The High Holy Days

The High Holy Days-Rosh haShona and Yom Kippur-are almost upon us. this is the time when we are called to look at our lives, look at how we behaved in the past year, noted where we dome well as people, and where we need to improve.

this is the time to put our mistakes and errors of the past year behind us, and to forgive ourselves of them, and know we can be better people. To any person I may have offended, I ask your forgiveness; and to all who have offended me, I forgive them.

One practice I have is my Resolutions for Rosh HaShona, like the resolutions I write also for the New Year-and for my birthday and Pesach. Here they are:

I will continue conduct myself with self-live, self-esteem, and self respect. I will not be bound by errors of the past, but continue to improve as a person, to think positively about myself and my life, and challenge negative thoughts and replace them with positive thoughts.

I will continue such spiritual practices as Torah study, yoga, affirmations, meditation, etc.

I will continue my art and business as a writer, seeking journals, attending writing events, practicing writing, etc. I will continue my activism for my various social and political causes.

I will continue to be loyal to Jewish relation, culture, history, Israel, etc.

The High Holy Days

we are coming upon the High Holy days, Rosh ha-Shona and Yom Kippur-the new year, the time for a new beginning, where we re-evaluate our lives, where we look at what we did right and what we could improve on.

I follow the High Holy Days tradition-IF I have offended or harmed ANY person, I ask that person’s forgiveness. AND, if any person out there has harmed of offended me, I forgive them.

Here are my resolutions for Rosh ha Shona:

I will continue to conduct myself with self-love, self-esteem, and self-respect, thinking more positively about myself and my life.

I will continue to be loyal to my various social and political causes.

I will continue to develop my art and business as a writer, with writing practice, prompts, attending readings and seminars, etc.

I will continue to attend all available avenues of education and cultural advancement, such as classes, galleries, libraries, museums, plays, etc.

I will continue to enter other artistic fields, such as acting, photography, etc.

I will continue to consciously attain downtime, for my rest and recreation.

I will continue to go deeper into my Jewish faith and life.

I will continue to develop my personal relationships.

 

 

 

Spirit Work

I call this my spirit work, reading and saying affirmations-short, positive statements-and mediation, which I’ve done for many years.

With the affirmations, I have index cards on which I write  the short positive statements, like “I am a man of the greatest intellect,” and “I’m ready to help out when people need a hand right away,” and “I am an avid reader, and I have excellent reading and vocabulary skills,” and “I am a man of many many talents,” and “I am the sexiest man and most wonderful lover.” (Hey, why not?) I read these cards regularly, over and over, once a day, and it sinks in gradually, entering your subconcious mind, and so your attitude about yourself and your life gets better.

With the mediation, I find a quiet space and time, and I sit with eyes closed and breathe deeply, and I ofter visualize something positive, or I listen to recordings, audio tapes or CDs, with guided meditations to direct your mind, again, positively; I do this for twenty minutes to an hour, and my mind and body untenses and I think clearly. I urge you to give them a try, they’ll work for you.