Creativity

Most of my good ideas come when I’m thinking about something else.

Mystic Scholar study in spirituality

I am reflecting on the fundamental shift away from institutional religion. It affects every religion and every religious community globally: churches, mosques, synagogues, temples, etc. It cuts across the ideological and political spectra. As educational attainment increases, so does disaffection with traditional religious modalities. Yet the vast majority of people still seek to explore the fundamental questions of existence, matters of ultimate concern (as Tillich says), interconnectedness, community, ethics, and love and relationships. Why are so many religious institutions unable or unwilling to address the hunger for meaning and purpose that so many yearn for?

Looking forward to commenting in the future on these topics.

Rest from Creation on Shabbat

The Source rests from creation every shabbat. So should we. Then, on the next day, we join hands to continue creation (Gen 2.3).

We Are Everwhere

The more deeply we feel, the more we fill the universe with our energy. We evaporate and are everywhere.

The First Adam

Gen 1:27: The first Adam was both female and male, bi-gendered, whole, integrated, one.

Pain and Healing

Pain in passed on from generation generation. So is healing.

Freedom

Freedom in little matters leads to freedom in big matters.

Creation Rests on Shabbat

Creation rests on Shabbat, but recommences the next day.

Breathing

Breathing is a rehearsal for both living and dying.

Shabbat and Doing Nothing

Do nothing for a period of time. Then you will be able to do something worthwhile and begin to understand Shabbat.

Wisdom

Wisdom: Knowing whom, what, where, when, how.

Close Reading

Close reading does not mean just words, but images and experiences as well.

Our Legacy

Our legacy is not money, power, buildings, or books, but rather the core energy that we release from ourselves into the universe.

Conformity and Community

Conformity means a bunch of individuals forming a collective ego, an I. Community means a bunch of individuals building a whole that transcends the individual “I”s (egos) and creates a collective higher self.

Breath, Words, Creation

Breath + words = creation (Gen 1)

Dreams

Inspiration = Dreamtime

Life and Death in Every Breath

There is life and death in every breath.

Feelings as Pointers

Feelings are there to point us in the right direction.

Rest

We all need to rest, and so does the earth. That’s why we have shabbat and why the earth has a sabbatical year.

“God is in the Details”

Someone once said, “God is in the details.” That’s why observation, research and scholarship, and study are fundamental.

Experience and Wisdom

Learning from experience leads to wisdom.

Search Your Core

Search your core. There you will find genuine stories.

The Unique You

There are lots of I’s that are the same, but there is no You other than You.

Concealing Yourself

You are what the I conceals.

Each Person Under a Banner

Num 1.52, “Each person under his or her banner”: Each person is uniquely himself and herself.

Love Your Neighbor

Lev 19:18: “Love your neighbor as yourself” actually reads in Hebrew: “You shall show love to your neighbor as you would (show it to) yourself.” In other words, love is not simply a feeling state, but also an act of doing.

Jacob’s Ladder

Gen 28:12: Why do the angels first go up the ladder and then down it in Jacob’s dream? Because some of us are the angels.

Time Does Not Sleep

We will never ultimately win a race against time, because time does not sleep.

Body and the Self

The more you are aware of your body, the more you feel the energy that shapes your greater self.

Shabbat

Spend some time doing nothing. That’s what allows you to do something worthwhile. Shabbat.

Anxiety

Anxiety and daily dramas cover and surpress the longings of our spirit for sustenance.

The I and the Source

Meditation, study, dreaming, praying: moments when time and the I depart and the Source enters.

Letting Go of Your I

Ironically, when we let go of our I, we feel a deep connection to others and understand Lev 19.18: “Love your neighbor as yourself.”

Our Accomplishments

Our accomplishments belong as much to others as they do to us.

So Small

So small in the vastness of the universe am i, yet complete and whole.

Connecting to Our Ancestors

After Jacob and Joseph died, Jews became slaves in Egypt. Why? Because they lost track of their ancestors, their home, their Source. Roots let us grow and thrive. They are the ties that both bind and liberate. We cannot help but be products of generations past to the beginning of time. The question is: Do we sever ourselves from the past, simply reuse the past by forgetting that we are each born anew, or integrate the past into a new creation?

Stepping Outside of Your I

Stepping outside of your I gives the Source room to enter.

Full Breath

Full breath means full life.

Guardian Angel

When something painful happens to you, remember that a guardian angel is by your side every moment.

Repair the World

We Jews are haunted by the cries of Abel’s heirs from the earth. The specter of annhilation has a way of improving your hearing. Hence tikkun olam, repair of the world.

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