After Death and Holy

THE BIG IDEA

According to the Torah Omens this is an important time to expand your notion of ‘the beautiful’ to include the spiritual, social and sexual alignment required for true radiance.  

Channel the ‘beauty’ of Aaron, the High Priest, After the Death of his sons; commanded to dress in princely garments, and, with a clear and devoted heart, serve God (at the exact altar where his sons were taken by divine fire for making an unsolicited offering).  Touch the consciousness of absolute surrender to the unknown within yourself.

The third week in the seven week process of spiritual purification invites us to look within and elevate our understanding of beauty.

Take time to reaffirm the value clear sexual boundaries has in a society, and contemplate the ways unilaterally forbidding acts of incest protects the vulnerable within a family and society.

This is (also) the week of becoming Kedoshim, (Holy). No (spiritual) accident the most treasured of the Torah’s social obligations, to ‘love your fellow person as yourself’ falls on the same week as Israeli Remembrance/Independence Day - especially this year, where this holy nation needs that message most.

Love is a practice, not simply a state of mind. Be honest in all business dealings, be fair to the strangers that live amongst you, feel obliged to give feedback to others when you see them doing something wrong, and most of all, drop your grudges and find the love of oneness in all.

Thursday night’s moon brings us into the week of Endurance and Leadership, use that energy to keep your prayer for beauty and an understanding of the eternal.

BEAUTY and ENDURANCE Exercise

Stand still with your arms by your side.

Imagine facing the person that is hardest for you in this moment, it might be a family member, friend, political party, romantic or business partner, co-worker, or even a mirror image of yourself. 

Whoever the person is, imagine facing them directly.

PART 1 - UNCONDITIONAL LOVE

In your right hand, imagine yourself holding a ball of complete unconditional love for the person you are facing. You might feel a slight tingling sensation, or imagine a ball of light growing.

See the oneness of this life, how you are made of the same mystery, and allow your entire right arm and side of your body to be overwhelmed by the truth of that knowledge.

Feel the pulse of that love flow through you.

PART 2- JUDGEMENT AND DISCERNMENT

Then, still imagining facing them (or yourself) focus on your left hand.

Allow your left hand to fill with all the judgements, and critical evaluations you have of that person. Don’t hold back. Feel your hand filling, along with your entire left arm and side of your body.

It might feel like a fire in your hand, or a burning sensation, allow it to rage and then calm. Be specific in naming the offenses and hold them in your hand.

PART 3 -

Still facing them, bring your attention to both sides of your body.

Do your best to activate both sides (and sensations) simultaneously; The truth of your unconditional love and oneness in your right side, and the judgement and harsh assessments in your left side.

Stand there facing the other until you are able to feel both sides equally and hold them with awareness at the same time - imagining yourself as a spiritual scale - able to balance both truths.

It is here, in the balance, we find true beauty. The beauty in being able to hold both sides.

PART 4 - The ENDURANCE CHALLANGE

Affirm your own beauty in being able to hold both sides, notice when you tip to one side or the other, and continue to adjust yourself.

This week, carry that balance with awareness.

Imagine that the balance you are able to hold can effect the divine unfolding of the universe.

Imagine the enduring beauty of a world where we could all hold both sides, and each other.