Rosh Hashanah
New Year Meditation
Artwork by Maureen Greenberg
The first day of the year is the ultimate restart. And Rosh Hashanah is also known as "The Day of the Heart". Every day, every moment, we have a chance to renew ourselves and our lives. Try putting your hands on your heart, and simply staying with your breath, breathing in and out. On the "Day of Remembering", we can remember that starting over is a choice, every day. And as in the painting above, we can be reborn, every moment. Have a sweet and happy New Year.
September 19th, 2019
"Dance when you're broken open, dance if you've torn the bandage off, Dance in the middle of the fighting, dance in your blood, Dance when you're perfectly free." -Rumi
Artwork by Maureen Greenberg
September 18th, 2019
"If I am not for myself, who will be for me? And if I am only for myself, what am I?"
-Pirkey Avot
Israeli Election Day
Choose Life
ובחרתם בחיים
Devarim 30:18
Every day we make a choice, to live, to embrace life. Today, my kids were home because of the elections, and I was feeling sick. At some point in the afternoon, when I still felt poorly, I knew I had to get out and vote, and I thought of my children, years down the line. What would they remember from theit childhoods? And what might help me to feel better? Because staying at home wasn't really helping anyway. I took them out, and down the forest path. My son instantly began bouncing and singing, down the path, and my daughter started kvetching. Soon we turned around a bend, and arrived at a majestic, breathtaking view of the Galilee. We all looked in awe. We took a long drink from the most powerful waterfountain I have yet to encounter, and our faces were covered with water. And we laughed. With the simple joy of being alive; and of choosing life.
"Man Plans and God Laughs"
Yiddish Saying
*****************************************************************************
September 15th, 2019
The Bathroom Blessing: cultivating a gratitude mindset
We all know how easy it is to focus on what is wrong with our bodies as a way of motivating ourselves to change. However, this over focus on what is wrong often comes down to self-hate, vs. self-love. No matter what your size, your body's a miraculous gift from the universe. Created in incredible wisdom, with self-healing powers only beginning to be understood by science, your body is a marvel of integrated systems that allow you to move through this life and all its joys and sorrows. Take a few minutes to breathe. As your breath moves in and out, feel the way the oxygen fills your lungs and provides feelings of well being as your breath slows and softens. Meditate on your bones, cartilage, blood and skin, all arranged to keep renewing themselves and working together to keep you alive. Think about your sexual organs like your breasts, womb, and organs of pleasure, which have or will allow you to enjoy sexual intimacy, childbirth, and raising and nourishing children. Your face expresses your insides to those you meet. Your voice gives expression to thoughts, will and wishes. Every time you eat, your body processes the food you give it and turns it into energy. By focusing on the wonders of your body, you can cultivate gratitude for it, even though it is not perfect by any means. But it is the only chariot in which you will travel through this world, and gratitude for its many functioning systems can add to our overall health, creating good vibes that foster good choices; and self love. Even better, go outside. Breathe in the air of the outdoors, listen to any nature noises in your environment, and remind yourself that you, too, are a part of creation.
*********************************************************************************************************
September 14th, 2019
"The Soul of Man is G-d's Candle"-proverbs 20:27
נר השם נשמת אדם
When you light your Shabbat Candles, draw the light from the candles towards you with your hands, and then cover your eyes. Picture a candle inside of you. Your soul is the dancing flame, always rising, higher and higher. ********************************************************************************
September 13th, 2019
What is Your Service?
This week, as we sat at the bus stop waiting for the bus, my son shared with me what learned in school this week, and it got me thinking. He learned about the story of Jacob's fearsome reunion with his estranged brother Esav, after many years apart, following a dispute over their father's blessing. Why was Jacob so afraid? Not because of Esav's greater warring capacities and troops. Jacob was afraid because he knew that Esav had a merit that Jacob did not: he had kept the mitzvah of honoring his parents all the years that Jacob had been away. He had left, in order to fulfill his destiny as father of the 12 tribes. Living far away from my beloved parents, I can relate to Jacob's mixed emotions, as his spiritual service brought him to a distant land, where he wasn't always able to do for his parents as he would have wished. But he taught us an important lesson when he recognized his brother's spiritual service. Even a person who doesn't seem so "holy", may have a special mitzvah that gives him or her a merit that a more visibly "holy" person might not have.You just never know.
******************************************************************************** September 12, 2019
Birthday Haiku
This too shall pass. I
promise. Breathe in, and breathe out...
Gam Zu L'Tovah*
*Jewish saying: This is also for the good
*******************************************************************************
September 11, 2019
Ani L'Dodi V'Dodi Li
-Song of Songs
(I am my Beloved's, and my Beloved is mine)
The first letter of each word in this phrase spells out ELUL, the name of the Hebrew Month. A time of intimacy with our Creator. I breathe in "I am my Beloved's" I breathe out "And my Beloved is mine."
Painting of Tziona by Various Artists at the Soul Dance Festival 2019
******************************************************************************
September 10, 2019
A Divine Marriage: WithinMy broken parts are partnering with my already whole parts; and now, within me, there is a marriage taking place that will change the way the earth tilts on its own axis. One day at a time.
(Thanks for the inspiration from my sweet fairy sister Michal Oshman)
Painting by Maureen Greenberg
No comments:
Post a Comment