A few people recently have mentioned to me that they missed my writing...it was very humbling to hear that...and, reminded me how much I have missed it, the/this outlet, having been focused on other things, including writing, just not here...and, it's good to be "back"...particularly as we Jews head into Yom Kippur, the Day of Atonement, tomorrow at sundown...
What many don't realize is that the eight days between Rosh Hashanah and Yom Kippur are called the Days of Awe...coming into that imposing YK Day, there is that morethanaweek to reflect, to look within, to use the spark of a "new year" to possibly pay attention to reflect and take stock in a way that surely we can do EVERY day, and often don't...to come to terms with who, and where we are...with ourselves, with each other. A time to be prompted to ask forgiveness, not "from God", but from other people directly. To seek forgiveness directly. As my friend Marion said this morning regarding her work with the Course of Miracles, every day is a day of atonement...that is true, at least can be, for all of us. These days, as Jews, impose their own special opportunity, and I throw myself into the cracks in my being as full-on as I can...part of that openness, that actual LOOKING FORWARD to Yom Kippur (a friend actually laughed on the phone today when I said that!!...she had never heard of anyone feeling that way) arises because I am a member of the coolest shul in the world...Romemu...inclusive, embracing, soulful, spiritual, enlightening, welcoming, musically outrageous, and a bridge between spirituality and religion...I go there as part of my spiritual practice, not because of religion...this ain't your parents' shul or Judaism...this isn't about the God in the sky, or outside of ourselves...this is ALL about the God within...I truly don't know where I would be without having Romemu, and a spiritual leader like David Ingber, in my life these last few years...
On sundown after the first day of Rosh Hashanah, there is a service called Tashlich, where the tradition is to throw bread in a body of water, to cast away one's "sins"...and, to reflect...sitting at the foot of the Hudson River, surrounded by many hundreds of people from all over, it was extremely powerful. Romemu had a handout for the service that I found so moving that I wanted to share it here...it was a writing that I do not know who created...all I know is it moved me deeply...it is below...before that, I simply want to say that ti anyone whom I have touch, if I offended you, or caused you to feel pain, I do ask your forgiveness...I wake up each day with the intention to do "better" than I did, or was, the day before, and sometimes I fall short of my own yardstick...may we all be blessed with days and months and years of health, joy and personal fulfillment, so that we can pay forward our abundant gifts...
Peace, love and light,
JP
"Tashlich offers us a ritual to physically enact the shedding of our "sins" - where we're off-center. Freeing ourselves of the wight of guilt and errors makes us more receptive to light, insight and change - helping us to see the way to Awareness.
What force is it that can free us of the burdensome weight we bear because of the errors we have made, that can strengthen the parts of us that are dear?
A force that is not attached to anger, but yearns for lovingkindness.
Aligning ourselves with the compassionate Force, it is possible to acknowledge and transform our patterns of behavior that lead us to err. And what is beyond our capacity to transform, what is not our responsibility - we send back to the depths of the infinite cosmic ocean.
May we transform that which is truly within our potential to change. May the Force of Grace reconfigure the mistakes beyond our power to heal. The spiritual legacy of our ancestors endows us with knowledge of this Loving Force.
When I feel weighed down, constricted, not with the creative Loving Force - from the depths of my "prison" I can in truth really cry out for help. Then the fullness of the Infinite Power is revealed to me. I know I am a part of the Whole of a loving beautiful Creation. With the awareness of the Unity of God and Creation, there is no place for fear to exist. When I can identify with the Godforce within, I can see all as God. There are no more enemies. Destructive energies are channeled into constructive pathways.
The prison of negativity is vanquished.
It is better that I connect to all of Creation through the unity of the Godspace than through the narrow filter of our human egos. May all humanity meet together at the point of our Unity.
Then no one will hurt another, no out of place destructive forces will remain. Our whole planet will be a "Holy Mountain." Because all of humanity will be aware of the connectedness within the creation. All of humanity will know that the spirit of a loving Creator fills all space and time.
The Fountain of Creation exists beyond Time and Space. God vibrates and the World creates.
May we be graced with loving Awareness so that we naturally act in the wise and loving ways that bring healing and wholeness to ourselves and our world."
