From The Restory - Conversations On The Journey (31)

I Am, And Living Mindfully

The Conversation

Elements From The Conversation

There is much to learn from the Jews with whom we share the Old Testament. In a conversation with Benjamin D. Sommer, professor of Bible at the Jewish Theological Seminary (NYC), he has this to say about the Jewish approach to Biblical interpretation and different viewpoints:

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… in rabbinic literature argument is often considered something that we do for the sake of heaven, for the sake of God that is, disagreeing about exactly how to interpret God's will, that intellectual activity of disagreeing about, debating about, studying further, the interpretation of God's will, for us Jews, that's actually a form of worship. It's not only prayer that is a form of worship. It is very often study of sacred literature that is also a very important form of worship - a way of showing our loyalty and love and obedience of God in traditional Judaism generally. In Judaism, debating about this stuff is itself a sacred activity.

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Music

Moses stumbled onto much more than a burning bush there in the wilderness. God had also led him to himself and he discovered that God wanted to help him to change the way he saw himself. And it's true - we can get lost inside our heads.

Graveclothes Lyrics

She's been, thinkin', life ain't, givin' her what she needs
What can, make her, happy, is always out of her reach
Somebody gotta help me
But she, could not, see that, everything she wanted
Was in-side of, her heart, but she wouldn't give it away
No, she wouldn't give it away

We don't need no mournful sound
Shake your graveclothes to the ground
Shake your graveclothes off, shake your graveclothes,
Shake your graveclothes off, shake your graveclothes
Thoughts you're thinkin' make you feel like you're dead
But you can grow a garden out the top of your head
Shake your graveclothes off, shake your graveclothes,
Shake your graveclothes off, shake your graveclothes

Don't get lost inside your head
Don't get lost inside your head
Don't get lost inside your head
Don't get lost inside your head

He's been, wishin', he was, the best and the brightest
Scared to, give what, he's got, no he wouldn't give it away
Self-deprecation, lack of motivation, stealing his aliveness
In the silence love abounds and has already filled the spaces
And replaces them with grace if he would only stop to feel, to see

Our prayer for you: a beautiful week where you discover deep meaning in the ordinary.

Love

George & Matilda

Whistle while you work

Drawing by Ron Leishman When last did you whistle while working? When last did you hear someone else whistle while working? Somehow it bothers me that whistling has become an almost absent element in our work. The sound of a person whistling a tune while busy somewhere in the house or out in the workshop conveys something of an underlying happiness, satisfaction and contentment. An enjoyment of the work itself. The tune need not be flawless. Applying more air than sound won’t lead to disqualification, as long as the intention is there. Whistling can even be replaced by singing in all that I’ve said up to now. The same principles apply. The absence of any of these two activities bothers me because it says something about us doing the work and the type of work that we do. Can it be that our type of labour in this 21 st century is not conducive to either whistling or singing? What type of work is that then – draining, stressful, pressured? Or are our conclusions ...

Lessons in Sunbirdish (1)

I have no way of proving that God exists. For a long, long time I believed because I didn't think I had a choice. If it is a choice between heaven and hell, you do what it takes to secure your celestial seat. Somehow I never stopped to consider why I so strongly believed in a heaven and hell, but wasn't nearly as sure that there's a God holding the keys to them. Then the sunbirds came. Slowly but surely I am being taught the dialect I need to converse with God. Or rather, to follow on what seems to be a trail that God leaves me. Being just up ahead and beckoning me all the while, it's not a chase after or a search for God, but rather a joint venture with God scouting and reporting back when my spirit runs low on this journey through life. In A Rare Find and Bird on my window sill I touched on synchronicity. I have come to believe that consciously living our moments, awakens us to the fact that there are more things in this life than meet the eyeball. Things t...

A likely Hero: Jara Cimrman

As Matilda has already indicated, one of the most difficult things to do after you’ve visited a country is to return and convey something of what you’ve experienced. How do you show a city’s many faces, introduce its inhabitants? How do you tell of the effects a history has on people and of a stance towards life that can actually not be translated into words? In the case of Prague, it is very helpful to have someone like Jara Cimrman. ~ ~ v ~ ~ Petrin Hill, on the left bank of the river Vltava running through Prague, is in many ways a site worth visiting. Climbing the 299 steps of the Petrin Tower, inspired by the Eiffel Tower, gives you one of the most beautiful views of the city. But by going down into its basement, you enter into the psyche of the Czech people. Here, quite unobtrusively, is the museum for the “ Genius, who has not become famous ”. Matilda and I almost stumbled onto it by chance and as we went through the exhibition, our amazement over this brilliant ...

The Restory Retreat Centre

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