Tell me, have you walked among the trees recently? I will never forget the quality of the silence in the redwood forest we used to visit when we lived in Northern California. It was similar to the silence of a sanctuary or cathedral. Bone deep, sacred. Just even thinking of walking on the pathway in that forest, I notice that I take a deep breath. Which Continue Reading
Rabbi Jill’s Meditation & Mindfulness Booklist
Jewish Meditation & Mindfulness Books (* most highly recommended) *Meditation App: I use Insight Timer (available on the Itunes & Android app store.) See you there! Bloomfield, Diane. Torah Yoga: Experiencing Jewish Wisdom Through Classic Postures. Jossey-Bass, 2004. *Boorstein, Sylvia. That's Funny, You Don't Look Buddhist: On Being a Continue Reading
That Kind of Day
There’s one line that always has me gasp in recognition. In the excerpt from "Snake Talk" from the Traveling Jewish Theater the author details the many difficulties of one day: "The ground opens up, the wind blows, a branch hits you in the head, you trip on stones, you twist your ankle, your heart breaks, you've got to fold the laundry and they have closed Continue Reading
Connecting with Breath and Spirit
Every living being breathes. From our first breath to our last, we are given this unasked-for gift. Our breath arrives for us each moment like a miracle. And then our bodies answer, with our exhale out into the universe - letting go, releasing a bit of who we are to the All. It is the single biggest bestowal of our lives and one that we most often take Continue Reading
The Breath
Our class yesterday, entitled "Connecting with Breath and Spirit" was all about how to begin or continue a mindfulness practice . We looked at a few verses from the very beginning of Genesis that reflect how core breathing is to all life. We read that "Adonai/The Mystery/Source of All formed the human being of the dust of the ground and breathed into Continue Reading
