Make sure you're in a relaxed,
Comfortable position.
Sitting in the chair,
Make sure your back straight.
Feeling supported.
For lying down,
Ensure that you're in a comfortable place without any limbs crossed.
And slowly allow yourself to start to breathe,
To consciously breathe.
Taking some time out.
Such a busy time.
Our heads are buzzing.
Our eyes throughout the day absorbing light,
But not from the sun or from the sky,
But from screens.
So now's the time to just relax.
You deserve a moment to come back to yourself.
Breathing in through your nose.
Hold for a few seconds and then breathing out again.
Breathing in.
Hold for a few seconds.
As you breathe out,
Breathe out all the toxins,
Everything that's installed inside,
Allowed to go out of you.
Doesn't belong inside anymore.
As you breathe in through your nose,
Breathe in life,
Vitality,
Health.
Hold and now breathe out.
Once again allowing yourself to eject all the toxins,
Impediments.
And already you're feeling yourself far more comfortable,
Far more relaxed and focused.
Imagine that there's a pool of water,
The most gorgeous mosaic on the bottom of the pool.
Have you visualized for yourself that mosaic,
That it's the scene of a dolphin or a fish.
It's the scene of something precious to you.
And the pool of water though right now is full of people splashing around,
Making noise,
Waves,
Spray,
Splashing.
You're trying your hardest to find that mosaic,
You're trying your hardest to find that pattern on the floor.
All you're seeing is foam and spray and noise and distraction.
So take a big deep breath in and as you breathe in,
Start to feel those waters settling.
And then breathe out again and the waters settle even more.
Big deep breath in,
Feel the waters stilling in front of you.
Everyone's coming out of the pool.
There's no one left now.
Breathe out,
The waters are stilling.
Start to make out a little bit of the mosaic.
It's getting quieter breathing in.
Even quieter still as you breathe out,
The waters are coming to rest.
Breathe in one more time,
Feel yourself with air and as you breathe out now,
Take a look down in the pool and you'll see crystal clear waters with the mosaic staring back at you,
Just calming our mind,
The Shiva's Nefesh,
Coming back to ourselves,
Settling,
Calming,
Calming the Nefesh.
So much distraction,
So many places,
So many things to do.
We need quiet.
These few moments of quiet,
These precious moments of silence.
We've been counting up to that moment of Shavuot,
Festival of Shavuot.
Shavuot we're going to be commemorating,
We're going to be reliving a moment where the Divine Presence manifests itself to a degree that it hasn't manifested since the creation of the world and in that moment the Torah,
The Divine blueprint is transmitted to the Jewish people and we relive that moment on Shavuot.
But it's interesting to note that the Torah isn't given in the metropolis,
It's not given in the fields,
It's not given in the forests,
It's not given on the beaches.
The Torah is given in the desert.
Torah is given in the still,
Empty,
Barren desert.
The desert of Sinai is the ground zero of this divine manifestation which we will relive.
Keep breathing in through your nose,
Hold and breathe out.
You know it's fascinating that the Midrash,
The ancient Jewish sources,
They tell us that in order to be able to receive the Torah,
To receive that manifestation,
To receive that transmission,
We have to make ourselves like a desert.
We have to make ourselves hefka,
Empty,
Oneless,
Like the desert in order to receive the Torah.
You see,
When you're empty,
When you're clean,
When you're barren,
When you're aching,
When you're longing,
That's when you can receive,
When you're full,
When you're distracted,
When we feel that we're at capacity from information overload,
Relationship overload,
We forget ourselves,
Forget who we are and what we need and what we want,
So we have to come back now,
Now,
Come back with me to the desert and allow ourselves that space,
That stillness,
That quiet,
That silence of the desert and there is an empty vessel we can be filled up with the vine.
So breathe in again through your nose and join me on this desert visualization as we prepare ourselves for Shavuot.
Big deep breath in,
Your body still,
Hands,
Palms upwards,
Still,
Shoulders,
Neck,
Calm,
Relaxed and still.
I want you to visualize with me,
Sitting in a vast and barren desert.
As you look forward in front of you,
All you see is an expanse of desert rock and desert sand,
To the right,
The hot sun to the left,
Blue sky,
Behind you,
You're engulfed in this desert rock and desert sand.
Feel the heat,
Feel the hot sand under you,
A gentle breeze maybe cooling you down,
A complete silence,
No birds,
No moving thing,
Complete stillness and quiet.
Breathe in through your nose.
Be there,
Be present.
There's nothing around.
Feel your body come to a state of complete relaxation in that knowledge,
It won't be disturbed,
Body's filled with energy.
And empty like the desert you find yourself now,
Longing and aching,
Longing and aching,
Longing and aching for the divine presence,
Longing and aching to be filled up with the divine energy that will remind you of whence you came,
Longing and aching to come home,
Longing and aching to be received,
To be loved,
Longing and aching to be welcomed and accepted.
Feel the longing as you sit in these desert sands,
Feel the longing from the deepest recesses of your soul.
And as you feel that longing now you start to receive here in the desert of Sinai,
Start to receive that divine flow.
Here in the midi bara,
Here in the desert,
In the empty desert,
You don't have to prove yourself,
You don't have to be someone or something else,
It's just you and your creator.
So just breathe in and receive.
And when you're ready,
Filled with light,
Filled with presence of the divine,
Now you move forward and you go on your journey,
Wishing you a Chag Shavuat Sameach.
