"I
was singing your song "Waters of Healing" this morning, and
it brought back the memory of the wonderful service you brought to B'nai
Or of Boston. Your healing energy and beautiful songs were a great gift
to our community." -Matia Angelou, Arlington, Massachusetts
|
"Seeking and Soaring: Jewish Approaches to Spiritual Direction"
Introduction by Rabbi Zalman Schachter-Shalomi (ed. Goldie Milgram, Reclaiming Judaism Press 2009) |
|
Seeking and Soaring provides a fascinating opportunity to individually meet and appreciate many of the leading Jewish spiritual directors, teachers and scholars of our time. Advances in the field of Hashpa'ah, Jewish spiritual direction, are carefully presented with special attention to session structure, boundaries, supervision, grieving, fear, impulse, addictions, middot and mussar - cultivation of personal ethical qualities, and serving as a doula to the dying. Teachings also present traditional and contemporary Jewish practices regarding intercession, angels, guides, and sacred stories. Unique populations addressed include Holocaust survivors, B'nai Mitzvah students, couples, and those seeking to renew their Jewish spiritual connection. User-friendly scholarly translations occur throughout, as well as guides to working with rare pieces of Jewish spiritual literature. |
|
|
|
QUOTE: "I choose to believe that there are no difficult people; there are only people in difficulty because they are in need of spiritual light and healing. Therefore, for me, prayer, meditation, and visualization are essential tools of leadership." |
|
"S.H.O.H.A.M.
Spiritual Healing of Heart and Mind"
Meditations
with Rabbi Shohama Wiener |
|
Meditation
selections include Mayim Chayim, Waters of Healing, Ner Tamid,
Priestly Garments, and V'yasem L'cha Shalom (Priestly Blessing).
Forty minutes, available on VHS or DVD. |
|
"Spiritual Types: One Size Doesn't Fit All" in Jewish Spiritual Direction. Edited by Rabbi Howard Addison & Barbara Breitman, 2006.
QUOTE: "The Four Worlds, or Realms of Spirituality, and the
sefirot, divine energies...help me in intuiting which
questions to ask, and assessing what avenues of growth
might be most beneficial to an individual."
|
|
|
|
|
QUOTE: "In the last couple of years, I have felt a shift, a new name for God. I see it as shimmering white light. I hear it as Noga, Bright One. I feel it as Love. Bright One does not have a gender, but does have a heart, reminding me of the Talmudic expression, rachmana liba ba-ay, the compassionate one seeks the heart." |
|
|
"Healing and Meditation,"
by Rabbi Shohama Wiener, in Meditation
from the Heart of Judaism, ed. Avram Davis, Jewish Lights,
1997, pp. 157-160.
|
QUOTE:
"The best-known Jewish
prayer, the Sh'ma, is a prayer that tells us to listen. For me,
the purpose of listening is to hear the beating heart of the universe--to
know that we're all part of a realm of light where the heart sings,
the eyes feel, and the hands hear. It is where souls embrace without
touching and where love is the breath of life. ...Of course, that
place is right here...We can enter it by achieving an altered state
of consciousness through meditating."
|
|
"Ritualizing the
Birthday as Sacred Jewish Time,"
by Shohama Harris Wiener, in Worlds
of Jewish Prayer, eds. Shohama Harris Wiener and Jonathan
Omer-Man, Jason Aronson, Northvale, NJ, 1993, PP. 221-225.
|
QUOTE:
"...All birthdays are
times of transition and importance to the individual. The greeting
card industry has taken note of this phenomenon more than has Judaism,
and that is a shame. For this holiday can easily be made a holy
day, and in so doing, secular and religious life can be merged."
|
|
"Are There Jewish
Ways to Observe and Mourn the Death of a Pet?"
A response from Rabbi Shohama Wiener, in Jewish Family & Life:
Traditions, Holidays, and Values, by Yosef I. Abramowitz and
Rabbi Susan Silverman, Golden Books, NY, 1997, pp.105-106.
|
QUOTE:
"When pets die, people
may feel sad, empty, angry, depressed, and alone...On hearing of
a loved animal's death, a simple response such as 'Tell me about
[name of animal]' can be very helpful. A willingness to listen and
a sympathetic ear can go a long way in easing grief."
|
|
"Waters
of Healing,"
by Shohama Wiener, on the CD Let There Be Light, Vol. 1: Jewish
Songs of Healing and Wholeness," by Moshe Halfon and Friends ©
Moshe Halfon, 2001. |
QUOTE:
"Shohama wrote this as
a guided meditation, in which God's gifts of water and light can be
visualized flowing through our four worlds of soul, mind, heart and
form." |
|