Talks, Classes and Workshops

Pure Spirit Creations offers a variety of talks, classes and workshops appropriate for conferences and conventions, bookstores, churches and synagogues, and most groups and organizations. Many of the topics listed below can be customized and can be discusses as 1-2 hour lectures or keynote speeches, as half- or full-day classes or as two-day workshops.

Classes fall into two categories: general self-help, spiritual and human potential and Jewish spiritual and human potential. However, there is some overlap and some topics can easily be discussed in Jewish or non-Jewish contexts. Contact Nina Amir for information on pricing and scheduling. 

General Self-Help, Spiritual & Human-Potential Topics

Food as a Gateway to Memories and Tradition…and Much More

Using her experience compiling a Jewish celebrity cookbook, the speaker will discuss the importance of food and the stories we tell about what we eat. As much as anything else, the foods we eat are part of our heritage, handed down from generation to generation. When we discuss these recipes and dishes, we find them baked in memories and simmering with warm feelings. As much as the smells and tastes are remembered, the people who cooked these foods or who ate them with us are recalled.

Food is an integral part of almost every celebration or commemoration. And it what we eat has become a huge focus for many people who want to eat in a more healthy manner, who are wanting to get in shape or who want to lose weight. Food becomes an issue if we use it for psychological purposes as well, eating when we are depressed or unhappy, eating when we are nervous, and so forth.

During this lecture, the speaker will discuss the universal qualities of food and celebrations and how ethnic foods and family traditions tie people together with a culinary heritage handed down from generation to generation.

Navigating the Narrow Bridge , How to Move Forward Freely and Courageously Even When Life Seems Most Precarious

Rebbe Nachman of Breslov said, “A person walks in life on a narrow bridge. The most important thing is not to be afraid.” Indeed, we walk on that narrow bridge we call “life” every day, never knowing if the slats will drop out from beneath our feet. Yet, we don't think about the fact that quantum physics has proven that the bridge only consists of particles vibrating in space. During this lecture, the speaker will share Nachman's teaching on living in the moment, as if at any moment the bridge could collapse, living balanced and poised for the next step, moving forward without fearing death but instead with a lust for life and a desire to reach our life's destination.

This lecture will discuss how fear prevents us from achieving our highest potential and immobilizes us on the path to our dreams. No matter how much or how little fear we experience, to some extent that fear stops us from living our lives fully and creating the life we desire.

To whatever degree people feel paralyzed by the negative emotions of fear and anxiety, this lecture will help attendees move freely, confidently and joyously through life once again. The speaker will provide anyone paralyzed by their vulnerability and uncertainty with a plan for reducing anxiety so they can continue traveling forward toward their goals and towards their highest potential.

Drawing on the teachings of Rebbe Nachman, metaphysics, quantum physics, wisdom traditions, and human potential techniques, the speaker will discuss how to: live in the moment; turn fear of death into awe for life; find and communicate with God; use thoughts creatively; cultivate an attitude of gratitude; use meditation and visualization to feel safe and to manifest dreams; and make affirmations of action.

Sending an Invitation to God, How to Transform Empty Prayers and Rituals into Meaning-Full and Spirit-Full Practices

Over the past two decades, large numbers of Jews and Christians alike left the folds of their religious organizations in search of something more than empty traditional rituals and prayers. They traveled a variety of spiritual paths promising meaningful practices and the possibility of connecting with God. Sometimes they found that meaning and connection, but often they did not. For this reason, many seekers turned back to traditional religion only to find that religious rituals and prayers still lacked personal meaning and provided them with little that felt spiritual.

1. Spiritual Preparation: Discovering why we do what we do on the Sabbath and finding personal meaning in the rituals.
   
   
2. The Sacred Place Setting: Practicing how to perform rituals.
   
   
3. Creating the Meal: Infusing our rituals and practices with meaning.
   
   
4. The Divine Invitation: Adding the intention to invite the Divine Presence and to have a spiritual experience.
   
   
5. The Finishing Touch: Developing the faith that God will arrive and expecting a spiritual experience.
   
   
6. Welcoming the Guest: Having the courage to let the Divine Presence into your experience.
   

The Kabbalah of Conscious Creation: How to Mystically Manifest Your Dreams and Desires

The Kabbalistic creation story of tzim tzum serves as a Jewish mystical conscious creation technology. By consciously moving through the four worlds, we combine inspiration/desire, thought, feeling, and action, thereby putting the forces of creation into motion. If we do this with the intention of using what we create (receive) to help (give to) others, manifestation flows forth almost magically. Avoiding a materialistic or ego-centered bent, this class will look at how to manifest a new desire -- the desire for higher consciousness that wants to receive not just for the self alone but for the sake of giving to others. For those familiar with the popular book The Secret, this class puts the Law of Attraction through a Jewish lens and takes a more spiritual bent.

Prescriptions for Happiness, 18 Ways to Achieve Joy and Open to the Divine

Using 18 quotes from Rebbe Nachman of Breslov, this lecture revolves around how to be happy no matter what life throws before you. The speaker will discuss Nachman's premise that one must at all cost be happy, and that even if you have to be silly or “fake it ‘till you make it,” you must find ways to change your depression, or other negative emotions, into joy.

Many people suffer from depression. Others find it difficult to feel happy when they look at the circumstances of their life. They may not be depressed, but they may feel worried or sad. They may not see life as a joyous experience. According to Nachman, it matters not what circumstances we face, we must still find ways to be joyous.

While Nachman's advice seems easier said than done, during this lecture participants will learn simple techniques to help move themselves from depression, worry or sadness into happiness and joy. The lecture will include exercises based on some of Nachman recommended practices for the whole group to try.

In addition, the speaker will discuss joy as a spiritual path, a way to connect with the Divine. Nachman contends that happiness is the clearest and simplest path to God.

Setting a Place for God, How to Create a Sanctuary in Time

In today's fast-paced, over-scheduled world, we often find ourselves feeling as if there isn't even a minute available to use in the day, the week, the month, the year to relax let alone to connect to ourselves and to God. However, it is just for this reason that we must learn to create for ourselves a “sanctuary in time.” A weekly Sabbath observance can serve this purpose, but it doesn't have to occur on Saturday or on Sunday. It can be on any day of the week we choose to create as our own sanctuary in time. It can be a day or an hour in which we take the time to see the difference between the sacred and the ordinary, so we are able to see the sacred in the rest of our lives, and to reconnect with the part of ourselves created in the Divine image and to connect with the Divine as well.

This lecture will help participants decide how to create sanctuaries in time, such as observing the Sabbath, going on retreat, making a vision quest, or simply finding a few minutes or hours to affirm the sacred and their connection to the Spirit of the Universe. In addition, participants will be taught seven steps to help them make any ritual, prayer or observance both meaning-full and spirit-full.

Jewish & Jewish Spirituality Topics

Setting a Place for God, How to Invite the Divine Presence to Attend Your Home-Based Shabbat Rituals and Practices

Often those of us who practice our Jewish rituals and prayers just go through the motions of observance without really thinking about the reasons why we do what we do. The result of such practice is that many of us find our observance less than meaningful and less than spiritual.

During this lecture, attendees will learn that to find meaning in our Jewish rituals and prayers we must know not only how to do what we do but why we do what we do. Then we must be able to go through the motions of doing without thinking about the how, which then allows us to keep in mind the why as we are performing the ritual or saying the prayer. In addition, we must have the intention, the kavanah, to have a spiritual experience, and we must expect to feel the Divine Presence join us in our observance. Finally, we must be willing and open to having a spiritual experience. We must have the courage to allow God in to our practices.

This lecture will teach participants how to use these steps by applying them to any traditional (or non-traditional) religious holiday, ritual, prayer or observance. The class will focus primarily upon Shabbat home observance and teach participants how to create meaning-full and spirit-full Shabbat experiences. It will also discuss how to apply these teachings to any other ritual or holiday.

L'dor V'dor, Jewish Food as a Gateway to Memories and Tradition

Using her experience compiling a Jewish celebrity cookbook, the speaker will discuss the importance of food in the Jewish tradition, as well as in other ethnic traditions. As much as anything else, the foods we eat are part of our heritage, handed down l'dor v'dor, from generation to generation. When we discuss these recipes and dishes, we find them baked in memories and simmering with warm feelings. As much as the smells and tastes are remembered, the people who cooked these foods or who ate them with us are recalled.

Food is an integral part of almost every Jewish celebration or commemoration. Yet, there are some Jews who have had no recipes handed down to them. Maybe no one in their family cooked or they converted to Judaism. In any case, having recipes to use that are steeped in memories – albeit someone else's memories – makes the recipes all the more delicious and soothing. The importance of handing down recipes and memories for such people to use will be discussed.

During this lecture, the speaker will also share some of the anecdotes offered by the celebrities who contributed to her cookbook. In the process, she will discuss the universal qualities of Jewish food and celebrations and Jews in general – famous or not. Jews are tied together by a heritage that has been handed down “l'dor v'dor,” from generation to generation – and often it is handed down in the kitchen during the creation of the Jewish foods we all know and love.

The Priestess Practice: How to Create Sacred Space and Invite the Divine to Dwell Within It

Every Friday night all over the world, Jewish women take on the role of kohenet -- priestess -- when they light Shabbat candles, but they don't always know that they are fulfilling this role and rarely do they feel like kohanot (priestesses).

In thisclass participants learn to draw out their Inner Priestess and to create sacred spaces in which the Divine Feminine -- the Shechinah -- can dwell. This class focuses on Shabbat candle lighting as a spiritual practice and Jewish women as strong spiritual leaders in their homes. Drawing on the symbolism between what women do when they light Shabbat candles and what the kohenim (priests) duties in the Temple, it stress that women have a special and important role within Judaism. The class looks to Biblical Jewish women for inspiration and the traditional role of observant women while allowing participants to creatively design their modern role as Jewish priestesses. This is a great class for those looking for an entry into Jewish spiritual or religious practice.

Jewish Meditation

What makes meditation Jewish and is it part of our religious tradition? These are questions that are addressed during this lecture. In addition, participants will learn a number of ways to meditate Jewish-ly and have opportunities to practice these and discuss their experiences. The lecture will discuss the importance of meditation, the difference between meditation and prayer, and how to develop a meditation practice.

Kabablah and New Thought

This class discusses the similarities between Kabbalistic principles and New Thought and New age principles. Subjects covered include angels, reincarnation, creative thought, the power of the spoken word, meditation, and giving as a spiritual practice. While many of these subjects are not traditionally seen as “Jewish,” the lecturer will show how they are inherent to the teachings of Jewish mysticism.

Setting a Place for God, How to Create a Sanctuary in Time

In today's fast-paced, over-scheduled world, we often find ourselves feeling as if there isn't even a minute available to use in the day, the week, the month, the year to relax let alone to connect to ourselves and to God. However, it is just for this reason that we must learn to create for ourselves a “sanctuary in time.” A weekly Sabbath observance can serve this purpose, but it doesn't have to occur on Saturday or on Sunday. It can be on any day of the week we choose to create as our own sanctuary in time. It can be a day or an hour in which we take the time to see the difference between the sacred and the ordinary, so we are able to see the sacred in the rest of our lives, and to reconnect with the part of ourselves created in the Divine image and to connect with the Divine as well.

This lecture will help participants decide how to create sanctuaries in time, such as observing the Sabbath, going on retreat, making a vision quest, or simply finding a few minutes or hours to affirm the sacred and their connection to the Spirit of the Universe. In addition, participants will be taught seven steps to help them make any ritual, prayer or observance both meaning-full and spirit-full.

The Woman's Role in Creating Shabbat, the Weekly Sanctuary in Time

In most religious traditions, while the men have historically been the ones to preside over religious and spiritual rituals, the women have actually created the space in which these happen. Nowhere is this seen more clearly than in the Jewish tradition of “making Shabbos,” or celebrating Shabbat weekly. The woman prepares the home, sets the table (seen as a small altar), cooks the meal, and even lights the candles that usher in the Sabbath. At this point she, much like a priestess, wills the Shechina (the female aspect of God) to join her and her family, and some say she actually embodies the energies of this aspect of God.

This lecture offers participants practical advice on how fulfill their role as creator of spiritual space and such sanctuaries in time as Shabbat. They also will be offered seven steps to help make any ritual, prayer or observance both meaning-full and spirit-full and ways in which they can use these steps to lead others, such as their family, into a more meaning-full and spirit-full observance of Shabbat.

Setting a Place for God When Children Occupy All the Chairs

This class focuses on helping parents find ways in which to have a weekly sanctuary in time – as Shabbat observance – despite the fact that their children may either occupy their time, need their assistance or have activities that preclude observing Shabbat. Participants will hear about methods that have worked for the speaker and be able to brainstorm together about ways not only to have a Shabbat themselves but for their children to learn to have one – and enjoy it – as well.

More Info

Prices for lectures, classes and workshops vary depending upon length and location. For more information on pricing and scheduling, please contact Nina Amir at