Nina Amir's Thoughts on Human Potential, Personal Growth and Practical Spirituality
My Jewish renewal community has a traditional of doing group aliyot. In other words, instead of calling up one person to say the blessing before and after the Torah reading, they create a theme around the parshah, the Torah portion being read, and call up anyone that feels drawn to that theme to say the [...]
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 [...]
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 [...]
It’s easy to get so caught up in our lives that we forget to pray or to connect with God. That’s why some of the major religions suggest set prayer times during the day. While some advocate for long prayer periods, short ones can help us remember God, connect spiritually and provide a great practical [...]
The other day I wrote about the shoah (catastrophe) of faith, or lost faith, that happened after the Holocaust and after 9/11. I mentioned that people lose faith every day for many reasons. I touched on the fact that every day we have to do faith…find a way to regain our lost faith. I’m wondering, [...]
Do you think your prayers fall on deaf ears? Do you pray and pray and pray, all the while thinking that no one hears your words? Do you look around and see that nothing changes despite your prayers? Do you wonder why you can’t hear God responding to your requests? Today, get really quiet. Listen [...]
The doctor called today to give me the results of my MRI. I twisted my knee in New York City nine weeks ago. The MRI showed that I partially tore my anterior cruciate ligament (ACL) — again. I tore the same ligament in the same knee — my left — 14 years ago. Actually, I [...]
I’m determined to put spiritual practice back into my life. I’ve been struggling for a year at least to find the time for a sustainable practice. I know…I teach and write about practical spirituality, by which I mean short, easy, sustainable practices that fit into our busy lives. However, I have failed to practice what [...]
Have you ever noticed how we create huge tangles of our lives? Maybe we just take one strand – a relationship or a job or a particular way of thinking or a small lie or a debt that gets larger over time – and we knot it up until its a total mess. Or maybe [...]
Here in California, we have just a few more hours until the start of Rosh Hashanah, the Jewish New Year. I’m hurrying to finish my work. I’ve already purchased my round challah from the local Jewish bakery. My brisket is made. I need to shower and get dressed and make it to services early, because [...]
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