Why Mystic? Why Radical?

It occurred to me that one might wonder what right I have to call myself a Mystic. First of all, who is Teri Sandler? Is she really Radical? What “right” does she have to talk about the things she does?

Let me start by introducing myself. Born and sort of raised Jewish - aka secular as opposed to religious - I spent a good part of my life questioning why a person (me) has to be in a certain space (synagogue) to know God. Probably simplistic, but this question came to me as a child and stuck with me into adulthood. As I questioned further, I realized I was looking for “something” that I felt others had and I did not. A faith in something or somebody outside myself and a community that shared that. In my experience, it was either a true commitment to Judaism and a rabbi who might connect me more to Adonai, or a commitment to Christianity and a leader who connects people to God through Christ. I had not been introduced to Eastern Spirituality at the time…

 

Spiritually I never could accept Jesus as The Messiah, and I could not really get into all the structure of Judaism so I struggled for quite a while. I am not even certain I was aware of the concept for Spirituality then. Looking back now, I realize that I was being driven by Spirit but did not have any consciousness of what that meant.

 

After probably more than ten years, Spirit led me to an American Baptist church in Evanston, IL whose minister had been initiated on an Eastern Spiritual Path. I was very comfortable there and learned that I am able to accept Jesus as a teacher, rabbi, and a mystic. My personal, simplified version of the noun “mystic” means somebody who connects with God directly through meditation or contemplation. To me, mysticism is beyond religious doctrines, teachings, and tenets. It is One-ness with the Supreme Being or all that is.

 

Spirit took me around the US some for almost twenty years. I was ordained a non-denominational minister in a very small New Thought church, introduced to a Spiritual Path called The Path of Sound and Light, found out this is the same path that the minister in Evanston was intitiated upon, and grew into a deepening of my spirituality. All this pushing and pulling from Spirit allowed me to realize that I am a mystic. Perhaps not the same level as Julian of Norwich or Theresa of Avilla, but a mystic all the same. Many of you may also be, whether you are aware of it or not!

 

The adjective “radical” just seemed to fit when I began a blog in 2008 or so. Looking at the definition now (I didn’t when I named my blog), it does seem to hold true. One of the definitions of radical “is a person who holds or follows strong convictions or extreme principles.” When I was more bound to the physical world I protested on a more anti-war and social action level. I joined a Christian church but do not accept the Christian doctrine. I do not accept the stories of the Bible - not the Old Testament and certainly not the New Testament. I suppose Spirit shared the adjective “radical” with me because all that time I was working my path into knowing the world of Spirit that transcends our physical world.

 

My favorite poet, singer-songwriter, Carrie Newcomer writes and sings frequently about traveling at the speed of soul. My soul seems to be speeding up to the pace of being a messenger of The Light and The Loving of the Universe to anybody who will listen. It is speeding up to the pace and place of being able to hold the space for Light to prevail over the darkness of these days. We need more mystics to wake to the call to become Light Bearers. We need more to stand up Spiritually to open up that space for the Light and the Loving of the Universe to turn back the darkness. We need all of you who are grief stricken by the evolution of our country and the world around us. Go inside. Look upward to Spirit. Please answer the call. Namaste!

please check out Carrie Newcomer's online community www.carrienewcomer.substack.com 

 

It's Been A While....

 I realize I haven’t posted in quite a long time. Guess I’ve had nothing much to say. I’ve been on a more inner journey - dealing with lots of “old” stuff that I have dealt with before. Thought I was finished, but I guess not.

I struggle with the dichotomy of being human and being spiritual. I tend to get quiet when I feel more human than spiritual. This is the time when the words don’t seem to come and the messages are not loud enough for me to hear.

Today is a day for speaking up. We have been through several months of being bombarded by political rhetoric. Some of it has been quite fear-mongering. Today is the day it all ends - but the concern of how it will end still hangs over our heads. The general concensus among my friends and acquaintances is that of feeling tense and stressed. These are definitely not ordinary times.

I am (and have been) choosing to seek The Light and The Loving of the Universe to prevail. I have been meditating on calling in The Light to pave the way for The Loving to soften all our hardened hearts and to calm our fearful psyches.

We are Spiritual Beings living in the physical realm of Human Beings. This is our dichotomy. It seems that we are now being challenged to shift out of the realm of the human dimension and open up the the realm of the spiritual dimension. This is a huge shift and some of us are more ready than others. The tide is carrying us forward and upward. There is much resistance. This resistance creates the tension and friction in our society, as well as the split in our country.

Those of us who are shifting toward the higher dimensions are the Light Bearers, the Seers, and the Mystics. You know who you are. Listen to the call to make way for The Light. Light must prevail over darkness and if this society is to be preserved, we need to work harder. Listen to the call. Follow your heart. Let your soul guide you. Namaste!

Conflicted About The Conflict

The weeks since October 7th have been quite trying for me - both in the external world and my inner world. This is the day the world turned upside down for me and for many of my people. I am Jewish - 100% ethnically Jewish. I have a lot of immediate family living in Israel thanks to my brother who made Aliyah in 1983, married, and had 9 children. Most of these nephews and nieces are married and have children of their own so I can say I have more immediate family in Israel then in the United States.

I do not practice the religion and I am an initiate on a spiritual path - a Path of Sound and Light. The main precepts of this path are Love, Acceptance, and Forgiveness (of self and others). I am generally able to stick to the path, or return to it quickly if I notice I have strayed from these precepts but something shifted for me after the atrocities of October 7, 2023 and I find myself struggling.

My spiritual essence and my human self have not been in alignment. I have trouble loving, accepting, and forgiving a people who want my people to be wiped from the face of the earth. I have trouble empathizing and feeling horrible for the innocent Palestinians caught up in this war because their leadership uses them as pawns and shields. I justify this (to myself) because I have 8 nephews serving in the IDF and my niece in Tel Aviv hears sirens and has to worry about her safety. I justify this to myself because I am constantly worried about the large number of nieces, great nieces, great nephews, brother and sister-in-law scattered about Jerusalem and other towns that are under fire by rockets. I worry that this might be the beginning of World War III when I hear about Iranian, Syrian, Lebanese, and US involvement.

I have trouble recognizing this aspect of my human self. I do not feel as though I am fulfilling my soul’s intention of living in the Loving and the Light of God. I need to do better so that I can bring my physical (human) self into alignment with my Spiritual self and live the life I am meant to live - as a Spark of the Divine.

For this, I set my intention to focus on the Light and being an instrument of the Loving and the Light of God. For this, I get down on my knees and pray to the Holy One to show me the way. Namaste!

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!