| Opening Hearts to Greater Peace An Edge Life Expo Preview: An interview with Insiah Vawda-Beckman by Tim Miejan Working silently, yet powerfully, in the background of The EDGE Newspaper, Edge Life Expo and even the world at large is a woman who rarely speaks publicly. Yet, for the third annual Edge Life Expo, Insiah Vawda-Beckman, wife of Edge owner Gary Beckman and vice president and co-owner of the publication and the expo, will be at the podium speaking on a topic near and dear to her heart: Creating Peace. Insiah, a native of South Africa, moved to the United States eight years ago after working in corporate management. She was exposed to spiritual and meditative practices since childhood, and she has studied Sufism and other Eastern spiritual paths for years. She is a Reiki Master, Teacher and healer. Kicking off Edge Life Expo 2003, Insiah will join Rev. Michael Underwood in presenting "Making Life Simple By Connecting Mind and Soul With Universal Cosmic Energy," from 4-5:30 p.m. Friday, Nov. 14. The speakers will emphasize that by balancing the seven levels of earthly existence, you can simplify your life and connect your mind, body and soul as one to help reach maximum potential achievement in your life. Through this balance, a connection with Universal Cosmic Energy can be achieved that will create positive change with family, friends, local and world communities for peace, harmony and spirituality on a universal level. Music will be performed by Hanakia Zedik. The EDGE spoke with Insiah by phone from her home office in Ramsey, Minn. Of all the things you have done up to this point, what are you most thankful for having had the opportunity to do? Insiah Vawda-Beckman: To make a difference -- to open people's hearts. Helping people to understand who they really are. It's about acknowledging that you are a child of God and that you are just as important as anyone else. That you have a soul -- and your contribution to the planet is just as important as anyone else's. The more people's hearts open, the better the planet will be and the more peace there will be. How would you describe your purpose or reason for being here now? Insiah: To help people realize that they are love. The Great Light or God, or whatever name you call your creator, commands the cosmos with love. It is important for people to acknowledge the love that they are. If more and more people realize this, they will respect and treat all life from a place of love and compassion. We are, after all, a part of the Great Light -- one happy family. The only difference between us is our individual contracts -- people sometimes go off course and get lost in our world of duality. It is all about finding your way back home to God. What single defining moment that caused you to devote your life toward your purpose? Insiah: I knew as a child that I had a purpose and I used to think there must be a reason they put me down here on Earth. My father had a jewelry store. Every Thursday was beggar's day. When people came to the store on a Thursday for the normal alms, I used to burst out crying. I couldn't understand why there were poor, disabled and miserable people, why there were so many problems, why there was so much pain, why there are so many differences. Why can't everybody be happy and joyous? I felt like I never belonged -- everything was so alien to me. I used to sneak out of bed at night and beg to be taken home. Later in life when my understanding reached a greater level, I knew that I had a soul's purpose to bring love wherever I can. You don't necessarily have to stand on podiums in front of thousands of people. It's your energy that makes a difference, and it changes the frequency of wherever you are -- just by being who you are. A little smile, a kind word -- or even a small positive gesture -- can lift up the spirits of a lost soul. You and Rev. Michael Underwood are speaking on the topic of Making Life Simple By Connecting Mind and Soul With Universal Cosmic Energy. What is it that you want everyone to know about that topic? Insiah: The Universal Cosmic Energy is all about love. God commands the universe with love. We breathe love, we eat love, we sleep love, and love is all around us. The Great Light, or God, is Love. When we talk about the Cosmic Energy, we're talking about the Source Energy, and the Source Energy is driven by love. And life becomes simpler when you connect with it? Insiah: Exactly. The more people open their hearts, the better the planet will be, with more peace, harmony and respect for all life. I will quote Sai Baba, who says: "Where there is love, there is peace." The problems on our planet are due to a lack of love. We all come from the same source. We have cultural and religious differences and have to learn to respect and honor each other's space and respect one another's belief system. The only difference in religions is the structure and the ritual -- you take them out and it is all one. We all have the same blood and energy frequencies running through us. We are all soul, all a part of the Great Essence. So why should there be wars, fighting and killing? We are one beautiful cosmic family. What daily practice that you follow has the most meaning for you -- and why? Insiah: My meditational and contemplative practices every day. This is my soul food and sustenance for the day. It keeps me in balance. This is when I connect to the Great Light or God. I just call Him the Great Light, because to me that is what it is: the Great Light, the giver of energy, the giver of life. Part of my meditational practice each day is to surrender to the Great Light and declare myself a vehicle for the Great Light. Then I just live from day to day with whatever experiences come about and sail through them to the best of my ability in this human vessel. We live in this world of duality. Some experiences are pleasant and some are not so pleasant. I have these blissful states, which make up for all the ups and downs that come about. I sometimes feel like a Love junkie! You don't need drugs to feel bliss -- all you have to do is just love God. You must understand that we're living in the physical world, and our planet is not an easy school. Lessons learned here are harder and greater, and you can evolve here quicker than anywhere else, once you have conquered your lower passions and related issues around you. When you get to a place of love, then you have really evolved. When you find yourself in a negative state of mind, how do you return to balance? Insiah: I get to a place of quiet and a place of peace. I try to take whatever issues I've been confronted with and take it outside of myself and surrender it to Source and ensure that it doesn't, in any way, consume me. It is not mine, and it's not for me to integrate. I try to stay in a place of balance at all times, to the best of my ability. My humanness once in a while gets to me, and I have to check myself. I really enjoy cooking. I find it very therapeutic. And I get these feelings of bliss frequently when I am cooking. On two occasions, people who are truly sensitive to energy have tried to bless my food before they eat. One was Doreen Virtue. She tried to bless her food and jumped back. "Insiah," she said, "I tried to bless my food, but before I could do that, it blessed me back." And I have had similar experiences with other guests, as well. It is so important to be in a state of peace and balance when you are cooking. If you are in a state of anxiety, stress or anger, you will put that energy in the food. People tend to forget that everything is energy and the right energy can make a mighty big difference. Who do you look up to as a role model or source of inspiration? Insiah: Among the living masters who are around in this present lifetime, and I'm not talking about masters who have passed over, the one who really resonates with me is Sai Baba. I am not a Sai Baba devotee, but I love and respect him dearly. He really speaks my language. A special quotation from him that really resonates with me is this: "There is only one God, and He is omniscient. There is only one race, the race of humanity. There is only one language, the language of the heart. And there is only one religion, the religion of love." If more people could understand and accept that it is the heart and being in a place of love that makes the difference, we would have a beautiful, peaceful planet where we would respect all life and all creation as part of us, an extension of ourselves. Of all the places you have been, which one would you choose to return to daily if you could -- and why? Insiah: I love to travel and have been to many, many wonderful countries. It is difficult to choose a specific place. I love the cultural aspect of Europe and really enjoy being there. I love India, my ancestral home, and I love South Africa, my birthplace. I have had déjà vu experiences in Egypt near the Temple of Isis, where I heard voices from everything around me -- the pebbles, the Nile, the trees, the ground -- welcoming me home again. There were other related experiences there that are somewhat personal. I abhor any form of publicity and have always stayed in the background. Even this interview is somewhat embarrassing for me. Why would you encourage someone who has not attended Edge Life Expo to do so? Insiah: People are at different stages in their lives. There are so many different modalities and classes at the Edge Life Expo for people to experience -- and just as many exhibitors who offer all kinds of healing modalities, together with several variations of tools and goods for healing and every day fun. There are so many choices. It is an event one would hate to miss. This is an annual event and it caters to every need in healing and spirituality. Edge Life Expo is a wonderful opportunity to meet like-minded people and feel at home. We have some wonderful internationally known speakers who have not been here for several years. Edge Life Expo offers 90 free classes on different modalities, from pet psychics to health and healing. My husband, Gary Beckman and Michael Underwood, together with Tim Miejan, our editor, have put in a lot of their wonderful time and effort to make this a very memorable and enlightening event. Tickets to Insiah Vawda-Beckman's appearance from 4-5:30 p.m. Friday, Nov. 13, at Edge Life Expo 2003 are available through Nov. 13 for $8, and at the door they cost $10. For advanced tickets, go to www.uptowntix.com or call (612) 604-4466. For more details on Edge Life Expo 2003, visit www.edgenews.com/expo or call (612) 590-1609. Copyright © 2003 Tim Miejan |
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