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A Lenten Journey with Fr. Vazken

A Lenten Journey with Fr. Vazken

Fr. Vazken Movsesian
Religion & Spirituality

Spiritual reflections and meditations from the Armenian Church Lenten period by Fr. Vazken.

128 - Torkom
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  • 128 - Torkom

    Road to Healing – Lenten Journey 2014 Day 27: Play Now:  Direct Link for Download (right click and save link as...) Like every other 13 year old, I was bored during religion class. We were forced to endure a one- hour lesson once-a-week inside the church sanctuary, where the priest would talk above our head about things that didn’t matter. Until one day, a very special priest invited us to fast. That’s right – to eat nothing. I don’t know what it was, but that one lesson caught my attention and turned me on to a practice that I would carry with me throughout my life. It was the late 1960’s. The President had been shot a few years earlier. In one year both Civil Rights leader Rev. Martin Luther King, Jr. and then the President’s brother, Robert Kennedy were both shot dead. There was a war in Viet Nam and back in America there was distrust for the government. Shut-ins, walk-outs and sit-ins were the way people expressed their disappointment with the establishment, while drugs of the psychedelic variety were another type of experiment against the system. The Beatles had returned from India with Transcendental Meditation and groups like The Cream were defining the improvisational Rock & Roll. So to sit through a was religion class listening to stories about dead people was an opportunity to either snooze or goof-off with friends. But when this priest spoke, I was listening. His name was Torkom Saraydarian. I was a student at the Holy Martyrs Ferrahian Armenian Day School in Encino California, where he was the priest. I found his lessons fascinating because he was inviting. He engaged us – at least me – in a practical manner, in my faith. Of all the lessons, the one I remember specifically was the one on fasting. He stood before the altar and explained the joys of fasting – the experience of cleaning the body and the soul through this practice. He spoke of healing and at that young age I was actually understanding that body, soul and mind needed to function in harmony for a healthy life. Many years later, after I was ordained a priest, I set out looking to find Torkom. He was teaching in Sadona, Arizona. I packed up our young family and we head out to the desert, only to be disappointed to learn the Teacher had passed away only a few months before we arrived. I was truly looking forward to meeting with him. I had followed only peripherally his teachings but knew that we were kindred spirits. A few years after our trip to Sedona I connected with his daughter Gita who was keeping Torkom’s legacy alive through the publication of his books and lessons in Ageless Wisdom.* In his lifetime, Torkom had authored many books and touched many lives with his wisdom and teaching. One of his many volumes is titled “Healing.” I wish to share with you a few excerpts from the first chapter of the book, called “Striving Toward Perfection.” The Ageless Wisdom teaches us that the major foundation of health is striving toward perfection… There are three stages of perfection. The first is called Transfiguration. The second is called Mastery. The third one is called Resurrection. All branches of the Ageless Wisdom – religions, traditions, legends, myths, etc. – have one major goal: to bring to the people of the world all the laws, rules, principles, ideas and the teachings which will make them healthy physically, emotionally, and mentally. Of course health, in turn, brings happiness, prosperity and success. To be healthy means to be healthy in all your personality vehicles – the physical, emotional, and mental bodies. Unless these bodies are healthy, you cannot be considered a healthy person. And these three bodies must unfold and develop simultaneously until they reach a high degree of integration in which they cooperate with maximum efficiency and without hindering each other’s growth. I wish to leave you to contemplate these thoughts from Torkom Saraydarian on this 27th Day on the Road to Healing. Keep in mind that we stepped foot on this road only twenty seven days ago, but the true journey – the one filled with inquiries, answers, growth and completeness, is one we have been on all our life. I look forward to continuing with you tomorrow. * For more on Ageless Wisdom and Torkom Saraydarian: http://www.tsgfoundation.org/ Photo: At Saraydarian Center, Arizona with In His Shoes Group 2003 Produced by Suzie Shatarevyan for http://epostle.net

    Fri, 28 Mar 2014
  • 127 - The Right Fit - The Right Healing

    Road to Healing – Lenten Journey 2014 Day 20: Fit Play Now:  She was very sincere in her asking. She didn’t want to argue with him, but she knew she was in the right. After all, she was well learned, knowledgeable of the latest trends, well-read and connected to daily news. So she was rather taken aback when her doctor adamantly refused her request. After all she had heard that a glass of red wine and dark chocolate were good for the heart. She just wanted to hear it come from his mouth, if it did it would then qualify as a prescription for her. But her request was met with an emphatic “No!” by the one she called physician. “But I heard it’s supposed to be good for the heart.” “Maybe so,” replied the doctor, “But it’s not good for your heart.” She wasn’t going to give up without a battle. “How about just a little; I heard it Dr. Oz talk about it on his show.” She was pulling out all the guns – shooting heavy now. “There are a lot of things that can be good in different ways, but considering your history with heart disease and your physical condition now, you cannot eat chocolate and you cannot drink wine.” Given our options and choices today and the volume and speed at which information flows, we all have a little knowledge about a large variety of subjects. The old saying, “Jack of all trades, master of none,” can be revised today, “Informed about all, expert of none.” Obviously, it’s not a bad place to be in life – to know a bit about everything. But, if we mistake information for knowledge, we increase our vulnerability and can end up believing in things that are insignificant, or even harmful to our general well-being. Today we are at the mid-point of our journey. On this 20th day, we learn that one-size does not fit all. We are all alike in that we on a journey toward healing; we are all different by virtue of our uniqueness and individuality. In our individuality we come to realize that yes, we can be an expert in one area for sure – our self. There is no one who knows your self the way you do! Today on this hump day, with half of the journey behind us and a half in front of us, let us understand our uniqueness and celebrate our individuality. The lessons thus far have been to limber us up so that we can be open and raw, so that we can be masters of our own lives. Our healing is dependent on many factors. Healing will be complete for each of us according to a prescription written uniquely to our weight, height, psychological and physical condition, emotional and spiritual state, unique to the color of our eyes, the swirls of our fingerprints, the pace of our walk. In other words, be thankful that one size does not fit all. I look forward to continuing the second half of the journey with you tomorrow, on this Road to Healing. Produced by Suzie Shatarevyan for epostle.net Get A Lenten Journey with Fr. Vazken delivered by email View in iTunes Now Playing on BluBrry

    Fri, 21 Mar 2014
  • 126 - Lenten Journey - Heartbeat

    Day #40 of the Lenten Journey into the Divine Liturgy by Fr. Vazken Movsesian. If you cannot see the audio controls, listen/download the audio file here Music: Lifebeats by Jethro Tull Lenten Recipe 40: Jicama Salad Produced by Suzie Shatarevyan for epostle.net Background Lent Song: Here I Am to Worship played by Heidi  Get A Lenten Journey with Fr. Vazken delivered by email View in iTunes Play/Stream on BluBrry Listen via Stitcher Radio

    Fri, 27 Mar 2015
  • 125 - Lenten Journey - Outreach

    Day #39 of the Lenten Journey into the Divine Liturgy by Fr. Vazken Movsesian. If you cannot see the audio controls, listen/download the audio file here Outreach Lenten Recipe 39: Tropical Sweet Potatoes Produced by Suzie Shatarevyan for epostle.net Background Lent Song: Here I Am to Worship played by Heidi  Get A Lenten Journey with Fr. Vazken delivered by email View in iTunes Play/Stream on BluBrry Listen via Stitcher Radio

    Thu, 26 Mar 2015
  • 124 - Lenten Journey - The RSVP

    Day #38 of the Lenten Journey into the Divine Liturgy by Fr. Vazken Movsesian. If you cannot see the audio controls, listen/download the audio file here The RSVP Lenten Recipe 38: Peach Salsa Produced by Suzie Shatarevyan for epostle.net Background Lent Song: Here I Am to Worship played by Heidi  Get A Lenten Journey with Fr. Vazken delivered by email View in iTunes Play/Stream on BluBrry Listen via Stitcher Radio

    Wed, 25 Mar 2015
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