you not only prevent misery for others, but you also increase their joy, happiness, and success and become their protector without violating their freedom.”
7. The Law of Striving Toward Perfection: We can strive a little bit more this year and next year. It is striving that balances our knowledge and our beingness. If we do not strive, we live a life immersed in matter; we try by all means to satisfy our urges for sex, drugs, violence, alcohol, tobacco, and other materially driven behavior. If we strive, we will invariably start to grow, improve, and reach new heights in our beingness.
Our future as a humanity will be determined by our striving toward higher ways of life.
8. The Law of Love: We can simply love one another. This Law pervades our Universe. Our Solar System is imbued with the Ray of Love. Only through love can we open the communication with God and let His Grace fill our hearts. “The currents of darkness and destruction and the currents of light and regeneration are in a fierce fight. It is imperative that all enlightened people offer their energy to light, to make the darkness retreat.”
“If these eight laws are violated, the result will be unhappiness, sickness, crime, death, poverty, and misery.” If we follow these laws, our bodies will be under the control of our soul, our emotions will be pure and serene, our minds will be lucid and creative. And, we will be inspired and charged with the psychic energy of Cosmos.
- Torkom Saraydarian
Wednesday, March 12, 2014
Ten core beliefs that most scientists take for granted.
1. Everything is
essentially mechanical. Dogs, for example, are complex mechanisms,
rather than living organisms with goals of their own. Even people are
machines, “lumbering robots,” in Richard Dawkins’s vivid
phrase, with brains that are like genetically programmed computers.
2. All matter is unconscious. It has no inner life or subjectivity or point of view. Even human consciousness is an illusion produced by the material activities of brains.
3. The total amount of
matter and energy is always the same (with the exception of the Big
Bang, when all the matter and energy of the universe suddenly
appeared).
4. The laws of nature
are xed. They are the same today as they were at the beginning, and
they will stay the same forever.
5. Nature is
purposeless, and evolution has no goal or direction.
6. All biological
inheritance is material, carried in the genetic material, DNA, and in
other material structures.
7. Minds are inside
heads and are nothing but the activities of brains. When you look at
a tree, the image of the tree you are seeing is not “out there,”
where it seems to be, but inside your brain.
8. Memories are stored
as material traces in brains and are wiped out at death.
9. Unexplained
phenomena such as telepathy are illusory.
10. Mechanistic
medicine is the only kind that really works.
Thursday, March 6, 2014
Emotional Integrity
Emotional Integrity is having our heart, mind and will unified. When we are in our emotional integrity we can act without hesitation or doubt. The phrase of, "my mind says one thing, but my heart says another", may be all too common in our lives. When this happens our will is divided and our actions hesitate with conflict of doubt in the mind and emotions.
When we live our lives from a place of Integrity we do not doubt ourselves. There is no second-guessing our actions or our words. Sometimes I see people try to superimpose a sense of integrity into their decisions by refusing to consider a second opinion. This can be the pretense of integrity in the name of not appearing weak or not living up to our own image of what we believe we should be. This is the ego’s version of integrity. The mind has the desire to believe that everything we do is in our integrity. Often we work very hard to make ourselves believe it we have integrity. But, it is a false image of integrity. If we have to convince ourselves that we are acting in our integrity, we are likely to be wrong. When we are in our integrity, our mind does not have to tell us what we are doing is right. The heart will know and the mind follows without a doubt. Real emotional integrity doesn’t come with a sense of being right. It comes with a feeling of love.
When we are acting from our Integrity, what we could call our authentic self, we don’t try. We don’t’ have a need to try. We just take action. We don’t concern ourselves with whether what we are doing is the right thing. Emotional integrity Words don’t corrupt this authenticity with chatter in the mind.
When we live our lives from a place of Integrity we do not doubt ourselves. There is no second-guessing our actions or our words. Sometimes I see people try to superimpose a sense of integrity into their decisions by refusing to consider a second opinion. This can be the pretense of integrity in the name of not appearing weak or not living up to our own image of what we believe we should be. This is the ego’s version of integrity. The mind has the desire to believe that everything we do is in our integrity. Often we work very hard to make ourselves believe it we have integrity. But, it is a false image of integrity. If we have to convince ourselves that we are acting in our integrity, we are likely to be wrong. When we are in our integrity, our mind does not have to tell us what we are doing is right. The heart will know and the mind follows without a doubt. Real emotional integrity doesn’t come with a sense of being right. It comes with a feeling of love.
When we are acting from our Integrity, what we could call our authentic self, we don’t try. We don’t’ have a need to try. We just take action. We don’t concern ourselves with whether what we are doing is the right thing. Emotional integrity Words don’t corrupt this authenticity with chatter in the mind.
Saturday, March 1, 2014
How to Cultivate Our Heart
The path without a heart will turn against men and destroy them. It does not take much to die, and to seek death is to seek nothing.
Before you embark on any path ask the question: Does this path have a heart? If the answer is no, you will know it, and then you must choose another path. The trouble is nobody asks the question; and when a man finally realizes that he has taken a path without a heart, the path is ready to kill him. At that point very few men can stop to deliberate, and leave the path. A path without a heart is never enjoyable. You have to work hard even to take it. On the other hand, a path with heart is easy; it does not make you work at liking it.
"BUDDHA: The One Who Discriminates"
The King Gautama the Siddhartha is called as a ''BUDDHA'', the Enlightened One......the word ''Buddha'' comes from the root "Budh" which means to see, to perceive, to know, to awake, to recover consciousness. In Sanskrit we find the word 'budhi', meaning discernment of good from evil or discrimination between right and wrong.
It is expressed that, don't believe whatever you hear or read even though the information sounds or appears to be good to your ears, discriminate it, examine it, analyze and experience it and then if you believe it is right and true, try to adapt it into your lives.
- Torkom Saraydarian
It is expressed that, don't believe whatever you hear or read even though the information sounds or appears to be good to your ears, discriminate it, examine it, analyze and experience it and then if you believe it is right and true, try to adapt it into your lives.
The one who discriminates is a 'BUDDHA'.
- Torkom Saraydarian
Friday, February 21, 2014
Advances
Advances are made by answering questions. Discoveries are made by questioning answers.
— Bernard Haisch
Thursday, February 20, 2014
Buddha Speaks - The Story of a Merchant
A merchant and a widower, who went away on a business trip and left his little boy at home. while he was away, bandits came and burned down the whole village. when the merchant returned, he didn't find his house, it was just a heap of ash. There was the charred body of a child close by. He threw himself on the ground and cried and cried. He beat his chest and pulled his hair.
The next day, he had the little body cremated. Because his beloved son was his ony reason for existence, he sewed a beautiful velvet bag and put the ashes inside. Wherever he went, he took that bag of ashes with him. In fact, his son had been kidnapped by the bandits, three months later, the boy escaped and returned home. when he arrived, it was two 'o' clock in the morning. He knocked on the door of the new house his father had built. The poor father was lying on his bed crying, holding the bag of ashes, and he asked, "Who is there? "Its me daddy, your son". The father answered, "that's not possible. my son is dead. I've cremated his body and i carry his ashes with me. You must be some naughty boy who's trying to fool me. Go away, don't disturb me!" He refused to open the door, and there was no way for the little boy to come in. The boy had to go away, and the father lost his son forever.
After telling this story, the Buddha said, If at some point in your life you adopt an idea or a perception as the absolute truth, you close the door of your mind. This is the end of seeking the truth. Attachment to views, attachment to ideas, attachment to perceptions are the biggest obstacles to the truth".
The next day, he had the little body cremated. Because his beloved son was his ony reason for existence, he sewed a beautiful velvet bag and put the ashes inside. Wherever he went, he took that bag of ashes with him. In fact, his son had been kidnapped by the bandits, three months later, the boy escaped and returned home. when he arrived, it was two 'o' clock in the morning. He knocked on the door of the new house his father had built. The poor father was lying on his bed crying, holding the bag of ashes, and he asked, "Who is there? "Its me daddy, your son". The father answered, "that's not possible. my son is dead. I've cremated his body and i carry his ashes with me. You must be some naughty boy who's trying to fool me. Go away, don't disturb me!" He refused to open the door, and there was no way for the little boy to come in. The boy had to go away, and the father lost his son forever.
After telling this story, the Buddha said, If at some point in your life you adopt an idea or a perception as the absolute truth, you close the door of your mind. This is the end of seeking the truth. Attachment to views, attachment to ideas, attachment to perceptions are the biggest obstacles to the truth".
Wednesday, February 12, 2014
Triple Filter Test
Socrates was the great philosopher in ancient Greece and was held in high esteem. One day an acquaintance met the great philosopher and said, “Do you know what I just heard about your friend?”
“Hold on a minute”, Socrates replied. “Before telling me anything I’d like you to pass a little test. It’s called the Triple Filter Test.”
“That’s right”, Socrates continued. “Before you talk to me about my friend, it might be a good idea to take a moment and filter what you’re going to say. That’s why I call it the triple filter test.
The first filter is Truth. Have you made absolutely sure that what you are about to tell me is true?” “No,”,the man said, “Actually I just heard about it and …” “All right”, said Socrates. “So you don’t really know if it’s true or not.
Now let’s try the second filter, the filter of Goodness. Is what you are about to tell me about my friend something good?” “No, on the contrary.” “So”, Socrates continued, “you want to tell me something bad about him, but you’re not certain it’s true.
You may still pass the test though, because there’s one filter left: the filter of Usefulness. Is what you want to tell me about my friend going to be useful to me?” “No, not really.”
“Well”, concluded Socrates, “if what you want to tell me is neither true nor good nor even useful, why tell it to me at all?”
“Hold on a minute”, Socrates replied. “Before telling me anything I’d like you to pass a little test. It’s called the Triple Filter Test.”
“That’s right”, Socrates continued. “Before you talk to me about my friend, it might be a good idea to take a moment and filter what you’re going to say. That’s why I call it the triple filter test.
The first filter is Truth. Have you made absolutely sure that what you are about to tell me is true?” “No,”,the man said, “Actually I just heard about it and …” “All right”, said Socrates. “So you don’t really know if it’s true or not.
Now let’s try the second filter, the filter of Goodness. Is what you are about to tell me about my friend something good?” “No, on the contrary.” “So”, Socrates continued, “you want to tell me something bad about him, but you’re not certain it’s true.
You may still pass the test though, because there’s one filter left: the filter of Usefulness. Is what you want to tell me about my friend going to be useful to me?” “No, not really.”
“Well”, concluded Socrates, “if what you want to tell me is neither true nor good nor even useful, why tell it to me at all?”
The Problem of the Others - by Paulo Coelho
There was once a well-known scholar, who lived in a mountain in the Himalayas. Tired of living with men, he had chosen a simple life and spent most of his time meditating.
His fame, however, was so great that people were willing to walk narrow paths, climb steep hills, swim rivers – to meet the holy man who was believed to be able to resolve any trouble of the human heart.
The wise man, as he was full of compassion, gave some advice here and there, but kept trying to get rid of unwanted visitors. Still, they appeared in larger groups, and one day a crowd knocked on his door, saying that great stories about him were published in their local newspaper and that everyone was sure he knew how to overcome the difficulties of their lives.
The wise man said nothing but asked them to sit and wait. Three days passed, and more people arrived. When there was no room for anyone else, he addressed the people who were outside his door.
“Today I will give the answer that everyone wants. But you must promise that, to have your problems solved, you will not tell the new pilgrims that I moved here – so that you can continue to live in the solitude you so much crave. Men and women have made a sacred oath that if the wise fulfilled their promises, they would not let any more pilgrims climb the mountain.”
“Tell me your problems,” said the sage.
Someone began to speak, but was soon interrupted by others, as everyone knew that this was the last public hearing that the holy man was giving, and they feared that he wouldn’t have the time to listen to all of them. Minutes later, confusion was created , many voices were shouting at the same time, people were crying, men and women were tearing their hair out in despair because it was impossible to hear.
The wise man let the situation be prolonged a little, until he cried, “Silence!”
The crowd fell silent immediately.
“Write your problems down and put the papers in front of me,” he said.
When everyone finished, the wise man mixed all the papers in a basket, then said, “Keep this basket moving amongst you. Each of you will take a paper, and read it. You will then choose whether to keep your problems, or take the one given to you.”
Each person took a sheet of paper, read it, and was horrified. They concluded that what they had written, however bad it was, was not as serious as what ailed his neighbor. Two hours later, they exchanged papers amongst themselves, and each one had to put their personal problems back into his or her pocket, relieved that their distress was not as hard as they once thought.
Grateful for the lesson, they went down the mountain with the certainty that they were happier than all the others, and – fulfilling the promise made – never let anyone disturb the peace of the holy man.
His fame, however, was so great that people were willing to walk narrow paths, climb steep hills, swim rivers – to meet the holy man who was believed to be able to resolve any trouble of the human heart.
The wise man, as he was full of compassion, gave some advice here and there, but kept trying to get rid of unwanted visitors. Still, they appeared in larger groups, and one day a crowd knocked on his door, saying that great stories about him were published in their local newspaper and that everyone was sure he knew how to overcome the difficulties of their lives.
The wise man said nothing but asked them to sit and wait. Three days passed, and more people arrived. When there was no room for anyone else, he addressed the people who were outside his door.
“Today I will give the answer that everyone wants. But you must promise that, to have your problems solved, you will not tell the new pilgrims that I moved here – so that you can continue to live in the solitude you so much crave. Men and women have made a sacred oath that if the wise fulfilled their promises, they would not let any more pilgrims climb the mountain.”
“Tell me your problems,” said the sage.
Someone began to speak, but was soon interrupted by others, as everyone knew that this was the last public hearing that the holy man was giving, and they feared that he wouldn’t have the time to listen to all of them. Minutes later, confusion was created , many voices were shouting at the same time, people were crying, men and women were tearing their hair out in despair because it was impossible to hear.
The wise man let the situation be prolonged a little, until he cried, “Silence!”
The crowd fell silent immediately.
“Write your problems down and put the papers in front of me,” he said.
When everyone finished, the wise man mixed all the papers in a basket, then said, “Keep this basket moving amongst you. Each of you will take a paper, and read it. You will then choose whether to keep your problems, or take the one given to you.”
Each person took a sheet of paper, read it, and was horrified. They concluded that what they had written, however bad it was, was not as serious as what ailed his neighbor. Two hours later, they exchanged papers amongst themselves, and each one had to put their personal problems back into his or her pocket, relieved that their distress was not as hard as they once thought.
Grateful for the lesson, they went down the mountain with the certainty that they were happier than all the others, and – fulfilling the promise made – never let anyone disturb the peace of the holy man.
Tuesday, February 11, 2014
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.
“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.
- Torkom Saraydarian.
Wednesday, February 5, 2014
Teaching From Seven Levels
A person talks on the level where his consciousness is focused. When a Great One talks, He talks on seven levels. In contrast, a person focused on one level talks only one-level talk, which means that what he says is understood as it is given, although a multi-dimensional person is able to see many dimensions in that talk if they exist. And, when a multi-dimensional man talks, the talk has multi-dimensions, which means you can translate his talk on as many levels as you are conscious on.
For example, when a seven level man speaks about food, he means seven kinds of food which you eat physically, emotionally, mentally, and so on to nourish your bodies.
To feed the mental stomach, for instance, means to give knowledge. The spiritual stomach eats foods called wisdom, freedom, joy, bliss, and so on. Your inspiration, knowledge, and wisdom are as much food as the bread you give to others.
When a seven dimensional or multi-dimensional talk is given, but you hear it from the interest of your one dimensional being, you do not understand exactly what the speaker was saying to you. You understand it only on the level where you are. And, if you try to emphasize only what you heard and say that that is what he meant, you destroy the entire idea the person was trying to impart.
If a seven dimensional man and a one dimensional man talk on the same subject, even using the same words, you will understand what they say on your level. If your level is multi-dimensional you will not like what the one dimensional speaker said because he will not nourish your other levels. The first man will expand your consciousness. The second one, though speaking the same language, will dull it. It is not the words that convey your dimensions and multi-dimensional meanings, but it is your voice, the electricity and meaning transferred through your voice. One person talks to all your seven "ears." The other talks only to your physical ear. When you hear even on one dimension a talk given in seven dimensions, your spirit feels content, satisfied, and happy, and you feel that there is a deeper message than what appears on the surface.
If a Teacher has three, four, or five levels, you feel them and you feel satisfied. But if you have one level and no sensitivity, you remain unconvinced and dissatisfied because your other levels do not get any nourishment. Thus your conviction depends on how many levels you have.
Our voice reflects our state of consciousness. The voice of the Teacher reflects his levels or the planes on which his consciousness or awareness is active. It is mostly through the voice of the Teacher that we understand the deeper meanings of his words.
- Excerpted from The Ageless Wisdom by Torkom Saraydarian
Tuesday, February 4, 2014
The Twelve Virtues of the Inner Lotus
Virtues are the blooming manifestation of the Inner Divinity as that Divinity unfolds itself stage after stage.
Each virtue is an affirmation of the Inner Divinity. Personality virtues impose discipline. The twelve virtues of the Lotus are related to service. Virtues are the steps of the ladder of resurrection.
The twelve virtues of the Inner Lotus are radiations of the twelve petals of the Lotus. They are the twelve lights that light the path of man toward the Heart Center of the planet. They are the virtues which decorate the fields, the path, and the plateaus of life.
They are the techniques of Self-actualization and the means to contact the presence in nature:
1. Striving
2. Courage
3. Daring
4. Discrimination
5. Solemnity
6. Harmlessness
7. Service
8. Compassion
9. Patience
10. Fearlessness
11. Gratitude
12. Responsibility
Beyond these virtues, we have the three virtues of the Inner Fire:
1. Enthusiasm
2. Sacrifice
3. Nobility
- Torkom Saraydarian.
The Unteachable Monkey - A Panchatantra Tale
In a part of a forest was a troop of monkeys who found a firefly one winter evening when they were dreadfully depressed. One examining the insect, they believed it to be fire, so lifted it with care, covered it with dry grass and leaves, thrust forward their arms, sides, stomachs, and chests, scratched themselves, and enjoyed imagining that they were warm. One of the arboreal creatures in particular, being especially chilly, blew repeatedly and with concentrated attention on the firefly.
Thereupon a bird named Needle-Face, driven by hostile fate to her own destruction, flew down from her tree and said to the monkey: "My dear sir, do not put yourself to unnecessary trouble. This is not fire. This is a firefly." He, however, did not heed her warning but blew again, nor did he stop when she tried more then once to check him. To cut a long story short, when she vexed him by coming close and shouting in his ear, he seized her and dashed her on a rock, crushing face, eyes, head, and neck so that she died.
Thereupon a bird named Needle-Face, driven by hostile fate to her own destruction, flew down from her tree and said to the monkey: "My dear sir, do not put yourself to unnecessary trouble. This is not fire. This is a firefly." He, however, did not heed her warning but blew again, nor did he stop when she tried more then once to check him. To cut a long story short, when she vexed him by coming close and shouting in his ear, he seized her and dashed her on a rock, crushing face, eyes, head, and neck so that she died.
"And that is why I say:
No knife prevails against a stone; ....and the rest of it.
["No knife prevails against a stone;
Nor bends the unbending tree;
No good advice from Needle-Face
Helped indocility."]
Tuesday, January 28, 2014
Communication is Fusion
Communication is not necessarily a conversation, physical relationship, or being at a party, or even being married. Communication is a moment in which you fuse with someone and understand him, and make him understand you. There is a moment when you see his viewpoint and he sees yours, and you both see the common denominator in them.
Have you ever had such communication? If not, use your creative imagination and create one.
Exercise on communication:
Find moments in your life in which you had communication with people. You will see that most of our tensions, disappointments, sorrows, pain, and anxiety are the result of a break in our communication.
The moment you begin to communicate you find treasures in your nature and release them as sources of energy.
Of course there are many different levels of communication. There is communication with your Inner Guide, or even with your own core, with the cores of others, with a Great One, with Invisible Powers, and so on.
You can even communicate with a flower, a bird, a tree, a mountain, a star, an ocean, a river. See what is happening to you when you communicate.
After you understand what communication is, try to communicate with someone with whom communication was impossible in the past, and try to find what the obstacle is and how you can remove it.
Your creative imagination can do anything you want. Just use it.
You will find many obstacles to remove. For example, there is fear, or certain memories in which the person may have deceived you, or those times when you deceived the person.
In communication there is a moment in which you forget yourself and identify with the other party, while the other party is doing the same thing.
Trust and sincerity pave the way for communication. Joy illuminates the way. Freedom intensifies the unity. Beauty uplifts the communication to higher and higher levels.
People sometimes do not need time to learn to communicate. Some can communicate instantaneously. This is a sign that in the past they had close contacts with each other.
Communication is not necessarily the acceptance or rejection of ideas, visions, or viewpoints of people. Acceptance and rejection are lower mental activities. Communication starts on the higher mental plane and proceeds toward higher planes where people are not interested in differences but in similarities of goals and purposes.
Communication is the result of an intuitive feeling that the one with whom you are communicating is you.
Have you ever had such communication? If not, use your creative imagination and create one.
Exercise on communication:
Find moments in your life in which you had communication with people. You will see that most of our tensions, disappointments, sorrows, pain, and anxiety are the result of a break in our communication.
The moment you begin to communicate you find treasures in your nature and release them as sources of energy.
Of course there are many different levels of communication. There is communication with your Inner Guide, or even with your own core, with the cores of others, with a Great One, with Invisible Powers, and so on.
You can even communicate with a flower, a bird, a tree, a mountain, a star, an ocean, a river. See what is happening to you when you communicate.
After you understand what communication is, try to communicate with someone with whom communication was impossible in the past, and try to find what the obstacle is and how you can remove it.
Your creative imagination can do anything you want. Just use it.
You will find many obstacles to remove. For example, there is fear, or certain memories in which the person may have deceived you, or those times when you deceived the person.
In communication there is a moment in which you forget yourself and identify with the other party, while the other party is doing the same thing.
Trust and sincerity pave the way for communication. Joy illuminates the way. Freedom intensifies the unity. Beauty uplifts the communication to higher and higher levels.
People sometimes do not need time to learn to communicate. Some can communicate instantaneously. This is a sign that in the past they had close contacts with each other.
Communication is not necessarily the acceptance or rejection of ideas, visions, or viewpoints of people. Acceptance and rejection are lower mental activities. Communication starts on the higher mental plane and proceeds toward higher planes where people are not interested in differences but in similarities of goals and purposes.
Communication is the result of an intuitive feeling that the one with whom you are communicating is you.
- Torkom Saraydarian (Excerpted from Happiness, Joy & Bliss)
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