Change Your Consciousness, Change Your Life is the topic Mark Richardson, international speaker and spiritual seeker, will present at the Satsang Society of New Jersey’s annual seminar on Saturday, April 27, 2013, 1 - 8:30pm at the Woodbridge Hilton, 20 Wood Ave, South Iselin, NJ.

Richardson is someone who has always had a burning desire for answers. As a member of ECKANKAR, Religion of the Light and Sound of God, he found those answers. ECKANKAR teaches individuals how to discover their own unique connection with Spirit through the Spiritual Exercises of ECK, singing HU, an ancient love song to God, as well as working with dreams and studying discourses and books.

Recently, Kristina Mondo had the chance to interview Richardson and speak with him about his spiritual experiences, exercises, and how we all can become more in tune with our own experiences. He is sure to inspire seminar attendees and awaken Soul in this year of renewal and change.

Mondo: What drew you to the ECK teachings and how did you become an ECKist?

Richardson:  It was the desire for direct spiritual experience. I knew there was more to me than the body. I knew there had to be more to life, and I was looking for my own direct spiritual experience so I could find truth for myself, not out of a book or not out of somebody else’s opinion, or even out of religion. I wanted out-of-body experiences. I wanted dreams that could give me guidance in my life, and I was looking to know more about who I really am. So the Spiritual Exercises of ECK are what drew me to begin a desire to know who I am. That which Eckankar offered and the description of the spiritual world within each person were absolutely fascinating.

Mondo: You’ve spoken about your out-of-body experiences. After learning the art of meditation, your meditation instructor told you your experience was of no importance, and you should empty the mind. Do you feel there are still benefits to meditation or chanting OM, as it is a symbol of the consciousness on the mental plane; and how do you think HU differs from that?

Richardson: Great question. Meditation has a range of experience, and OM is a wonderful chant, which relates to a very particular state of consciousness in the inner worlds. It can calm the mind, and it’s very good for the body.  HU is a sound that comes from the heart of God and is a source of other sounds. It is a source of creation in the original sound within. Chanting HU opens up the heart to love, to dreams, to guidance, and the individual to the Light and Sound of God.

Mondo: What advice can you give spiritual seekers who are searching for their path in life?

Richardson: Your inner wisdom, which comes via the heart, knows what path is right for you. Each of us has a different state of consciousness and different spiritual needs. That’s why God put so many religions here on earth—to serve different needs and different groups of consciousness. A suggestion would be to sing the spiritual word HU to open the heart and access your wisdom.

Mondo: How do feel dreams depict daily life and its experiences?

Richardson: Dreams are communications from your real self, Soul, to the outer human self. And everybody dreams, because it’s Soul leaving the body while it rests. The challenge is that the messages are often scrambled by the mind and require interpretation, or the mind blocks any recall. Using specific spiritual exercises for dreams you can interpret and get an answer for any problem, communicate with the departed, see the future, and even resolve differences with other people.

Mondo: What advice can you give those who are thinking about joining Eckankar or who are newcomers to the religion?

Richardson: Take your time. Unfoldment is not a sprint, it’s a marathon. At best the outer path leads you to the temple that is already within your heart. I would suggest trying one of the spiritual exercises to find if it’s a fit for you.

Mondo: In regards to your upcoming talk at the Change Your Consciousness, Change Your Life seminar, what do you think prevents individuals from changing their consciousness?

Richardson: What most often prevents us from changing our consciousness is the fear created by the mind, which resists change. For me the tools for changing your consciousness include some of the spiritual exercises we’ll be offering to explore past lives, dreams and Soul Travel. They can help you experience yourself as Soul, gain guidance, and most important open the heart to divine love. Divine love is not only the key to changing your consciousness, it’s the very reason you are alive.

Mondo: In what way has the ECK changed your consciousness about yourself and the way you see the world?

Richardson: I always suspected that there was more to me than the body, and I wanted to experience heaven. When I had my first Soul Travel experience I then knew that I was Soul. I had a body (I wasn’t my body), and as Soul I could see my life as a training ground for Soul. When I experienced the Light and Sound of God through spiritual exercises, I knew that God was always communicating to me. This all led up to seeing that my life was being orchestrated by Spirit toward one goal—learning to give and receive divine love.

Mondo: What is the most valuable lesson you can impart from the ECKteachings?

Richardson: For me it is experiencing firsthand that I am Soul, and that I exist because God loves me.

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The Change Your Consciousness, Change Your Lifeseminar offers talks, creative performances, a dedicated room for children’s exploration and a SpiritualExperiences Room with mini-discussion groups, spiritual tools to investigate and folks on hand to answer personal questions. Mark Richardson will lead a special workshop at 3:20 pm and will be the guest speaker in the evening at 7:30 pm. Sponsored by the Satsang Society of New Jersey, the entire program is free for those new to the teachings of Eckankar. For more information, visit eckankar-nj.org. email [email protected], or call 800-870-9139. 

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Mark Richardson will lead a special workshop at 3:20 pm and will be the guest speaker in the evening at 7:30 pm at the Change Your Consciousness, Change Your Life seminar on April 27^th. Sponsored by the Satsang Society of New Jersey, the entire program is free for those new to the teachings of Eckankar. For more information, visit eckankar-nj.org. email [email protected], or call 800-870-9139. 

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The Change Your Consciousness, Change Your Lifeseminar is free for those new to the teachings of Eckankar. For more information, visit eckankar-nj.org. email [email protected], or call 800-870-9139.