This recording begins with a lesson.
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Go to 5 minutes and 20 seconds.
We all have things in our lives that we fear.
Phone calls that we want to make,
Or resumes we want to send out.
People we want to invite over.
A challenging conversation that needs to be had.
All of these different things in our lives can scare us and invite us to procrastinate around them or avoid them.
We hold ourselves back and when we do so,
Very often,
Something in our spirit dwindles.
We feel less connected to our souls,
Less connected to each other,
Less connected to the divine.
But these things that scare us or make us uncomfortable also offer us the opportunity to find a greatness inside of ourselves.
Courage or integrity or honesty.
And when we face and overcome these obstacles,
We have a tendency to experience a rush of energy,
A rush of chayut,
Of vitality,
And a deep desire to connect to ourselves,
To our souls,
To each other,
And to the divine.
So in this upcoming meditation,
I want to share a tool that I learned from Dr.
Phil Stutz that allows you to practice in your mind facing the thing that feels scary.
And research shows that when we engage in mental rehearsal,
We're much more capable of doing things on the physical plane.
So they've shown that people who practice playing tennis in their heads or playing piano in their heads,
Or as I like to do,
I cook in my head,
I pre-plan my meals,
I picture myself cooking,
And then I can enter the kitchen and cook a lot more efficiently and have a whole plan that's already been laid out for me in my mind.
And so whether it's piano or tennis or cooking or making that phone call,
If you can imagine yourself overcoming the obstacle that you fear,
Then it feels a lot less scary because you've already practiced it.
Now Phil Stutz uses an imagery technique that uses a cloud as the thing that we fear.
And my challenge with using a cloud within a Jewish context is that we have a very beautiful association with clouds in our tradition.
The clouds of glory are a source of protection and comfort and love.
So I'd rather use a metaphor that is deeply embedded in our spiritual DNA,
In our tradition.
And that is the Sea of Reeds.
So the Jewish people travel in the desert after they've just left Egypt,
And they come upon this sea.
And they suddenly find the entire Egyptian army,
Led by Paro with all of his anger,
Is chasing after them.
And they become really scared.
We have this incredibly frightening and angry mob behind us.
And in front of us,
This seemingly impenetrable sea.
And Moses turns to God and says,
What do we do?
And God puts the power back into Moses' hands and says to him,
You know what to do.
Part the sea.
Now we have in our Midrashic tradition that there's this man,
Nachshon Ben Aminadav,
Who doesn't have this conversation with God and doesn't wait for Moses to part the sea.
He leaps right in with complete faith.
Leaps right into the thing that we all fear,
Somehow knowing that it's going to be alright.
So in this upcoming meditation,
I'm going to invite you to take that leap as well.
And to face the thing that you fear in your mind,
So that when you open your eyes,
You'll have more resourcefulness inside of yourself to face it in the physical world.
I invite you to find a comfortable seat.
Close your eyes.
Become aware of your breath.
Of the rise and fall of your belly and chest as you breathe.
And allow yourself to experience how you are being breathed by the divine.
As if divine lips were breathing right into your nostrils.
And a divine hand were gently pumping that breath of life into every fiber of your being.
From the top of your head to the tips of your toes.
And as your breathing relaxes more and more,
I invite you to allow your muscles to relax as well.
As if a wave of relaxation were washing over you.
Softening the muscles of your scalp and brow and jaw.
Bringing an ease into your neck and shoulders.
Washing down into your arms all the way to the tips of your fingers.
So that your arms fall heavier and heavier at your sides.
And as that wave of relaxation washes over your chest and upper back,
Feel your breath expanding that much more.
And feel that relaxation making its way into your belly and lower back.
Loosening all of the organs of your belly.
And all of the muscles of your lower back.
And feel that wave washing down your hips and your legs.
To your knees and ankles.
All the way to the tips of your toes.
So that your legs also feel heavier and heavier with every breath you take.
And I invite you to imagine that your entire body is surrounded by a warm light.
A light filled with divine love.
A love for you precious one.
For you were created by the divine.
And chosen to be alive in this very moment.
And see if you can feel that light touching your skin.
And allow the pores of your skin to open and soften in the presence of this light.
And allow the pores of your skin to soften and open in the presence of this love.
Soaking it in like a sponge.
So that your skin is aglow with this love.
That seeps into your muscles.
And into your bones.
And deep into the center of your heart.
So that your love can meet this divine love.
Love can intertwine with this divine love.
And knowing that you are surrounded and filled with love and light.
I invite you to imagine that thing that you've been avoiding.
That thing that you've been scared of.
In front of you.
And notice how your body feels in its presence.
Give permission to whatever emotions arise.
And I invite you now to imagine this thing that you fear.
Melting into the sea of reeds.
The sea that the Jewish people crossed through on their way out of Egypt.
The sea they believed to be impenetrable.
Overwhelming.
The place they would die.
See that sea in front of you.
And allow whatever emotions are alive in you in the presence of this thing that you fear.
To melt into the emotions of the Jewish people.
Standing at the shores of this sea.
With the angry and massive Egyptian army behind them.
Imagine that huge army.
Making its way with horse and chariot.
Screaming through the desert.
The pounding of soldiers feet.
And horses hooves behind you.
And the rush of this great sea in front of you.
And notice the fear that is alive in you right now.
But choose to be like that one courageous Jew.
Nachshon ben Aminadav.
Choose to say pain sets me free.
And charge right into those waters.
And see them splitting before you.
As you make your way to the other side.
And to see yourself on the opposite shore.
Thrusting your hands up in the air in celebration.
Singing Hodu L'Adonai Ki Tov Ki Leolam Chasdo.
Praise is God for he is good.
Because his kindness is forever.
And now I ask that you shake your hands and you shake your legs and you shake your head.
And think of a pink elephant.
And now come back into center.
And imagine yourself in front of that sea.
That sea that represents this thing you've been avoiding.
This thing that scares you.
And feel that Egyptian army at your back.
As they charge towards you.
And the rushing of the waters in front of you.
And see yourself leaping into that water.
Calling out pain sets me free.
And feel those waters separating before your very eyes.
As you make your way to the opposite shore.
Where you again thrust your hands up in the air.
And sing Hodu L'Adonai Ki Tov Ki Leolam Chasdo.
Praised is God for he is good.
Because his kindness is forever.
And one more time.
Shake those hands and shake those legs and shake that head.
And then come back into center.
And imagine yourself before this sea of reeds.
With its rushing impenetrable waters before you.
And the pounding of hooves and screams of Egyptians behind you.
And leap into those waters.
Calling out pain sets me free.
And watch that sea miraculously split before you.
As you make your way through to the opposite shore.
Where you thrust your hands up into the air.
And sing Hodu L'Adonai Ki Tov Ki Leolam Chasdo.
Praised be God for he is good.
Because his kindness is everlasting.
Nachshon is alive in you precious one.
Courage and integrity are alive in you precious one.
Knowing that you know how to cross through that sea.
And how to celebrate your courage.
I invite you to place a hand over your heart.
And bless yourself with ever more courage.
With ever more integrity.
And with ever more vitality.
Today and every day.
And knowing that you can access this image of the sea.
And your courage in crossing through it whenever you want.
I invite you to wiggle your fingers.
And wiggle your toes.
And slowly bat your eyes open.
Ready to bless the world with your gaze.
