Meditation - What's Your Color?

I did it!  I led my first meditation yesterday.  Inspired by the story of Noah, I used the colors of the rainbow as the sequence to lead our group in a thoughtful meditation.  I began with a chant that I found on Rabbi Shefa Gold's website - www.rabbishefagold.com 

"Raba emunatekha"

How great is your faithfulness!

As I started the guided meditation, I asked everyone to imagine a storm that has just ended and now you can see the rainbow.  As I guided through each color of the rainbow, I gave some specific examples of objects of color:

Red - apples, pomegranates, red hills, bricks, and roses.

Orange - carrots, flowers, goldfish, pumpkins, the flame of a Shabbat candle

Yellow - lemons, sunflowers, warm sunshine

Green - plants, leaves of a tree, grass

Blue - all the shades of the ocean, beautiful dolphins jumping in the ocean, waterfalls
Violet - lavender, juicy plums, grapes on a vine

To complete the meditation, I asked everyone to select the color that calmed them the most and to wrap themselves in it like blanket.  

 What is your color?  Which color comforts you?  

Following the meditation, I used the text from Rabbi Shefa Gold's Torah Journey's (which can also be found on her website) for our discussion.  Below is her "guidance for practice" which I encourage you to use. 


FAITHFULNESS CHANT AND MEDITATION

There is a sacred phrase in the morning liturgy:
"Raba emunatekha"
How great is your faithfulness!

With this prayer, I acknowledge God's profound faith in me.  God's faith in me soothes the trembling in my soul and awakens my own faith.

CHANT THIS PHRASE for a while, directing your heart towards a loving Presence.

AFTER SOME TIME, sit quietly and bring your attention to the soles of your feet. Feel God's loving attention seeing and knowing and loving every inch of your body, moving your attention up to the ankles, calves, knees, thighs... letting yourself be completely seen, known and loved... releasing any shame or hiddenness... allowing every part of you to be accepted by God's loving attention... moving your attention up to the genitals, belly, hips, waist, chest, arms, hands... letting God's gaze touch every wrinkle and crevice with complete acceptance... completely seen, completely known, completely loved... moving up your neck, face, between every hair on your head.

WHEN YOU REACH the top of your head, bring your attention to the breath, and imagine breathing in and out from every pore at once, your whole body alive with God's attention in you.

COMPLETE THE MEDITATION by chanting "Raba Emunatekha"

It was a wonderful experience and I am grateful to our group for allowing me to guide them.  This experience will carry into my week and in case you are curious, my color is blue.

This Week I Felt Like A Rebel

In the past eighteen months, I have attended meditation and Torah study at shul almost every weekend. It is the best book club ever.  Week to week we read the stories of the Torah and apply the lessons to our every day life.  Visions of walking with any one of the Jewish leaders brings me back every week to learn more.  This is the longest I have ever stayed connected to a group.  The wisdom and simple connection that I feel when our group shares our thoughts and experience is elevating.  And of course, the lessons seem to speak to me because of an issue that I am dealing with either personally or professionally.

This week is no different.  One of the great teachers we study is Rabbi Shefa Gold. In her book, "Torah Journeys," Rabbi Gold teaches about the rebel within.  Below is the spiritual challenge she offers with this week's torah portion.

As we celebrate Shabbat this weekend, take a moment to meditate with this guidance.  Thank you Rabbi Gold for the beautiful teaching and your nurturing wisdom.

REFINING THE REBEL WITHIN (Rabbi Shefa Gold)
http://www.rabbishefagold.com/Korach.html

     This week of Korach sends me to memories of those times I was called rebellious. I remember my confusion; my only aim was to speak my truth and fight against what I perceived as hypocrisy. Now I see that I lacked patience, compassion and humility, but my intentions were good and the passion that moved me came from the sacred core of Divine Essence within me.

THE PRACTICE FOR THIS WEEK of Korach is to dig up the rebel buried within you and combine her essence with the specific qualities that you have worked long and hard to develop.

REMEMBER YOUR OWN PASSION which may have, over time, been dampened by life's disappointments.

REMEMBER THE REBEL you once were and the energy that moved through you at that time. In the portion of Korach, the earth opens her mouth and swallows the rebels. They are planted in the ground like seeds, waiting for just the right conditions to grow into their fullness.

IMAGINE THE REBEL YOU ONCE WERE as a seed planted deep in the ground. Now you can bring to that seed exactly the qualities that would help it grow.

YOU CAN WATER IT WITH PATIENCE, shine on it the light of compassion, and fertilize the soil with all the shit you've been through.

Shabbat Shalom.

Love, Respect, Create

Several times this week, I noticed how many differing opinions were voiced either publicly or in private conversations, but all were based on "us vs. them."  I felt it more this week as I watched the news and even in my own conversations with friends, colleagues and teachers.

Women vs Women and Women vs Men - With Sheryl Sandberg's "Lean In," it stirred quite the conversation among my peers and of course, all over the news.  (Disclaimer: I have not read the book.)  Last year, my organization had Gloria Steinem come speak and it was clear that with 500 women in the room, all could not collectively share gratitude for what Gloria had done for women.  Some women were quick to criticize her for her speech, her politics, and even her clothes.  And now, the same happens to Sheryl Sandberg.  And there are the rest of us, the "regular, non-famous, working every day" women who have been discussing this for years.  My colleagues and I manage to lean on each other so that when we are around the table, our best self promotes those equally who work hard and with a generous spirit.  And we are not always perfect.  The frustrations of the workplace can hinder creativity and productivity.  However, in my experience creativity is sparked by men and women.   I have been led by great men and women and have always worked along jealous men and women as well.  Both genders exhibit strong qualities and also have weaknesses.  Working together, we can enhance everyone's strengths and not let the weaknesses deter us.  After reading Carol Dweck's book Mindset, top leaders can be either gender and what makes them a top leader is how they lead, nurture and inspire their employees to foster creativity, teamwork and productivity. 

Faithful vs Non-Believers - As I continue to deepen my spirituality and am no longer a non-believer, I clearly see there are two sides on this.  My routine for the past year has been to participate in my meditation class on Saturday and watch Super Soul Sunday on every weekend.  I have taken an interest in documentaries with these themes including the late Debbie Ford's The Shadow Effect, Jenny Phillips' The Dhamma Brothers and Beth Toni Kruvant's Heart of Stone.  I also read Daily Gratitude books by Rabbi Kerry Olitzky, blogs by Rabbi Mark Borovitz, Rabbi Shefa Gold, Rabbi Adam Kligfeld, and have learned with Rabbi Ruth Sohn, Rabbi Arielle Hanien, Rabbi Sara Zacharia and Rabbi Jill Zimmerman and many others.  Each of these teachers have their own powerful perspective which I greatly admire.  By doing this, I have learned to incorporate compassion, gratitude, kindness, and mindfulness into more of my daily life.  This journey has no end.  Everyone is on their own path and walking at their own pace.  Sometimes I am ahead and sometimes I am behind.  As Dr. Brene Brown said today on Super Soul Sunday, "Being authentic takes work every day."  Like Goldilocks, some pieces of my learning is too much, some not enough, but I have learned that while on this journey, if you are trying and learning, then you are just right.

While I encourage everyone to continue the conversation with kindness and compassion, I also encourage to take action with mindfulness and loving attention.  We need to continue to see positive change being made for women in every area and men and women are both responsible for making those changes.  I hope people bring more faith into their lives if they want it.  Regardless, I hope that people of faith and non-believers continue their own conversations so that we are all part of one community. 

This is my pray for this week - Love one another, respect each other's work and create more positive environments at home and at work.  Wishing you a beautiful week.

Lost and Found

In meditation class this morning, I experienced a past memory as if I was in the moment.  The rain outside and the voice of our meditation guide helped me go deeper inside myself to an uncomfortable time in my life.  My college years were not those romantic or enlightening as in the movies, I struggled throughout the five long years trying to “find myself” and to “become someone.”  My friends made it look so easy and we never spoke of our insecurities or fears of what we may or may not become. 

When this memory would pop up in the past, I would push it away.  Today, I allowed the feelings and memory to stay with me and as I meditated, I embraced the younger me and accepted the difficult journey that I had long regretted and resented. 

In our Torah study following mediation, we discussed how the weekly Torah portion refers to Jacob at the end of his life by both names Jacob and Israel.  Our discussion was rich with our own personal experiences and thoughts.  Using Rabbi Shefa Gold’s commentary as our guide , we looked at the Israel and Jacob to describe those two parts of ourselves.

 “Looking at your own Jacob, you might find certain qualities that seem to be wired into your personality.  You might be a worrier or you might be impatient, argumentative, controlling or manipulative.  When you begin to have experiences of expanded consciousness, you are given the name “Israel” and you take on a spiritual practice that proceeds from that new identity.  But “Jacob” never really goes away.  Through our practice learn how to manage that worrier, that impatient one, that manipulator.  After many years of committed practice I realize that the voices of Jacob-within-us may never be entirely silenced, but as the Israel-in-us grows, those Jacob voices lose their power to compel and we are no longer tricked or trapped by their arguments.

When I receive the blessing of the knowledge of where Jacob lives within me, then I can recognize his voice and gently refuse his advice, looking instead to Israel, for wisdom, passion and courage for my journey.” (Torah Journeys, page 59)

I am no longer that lost college student.  I have found great learning, achievements and successes in my life.  And I am blessed to have found this incredible meditation class filled with women who are my partners in my spiritual and intellectual growth.   In my prayers and actions, I will strive to be Israel and know that sometimes I am Jacob. 

Shabbat Shalom.