There's a beautiful lesson that I wanted to share you before Passover starts.
It's a lesson for this month of Nisan,
It's a lesson for the springtime and it's of course a lesson for life.
You see,
Passover always has to be in the spring.
That's why we have a calendar based on both the sun and the moon to make sure that Passover is always in the springtime.
Because just as we are breaking free,
Nature right now is also breaking free.
There is a special blessing,
A special bracha that we can say every year in Nisan,
In this month that we are in right now.
It's a blessing which one would say on seeing two fruit trees that have started to blossom.
The bracha is,
Baruch ata Hashem,
Me'lokhenu Melech haolam.
Hashem,
You are the source of all blessing in the world.
Shalom,
Chissar ba'olamor davar.
For nothing is lacking in His universe.
U'varavor be'ryois toi'vois v'ilanois toi'vim.
He created in it good creatures and good trees.
L'hanois b'hem b'nei Adam.
To cause mankind great pleasure with them.
This is a blessing we say,
Thanking our Creator for giving us a world that lacks nothing.
He created these beautiful creations of trees that are blossoming now.
And those blossoms will eventually become fruit which will fill us and give us no end of pleasure.
The word Nisan is linked to the word Nitzan which means to burst.
The blossoms are bursting right now.
If you take a look around,
Colour is exploding everywhere.
It's nature's response to the warm sun,
It's nature's response to this brand new opportunity that comes every year that tells those trees that your potential is about to start to become a reality.
The world is waking up,
The world is bursting forward and from the narrow constraints of the branches will come most delicious fruit.
It's amazing that this is the time of year in Nisan where the blossom happens and where Passover happens.
Where we are encouraged to break out ourselves,
To be able to find from within the narrow places a new song,
A new colour,
A new expression that we can burst forward with this year.
And so in response to the blossoming of Nisan,
Let's do a soul fitness meditation now that emphasises our own blossoming,
Our own ability to break free and to express ourselves fully at this time.
Find yourself in a comfortable position,
Feet shoulder width apart,
Whether you're sitting down or if you're lying down on the ground.
Make sure that you're in a quiet space where no one is going to disturb you.
When you're ready,
Take a big deep breath in through your nose,
Feeling yourself with a hold for a few seconds and then breathe out gently.
Get ready for the next breath to come in.
Take a deep breath in through your nose,
Feel the colder air as it comes in.
Hold for a few seconds and then breathing out the warmer air.
Already feeling calmer,
Your blood pressure goes down,
Your heart rate goes down.
What we're doing is just breathing carefully and with a focused intent.
Keep breathing in now,
Breathe in through your nose,
A big deep breath.
Fill your tummy with air,
Fill it with fill it,
Fill it,
Fill it there.
And as you breathe out almost gently push your tummy with your hands,
Squeezing the air in.
Powerful.
We'll do a quick body scan to make sure that our body can feel relaxed.
As I'm talking,
Keep breathing.
Starting with the right foot,
The big toe of the right foot,
Big deep breath in,
Touch the big toe of your right foot with your mind.
Send it to sleep.
All the toes of your right foot,
The top part of your right foot,
The sole of your right foot,
The heel,
The ankle,
The shin,
The calf,
The right knee and the right thigh.
Touch them with your mind and send them now to sleep.
Now go to the left foot,
To the big toe of the left foot,
All the toes of the left foot,
The top part,
The bottom part,
The heel,
The ankle,
The shin,
The calf,
The left knee,
The thigh until both legs feel warm and heavy.
Keep breathing.
The right hand,
The right forearm,
Elbow and the right upper arm.
The tummy,
The chest,
Just let all the tension go.
The lower back,
Moving up,
Up,
Up,
Up.
All the way to the right shoulder blade,
The left shoulder blade,
The right shoulder,
Left shoulder to the neck.
Tonight everything feels really warm and heavy.
Right ear,
Right cheekbone,
Right cheek,
Left ear,
Left cheekbone,
Left cheek,
Chin,
Mouth,
Teeth,
Tongue,
Nose,
Nostrils,
Eyes,
Forehead,
Over the top of the head now,
The whole body feels really warm and relaxed.
So now I want you to imagine around the area of your chest,
In that space,
I want you to imagine that there is a small budding flower.
Now with every breath that you take in,
I want you to visualize and imagine this flower gradually unfurling itself petal by petal,
A closed tight constricted space.
The flower starts to open up in the warmth of the sun.
Each petal moves and spreads out gradually revealing the supernal color inside.
The blossom pushes out,
The flower grows larger until now in a full expression of potential.
The flower is pulling in the energy,
Heat and light of the sun and doing so is giving you energy,
Heat and light,
Preparing you now for a full summer of joy and connection.
The fruit is being nourished as we speak now.
And so from even a constricted space,
Our homes,
Our houses,
Right now we feel connected to the warmth of the sun,
Millions and millions of miles away,
Connecting us to everything within the universe,
Pushing way beyond the boundaries of brick and mortar,
Connecting us throughout the world to each other.
The blossom has unfurled to its totality.
You are able even this time to feel you can express yourself to express your holy spark,
To express your holy self in every way this year.
Spend a few moments now in silence,
Just receiving the heat,
Light and warmth of the life-giving sun as it sends its energy into that flower and doing so permeates your entire being.
Bask in that light and don't stop until you feel ready.
Shaloch Yisar Bolamar.
Hashem did not lack anything in this world.
We have everything we need.
Wishing you an incredible Pesach of freedom,
Breaking through the constraints and a summer beyond that will be full of potential.
