Gita's Blog

By Gita Saraydarian

As we celebrate Christmas with gifts and parties and decorations, it is also good to remember the gifts given to us by Christ. These gifts were tools and guidance to enable us to make our life better on earth and also to enable us to expand our consciousness and make a direct connection to the Higher Worlds. In the book The Teachings of Christ, (Volume 1, The Birth of Christ) Torkom Saraydarian summarized these gifts as ten messages. They are as follows:

1. The first message of Christmas is to start a new life. Do not let past failures and mistakes chain you to the past.
2. The second message is to forgive people who have hurt you in some way. Allow them to start a new life. As long as you do not forgive them, they will do the same things that they did in the past.
3. The third message is to make a plan for your spiritual progress. We make plans for many things, such as buying a car, buying a house, or business transactions. These are fine, but the most important plan is the plan for your spiritual progress.
4. The fourth message is never to fall into the spirit of revenge. It destroys your future progress and future life. Never try to take revenge.
5. The fifth message is very interesting. All of the bad and negative things we see in others become posthypnotic suggestions within us….Whether we admit it or not, this is a fact. As soon as we open our mouth, we immediately see the past, present, and future ugliness in people….When difficult people come near us and “force” us to criticize, hate, and take revenge on them, be very careful. You can poison yourself, and this is what they want you to do.
6. Message number six is always to try to help those who are brokenhearted. Doing this gives you such deep inspiration.
7. The seventh message is to try to overcome jealousy. Be happy when people are more successful and happier than you are….You can be jealous of many things, small and large, physical, emotional, and mental. As long as you have jealousy, you are producing poison in your system.
8. The eighth message is to try slowly to realize the unity of mankind. See that there is only one God living in every human being.
9. The ninth message is to exercise daily discipline to study, meditate, and engage in a creative service.
10. The tenth message is to pray for the leaders of the world….They need your prayers, guidance, and psychic energy to do right actions. Pray for all leaders of every kind. They are the contact point of leadership. Whether you like them or not, they influence the world. Pray for them so that wisdom, knowledge, inspiration, and light come; so that they eventually realize that they are in positions of great responsibility and do the right things.

(Excerpted from Chapter 21, The Teachings of Christ-Volume 1: The Birth of Christ Torkom Saraydarian.)

May your Christmas be joyful and may you be blessed.

Gita
www.gitasaraydarian.org
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- Gita Saraydarian is the Founder and President of TSG Foundation, an organization dedicated to the Ageless Wisdom Teachings. See the complete list of past blogs on the TSG Foundation website and also on Gita's new website http://www.gitasaraydarian.org/
-Copyright Notice: Gita’s Blog articles are copyrighted by The Creative Trust, 2009.
- Details on what are the Ageless Wisdom Teachings, and other topics on what is the Teaching are found on www.gitasraydarian.org

By Gita Saraydarian

The Family decided first to hold a graveside memorial service with a traditional prayer and service. Then we all gathered in the family home, where a garden was newly dug up, and readied to be dedicated to Sheila. A beautiful tall statue of an angel adorned the top corner of the garden.

I decided to read the following to commemorate the continuous life of her soul, to encourage her to continue serving in her own way, to remind her that she is free to move to her next destination, wherever that may be, and to remind all of us that every child who comes to us is a temporary gift; we are all in temporary relationships with each other from the perspective of this life, but in eternal relationships from the perspective of the One Life. We belong to each other and we belong to no one and we belong to millions of people all over the world in all lifetimes. Truly, we all belong to each other. I wanted this prayer to commemorate the journey of the soul in the One Life, with many little lifetimes that make such huge impacts on our little lives; we are so enriched by these little lives.

There was another, more silent reminder: How to relate with the children who are with us on earth, our spouses and family members. How do we continue, keeping our hearts open and vulnerable to them, despite the tremendous amount of energy and love that we gave to one person?

I excerpted this reading from Other Worlds by Torkom Saraydarian, with slight changes made to fit the occasion and the diversity of religious traditions of the guests. I read as follows:

“Dear Sheila, we are gathered here in your memory. May the beam of Divine Light illuminate your path. May your protecting angels protect you from any attack or harm. May the blessings of the Holy Ones shine in your heart throughout your journeys.

We send you our love, blessings, and courage. Try always to strive toward the higher, fiery worlds. Do not be englamored by the objects of the level where you are. Remember that the three worlds are illusions. Strive toward the highest; search for the Teacher; aspire toward the Greatest One.

We will keep your memory in our hearts. We will keep your visions alive, and we will follow your steps of love and understanding in all our relationships. We ask that you do not worry about us and go along your path of divine service.

Today, we dedicate this garden in your name. This garden symbolizes the continuity of life. We release you from the prison of illness and death into life everlasting. We hold your spirit alive in our life. We will grow these beautiful flowers as tokens of our dedication to the gifts that you gave to us.

May the light of God shield you and inspire you to strive toward higher achievement. When your time of incarnation arrives, please obey the call to come again and meet your obligations and responsibilities on earth.

Your mother and father, your sister and brother, your friends and family, send you our greatest love and appreciation. You blessed our life. May you also be eternally blessed and live many lifetimes in joy and health.

May the love of God surround you always, in all your journeys on earth and in heaven.

And, may we grow in love and joy together as a family, never forgetting the tapestry that we are weaving with each other, right now, right here.”

The family and friends stood around the garden. The two younger siblings were silent and thoughtful. They know about life more than we think they do. They feel their mother's suffering and put their little arms around her legs. They still need so much from her but, for today, they give their loving hearts to Mom. They are learning, as we are all learning, that life continues infinitely and we all have special needs at special times. Today, they give their love. Tomorrow, they will need the love of Mom focused on their needs.

After reading this prayer, everyone was invited to place their plants in any part of the garden that they wished. The little sister and brother jumped out first to place their pots of flowers. They seemed so eager to start the garden! People slowly walked up and placed their plants in various configurations. Then we all shared a wonderful dinner and spoke about the aspects of life that touch us forever. It was a memorable evening for all of us, especially for me. I noticed people spoke so joyfully of their own children, their accomplishments, their education and their growing up years! Having known only three people when I arrived, I left holding so many more in my heart, and most of all, a very special young lady who is welcomed in heaven, to be sure.

(Dedicated to Sheila Bahrehmand.)


Gita
http://www.gitasaraydarian.org/
Link to Part 1
Link to Part 2

- Gita Saraydarian is the Founder and President of TSG Foundation, an organization dedicated to the Ageless Wisdom Teachings. See the complete list of past blogs and on Gita's new website.
-Copyright Notice: Gita’s Blog articles are copyrighted by The Creative Trust, 2009.
- For more information about memorial services for the departed, see the book Other Worlds by Torkom Saraydarian. - For more detailed information on what are the Ageless Wisdom Teachings, please see the specific pages on http://www.gitasaraydarian.org/

By Gita Saraydarian

(In Part One, I wrote about meeting Sheila's Mom and helping her plan a memorial service. Sheila had passed away a year earlier from a degenerative spinal cord disease. The family was suffering immensely for this loss and we wanted to plan a memorial service that met the needs of the family.)

So why are some people born with immense difficulties and others not? Is it punishment, atonement, a way of service and learning, a way to prove one's own inner strength that is never seen from the outside, a way to teach others about the capacities inherent in each of us that is beyond the outer form? Is it punishment for the afflicted or the families who face these difficulties and are never able to forget them?

As I looked into my friend's eyes, she seemed sad beyond her smiles; a depth of sadness that no one can truly understand. It changes continuously as we speak. It comes right up front and then recedes to the recesses of her eyes. The sadness is alive and vibrating in her heart and surely, in the hearts of her family. Even though families who have experienced immense personal tragedies will say how much they learned about life and love and forgiveness and appreciation from such experiences, the sadness remains and the questions remain. How long it takes for us to understand! How much suffering we have to endure until we can understand. How much pain in our eyes and etched on our faces until we get a glimmer of hope in the eternal life?

We cannot speculate why and how someone is born in a particular body. I personally feel that peering into someone else's inner or psychic life is none of our business. No matter how many theories and religious reasons we may try to find, we will simply never know. If we continue to speculate, we could make ourselves believe something that may not be true. Why fill our minds and emotions with additional illusions and deceptions? Why not say, “I don't know until I know for sure,” and let it go at that and then try to find the hidden meaning behind the experience and not the fact of the condition of the person who was the vehicle for the experience?

What we can do is learn about the deeper layers of life, creation, and the depth of human experiences and expressions despite the seemingly insurmountable challenges of those around us. We can find the hidden joy in the way someone articulates and spreads love despite the fact that they cannot speak, and cannot do much. And, when we ourselves face insurmountable challenges, perhaps we could stop the speculations and the guilt and simply see what can be learned from the process. It is about “re-framing,” or “re-branding” the particular impasse in our life.

We can ask: What did this person teach me and demonstrate to me? What is it about the mystery of life that enables people with deep challenges to rise above them? What do they prove about life? What do I learn from it? How can I, an able bodied person, do more about my life from this example?

Why is it that people with challenges rise and shine beyond our expectations? Do we not understand the power of the soul? Do we not understand the immensity of the soul's progress and capacities? Do we not appreciate that even though the outer form is incapable, the inner is still living and expressing in ways we may not fully understand? Can we find the space in our minds to understand that although the outer form is being extremely challenged, the inner voice is alive and living and expressing and has its own lessons to learn and to teach and to experience?

As we experience these painful challenges, can we continue to love and open our hearts to those who need us right now, our children and our spouses? Can we stretch to include more in our hearts even though we may feel we cannot stretch one more thread of our being?

In every family and community, there are those who need to be taken care of, who seem unable or challenged beyond their means whether physically, emotionally, or mentally. Life “sprinkles” these persons into every family and community. They need love and help from those able. And, we need their examples of love and care and courage. Everyone learns and everyone benefits from having all kinds of people living and growing in close proximity. If not we, then who will take care of those who need care? How will a soul learn what needs to be learned and taught? How can we learn the depths of strength and compassion that we are capable of? Can we see these persons as our teachers and we theirs? Where will souls go to when they need to learn and grow and express in new ways if not to us? How could we learn if we do not face adversity?

And, just as importantly, can we see ourselves in these people who are in our care, or who stand outside needing care?

These are valuable questions for us to ponder on as we face personal, family, and even social issues about caring for others and finding the room in our hearts to care for people who need to be cared for. May we find the ways to stretch the fiber of our hearts a bit more, and find the way to see ourselves in others and to see the world with the eyes of the heart.


Gita
http://www.gitasaraydarian.org/

Part 1 of 3, "A Memorial Service"
Part 3 of 3, “The Memorial Garden”

- Gita Saraydarian is the Founder and President of TSG Foundation, an organization dedicated to the Ageless Wisdom Teachings. See the complete list of past blogs and on Gita's new website.
- Copyright Notice: Gita’s Blog articles are copyrighted by The Creative Trust, 2009.
- For more information about memorial services for the departed, see the book Other Worlds by Torkom Saraydarian.
- For more detailed information on what are the Ageless Wisdom Teachings, please see the specific pages on http://www.gitasaraydarian.org/

By Gita Saraydarian

Last year I met a beautiful woman who had just lost her 21 year old daughter. We became friends and over the year, we had many occasions to talk and to discuss spiritual issues around life, death, and the meaning of it all.

She recently asked another friend and me to help her family commemorate the passing of her daughter and together to plan a memorial service. I had never met the young lady, but I immediately knew that she was a very special person who had a deep and lasting impression on everyone who met her.

As we discussed the particulars of the service, I felt strongly that the service should include an aspect that celebrated not only the passing of a life, but also the continuity of that life. My feelings were based on how I view the meaning of life and death and how our grief is helped most not by simply commemorating the passing of the life, but also celebrating the continuity of life, the One Life in all. My friend agreed and wanted to have both celebrations: prayers for the departed at the grave site, and prayers of celebration in her home highlighted by the planting of a special garden by her family and friends.

I reflected, what would I read on this day? How would I articulate the passing and the continuity? I had chosen some passages from Other Worlds and they would be very appropriate and beautiful. I also wanted to have a deeper appreciation of what it means to be born with physical difficulties that seem insurmountable to others and how I would articulate this to friends and people whom I had never met and who also have differing religious beliefs and customs.

I thought of this lovely young lady: she suffered her entire life from a degenerating disease of the spine. She was in continuous pain and multiple surgeries. She was caught in this body prison, seemingly impenetrable and confining. She was loved and cared for. She was loving and kind. Everyone who met her said how much she taught them about love and about kindness. Her mother and family and friends see her as an angel who brought depth and love and understanding to their lives.

So, I wondered, how and why does this happen to incarnating souls?

I have no simple explanations nor do I believe in simple explanations. We simply do not know why, although we can speculate and even seem to make “educated” guesses. But we can never be sure; we do not have what is called “continuity of consciousness,” and, until we do so, we will only be guessing.

We are all confined and in a prison of sorts; this is what I began to realize. How ignorant we are about life and how confused we seem. Whether we are perfectly healthy physically or have challenges in our physical, emotional, or mental bodies, we are in some way imprisoned and limited. Form, material existence is in itself a prison. Our emotional and mental and spiritual limitations are also a sort of prison. How much there is to understand about life and how little we know! Unless we have direct experience, we must rely on logic, reasoning, religious and spiritual traditions and, if possible, our own inherent and remembered memories of various non-material experiences. Our religious and spiritual beliefs and practices are for the most part designed to help us understand, appreciate, or even fear the non-material aspects of life. Whatever we believe in, it is dismal when compared to the vastness of the non-material world.

Gita
http://www.gitasaraydarian.org/


Part 2 of 3, “From Pain to Understanding”
Part 3 of 3, "The Memorial Garden"
- Gita Saraydarian is the Founder and President of TSG Foundation, an organization dedicated to the Ageless Wisdom Teachings. See the complete list of past blogs and on Gita's new website.-Copyright Notice: Gita’s Blog articles are copyrighted by The Creative Trust, 2009.
- For more information about memorial services for the departed, see the book Other Worlds by Torkom Saraydarian.
- For more detailed information on what are the Ageless Wisdom Teachings, please see the specific pages on http://www.gitasaraydarian.org/