Feelings are information and listening to them is essential for personal and spiritual growth. Every feeling has a unique meaning attached to it. Feelings educate us. They are the royal road to self-discovery and self-development. To ignore, dismiss, or avoid what we feel is like choosing not to open an …
Giving and Taking
There are two fundamental approaches to life, taking and giving. The path of giving leads a life of expansiveness and joy. The path of taking leads to a life of self-absorption and misery. In Judaism, giving is being G-d-like which is why it is such an empowering way to live. …
How to Have a Blast on Rosh Hashanah
Rosh Hashanah is the Judaism’s Day of Judgment. Sound scary? Actually, it could be the most enjoyable day of your life. Here are five ideas to help you have a blast this Rosh Hashanah. 1. God judges us because He loves us. I was visiting a family recently and the …
Shofar: The Call of Love
One of the greatest indications that someone loves and cares about us is that they give us the feeling that we are always on their mind. They check in with us on a regular basis to see how we’re doing and how our life is going. The call of the …
Yom Kippur: Build Yourself Up, Don’t Beat Yourself Down
Yom Kippur should be a day of building ourselves up, not beating ourselves down with guilt and shame. It should be a day of empowerment, not a day of feeling like a loser for all the mistakes we’ve made. Here are five ideas to keep in mind on Yom Kippur …
Falling in Love With God – Step 4: Service – Payback Time
Your child is drowning and a passerby man pulls her out of ocean, saving her life. After your daughter regains consciousness you have an opportunity to meet the man who saved her life. What would you say to him? ” Thanks, gotta run!” Or: ” If there is anything I …
Falling In Love With G-d – Part 3: Indebtedness
Twenty-five years ago, I enrolled in Harvard Divinity School to study modern theology from a very liberal perspective. From this perspective, God was an academic subject, an abstraction. The reason I opted for this “modern” way of looking at God was that because the more traditional way turned me off. …
Falling In Love With G-d – Part 2: Mastering The Gratitude Attitude
What in life do you feel is coming to you? Health? A good job? Children? A peaceful retirement? Check yourself out. If you’re like me, you probably have a whole list of things you feel entitled to, and if you don’t get them, you feel cheated. If you are unable …
Falling In Love With God – Part 1: Appreciate The Beauty Of Life
What is life’s greatest pleasure? It’s not an easy question. Close your eyes a minute and think about it before you read any further. What did you come up with? We know the answer is not cars, vacations or golf, although some of us may have a pretty good argument. …
Six Habits of Happily Married Couples
Habit #1: Give Each Other Pleasure Happily married couples are committed to the goal of giving each other pleasure. You must stay focused on the ultimate goal – which is to give each other pleasure and not cause pain. It sounds simple enough, but can be very hard in practice. …