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Beyond Religion To Seven Commandments for A Good Life
- Shari Sharifi Brown
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In today’s episode of “Healing From Within”, your host Sheryl Glick author of The Living Spirit, shares a look at Universal Energy Healing, spiritual communication and ways to awaken to true human and divine potential. Sheryl welcomes Shari Sharifi Brown author of The Seven Commandments for Happiness and Prosperity who speaks about her personal journey through living within 3 religions to discover the seven key principles that can be applied to all inclusively. A basic plan for reflecting humanity and goodness that can resonate and bring clarity to often conflicting and confusing ideologies along with a new awareness of what leads religious followers to deviate from the simple and pure grace of the Divine.
Shari Sharifi Brown, a structural engineer who worked on a project between the Shah of Iran and Hughes Aircraft in 1976, received a post graduate degree from Harvard in Tehran, was born a Shite Muslim in Isfahan Iran, converted to Christianity and married into a Jewish-American family. Shari is the complete composite of a person who has walked the walk and talks from many experiences with the Three Abrahamic religions and ways of life. We will discuss the compatibility of these religions and learn the key elements of all three major religions to make us whole and secure and to see that the similarities outweigh the differences.
We are living in a time when many Americans are confused about the issues and life style of those living in the Middle East, the differences between the Shites and Sunnis and the Islamic Terrorists and there is much fear and anger regarding the Iranian deal that Obama made and also what to do with the many refugees leaving their homelands.
Sheryl Says…. “The Western way of living is very different from the Modern Muslim World and the ancient Muslim world ACCORDING TO SHARIA LAW in regard to when and how to pray, how women and children are treated as a subordinate second class group, and in the harsh punishments for what the government sees as idolatry or a disrespect for Islam. These ancient practices are not in alignment with the freedoms of the WESTERN WORLD in regard to civil rights, women’s rights, and in an individual way not designated way to find God There seems no way to integrate these philosophies into the rest of the world outside the Middle East. If they do not evolve as other religions have over time. Shari goes on to tell us that the rules for women to cover themselves from head to foot in the heat and suffer discomfort and shame for being a woman do not come from the Koran . Sheryl feels like God would wish us all to delight in the beauty of nature and freedom and to feel the light and wind on our skin. Many Americans are upset at the treatment of women which may not be in the name of Allah but may be man- made terroristic restriction and imprisonment .”
Shari tells us how the crisis of the Iranian Revolution taught her many things and wrote, “First it showed me that religion and politics can never mix that is why in America we keep state separate from religion or are supposed to…The United States the great friend of the Shah withdrew its support and he was exiled. In his place came a fearsome religious dictator by the name of Ayatollah Khomeini who is still in power….. He called America the great Satan, but at home he began acting like the devil himself. Every day people were executed with bodies hanging from cranes in the street. Members of the Shahs parliament were imprisoned. One day I was opening a car door and liquid acid was sprayed on my neck…Khomeini’s people were attacking those by the way they dressed or the car they were driving more educated and moderate Muslims, and calling them evil, but really they were pro Shah sympathizers and it was a political ploy. It is still the same today. This is the violent extremism of all the countries now overrun by Isis and people who think like the Ayotallah who for reasons unknown to many Americans we are still befriending. Many of the political leaders in the Middle East want to destroy western culture kill Americans and destroy Israel the last beacon of peace in that entire region standing by itself.”
Shari suggests there are keys to happiness brought to us by messengers, such as The Ten Commandments and Jesus Two Commandments..Jesus said to him, “Thou shall love the Lord thy God with thy whole heart and with thy whole soul, and with thy whole mind.” This is the greatest and the first Commandment and the Second is, “Thou shalt love thy neighbor as thyself….. and then Shari tells us the 7 commandments of Mohammed.
Shari has taken the 19 commandments and without losing anything from the essence of the message created 7 that are easy for her to follow incorporating the best of all religious thought:
- Believe in the one God. Have total obedience to the Supreme Power and pray to him every Day.
- Ward the evil. Remember the more you stay away from evil the further the evil gets from you .
- Believe in the Hereafter and know that because of the flow of energy in the universe, everything has to balance in the end.
- Don’t steal. Someone else’s money is not yours. Someone else’s spouse is not yours.
- Be a charitable giver. If you don’t have the money, be charitable with your time—inconvenience yourself.
- Honor your parents. I cannot tell you the importance of this commandment. It is not up to you to judge if they are worthy or not of honor. Do it because you are in the mode of a 3-month practice and this is part of fulfilling the commandment.
- Pray continuously. Be always in prayer mode.
Sheryl says… “Since I was a girl I felt the dogma and ritual of my own Jewish religion did not speak to my heart and soul and many guests on the show some Christians have expressed this same sentiment . I believe the soul wishes to know and reconnect on a personal level to God and the eternal nature of life…and through meditation trying to do the best for myself and others, have concluded that religion OFTEN separates many from this true individual connection and causes MANY to believe their way is the only way to practice… To Love and Be With God or even truly know God exists….Here is the problem …there is not only your way or religious belief…there are many ways to go, almost as many ways as there are unique and individual souls who share the spark of the divine within.”
In The Living Spirit, Sheryl wrote……”By seeking deeper knowledge of your soul, your heart energy, and your life’s purpose you automatically begin to remember that you are more than your body, more than the material or physical world: you are part of a higher life force that is eternal and divine. Connecting to this inner voice, spirit soul energy or essence brings you an innate awareness of how to commit to your educational goals, the people in your life, your hobbies, interests in nature and the beauty of creation. This ultimately results in a more balanced peaceful proactive state of being, as well as more loving interactions with everyone and everything in your life.”That Sheryl believes is Spirituality..the search for greater self-awareness and connection to Universal Truths: not necessarily beliefs structure and rituals imposed by man- made religious systems.”
In Sheryl’s healing and guided way of life, there are 5 Reiki Principles…
- Be slow to worry
- Be slow to anger
- Be grateful for life
- Work hard today for what you love
- Be kind to yourself and others today.
If you follow these simple guidelines you set up an energy of acceptance allowance and surrender and flow in the love of God and the Universe, finally at peace..Peace therefore begins within each of us….
The Qur’an says that only if you don’t do Sabbath, do five time prayers but if your days are long and you are working during a long day, then you do your prayers at night…and that is why Shari say to be in prayer mode all the time. A loving God always offers ways to deal with individual needs without judgment and punishment…those negative expressions come from a less evolved view of God and the Universe.
In prayer or open awareness and alignment to God or spirit, you are able to receive guidance and know you are not alone nor subject to the wishes or desires of others, but true to yourself….
Shari gives us an overview of the world today…the 2008 financial collapse and euro crisis, fueled growing insecurity, the middle class is in decline, and widespread anger and protests. China India and Russia’s growth has mostly benefited those at the top. There are 65 civil and international wars and conflicts today. Some people profit from these conflicts…The Syrian Civil War pitting a secular dictator against a mostly religiously motivated opposition has fractured the nation and region causing over 200,000 deaths and millions of displaced eastern Syria and Northern Iraq refugees. In Iraq more than 10 years after the US invasion religiously motivated violence still tears the country apart. It has given rise to the fanatically murderous group called the Islamic State/Isis which seeks to resurrect the caliphate, or Islamic Empire which ended over 100 years ago. These extremists control groups of The Middle East has imploded in violence and earlier promises of democracy are all but gone. The Korean peninsula is imperiled by the threat of nuclear war. Elsewhere in the region thousands of Palestinians are killed by Israeli bombs and life in Israel is disrupted by this unresolved conflict. Libya Yemen and the Taliban in Afghanistan are all war zones… So Called Religion inspires terror on nearly every continent. Poverty is persistent in Africa, Latin America, and right here in America. THERE IS A DEEP DECINE IN HUMAN VALUES, CIVILITY IS ON THE DECLINE IN GOVERNMENT AND AMONG ORDINARY CITIZENS.
So religions teach people to reject a world and behaviors that can’t be saved, in order to save ourselves. This means to have a deep relationship with something or someone we can’t see or know…but only experience. It’s an act of faith difficult for many people. Impossible for some. The very word religion from the Latin “religare”…means to bind together. It means placing an obligation on or bond between humans and gods. That’s intensely personal as a private bonding relationship with his or her God. Sheryl actually calls this Spirituality which moves beyond religions of the past, all taken from similar constructs.
Sheryl says “We are getting closer… as Quantum Physics and the study of energy and evolution show that it is only through recognizing the eternal nature of the Cosmos and God as a Universal Energy which we are all part of that life death and creation or continuous life on many levels and alternate dimensions starts to make sense. For me as a Reiki energy healer when I meditate I feel the shift of energy around me and connect to this higher space or informational dimension and am able to download information that is helpful to my clients. With yoga, meditation, alternative healing modalities, tai chi and other practices and even religions becoming more open minded we are headed in the right direction for self discovery self development and self actualization.”
Shari shares an understanding of Idolatry which is the worship of pictures and carvings as representation of unseen gods. It is a visual aid to the invisible. This practice existed from at least fifty thousand years ago…It began in prehistoric times. We can still see it today in Catholic churches, in Hindu and Buddhist temples. Idolatry can divert us from a humble direct relationship to the one Invisible God inside us. Many Hebrews ignored Moses commandments and practiced the evil of earlier pagan religions like idolatry and child sacrifice. Jesus was the second stage of knowing given by God in his simplified commandments…Love God and your neighbor. Jesus” message was in line with the Hebrew prophets who came before him teaching the way to happiness and to become closer to God. Many believe that the Hebrew belief of a Punishing avenging God was flawed, and ego based…God as seen by others is an energy of creation expansion and evolution…love non-judgment and allowing his soul beings who are part of that eternal energy, to have free will and make choices…Of course Spirit would hope for us to make good choices but loves us non- the less..no matter what.. Religious fanatics who violently impose their religious views and practices on others are always out for power, control, land, other resources, never for the true love of God.
Modern day idolatry threatens democracy. When idolatry particularly of money, possessions, power, and people dominate the formal democracies of the west and where celebrity worship renders select people more worthy than others when all they are doing is entertaining us, the democratic spirit of a nation is lost as is the inner connection that allows us to see how equal we are in the most important ways.. What separates us are things that won’t last: divisions over income and property, divisions over race or ethnicity, and divisions over religious identity. Remember the worship of a celebrity reduces the self-worth of an ordinary citizen or a divine soul. We see how greed on Wall street can poison democracy with our representatives taking kickbacks and their lust for power and corruption. The Media and advertising are perpetuating this madness and making those who have less turn to drugs and crime in order to have what society deems important or necessary. Worse they give up and simply fall into a depressive hole no longer appreciating life and God.
The earliest civilization it is known created organized religions and the first theocracies, in which political power was legitimized by religious prestige. This increase in reason through hieroglyphics or early writing influenced the priesthood which often then manipulated the religious beliefs to support social and political hierarchy. This religion is not for the purpose of experiencing God, but is a device to cement an extreme imbalance of power for money land and other material. The priests put the prehistoric Gods into the service of the civilized supreme Power. In Egypt the pharaoh was thought of as half man….half God
According to Shari and Sheryl being rich does not mean to seek power or money over others..it means to live in accordance with faith, God’s love, to feel secure and happy, and ultimately live an honorable not dishonorable life. Happiness comes from satisfying necessary desires but reining in desires so you don’t take more than you need and don’t take from the needs of others.
Shari explains what natural authority it. She wrote…”It’s thousand year rule eventually split apart over renewed theological differences in the Reformation. Some Christians protested that the church had become far removed from what Jesus intended. These Protestants them splintered themselves on theological grounds. None of these disputes are important to your inner life. We will leave theology to the theologians. Theology is divisive. It splits people within religions and among religions. It contributes nothing to religion’s main aim: to find peace and security for individuals and communities. Theology is the study of God. I do not believe it is possible to study God. It is only possible to experience God… Sheryl agrees and says to Shari, “So well said Shari and that is the truth as I have come to know…..”
Perhaps Natural authority is each human respecting and honoring all as the divine representation of God and seeing the best in everyone without judgment and expectations…allowing for uniqueness and accepting challenges.
Shari says… “You may be surprised to know that Jesus is revered in Islam as one of the greatest prophets born of a Virgin ascended into heaven and will come again to judge the living and dead While Christianity added a new dimension to my faith without distracting from Islam. After studying in America I returned to Iran and started working for the ministry of war on a project for the Shah. The project was stopped just before the Revolution. I worked with my former husband in an import export business…and started to produce HuLa Hoos They told me that innocent pleasure and activity was un-Islamic… I left Iran for the second time in 1983. I came back after the revolution, got remarried, and have 2 grown up children and a grandchild… I believe people should not be attacking Jesus or Moses or Mohammad as I myself have always sought truth and hope that their messages were of love , love of God within yourself and a reminder that this world is temporary: only a chance for us to take provision for something permanent beyond this life. Be good to our soul.”
Sheryl Says…. “When one knows about our true nature as the divine sparks of Infinite Life and Love which is what God Source Divinity or Universal Energy is ….Therefore we are all energy beings experiencing a physical life for the prime purpose to reconnect and remember our soul nature and refine it with compassion and love..so Jesus and Moses were representatives of God bringing his love and integrity into the physical world…not with so many beliefs, but with the simple values and way of living where being good, kind, trusting, and loving really matters…nothing else much matters.”
Atheists can apply these commandments to their own lives by adhering to human and civil rights and doing good in the world to create a balance in your own life and this translates into better health, success, prosperity, love of life and in developing your own natural talents and gifts…which is good for you and those around you..
Regarding critical thinking it may be thought of as clear thinking or self-investigative thought which helps you to get to know yourself better. Therefore right thinking brings you closer to a divine spiritual state of harmony peace and love. Avoiding anger fear blame and other negative emotions allows you to remain in alignment with nature man and God leading to transformation: happiness, and ultimately enlightenment. Anger takes you in the opposite direction from your natural state of well being and connectedness to the energy of the Universal Source and each other.
Shari wrote “ Believe in God, receive his grace, keep praying and give to the poor. This is the key to happiness. It is not culture that divides people of different faiths. There are Christians Jews and Muslims of all nationalities. It is theology.” Sheryl says..Forget the theology and the stories written by Man. “ Believe in God and following his commandments for being a decent human being: that is all that is needed… “
Shari and Sheryl have shown the many confusing elements of societies growth worldwide, and how religion was often used politically to foster control of the masses for the purpose of order, the accumulation of money, land and services from them. Religion has also on some level sought to find peace, understand human suffering, and find ways to work in accordance with nature to better the lives of people…However much of religion has been born out of the fear and anguish of people’s lack of wisdom, resources, and knowledge, creating illusions and beliefs which do not benefit our modern world…It is now more than ever a time for personal self awareness and growth and in the higher dimensions I would hope God and Spirit help us to find our true and lasting connection to l higher consciousness, love of God, man and nature, and a personal interaction or alignment to Source which will feed our humanity with a greater sense of compassion and love for all life forms.
Shari and Sheryl would hope you begin to recognize your own thoughts in regard to love fairness and truth and know which of the beliefs you were given in the Name of God which may still serve you, and which thoughts beliefs and actions no longer serve you. Be courageous moving towards new thinking for what the world and each of us needs at this time of massive change and transformation.
