By Whitney Wyckoff

In the Northern Hemisphere, halfway between the Summer Solstice and the Autumn Equinox, comes the ancient Celtic pagan festival of Lughnasadh,  (pronounced Loo, or, Lew, with the dh just barely touching the top front teeth in a th), also called Lughnasa (or the modern Irish spelling, Lúnasa, the name for the month of August ) and Lammas, one of the eight Sabbats – one of the High Holidays, or four Greater Sabbats – of the Celtic Wheel of the Year.
August 1 is known as the Feast Day of the Chains of St Peter – in Latin, Peter ad Vincula
The month of August was the first in the Egyptian calendar, and called Gule, which when Latinized makes Gula, and signifies the throat.
Seeing the word at the head of the month’s calendar, the Roman Catholic Church made the day a feast to the Christian daughter of the Roman tribune Quirinus, who was cured of a throat disease by kissing the chain of Peter on the day of its festival.
Lughnasadh was imbued by the Church with Christian symbolism, so loaves of bread were baked from the first of the harvested grain and consecrated on the church altar on the first Sunday of August.
On August 1, the national holiday of Switzerland, it is traditional to celebrate with bonfires. This practice may trace back to the Lughnasadh celebrations of the Helvetii, Celtic people of the Iron Age who lived in what is now Switzerland.
In Northern Italy, e.g. in Canzo, Lughnasadh traditions are still incorporated into modern 1 August festivities.
The village of Morvah, Cornwall, U.K, is the home of the Morvah Fair (held on August 1 every year) which has been described as the biggest Lughnasadh celebrations outside Ireland.
In Scottish Gaelic Lunasda means the 1st of August. In County Mayo, IRELAND, on the last Sunday in July thousands of pilgrims still climb to the summit of “the Reek,” or Croagh Patrick, Ireland’s holiest mountain. That day is known as Reek Sunday.
The etymology: the Celtic word nasadh means ‘commemoration’, or ‘to give in marriage’; the Anglo-Saxons call this festival Lughmass; because it takes place between the hay harvest and the corn harvest.
It is also associated with Lugh’s  touching and loving devotion to foster mother, The Royal Lady Tailtiu, (the daughter of an older race, the Fir Bolg),who is said to have cleared the way for the introduction of agriculture in Ireland, thus linking Lughnasadh to the land and the harvest.
After the defeat of her people by the Tuatha De Dannan, she was obliged by them to clear a vast forest for the purpose of planting grain.
She died of exhaustion in the attempt. 
The legend states that she was buried beneath a great mound named for her, at the spot where the first feast of Lughnasadh was held in Ireland, the hill of Tailte.
On this day, Lord Lugh hosts funeral game in her honor.
Traditional Tailtean craft fairs and Tailtean marriages, Handfastings, (which last for a year and a day) are celebrated.
At this gathering were held huge games and contests of skill on the scale of an early Olympic Games.

By Julia Hultgren

The nurturing New Moon in Cancer on July 11 finds the Moon in its own sign. Applied to all of us, this is the holding tank for our group emotional state. When we think about the Moon in Cancer, there isn’t much room for finger pointing or name calling.  Consider the idea of all of us being in the same womb together being nurtured by the same mother. Gets kind of unsettled and crowded in here if we are unwilling to spread compassion from one to the other, permeating the entire space.  Too much angst among us and our mother grows toxic. This is the time for us to intuitively open to others in our sphere, get the vibe of the whole womb territory; and send our purest energy pulsing out for some moments of cherished oneness.

Our Cancer New Moon finds itself in an eclipse this month, which increases the essence of the energy.  Receiving assistance from Mars in Virgo, our task in compassionate oneness is supported by a good capacity to heal using an exacting ingenuity.  We are reminded to be particularly observant of those in the armed services in our prayers.

After settling ourselves into a compassionate realm of “oneness,” it’s time to turn our attention to the rest of the chart for this period. We already know how to perform the breast beating fury of communication regarding our excellence and honor, our superior strength and economic prowess. Some would say ad nauseum.  Instead, we are charged with learning to discern what is significant on the journey of soul progression, and what is not. How do we really access the divine within and around us?  If we continue to insist on issues involving our separateness, if we continue to feed arrogance, we’ve already experienced the consequences for that behavior. Seems like we should be smarter than that.

By the 22nd of this month, the Sun shifts into Leo and Saturn heads into Libra, and the birthing experience begins!  With buoyant vitality we emerge, all set to lift the veil of the old.  It is, after, all a new day.  With abundant energy and a wealth of newly engineered resources we set about developing this new identity of mass consciousness. Again, we are reminded of what we already know that balance in relationships is of the gravest concern.  And, we are asked to redefine ourselves using the context we developed in the first part of the lunar cycle: compassion, divine entreaty and the knowledge that we really are “one.”  We have tremendous access to the new and inventive, with the ability to husband resources.  There is a danger of being profligate spenders, but Mars joins Saturn in protecting the home front and the resources of the planet.

Expect to feel the balancing act of this lunar cycle as we learn to weigh and integrate seemingly disparate issues.  How do we develop personally while merging with the “other”?  How do we share resources equitably while caring for our mother?  Our seeming separateness is intended to serve the purpose of identifying and aligning each cog in the wheel of life, not personal aggrandizement and tyranny. We continue to learn that forgetting we are part of a single pulsing organism only feeds our peril.

Julia Hultgren has been a practitioner/student of astrology for over 30 years. She was an avid student of noted Chicago astrologer, Doris Hebel. In addition to basic astrology readings and charts, Julia reads and teaches planetary indications for soul mates, life purpose and monetary aspects. She also reads and teaches charts of relationships, called synastry. She is a graduate of the Weiss Institute, where she was professionally trained in Past Life Regression. She has been meditating for 13 years and has had many profound and happy experiences becoming reacquainted with spirit, while investigating altered states over the years. She has lived in Colorado Springs since 2001 with her husband and 4 children, has an MSW, and also utilizes EMDR, hypnosis and mediation in her practice.

 By Melinda  Ribner  
Did I get your attention?

This week’s Torah portion (June 21) Balak begins with Balak, the king of Maob requesting Bilaam the prophet to curse the Jewish people.  “Please come and curse these people for me, ..  For I know that whomever you bless and whomever you curse is accursed. ” Why did he not simply say, ” Bless my people so no harm will come to them” , rather than ask that the Jewish people be cursed?  This is a sign of Amalek, that I see as  the code for embodied evil outside and even within ourselves. More than Amalek wants their own people to prosper, they want to hurt and destroy those they perceive as their enemy. So powerful is their hate, they do not mind even giving up their lives in this effort. As you may recall, Amalek went out of its way to attack the Jewish people when they traveled through the desert.  Amalek seems to be very alive and active today as well. Within a person, Amalek is equated with doubt, it is the voice of addiction. Because of addiction, a person will hurt himself.

 In this Torah portion, Bilaam, the leading prophet in the non Jewish world, tries many times to curse the Jewish people, but is not able to do so,even though he very much wants to do so, but he can not go against the messages that he receives from God.  At one time, Bilaam even says, ” How good are the tents of Jacob, your dwelling places, O Israel. “  Bilaam affirms that there was no sexual perversity, no divination, no sorcery, so Israel could not be cursed. Interesting enough, these very words of this non-Jewish prophet ”Ma Tov vu”, that Bilaam utters, the prophet who tried to destroy the Jewish people introduce the morning blessings of our daily prayers.  Isn’t this ironic, another Tammuz reversal.

Bilaam was unable to curse the Jewish people because of the sexual purity of the Jewish people. Each Jewish tent allowed for openness and yet also protected privacy.  It is said in Kabbalah that when a Jewish married couple have proper sexual relations they create angels that protect the Jewish people. As long as the Jewish people were sexually pure, no harm could come to them.  Improper sexual relations, according to Kabbalah, are sexual relations that are purely lustful. Relations that are purely for physical gratification are said to create demonic energies that weaken the connection with the Shechinah of the individuals and lead to a lack of spiritual protection for the Jewish people as a whole.

My book New Age Judaism has an entire chapter on “Kabbalah of Sexuality”.  ” According to the Ramban, ( Nachmanides) sexual relations brings wholeness not only to ourselves, but it also radiates sexual energy and healing to the world. ” ( page 135) This chapter offers additional kabbalistic guidance on how to have holy sexual relations that are healing to the individuals and the world.

As part of an anti protest statement against the Viet Nam war, many of you will recall that John Lennon and Yoko Ono staged a rally in their bedroom with the slogan, ” Make love not war”. Little did they know that much before they came up with this concept, the Ramban wrote much earlier that making love if done with the proper intentions actually brings peace to the world. People may not realize how important and holy sexual relations are in Judaism and of their power to actually create peace in oneself and the world. Sexuality in Judaism is said to provide the highest revelation of God.  In Kabbalah, in Judaism, it is the bedroom that is likened to the holy of holies, the most important and powerful place to experience Godliness. Perhaps we should revive a campaign inspired by the Ramban, ” Make love for peace in the world.” How would it be if people had this intention when they made love?   Love warriors for peace. We have to fight this battle against evil on many fronts.  Perhaps the bedroom is another frontier for this battle.
Unfortunately, however, if sexual relations do not take place with proper holy intentions, if they are purely animalistic, according to Kabbalah, they can take us to the lowest depths. Lustful sex, even if it is between consenting adults is negative and creates klippot, opaque shells, that shut out the Light of the Shechinah, the Divine Presence.

Because Bilaam could not curse the Jewish people, he comes up with another scheme that will enable him to hurt the Jewish people. If he can cause the Jewish men to ‘sin’, they will become vulnerable and he will be able to curse them. The story I heard was Biliam hatched a plan by which beautiful women of Midian would trick and seduce the men of Israel. When the men would come to town to buy linen, ugly old women would set outside of the tent and escort the men into the tent to view the linen wares. Once inside, they would find beautiful young Midianite women lying down nude on linen who would invite the men to lie with her to sample the linen. Once he was sexually aroused, he was asked to deficate in front of an idol for that was how the people worshipped their idol. It seems hard to believe, but that is what I read. I imagine that the Jewish men did not think that was really like worship of God, so it was not a big problem to comply. The women invited the men to their idolatrous festivities, they ate and they prostrated themselves to their idols, not because they wanted to abandon Hashem, but because of the power of the sexual desire they stopped thinking.
 
The sexual seduction reached to such a point that an elderly leader of the tribe of Shimeon, whose name was Zimri, attempted to have sexual relations with a Midianite woman named Coshbi publicly in front of the tent of Moshe. In so doing, they both planned to usher in a new age for Israel and Midian, that would celebrate a merging of the two cultures. Kabbalah tells us that these two were indeed soul mates so there was a real powerful desire for them to unite with each other.  They had previous reincarnations such as Dina and Shechem. A plague however ensued,that was stopped by the quick action of Pinchus, son of Elazar, son of Aaron who pierced Zimri and Cosbi, his consort, in the stomach in the middle of the act. And that is how the chapter ends. Very intense.
This is the month of Tammuz, after all. The Torah portions reflect the times. I was not so surprised when I read today that the next flotilla ” Free Gaza” would be occupied by Christian and Moslem women. I thought that was interesting parallel of some sorts with this weekly portion. Another event today was an announcement that  the Presbyterian Church is voting its most anti- Israel referendum in their history. Today, as well, I read that a group of anti-Israel Pro- Palestinian protestors planned to block an Israeli ship from uploading in California, trying to equate this act with the Israeli blockade of the Gaza ship. I find it a bit humorous, that in the end they blocked a Chinese ship from unloading by mistake.  The Israeli ship did not arrive to much later, after the crowd left. Another little miracle that did not allow them to have the public relations opportunity they sought. I am sorry to report political events, but I feel that it is important that all be informed. This is all part of the preparation that is taking place. This is the month of Tammuz, after all as well.
 
 
Be gentle with yourself this month of Tammuz. I have heard already of so many stories of unexpected occurrences, reversals this month. Some of these reversals have been positive and some of them challenging. This is the month of clear seeing, where we can easily see through illusions, and deception, to see the truth. Sometimes, we do not allow ourselves to see what is really happening before, but events in Tammuz bring the truth into light. It may be helpful to know that this is what Tammuz is all about.   For more additional teachings, please consult Kabbalah Month by Month and New Age Judaism. These books can be purchased online or in bookstores.

By Rev. Whitney Wykoff

Solstice comes from the Latin (sol, sun; sistit, stands).

For several days before and after each solstice, the sun appears to stand still in the sky—that is, its noontime elevation does not seem to change.

Solstice, from the Latin for sun stands still, in astronomy, either of the two points on the ecliptic that lie midway between the equinoxes (separated from them by an angular distance of 90°).

At the solstices the sun’s apparent position on the celestial sphere reaches its greatest distance above or below the celestial equator, about 23 1/2° of arc. At the time of summer solstice, around June 20 or 21, the sun is directly overhead at noon at the Tropic of Cancer.

In the Northern Hemisphere the longest day and shortest night of the year occur on this date, marking the beginning of summer.

At winter solstice, about December 22, the sun is overhead at noon at the Tropic of Capricorn; this marks the beginning of winter in the Northern Hemisphere.

For several days before and after each solstice the sun appears to stand still in the sky, its noontime elevation does not seem to change from day to day.

It is also referred to as Midsummer because it is roughly the middle of the growing season throughout much of Europe.

Litha comes from Saxon tradition — the opposite of Yule. On this longest day of the year, light and life are abundant.

At mid-summer, the Sun God has reached the moment of his greatest strength. Seated on his greenwood throne, he is also lord of the forests, and his face is seen in church architecture peering from countless foliate masks.

Midsummer Night’s Eve is also special for adherents of the Faerie faith.

On this night in County Limerick, Ireland, people processed up the hill of the faery queen Áine, whose name means ‘Brightness,’ and who is a goddess of the sun. They set light to bunches of straw and hay called cliars that they wave among the fields and grazing cattle to ensure good crops and healthy beasts. When the great fire is lit at the top of the hill, Áine and her faery tribe come out to join in the revelry.

This time is known in the Druid tradition as that of Alban Hefin – ‘The Light of Summer’ or ‘The Light of the Shore’ when the countryside around us revels in colorful and fragrant splendor.

At Alban Hefin the spiral of the year has expanded to its widest point and now the hours of light are as long as they will ever be. Then embarking upon the long journey back south, ending at Alban Arthan, the Winter Solstice, in mid-December in the Northern Hemisphere.

The full moon in June is called the Honey Moon. Tradition holds that this is the best time to harvest honey from the hives.

This time of year, between the planting and harvesting of the crops, was the traditional month for weddings. This is because many ancient peoples believed that the “grand [sexual] union” of the Goddess and God occurred in early May at Beltaine. Since it was unlucky to compete with the deities, many couples delayed their weddings until June. June remains a favorite month for marriage today. In some traditions, “newly wed couples were fed dishes and beverages that featured honey for the first month of their married life to encourage love and fertility. The surviving vestige of this tradition lives on in the name given to the holiday immediately after the ceremony: The Honeymoon.”

LORE:

This is a good time to cull magical and healing herbs: fern seed gathered on midsummer’s eve can make one invisible; elderberries ward off enchantment from another; stonecrop, vervain, and yarrow are hung in special places around the house for protection against the evil eye and death.

The Christian religion converted this day of Jack-in-the-Green to the Feast of St. John the Baptist, often portraying him in rustic attire, sometimes with horns and cloven feet (like the Greek Demi-God Pan)

This is the time for the plucking of St. John’s wort (wort=herb), the golden, star-shaped flower that is first of all herbs to be gathered on St. John’s Eve. Called the ‘blessed plant’ in Wales, it is renowned throughout the Celtic lands for bringing peace and prosperity to the house, health to the animals and a bountiful harvest. It is cast into the midsummer bonfires in Scotland, and placed over the doors of houses and farm buildings for its protective powers. For these magical plants are filled with the energy of the sun at its peak, now transformed into green blessings for the human realm.

Taking a tincture of St. John’s Wort to bring in the energy and light of the full Sun makes more sense now!

Correspondances

Traditional Foods:
Garden fresh fruits and vegetables, sunflower seeds.

Herbs and Flowers:
Mugwort, Chamomile, Rose, Honeysuckle, Oak, Lavender, Yarrow, Wild Sunflower/Black eyed Susan, Daisy, Carnation, sunflower.

Incense/ oils:
Lemon, Myrrh, Pine, Rose, Frankincense, Red Mandarin, Pink Grapefruit.

Sacred Gemstone:
Emerald, sunstone, carnelian, citrine.

Special Activities:
An Ideal time to reaffirm your vows to the Lord and Lady or your dedication to following the old traditions.

http://www.religioustolerance.org/summer_solstice.htm

http://www.wicca.com/celtic/akasha/litha.htm

http://www.druidry.org/obod/festivals/hefin.html

A Book Review

Have you ever picked up a book, opened to a page and found the answer to a question that you had asked, probably silently, just a little while ago?  Scott Blum’s new book, Summer’s Path is like that – a guide to life’s questions on living, dying, reincarnation and healing lifetimes – all in 209 fast reading pages.

Some of you may have read Scott’s first book, Waiting for Autumn about Robert, a seemingly homeless man on a mission and Don, his black Lab puppy who meet up with Scott (no coincidence with the name) who is on a journey to heal.  This is the prequel to Autumn.  This is the tale of how Robert and Don meet, Don’s death, both of their walk-in experiences and their quest to heal the lives, past lives and bodies.

As a reviewer, I am challenged to condense this book down to 149 character sound byte.  There is too much love and life in this book to simplify it

It is a primer for those just beginning to seek their path and those seeking to remember it when faced with a hectic, fast-pasted existence.  Summer’s Path answers questions on topics not easily googled; and certainly not with the love and attention that Scott puts into explaining non-threateningly concepts like walk-ins and why they are here and how walking-in differs from reincarnation; how to help people to cross to the next life and how to heal life time patterns of guilt and abandonment.

I particularly like Scott’s placement of centering exercises right before his characters had to dealing with healing lifetimes of karmic issues.  From a teaching perspective, and I will be using this book as a personal growth primer, it’s a great reminder that healing is not just about experiencing past memories.  It is also about preparing the body at all levels for the change and growth that’s about to commence.  As healers and teachers we sometimes forget this critical step.  So Scott’s placement of the centering section before the healing section was so stellar.

Would I recommend this book?  Even before I finished the book, I loaned it to a friend who was seeking answers.  Because I trusted Scott’s information, I gave her the book and; on reading it, she found peace of mind.

If you are looking for answers, Summer’s Path will guide.  And remember, Waiting for Autumn is another great read.

By Julia Hultgren

With the New Moon in Gemini we have two choices: to learn a little bit about many topics, or to delve deeply into a few concerns close to our hearts.  We are at our most shrewd with the Moon in this placement and will not shy away from the discovery of   significant truths.  Our need to know is greater than our need to be thin skinned. Mercury joins the Sun and Moon in Gemini, so good thing we are all going through it together, as the truth you see and tell in others will be the truth they see and tell in you. Such a marvelous time for ownership of who we really are!

Chiron and Neptune are at the top of the chart on either side of our public presentation sector in Pisces. Water, water, every where!  What would the God of the Oceans have to say to the buff centaur representing collaboration between man and beast?–A little less man and a little more beast?–Right now our need to explain and criticize is getting in the way of true healing.  Remember to put a lid on the fear and sense of horrendous doom in your head and heart long enough to send the pure healing energy of white light down to the Gulf of Mexico, and elsewhere in the world where these earth/water eruptions are occurring.  Remember, if we stay conscious and build the bridges that are being requested by the fellows at the mid heaven, wellness will ultimately occur.

There is an opportunity for great benefits, albeit briefly. For a little while it looks like we can put together wide scope partnerships with those in foreign lands.  If ever anything could move quickly, the New Moon is the time to wrap up favorable collaborations with long reaching implications for growth. However it’s likely these healing factions will take the back seat to the overwhelming issues at hand, but will gain in strength over time.

So, the full lunar eclipse on June 26, promises upheaval in the earth/water sectors of the planet. Sound familiar? Saturn triggered this energy on January 12^th this year with the earthquake in Haiti. And then we have British Petroleum.  Lunar eclipses signify endings, with a big spotlight focused on events. This eclipse includes the total annihilation and rebirth energy of Pluto, so it is likely we will see a phoenix rising at some point, but not until all possible issues have been expelled and exposed.  While this mass expurgation is occurring on such a grand scale, remember the lesson this month is “as out there, so in here,” “as in you, so in me.” Pointing the finger is feels very safe until it comes right back to us. How is the gusher of toxins into the Gulf a metaphor in our own lives? What safeguards have we not taken?  Where have we been careless with precious resources? How have we allowed others to cut corners?  What slime ridden morality have we been in bed with?

I always promise that the solution to the problem is within every chart. And so it is! This one says rebirth and the shift of mass consciousness will occur through the meticulous rebuilding of foundations.  Never said it was going to be easy!

By Melinda Ribner

We rely on weather forecasts when planning our days’ activities, stock forecasts or charts to guide or monitor investing, might it also be helpful to have a kabbalistic forecast for the month that serves as a guide to our spiritual growth? 

“Thousands of years ago, the Jewish mystical tradition known as Kabbalah revealed a very profound and powerful system for healing and transformation.  Though the knowledge remains obscure, it has influenced many current forms of healing.  According to Kabbalah, the Jewish calendar as a whole is a road map for personal transformation.

“To the unitiated, this material may seem mystical or superstitious, but that does not make it less true.  Many things exist beyond our powers of conception or reasoning. Just as there are various season and fluctuations in our weather, there are also fluctuations in the spiritual energies available.  Those who are attuned to these energies are aware of such changes and know how to use this knowledge for their personal growth and success. Rather than promoting fatalism, this knowledge actually increase our capacity to make meaningful and effective choices for our highest good.” (Kabbalah Month by Month, introduction) 

Welcome the Month of Tammuz on Saturday and Sunday, June 12 and 13:

“From a secular perspective, many think of the summer as a carefree time, a time to travel, relax, have fun, but according to Kabbalah, Tammuz is a heavy and challenging month.  The heat one experiences is not just physical but also emotional and spiritual. That is why we need to be mindful of the emotional intensity of this month and why it is important to be particularly sensitive to ourselves and others this month.  Tammuz is still ultimately a good and wonderful month but only if we know how to use its intense energy constructively.  When we do this we grow through challenges in ways that may not be possible at any other period of the year.”  Kabbalah Month by Month( Page 247-8)

“The divine permutation for the month is reversed. Tammuz can be a time of reversals. We expect one thing to happen but something totally different happens. As much as we may like to think we are in control of our lives, we need to realize our limitations, let go and invite God into our lives. This is one of the deep teachings of this month.

“As hard as it may be, we must realize that whatever happens to us can be an opportunity for growth and healing. We grow the most when confronting our greatest challenges. Tammuz is a month of judgment, we need to accept that nothing is accidental or coincidental. Through we have free will, everything is also divine providence.  (Kabbalah Month by Month, pg 251)

“The astrological sign for Tammuz is Cancer.  The Hebrew word for cancer is sartan, which means ‘ Satan”, a name that reveals the difficulty of the tests of this month. The ruling body of Cancer is the moon.  The moon is always changing, making Tammuz an emotional time with many ups and downs.  One has to learn to ride the emotional rollercoaster of Tammuz.” Kabbalah Month by Month)

“The Torah portions reflects what is happening during the month.  ”This week’s Torah portion Korach reveals the struggle within the Jewish people.  Two hundred and fifty men, the leaders of the Jewish people were followers of Korach claimed that Moses had concentrated too much power in the hands of his family and tribe, the Levites who served in the mishkon, the holy Tabernacle hosting the Divine Presence. Though they were jealous of Moses and Aaron, they did not express this directly. They couched their argument in idealistic terms, claiming that the entire assembly , all of them are holy.” ( Kabbalah Month by Month, pg260) If we look at what was happening on the external level, it sounds that the accusations might be true. Yet, we learn this month, that what is presented is not always what really is, and we must look beyond the external to perceive what is hidden and real. 

As we enter into this month, the world arena has many challenges and catastrophic events before it.  The BP oil spill is polluting the oceans, the economies in Europe are collapsing, Iran and Hammas threatening to destroy Israel, US stock market is plummeting downwards, the recent flotilla incident with the Free Gaza ship with so many nations in the world condemning Israel before they knew the facts. You know what is happening in our world as well as I do.  This is some of the heat of Tammuz. It is easy to be worried and concerned about what is happening in our world.  Additionally, I imagine that there are also challenges in our personal lives, in our relationships and even within ourselves as well.  Often what is happening on the macro level is reflected in the micro level as well.  

How do we grow through our challenges and tests?  How do we see God amidst all the turmoil?  This is the question of the month that we must be mindful of.  According to this month, the fixing of this month is seeing. What we see reflects our thinking.  This month we need to breathe, meditate and open to see life more clearly and calmly. We need to question our assumptions.  We can easily become upset about something that is not even true or do not know to be true. Take a moment to review how your recent responses to events in your life.  If you are upset about something or someone, might you be making assumptions that are not true.  As my teacher Reb Shlomo would often say, “What do we really know? “

We can all acknowledge that a response of fear, worry or anger to any challenge will not be helpful. Even though it may sometimes be an automatic response to become frightened and upset by major challenges and changes that occur in our lives, these emotions do not help us to cope or grow through the challenge.

 What helps us to grow? Faith and gratitude is what helps us to transform.  If we believe in God, if we talk to God, if we connect to God, we can find peace amidst chaos and strife, we can grow through challenges and become happier and better people. Learning Torah, reading psalms,  personal and standard prayer, and meditation are each essential. And sometimes we have to simply let go of our struggle and our resistance to life as it is and get down on our knees ( metaphorically, usually) to call out for divine assistance and faith. Try it sometimes.  Get down on your knees and open yourself to God. It is one thing to stand before God, and another thing to be on your knees before God.  I know that Jews do not usually do that. We Jews used to kneel before the Christians adopted this practice and then we stopped doing it so as to distinguish ourselves from them.  If you have never gotten on your knees before God, either literally or metaphorically, you may not yet have opened yourself to receive divine love and compassion.

Thankfully, God is very much alive.  As we say in our the Ahsrei prayer, ” God is close to the brokenhearted and those who are crushed in spirit, God saves.”  It is we who need to call out and open ourselves to receive. 

Blessings for a transformational Tammuz. Melinda Ribner.

Please feel free to invite others to join this list.  My book Kabbalah Month by Month is available online or in bookstores all over, even in Israel.  It offers guidelines, meditations, strategies, stories to promote personal growth and healing each month

From Kim Miller

 This is a 40 day Kundalini meditation.  There are 2 different options below, so if either speaks to you, please join in. If you can commit to do the meditation daily it is most effective…you can do 40 days or continue as long as you like… 

The words SA TA NA MA are the component parts of the mantra “Sat Nam” which means “Truth is my Identity”.

 This meditation stimulates the nerve endings in the fingertips, balancing the right and left hemispheres of the brain. This positively changes your habits and works through insecurities.  This meditation will shift your spiritual unfoldment into high gear… :O)

 *Begin by tuning in by chanting Ong Namo Guru Dev Namo 3 times.

 *Sit with spine straight in easy pose-cross legged. Cross forearms below the wrist and hold them in front of the chest with the arms out slightly. Palms are face up and slightly turned outward toward the chest. To start, the thumb and second finger tips of each hand are touching with the rest of the fingers extended straight. Look at the tip of the nose and recite the following mantra aloud:

 Sa Ta Na Ma

As you recite each syllable, touch the thumbs to each fingertip, starting with the index finger:

 Sa- index finger

Ta-middle finger

Na- ring finger

Ma- little finger

 * Continue repeating this sequence, always starting with the index finger. The pace between each movement is approximately 1 second per fingertip.

 * Practice for 11-31 minutes.

 * To end, inhale, hold the breath for a few seconds, focus the eyes upward, exhale and relax.

By Melinda Ribner

Praise be to God. The month of Sivan, the month of fulfillment, the month of creativity, the month of love, will be arriving on  Friday, May 13. The holiday of Shavuos, the holiday of commemorating the receiving of the Torah, takes place of May 18 – May 20.
 
Kabbalistic Forecast for the Month  “Sivan is one of the most beautiful months spiritually and physically. Just as the trees and flowers are blossoming, so are we. Sivan is a time of gaining clarity of vision, discovering one’s life purpose and receiving guidance and direction on actualizing our personal life goals.  A wonderful time for travel,  Sivan is also a time of increased love and intimacy.  This is demonstrated by the giving and accepting of the Torah which could only occur during this month. A covenant between the Jewish people and God, the Torah is an expression of love, commitment, dedication and intimacy.  It is an everlasting partnership, likened to a marriage. Interestingly enough May and June that correspond to Sivan have always been a popular time for weddings.
 
“It is said that when the Jewish received the Torah, they were of one heart, so unified that were likened to one being. In the Torah passage that describes Israel’s encampment at the foot of Mount Sinai at the time of the new moon in Sivan, the word ” encamped’ is in the singular rather than the plural form. It is this unity that enabled the Israelite to receive the Torah.  Sivan is a wonderful time to deepen existing relationships and open ourselves to meeting new people whom we will be able to draw closely to our heart this month. There is an openheartedness in Sivan that makes it easy to communicate and bond with many different kinds of people.”. Excerpt from Kabbalah Month by Month.
 
Astrological Sign: Gemini : Gemini is the energy that does not want to be contained.  Mercury, the ruling planet for Gemini, was the Roman messenger of the gods who flew from the heavens to the earth. Similarly, the Torah , given, in this month is the messenger between heaven and earth.  People born under this sign are thought to be mercurial, quick to move from place to place, physically and mentally. Geminis want to leave the earth and fly to the heavens. Geminis are creative and skillful communicators. The planet of Mercury is associated with communication and intelligence.” Kabbalah Month by Month. ”
 
In case some of your are wondering, “Judaism does embrace astrology. teaching that we are born under a certain constellation and with a certain destiny. Our sages say that the length of life, number of children, and sustenance depend not on merit but on destiny. Yet it is also said that Jews are not subject to astrology.  Rashi, the great Torah commentator said that prayer, charity and mitzvot can improve our mazel and this is what is meant when the Talmud says ” Jews are not subject to astrology.”  ” New Age Judaism, page101)
 
Torah for the month:  Shavuos, the holiday celebrating the receiving of the Torah, culminates the completion of the journey that began on Passover, the holiday commemorating the departure of the Jewish people out of Egypt. The Jewish people left Egypt, not just to leave a place of bondage, but the Jewish people left Egypt so as to receive the Torah and enter into the holy land of Israel. The purpose of the exodus was not simply to become a free people living in the Land of Israel, but to be a people who would love, know and serve God. It is not that God needed or needs our love and service, but through our love and service to God, we human beings receive the greatest good. According to our teachings, the desire of God was and is always to bestow goodness upon all of creation.  
 
As Rabbi Moses Luzatto said in his book, The Way of God,  ” Since God desired to bestow good, a partial good would not be sufficient.  God alone is the only true good, and therefore, His beneficent desire would not be satisfied unless it could bestow that very good, namely the true perfect good that exists in God’s intrinsic Essence. Even though created beings can not emulate God’s perfection in this own right, the fact that they can be attached to God allows them to partake of it.  They can thus derive the greatest pleasure from that true good to the greatest degree possible. The purpose of all that was created was therefore to bring into existence a creature who could derive pleasure from God’s own good, in a way that would be possible for it.”
 
   
When God finished creating the world, the Torah tells us ” God saw that it was good.” After God created Adam, the Bible reveals that ” God saw all that He had made and behold it was very good.”. The human being was different than other creatures and was capable of receiving the greatest goodness.  What distinguished the human being?  Rabbi Moses Luzatto, in his book, later explains that the gift of free will was what made the creation of the human being ” very good”. It is our free will, our ability to make choices, that makes us unique among all the other creatures.
God blesses everyone and everything but the greatest blessing is our free will.  That is because God wants our heart to be an offering, not a compulsion. For this reason, God is hidden until we learn how to choose. If God was not hidden, we would have no choice but to love God for we would be overwhelmed by God’s love and goodness.  With God’s concealment, we have free will and the power to choose and co-create our reality.
 
Love has more meaning when it is a matter of choice for God and for people as well.  It is a heavenly gift that God allows us to love other people, and to love God. It is the love of God within us that enables us to love God and other people.  When we truly love, we feel God’s presence and that feels wonderful.  Love is unconditional,  not based on what we receive. But rather through love we receive the love we are giving.  Reb Eliyahu Dessler in his book Strive For Truth provided much clarity on this subject and asked  an interesting question.” Is giving the result of love or does love come from giving?  Do we give to people we love? Or do we love people we give to. It is customary to think that giving is a byproduct of love. We love someone so we give to them. Reb Dessler says that If you want to love others, you should give to them.  Become involved in something that is for their benefit. Giving breaks down the psychological barriers between people. We come to love the people we give to. “  New Age Judaism, page 129
 
On Shavous we celebrate God’s gift to us. The Torah that we receive on Shavuos is God’s love letter to us, containing all the secrets that lovers share in times of intimacy.  For many of us  however there are times  when we read the Bible, we question its relevance to us today.  In those cases we need to search our hearts and pray that the secrets of Torah be opened to us. If the Torah were not relevant, did not contain the secrets of the universe, it would not be as treasured as it is.  Finding teachers and books who make the Torah and Judaism exciting, vibrant and sweet is also essential. 
 
On Shavuos we receive the Torah anew. By connecting and learning Torah, by living by the guidelines of Torah, we become attached to God. When we are attached to God, we know and love God, and that is the greatest joy.  It was for this reason that we were created, yet it must also be our choice. 
 
The deepest Jewish teaching that I know is that this world was created for love. Within God was the desire, but not the need, to love and be known. It was for this reason that God created the worlds. At the core of the heart of the human being , made in the image and likeness of the Divine, is also the desire to love and be known. And it is through love, that we know ourselves and God.
 
 
Suggestions for  Increasing love and Intimacy in Sivan..
 
1. Appreciate, and acknowledge others each day, especially your spouse and children.
 
2. Add romance to your life.  Buy flowers, and gifts for no reason.
 
3. Extend yourself by doing favors for others.
 
4. Open to meet new and different people.
 
5. Fully, receive with gratitude all that you are given from others.  Appreciate and acknowledge every gesture of thoughtfulness.
 
6. Make “I” statements about what you want and feel. Refrain from criticizing others, especially your spouse.
 
7.  If you find yourself upset and resentful, take time to be with yourself, and pray about what you are learning at this time.  Consider what you can give to another person. 
 
8. Spend time in nature. 
 
9. Recharge and nurture yourself with meditation and Learning Torah.
 
10. Speak to God in your own words.  Express your gratitude and ask for what you need and want. 
 
 These suggestions come from Kabbalah Month by Month.
 
 
May we  each be blessed this month of Sivan and on the holiday of Shavuos to open our heart to love God and other people in the deepest way. May we make the choices that promote goodness and love in the world. 
 
Love and blessings, Melinda Miriam Mindy Ribner
 
 
PS. Unless  otherwise indicated, most of the  words in this message are excerpts from my book New Age Judaism. This book contains an introduction to Kabbalah, meditation as well as kabbalistic teachings on love, sexuality, transforming suffering, as well as many subjects that are associated with the new age like holistic healing, vegetarianism, astrology, etc. The book is only $10. What a bargain!! All my books can be bought online or in bookstores.

By Melinda Ribner
 
Iyar is the month of healing. The Hebrew letters for the name of Iyar spell out the initials of the verse ” Ani Yud-Yud, Rofecha”. I am God your Healer”.  Iyar is a time of detoxification, purification, and refinement of one’s character traits.  As spring begins to emerge more fully during the month of Iyar, we also bring ourselves to a new order, a new alignment.  Iyar is the time of letting go of what does not support one’s well being, what is toxic, what is false and is a time for opening up to what does support healing. 
 
All healing requires a connection to God. We do not heal on our own.  The Talmud reminds us that those who are in prison can not free themselves.
 
By our attachment to God who is free and whole, we experience those qualities ourselves.  Our consciousness is lifted upward, beyond ordinary modes of thinking and awareness. Through prayer, meditation and doing good deeds, we tap into the part of ourselves that is divine, and we open ourselves to receive divine assistance. As we heal, our body, mind and soul are brought into alignment.
 
Suggestion for Personal Healing this month
 
Healing comes from being connected to what is true and what is real. It is as simple as that.  In situations where you feel pained or stressed, ask yourself if what you believe is true.  Too often, we become needlessly upset about something that is not true.
 
When you are upset, ask yourself, Am I being objective? Can I be objective?  If you are in a blaming or victim mode of thinking, know that you are not in touch with the whole truth.  You are not being objective. If you can not be objective, speak to someone who can help you be objective.

Healing requires a deep level of listening to oneself and being with oneself in the most honoring and respectful way. When we have the courage to be with the truth of our being, we contact God and experience peace and healing regardless of what is happening externally. Be particularly mindful this month so you can make choices about where to direct your energy.
 
 Ask yourself, Can I open and listen to the deep knowing inside myself that is coming from inner stillness, the voice of the soul, or do I listen and react to the chatter and hysteria of the ego mind, that is loud, clamoring for my attention? Breathe deeply and give yourself time to listen, pray and connect with the Holy One.
 
This was an excerpt from Kabbalah Month by Month for the month of Iyar. Feel free to share this message with others and invite them to join this email group.