Let's get Spiritual

The soul of a person is their true essence. The way someone looks and the clothes they wear is not who that person is. That's a physical manifestation, a vessel for their true self. A person is their emotions and feelings... their soul is as unique as a fingerprint. You should not change your personality. It is who you are. Your unique soul is meant to serve a very important purpose in this world. The purpose of this existence is to harness the soul and your insides in order to find true happiness and contentment.

There is a term in Hebrew called T'Shuva which is the process of coming back to who you really are... your personality coming back to your inherent nature of both body and soul. First you have to be natural with yourself and then you will see where your Neshama (soul) is and wants to go. That is how you find your purpose in this existence. Turn off the sights and sounds and distractions of the world around us and see the inner beauty and passion and desires that your soul has been trying to scream at you. For me I've found writing. I can have a stream of thought come to me faster than I can type. My soul through my conscious mind expresses itself in a way that I could have only hoped it would before. We as people crave spirituality. Our job is to take our spiritual desires and use it to fuel and harness our physical ones. Our body and soul should be working in harmony with each other.

Every time you go to sleep it works like a proverbial reset button. You wake up each morning to a new dawn and a new day. An opportunity to connect with yourself and with others in a deep and meaningful way. When you purify your body and soul TOGETHER you are enabling yourself to find the highest levels of purpose and meaning in the short existence in this world.

I want you to know how holy the body is. Know how to relate to your body. It is the vehicle that is used to elevate your soul and you only get one! The story of our souls is one of our bodies and our personal struggles through the Yatzer Hara (an inclination to choose what your mind knows isn't good). The balance between those is what brings happiness. The connection to your soul. I wake up each morning and am embracing each moment of life. I connect to my soul and my body moves me through the day.

This past weekend was the beginning of a new month in the Hebrew calendar. The start of each month is a holiday called Rosh Chodesh (head of the month). This is a holiday for women and I use it as a chance to celebrate womanhood and our unique purpose in this world. Women are the vehicles that take potential or thought and make it into reality. We take a single seed... potential for life... make it into a human being. Potential into reality. Subconsciousness into consciousness. Each month we get to celebrate the fact that much like the Creator of the universe we have a unique ability to create through cycles... much like the lunar cycle and the new moon.

So to celebrate Rosh Chodesh I went to a party in Tekoa Dallet. For those of you who have been following my blog for a while you'll know that this is the second one I've gone to in Tekoa Dallet. The first one was right before Jewel. This one felt fitting since it's right before I head back to the States for a visit. Like wonderful bookends for my trip out here. Tekoa Dallet never fails me. There are beautiful people out there on the outskirts of Tekoa. We drove into the mountains and Judean desert to a great host's home. The celebration was a bonfire with music and lots of friends and family.

As I sat by the fire looking up into the vast star filled moonless night I took a moment to remember how grateful I am to be here. My soul was and is happy. The entirety of me is happy. I sat with my friends from Tekoa, a few friends from Jewel, my cousins & their dog Bamba, and neighbors from all over Tekoa and watched and listened to them sing about Jerusalem and Eretz Yisroel (the land of Israel). There were drums, guitars, a flute, and even a guy beat boxing (which made an interesting dynamic).

This past Shabbos was by far my favorite since coming to Israel. I felt so lucky to be surrounded by people that I love and care about and that care about me... all celebrating Shabbos together... all celebrating Rosh Chodesh together. Throughout the weekend I went from one family's house to another chatting and laughing and enjoying our day of rest as a family and as community. What more could one want?

I highly recommend that one day a week you break yourself from the routine monotony of life. Spend that time fine tuning your essence. Your soul. Reflect on the week. What did you learn? What did you do? Sleep and indulge in yummy meals, a good book, and good company. You work hard. Treat yourself to one day. A whole day. A day of rest. Trust me, both your body and your soul will thank you for the gift.

I wish you all a Chodesh Tov (Good Month)!