Finding Purpose in a New World on December 21, 2012

Mayan relic

I spent my last evening in Germany having dinner with some of my husband’s colleagues. He’d been to Berlin on business. I’d tagged along to visit my son in Dresden. The conversation turned briefly to the fact that three of us would be flying the next day—December 21, 2012. Someone joked, “I wonder if you’ll [...]

Do You Recognize the Blue Moon Events in Your Life?

blue moon nasa

The sky here in Northern California is clear and bright. Tonight, August 31, 2012, I’ll be able to see the blue moon. When two full moons occur in any calendar month, the second is called a blue moon. The term (in its modern usage) has nothing to do with the moon’s color. A blue moon [...]

Changing Old Habits can Prove Difficult

vision board

2012. The world was supposed to end, some said. (We knew better.) But things were supposed to change–the energy was supposed to change, at least.  A whole week has gone by. We are being flooded now with the light of the first full moon of this pivotal year, which is supposed to affect our consciousness [...]

What if the World Had Ended?

The world did not end yesterday. At least, I didn’t hear about any great earthquakes and I don’t know of anyone who mysteriously disappeared. Anyway, I’m still here. How about you? However, the idea that the world could have ended yesterday, today or tomorrow offers a wonderful reminder that we must live our lives to [...]

How Do You React to Irritations in Your Life?

My husband and I were discussing how we react to things that happen in our lives. We have very different approaches to what could be seen as “irritations” that occur. I tend to take what I call a more “spiritual” approach; he tend to take what I call a more “reactive” approach. I’m not saying [...]

Chanukah Light Helps Us See Miracles

The Kabbalists talk a great deal about the “light.” Through our actions we draw this Divine light into the world, thereby, increasing the light—or we push the light away, cover it up, and diminish its presence. In the Zohar, the mystical text of Kabbalah, there is a teaching that says that everything is new when [...]

What Do You Have and What are You Worth?

Today I was reading a commentary written by Rabbi Label Lam on this weeks parsha, the weekly torah portion. It happens to be about the reunion of Jacob and Esau, but it pertains to the giving and receiving, an important Kabbalistic concept that typically comes to the forefront of our minds during the holiday season. Just when [...]

Getting in the Chanukah Spirit

For most Jews, it feels difficult to get into the Chanukah spirit when the whole world seem so intent on getting into the Christmas spirit. Everywhere you turn, you see Christmas decorations, sales, lights, articles, candy… It’s almost impossible to walk into a store, doctor’s office or non-Jewish friend’s house without hearing Christmas music, not [...]

Sometimes Things Have to Fall Apart…

More than one source has said that the world has entered a crucial time, a period when things seem to be falling apart or coming to an end. However, sometimes things have to fall apart before they can be put back together in a new form, a better organization. Has your life ever felt as [...]

In the Quiet of the Early Morning

Lately, I’ve been spending a lot of time at my computer early in the morning. I don’t mean at 6 a.m. I mean at 12:30 a.m. and at 1 a.m. and at 2 a.m. My days are so filled with marking things off my to-do list, handling emails and phone calls, social networking for business, [...]