Netzach: Enduring, Lasting. Tiferet: Beauty. Netzach she’b’Tiferet: Lasting beauty. Wanting beautiful things to last forever. Isn’t that a kind of attachment? One best met with non-attachment practice? But where do I begin? Maybe with last night’s dream. We discover harmful bacteria in our pond. Then, I notice blue ink stains all over my white dress.…
Category: Spirituality
Numinous Beauty: Omer 17
Tiferet: Beauty. Tiferet she’b’Tiferet: Beauty within beauty. The ultimate. The heart of the tree of sefirot. Some say the vibe of Tiferet is like the vibe of YHWH. The ineffable divine, subtle like a breath. But also, like a breath, threading through everything we do. Occasionally it catches our attention. Leaps forward and touches our…
Mantra Strength: Omer 13
Yesod. Foundation. Gevurah. Judgment. Yesod she’b’Gevurah. Foundation of Judgment What are the foundations of judgment? Are they feelings? Beliefs? Can we free ourselves from old foundations? See the world anew? And then learn to make kinder, gentler judgments? Apparently, this is a big question right now. There’s a hot academic debate about “affect theory.” Here’s…
Philosophy Skills: Omer 12
Hod. Splendour. Gevurah. Judgment. Hod she’b’gevurah. Splendid judgment. So, I have a Ph.D. in philosophy. I don’t teach it anymore, and I’m glad. But I learned so much. Philosophy is equal parts critical thinking and creative thinking. In the critical thinking part, you have to define concepts precisely. Think quickly about all the implications of…
Love Quiets Judgment: Omer 8
Gevurah. Power. Boundaries. Judgment. Chesed she’b’Gevurah. Judgment tempered by Love. My husband is a cognitive psychologist. So he has thought a lot about how minds work. How people collect information, organize it, and use it to make judgments. So, today I interviewed him. Here’s a bit of what he said. Raw judgment is dangerous. Let…
Presence in Love: Omer 7
Malchut. Another name for Shechinah, the maternal Divine Presence we can feel in everyday life. Malchut she’b’chesed. Presence in Love. When I was a newlywed, I thought a lot about presence in love-making. How to be fully present to your own experience. And also be fully present as part of a team of two. How…
Boundaries in Love: Omer 2
Boundaries. Strength. Good Judgment. You need these to love well. Or, as we say in Omer speak, gevurah she’b’chesed, boundaries in love. So, I’m always working on boundaries. Sometimes, when someone I love asks me to do something, I feel panic. Then, I pause before saying “yes.” And I reflect. What’s the panic about? Do…
Family Love: Omer 1
Love. Kindness. Two good translations of the Hebrew word chesed. If you’re counting the Omer, chesed is the word of the week. If you haven’t counted the Omer before, here’s a quick primer. https://www.sophiastreet.com/sefirat-haomer-counting-the-omer/ There are many different kinds of love. But today I want to focus on family love. It’s quite present to me…
Souls in Soles
My friend Rev. Beth Hayward just started a new spiritual podcast! And I’m in episode 4 talking about spiritual practice, healing, Shabbat, learning from group meltdowns, and talking to God in hard times.Here’s a little more about the podcast: Souls in Soles is a forum for:– Down-to-earth talk on high-up holy things– Conversations with diverse…
Examen: Spiritual Journey
The “Examen.” A prayerful reflection, made famous by the Jesuit leader St. Ignatius of Loyola. Sometimes it takes you to places you could not imagine. Like it took me, today. Examen in Five Steps Originally, the Examen was designed for the end of a day, but you can do it anytime. Just follow these five steps.…