Are you blooming?

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#bloom, #life, #Meditation

Someone once tried to convince me that pachysandra doesn’t bloom. They said, “It is just a green plant; they don’t bloom!” I asked how they thought the plant reproduced — they didn’t know.

I’ve spent at least a little time thinking about that. I started looking for the blooms on any type of plant. I came to a conclusion.

All plants bloom. We just might not notice or recognize it.

Many times the blooms are so small that we might not notice it. Except when our allergies react. It is like this with the most allergenic trees. They have small blooms, not very distinguished in coloring, with very small pollen particles. Perfect for irritating our noses and going unnoticed by our eyes.

Some plants bloom for a very brief time. Some have blooms that are nearly the same color as their leaves or branches, and so are camouflaged.

All plants bloom.

Many well-meaning bits of wisdom use plant analogies, using the imagery of roots, blooms, etc to encourage us to dig deep, reach out, be ourselves, etc. Much like “all plants bloom”, all people can “bloom.” Some do so in very quiet ways. Some are flashy.

We can find out what is keeping us from blooming through self-examination. I found meditation can be very helpful in getting to know myself, what works for me, what is holding me back. I wonder if you might be able to take a couple of minutes today to reflect on what helps you bloom and what holds you back?

pachysandra bloom April 2021

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Are you willing to help me?

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#Meditation, #retreats, #Survey

To my friends, family and colleagues,

Regardless of how you may have met me or how you know me, you have always been supportive of and interested in my projects and work. I am very grateful for your support.

I have been studying, using and teaching Jewish meditation and chant in some fashion since the early 1990s. As I look around at all of the tension and strife around me, I also see so very many people trying to make things better, more equitable, more just, more accessible and more inclusive. I want to help folks learn ways to become more centered, grounded and energized to continue to pursue their passion to make the world a better place. It is time for me to reach out and share what I have learned with more people.

Passionate Meditation offers transformative getaway meditation experiences in the heart of the Finger Lakes (NY, USA). The meditation and chant techniques presented are firmly rooted in the Jewish tradition. All are welcome. Previous Hebrew knowledge or meditation experience is not required. Ongoing classes and groups are also in development. As part of this development process, I have developed a brief survey. 

Can you take under five minutes to answer the survey to help me fine tune these retreats?

Would you consider sharing this with others you know who may be interested in a getaway meditation experience?

Here is the link https://www.surveymonkey.com/r/7QQVSWB

I look forward to hearing from you. Thank you for your support.

Blessings,

Paula

Everything happens for a reason?

Tags

#life, #Meditation

I have struggled with the “everything happens for a reason” bit for a long time. I have come to believe that things don’t happen for a reason. Events are a complex mix of random and consequences of ours and other’s actions. However, it is the nature of humankind to create or derive reason or meaning from the things that happen in our lives. We can choose to derive a lesson from the random or consequence cascade in our lives.

Using our connection to the Divine or the Universe or whatever we see as our anchor in life, we can rise above or simply survive the random events, pull meaning and comfort in some fashion from these events, and then use them as fuel and lessons for how to continue on. I find that meditation helps me reconnect and do this.

The Antidote to Evil

Tags

#Jewish, #Meditation

This is part of my ongoing effort to collect notes, postings and longer writings from Facebook and other social media sites into my WordPress blog site.

Originally posted on Facebook January 29, 2020

“What is the antidote to real evil? On a political level, it is justice; on a social level, it is compassion; on a personal level, it is meditation. Unless and until our sense of separateness is opened to our sense of unity, there is no hope for true compassion, justice, or love.” — Rabbi Rami M. Shapiro