The Awareness Void

When the void comes, welcome it into your awareness.

Accept its messaging and stay clear in body and thought.

When the void comes, it is a silent guest that has much to offer.

Just like in the beginning, the scene is panting with openness.

Do not be afraid of the stillness within.

Soon there will be much commotion and movement.

And then back again, to the energy of nothingness.

All over again.

The Frequent Flyer of Generosity

Life itself tracks a person’s generosity.

Like frequent flyer miles, the more points you earn, the higher you fly, the further you can go.

Be generous and fly away!

Your New Rhythm

Revise and review the rhythms of your daily life. Add something new. Take away something old. Infuse your spirit with more joy and contemplation.

The new balance is yours to create.

The Calendar of Life

We map out our days like a sketch waiting to be filled in with charcoal and pencil.

Can you distinguish the strokes of insight and depth by looking at your calendar of life?

Are there empty spaces that need your attention?

Is there clutter when there should
be calm?

Review your calendar. Review your life.

Measuring Cups

Every new year offers us another opportunity to reflect and rejoice.

These milestones are like measuring cups. The more we measure, the more we can accurately assess our blessings.

May your cups overflow this new year, 2012, with all the pleasures that life offers us.

A Maccabeats Miracle

Last Chanukah the world was introduced to the Maccabeats with their runaway hit "Candlelight." This year another song, "Miracles," has entered the YouTube universe.

But it wasn’t the song or their new video that drew me in, but their fundraising efforts on behalf of the Gift of Life Foundation through the website www.MakeSomeMiracles.com.

The Maccabeats are inviting donations of ten thousand dollars a day for each day of Chanukah in the hope of securing much needed funds for Gift of Life, a bone marrow registry organization.

With a personal video narrated by Mayim Bialik and each of the members of the Maccabeats, their call is honest and sincere. As of this writing they have already raised $22,000!

I clicked on the donation button. Suddenly, I was involved in making a miracle for Chanukah -- not just receiving an ancient one. The miracle that the Maccabeats are giving light to is a miracle that keeps on giving life and hope to people with cancer beyond this holiday season.

So can we make some miracles?

Many interpretations suggest that the miracle of Chanukah was that we didn’t give up even when we had no chance of winning against the Greek/Syrians. In spite of the powerful forces that encourage our continued assimilation or disappearance we have survived and adapted to the modern world in which we live in as Jews. We live precariously on the edge while we persevere through a revolving door of constant change. The miracle of the Maccabeats is the miracle of our people.

We have come a long way from the Adam Sandler’s Chanukah song from "Saturday Night Live" in 1994 which centered on the theme of Jewish children feeling alienated during the Christmas season, and Sandler’s listing of Jewish celebrities as a way of sympathizing with their situation.

With the Maccabeats, the traditional and the contemporary merge to create a blend of Judaism and Jewish music that continues to define our communal confidence with viral velocity.

We revel in religious freedom in America. A Yeshiva University a cappella group has reached beyond their ivory tower borders to educate and entertain. We all received the instant messaging. Again, history has shown us, that we are the miracle of Chanukah!

Yes, we can make modern miracles. Click and contribute to a new miracle this Chanukah 5772!

Body as Temple

Our body is our temple from which all else flows.

Nurturing our bodies is a sacred donation to our soul-being.