Awakening Bereisheet 5783: Torah Mussar Mindfulness, 1st Sit

Welcome to the beginning of our Torah reading cycle where we practice Mussar Mindfulness in relation to the text and our guided mindfulness meditation. Our middah is humility; our mitzvah is Chesed towards others; our Avodah is self-care. Torah Memimah by Jaime Arnold. Thank you for the practice!

Transcript

Welcome.

Welcome.

Good evening Torah,

Musa mindfulness.

I am Rabbi Hasia Uriel Steinbauer,

The founder and director of Hamochan the Kedushah,

The Institute for holiness Kehilat Musar,

The Musa community.

And I'm just beyond delighted to be here with you to start the whole new Torah reading cycle together.

We spent 55 sessions together last year,

5782.

And now we're starting a whole new cycle together in Bereshit,

In the book of Genesis.

It is covering the parasha from Shabbat Saturday,

October 22nd,

2022,

Which was the 27th of Tishrei.

We meet for these awakening sessions together on Sundays,

Bezrat Hashem Yom Rishon at 1230 Eastern Standard Time,

730pm Israeli time.

We welcome everyone from all over the world to join us on our zoom link from the website of kehilatmusar.

Com,

Or you can join us live stream on Facebook,

And more importantly on our YouTube page.

So I welcome you.

I'm so excited to be here again with you to start this cycle.

It is quite an honor and a blessing to be together.

So we are now in 5783,

The Jewish year.

We have started the new Torah reading cycle,

We're answering the parasha,

The Torah portion called Bereshit,

In the beginning,

In the beginning of what,

We'll jump in.

And the specialty here,

What we do here together is,

One,

We're taking refuge and community.

But we're doing this practice of learning the Torah from the lens of Musar mindfulness,

Which is our specialty here.

We take the knowledge and the insight and the wisdom of the Buddha from the Dharma of Theravada,

Insight Vipassana Buddhism,

And from Musar in the Jewish tradition,

Really honing in and bringing us to the strength of both the synergy,

Where we are on this path towards holiness to insight.

And as I said,

All are welcome Jew,

Non Jew,

All Hebrew will be translated if you're new to this practice,

We'll look at briefly some sections from the Torah,

And then we're going to engage in an upright mindfulness meditation practice and we will leave with what we will do during the week.

You are welcome to subscribe to us at our website and consider becoming a member,

Where you'll be able to practice with us,

Join different groups,

And everything that we have to offer in this world to make it a better place.

So let us begin.

In the beginning,

We always begin with our kavanot.

So our kavanot,

Which I will share with you briefly,

If you are watching visually and you have vision,

It's going to be shared with you the screen.

And if you're listening through audio then you will hear me read these out loud.

So we see this time together in this practice as a radical act of self care,

Which is so needed in today's world.

And then our practice.

So we see this as doing an active caring for the self where we say this is something I'm doing I'm reading at the top to strengthen my own soul.

In order to be a benefit to others in the future.

We also see this as an act that we're doing to care for others.

This is something that I am doing to strengthen my relationship to others so that I can be a better conduit of God's good to others when they need me.

However you find God,

However you find that relationship.

Also,

Before doing acts to strengthen our relationship with the divine.

We say this is something I'm doing to strengthen my relationship with the Creator of all beings,

So that I can be a better conduit of God's good to others when they need me.

So those are our intentions our kavanot for today's session for our practice in general.

But in particular,

May we merit today to really hold this in mind,

And to move forward with what we're going to do in this practice together so I'm going to stop sharing screen right now.

You can find this on our website if you want these kavanot this intention.

And let me just make sure everything is operating here properly.

And we don't want to record in any way and you can't hear us right.

Okay,

Thank you for your patience.

So let's jump in a,

I have to admit that I'm so excited about this and I'm,

I'm a little feeling like a little bit of monkey mind,

Coming out verbally,

And what do I mean by that is,

I have so much I want to say and there's so many things that affected me in this partial that I guess I asked for your forgiveness if it feels a little bit all over the place.

But let's just begin,

What are we beginning with.

We are beginning with creation,

And not just creation.

We're beginning with light and darkness.

That may seem simple enough.

Why is God giving us this knowledge.

Why do we as human beings need to know that there was that one there's a creator but more importantly that there's a creator who created light and darkness.

So let's just hold that for a minute.

As Jews we take the Torah as a seemingly Jewish narrative,

And so obviously this beginning of the creation story and the first 20 generations have to do with all of humanity.

And so,

What is this light,

What is this darkness,

What are we to learn from it and do from it.

Alright,

And we're going to get really deep into this right,

But I'm going to posit that the light here,

And I'm not alone with this I'll bring some sources.

It's really the point,

The nikudah in all of us that is created in the image and likeness of the Divine.

And the darkness here is this is the sale essentially it's it's the darkness that all of us the shadow side of us that we all have.

So of course there's the larger light and darkness,

But then there's this creation of the light and darkness within that we all carry and have.

And this is profound knowledge What does this mean.

This is a gift actually from God from the Divine to give the human being the knowledge that God has created us in the image and likeness of the Divine.

And to really live it really know it internalize it and to allow it to affect how we behave and how we are in the world,

That is,

We must know this,

To even be human in relationship with the Divine and other.

Okay,

So we're gonna we're gonna we're gonna delve into this a little bit more.

But basically I want to start off by saying we ended the last parasha right the last four portion back in Deuteronomy and the varying called the Zoh tabraha with this blessing from our ancestor from Moshe Rabbeinu Moses.

And we're basically taught during that parasha particularly from a source from the Talmud Bavli which is the Babylonian Talmud classic rabbinic source is coming from Sotah 14a where Rav Sinh basically expounds on he says,

The Torah begins and ends with chesed.

So what is it in the beginning that we might have time to touch on but that's not where I'm going to focus.

In the beginning,

Adam and Chava,

Adam and Eve,

Do not follow directions,

You may say sin,

Eat from the tree that they were not supposed to.

And when God expels them from G-d,

From the garden,

God actually close them.

Okay,

Let's just hold that why is that an act of chesed from Musa our perspective.

But let's go back to the Torah ending and an act of chesed also.

In the last parasha,

Hashem buries Moshe Rabbeinu in the valley.

To bury someone is an act of chesed,

But it's all the more so an act of chesed,

Both of these,

Because G-d is actually angry at all three of these people.

G-d is disappointed in the behavior of these three people.

Just to remind you with Moshe Rabbeinu,

It's with him,

Not necessarily hitting the rock but attributing the water coming from the rock to himself and Aharon and instead of to the Almighty.

With Adam and Chava,

Adam and Eve,

I think it's pretty obvious what we just said that they ate from a tree that they were,

Well that Adam was commanded not to eat from.

Okay,

She,

We never hear her in the Torah commanded to not eat from it.

And so,

Obviously she gains that knowledge from her partner from Adam.

So,

This act of chesed,

Chesed means in the Musar tradition that basically you're going to do an act of love and act of kindness in spite of the person,

Meaning they most likely,

They don't deserve it.

And we still do these acts and these are really obligatory acts,

What do we mean by obligatory we,

We clothe the naked we clothe each other,

We bury the dead.

These are all acts that we must do and should do,

Even when people don't deserve it.

Okay,

So this is what we're learning first.

Now,

I'm going to posit that being taught and given this insight this knowledge that there's light and darkness and we're created with this light and darkness were created in with this knowledge that God created us in the image and likeness of God.

That's an act of chesed.

This very intimate beautiful amazing knowledge to really internalize that think about the healthy self esteem.

What we in Musar would say,

Healthy and of humility,

That the person who had this knowledge,

Who walk on a daily basis knowing that they were loved by the divine but that's why they were created.

They were created in the image and likeness and so is every single other soul.

Each and every one,

Holy soul.

Everyone has that divine spark within.

That's incredible.

So here let's bring a source here the Maharel coming from Prague 500 years ago says Qidvaq up on name shallow Ziv v'nits suits,

A young the walkable with the bars they who sell him a low key.

For God stuck in Adams face radiance Ziv beautiful word.

And a spark from above is stuck in Adam in the human being,

And that this is Selim Elokim,

This is created in the image and the likeness of the divine.

And so that's a real gift,

It's even beyond the gift.

It's going to frame our whole life project.

And particularly here as community taking refuge and community and part of the Institute for holiness.

We are on this path,

This practice is dating daily discipline towards holiness,

That this is our life project is really knowing this knowledge this gift from God to have this knowledge,

And to really allow it to affect us to be really balanced,

Full of self love self honor to be able to do God's work in the world to bring God's good to others.

This is very important.

This is this is the project of the human being.

Okay.

So let's continue a little with this,

That in.

So I went on to say that what is this life that it's created that were created in the image of God.

So let's take this knowledge of light.

And let's see if I can show you,

There is sheets page five,

I'm going to bring some more sources here.

And as I said,

I feel a little bit all over the map because I'm so excited to be here with you.

And to be doing this again,

Starting this cycle here let's see what source I want to bring you here,

If it's here.

And the other source I want to bring,

Which is tied to this idea of really internalizing that you're created in the image of the divine is Saguirre Goon,

He was from Egypt and Babylonia about 1100 years ago.

He goes on to say that God created humans and God's image means in terms of being a ruler.

Someone who really means memshala,

Rules over the self,

Which we'll talk about that from a Musar perspective,

But is able to rule over what God commands and what God wants and God even tells Beni Adam,

Adam and Chava and others that you are to keep shoe hot to kind of roll over this garden and outside,

You are to be the one to take a care of and are responsible for the soil the earth what I tell you to do first it started in the garden,

And then it moves outside right.

And so God made humans able to rule and like God is the ruler of everything so that's what Saguirre Goon brings to us.

Okay.

So,

What happens with Kyan,

That's we're going to focus on today.

Kyan is the,

I'm going to say he's a beloved son because every child is beloved right of their parents.

He is the beloved son of Adam and Chava,

In addition to his brother,

Brother heaven.

And,

But unfortunately,

You know,

Many of us are born into parents that don't have the greatest skill sets and,

You know,

Are doing their own work and own practice.

And so he's born to Adam and Chava who obviously did not take responsibility for what they did in Ghana,

Eating from the tree that they weren't supposed to but even more importantly than eating from it was the kind of passing the buck,

Not taking responsibility,

So Adams like she made me do it she's like the snake made me do it.

This is,

This is,

This is Kyan's parents.

Okay,

So we're going to first have compassion and Kyan that he doesn't have the greatest role models for a taking responsibility,

Let alone following rules.

Right.

So,

Um,

We're going to hold that in mind because that's who we're going to focus on today.

But this idea that you have to really internalize that you're created in the image of God and it's a gift that you have that knowledge Kyan knew that and everyone those first people knew that right,

But he hadn't internalized it.

Not at all.

Because if he had,

Let's look at his language.

And let me come to the page when he actually am when he is offering,

Which we're going to look at what is his offering fruit of the fruit of the soil,

Not the greatest fruit of the soil,

Not the best offering where we're going to look at what does it mean to just bring the fruit of the soil.

But when he's offering and bringing the fruit of the soil is rejected by Hashem and his brothers have available brings the best of the flock.

His is actually accepted.

What happens to him.

Everyone thinks he gets angry.

Everyone thinks there's like rage there.

It's not.

It's shame,

It's humiliation.

The language here if you look right here.

Right,

It really expresses a distress,

As opposed to Hara off.

Okay,

Which means to be angry,

Very we have to be very close and paying attention to the hero.

My hands mood is depression.

He has fallen he is crestfallen his face falls.

This too is a figure of sadness and depression.

Okay,

Not only in the Hebrew but actually in several other ancient near East,

Near Eastern texts,

Which we learned from JPS the Jewish publication society.

And so what this reflects from Muslim perspective is we're dealing with someone who has too much humility.

He has low self esteem he has low self worth,

Even though he knows he's created in the image of God.

I don't blame him.

If I just had parents who didn't follow the only rule.

And it got them kicked out of the garden,

And then they have to toil the soil for the rest of their life and have difficult birth.

Not sure that's going to be the best start for someone right like you you might not internalize such healthy self esteem but interesting that have ill does do what he's supposed to do but let's just keep this in mind that basically in kinds really entering a dangerous zone with his mood with the state he's in.

He's allowing the state he's having attachment to the state.

And then he's probably also having storytelling,

Even though we don't have insight that right,

Why mine was rejected why my brothers wasn't a there's a lot going on here.

Okay.

But all I have to say,

This is what I want from you each week is to study this Torah portion before you come to me read through it so that you'll understand what I'm talking about and we can delve into this together.

What happens.

Guys depression gives way to a form of aggression.

There's nothing like there's nothing in the text that tells us what he said to him.

Maybe he didn't even can even speak then maybe it was just all like,

Oh,

Like,

You know how it is when you're like full of like just depression and like,

Oh,

That really internalized distress right.

Sometimes you can't even speak and therefore you act and you act out.

So this is what happens is it gives way to aggression.

And basically the first human being faces death dies,

Have you guys.

Now we don't know if that actually was kinds intention,

Or high in as far as we don't doesn't even know death,

At least with human beings,

Maybe he witnessed it among the animals know because he wasn't in God aid and so we don't really have that insider knowledge but it's our understanding in the rabbinic tradition that he didn't know death yet among the human beings.

But here is the first in why you have a diamond have a striving for immortality.

You have now.

It was his responsibility to rule over the land,

Right,

And and and to bring the best of the fruit from it he's in this supposed to be in this relationship with the land he knows his purpose who he is,

What are you supposed to be doing.

But he most certainly did not rule well enough to bring the best of it but also he didn't roll over his own gates or his own inclination and will what we often even term gets a horror that kind of evil inclination right.

This is what moose or has to teach us is that to be he bore to be someone who is strong doesn't mean that you're necessarily physically strong,

You're strong and having self restraint and discipline and calming the fire right the reaction between the match and the fuse.

So he was not having that right he just reacted with depression,

And then act it out.

Okay,

There's just no space here so he definitely is not ruling over the self,

It causes death it causes harm and suffering.

Okay,

So moose or mindfulness understands that God gave us this power this free will to display balance leadership rulership right in the traditional understands as I said to be more to be strong that we must roll over our behavior and pork I and pork kind face more of the darkness right his shadow side,

Not the light,

And there's something really quite beautiful about light right the first creation.

Of God's utterance utterance right it's fitting right why because light is the symbol of life of joy of justice of deliverance.

So beautiful such a gift such acid to create the world first with that and the lettuce know that that's what we've been given that's what was created.

And so,

Um,

When cayenne heads out right with his punishment What does he say he's like,

He's like,

I can't,

It's almost like he can't believe it right he knows he can't be in the presence of Hashem anymore of God.

He doesn't have that right and privilege anymore.

And he's saying this sin is,

It's too much like he suddenly realizes what he's done.

I didn't,

I maybe didn't even mean that right I meant to kind of hurt my brother or act out.

But I'm not sure he meant to murder him right this is more of a homicide.

And I probably see the shock of him.

This,

This boy.

I mean maybe he's a young man we really don't know but that's how he comes across there's like a certain immaturity of a child,

Suddenly like what,

Like,

I can't believe what I've done,

Like it's too much,

It's too much to bear.

And his punishment is less a physical wandering right because if you actually follow the Torah he doesn't wander that far.

And he actually reproduces I believe and have children right.

It's more in this Kermit quality of what is consequence for his behavior he loses the privilege to produce fruit to toil,

The land to toil the soil.

He doesn't wander.

He can't actually stay and farm.

So there's something.

It's really tragic,

We should hold that in mind.

Okay,

Then and hold and see how what comes up for us during learning this.

His wandering is an internal one he's lost.

He's not sure if his moral compass he's just really kind of learning it through a painful experience.

Right.

And he has no direction,

No domain over his dominion over his gates or his inclination right he's stained,

He's caused from and suffering is caused death.

Okay.

So that's more of the internal wandering that's happening,

Which is so common with depression right.

So,

I will go on to say,

And I mean we even have this in a mission and per K of vote right that God,

Let us know that we were created in God's image,

Which is a great gift.

And so we're going to hold that in mind.

Okay.

When God creates the begins to do creation right.

This thing called in this is from chapter one,

But Suke,

Verse two.

And it's called the work,

A low keen,

May have a effect right floats goes about what is being created.

Essentially,

This may be inert disorganized matter.

It's affected by God's presence this rock and low team.

It's a whatever it affects or is near transforms it animates it right from God's spirit.

This is profound and transforms,

As I said,

Everything that comes into contact with God's spirit,

And we,

Excuse me,

As human beings have come into contact with this rule walk in looking how we were created.

And it's a great privilege and responsibility to know this and to similarly affect all that we touch an enemy,

Which we do so much as humans.

Right.

And this was this one of the sins that Vixen right essentially if we're going to call it a sin of crying,

Is that he didn't allow his walk in looking to affect his offering to God.

This,

This lack of self esteem he didn't take up his proper amount of space his responsibility.

And,

You know,

When he,

It's a great privilege to transform the land to tell it right to get the fruit from the land.

And he couldn't step in fully to that grand judge that role to the God within.

And when we are,

We ourselves in our practice are aware of the rookie looking within right,

And that we are selling my looking we are created in the image right and likeness of the divine right,

We too are awake and alert to the effect that we have on on all around us in our presence.

One God given to us with God's spirit.

There is a deep connection in this creation between the physical order.

And what were to do with it and the moral order or order of the world and our internal lives and external lives,

How we till the land how we are in it affects who we are and how we behave,

And vice versa the inside needs to match the outside outside needs to match the inside.

This is our practice.

And even more importantly,

If you look at the language.

And that the human being.

Let me share this source with you if I can find it quickly.

This comes from the Jewish publication society on the Torah commentary of the receipt of Genesis,

Page 12.

And it's created light and darkness and it's in us too and we're creating the image of God,

And we are supposed to be leaders,

Taking care of and animating whenever we touch and taking care of each other and that you too are created.

And there's something really amazing and beautiful and powerful about that right this awareness entails awesome responsibility and imposes a code of living.

We are to live up to,

And sometimes fail,

And I think you would agree is we're going to read through this the first 20 generations of our beloved ancestors of humanity failed often.

As we do today.

Let's just told that.

So,

Onto the next source before we move into our city in practice,

And just caring for the soil which is so important,

Especially today with global climate change.

We're really not being fully leaders of the land and there will be karmic consequences for that we're already experiencing it and witnessing it.

And of course because of human institutions where we privilege one population over the other racism,

Classism,

Sexism,

And climate.

I wouldn't mean to even say region ism right where there are different regions of the world that are more privileged it unfairly that karmic consequence of all of humanity is affecting the most vulnerable,

The poor.

Those who,

You know,

Like in a sense it's like not fair to them right in the sense that they're going to be affected first and most before it affects those of us with more privilege.

So,

And let's move into this what I want to share with you that in the the GPS ads is beautiful and page 31 this beautiful quote that the former offense,

Done by a diamond cover right was against God.

And now with kyan it was against his brother,

Which because we know that were created in the image of God,

And we have the gods light in us that we've been animated by the rule walking looking right that this is also a fence against God.

And it was the fruit of the tree that led to the downfall of a diamond hover I don't know if I would say it was the fruit of the tree,

It was their attachment to their reaction to their clinging to right.

And the,

The fruit of the tree.

And it's the fruit of the soil that leads to kinds on doing.

And again,

I would say it's more his lack of balanced on a vat of humility to be the leader within to know that he had a great responsibility to bring the best of the fruit and to God,

And even for himself right for the world's right and the first humans right Adamic have a worried about death right they wanted in some ways to live forever and that's part of the trying to seek out certain fruit from certain trees.

And now the experience of death has become a reality.

Okay,

So,

And we're going to hold that all in mind.

And I just want to say that as we went on with Noah,

And we're now tomorrow going to get together to go through him.

We've done know off,

And we're going to go through together in to left Lacha,

You're going to start seeing huge patterns together.

All right,

So,

Um,

Let's just keep in mind that what happens with Noah,

Right,

The rule okay looking that manifests right life and energy and creates and basically transfers part of it walk part of its light to the object that actually is created that God is in everything.

And then all of us that we're all one right,

Then to allow the corruption,

The violence and the oppression that we witness in the generation of the 10 generations that lead up to know off and in his generation.

And to bring life and all that's good.

And right this is,

This is the human beings as a,

It's a collective huge undoing in the sense that they,

Through their behavior.

They undo creation,

Slowly over time till it reaches that tipping point where it's been crossed.

But it was the humans behavior for those generation generations,

Leading up to it there's such violence there's such oppression and corruption and harming of self of the land and others that they essentially have put this flood into motion.

This is a warning for us in this whole year of the tourist cycle that we are going to strengthen ourselves and act together to stop our own corruption violence and oppression that's going to bring climate change to a tipping point that we're going to have our own version of the mobile even though God promised never to do the mobile again.

We are undoing creation we are,

We are bringing something to the equivalent of the mobile.

Okay,

So we need to hold that we need to practice and strengthen each other to stop this right to make sure we're partners with God,

And not,

Not cause this to come into being.

So this is something very important in our practice together we're going to move into our now guided mindfulness meditation which is so important to for us to practice together to learn and if you're new to meditation.

You're going to want to read all you can on mindfulness meditation,

I don't have time to get into it now you can also go to our website to learn some and start sitting with me and practice it Why is this so important because we take the time to sit with all that is.

And that builds such a strengthen us that strength that we bore that we need to not act out right to be witness to all that's before us.

There's great beauty and power in the practice.

And before we get into that practice I want to say,

Based on the work of Jamie Arnold.

He's adapted the part days approach to learning Torah to a method he calls Torah to me ma.

And he has the shared this with me and I think it's a beautiful practice and we're going to use it and our moose our mindfulness together.

We always want to keep in mind first part of our cover note that how do we restore human dignity in ourselves and others all the time.

But here's his method.

One.

We need to focus on one Nida on one character trait.

Once it's going to be an evolve humility.

We need to focus on one meets for one command and one thing that we're going to do in service of another,

And this service this week and I once as I suggested this with no often will look into it with local heart is going to be building the self esteem of another that we are going to find we're going to be practicing into father good I.

We're going to be finding whoever we need whoever we run into what is an excellent good quality about them what do you wish you could emulate.

And then you're going to let them know it.

This is wonderful about you you're so kind to others.

This is so wonderful about you you always open your hand and give generously,

Whatever it might be that you witness or see right maybe it's patience.

So that's our meets fun service of others,

Building other self esteem balancing their helping balance their third thing that we do our personal spiritual practice that we're essentially doing together,

And it's true,

Our meta chesed loving kindness meditation that we're going to build self love self compassion is going to strengthen us over time.

Okay to care for ourselves and others.

So let's move into that.

So you may assume one of the four posture.

I'm looking for my source right now so give me one second.

Here we go.

So,

I'm in a seated position where you're in your chair,

And you can be in as awful as meditation cushion to if you wish,

Or to seated on the floor.

But if you're sitting in a seat you want to really ground your feet,

Held by Mother Earth that were between heaven and earth,

All as one.

And a,

We're going to have an upright dignified posture pain that West Point stiff,

As my beloved teacher john Kevin Zinn loves to say,

But knowing that you were created in the image and lightness of divine.

So,

Upright,

Right,

Happy,

Proud love compassion.

And if for those of you,

You can stand that you have chronic pain or low back issues you don't want to sit right now.

It'll be hard to pay attention and be present.

So you want to stand.

Right.

It could be in a warrior pose to be firm and strong or you can stand next to a chair to hold you firm and stable and safe.

Other people can lie down on a bed or the floor,

Stop on a couch and make sure my advice is if you have vision to keep the eyes actually open to remain awake and alert to during the practice.

And the other posture of course is walking meditation,

But not walking any to anywhere in particular.

Just walking.

Right,

You're going to follow my instructions of my voice.

And as your own anchor meaning what you pay attention to besides my voice can really be essentially your breath and your body.

If it's not traumatizing for you to pay attention to the breath.

Given maybe even asthma or COVID issues or other things.

Okay.

So,

We're going to begin.

Which means we're going to begin with three deep cleansing breath inhalation the gift of oxygen from the divine and exhalation inhalation exhalation.

We're beginning to settle and arrive and inhalation exhalation coming to stillness if you feel safe,

Close your eyes if you have vision otherwise lower your gaze.

And we begin with a simple scan and internal scan.

How are you right now,

Checking in as a beloved friend,

Attending and befriending instead of reacting.

No need to judge it,

Whatever you witnessed.

Are you having monkey mind,

Just like I sometimes have actually when I'm preparing what I'm going to teach.

Are you ruminating over something in the past.

Perhaps you are obsessing kind of thinking storytelling about something in the future.

Maybe your thoughts are right here with me in the present moment.

You're able to pay attention to be awake and alerts.

For some of us,

There'll be strong sensations in the body.

Stiffness a soreness,

Maybe even unpleasant pain.

Maybe we feel an energy throwing through us.

What is here for you right now.

Go ahead and scan your body slowly.

Starting from your feet,

Through your legs,

Getting to know yourself.

What do you notice with the curious mind with what we call the beginners mind.

Great curiosity what's here for you right now.

From time to time you will hear me go silence.

Just gives you an opportunity to be with yourself more.

For some of us there might be strong emotions that are trying to take our attention away from the present moment.

Simply note them.

You can even label them,

It's called mental noting.

It's a great practice.

You can just say,

Sadness,

Sadness.

Boredom,

Boredom.

Excited,

Excited.

Whatever is arising for you,

Allow it to be there.

Just noted,

No need to cling to it,

Or identify with it.

No need to push it away.

What we call aversion.

Breathing in sense that you are receiving warmth and energy.

That light that God created and God creates every single day and lets us know it's a gift to press it.

It's metta loving kindness,

Breathing out sense that you are letting go into the gift of the openness,

The great openness.

Now we encounter the rule walking looking never have fit up and they have mine on the face of the water,

Face of our body.

Finally begin to whisper to yourself these prayers of loving kindness of method of tested.

Repeat after me quietly.

May I be filled with loving kindness.

May I hold myself and great self esteem.

May Hashem hold me in loving kindness.

Man always know the light,

The light as a gift.

May I feel safe and at ease.

Man I feel protected from inner and outer harm.

I know joy,

The warmth,

The light of joy.

May I accept myself,

Just as I am.

May I touch that deep natural knowing of the light,

And that I am created in the image and likeness of the divine.

I know the joy of being alive and aware of it.

May I find refuge and God and in my own being,

And in community.

May my heart and mind awaken.

May I be on the path to holiness.

May I be on the path to insight.

May I be free.

I bring God's good to others.

Today these phrases we open to whatever images and feelings arise with the words.

Approach this meditation as an experiment.

If you are looking for a way to open your heart words and images best serve your practice right here and right now to soften and open your heart.

I want to see if this deepens your experience of holding yourself and love and kindness.

Take as long as you like,

Offering yourself these phrases and reflecting on them.

Is there a new sense of space and tenderness.

Do you feel more at home in your own being.

Throughout your day as you continue with today and this week.

Remember to guard regard yourself with kindness.

Before you do so,

You will develop a sense of connectedness and freedom from trance and being asleep.

You can practice this anywhere.

These phrases as you walk,

Drive,

Any task in your daily life.

If you become agitated or upset during this meditation or another one.

These prayers of loving kindness.

They feel artificial at first to you if you're new to the practice.

Notice if you are in the grip of fear of shame or confusion,

Or even depression of too much humility,

Low self worth like our beloved kind.

At times,

You may even notice voices of undeserving that you are bad.

Understand that without judgments,

We include this reactivity.

We have the capacity to witness it and hold it all.

May this to be held and loving kindness.

May this to be held and may this to be held and meta.

Simply resume your meditation accepting whatever thoughts or feelings arise.

Don't worry if this seems new or mechanical to you.

You find yourself just reciting phrases by rote.

Your heart opens over time through this practice.

We harken back to our covenant to our intentions.

We bring God's good.

We really care for ourselves so that may make care for others and serve God.

This is what matters most to awaken this loving kindness.

This last minute of silence meditation,

You will hear me ring the bells when we are to come out together.

Oh,

Gently slowly open your eyes,

They were closed.

Allow yourself to give yourself an inner bow bow to God and Hashem.

Thanks for another day and for this practice.

Now to your fellow practitioners to be able to take refuge and community to be here together and this wonderful awakening series.

We thank you for your donations and sponsorships that allow us to offer this all the information you can find at our website please give generously,

Or the smallest amount that you can afford all is welcome.

And to your teachers to the wisdom of moose our mindfulness this gift that we share together.

This is Radha sham God willing I will see you next new soon.

Right.

Next week it's every Sunday,

1230,

Eastern Standard Time we will move into left for her because we've already filmed and done know off together.

So thank you for coming out to learning and practicing together.

Thank you for this blessing.

Thank you for today.

Thank you for your practice.

Reviews

Today raba! Love that you post these to IT. Many blessings to you.