Minding the Temple of the Soul

Judy Greenfield, Tamar Frankiel

Description

This new spiritual approach to physical health introduces us to a spiritual tradition that affirms the body and enables us to reconceive our bodies in a more positive light. Using Kabbalistic teachings and other Jewish traditions, it shows us how to be more responsible for our own spiritual and physical health.

Each chapter explores the meaning of traditional Jewish prayers, providing a framework for new thinking about body, mind, and soul. Simple exercises and movements help our bodies "understand" prayer, and show how the body's energy centers correspond to the Kabbalistic concept of the ten divine "rays of light," the Sefirot. And meditations and visualizations allow us to further enhance our spiritual awareness.

Using the structure of the Prayer Wheel, readers can move step by step toward wholeness of body, mind and spirit:

• Modeh Ani Awakening our body and our soul
• Mah Tovu Creating a temple for our soul
• Asher Yatzar Focusing on the gift of our body
• Bircat HaTorah Balancing our mind through the gift of Torah
• Elohai Neshamah Connecting with the soul using the Sefirot
• Elu D'varim Walking on a God-centered path

Clearly illustrated with photos and diagrams to guide readers, this active, creative approach allows us to tap the power of the Jewish tradition—to awaken the body, balance the mind, and connect with the soul.

Prayer Wheel: Beginning the Morning with Blessings Preface Introduction: The Soul in the Body 1 Awakening Modeh Ani: The meaning of the prayer and how to use it in our life. Opening to the Light: Physical exercises that awaken the body and the soul (the Sefirot) 2 Entering Sacred Space Mah Tovu: The body as a temple for the soul Creating Sarah's Tent: Meditation with movement 3 The Gift of the Body Asher Yatzar: An in-depth look at the meaning of the prayer Flowing Energy Meditation The Upper Torso and Upper Waters: Heart, lungs, and breath Heart Meditation The Lower Torso and Lower Waters: The kidneys and purification; food, sex and wealth. Healing Stream Meditation The Miraculous Body: Movement and meditation. 4 Clearing the Mind Bircat HaTorah: The gift of Torah The Cluttered Mind: How to overcome mental obstacles. Your Words Sweet in Our Mouths: Toward a deeper understanding of the blessings on the Torah 10 Minding the Temple of the Soul Balancing Mind and Body: The healing power of prayer. Creating a New Mind: Movement and meditation 5 Connecting with the Soul Elohai Neshamah: Understanding the prayer through Kabbalah The Soul and the Purpose of Life: The intent of the soul in a human incarnation. Maps of the Soul: Diagrams of the five levels of the soul and the ten Sefirot. The Sefirot: Exploration of the Sefirot using biblical heroes and heroines. Fulfilling the Soul’s Purpose: How to come closer to your soul Temple of the Soul Meditation. Journal of the Sefirot Elohai Neshamah: Movement and meditation. 6 Our Walk on Earth Elu D’varim: A closer look at the mitzvot Crossing Over: How Jewish action can place you on a God-centered path The Royal Way: A Parable: Envisioning yourself in your highest form Gift Meditation. Shekhinah: The Presence: Bringing the Divine spark into every action For Further Work Walking Meditation Angelic Clouds Meditation Notes Glossary Recommended Readings

Sujets

• Philosophie et théologie
• Cábala
• Jewish meditation
• List of Jewish prayers and blessings
• Kabbalah
• Judaism
• Religion
• Kabbale

Informations

• Publié par: Turner Publishing Company
• Date de parution: 21 janvier 2013
• Nombre de lectures: 0
• EAN13: 9781580237086
• Langue: English
• Poids de l'ouvrage: 1 Mo

Extrait

Thank you for purchasing this Jewish Lights e-book!
Sign up for our e-newsletter to receive special offers and information on the latest new books and other great e-books from Jewish Lights.

Sign Up Here

or visit us online to sign up at www.jewishlights.com .

Looking for an inspirational speaker for an upcoming event, Shabbaton or retreat?
Jewish Lights authors are available to speak and teach on a variety of topics that educate and inspire. For more information about our authors who are available to speak to your group, visit www.jewishlights.com/page/category/JLSB . To book an event, contact the Jewish Lights Speakers Bureau at [e-mail] or call us at [phone].
This Book Is for You If

You have been looking for spirituality in Judaism, but you haven t been able to feel comfortable with the synagogue prayer services.
You re practicing Judaism, and you want to develop an even deeper and more personal connection to God.
You ve felt a lack of concern for the body in your spiritual tradition.
You ve used meditation in your spiritual development, but you d like a more Jewish approach to it.
You re not Jewish, but you re curious about what practical spiritual resources there might be in Jewish mysticism.
If any of these statements describe you, try our approach. You ll find in this book an unusual combination of material. In each chapter, teachings about the meanings of traditional Jewish prayers provide a framework for thinking about body, mind, and soul. Second, movements choreographed to the prayers will help your body understand prayer. And using meditative visualizations can enhance your spiritual intent, enabling you to open the doors of deeper understanding and a more spiritual life. In the process, the ritual of prayer will become more real and significant, and so will your relationship to God.
How to Use This Book
You may find it difficult to absorb such diverse material all at once. Fortunately, you don t need to. Minding the Temple of the Soul can be read in bits and pieces over weeks and months. You can dip for insights into the more intellectual portions, or you can wade slowly into the depths by practicing some of the morning prayers in this new form. If you find portions difficult to understand, be patient, continue working with what you have learned, and allow your understanding to deepen and your interest to bloom.
We recommend reading the book once without trying to absorb everything. Then begin to work through it slowly.

Starting with the first two chapters which are relatively short, begin to practice a morning discipline of a physical and spiritual warm-up, followed by prayer with the body movements.
Try to make time for a meditation a couple of times a week.
After the first two chapters, add material from the later chapters at your own speed. You can skip around in the book to choose a meditation, study some of the explanations, or add a prayer. Chapters 3, 4, and 5 discuss the body, the mind and the soul. Chapter 6 summarizes the themes of the book and suggests how to integrate the spiritual work into all parts of your life.
In short, this is a workbook for a spiritual workout. Use it that way. You can photocopy the Prayer Wheel and the pages with the blessings and movements, and put them up on the wall near where you exercise and pray. Make copies of your favorite meditations and put them in your car for that time when you need to re-center yourself. You can also order from the publisher an audiotape with the blessings, movements, and meditations.
The more you do this work, the deeper will be your understanding of the Jewish approach to creating a balance of body, mind, and soul.
I N MEMORY OF MY FATHER , Gilbert Savransky, with gratitude that I am able to continue the part of you that I remember as being the most beautiful and passionate-you and your Judaism. And to my mother, Belle Savransky: Your love and belief in me have been my greatest support along this pathway.
As you both vowed, Someday you ll thank me for this.
-from Judy
T O MY FATHER AND MOTHER , John and Ruth Sizer, whose lives of integrity and commitment shine for me always. And to my brother, Mike Sizer, whose music echoes in my ears whenever I listen for it.
-from Tamar
We dealt much in soulfulness; we forgot the holiness of the body. We neglected physical health and strength; we forgot that we have holy flesh, no less than holy spirit . Our teshuvah [return] will succeed only if it will be-with all its splendid spirituality-also a physical return, which produces healthy blood, healthy flesh, mighty, solid bodies, a fiery spirit radiating over powerful muscles. With the strength of holy flesh, the weakened soul will shine, reminiscent of the physical resurrection.
-from Rav Abraham Isaac Kook , Orot (1920) 1

Prayer Wheel

Beginning the Morning with Blessings
Contents

Prayer Wheel: Beginning the Morning with Blessings
Preface
Introduction: The Soul in the Body
1 Awakening

Modeh Ani: The meaning of the prayer and how to use it in our life
Opening to the Light: Physical exercises that awaken the body and the soul (the Sefirot )
2 Entering Sacred Space

Mah Tovu: The body as a temple for the soul
Creating Sarah s Tent: Meditation with movement
3 The Gift of the Body

Asher Yatzar: An in-depth look at the meaning of the prayer
Flowing Energy Meditation
The Upper Torso and Upper Waters: Heart, lungs, and breath
Heart Meditation
The Lower Torso and Lower Waters: The kidneys and purification; food, sex and wealth
Healing Stream Meditation
The Miraculous Body: Movement and meditation
4 Clearing the Mind

Bircat HaTorah: The gift of Torah
The Cluttered Mind: How to overcome mental obstacles
Your Words Sweet in Our Mouths: Toward a deeper understanding of the blessings on the Torah
Balancing Mind and Body: The healing power of prayer
Creating a New Mind: Movement and meditation
5 Connecting with the Soul

Elohai Neshamah: Understanding the prayer through Kabbalah
The Soul and the Purpose of Life: The intent of the soul in a human incarnation
Maps of the Soul: Diagrams of the five levels of the soul and the ten Sefirot
The Sefirot: Exploration of the Sefirot using biblical heroes and heroines
Fulfilling the Soul s Purpose: How to come closer to your soul
Temple of the Soul Meditation
Journal of the Sefirot
Elohai Neshamah: Movement and meditation
6 Our Walk on Earth

Elu D varim: A closer look at the mitzvot
Crossing Over: How Jewish action can place you on a God-centered path
The Royal Way: A Parable: Envisioning yourself in your highest form
Gift Meditation
Shekhinah: The Presence: Bringing the Divine spark into every action

For Further Work
Walking Meditation
Angelic Clouds Meditation
Notes
Glossary
Recommended Readings

About the Authors
Copyright
Also Available
About Jewish Lights
Sign Up for E-mail Updates
Send Us Your Feedback
Preface

T HIS BOOK DEVELOPED from exercising together-exercising our minds by learning Torah, and exercising our bodies. Tamar brought her skill in Torah studies, Judy brought her expertise in working with the body. These inner and outer workouts led us, over the years, to share our understandings of the body and the spirit. As our thoughts and our bodily awareness deepened, we decided to put into writing some of what we had learned.
Judaism s intense intellectual tradition is famous. But not many people recognize how strenuously the sages of the past worked on themselves as whole individuals, examining their emotions, spending hours in contemplation, attending to their physical health. What we found in their writings has been so helpful and so enlightening to us that we want to share it.
Jewish mystical thought has been especially important to us, because it conceives of the human being and the human body as a microcosm of the universe or, in contemporary terms, as a hologram. This tradition came to us mediated through Hasidic teachings, particularly those of the Breslov and Lubavitch schools of Hasidism, which were the lenses that helped focus our study. Our intellectual debts are too numerous to detail at length, but we want to give special thanks to Avraham Greenbaum, whose transmission of the teachings of Rabbi Nachman of Breslov continues to inspire both of us.
We are especially grateful to the other students who joined us for our Torah discussions over the years, helping to open our minds and enrich our thoughts, and to the many people in our respective communities who continually added to our understanding and encouraged our work. Among our many teachers and supporters, we can mention only a few:
Thanks from Tamar to Rabbi Chaim Dalfin for opening the world of Hasidut to me through your superb teaching of Tanya , one of the great classics of Hasidic philosophy, and to you and Basya for your continual encouragement of my teaching and learning. To Rabbi Avraham Czapnik for your unwavering personal support and your inspiring divrei Torah , which have been sparks of great light. I appreciate also the encouragement that came at just the right time from Micha Taubman, from Michael Kaufmann, and from Rabbi Nathan Lopez-Cardozo.
Thanks from Judy to Rabbi Alvin Mars and Ken Halprin of Brandeis-Bardin Institute, to Cantor Linda Kates, and to Stephen S. Wise Temple, all of whom helped me explore new depths of understanding by offering me opportunities to teach. A special thanks also to Randall Ask.
Thanks from both of us to Connie Kaplan, who helped open new worlds for us and reminds us always of who we truly are.
To all our teachers who brought us to this point: Whatever wisdom is in this book comes from you.
Thanks to Rabbi Aaron Parry for reading portions of the manuscript, and to our editors at Jewish Lights for their careful work and encouragement.
A special thanks to Sammy Silberstein for his excellent photogra