I’m an ordinary guy with a mission and vision of life that I know is
my calling. My name is Rod, well it’s actually Shahrad, which in my
native language means ‘A young prince’. I was born in Tehran, Iran and
came to United States when I was 10 years of age. I’ve been blessed with
an incredible family; my parents, my beautiful sisters, their husbands,
kids, and extended aunts, uncles, cousins…We all have a unique story to
tell. As I usually say, ‘everyone has a story’, and here is mine.
I grew up in a conservative Jewish family and the turning point of my
life was when a group of thugs attacked me on the first day of high
school. I was so disappointed that I begged my parents to enroll me in a
private school. As a result, I ended up in a private orthodox Jewish
school, Valley Torah High School. I had an honor to learn and study
about my religion on a daily basis. My interest though became more about
the spirituality aspects of Judaism. I connected with a great Rabbi who
taught me the principles of Jewish Mysticism, Kabala. I’ve always been
very discipline in what I do, so my studies were always priority for me.
After graduating high school, I ended up at University where I chose
to study Biology. I was inspired to become a physician. My last name in
Farsi actually means ‘medicine’, or Pezeshki. I had this dream to
becoming a healer from a very young age. Well, my parents dream, to be
more accurate, which I’ve always respected and inherently made part of
my own. We take on our societal roles at a very young age from our
parents, teachers, friends, and other role models that shape us into
becoming who we are. However, towards the end of my university, I took a
Psychology course that taught Modern Western Psychology through Eastern
Philosophy. I was amazed by my professor, Dr. Roger Moss, to whom I
always extend my deepest gratitude for my breakthrough in life. I loved
learning about Buddhism, Hinduism, Taoism, and so forth. It was a fresh
opening for me, a new discovery. Therefore, I continued to study
Psychology and did further soul searching. Regardless of this new
frontier, I followed my dream of becoming a doctor.
I had the pleasure of studying abroad for medical school where I
learned a new language, lived in a very unique environment, and worked
in the poorest areas in the world. Guadalajara, Mexico became my new
home and my new life became very challenging for me to adapt and handle.
I was in a long distance relationship at that time and the pressures of
keeping up with medical school’s demand led me into a severe
depression. Experiencing this for the first time, I didn’t know how to
handle my feelings. My Sister supported me by showing up to Mexico few
times and found me a great Psychiatrist to get help from. I battled
through my emotional challenges and career until I finished Medical
School and came back to U.S.
Further, I had a challenging time with my first set of medical boards
called USMLE Step 1. This journey motivated me to do lots of inner work
on myself. It strengthened me each time I dealt with defeat, not to
give up, to become more discipline, and inspire myself to take action.
Along this path, I had many beautiful souls that helped reshaping myself
into who I have become now which is a
creative, kind, loving, beautiful, expansive, receptive, endlessly abundant, happy, plentitude, and a peaceful individual. They know who they are and they know how much I love them unconditionally.
My path took me to New York in order to finish my year of clinical
Internship and get my 5th Pathway Doctrate Diploma from New York Medical
College. I successfully finished the rest of my medical board exams.
Gratefully, my dream of becoming a physician has led me to my inner
calling and purpose in life which is:
I intend to love, to heal, and to inspire myself and others in order to raise the collective cosmic consciousness.
I’ve been sharing this intention and vision on
Facebook for the past three years, writing my status updates daily after meditation. I’ve set up a group called
“Live a Purposeful Life with Passion” that currently has over 2000 members. This later became the title of my first book that was published in April of 2011.
Currently, I have published my second book called
“The Loving Light Within”.
I do spiritual healing for dis-ease of the body/mind/soul and
inspirational one on one life coaching. I’m connected to amazing souls
internationally who spread love, advocate for peace, and promote
positive thinking. I also practice ancient wisdom new age philosophy
with my teacher at Agape International Spiritual Center, Dr. Michael
Bernard Beckwidth. My favorite teachers in the personal development
studies include masters such as Dr. Wayne Dyer, Anthony Robbins, Ekhrat
Tolle, Gregg Braden, Deepak Chopra, and Luis Hays. Each author has
influenced me in their unique way. I also practice and teach an awesome
meditation called ‘JAPA’, which is the repetition of the sound that is
in the name of God, ‘Ahh’. Through my involvement with the life
visioning process at Agape, I’ve connected to my purpose in life and am
clear about my uniqueness in order to reflect and reveal the Divine
through my life. This is what I mean by knowing my ‘calling’ and I can
help you get connected to yours!
Living a purposeful life with passion is my goal in life. I turned
my life around when I started looking within for solutions, rather than
looking outwards. My life turned around when I began to understand that
I am more, I deserve to treat myself better, and that I am good
enough. I changed my habits, and chose better habits. As I changed
from within, I realized that my circumstances changed from without. The
more I became detached from my Ego, the more I felt oneness with the
universe. I am a promoter of peace and positive energy. My purpose in
life is to serve others, through my career, or through the smallest
deeds.
To quote Lao Tzu,
“Great acts are made up of small deeds”…I
believe that our creator has intended for us to give, to share, to love,
and to be great role models and excellent human beings. We have great
responsibilities, and I believe that in our generation we have to be
proactive. Realizing the world around us is nothing more or nothing
less than the reflection of what we have become from within. Thus, we
must become the very things we choose to experience in our life…peace,
abundance, success, healing, purpose, compassion, and above all LOVE!
My goal is to spread this message…
Live a Purposeful Life with Passion!!
DrRod26.com
