Nina Amir's Thoughts on Human Potential, Personal Growth and Practical Spirituality
Today another young man in my children’s school took his life. (This is not the first, and it is the second that my daughter has known well.) Some people on Facebook were commenting on this tragedy…we were trying to understand why children feel the need to take their lives. There never seems a good reason. [...]
It’s a Jewish tradition when someone dies to say, “May his or her memory be for blessing.” The actual honorific is “of blessed memory,” a translation of the Hebrew “zikhrono livrakha” (m.) or “zikhronah livrakha” (f.). It’s an odd type of statement really. I tend to say, “May his or her memory be a blessing.” [...]
Today I read a blog post about the death of director John Hughes. (I know, I’m on a bit of a morbid roll…) It was written by an acquaintance of mine, Kevin Smokler. (You can read it here.) I wasn’t aware that Hughes had directed so many of the films of my youth, but one [...]
Today I signed onto the Internet to discover that Senator Ted Kennedy had died. Those who know me well would say I’m not very politically inclined, and they’d be correct. However, Ted Kennedy’s death moved me. It seems his passing marks the end of an era. The Kennedy era. We could sing, “Where have all [...]
It seems to me that this year quite a number of Wise Souls have left the earth plane. By this I mean that people I consider full of wisdom have died. Not only were they full of wisdom, however, they also were people very connected to Spirit, or God, very in tune with other people [...]
I know Jews don’t believe in hell per se, but today I would have to say that if there is a hell, the world has gone there and taken our kids with it. Yes, optimistic me is feeling pessimistic, angry, sad…all those negative emotions. And no wonder. Not only did a senior at my children’s [...]
I often talk about living life fully. You can approach life in this manner by adopting the attitude that this day could be your last. In Carlos Castaneda’s books, the character Don Juan suggested living with “death on your shoulder.” In Jewish tradition, we remember the fragile nature of life each night as we confess [...]
Yesterday I learned that Rabbi Alan Lew had died. I didn’t know Rabbi Lew well, but I had the honor of teaching at an event where he was the keynote speaker two years ago. I remember his speach well; in fact, I used what I learned from him later in a talk I gave – [...]
I’ve been feeling a bit melancholy lately, as well as grateful for my children despite the fact that they are driving me absolutely crazy. In the last month, three children have died in Los Gatos, the town where I live. A middle school boy took his own life, possibly because his girlfriend broke up with [...]
Here I am a week later still struggling with issues of life and death. It’s been a week since I euthanized my dog, Olympia. I still feel the loss…no furry face to greet me each day. I’ve struggled with the decision my family and I made. Now there are other issues with which I must [...]
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