Day 7: Shechinah she’b’Chesed, Presence within Love
TEXT STUDY: I am asleep, but my heart is awake. Hark! My beloved knocks (Song of Songs, 5:3).

IDEAS. Think of a time when you were fully present to or for or with another person. Would you call that an experience of “selfless” love? Why or why not?
FEELINGS. What does heightened awareness or spiritual openness feel like for you? Can you turn this feeling on and off at will?
PRACTICES. Have you used any of these techniques to quietly share your presence in a loving relationship? Breathe in rhythm with another person. Look at them with a soft gaze and a smile. Imagine you’re sending love from your heart to theirs. If so, what impact did it have?
GOD. Do you imagine (or experience) God as a presence?
These questions go deeper into the daily reflections in the book Shechinah, Bring Me Home: Kabbalah and the Omer in Real Life.
There are many ways to explore these questions. You can: Tell a story from your own life. Give an example from a book or a movie. Write a poem. Analyze a concept. Offer a definition. Draw a picture. Sing a song.
New to the Omer? Here’s a guide to the theory and practice.
I have breathed with an intimate friend…indescribably deepening and I imagine breathing in the breathe of the Holy One and returning to the breathe to the Source in my practice. My heart expands. This is my favorite Omer – Malchut sh’b Chesed!
Thank you, Chava! It is amazing how powerful simply working with our breath can be. I love your description of different ways the breath takes us beyond (what we often perceive as) the boundaries of our own bodies.