medtiation, mindfulness, spirituality, and the nice Jewish girl

It's interesting when two different parts of your life come together.

I have always been moderately religious, active in my synagogue, eager to learn the both the  rituals and the theology behind the prayers and practices. 

When Kabbalah became the "hot thing" (thanks, Madonna!) I started to do a little reading on the topic, but never really pursued the study of Kabbalah. 

Well, now I've gotten interested in yoga.  And all that goes along with it.  Mindfulness, meditation, connection to the universe.  The divine that is within all of us.

So, how does Jewish thought and prayer fit in with Eastern mysticism?

Believe it or not, I found the answer in my synagogue.

We got a grant this year, which we are using to explore Jewish mysticism, both traditional and modern, through a series of workshops.  Our Rabbi will cover traditional Kabbalah. 

And then there's the Awakened Heart Project.  We've had one program presented by Rabbi Roth, in which he used Torah learning and Kabbalistic texts combined with Buddhist-style meditation practices, and he even played his guitar.   I am enjoying my exploration their website. 

And then I learned about the Kirtan Rabbi.   He explains that Kirtan is a form of chant developed in India to increase participation, communal feeling and ecstatic communication with the divine. His version, of course, involves Hebrew prayers done in a non-traditional manner.  I downloaded the app, I want to explore his music. 

Wisdom, understanding, connection, peace.

Namaste.  Shalom.



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