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September 18, 2018

Yom Kippur

Tonight is the Jewish holiday of Yom Kippur. Wishing those who fast, an easy one ? May it be a day of forgiveness, spiritual longing and freedom for all. May we appreciate the wisdom we’ve gathered and come to deeper understandings and discernments as we move forward in increasing acts of kindness and compassion?

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Love this quote from Susan Jeffers : “Who I am is someone who has the power to create a heaven on earth for myself and to radiate a piece of that heaven to everyone whose life touches mine.”

9th day of the Jewish month of Tishrei

September 7, 2018

Trust is Spiritual Happenings Behind the Scenes

Trust 2018 Elul - 27th day

Trust is … even when it looks like nothing is happening, stuff is happening. It could be that it’s not in your line of vision or it’s a spiritual happening behind the scenes, but there’s so much mystery to the world and divine right timing is a real thing. I let my garden grow a bit wild this year with these colorful cosmos and it still amazes me that the potential for this beauty was resting in the ground all winter.
27th day of the Jewish month of Elul – the month of Trust

September 5, 2018

Trust is the Messages of Emotions

Trust 2018 Elul 2018 - 24th day

Trust is … the messages of emotions. Trust is that sadness tells of loss; anger tells of boundaries; fear tells of a warning in the present moment; vulnerability tells of risk; and joy tells of love.

24th day of the Jewish month of Elul – the month of Trust

August 29, 2018

Trust is The Holy Baal Shem Tov

Trust 2018 Elul 2018 - 18th day

Trust is …. how the holy Baal Shem Tov brought the hidden jewels of the Torah into the world. As a poor orphan in the 1700’s in a small town of the Ukraine, he spent much of his time in nature meditating and connecting to his faith in Hashem (G-d). He had a tremendous well of compassion for others and became a school teacher of young children before revealing his depth as a brilliant scholar and leading the Jewish Chassidic movement. The people of his generation were poor and had suffered horrifically from the anti- semitic pogroms. HIs immense kindness and integrity led people to trust in him when at 36 years old he revealed to the world the jewels of Jewish mysticism for all to enjoy.

Today is his birthday and may it be a blessing for us all.

Two of his teachings:

“Your fellow is your mirror. If your own face is clean, so will be the image you perceive. But should you look upon your fellow and see a blemish, it is your own imperfection that you are encountering – you are being shown what it is that you must correct within yourself.”

“Everything is by Divine Providence. If a leaf is turned over by a breeze, it is only because this has been specifically ordained by G‑d to serve a particular function within the purpose of creation.”

18th day of the Jewish month of Elul – the month of Trust

August 28, 2018

Trust is Ebbs and Flows

Trust 2018 Elul 2018 - 17th day

Trust is … that just as water has waves with ebbs and flows, the spiritual realms do too. Before Rosh Hoshana, there’s a contraction of light before a new revelation of light for the world.
17th day of the Jewish month of Elul – the month of Trust

August 23, 2018

Trust is What Belongs to You Returns to You

Trust 2018 Elul 2018 - 11th day

Trust is … knowing that “Nobody can take anything from you that is rightfully yours. That which belongs to you will always return to you in Divine right order. If something doesn’t come back to you, then it isn’t meant to. Accept this with peace.” Louise Hay.

11th day of the Jewish month of Elull – the month of Trust

August 21, 2018

Trust is a Seed of Potential

Trust 2018 Elul 2018 - 10th day

Trust is … when I take a seed of potential that at first looks so tiny and like nothing, I can create something that brings joy into the world when I nurture it with loving kindness and patience
Just like a seed can bloom into a magnificent flower in the proper soil, so can one’s potential.
10th day of the Jewish month of Elul – the month of Trust

August 19, 2018

Trust is … Prayers Make a Difference

Trust 2018 Elul 2018 - 8th day

Trust is … that prayers make a difference in the world. Intense Jewish holidays are happening soon and a lot of words are said – prayers, tehillim (psalms), blessings etc. Jewish mystical teachings illuminate that all these words are creating angels and purifying the air with holiness, increasing the amount of light in the world for a renewal of another year. I trust that though I don’t have the ability yet to see this light or angels that they are there making a difference spinning us into a new reality of complete health, abundance, peace, unity and goodness. May these upcoming days be a blessing for us all and may all suffering cease to exist.

8th day of the Jewish month of Elul – the month of Trust

August 17, 2018

Trust is … the Opposite of Dissociation

Trust 2018 Elul 2018 - 6th day

Trust is … having awareness of my body rather than ‘running away’ from my body by dissociating. When I’m looping in my mind or ruminating over a situation, the best place for me to be is ‘in my body.’ By using my mind to look inside, noticing the physical sensations that are there – tension, constriction, jumpiness etc. , I’m choosing health. Soul guidance comes online and then I get many of the answers I need.

6th day of the Jewish month of Elul – the month of Trust

August 15, 2018

Trust is Hashem Creating ‘ex-nihilo’

Trust 2018 Elul 2018 - 4th day

Trust is … that Hashem (G-d) constantly creates ‘ex nihilo’ —something (physicality) from nothing (unseen spirituality) and vitalizes all created beings every moment.

4th day of the Jewish month of Elul – the month of Trust

August 12, 2018

Trust is Feeling Hashem’s Closeness

Trust 2018 Elul 2018 - 1st day

Today is the first day of the Jewish month of Elul. Rabbi Schneur Zalman of Liadi, the 1700’s master of mystical Chassidic Judaism, shared lovingly that during this month “the king (G-d) is in the field.”

Usually, a king resides in his royal palace and is far from the people whom he reigns over. So when the Rebbe says that the king (G-d) has left the palace and is in the field, he means to say that for this period of time, the king (G-d) is very accessible to all who reach out to Him. G-d receives them with a smile and a warm greeting.

I’m calling the theme of this month Trust because that is what I’d like to hold in my mind’s eye and feel on a physical level that Hashem (G-d) is that close to me when I’m feeling overwhelmed by the seas of life.

By reminding myself that my G-d is right here, behind the scenes, in the scenes and controlling the scenes as I do my part, grounds me and calms my nervous system. I remember to take conscious breaths and trust that whatever is happening is directed by a divine hand. My system slows down, as does my mind, and I’ve walked into trust.

1st day of the Jewish month of Elul – the month of Trust

August 8, 2018

Compassion is Allowing for Discernment

Compassion 2018 Av 2018 - 27th day

Compassion is … allowing oneself to be discerning. In the feel-good rebellion of rejecting archaic fundamentalism and embracing new age enlightenment, it may seem like a great idea to drop judgement. And this is true – judgement is unkind and ….judgy – an ego creation. But let us not forget to use our wisdom for higher guidance and to remain discerning in all situations and all relationships. One of the best pieces of advice that I heard from a rabbi was when choosing relationships – friendship, business, marriage – one is to look at not what you like in someone because there is much to like in most people, but to look at what you don’t like in someone and discern if you can live with those. If someone leaves dirty socks on the floor, can you live with that? If someone speaks petty and nasty words about others, can you live with that? Also, how does someone behave when they don’t get what they want or when you don’t give them what they want? Do they become manipulative, angry or use emotional blackmail? There’s amazing books and resources on these subjects (pm me if you want suggestions). Using our wise judgement – meaning our gift of discernment— is building a healthy and compassionate world for ourselves and others.

27th day of the Jewish month of Av – the month of Compassion

August 2, 2018

Compassion is Choosing Thoughts That Are Kind

Compassion 2018 Av 2018 - 21st

Compassion is … choosing thoughts that are kind. I have many posted around my office and bedroom and love reading them to keep me in alignment with my soul self 🙂

21st day of the Jewish month of Av – the month of Compassion

August 1, 2018

Compassion is Healing Shame

Compassion 2018 Av 2018 - 21st day

Compassion is … healing shame. “Shame is all about not wanting to feel what you feel, and not wanting to know what you know.” Dr. Bessel Van Der Kolk

So spend the time to feel what you’re feeling, so you can know what your body and soul want you to know. This is the healing of PTSD. I feel blessed to do the Somatic healing work I do which includes healing shame which is always a part of the trauma, anxiety, and mindbody pain symptoms of my clients and self.

21st day of the Jewish month of Av- the month of Compassion

July 31, 2018

Compassion is Soothing the Nervous System

Compassion 2018 Av 2018 - 19th day

Compassion is … listening to soothing music. According to Stephen Porges, our nervous system gets cued into what is safe and what is not safe. Much of these cues comes from the auditory system. For example, the articulation and prosadic melodies of the social folk songs of the ’60’s were very calming to the nervous system. Even though the words spoke of intense subjects, the harmonized sounds, triggered people to feel safe. My father always had the stereo system playing these kind of songs in my childhood, and now I have an understanding as to why it felt so soothing.

19th day of the Jewish month of Av – the month of Compassion

July 29, 2018

Compassion is International Rescue

Compassion 2018 Av 2018 - 16th day

Compassion is … the international rescuing of the 12 boys and their coach from the cave. When Thailand put out an international call to help find and save the boys, there was a huge response. Over 1000 experts were involved in the rescue mission, people from Israel, UK, US, Japan, China, Australia, and other countries. Compassion and Unity. Just what the world needs.

16th day of the Jewish month of Av – the month of Compassion

July 27, 2018

Compassion is … Making Paradigm Shifts.

Compassion 2018 Av 2018 - 14th day

Compassion is … making paradigm shifts. Sometimes we need to shift our minds to align with our souls.

14th day of the Jewish month of Av – the month of Compassion

July 25, 2018

Compassion, Angels & the Baal Shem Tov

Compassion 2018 Av 2018 - 13th day

Compassion is … in our hands. Mystical Judaism says that angels are created by our actions and words. Most of us aren’t on the vibration to sense the myriads of angels that accompany us, but they are there and a tzaddik (a very righteous, spiritually attuned person) can sense them and discern what kind of angels they are.

This is a story of the Baal Shem Tov, a holy Jewish sage of the 1700’s: A man once spoke disparagingly of the Baal Shem Tov. The next day the holy sage confronted him about his slander. The man said “who told you of my private discussions with my friends?” The Baal Shem Tov said “an angel told me.” The man replied ” angels wouldn’t have told you because angels don’t gossip.” The Baal Shem Tov replied “This angel does – it was created by your slander. His very presence informed me of how he was created.” (Lazer Gurkow, Chabad.org.).

To the opposite, just think how many angels can be created by our kind and compassionate words 🙂

13th day of the Jewish month of Av – the month of Compassion

July 23, 2018

Compassion is Entering the Garden of Another

Compassion 2018 Av 2018 - 11th day

Compassion is … when “one person enters the interior garden of the other and walks through it without trampling any of the flowers, without blaming anyone for the presence of weeds, with great appreciation for all the time, pain, and growth it took to be the way it is.” (David Richo)
11th of the Jewish month of Av – the month of Compassion

July 22, 2018

Compassion is Believing in Someone

Compassion 2018 Av - 10th day

Compassion is … being the one who believes in someone. Sometimes it takes only one angel ( a human one) to be that supportive, compassionate witness to change someone’s life for the good. I love reading Southwest magazines because they tell such inspiring tales. This one I read awhile ago and it touched my heart. Jason Bishop was passed around in the foster care system, being the son of drug addicted, violent parents. He was lucky to be taken in for many years by one mom who loved him and told him that she would forever be his mom even when the foster system took him and passed him around to others. He promised to return to her and did, at eighteen, to the woman who allowed him to grieve the past that was a nightmare and to embrace a life that was beyond belief. He grew to be a successful magician as well as a kind, honest man. That’s the magic compassion can do.

10th day of the Jewish month of Av – the month of Compassion

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