Conflicted About The Conflict

 https://open.substack.com/pub/terisandler/p/conflicted-about-the-current-conflict?utm_source=share&utm_medium=android&r=5g5zh

Full Circle

 I recently (well, a little over a year ago) moved back to the almost Chicago area. I left suburban Chicago in 2002, feeling called to live "somewhere else" because I never had.  At some time over the 18 years I was away, I began to realize this was all part of my Spiritual Journey. Or, I should say, I became aware I was following my spiritual path. Along the way I was ordained a minister in a small, new thought church, initiated (or reinitiated in this lifetime) on the Path of Sound and Light (also known as Sant Mat and Surat Shabd Yoga, and moved interstate one more time to be closer to my spiritual community.  Then, during the pandemic, I felt called to move back closer to family and subsequently rejoined the Spiritual Community (Lake Street Church of Evanston) that I left in 2002.

In the past year, I joined a prayer group for the congregation, became a deacon, and now a lay minister. I am fully stepping up into my intended purpose in life by serving in a spiritual capacity. It only took me almost 20 years and 3 moves around the country to finally come "full circle"!  Below is the body of an introduction to myself and what I offer to church members. It will be printed in the church monthly bulletin and then I will be openly offering to be of Spiritual Service to any and all who may be interested:

Introduction 

 

My name is Teri Sandler and I have an old and new affiliation with Lake Street Church. I found my way to LSC in 1996 and was an active member for six years. I left the area in 2002 and found my way back in the Fall of 2020 after almost two decades of following my Spiritual calling. Along the way, I was initiated onto a Spiritual Path called The Path of Sound and Light (also known as Surat Shabd Yoga) a meditation technique to enable the mystical experience of seeing the Inner Light and listening to the Shabd soul music. A more basic explanation is meditating on the Inner Light and Sound of God.  I was also ordained as a minister through a small, non-denominational church called Sanctuary of Sacred Truth. This church was focused on Spirit and unification with God as opposed to any type of formal religion. 

 

My ministry is informed by my belief that we are all Sparks of the Divine. In Gnosticism and other Western esoterical religions, the divine spark is the portion of God that resides within each human being. I was first introduced to this concept while researching the idea of Tikkun Olam, or Repairing the World, over 10 years ago. Isaac Luria, the renowned sixteenth century Kabbalist, used the phrase “tikkun olam,” usually translated as repairing the world, to encapsulate the true role of humanity in the ongoing evolution and spiritualization of the cosmos. Luria taught that God created the world by forming vessels of light to hold the Divine Light. But as God poured the Light into the vessels, they catastrophically shattered, tumbling down toward the realm of matter. Thus, our world consists of countless shards of the original vessels entrapping sparks of the Divine Light. Humanity’s great task involves helping God by freeing and reuniting the scattered Light, raising the sparks back to Divinity and restoring the broken world.  

 

The work I offer, via phone or video call, is geared toward the concept of raising awareness of one’s connection with the Divine and the possible roadblocks that may hinder that awareness. My work is not about any specific religion or theology.  It is not about the outer world. It is about our inner world and how we view our Spirituality and our personal connection with the Divine. Feel free to contact me with any questions or to schedule time to discuss your Spiritual journey in a safe, non-judgmental energetic place. 

And, now, by putting this out into the Universe via the internet, I invite you to feel free to connect with me also.

Namaste!

 

 

 

  

Christmas Eve 2020

I posted the following on this blog exactly 12 years ago today - Dec 24, 2008 and have been thinking about this a lot. Enough to go onto my blog and find it. The context in which I have been thinking about it has to do with the fact that right now, it is tough to be celebrating the holidays for everybody - Jewish or not! Covid has made us either into hermits who do not want to risk gathering with friends and families or pariahs for flouting the common sense and responsible edicts to not travel and/or gather for the holidays. Christmas and other religious holidays are so much more than opportunities to gather and celebrate. They are invitations to go within and seek Spiritual meaning in our lives. In that context, I invite you to read (or re-read) this piece:

Just about a year ago, I posted the following on a blog maintained by my friend and former pastor, Robert V. Thompson. He is the author of a wonderful book called "A Voluptuous God: A Christian Heretic Speaks". The entry was titled "It's Tough Being a Jew at Christmas". I believe it is worth repeating: My youngest daughter, Carrie, now almost 27 years of age, told me this recently. She works as a kindergarten teacher in a day care center at a Presbyterian church in Deerfield. Her frame of reference was receiving a ginger bread Nativity kit as a white elephant gift at her “work” Christmas party. My oldest daughter, Lori (age 33) sent me an “instant message” this Christmas morning which proclaimed: “you don’t know how depressing it is to be Jewish on Christmas morning”. My middle daughter, Jamie (age 30) has not checked in yet. I suspect she will not complain about being Jewish on Christmas since her husband’s family is Catholic and Jamie is determined to raise their year old daughter Jewish. Jamie has plenty of opportunity to celebrate Christmas with her in-laws and their large families and it is up to her to figure out how to navigate their holiday celebrations. I personally spent many years feeling a mixture of relief and separation around not celebrating Christmas. As a child, I naturally felt “left out” and “different” because I did not celebrate Christmas. I wanted a Christmas tree like my friends had, and if not a Christmas tree, at least a Hanukkah bush to decorate. The first time I asked, I was told there is no such thing as a Hanukkah bush. A stocking filled with toys, etc was completely out of the question. As an adult, my feelings of relief revolved around not experiencing the stress that accompanies having to engage in all the hustle and bustle that seems to define Christmas. Along with that relief, however, I was aware of a strong sense of separation and envy. My sense of separation and feelings of envy were not indicative of wanting to be a Christian nor of a strong desire to celebrate Christmas. After all, I celebrated Hanukkah with my family by lighting candles and exchanging gifts. Our celebrations did not come close to the extravagance of Christmas, but we did celebrate. At some point, I realized that my feelings were actually an expression of grief - a grief that I did not have something that I truly believed in - something magical and wonderful that I thought was embodied by Christianity and the Jesus that my Christian friends worshiped. I did not (nor do I now) feel engaged in Judaism as a religion. To me, Judaism is and for a long time has been my ethnic identity and, although, I was not drawn to the practice of a specific religion, I thought this meant something was missing in my life. Quite a few years have elapsed since I deeply envied Christians their devotion to Jesus and the birth of the Messiah I am unable to accept. I spent six years attending Lake Street Church - not trying to be Christian but as a Jew who felt a very strong call to join the spiritual community that exists within the walls of that particular church. I came to know the difference between religion and spirituality. I was introduced to Jesus the mystic, rabbi, and teacher. I learned to accept the Christ that Jesus was and how he embodied the divine light that resides in each of us - a light that transcends any and all religion. I learned that I am a devout person and that the object of my devotion is my connection with God. I now focus my spiritual energy toward more deeply knowing that connection and experiencing unification with all that is - the great I AM. A few days ago I realized that Christmas was almost upon me and I personally was not feeling any sense of disconnection to the world that celebrates Christmas. This is probably the first year since being introduced to Christmas that I have not been feeling at some level that I am missing out on something wonderful because I am Jewish and don’t celebrate Christmas. Even having my adult children complain about how tough it is to be Jewish now has not been enough to cause me to agree, commiserate, or tap into the old grief I used to feel. Their complaints did prompt me to reassess the meaning of Christmas. I found that it is no longer tough for me to be a Jew at Christmas because for me Christmas is a celebration of a very well known Jewish heretic and the message he carried about the reality of God. I have been thinking about it this year, and while Christmas is tomorrow and Hanukkah began on Sunday at sundown, I really do not feel any energy around the holidays - Hanukkah or Christmas. In my personal belief system, every day is a holy day and I celebrate my connection and communion with God every chance I am able each and every day. So, in the spirit of the holiday season for those that celebrate the holidays (and the holy days), I want to wish you all a Happy Holy Day. May the peace and light of God be with you each and every day. Namaste!

Yesterday a friend contacted me asking for my opinion about a discussion she was having with another friend of hers. It centered around whether or not George Floyd deserved to be the "face" of "Black Lives Matter" due to circumstances surrounding his past criminal activity, the fact that he was found to be using drugs, and other character "flaws". My immediate reaction was this:

"I think George Floyd is the face of the straw that broke the camel's back. He is one in a long line of black people killed unjustly - whether it be the police, white supremacists, or any other extremist. His murder shined the light on systemic issues about the way black people have been treated unfairly for centuries. We might as well say Derek Chauvin is the face of police brutality and oppression but he wasn't the first, and what the current protesters are showing us, he isn't going to be the last.

There are so many ways to look at systemic problems in the black community but we cannot let this be an excuse or a crutch to allow things to remain the same. I don't think they can remain the same. And we cannot allow the attitude of law enforcement (or those who feel it is justified to use force no matter what) remain the same. I think this is a huge turning point for society and I certainly hope we, as a society, are able to rationally and sanely rise to the occasion."

I am not a person of color and have not had the experiences that would even give me the right to speak for people of color, but I am not trying to speak on behalf of anybody but myself. I am a person whose overriding reason for being is to live in God's Loving and Light - and this divisiveness is not lending itself to that end.

It saddens me to see posts on social media passing judgment on others for their choice of words about the phrasing of their beliefs. It saddens me to see people I know, care about, and respect perpetuating divisiveness. I agree that things cannot continue status quo and we, as a society, must work toward a solution. But, I do not think this will happen unless we learn to work toward unity - and that, in my opinion, will not be possible until we can look beyond the things that separate us make a concerted effort to move toward the oneness we are created to dwell within.

My plea for all, no matter what your background and color, is to meditate on whether or not this is something that would be acceptable to God (in whatever form you worship a higher power). Thank you for considering this!

Namaste.