February is the month of Love, and we are honored to welcome back Rev. Dr. Grace Telesco who will share a 4-part series on Transformation of the Heart.
It is in the heart space that we connect to the One Source. It is in the sacred place of pure love, compassion, and acceptance where true healing takes place. It is within this temple of the heart that we connect to one another and recognize that there is no real separation between us and that we are one. All fear comes from a place of misunderstanding and “fake news” that there is separation rather than the Sacred Truth of Oneness. This month we will delve into the concept of “transformation of the heart” through the lens of Christ’s teachings and mystical teachings of the East and West.
Feb. 5: “Turning of the Heart”
This week we will dive into the teachings of Christ and the Sufi’s who remind us of the importance of turning from darkness to light through the heart space. The Sufi’s describe a concept called “tauba” which is the practice of turning the heart from places of fear, resentment, and anger to love and radical forgiveness. This tauba and turning of the heart is how we find our way back home to the Beloved.
Feb. 12: ” Forgive Everyone Everything”
This week we will focus on Jesus’ teaching on radical forgiveness through the lens of Hindu Mysticism focusing on “oneness”. We will be talking about how the illusion of separateness informs how we hold onto resentment and “justified anger” in our lives. Once we have the awareness that we are “holding on” to our pain-body, as Ekhart Tolle teaches us, we can begin to see that this is the reason we feel a sense of loneliness and home-sickness. All we are really looking for is to return to the light and connect with our Beloved. It is resentment and righteous anger that prevents us from “waking up” to this connection with the Divine and finding our way home.
Feb. 19: “The Prodigal Son”
This week we hear about the parable of the prodigal son’s return and we get to examine which character we are in our practical world. The teachings of Christ and the Buddha remind us that life is suffering because we hold onto things of the “flesh” which do not matter. All that matters is love and this Divine love (or Bhakti in Sanskrit) is made manifest through compassion and the cherishing of one another, no matter what has occurred.
Feb. 26: “Universal Lover”
This week we look at how to apply the greatest commandment “to love one another” in our practical world and to fulfill the one wish that Jesus said to his disciples …”that they may be One”. Through the lens of Yogic teachings, we will talk about how to bridge the gap between theological theory and spiritual practice. Jesus often reminded us that faith without works is dead. In the same way we learn how to apply the spiritual principles to our apparent reality, so that we can truly love ourselves and one another as God loves us.
REV. DR. GRACE TELESCO (“Rev. G”) is the Executive Director and Senior Clergy at the Darshan Center for Spiritual Evolution and Co-Founder and Executive Dean of Sacred Journey Interfaith Seminary in Oakland Park, FL.
A graduate of the New Seminary for Interfaith Studies in New York City, she is an ordained Interfaith Minister, and has been initiated into the Sanyassi Order in the Hindu Tradition in the lineage of her Guru.
Rev. G holds a Ph.D. in Social Work from Fordham University, a Master of Arts in Criminal Justice and a Master of Holistic Theology. She is a Professor of Sociology, Theology, Social Work and Criminal Justice at Nova Southeastern University. In addition, Rev. G. has served as Senior Dean at the International Seminary for Interfaith Studies and is a member of A World Alliance of Interfaith Clergy.