JamShalom Daydreams

Journeying Through Clouds

Life is a combination of clouds and clarity.  Sometimes we see things clearly; sometimes we feel as if we are in a fog.  But even more troubling, is that sometimes we stop believing in ourselves, as we think that something must be wrong that we find ourselves in the clouds so often.

But there is nothing wrong.  Life is meant to be a journey of growth, and the clouds and the clarity are two sides of the same yin-yang.  We just have to learn how to flow from phase to phase, like the moon from month to month.

Attached please find a Shu-Shine on the Torah portion of Beha'alotcha - "Journeying Through Clouds"

May we each be blessed to find as much peace in the clouds as we do on the clear days, and to celebrate and believe in ourselves at every moment of our Journey.

With Love and a Smile,

~Shu

The Now

How do we live most meaningfully?  How do we create the channels to receive the highest blessings we wish for?  How do we get over the mistakes of yesterday?

Maybe I need to run faster!  Maybe I need to work harder?  Maybe I need to work on Saturdays, too.  Maybe I need to work late…

I mean, I wish I had time to be at home and spend more time with my kids.  I wish I had more time to talk with them.  I wish I could stop in the morning and help my wife get the kids out, or come home early and be more present with my family.  But I need to run after the blessings we are all hoping for.  I need to make it rain.

I need to worry about tomorrow.  And man-oh-man, I need to fix yesterdays mistakes.

But what if I didn’t?  What if I didn't have to worry about any of those things?  What if I really could unplug from the insanity, stop the race, and just BE?

Attached please find a Shu-Shine on the Torah portion of Behar-Bechukotai - "The Now"

May we each be blessed to be present in the moment, fully present, and live each moment for all it is; the rest will take care of itself.

This shu-shine is dedicated to my amazing Rebbe, Rav Yehoshua Witt, who finally came home again and showered our chevre with his love and light and Torah.  And to Esther Rivka Blady and Dan Berkowsky, whose insights and spiritual questions brought out the reflections of this weeks 'shine.

With Love and a Smile,

~Shu

Getting Real

What really matters?  What is most important in life?  How do we tune in to what is most real?  How do we live meaningfully?

How do we avoid getting distracted by the superficial?  How do we remember to make time for our family and friends?

When things get really confusing, how do we reset our compass and find our True Spiritual North?

Attached please find a Shu-Shine on the Torah portion of Emor - "Getting Real"

May we each be blessed to live meaningfully, see the light that is the Truth within everything, and connect on ever-deeper levels to the True foundations of life.

With Love and a Smile,

~Shu

Little Choices, Big Impact

Sending everyone wishes for the most beautiful Shabbat!  This week features a double shu-shine rewind, as we have a double Torah portion this week.

For the Torah portion of Kedoshim, I seem to have discovered a never-released Shu-Shine from two years ago, called "Little Choices, Big Impact"!

With Love and a Smile,

~Shu

Spoken in the Name of God

Sending everyone wishes for the most beautiful Shabbat!  This week features a double shu-shine rewind, as we have a double Torah portion this week.

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Have you ever wondered why some people's idea of religion makes others feel so badly?  I mean, if God is good, why does religion make some of us feel so rotten?  Is it us?  Is it the person delivering religion to us?  Is it the way we look at it?

What if the Holy words of God that we have been taught, and which we use to judge ourselves and others, were simply being misunderstood?

Attached please find a Shu-Shine on the Torah portion of Acharei Mote - "Spoken in the Name of God"

May we each be blessed to find the words to inspire ourselves, inspire others, and feel the love of HaShem (God) in our lives.

With Love and a Smile,

~Shu

The Physical Spiritual Yin Yang of Life

Once upon a time people lived in a world with open signs from God.  You knew when God was happy with humanity and yourself, and you knew when He was sad or upset.  Miracles were all around us.  And the ethical choices we made on a day to day level would manifest in clear and distinct physical events.

But then the world changed.  God hid.  People closed their eyes.  And suddenly we found ourselves lost and confused, in a physical world that often seemed pretty much divorced from the Spiritual  reality that we used to be so connected with.

How do we put those two worlds together again?  How can we get back to living more meaningfully, even if all we are doing is going to a movie with our friends or reading a bedtime story to our children?

Attached please find a Shu-Shine for the Torah portion of 'Tazria-Metzora': "The Physical Spiritual Yin Yang of Life".

May we all be blessed to rediscover the inherent link between the physical and Spiritual sides of ourselves and of life,  and to once again hear the whispered guidance of God in the daily events of our lives.

With Love and a Smile,

~Shu

The Narrow Straights of Unbridled Joy

One might think that freedom is just saying what you think and doing what you want.  I mean, why should relationships have rules?!  If you love me, accept me as I am.  Besides, it isn't natural to hide your true feelings — if you feel something, let it go (even if it hurts the feelings of those around you)!  Anything else would be just unnatural.

And some of us feel that way about our relationship with God.  Why all the rules??  How about instead, God can just accept me as I am, and I will accept Him, too (as long as He stays hidden and doesn't ask anything of me!).

But what if self-discipline and the art of choosing how to display our feelings were not acts of martyrdom, but instead were the doorways to realizing our highest selves?

Attached please find a Shu-Shine for the Torah portion of 'Shmini': "The Narrow Straights of Unbridled Joy".

May we all be blessed to find the delicate balance of being real and authentic, while doing so in a harnessed manner the reveals our highest selves.

With Love and a Smile,

~Shu

Fly Across the Water

Sometimes we get a bit too comfortable in life.  We find a plateau that we are comfortable with and forget to keep on growing.  And as we get more and more comfortable, we start to feel more and more threatened and fearful towards anything that threatens to knock us off our perch of routine security.

But life is not meant to be lived standing still.  And it is not meant to be lived in fear.  There is no greater thrill in life than the thrill of experiencing new things that we discover we love.  It can be a new relationship.  A new food.  A new country.  A new way to play and have fun.  There is a special thrill when we fall in love for the first time, and a special joy when we open ourselves up to new things that just click for us.

Tonight begins the last day of Passover, when the Jewish nation crossed the Red Sea.  It is the culmination of the liberation of self that began on the first day of Pesach, and it is all about how to get free on the highest of highest levels.

Attached please find a Shu-Shine for Shevi'I Shel Pesach: "Fly Across the Water".

May we all be blessed to live in the moment, fall free into the next moment, and get joyously comfortable being in the thrilling and uncomfortable place of living new each day!

With Love and a Smile,

~Shu

True Giving, True Royalty

On the run this week, so just sending out the mp3!  It's all about giving on the highest levels, loving on the highest levels, and reaching the level of kings and queens!

Attached please find a Shu-Shine for Shabbat Chol HaMoed: "True Giving, True Royalty".

May we all be blessed to give without conditions, to love without boundaries, and to wear our crowns as kings and queens in the courtyard of the King of all Kings!

With Love and a Smile,

~Shu

Living Your Dreams

On the run this week, so just sending out the mp3!  It's all about following your dreams, and finding the inspiration in your heart every day!

Attached please find a Shu-Shine for the Torah portion of 'Tzav': "Living the Dream".

May we all be blessed to live on the highest levels, being who we are and never being shy to believe in our deepest aspirations!

With Love and a Smile,

~Shu