Steven A Ross, Ph.D., is co-founder and CEO of the World Research Foundation. For more than 45 years he has researched and lectured around the globe in all areas of health, philosophy, spirituality, and subtle energy subjects. He has delivered more than 250 lectures and presentations to various governmental agencies, hospital associations, and the public.
Steven A Ross, Ph.D: A Beautiful Heart, an Open Mind, and a Humble Spirit
Navajo Walk in Beauty…
As I walk with beauty
As I walk as I walk
The universe is walking with me.
In beauty, it walks before me
In beauty, it walks behind me
In beauty, it walks below me
In beauty, it walks above me
Beauty is on every side.
As I walk, I walk with beauty.
With love, in love, and through love.
OMTimes was excited to sit down and speak with
OMTimes: In most of your writings and presentations, you discuss beauty and love. Why do you currently emphasize these two points?
Steven A Ross, Ph.D: After 52 years of study in spirituality and philosophy, I have concluded that individuals who surround themselves with beauty and incorporate a life of loving who they are, loving their lives, and viewing their challenges as creative opportunities to grow are healthier and happier. Socrates believed that true beauty encompasses goodness, wisdom, and virtue.
OMTIMES: How would you define beauty?
Steven A Ross, Ph.D: Beauty is a relative term to everyone. I favor what the ancient philosophers shared, especially Pythagoras. He said that beauty exists as an objective principle where harmony, order, and balance appear. This can be relative to each individual and how they view the harmony, order, and balance in what they see. Looking at this definition of beauty, harmony, order, and balance, this is why I state that individuals are healthier and happier because they have beauty in their lives.
OMTimes: Given the idea that beauty is essential to human survival and that esthetics offer a healthy channel for emotional energy, how can individuals actively integrate appreciation and creation of beauty into their daily lives to achieve a higher spiritual potential and emotional well-being?
Steven A Ross, Ph.D: To integrate an appreciation of beauty, an individual just needs to walk or view nature. Paracelsus, the great alchemist of the 1500s, stated that the way to learn about nature is to walk her leaves. The further we distance ourselves in our daily life and thoughts of nature, the more we detach ourselves from our Creator’s energy and spiritual vibrations. While there are many philosophical and spiritual regimes of mental contemplation, I prefer the transcendental approach of hugging trees.
OMTimes: The analogy of the body as a harpsichord, with its strings needing proper tuning for health, presents a fascinating perspective on wellness. How can this analogy help us understand and approach the balance between physical, mental, and emotional health in a more integrated and holistic way?
Steven A Ross, Ph.D: Our body, as well as our mind, can become dis-eased by being too tense or by being too lackadaisical. The harpsichord analogy I have used in some presentations gives a nice visual of this. Strings that are too tight or too loose alter the sound of the notes that are being played. Hazrat Inayat Khan’s transition from tuning musical instruments to tuning souls suggests a profound connection between music and health. This great teacher demonstrated how the principles of sound, harmony, and rhythm can be applied in everyday life to foster personal peace, growth, and inner harmony.
OMTimes: Can you share information regarding the Wisdom library that you are the librarian and caretaker?
Steven A Ross, Ph.D: The library is a combination of the libraries of the World Research Foundation and Less Complicated, Inc. 15,000 physical books are dating to 1492 and 24,000 books in PDF format dating to 1500. This provides immediate access to books on alchemy, dreams, spirituality, psychology, complementary healing, the Renaissance, ancient Egypt, esoteric topics, electricity, magnetism, color therapy, and many other subjects. Vast holdings of materials from philosophers: Manly Hall, Ralph W. Emerson, Swedenborg, Thomas Taylor, and many more.
OMTimes: In some of your presentations, you have used the Acronym L.E.F.L., how does this fit in with what we have been discussing concerning vibrations?
Steven A Ross, Ph.D: For the last 30 years I have spoken of my philosophy of LEFL. It stands for laughter, excitement, fun, and love. In my counseling work with individuals, I begin with a check of their lefolometer. I will ask when the last time you laughed was. What exciting experiences do you have in your life? What do you do for fun? Have you incorporated love in your life? The individuals that I come across with the most health challenges will tell me that they don’t remember the last time they laughed. They might tell me that their fun comes from their work. I might have to point out that the ulcer or nervousness that they are sharing has come through that work!
OMTimes: You have mentioned love. What do you mean by love?
Steven A Ross, Ph.D: My definition of love is passion. The more passion we have for something, the deeper and more profound we find the vibration of love. I believe this definition would encompass many areas that one might not have thought about. A person we describe as a criminal does have love in his life. He has a passion or love of his craft. Love is non-judgmental and unconditional.
OMTimes: The concept of reviewing one’s day in reverse order, as practiced by the students of Pythagoras, is intriguing. How might this practice of introspection and reflection on daily actions and thoughts contribute to an individual’s self-awareness and alignment with their inner rhythm and harmony?
Steven A Ross, Ph.D: The spirit world shares that there is no time. In the Earth plane, we measure time by monitoring a clock’s forward movement or by the sun’s movement. Our mind is forever spinning from one thought to another in a continuous movement that we determine as the passing of time. When one practices this Pythagorean concept of reviewing in reverse order, our daily activities and our minds go into a still point. It prefers to move forward, and at first, for some, it freezes. The more we practice this regime, the easier it becomes. One does not stop at the time they awake in the morning; you also look to recall your dreams. There is not much I can add, but this brings about greater self-awareness and aligns an individual to their inner rhythm.
OMTimes: You mention the idea of not comparing oneself to others as a way to blossom into one’s own greatness. What practical strategies or practices can help individuals overcome the often-automatic habit of comparison and instead embrace their unique journey and abilities?
Steven A Ross, Ph.D: It is a matter of trust. Trusting ourselves and realizing that we have access to all wisdom. Far too often, we believe that someone else has all the answers. My experience has been that others might at the moment appear to have greater knowledge, but they do not have any more access to wisdom than we do. There is a wonderful yogic story that goes like this. A very busy business executive woke up one morning wondering what the purpose of life was and what his place in the universe was. When he got to work, he asked a co-worker about this question. The co-worker stated, ‘Oh, you need to go to the metaphysical bookstore down the street. They have all the answers.’ The businessman went to the store and asked if they had a specific answer for him. He was told that the answer was in the mountains of Tibet. He immediately flew and began climbing the mountain to obtain his answer. He was not dressed appropriately for the weather and passed out in the cold. He awoke to a group of yogis asking him why he was in their presence. He said, ‘Can you tell me why I am in this life and what my purpose is? They said, no, we do not have that answer. He asked, where can I find the answer? They said, “Where did you come from?” He mentioned his city, or whatever city you, the reader, is from. They said, there is where the answer is. Wherever you are is where the answer is…inside yourself.
OMTimes: You discuss the concept of becoming in resonance with objects in nature, such as a stone, and how this relates to Zen Buddhist practices. Could you elaborate on how this practice of empathizing with the energy and life pattern of inanimate objects can enhance our understanding of our own life’s complexity and longevity?
Steven A Ross, Ph.D: It comes in resonance not only with inanimate objects but also with animals or birds. When you place yourself in resonance with a bird and feel the aspect of flying and the feeling of viewing the world from a higher perspective, it activates a vibration within you. When you stand by a great waterfall and feel the sense of power and energy from the falls, this also activates vibrations within your being. What might you feel from a rock? A sense of longevity, a sense of understanding that life is not short but exists over a long period of time.
OMTimes: Your Life’s philosophy suggests that humans have innate capabilities to understand and align with universal energies, yet modern reliance on external tools has left these abilities dormant. How can individuals begin to tap into and cultivate these inherent abilities to enhance their connection with the universe?
Steven A Ross, Ph.D: Most tools, games, and devices available to us today continue to take us outside of ourselves. We eventually have become dependent on looking outward and have lost our understanding that everything that we need is within. The three admonitions on the ancient Greek temples. Know thyself, know thyself, know the self.
OMTimes: The philosophy of gratitude expressed in many of your articles and interviews, especially highlighting the American Indian tradition, is summarized by being thankful for everything we receive, viewing it as a key to health. How do you think adopting this mindset of constant gratitude can impact an individual’s mental and physical well-being in contemporary society?
Steven A. Ross, Ph.D: Having an approach of being thankful and grateful for all things that come to you can be one of the best approaches to being healthy and at peace. The American Indian realizes that nothing in the world is free. If an animal must be hunted, or wool taken from an animal, or even water used from a stream to live, none of these actions are performed with gratitude. The concept is that you have reciprocity for everything that you take or are given. The question to consider is whether we are the creators of our difficulties or whether we are affected by forces out of our control. Are we living in resonance with the energies that surround us, or are we blocking forces that will bolster and support our lives? Do we appreciate the person who says the kind word to us, and do we return the smile that someone brings to our eyes and enlivens our hearts? Do we appreciate all the bounties that are provided by nature and the animal, plant, and mineral world?
There is a psychological component that goes with being thankful as opposed to feeling everything is ours and we can use it up as we please, never considering its creator or other people who might also have need of it.
OMTimes: In some of your interviews and articles, you talk about the nourishment of the soul, comparing conventional religious practices to consuming ‘GMO foods.’ As a Healer and a highly empathic individual, can you elaborate on alternative approaches or practices that might offer a more authentic and nourishing spiritual experience, aligning actions with philosophy?
Steven A Ross, Ph.D: Most of the religious practices prevalent in our world encompass attending some type of daily or weekly attendance in a religious house of worship. Individuals who attend and listen to a sermon consider themselves religious. There is little consideration for what has taken place between the services. When the ancients used specific philosophical designations, it was a lifestyle. This lifestyle was to be lived daily. Today, many people believe that they are following the precepts of their Revelator because they wear a religious symbol around their neck. There is a difference between talking and walking the talk.
OMTimes: In your interpretation of ancient teachings, you speak of changing the direction of the flow of time and energy to align with a perfect soul. How do you envision this concept of temporal and energetic shift impacting modern understandings of personal growth, healing, and the journey toward self-actualization?
Steven A Ross, Ph.D: In the healing work that I have been involved with in the past, I use a technique provided to me by my spiritual guides. When I have been approached to assist someone, I don’t always need or want to know what the difficulty might be. I see the individual in complete perfection. I see them running, dancing, laughing. I look to replace their image of disease and their lack of physical mobility with a new overlay. I might also add this. “I am asking you to take a journey with me. A journey to when your Soul was sparked into existence in complete perfection by the Creator of the Creation. We will wait there a while as you remember and resonate with your perfected Self.”
OMTimes: In most of your literature, you have the phrases, “A Beautiful Heart, an Open Mind, and a Humble Spirit. ™” As well as, “With love, in love, and through love.™” What is the purpose of these sayings?
Steven A Ross, Ph.D: These phrases came from a dream that I had 15 years ago. The dream was as follows: I was walking along the ocean with all of the spiritual seekers in the world. Ahead of me I saw a woman dressed in blue holding a microphone. She was partially covered by a haze or fog. To my right, and to her left, there were horseshoe stands with many of the people who give metaphysical and spiritual courses, have written books, and multiple seminars. I noticed that the fog was coming from them. Not that what they shared was bad, but it was covering deeper truths. I wondered, what are we all supposed to do? I then heard a voice come off the ocean, ‘All that is needed to reach higher enlightenment is A Beautiful Heart, an Open Mind, and a Humble Spirit.’
I realize it is about a lifestyle, not fancy sayings, gyrations, and the like. How does one live this lifestyle? With love, in love, and through love. Trusting our inner guidance. My goal is to remind people of love and beauty and that simple activities just might be the most important in our spiritual development.
OMTimes: Is there anything else that you would like to share with our readers?
Steven A Ross, Ph.D: Success in moving challenging mountains before us is not merely about the words one uses or quotes at the moment. It is about the actions or steps one has taken under ALL circumstances and experiences that brings us to the understanding that we have power and authority over all experiences. Having the opportunity to express our true nature might be why we are in this schoolroom called Earth. It is not what you talk or profess, it is how you walk and act, that bespeaks your true understanding of the deepest spiritual philosophy. I am grateful for the loving brothers and sisters who have come before us to be examples of beauty, love, truth, honesty, integrity, compassion, and so many other aspects. We are capable of more because we are more than we imagine at this time.
Steven A. Ross, Ph.D., has written six books. World Research Foundation www.wrf.org Less Complicated, Inc. www.lesscomplicated.net
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