I
would like to share with you a wondrous, inescapable fact:
Vistar is the child of an Invisible Realm. That Realm wishes
Vistar to exist; it provides nourishment and living guidance
for Vistar’s growth and development. How did this seem to come about over the ten years of Vistar’s history?
Individuals with a shared intense wish for Self-Knowledge gathered to form a group—a group which has become an organism—an organism which has attracted a guiding Force. And the heart of this remarkable joint venture is the desire to share with the public the timeless, powerful and practical Truth about our Identity and essential Self. Individual growth and an outpouring of creativity have been our shared experience.
For myself, persistent questions have emerged: As the mission of Vistar moves forward, am I witnessing and experiencing the birth of a uniquely Western form of spiritual association–one without guru or ashram, one where the self-created paradox between individual expression and community need is resolved? Is a voluntary association of committed individuals in search of Self-Knowledge a new receptive instrument for accessing an individual realm of unlimited creativity, wise guidance and lasting Unity? And, is such an instrument in some way qualified to bear the frequency of spiritual truth to those who reach for this true nourishment.
For myself and others on this journey at Vistar, these are the issues we are exploring. What a great privilege! What a great adventure!
Perhaps my interest in collective consciousness is related to my being raised in a kibbutz in Israel. I do feel that the closeness to nature, so much a part of my early years, left me with an openness, appreciation and gratitude for the beauty and mystery of life experience. I came to America from Israel at the age of eight and stepped into a maze of progressive education and relative isolation from life leading to my M.D. degree.
Seven years of intense psychoanalysis during my college and medical school years did little to enhance my sense of identity.
Looking back I can see the signs of my magnetic center…the love of the sun, the response to the thundering words of the prophets and the understanding of the spiritual regeneration of Raskolnikov in Dostoyevsky’s “Crime and Punishment”.
Practicing transcendental meditation prepared me, at the age of forty, for the spiritual crisis of my life – and also led me to my first teacher, Charles Ahart. Uncounted miracles for me and others witnessed the undeniable existence of another dimension of being. Contact with my second Guide, Kenneth George Mills revealed that responsiveness to nature, great literature, esoteric teachings and extraordinary experiences was in fact the magnificent repertoire of my true nature, what I AM.
The promise which was made to Charles Ahart to give away what I was so freely given expressed itself in the formation of the Vistar Foundation in 1994.
Educational background:
- Columbia College , Physics major
- New York School of Medicine
- Walter Reed Institute of Research
- Pathology Training, Harvard Complex
- Pottery (wheel) – self taught
- Music – life long love, piano
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It might appear that I am one of the founders of Vistar Foundation, but
the truth is that Vistar found me. This impulse has its origins with a man named
Charles Ahart, who offered help only on the vow that it would be shared with
others. After taking part in two life and destiny changing Teachings, the impulse
to “give it away” was very strong. Years later we thought we had a plan.... We could give a few lectures and share this amazing knowledge and method of discussion.... That’s as far as it went....
NOW.... A constant Star.... Leaps of change.... An unfolding journey.... with many who have come and gone and a core of those who are dedicated to this offering to again “give it away” and share the greatest adventure beyond what is imaginable.
Coiled clay form by Victoria Friedman
Victoria was named after Victoria Falls in Uganda, East Africa, where she was born. Her parents were there after a journey of epic proportions, one of the great stories of survival in the face of the Holocaust. She grew up speaking Swahili and had no formal schooling until the family came to the United States when she was eight years old.
A typical Jewish American upbringing began with all of its programming, anxiety and pressure for accomplishment. She graduated City University in New York, with a BA in Fine Arts, and promptly married a Jewish Doctor. She studied Pottery, opened her own clay studio, and much to her astonishment, was accepted fairly quickly into the prestigious American Crafts Council Northeast Craft Fair for five years in a row. Two children followed - a boy and a girl - three years apart…perfect!!
But The Law of Fate had its way. The marriage crumbled…there was little will to continue clay art…depression set in…separation…
The seeker was activated
Relationship seemed to be the answer…
co-dependence…attachment…obsession…all sorts of therapy.
THE SEEKER WAS ACTIVATED
Reading esoteric books! Spiritual workshops! Transcendental meditation!
When the student is ready, the teacher appears
December 3rd 1979 – Charles Ahart – Wainwright House, Rye New York
AWAKENING... A Way was found
1990 – Kenneth G Mills
GIFT OF THE HIGH STANDPOINT
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