Author: Dov Heller

Passover is the holiday of freedom. Freedom is the ability to expand and grow beyond one’s perceived limitations. In Hebrew, the word Egypt means “narrow.” Egypt was a place that limited human potential and enslaved the will. Freedom from one’s personal Egypt is the experience of expanding and moving beyond …

There are many questions that can expand our consciousness and transform our lives.  I would like to suggest the following for your consideration. What is the most important thing a human being can do? The power of this question lies in that it invites us to consider the big picture …

Josh and Ann are fighting because Josh saw Ann flirting with an “old friend.” Jerry and Laurie are fighting because Jerry is always on his phone Bill and Terry are fighting because Terry has had it with his drinking Abe and Sarah are fighting because they never can make ends …

Choosing to be vulnerable is the one sure way to deepen any relationship. When you choose to be vulnerable, you put yourself in an emotionally dangerous position by telling the truth about how you feel about another person or any sensitive issue in your life.  Choosing to be vulnerable is …

They listen to and learn from their feelings. Emotionally healthy people understand that their feelings provide them with invaluable information.  The rabbis teach us that there are forty-eight ways to spiritual empowerment.  One of them is binat halev, which means, “understanding the heart.”   Emotionally healthy people listen to their heart.  …

The Torah tells us that a person should love his fellow as himself.  The implication is that since it is a commandment, we are obligated to love everyone and that we have the ability to do so (evil people being excluded from this obligation). The truth is that it is …

As an eight year-old, Allie found herself constantly in the middle of her parents’ fighting. She did her best to make peace, but paid a huge price for doing so. Feeling forced to attend to her parent’s feelings and needs was unconsciously interpreted by her to mean that her own …

A colleague once introduced a parenting class in the following way: “All parents make mistakes.  It’s just that some make bigger mistakes than others.”  Here are seven serious   mistakes that parents make that hurt their children. Fighting in front of your children There can be nothing more destructive to a …

Recently, a very secular well-known, high powered lawyer asked me point blank, “Since you’re a religious person, do you think you have the truth?”  I was a bit stunned as I fumbled for an appropriate response. “Truth” is a very complex philosophic and linguistic idea. What I said was, “Actually, …

Joanie, a 30 year old single woman and a survivor of childhood trauma, talked to me about how hopeless and helpless she feels about making anything meaningful out of her life. The more she shared her story of futility, the more overwhelmed I felt by the intensity of her despair …