It Really Works to “JUST DO IT”

I’m going to take Shmuel’s advice and “JUST DO IT!!”  Writing for this blog is kind of like giving a craniosacral treatment.  As I was sitting waiting for inspiration on what to write….it came to me, wow!!! That’s exactley what I do before I enter into a treatment.  I usually close my eyes and wait for some kind of sign or something to tell me something.  “OK….start at the feet, OK….put your right hand over his/her heart and your left under his/her neck.”  Or sometimes it just happens that my hands find themselves in those places.  I see writing here in the category of Divine Moments in the same way.  That is a Divine Moment.  Waiting, listening and receiving some kind of information is a Divine Moment. 

As you read this right now, notice the small and subtle things that are going on around you and inside of you.  These words that I’m writing represent a deeper energy or information that I would like to send out to whomever would like to receive it.  Pay attention to your breath….are you breathing with ease?  Can you hear birds singing like I can right now? Are you tired or are you ready to run a marathon?  What are you thinking as you’re reading these words?  There are so many questions to ask!!  But go a step deeper…  I always liked what the Grateful Dead said  “once in a while you get shown the light in the strangest of places if you look at it right.”  

I remember one time I was on a hike with a close friend and we stopped for a little break to drink.  My friend always having music on him busted out a little Grateful Dead…Scarlet Begonias to be exact (also where that last quote was taken from) and there’s another line in the song that says ”strangers stopping strangers just to shake their hands,”  and as that was playing these two guys walked up to us and said ”hey man….is that Grateful Dead your playing?”  shook our hands and went on in their hike.  That same friend and I shared another crazy Divine experience at camp one time.  We had woken early, although it was already light out.  We walked up behind the bunks and there it was…..this star shining bright!!  I can actually think of more Divine Moments like that with this particular friend, who happens to also live in Israel and is now studying in Yeshiva to become a Rabbi (Kol Hakavod bro).

When you’re quiet and open, those Divine Moments are there waiting for you.  I pray that this little blog post is an inspiration to quiet down and open our heart.  

Please respond and let me know what happens….I would love to know!   

Just Do It

Today I am going to write a really lousy story. I don’t care if it will be totally illegible, not make any sense, terrible grammar, or be totally illogical to anybody who reads it. In short, I’m Just Going to Do IT.

My Martial Arts, Healing, and Meditation Teacher, Michael Andron had this little “game” he loved to play with us called “Spark Search”. The goal was to take something totally mundane and sometimes even inane and find  the Holy sparks within it. For example,he used “Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles”(remember the 80’s), and we needed to find something holy and elevated within the words.”Teenage” on the one hand is a time of rebellion, confusion, but on the other hand it’s also a time of growth, questioning and searching for ones truth. When we find the holiness and the divine within the everyday mundane day to day existence, our lives then become transformed.

The ultimate materialism of the 80’s was the Nike anthem of Just Do it. What a great slogan that brought billions of dollars to Nike and a whole sneaker culture to the entire world. However, if we look deeper and find the divine sparks within it , the concept of Just Do It is perhaps the greatest motivator of intellectual and spiritual progress. How often are we inspired by an idea, a tune, a story, and want to bring it out to fruition? And how many times do we hesitate, delay, procrastinate because we either fear failure, criticism, and especially because we want so hard to make the result perfect, full of profundity depth and quality. We simply Don’t Do it.

One of the most influential books that so eloquently explains the pitfalls of this thinking is Failing Forward by John Maxwell. In short, he explains that all truly successful people are chronic “failures”. That is to say they tried and “failed “repeatedly, but each “failure ” they looked at was an opportunity for growth and learning. For example, in an art class , the teacher divided the students into two groups: one group he told them to work according to quantity, that is , they were to sculpt statues one after the other without putting thought into the outcome or the quality. The other group was instructed to pay careful attention and thought to the details and quality of each statue they sculpted. Ironically, the results were that the group that focused on the quantity produced much better work.

So there you have it, I Just Did It in under 30 minutes. So to all of those of you out there I wish you many successful failures. In short, Just Do It!!

The Power of a Blessing

The Havdalah service had just ended and the men were making their way out the door from the Synagogue to be with their families for the Saturday night Melave Malka (escorting the Sabbath Bride) meal. “Shmuel, hurry, do you see the elderly man with the cane, run up to him and kiss his hand!!”, my dear friend Eli exclaimed. After years of knowing Eli, I have begun to trust his intuitions and occasional strange requests he makes . I walked quickly past the congregants and approached this elderly man and bent down to kiss his hand. Truth to be told, I had noticed something interesting about this man when he walked into the synagogue for the evening prayers. He had this strong aura about him and appeared to create a warm calmness to all those that came into contact with him. Strangely enough, as I bent down to kiss his hand , he quickly withdrew it and continued on his way to the door.

A bit perplexed by the whole scene, I walked back to Eli to tell him what had transpired. “Don’t give up, this may be your last and only chance to get a blessing from him. Seize the moment. Don’t you realize that he withdrew his hand because once you kiss the hand of a Tzaddik, he is forced to give you a blessing. That blessing must be specific and appropriate for you and requires great spiritual insight and energies. In his modesty, he obviously felt he couldn’t be that vessel for your blessing. Go to him again and demand a blessing from him.”

Although I am not one to force myself on people, I mustered up the chutzpah to stand in front of this timeless, ageless saint and managed to kiss his hand. Without asking, he placed his hand upon my head and started to bless me with the words of our ancient texts. Suddenly, I was transported to worlds of light and love. I felt my heart pounding and my face becoming flushed.I recalled a similar feeling with Dr. John Upledger when he placed his hands on my head performing a still point. (Gee, Dr. John, I thought to myself, you’ve just been giving blessings to thousands of people all these years with your CranioSacral Therapy). I don’t recall all that was said, perhaps something about health, wealth and wisdom, but I left his presence feeling as if my whole body was vibrating with energy.

“Who was that saint?”, I asked Eli. “I told you to seize the moment, the divine moment, for that was the famed Medical Kabbalist that Neurosurgeons all over the world seek out his advice, and from the looks of you, it appears he opened up your mind a bit!”

Just a day has gone by since that divine moment, and I am just beginning to feel the effects. For one, after years of telling myself to sit down and start writing, today’s the day that I have just begun.

One doesn’t need to be a Kabbalist to give a blessing. Several years ago, I was privileged to meet one of the most sensitive ,brilliant souls in America, Thom Hartmann during an International Conference on ADD/ADHD where I was a lecturer and he was the keynote speaker. Thom mentioned that he would often hold open his hand and anonymously bless people as they walked by. Without knowing why, people around him became more patient, caring, loving, and calmer. I tried it, and believe it or not, it really works. A blessing could be just good wishes, loving thoughts, or some other positive energy. Why don’t we try it on a daily basis-it doesn’t cost anything and I guarantee that you’ll be feeling alot better at the end of the day.