Crisis and Expansion

CRISIS AND EXPANSION

Nazanin Zohdi

If you allow me, I would like to start this talk with this phrase from Esoteric Astrology:

“Shirk not these crises, hard and difficult though they may appear to be. Difficult they are. Forget not that the habit of confronting crises, is a long-established one within the consciousness of humanity. Man has the "habit of crisis", if I may so call it. They are only the points of examination as to the strength, purpose, purity and motive and the intent of the soul. They evoke confidence when surmounted, and produce greatly expanded vision. They foster compassion and understanding, for the pain and inner conflict they have engendered is never forgotten, for they draw upon the resources of the heart. They release the light of wisdom within the field of knowledge, and the world is thereby enriched”.

This is a meaningful sentence about crisis. It says "the habit of crisis" tests a person’s strength, purpose and motivation and “evokes confidence and also produces expanded vision. Crises foster understanding and compassion, and one can understand the pain and inner conflict, and finally release the light of wisdom within the field of knowledge”.

My life story is close to the mentioned process and when I look back at my life, I see that I didn’t have a normal day like many people, and now I am really used to living in crisis and it has become part of the rhythm of my life. Sometimes, when people tell me about their lives and pains and the problems that they struggle with, it’s like I’m looking at my memories; and their experiences today are like my memories of yesterday. Now, crises have become like playing a game for me and I’m enjoying this funny game, like riding a rollercoaster!

Perhaps, many of you may know that I was born in Iran and I was only a child when the 1979 revolution happened, and then the war started in 1980, when the Iraqi armed force attacked Iran. There was an economic crisis that left Iran in ruins with all the casualties of war. So, many people migrated to European and American countries, including most of my family members, friends and relatives. During my time in Iran, I witnessed two terrible earthquakes and the death of many people. I had conflicts and there were challenges of religious, social, and cultural beliefs between my past and present, constantly. I am talking about how the revolution and shock of war affected our lives -- what we were in the past and what we have become after that, and what the world was or was going towards. After a couple of years, I, too, migrated and the stories of immigration happened to me – the story of forgetting who you are, starting from scratch and building a new life in a new world. It is like a death and rebirth. For many people, one or two of these crises and tragic mishaps may happen in a lifetime, but for me, it was like living in a whirlwind. I am not very old! But in the past 40 years, so many important events have happened, one after another, in a way that sometimes I think how old I am! From seeing Halley's Comet, to travel to Mars and James Webb’s Telescope discovery, from the fall of the Berlin Wall to the formation of the European Union, or from invention of smartphones to living with masks and working from home!

All these outer events and crises caused me to learn from my early childhood how to live in two different worlds and to get to know the inner world as well. When I just began my schooling, there was a war and I had to study and write my homework by candlelight under the bomb attacks, while on the other side of the planet, people were desperate to see Michael Jackson’s show! In such a crisis situation, my mother had an important role and she was like a beacon for me. She always encouraged me to read books and she read me biographies of famous and successful people of the past. She told me of many scientists and writers and inventors and artists who also studied, worked and wrote in the dark under candle light and she said I could do the same. Consequently, I became very interested in the old world and the past, because the new and outer world and everything in it was intimidating and moved so fast that it seemed inaccessible, especially for us in Iran with the unwanted forced situations under which we were living. For this reason, books became my best friends and made me go deeper into the world of science and research.

After a while, two important events caused major changes in my life and both brought serious crises in my life, but these crises helped me grow and go further in the direction I am now. These events made me. That is to say that I’m not on this path just because of my inspiration or desire, but I’m here because of the belief, confidence and responsibility that I feel towards it.

The first one started with a dream. When I was preparing for the medical university entrance exams, this dream made me change my life direction and instead of medical science, I chose to study English translation and linguistics. In my dream, I saw the most beautiful, luminous and the deepest blue eyes in the world. I felt that I was deep in love and affection in the ocean of those beautiful blue eyes. I found myself swimming in the ocean toward the Golden Sun on the horizon. Suddenly, a key was placed in my hand and I was asked to open people's hearts with it, and for doing this, it is necessary to learn the language of the hearts. When I heard “language”, I thought that I should study language. Maybe it sounds a bit funny now, but at that moment I was sure about it and nothing could change my mind. Eventually, I decided to study English because it was the first language of communication in the world. Making such a decision was not easy at all and many crises happened to me, such as having to convince my family and it impacted my relationship with my friends. It meant changing the people around me, my living environment, my hobbies and my normal life plans—everything changed. It was a very difficult and complicated situation for a young girl in her twenties, especially in Iran. Maybe it looks odd now, but this period of crisis lasted for the next twenty years and every day I became more determined to stay on this path, to learn and discover more, even though I became lonely and people made fun of me, but there was a desire in my heart that carried me on this path, because of the remembrance of those loving familiar eyes!

Since then, until I turned almost 40 years old, I didn't have a routine day or night and I was excited to know more and read more; to find whose eyes I had dreamt about and what the language of the heart means. At the same time, I became acquainted with the esoteric sciences and began to read the available books by Madame Blavatsky and Alice Bailey. I studied many courses and met and worked with mystical teachers in Iran, and later, I had special and personal experiences, but I did not know what I was doing and what my mission was. I had some knowledge in esoteric subjects, but at some point, I realized it was superficial. This made me confused, moody and unmotivated. I was preparing in a sense for a particular event to come about and show me where I was and what I was doing and what my purpose and mission was.. Up until that time I was disappointed and somehow angry with everyone and with life itself and to some extent I doubted the whole concept, that is until the second story took place! Doubt created a horrible crisis for me, but it turned into a miracle and an unforgettable experience.

The second event unfolded in relation to a very close friend of mine who had been diagnosed with a malignant tumor in her head and the cancer had then taken over her body. The doctors had given up on her and she was very afraid of death. One day before her condition worsened, she asked me: “What is the world after death and how much do you know about it and how can you help me?” I really didn't know what to answer because there is a big difference between knowing from experience and saying something with confidence. I just told her that it is better to ask the inner master and your guardian angels. They can help definitely help in a better manner.

At that moment, I asked God and all the teachers and the spiritual hierarchy from the bottom of my heart, to show her a way so that she could be guided properly. I asked them to show me something so that I would regain my faith and believe in them again. I needed to make sure that what I had read was true, to prove that they were not just myths. A couple of days later, her condition worsened and she lost her sight and hearing and no one could communicate with her. But when I went to visit her, she called my name in a loud voice and said that she could see me and hear my thoughts and she even told me what I was wearing.

I was surprised and for the first time in my life, I had a real telepathic experience. I told her to ask the Masters for guidance on her next journey. Two days later, her family called me to say she woke up in the middle of the night and asked them to write down everything she said, and then give the writing only to me. She told her family about going on a trip and mentioned that she is not afraid of death anymore and is ready to leave. Shortly after, she went into a coma and was transferred to the inner side the next day. That letter she left for me has changed my life and it worked like a miracle. She was like a messenger and enlightened me about my doubts, questions and whatever I couldn’t understand. Needless to say, that my friend had no knowledge of the esoteric sciences and none of her family members understood her words but me. The strange secrets were opened and the path of return was fully explained to me.

Since that moment, I have felt a strong sense of responsibility towards the path and the enlightenment of humanity. I started translating the texts of the esoteric sciences, especially esoteric astrology, for those who are interested. Then, I found the Arcane School, the Triangles and the World Goodwill Group, and I learned and I’m still learning the Path of Service with them.

In the end, all I’m trying to say is that all those hardships, challenges, and crises disappeared in a moment. All I see now, are the love and light of those blue eyes which changed me; and those words in my friend’s letter. These experiences brought me such a sense of responsibility and accountability that now I am ready to do anything to serve and to endure hardship and crisis; always having the aspiration to help others and to share light and love in any language. I believe that the perception of the concept of the “language of hearts” requires more effort and time, but at least now I now know who is teaching it and I’ve started learning its alphabet.

Today, I want to tell everyone --“Please don’t be afraid of crises and hardships and don’t run away from them; because they are destined according to our evolutionary plan and ultimately make us stronger and readier in our journey back to home.