Monday, January 27, 2020.  Once again we are out in the snow, bundled against the cold, thinking of sap rising in the trees, and olive and almond buds, in far-away middle eastern lands.  Here in the Great Lakes we’re having a warmish winter, and are perhaps a little better situated to appreciate Shvat, whose name refers to the driving, lashing rain characteristic of this season in Israel.  In biblical times, warming soil and plentiful rain provided good conditions for planting of the first vegetables and legumes.  And of course, our holiday in this month, Tu B’Shvat, celebrates the budding of trees, and hope for the cycle of winter turning once again toward spring. We’ve made it through the darkest months of the year, and now the light is slowly returning. The area of energy for the month of Shvat is “inner renewal”.  As the sap rises in the trees, and inhabitants of the earth become aware of the growing light – so we grow in our spirits and bodies, from the inside out, nourished by the divine and benevolent universe, which brings us rain and light.

In our daily prayerbook, we start the morning with a wonderful prayer which reminds us of the bounty of the universe and its sustaining role in our lives:

ירויון מדשן ביתך, ונחל עדניך תשקם.

כי עמך מקור חיים, באורך נראה אור.

Yirv’yun mideshen beitecha; v’nachal adaneicha tashkem.

Ki imcha m’kor chaim;  b’orcha nir’eh or.

 [We] are nourished from the riches of Your house; Give drink to [us] from Your Edenic stream.

For with You is the fountain of life; by Your light we see light. – from Psalm 36*

As we are walking in the woods this month, and at Tu B’Shvat, celebrating the trees among which we live, may we be reminded that, like the trees and all other inhabitants of the world, we are nourished by Earth’s water, air and fertile soil.  May this New Year for Trees bring renewed energy to care for the World that sustains us, and inspires us as the light of spring grows. –Kirby

 

 

We will celebrate Tu B’Shvat with a walking meditation on the morning of Monday, February 10.  The next Rosh Chodesh walking meditation will be the first of Adar, Wednesday, February 26. Both meetings will be at 7:30 am.  Contact us for location.  Rain or snow or shine!

 *Note that in the original Psalm, these verses are written in the third person, referring to humans (literally “children of Adam”) as “they” and “them”.  I have changed to the first person (“we” and “us”) in this brief excerpt.

Sunday, December 29.  It was cold, dark and rainy this morning – unseasonably warm for the end of the year, 46 degrees! – but the snow is headed our way again later in the week.  Welcome to winter on the Great Lakes!  We were blessed to meet under the gazebo, a great place to share a little shelter from the weather, before and after heading out for walking meditation in our rain gear.

Tevet marks one of the two darkest months of the year, its beginning roughly coinciding with the winter solstice.  We talked about the darkness and the negativity that comes with it – and the transformational quality of light – the kindling of the Hanukah lights, rising to a blaze with the eighth night this evening, and the slow return of the light of the sun.   The days will lengthen now, about a minute a day, until spring and summer return to us.

The negativity we feel in the darkness of Tevet often comes in the form of anger, either our own or that of others. We are like the ornery goats of this month’s zodiac symbol Capricorn, fighting our situation and those around us.  Our source Mindy Ribner notes that last month, in Kislev, we kindled our dreams, and “in Tevet, we uproot the remaining negative forces that keep us from realizing them.” She has some suggestions for managing the negativity of Tevet, and transforming it into light:

• Explore the nature of your anger, understand what drives it
• Assume responsibility for your own feelings and practice humility
• Be mindful of your speech, often the weapon we use when we are feeling negative
• Dilute your anger – through writing, talking with trusted others
• Protect yourself from the anger and negativity of others through learning to detach and be objective
• Be happy for what you have, practice gratitude and try to see the good in everything, and nurture yourself in the light of love

In the coming month, may we experience the transformation of negativity and darkness into love and light.  Chodesh tov, and happy Hanukah! – Kirby

The next walking meditation will be Rosh Chodesh Shevat, Monday, January 27, 2020, 7:30 am.  Contact us for location information.

Friday, November 29, 2019.  It was a bit of a celebration this month, with a new boardwalk open and sporting a beautiful artist-designed gazebo and landscaping.  As winter arrives in the Great Lakes, the wildlife is still frequenting the park, four pairs of mallard ducks among them.

In my absence, co-leaders Linda and Stephen prepared some lovely thoughts.  Kislev is of course the darkest month of the year, containing both the winter solstice, the shortest day of the solar year, and the beginning of Chanukah, our appropriately designated festival of light. As Linda notes, it is a month of sleeping, dreaming, and learning to interpret our dreams.  Dreaming of light, and meditating on the light, is a way we can weather the darkest of times – and especially consider those in need of healing, who may not be able to dream or to act on their dreams.

Stephen conjured the image of Jacob, whose stories in the Torah readings this month feature two nights sleeping alone and dreaming in the desert, on his way to visit Laban, and returning to meet Esau.  On the first night, his dream was of angels ascending the ladder to heaven.  On the second, he woke, or dreamed, to find himself wrestling with an angel.  Our physicist friend Stephen recognizes in these stories the quest for understanding of the universe – reaching ever higher for inspiration and knowledge, and wrestling with difficult problems outside our comfort zone.  We are reminded that science and spirituality are entwined, and not at all opposed.

May the coming Chanukah lights, and the slow return of the light to the universe after the solstice, bring healing and inspiration to all of us, and brighten the days when the wrestling is difficult.  Chodesh tov! — Kirby

The next walking meditation will be Rosh Chodesh Tevet, Sunday, December 29, 2019, 7:30 am. Contact us for location.  Rain or snow or shine!

 

Friday, November 1, 2019.  Wednesday morning we met in the dark, amid falling leaves, and welcomed the new month of Cheshvan. What a whirlwind holiday season it’s been – almost a month of special dinners, extra days at synagogue, building and enjoying and taking down the Sukkah – and working hard to see the truth of our own flawed inner selves. It is a blessing to enter Cheshvan, the quiet month when we settle into the year, and consolidate all the change and intensity of the past few weeks.  Called Mar-Cheshvan in ancient times, or “bitter Cheshvan”, due to its lack of holidays, it is nevertheless a welcome time to return to the routine of daily life, and try to live it better this time around.

In the ancient middle east, Cheshvan was planting time:  wheat, barley, oats, and vetch were all sown in this month.  Harvest was done, with only a few olives left for gathering.  Just as we planted new seeds in this season, so in Cheshvan we are planting new seeds of thought and action in our lives.  Our source Mindy Ribner notes that Cheshvan is a time “of review, reflection, and integration.  As we begin to translate into reality the visions we received in Tishrei, we need to let go of the old, of what is not essential, and purify ourselves so that we are really able to contain the new.”

How might we go about doing this?  Ms. Ribner has some ideas:  Engage in self-inquiry, especially about negative thoughts that might defeat our resolve to change long-held patterns. Own our own projections onto other people (otherwise known as blame) of difficulties that might arise.  Try to develop greater trust and faith, in ourselves and our own ability to effect the change we want, and in others.  And in so doing, love ourselves unconditionally.

In our reflections we talked a bit about slowing down, letting go, as we begin to live our commitments for the year. One of our participants offered a lovely quote from Ajahn Chah, Thai Forest Buddhist monk: “If you let go a little you a will have a little peace; if you let go a lot you will have a lot of peace; if you let go completely you will have complete peace.”[1]

And so we enter a new year… may it be a good one for each one of us, and may we all accomplish the change, and enjoy the peace, that we desire. –Kirby

The next walking meditation will be Rosh Chodesh Kislev, Friday, November 29, 2019, 7:30 am. Contact us for location information. Rain or snow or shine!

 

 

 

[1] Ajahn Chah, Food for the Heart: The Collected Teachings of Ajahn Chah, Wisdom Publications, 2002.

 

Monday, September 30, 2019.  Today, we celebrate not only the Birthday of the World and the beginning of a new Lunar Jewish year, but the 12^th anniversary of the start of Rosh Chodesh Cleveland.  We are glad to continue our tradition yet another year, in the company of friends, the trees, the lakes, and the birds.

While it is still mild and warm in the Great Lakes, our minds are turning to fall.  Summer’s greens are darkening and yellowing, a few early leaves are falling, and the cicadas are humming.  In the Middle East of course, in ancient times as now, it’s still hot, and yet, it is the time of ripe fruits – grapes, figs, pomegranates, and olives – while the time of rain is beginning, soon to cool the soil and ready it for planting.  In two weeks, at the full moon, we will celebrate with gratitude the season’s harvest in our sukkahs, with cedar boughs over our heads.  (and in the Midwest, corn stalks!)

For now though, we focus on the work of the coming week, the ten days of introspection between Rosh Hashanah and Yom Kippur.  This morning we blew the shofar, the ancient ram’s horn, and woke ourselves to a New Year, and to the truths of our faults, our frailty, our futile (it seems) attempts to be better people than the year before.  Judaism, however, makes the radical statement that change is not only inevitable – we are partners in it.  We are all innately holy, and so we can change ourselves, with intention, and with daily attention to removing the obstacles that might obscure our holiness[1].  And so the annual cycle of transformation begins – what is required is that we face our true selves, envision a changed future, and make a daily plan for getting there.

Some of us may be entering the holidays deeply feeling the pull of the divine, ready for transformation; others may wonder if it will ever come; yet others may be so caught up in a continuing whirlwind of change that the spiritual seems far away.  Whatever our situation or frame of mind, the trees, lakes, and birds remind us that we are holy in our essence, held in the arms of the divine world, beneath the shelter of its wings, among our friends and our families.  L’Shanah Tovah, a good, sweet and wonderful year! — Kirby

[1] Alan Morinis, Every Day, Holy Day. Boston and London: Trumpeter, 2010.

The next Rosh Chodesh Walking Meditation will be Wednesday, October 30, 2019, 7:30 am.  Contact us for location.  

Sunday, September 1, 2019.  It was a rainy morning at the Nature Center – wet and green.  What a contrast with the hot, dry weather in the middle east, now and in ancient times!

As we greet the New Moon of the month of Elul, we begin the preparation for the coming High Holy Days. Elul is a month of introspection, of review of our Selves and our behavior, of seeking forgiveness, of making things right, of anticipation.  Our source Alan Lew notes that the seventh month, which held the High Holy Days, was a time of heightened anxiety in the ancient Middle East. Unlike nearby civilizations, which had the bounty of ever-returning rivers to rely on – Egypt on the Nile, and Mesopotamia on the Tigris and Euphrates – Israel was wholly dependent on rain. By the sixth and seventh months, fields and pastures were parched, and the winter rains had not yet begun.  How vulnerable farmers and shepherds alike must have felt, wondering if the rain would come again, and whether it would be robust enough to sustain the coming year’s life.  Lew speculates that it might just have been this vulnerability that turned Israel to intense awareness of one G-d, pleading with one great Power on behalf of life itself.

It makes sense that this time of anxiety, of pleading with G-d, would have become over time the season for improving ourselves, and our relationships within our families and community. On a deep level, we hope that this work will bring a positive response — harmony in our world, and sustenance for the coming year. Elul is traditionally the month of forgiveness: asking forgiveness of those we have hurt, and granting forgiveness to those who have hurt us.  In giving and receiving forgiveness, we restore trust and harmony to our relationships.  And yet, how fraught with anxiety is the task.  Our vulnerability is exposed.  We might just call on the universe for support. And the only way forward is to plunge in, not knowing the outcome.

Entering the month of Elul, may we recognize our vulnerability — and charge forward anyway, relying on the deep benevolence of the universe, and of each other.  May Elul be a fruitful month of reflection and awakening. Chodesh Tov, a good month! — Kirby

Next month’s walking meditation will be Rosh Hashanah morning, Monday, September 30, 7:30 am.  Contact us for location.  Join us to welcome the month of Tishrei, and celebrate the birthday of the world!

Hello friends, just a reminder that Rosh Chodesh Elul will be this Sunday, September 1, 7:30 am, at a new location.  Contact us for meeting place.  It’s a great way to start preparation for the High Holy Days!  Rain or shine, see you there!

Friday, August 2. A small group met this quiet morning out at the lake, which is more a mudflat now, due to construction.  When we planned to meet one last time at Horseshoe Lake, we knew it was the beginning of a transition to a better future for this small piece of the Great Lakes biosphere.  It also parallels the destruction of the temple, in preparation for the restoration that is available to us during the coming High Holy Days, not too far off.

Our source Mindy Ribner writes, ‘The month of Av is about tears of loss and tears of joy’.  On Tisha b’Av, the 9^th day of Av, we mourn the loss of the 1st Temple in 586 BCE, and the 2nd Temple in 70 CE. There are many tragic events that befell the Jews on that date in other years.

There is a crying that comes from deep within our soul. We need to remember that when we feel broken and vulnerable, those are the times that we are most open to healing.  By feeling our brokenness we can begin to heal and become more whole.  Spiritual crying is an important practice. When we cry for G-d we can be healed and heal ourselves. The Talmud tells us there is nothing more complete than a broken heart.

This is a month of the greatest heat – even our emotional and spiritual lives are ‘heated up’  its and intense time and we have to be careful not to be too reactive. At the same time, Tu b’Av, the 15^th of Av, is the Jewish Valentine’s day – the joyous moment in Av when couples meet, dance and marry.  In all we must listen deeply and be especially careful with our speech.

Today and throughout this month, it can help us to remember as we walk and meditate, that  we need to take deep breaths and center ourselves. Observe where we are right now. Note the sensations and tensions in any part of our bodies. Then use our breath to relax our bodies. We listen, and we cry from within, tears of joy and tears of sadness.

Beginning next month, we will meet at a new location to allow Horseshoe Lake its time of restoration.  There are places there to walk among the trees and streams, and along the marsh.  May we all be aware of the destruction and tears that must precede reconstruction.  Chodesh Tov!

—- Linda and Stephen

Thursday, July 4, 2019. As you can tell from the photos, construction has begun.  It is a strange scene at the lake, which has been drained and is now a mudflat, the 150-year-old dam finally under restoration.  It is a time of transition – with hope of a fully restored dam, lake and landscape in a year or two.

Every year at this time we are reminded of the intense heat and light of summer in the Middle East, and desert regions around the world.  As our source Mindy Ribner notes, summer is not a time of carefree play and delight, in places where the Sun is oppressive:  it is heavy and serious, and we just want to run from it. On the 17^th of Tammuz, in ancient times, the walls of Jerusalem were breached, and the three weeks of mourning and catastrophe began, leading to the city’s fall on the 9^th of Av.

So the mood of the month:  its area of healing and energy are sight, and seeing the truth clearly.  The world is illuminated exactly as it is, under the bright light and heat of the sun. We are cautioned to be aware of the emotional, physical and spiritual weight of the month, anticipating our propensity for anger, and containing it so as not to do any lasting damage. This morning we noted that anger can grow out of indignation, or it can grow out of fear.  Both must be faced head-on and transformed into awareness of what reality is, and not what we wish it would be.

Given the illuminated truths of the last few weeks, where innocents are subjected to horrific conditions, even in our own supposedly enlightened country, we are seeing the world as it is.  Angry is exactly what we should be.  And our anger should be overflowing.  This is not a time to mourn a past catastrophe – we are right in the middle of a present one.  May each one of us be strengthened in harnessing our physical, emotional and spiritual anger, directing it in powerful ways to shine a bright light on the truth, to change the situation, now — and stop the world from falling. — Kirby

The next Rosh Chodesh walking meditation will be Friday, August 2, 7:30 am.  Due to dam construction, we will meet in an alternate location.  Contact us for meeting place.

 

Hello friends,

As of today, we understand that the dam at Horseshoe Lake is now closed.  This means that we can’t walk in a loop around the lake.  Contact us for our new meeting place. We will see you at 7:30 am on July 4 for Rosh Chodesh Tammuz!