Sometimes life just hands you situations and you simply do what’s necessary. Or at least you begin taking steps to do what you think might be necessary. Then you watch, wait, listen to see if the pieces fall into place.

A friend reminded me of Angeles Arrien’s teaching: Show up. Pay attention. Speak your truth. Stay unattached to the outcome.

I’m trying to do that right now. My son was asked to study ballet in New York this school year. I’m not sure that’s the right thing for him to do. We’ve asked some experts for their opinion. We are waiting for their feedback. In the meantime, we’ve started taking steps to try and make it happen for him. We’ve spoken our truth about if we think it should happen and how we think it should happen (if it should). Now we are paying attention…staying unattached (as much as possible), paying attention. And I’m showing up as the person to apartment hunt and chaperone–if that is meant to be.

That’s what may be necessary.

Did I think I’d be living in New York City next year? No. Have I done it the last three summers? Yes. Was it necessary then? Yes.

Could this be an opportunity of some sort ? Yes. For all of us.

I’ll show up. I’ll pay attention. I’ll speak my truth. I’ll stay unattached to the outcome.

I’ll do what’s necessary. Not always easy.

Okay, so, I have to admit it. The other day someone told me I am a procrastinator.

And I had to admit that he was right.

We procrastinate for many reasons. Fear. Laziness. Self-worth issues. Lack of passion.

What about you? Are you procrastinating? Why aren’t you doing what you say you want to do? What are you waiting for?

No more waiting for me. I’m done.

So, I thought it quite fitting when I read Seth Godin’s blog post yesterday. He quoted Martin Luther King, Jr., since it was the anniversary of his birth. Martin Luther King, Jr., said about a half a lifetime ago:

“We are now faced with the fact, my friends, that tomorrow is today. We are confronted with the fierce urgency of now. In this unfolding conundrum of life and history, there is such a thing as being too late. Procrastination is still the thief of time. Life often leaves us standing bare, naked, and dejected with a lost opportunity. The tide in the affairs of men does not remain at flood — it ebbs. We may cry out desperately for time to pause in her passage, but time is adamant to every plea and rushes on. Over the bleached bones and jumbled residues of numerous civilizations are written the pathetic words, ‘Too late.’”

Are you going to wait until it’s too late? I’m not.

Godin wrote: “The world isn’t fair, and most people don’t get all the chances they deserve. There are barriers due to income, to race, to social standing and to education, and they are inexcusable and must fall. But the check remains, now more than ever. The opportunity to step up and to fail (and then to fail again, and to fail again) and to continue failing until we succeed is greater now than it has ever been.”

So, don’t let anything get in your way–not even the fear of failure. Don’t wait any more. Don’t wait until it’s too late.

Do whatever it is you want to do. Do it now.

Much of the stress that people feel doesn’t come from having too much to do. It comes from not finishing what they’ve started.
— David Allen

I don’t celebrate Christmas; I celebrate Chanukah, and that holiday ended early in December. So, I’m already thinking about the New Year. Not that the secular New Year is a Jewish holiday, but I enjoy any holiday that asks me to reassess my life, to look at my past actions and met or unmet goals and to set new intentions.

After completing my yearly physical yesterday, and being told once again that my blood pressure hovers at a borderline high level and that I should do something other than takes medications to reduce my migraines–like exercise, meditate and go for weekly massages–I found myself considering how to reduce my stress level. That’s when I discovered the above quote from David Allen in an email. “That’s the ticket,” I thought.

Well, I know I still need to do the other things, but right there in those two sentences Allen had pinpointed a huge source of my stress. I have started so many projects and never finished them. And…I continue to start new ones while the others remain unfinished.

In 2011, it is my intention to systematically complete my unfinished projects. I don’t even care what that entails financially, because money has tended to be my excuse for not completing some of them. And I will make time; time has been another excuse.

What about you? Will you make time this year to finish what you have started–and thereby reduce your to-do list and, subsequently, your stress level?

During the season of gift giving, it’s easy to get caught up in the commercialism of the holidays. However, you can make the season meaning-full and spirit-full by giving gifts that come from your heart as well as from your soul.

Most people find it easy to give heart-centered gifts. By simply thinking about the people we love and considering the things they love, we can give thoughtful gifts that feel loving, filled with love and that come from a place of love.

Giving soul-centered gifts may feel harder. Doing this involves giving gifts you feel come from your soul purpose. You must, therefore, have a sense of what your soul purpose is. Do you have a passion? Are you good at something? Do you feel you feel gifted in some way? Do you sense that you are supposed to do something while here on this earth? If so, this likely constitutes your soul purpose.

If you can find a way to give from that purpose, you will give a soulful gift. One way to accomplish this involves creating something you can share with others that also fulfills your purpose. To do this, take some time to imagine what you would like to manifest or create that would fulfill your purpose. It could be anything…a book, a garden, a daycare center, a professional speaking job, quilts for the homeless, time for your children, jobs for homeless people, beautiful jewelry, how-to articles, unique meditation spaces, drivers for the elderly…

Now take some time to focus your energy and thoughts on manifesting it.

• Imagine first that you are connected to the Source of all abundance. You are one with the One.
• Then sense your purpose pulsing within you. Get a clear feeling or picture of that purpose.
• Now feel the energy of wanting to create something. What is it you want to create? Focus your thoughts on it. Develop a clear and concise though of what you desire to manifest that will fulfill your purpose.
• See yourself going through the necessary and the inspired action steps required to bring this desire into physical manifestation. Imagine how good it will feel to take those action steps and to see them come to fruition.
• Imagine what it would be like to actually create this desire and fulfill your purpose not only by manifesting it but also by sharing it with others. Feel what it would be like to give what you have created to others and, thereby, to fulfill your soul purpose.

Now, go out and begin doing what it takes to give soulful gifts. If you can create them in time for your holiday (or if your holiday has passed), give the people you love an IOU. They’ll understand and appreciate your intention.

If you enjoyed this exercise, you can find similar ones in my ebook, The Kabbalah of Conscious Creation.

So many of us don’t pursue our dreams out of a fear of failure. We feel afraid that we won’t get it right, our work won’t be perfect, we will find ourselves ill equipped for the task, we won’t be good enough or will be thought uncredentialed, we will give up or for some reason, or not be able to complete or reach our goal.

Someone recently pointed out to me that many of us have been given the message, “If you’re gonna do something, do it right.”  Or maybe we have been offered the opposite message: “If you can’t do it right, don’t do it at all.” Additionally, he said, some of us have taken to heart the message, “Don’t start something you can’t finish.”  Together, these add up to paralysis.

If any of these apply to you, your  goals and dreams remain visions of what you might have been, might have accomplished. Your human potential remains unrealized.

Judaism offers a wonderful teaching that counters these negative thoughts, beliefs, fears, and messages that leave us paralyzed on the path to our dreams and goals.  “Lo aylecha ha-m’lachah ligmor…”  The translation of the Hebrew means, “It is not up to you to finish the work, but neither are you free to desist from it.” (Pirke Avot) In other words, no matter what, you must start, you must try…even if you don’t finish for some reason…even if the work isn’t perfect…even if it isn’t right…even if others judge you or what you have done as not good enough in some way. The work is yours to do—the goals and dreams are yours to move towards.

So, today, remember that you must start moving towards your goals and dreams. Take action and continue moving forward…no matter what. That’s your job; you are not free to do anything but pursue your dreams and goals. And stop worrying about whether your achieve them or reach them. Maybe that’s not the point.

When we can’t seem to solve a problem, we turns to a supernal power that might provide a solution…or a miracle. Thus, more than two months into the Gulf oil spill crisis, four affected State Governors proclaimed this past Sunday, June 27th, A Day of Prayer. In other words, we turn to God for answers and for help.

While Louisiana Governor Bobby Jindal declared “June 27th as a Statewide Day of Prayer for perseverance,” Texas Governor Rick Perry said “the people of Texas should join with their fellow Gulf Coast residents and others across the country and around the world to thank God, seek his wisdom for ourselves and our leaders, and ask him for his merciful intervention and healing in this time of crisis.”

According to Alabama Governor Bob Riley, “Throughout our history, Alabamians have humbly turned to God to ask for His blessings and to hold us steady during times of struggle. This is certainly one of those times.”

And Mississippi Governor Haley Barbour wrote, “Prayer allows us the opportunity to reflect and seek guidance, strength, comfort and inspiration from Almighty God…”

I urge all of us to join all those people in the Gulf who are affected—or not—and to pray for a speedy solution to this crisis. May a way to stop the oil spill be found and the birds, fish, waters, and coastlines be saved.

I spent many of my best summers along the Gulf Coast…I have many fond memories of walking along the beaches, watching the dolphins, seeing baby sea turtles hatch, watching other sea animals and birds. Even if I hadn’t, I would want this issue to be resolved…we all should. Please place the workers, the government, and all affected—human or otherwise—in your prayers.

Or try Dr. Masaru Emoto’s “Prayer for The Water,” which focuses intention on love, gratitude and healing. If you recall, Dr. Emoto is an author, water researcher and emissary for water and peace. He became quite well known for his book The Hidden Messages in Water,  which puts forth his claim that if human speech or thoughts are directed at water droplets before they are frozen, images of the resulting water crystals will be “beautiful” or “ugly” depending upon whether the words or thoughts were positive or negative.Dr. Emoto claims  this can be achieved through prayer, music or by attaching written words to a container of water.

Now Dr. Emoto has shared a powerful prayer for the healing of the waters of the planet. He explains that water is the divine conduit for spirit and all creation. By focusing our intentions, thoughts and prayers on the waters of the Gulf, we can help “heal” them. To recite the prayer, say:  “I send the energy of love and gratitude to the water and all the living creatures in the Gulf of Mexico and its surroundings. To the whales, dolphins, pelicans, fish, shellfish, plankton, coral, algae, and all living creatures . . . I am sorry. Please forgive me. Thank you. I love you. ”

By participating in this prayer and setting an intention of love and healing for the waters, Dr. Emoto hopes to perform a miracle in the Gulf of Mexico. The belief is that together we are a powerful force. Speaking this prayer multiple times daily create powerful, positive change in the Gulf and on the planet. The power of love and gratitude is greater than any power active in the universe today. To participate, repeat Dr. Emoto’s healing prayer for the waters a few minutes every day.

Or prayer for the waters in your own way, but go to some sort of extraordinary measures at this time using thought, intention and prayer to consciously create change, healing, a solution — a miracle — in the Gulf.

Jews usually eat grated horseradish as the bitter herb on Passover.

Today, I will look at the last seder plate symbol: maror. These are the bitter herbs that represent slavery. Of course, during Passover the issue of slavery comes up big time. We discuss how the Israelites were enslaved in Egypt and how Moses asked the Pharaoh to let free them. When Pharaoh said, “No,” God sent the plagues. Eventually, Pharaoh agreed and the Israelites left. We all know what happened then…they Egyptians pursued them to the shore of the Red Sea, the sea parted, the Israelites crossed, and the Egyptians drowned. That’s how the Israelites became a free people.

The whole Passover story revolves around slavery and freedom. We are supposed to relive the story as we were there. Yet, many of us feel enslaved already in many ways. It’s not hard for us to feel as if we are slaves.

That’s why I ask myself the final questions:

• Where am I enslaved in my life?
• What or who enslaves me?
• How will I release myself?
• How will I ensure that I am liberated?
• What can I do to find liberation?

Beyond identifying what enslaves me, I want to find ways to free myself. I do not wait for God to free me like he freed the Israelites. That’s an important divergence from the Passover story.

I do, however, pray to God for freedom or for help figuring out how to free myself. I pray for help achieving my freedom as I take steps to achieve it. I do not expect plagues; I do not want them. I do not desire the death of the first-born son… I do want a Divine hand at work to help create synchronicity and to lead me along the path to see how I can free myself. I look for inspired action steps to take. But I do not wait for God to release me from what enslaves me. I expect to have to come up with a plan and to enforce that plan if need be. I have faith that if I put my mind to it, if I pray and meditate upon it, that I will receive answers and be inspired about what path to take to achieve my liberation.

In other words, finding freedom from the places in my life where I feel enslaved requires that I, first, identify those places, second, come up with a plan to liberate myself, and, third, that I follow through with that plan. I do all of that while, much like Moses, consulting with God and looking for signs of God’s hand in my life guiding me.

Today, find your way to freedom.

Each year as Passover approaches I’m given reason to consider my fears and how I deal with them. I do this because I remember learning about how fearful the Children of Israel felt at the shore of the Red Sea as the Egyptians approached.

I was at an event near my home in Silicon Valley and the late Rabbi Alan Lew, may his memory be for blessing, was speaking about his newest book, Be Still and Get Going. He explained to us how the Israelites’ perception was skewed by their fear. This reminded me of Rabbi Nachman’s teaching about the “narrow bridge,” which many Jews know simply as a song; however, the translation most people have of Rabbi Nachman’s words are incorrect. Most often they are translated this way: ““Know! A person walks in life on a narrow bridge. The most important thing is not to be afraid.” A more accurate translation of his words is: “The most important thing is not to MAKE yourself afraid.”

What he is telling us is that fear is all about our thoughts…where we focus them.  When we think about the possibility of danger or of negative outcomes or of unwanted futures we MAKE ourselves afraid. Fears don’t make us afraid; we make ourselves afraid by thinking about fearful things.

Rabbi Lew taught the same lesson. He said that in that moment at the edge of the Red Sea as the Children of Israel called out to Moses and to God in fear, the must first stop feeling afraid. Next, he told them to stand firm; in other words, stop moving. (We tend to run or become activated when we feel afraid.) Then, he told them to be silent. (Rabbi Lew equated this with meditating or going inward.) Moses then said they would never again see the Egyptians they way they were seeing them in that moment; basically, once they had stopped and gotten centered and could look at the situation without their fear, they would see things differently. At that point, with the inner wisdom gained from contemplation, God told Moses to tell the Israelites to take action–inspired action, informed action.

So, each Passover I take an accounting of my fears and I consider how I am dealing with them…or how they are dealing with me. I ask myself my fear are causing me to react–to run, to hide, to make uninformed, uninspired, ungrounded decisions. And then I try to stop, be silent, look around, and then act. And hopefully I act differently and not from a place of fear but from a placed of calm, courageous, inspired faith that all is well and will be well.

Torah Bright competing at the Winter Games in Vancouver.

Like many people around the world, I’ve been watching the Winter Olympics. I’ve been struck by the skaters in particular, who have had a number of falls.

It’s easy to sit back in my living room chair and criticize them for making mistakes and “blowing their big opportunity,” but I know how hard it is to compete at that level and to push through the nerves and jitters. I also empathize with them, feeling their emotional, as well as physical pain, as they hit the ice. Oh, what disappointment they must feel knowing that they haven’t performed up to their highest potential and that their moment in the spotlight has been darkened by their fall.

I wonder, thought, what makes them fall? What makes them perform so well at their home rink or at another competition? Is it just nerves? Is it that they are at the Olympics and that fact freaks them out? Or is it just that sometimes they manage to get in the zone and sometimes they don’t?

I wonder if it isn’t more likely that they weren’t having fun. I wonder if their performance that night became more about winning than about enjoying the actual performance and doing what they love–and doing it well.

Torah Bright, who had a bad fall while competing in the snowboarding competition during her first run in Vancouver at the Winter Olympics, came back to win gold. Why? She said she saw some fellow Australians watching the event and having fun. She decided to have fun, too. She went on to have a winning run.

I believe that if you can remember to perform with joy, or to do whatever you are doing from a place of joy, your nervousness will dissipate. You’ll forget that you are afraid. You can move through your fear and truly do your best. You’ll forget that big jump is coming up next, and you’ll just do the jump because you love doing the jump. And it will be perfect.

What about the rest of us? How often do we “fall” when we are focused more on winning than on simply doing our best and enjoying what we are doing? How often do we succeed when we take on the latter attitude? how often when we lose ourself in the enjoyment of doing whatever it is that we strive to do well do we find that we’ve had a “winning run” or a “star performance”? And if we have done our best and we’ve enjoyed our selves in the process, does the fall really matter so much? Probably not.

I’ve seen more skaters go away with a medal–and a gold medal at that–when they skated with sheer joy on their faces. That’s the lesson I’d take away from the 2010 Winter Olympics…at least from watching the skating and snowboarding events thus far. To truly win, do whatever you do with joy.

As Jews around the world usher in the Sabbath with the candle lighting ritual, they ask God to spread over them “wings of peace…sukkat shalom.” They ask for “Shabbat shalom…Sabbath peace.” While some Jews actually will feel that peace during the 25 hours of this week’s Shabbat, I’m sure the survivors of the earthquake in Haiti will not. With so much chaos, destruction and death around them, they won’t feel it now, on their own Sabbath or for some time to come…unless they are very tuned in and tapped into God.

Knowing that prayers for others go a long way towards helping them heal–science has proven this to be so–I want to join Britain’s Chief Rabbi Lord Jonathan Sacks in asking Jews around the world to say a special prayer for the Haitians this Shabbat. You can say one of your own, or you can recite the prayer he penned especially for this purpose. (To read more about this, click here.)

Here is the full text of his prayer:

“Sovereign of the Universe, we join our prayers to the prayers of others throughout the world, for the victims of the earthquake that brought destruction and disaster to Haiti and took so many lives.

“Almighty God, we beseech you, send comfort to the bereaved and healing to the injured. Be with those who are engaged in the work of rescue. Grant strength to those who see to the needs of the injured and sick, give shelter to the homeless and provide sustenance to those in need.

“Almighty God, we recognize how insignificant we are, and how helpless in the face of nature when its full power is unleashed. Open our hearts in prayer and our hands in generosity, so that by our actions we may bring comfort, healing and support. Help us now and all humanity as we seek to do what we can by helping people reconstruct their broken lives.”

Also, don’t forget to give to as well as to pray for those in Haiti. Before Shabbat begins, give tzedakah to an organization  sending aid to Haiti. Help them heal in any way possible.