Nina Amir's Thoughts on Human Potential, Personal Growth and Practical Spirituality
I’ve been trying to figure out what to write about as a Yom Kippur, Day of Repentance topic. This Jewish High Holy Day typically brings up issues of forgiveness. I didn’t really want to delve into that once again. Then I watched an Oprah Winfrey Master Class video about surrender, and I knew. That’s my [...]
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. [...]
Last year I ran a series of 10 posts during the High Holy Days to help people with the t’shuvah process, the process of returning to their best selves. I have compiled those posts into an ebook called 10 Days and 10 Ways to Return to Your Best Self, A T’Shuvah Guide, that is now [...]
Ramadan is the ninth month of the Islamic calendar, usually falling near the end of summer. Based on a lunar calendar, the dates of Ramadan vary, moving backwards about ten days each year. This year Ramadan begins on August 11th and continue for 30 days until September 9th. In North America, it begins on August [...]
Ahad Ha’Am said, “More than Israel has kept the Sabbath, the Sabbath has kept Israel.” Great wisdom can be found in that statement not just for Jews but for anyone who wants to strengthen their religious or spiritual practice. Indeed, a full day spent in worship can do amazing things for your soul and for [...]
Many religious traditions honor their ancestors. In Judaism, we honor them, but unlike other traditions we don’t make altars to them or pray to them to help us. Indigenous religions spend a lot of time actually praying to the ancestors and trying to connect with them, feeling they are close at hand and always assisting [...]
Judaism has a lovely tradition of lighting candles on Friday night to welcome in the Sabbath. I consider this a spiritual practice that creates sacred space and invites in the Divine Spirit. Thus, the ritual can be used by anyone at any time. In Exodus 25:8-9, God says, “Build for me a sanctuary (mikdash), and [...]
Judaism has a prayer that speaks of Divine unity. It also helps Jews remember that God exists not only in the “heavens” but close at hand. This prayer is called the Sh’ma. I’d like to propose that anyone from any religion or spiritual tradition, however, can take the basic premise of this prayer and use [...]
On the right doorpost of almost every Jewish home you will find a small rectangular box positioned on a slight angle. This box serves as a reminder to live by God’s commandments. Everyone can benefit from a spiritual yellow “post-it” note of some sort to remind them to live a spiritual or religious life, and [...]
Many spiritual traditions contain a practice of blessing food prior to eating it. Christians, for example, say grace before a meal. This prayer more often than not thanks God for the food they are about to eat. Jews say a blessing over a particular type of food–one for bread, one for wine, one for cookies [...]
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