The 7th and final week as we count up to Shavuot: the week of Malchut.

The definition of Malchut is sovereignty. It reflects the culmination as in manifestation or
expression. It is the stage of coming into physical reality.

Our way of looking at the Sefirot flow has been the creation of a plan for change. Malchut then is actualizing our change. The past week of Yesod was a shedding of doubt. In addition to meaning manifestation or expression, Malchut also implies taking full responsibility.

Day 43 – Chesed in Malchut

As you embark on the change(s) keep mindful of the love you have for yourself and for others. This is what motivates the change and is confirmation that not only is change possible, it can be sustained by love. Today you experience the feeling of love as you experience change.

Day 44 –Gevurah in Malchut

Determination will keep change moving forward. The question to ask: What do I want to get done
today? A strategy of Gevurah is to start with something—a smaller accomplishment of the larger
goal helps keep the focus on the big picture of change and gets one moving. So start with an aspect of the change you are implementing—not something tangential or even preparatory to change, something that is a piece of the change. I will exercise today in the fashion I expect to maintain as my goal. I will be early today for classes. I want to experience what it feels like to not only be on time but what it feels like to be early.

Day 45 – Tiferet in Malchut

Now it is time to finalize the blueprint—for the last two days I tried on the change (for size—fit—feeling) and though last week you believed with full integrity that you were committed to the plan you can still finalize it today. The plan is now engraved.

Day 46 – Netzach in Malchut

How will the change be everlasting? By removing any final obstacles to change—so look inside
and outside. Not just for now but anticipate what might loom ahead or spring up as you make the change concrete.

Day 47 – Hod in Malchut

Even though doubt has been removed and we have looked carefully at the obstacles present or that may present later, we can tire, our determination can flag. And so we pause to gather strength so that we can push on. Taking a breather means to breathe in the change, to surrender to a higher calling and ready ourselves for the full actualization of our change.

Day 48 – Yesod in Malchut

For each week’s Sefirah you can ask yourself on this day of Yesod, have I done the inner work
needed…to do the outer work? Have I laid the proper foundation—dug deep enough into myself to construct a new reality—a new me? Keep in mind that even a small change is difficult and reflects the possibility of taking on any and every change. You can fool others but you cannot fool yourself (though you can try) and therefore the change has to be real and consistent with your blueprint.

Day 49 – Malchut in Malchut

We now stand in our change—this is revelation having accepted the Divine call. Engrave it upon your heart your whole being. You are working hard and that is your task—to grow and fulfill your potential. Be humble and be proud. Be present and await the next call in the still small voice that will rumble in at the foot of the mountain.

This week is the penultimate week of the Sefirah count—the week of Yesod. While Yesod means
foundation, it is understood as truth or integrity. These meanings are very helpful when looking at the
Sefirot system as a process of change—now we must ‘measure’ our sincerity about changing in the light
of truth.

The well known formulation of attesting for a witness is to take an oath prior to testimony with the
formula: “the truth, the whole truth and nothing but the truth.”

Would it not be sufficient to just state any of the three statements? And if “nothing but the truth” is
truth at the highest level of truth telling than why would the witness not just say that without needing
to say more.

Investigating the origin of this phrase and the nuance of its meaning yielded little information. I recall a
talk by my Kabbalah teacher on the meaning of this phrase relating to the Sefirah of Yesod but could not
find any details. So I am flying solo on the wings of truth telling.

Can we ever attest that we are telling the truth? We know that what people remember about what they
see is very unreliable. So how can a witness in good conscience say that the evidence they give is the
truth when they know full well it is at best their version of the truth?

If we start from this premise it turns around the sworn testimony to acknowledge that the witness is
doing their best to tell the truth about what they experienced. Nothing but the truth then may mean. “I
am not adding anything to make my ‘story’ more plausible” and the whole truth may mean “I am not
leaving something out to make my ‘story’ more plausible.” I am (trying) to tell the truth.

When it comes to telling ourselves the truth (about any aspect of our life, including our commitment to
change) we must acknowledge the truth about the truth of our own version of the story. Are we telling
the whole truth and nothing but the truth? What manifests in our life depends on it.

It is now the beginning of the 6^th week as we count up to Shavuot and this week is Yesod. Over the past two weeks we have moved from looking at obstacles that need to be overcome (Netzach) to surrendering or at least suspending our notions of what the outcome of our plans need to be (Hod).  Some of you have mentioned that it seems at times this past 2 weeks that it is a ‘holding of opposites’—overcoming and surrendering go hand in hand.

The definition of Yesod is foundation.  The question is how to define, what foundation means in the context of the using the Sefirot system to look at commitment to change?  Yesod is also defined as “truth” or “integrity” and in this context it challenges us to take one long hard look at what we are committing to and whether we really are going to act with full integrity.

There is a relationship between integrity and self-doubt. We can doubt in ourselves—can I really follow through or, as has come up in a few class discussions this week: is what I am changing really significant?  I want to encourage you that even a small change is very important as any change is significant in realizing that change is possible.

Without  doubt we might not know how significant the change is and without a doubt any change is significant.

Day 36 – Chesed in Yesod

Chesed is the love of self (and others) that is motivating the change. We have to remind ourselves of the original reason for picking the change we committed to (and you can still expand, contact or change what you are committing to change) and see now how love can aid us in remaining with integrity about our plan for change. There have been so many trying times these past few weeks with family issues and I have needed to remind myself that love is ultimately the force that draws us together as a family. I felt like giving up but instead fought through the challenges because I want love to win out—for love to be the reality that we deserve. I need to remain strong in my love this coming week.

Day 37 – Gevurah in Yesod

Gevurah is self-determination, self-definition.  There will be doubt and that is the nature of things—to doubt.  Strength is not eliminating doubt; rather it is living with it and still moving forward. We are now ready to face the doubt and even use the feelings generated by the doubt to re-enforce our determination.

Day 38 - Tiferet in Yesod

Take out the blueprint and look at it in light of the doubt you have experienced over the last two days. Now is not the time to evaluate the plan as much as it is to evaluate your determination in light of doubt.  This is your final edition of your plan.  You are all in!

Day 39 - Netzach in Yesod

The determination of Yesod is bolstered by the energy of Netzach to overcome any and all obstacles. Self-doubt is removed through the awareness that all can be accomplished even though the obstacles may now be clearer as seen through the filter of doubt. Be truthful about the obstacles—don’t let them serve as a final deterrent to your plan for change.

Day 40 - Hod in Yesod

Hod tempers the determination so doubt can yet again have a foothold as one faces obstacles or outcomes that seem intractable to change.  We need to remember that surrendering is part of the process of finding our truth.

Day 41 - Yesod in Yesod

Up to this point we have focused on Yesod as an internal process—but truth be told we are never alone in our growing and others can help. If we share with others they can help us to insure that we remain in integrity. On this day of Yesod in Yesod we look at our relationship with others—are we in consonance with them or struggling with them? In the battle for determination over doubt we need the support of others and today is the day to reach out and ask for that support and encouragement and the truth.

Day 42 - Malchut in Yesod

It is now time to manifest the hard fought truth or to let go completely (perhaps the plan is now seen in a different light). Are you ready to manifest the change?  Today is declaring I am ready. I leave any vestige of doubt behind.

The week of Hod in our continuing count of the Omer is characterized by confronting limits, acknowledging them and surrendering.  This week is seen as a balance to the prior week when we looked at how we could and would overcome obstacles in our process of change. An element of Hod though is not just surrendering to a particular obstacle and how that impacts our changing—it is also surrendering to a process that is larger than us. We may think that a particular outcome is what is called for and it may well be—perhaps now or at a later time. But as we move to create change we may become aware of a larger puzzle—within ourselves or how we are connected with others. The following story, forwarded to me by Louann Miller, helps us begin to see a cab ride in a different light—for who is the driver and who is the passenger?

I arrived at the address and honked the horn. After waiting a few minutes I honked again. Since this was going to be my last ride of my shift I thought about just driving away, but instead I put the car in park and walked up to the door and knocked.. ‘Just a minute’, answered a frail, elderly voice. I could hear something being dragged across the floor.

After a long pause, the door opened. A small woman in her 90′s stood before me. She was wearing a print dress and a pillbox hat with a veil pinned on it, like somebody out of a 1940′s movie.

By her side was a small nylon suitcase. The apartment looked as if no one had lived in it for years. All the furniture was covered with sheets.

There were no clocks on the walls, no knickknacks or utensils on the counters. In the corner was a cardboard
box filled with photos and glassware.

‘Would you carry my bag out to the car?’ she said. I took the suitcase to the cab, then returned to assist the woman.

She took my arm and we walked slowly toward the curb.

She kept thanking me for my kindness. ‘It’s nothing’, I told her.. ‘I just try to treat my passengers the way I would want my mother to be treated.’

‘Oh, you’re such a good boy, she said. When we got in the cab, she gave me an address and then asked, ‘Could you drive
through downtown?’

‘It’s not the shortest way,’ I answered quickly..

‘Oh, I don’t mind,’ she said. ‘I’m in no hurry. I’m on my way to a hospice.

I looked in the rear-view mirror. Her eyes were glistening. ‘I don’t have any family left,’ she continued in a soft voice. ‘The doctor says I don’t have very long.’ I quietly reached over and shut off the meter.

‘What route would you like me to take?’ I asked.

For the next two hours, we drove through the city. She showed me the building where she had once worked as an elevator operator.

We drove through the neighborhood where she and her husband had lived when they were newlyweds.  She had me pull up in front of a furniture warehouse that had once been a ballroom where she had gone dancing as a girl.

Sometimes she’d ask me to slow in front of a particular building or corner and would sit staring into the darkness, saying nothing.

As the first hint of sun was creasing the horizon, she suddenly said, ‘I’m tired. Let’s go now’.
We drove in silence to the address she had given me. It was a low building, like a small convalescent home, with a driveway that passed under a portico.

Two orderlies came out to the cab as soon as we pulled up. They were solicitous and intent, watching her every move.
They must have been expecting her.

I opened the trunk and took the small suitcase to the door. The woman was already seated in a wheelchair.

‘How much do I owe you?’ She asked, reaching into her purse.

‘Nothing,’ I said

‘You have to make a living,’ she answered.

‘There are other passengers,’ I responded.

Almost without thinking, I bent and gave her a hug. She held onto me tightly.

‘You gave an old woman a little moment of joy,’ she said. ‘Thank you.’

I squeezed her hand, and then walked into the dim morning light. Behind me, a door shut. It was the sound of the closing of a life.

Where are we as we enter the week of Hod?  Our blueprint is designed (though it may have been altered during the week of Netzach as we looked at obstacles that need to be overcome). Netzach is active trust—trust in one’s own capacities and in working with others to overcome any and every obstacle.  Hod literally means to acknowledge and in the context of this year’s counting of the Omer it means acknowledging our limitations in overcoming obstacles. We therefore have referred to it as surrender.

So what is meant by surrender? Surrender is not giving up or giving in—it is giving way.  Each of us has a plan for our path to growth/change. Yet, the path is never without some accommodation.

Obstacles when not overcome, need to be accepted—surrendered to. When you accept reality as it is and know that (at least for the moment) you are not overcoming an obstacle–you surrender.  A business or relationship may not ‘succeed’ or turn out the way we planned—but that outcome comes and can go in a different direction. With its going we may need to mourn while acknowledging that we are not in control. This spiritual realization is the essence of Hod—to realize our human limits and give way to our soul and God.

For this week of Hod,  I will share with you my “progress” on the three changes I am committed to implement through this time period.

Day 29 – Chesed in Hod

I am still keeping Chesed-love (of myself and others) at the forefront of the motivation for change.  I did not arrive on time for class either morning this week. I was five minutes late for each, but on time (or early) for the rest of my classes. If I can put the issue of “being on time” behind me will that mean that I express my love for myself through that? I think the answer is yes.  I do acknowledge that it is hardest to get to my first class on time (leaving home). I am not ready to surrender though. I am not aiming for perfection—aiming though for overall consistency.

Day 30 – Gevurah in Hod

Gevurah is self-determination. Today it is time to limit your acceptance, to say—I am limited but I can still…. I am not shying away from the determination to be on time. I also have to acknowledge that while I have a plan for exercising three times a week I have not implemented it.  With full awareness I can say—“this is what I am capable of now.”  If I am accepting some limits I do so with the awareness that I have not given up yet.

Day 31 - Tiferet in Hod

Take out the blueprint and look at it in light of accepting the limitations you have reflected on for the past two days.  Can you acknowledge that it is a challenge to let go of some aspects of the blueprint?  Today I must come to peace with altering the plan, the blueprint needs tweaking and I need to be cognizant of what I can and cannot change—for now. Regarding the photograph of my family—the photographer we have chosen is returning to Denver on May 28^th—this means that the plan to have the photo taken and up in our home by the 49^th day of the count will not happen unless we choose another photographer.

Day 32 - Netzach in Hod

Can I overcome the need for overcoming?  Just surrender.  Netzach here is subordinate to Hod. Sometimes our plans and the vision of our blueprint depend on knowing that we can act, that we can and will overcome. When we now realize that our blueprint has changed we need to overcome our desire to not surrender—and embrace the surrender.  This is our new path. I am willing to wait for the photographer, I am willing to alter my plan for exercise but not the goal of exercising three times a week and I will hold fast to my goal of being on time for class.

Day 33 - Hod in Hod

Today is called Lag B’Omer—the 33^rd day of the Omer. It is the day that according to tradition Rabbi Shimeon bar Yochai, the great mystic of the first century died.  His students wanted him to hold on—to not surrender to death. On his deathbed he revealed secrets he had not expressed to them yet. His ascension (as it is referred to) though was a complete surrender and that is why we celebrate the day of his death as a freedom.  When death is accepted fully it is true freedom. That is the great secret Rabbi Shimeon shared.  Accepting our limitations is the release we experience today.

Day 34 - Yesod in Hod

For each week’s Sefirah you can ask yourself on this day of Yesod, have I done the inner work needed to acknowledge my limits and to implement my (evolving) blueprint for change?  Yesod as foundation is to be in integrity with the challenges of wanting greater or faster change and admitting limits and accepting the change that is possible now.  I am seeing many other changes already occurring because of or in conjunction with the goals of change I have set in motion. I may surrender to the precise goals of change set but I can see that change brings more change with it. The foundation then of change is to change.

Day 35 - Malchut in Hod

Following our theme: what is being emphasized is that our plans are not just our own. When we surrender we may find a doubling of what we expected.  We acknowledge both what we can see overcoming and what we surrender to. This includes writing this blog—I have needed to overcome some obstacles and surrender to the blog as it is. It is due.

I was handed a gift last Friday with a simple word on a sticky attached to the wrapping paper. The word was Netzach. I could tell it was a book, but which one? The author is Alfred Lansing and the book is entitled: Endurance: Shackelton’s Incredible Voyage. It tells the story of Sir Ernest Shackelton and his crew of twenty seven who attempted to cross the Antarctic continent in 1914.

The expedition comes to a very decisive halt as the ship (dubbed the Endurance) sinks and leaves the twenty eight men stranded in the middle of the Antarctic in the dead of winter. It is a story of amazing tenacity—all twenty eight men survive a rescue that took more than a year. The ‘rescue’ did not happen from the outside, rather they rescued themselves.

As I reflect on this week of Netzach—our plan for change is in motion and we are beginning to encounter the internal and external obstacles that are an inevitable part of our commitment to change, I began to wonder about the lessons to be learned from this story of extreme willfulness to survive. While it is easy to think that without the cook, or the navigator or the captain no one could have survived, it is a story of the importance of how each man kept himself alive by keeping everyone else alive. The men acted as a unit.

So, as we reflect this week on the obstacles to our plan–look around. Perhaps there are others who are more than willing to be of help—and the obstacle we may well need to overcome is the obstacle of not asking for help. As I was writing this blog one of our students emailed me this poem:

Everything is Waiting for You

Your great mistake is to act the drama
as if you were alone. As if life
were a progressive and cunning crime
with no witness to the tiny hidden
transgressions. To feel abandoned is to deny
the intimacy of your surroundings. Surely,
even you, at times, have felt the grand array;
the swelling presence, and the chorus, crowding
out your solo voice You must note
the way the soap dish enables you,
or the window latch grants you freedom.
Alertness is the hidden discipline of familiarity.
The stairs are your mentor of things
to come, the doors have always been there
to frighten you and invite you,
and the tiny speaker in the phone
is your dream-ladder to divinity.

Put down the weight of your aloneness and ease into
the conversation. The kettle is singing
even as it pours you a drink, the cooking pots
have left their arrogant aloofness and
seen the good in you at last. All the birds
and creatures of the world are unutterably
themselves. Everything is waiting for you.

David Whyte, Everything is Waiting for You 

Starting this week there will be 64 and by the following weekend there will only be 2. I am referring to the NCAA Men’s Basketball tournament, fondly called March Madness. For those who love the sport this is its highlight.  The elimination process yields our national collegiate basketball champion.

One team of players will taste the ultimate victory. Sixty three will suffer defeat. If we take a moment to reflect on this it is easy to see that the one team that wins cannot exist without the other teams. They are all intertwined in the event—the winner needs their opponents.

Madness of competition can lead us to not seeing the wholeness of our existence.  Every team that loses allows the other team that wins to play its best. Read the rest of this entry

A number of our students subscribe to word of the day and today’s word, appropriately, is vernal. Vernal stems from the Latin word vernus meaning “pertaining to spring.” It is related to the word “verdant.”

My love of language and words has instilled a curiosity in how words come into being. For instance, what is the meaning and etymology of ‘curious’?

cu·ri·ous

1. Eager to learn more

2. Unduly inquisitive; prying.

3. Arousing interest because of novelty or strangeness

Middle English, from Old French curios, from Latin crisus, careful, inquisitive, from cra, care; see cure.

I am curious to see if I introduce, alongside the weekly blog, a component called the Kabbalah word of the week that you, the readers, can suggest a meaning for the word. I will choose words that fit the definition of curious as, “arousing interest because of novelty or strangeness.”

If symbols become symbolic what do cymbals become? Cymbals have been utilized historically to suggest frenzy, fury or bacchanalian revels.

So what might your definition be for the word Cymbalic?  (or cymbalism). Creativity is encouraged.

Please send your responses to admin@kabbalahexperience.com

Next week I will revisit with you the process of the 50 day counting the omer which we start the second night of Passover—Saturday night April 7^th (through the holiday of Shavuot—Saturday night May 26^th). This will be the focus of the blog for the next two months.

We are just over a week away from counting the Omer—a fifty day count from Passover to the holiday of Shavuot—commemorating the journey the Jews traversed from Egyptian slavery to becoming a nation with the Torah as its religious covenant. This year we will again look at the fifty day count as a step program for learning to be fully present. In particular, present awareness is leaving behind the constraints of the past (which is different than ignoring the past). We will start the count on the second night of Passover and spend seven weeks working on living in the present by letting go of or altering our relationship with emotions and behaviors mired in the past that constrain (enslave) us. Next week I will suggest some of the basic emotions that constrain us as symbolized by the foods we place on the Seder plate and Passover table. Read the rest of this entry

The Basics:

1. We will be counting 50 days (7weeks plus an additional day—the 50^th –which is the holiday of Shavuot—the receiving of the Ten Commandments at Sinai).
2. This count is a recount and a new count. It recounts the process of the Jews leaving Egyptian slavery and journeying 49 days in the desert—their moving from slavery to freedom. It is a new count for each of us every year to expose, examine and express our own freedom from that which limits or enslaves us.
3. The count starts this Saturday night (the ‘day’ starts at nightfall and ends at nightfall).
4. One says a blessing “…on the counting of the Omer” (it is called the Omer count as that was a grain that was brought to the Temple to start this period of counting—Omer means a measurement of grain) and then each day you count that day (today is…the eleventh day).
5. Each week of the count has a theme. This idea is an innovation of the Kabbalists but has been widely accepted into Jewish tradition as it appears in most prayer books. The theme of each week corresponds to different aspects of the Tree of Life (the seven ‘lower’ sefirot). Read the rest of this entry

Our counting of the Omer this year will pick up on a theme we began to address in last year’s count. This year our intent is to develop the idea of the seven week count as a seven week step program for change. With the end in mind, the final week of the count, corresponding to the week of Malchut (manifestation) is realizing the change. Can you begin to change on the first day of the count? Absolutely. Or any time along the count. Yes. The method prescribed by the counting of seven weeks suggests that for change to be lasting it requires emotional preparation, thoughtful consideration and spiritual awareness.

Changing a behavior is often thought of as easier than changing a ‘character trait’. We learn in Kabbalah though, that behaviors always reflect an aspect of character and therefore we should never take lightly the challenge of changing what might seem to be an insignificant behavior. Changing even a ‘small’ behavior can have a deep impact on how we see ourselves. A small behavior change can influence a deep shift and we become a different person. Read the rest of this entry

This current week of the counting the Omer is the week of Chesed (the day to day intention is included in the more detailed blog).

This week of Chesed is a reflection on love—our capacity for love, how we share it, how we can lose our balance in love and how it serves us to change ourselves.

In the book “The Five Languages of Love” author Gary Chapman provides the types of love he sees as vital to relationships and which he sees as the source of mismatches that often can create a block in a relationship—I want to be loved this way and you love me this way. Read the rest of this entry

A reminder: As many have asked—we count each day of the Omer starting at nightfall. So, the first day of the week of Gevurah will start this Saturday night (and the entire next day until nightfall on Sunday is Day 8).  If you forget to count one (entire) day you continue to count—each day is a day unto itself (though the tradition is that if you miss a day you don’t count with a blessing but just count the day—this could be seen as a consequence for not being mindful—you missed an opportunity so remember that you missed an opportunity—so count, but without a blessing).

This week is the week of Gevurah. Last year we focused on Gevurah as loss of love, or how one can be self-reliant and determined and not fear independence. As this year our focus is on change—and the following week (Tiferet) will be when we set the stage for change by creating the blueprint/plan for change—this week is still preparation for the plan of change.

We now move from contemplating the feelings of the love of self and others (the first week of Chesed) as a motivation for change to the determination and discipline to change. Gevurah in this way represents our ability to step back, set limits, and create space for change.

Counting of the Omer Week Two: Gevurah = Strength and focus.

“One has to be determined to change.” Read the rest of this entry

“Nothing in this world can take the place of persistence. Talent will not. Genius will not. Education will not.  Persistence and determination alone will solve the problems of the human race.”  Calvin Coolidge

This second week of the counting of the Omer (taking us from Day 8-Day 14) is connected to the Sefirah of Gevurah. Gevurah literally means strength although in Kabbalah it is usually seen as the strength of setting limits or boundaries. As Gevurah sits opposite Chesed (the Sefirah of unbounded love) Gevurah is often interpreted as love through saying, “No.”  In other words, setting limits can also be a way to express love.
As we are using the counting of the Omer this year to change ourselves—a behavior, attitude, or identity, our learning about Gevurah reflects the intention of this Sefirah as “determination” to change.  Next week, the Sefirah of Tiferet will present the opportunity for making a plan for change.
Our preparation for change during the first week of the count focused on the love we have for ourselves. We looked at how love is an important (starting) aspect of change—love for self is requisite for change to have a lasting impact. If love is one “wing” for change then determination is the other “wing.” Read the rest of this entry

“Crystallize your goals. Make a plan for achieving them and set yourself a deadline. Then, with supreme confidence, determination and disregard for obstacles and other people’s criticisms, carry out your plan.”  Paul Meyer

This is the week of Tiferet (Day 15 is Chesed in Tiferet which starts Saturday night and ends Sunday evening). The first two weeks of our count have been preparation for this week of Tiferet (they were significant in themselves as creating the possibility of the plan for change that will now take shape). We have taught that Tiferet represents the blueprint for the manifestation of anything into physical reality. In creating your blueprint/plan for change—this week is still a preparation for change. The manifestation of the change will occur in the final week of the count—the week of Malchut.

In discussing in class the use of the counting of the Omer as a ‘program’ for change some suggestions were made for us to consider:

• When you enter the process of the counting of the Omer you do not need to have particulars about what you might want to change—this week you do, but to begin with you could reflect on the love you have or want to develop further for yourself and the determination you will have for change.
• Is change always a result of dissatisfaction or could it be motivated by a desire to grow further without being rooted in dissatisfaction?
• Are we talking about change or a shift in who we are? Mary Ann May suggested that shift refers to an internal ‘change’ while change manifests in external reality.

Counting of the Omer Week Three: Tiferet = Harmony or Beauty

A blueprint or plan harmonizes all input—takes into account all aspects and if it serves the manifestation of change—then it is beautiful.

Day 15: Chesed in Tiferet—The first day of the week of Tiferet is a check in on how the change (or shift) we are planning is based in love. If you have not specified what change you will want to create now is the time to select something and measure it against the criteria of living kindness (to yourself and others). If you had something in mind (I am thinking of three areas of change for myself) now it is time to re-evaluate, you can change your mind about what change is now best for you to engage in.

• Exercise—and I have been specific that I want to aim for exercising three times a week. I see this as self love and love for others—a healthier and more vital me will give me more energy for all I do and allow me an outlet for stress and to have fun. It is also a time for me—I give so much, it is a time for me.
• Being on time—I specified for classes and that is a realistic goal—but this change certainly reflects a shift in my monitoring how much I give (which then affects my ability to be on time).  I would like to be on time for all appointments and commitments. Being late creates a good deal of stress and this is not loving to my body, my emotions and my being. Others don’t find it very loving either.
• Photo of the new family—a symbol of the new family we have established. There is now love but it has yet to manifest as a family portrait.

Day 16: Gevurah in Tiferet —Gevurah is about focus and determination and again we need to check in whether we now feel that this change is doable and that we have the determination to fulfill it. You can still modify the plan—limit it further or even add to it as long as you feel your determination will match your desire for change.

I may modify the plan next week but now I am determined to make the changes. I do not want to enlarge ‘being on time’ beyond the commitment to do so for class (and all of you will be my witness) and hope to enjoy that change before extending it to all of my commitments.

Day 17: Tiferet in Tiferet —Tiferet is the blueprint for change and how your plan for change takes into account the need for balance—both internally and with others. Now it is time to outline the plan in more detail. Be specific. The timeline is set for the seventh week of the count. That is the week where the change manifests, so be realistic. Do you want to test some of the plan by taking some steps toward change or you can wait to implement the change? The three weeks that follow are continuing to look at the commitment you have made to change.

• Exercise—I will either join a healthclub or on my own choose days and times to exercise. As I am thinking about this change Ed Stein’s comic strip came through loud and clear:
• Being on time—this of course necessitates ending on time as well = a shift in how I manage discussion in class.
• Chose the photographer, need to set a day when everyone is available and have a back-up date in case an issue arises.

Day 18: Netzach in Tiferet —Netzach is about trust in yourself that you can overcome any thoughts or emotions that are stirred up by your plan and remain determined to create change. Can I identify obstacles already as I set up the plan? Love and determination remain important allies to insure that obstacles can be overcome but this day reflect on what obstacles you anticipate (next week you will engage with the obstacles—not just reflect on what you imagine them to be).

Day 19: Hod in Tiferet —Hod is about acknowledging limitations. Is your plan realistic or is a set up to fail! There is no shame in admitting that we can set too high expectations and lose both our determination and wind up with a sense of an inadequacy regarding love. So be realistic and acknowledge limitations (should I consider exercising twice a week—is that more realistic?).

Day 20: Yesod in Tiferet —Yesod is the foundation on which change can will be actualized. Yesod is the final filter which tests your sincerity. Is this the person I aspire to be—and what will emerge if I am this new person? As I went through the process of Netzach and Hod and I am overreaching or not setting the bar high enough? It still feels for me that the three goals I have set are what I want.

Day 21: Malchut in Tiferet —This final day of the third week of Tiferet is the ‘manifestation’ of the plan. A plan is not manifesting the change itself but it serves as the blueprint of change. The plan needs to be in writing (you can choose if you want to post it somewhere or share it with others—by making it public you are declaring this is my plan for change).

P.S. Change creates a shift and a shift creates change. It may be useful to look at how changing will impact an internal shift and what internal shifts may be required in order for change to be lasting.

“Crystallize your goals. Make a plan for achieving them and set yourself a deadline. Then, with supreme confidence, determination and disregard for obstacles and other people’s criticisms, carry out your plan.”  Paul Meyer

This week of Tiferet (the third week of the count) is our time to create a plan for change. There is a beautiful Jewish teaching about the plans we make (not that God laughs although my guess is that is also a Jewish teaching). A slight variation is: “The one who comes to change, help is on the way.”

One of the changes I have set for my counting is the new family photograph. Photographs are a still picture that capture a moment in time—but the new family is an ever evolving idea that finds itself manifesting in different ways. One such manifestation was a suggestion that we take a family vacation—all seven of us. We looked at dates to consider, agreed on a possible time in June and then chose the place. We would head up to the mountains and spend a few days in Glenwood Springs with the hot springs pool as our relaxation centerpoint.

Five minutes later friends came over to visit. In the midst of casual conversation they asked whether we would like to use their mountain home for a getaway this summer.  Without any knowledge of our family discussion they described their house as, “only 15 minutes from Glenwood hot springs.”

When you are ready to leap in the water, a pool will show up.

Your blueprint is set down on paper and you have “signed off.”  A blueprint or plan though is just a map, an outline for growth. You may have started down a path and begin to see the obstacles that you encounter or create.  Choices abound and there are many potential course corrections.

Questions that often arise when looking at change are: Am I really ready?  Am I capable of sticking to the change or will I revert back to old patterns? What will others think about my blueprint for change?

A student in class this morning was honest in saying: “I don’t want to change—I like my denial!”

Netzach is usually translated as victory—a sense of personal efficacy in one’s capacities to overcome any and every obstacle.  Your task each day for this week of Netzach is to reflect on the obstacles (both internal and external) that will derail your plan for change and how to overcome them.

Day 22 – Chesed in Netzach

On the day of Chesed we return to the feeling of self-love and the love of others. An interesting way of looking at loyalty is to not only look at it from a perspective of loyalty to someone or something outside of you but rather to yourself. Then loyalty to self contains the aspect of self-love. An obstacle to change is loyalty—to old patterns, to people or a community (outside and inside you) who are not ready to ‘release’ you.  Loyalty is a very powerful emotion, an obstacle to overcome if it holds us back from moving forward.

Day 23 – Gevurah in Netzach

Gevurah is self-determination and therefore we set aside loyalty to others and commit to ‘loyalty to self.’  The obstacle to overcome today is the sense of isolation-loneliness and the sense of selfishness.  Change as self-expression may feel disloyal and threaten our sense of connectedness to others and even to ourselves.

Day 24 - Tiferet in Netzach

Today we take out the blueprint to look at it in light of the obstacles we anticipate or are already dealing with. How do we transform our relationship to obstacles and see them now as part of a reformulation of our blueprint.  In a general sense the obstacles are there to help crystallize a plan that will work. Tomorrow we can look more specifically at the actual obstacles and see how they will help you realize your goals. Regarding my three areas of change I am already seeing obstacles and people are making note of starting class on time (or not). Do I respond with defensiveness or do I alter my plan? I have to rethink what my strategies are to make my plan work? In the background is my slef-love and my determination, now I must confront the obstacles.

Day 25 - Netzach in Netzach

Overcoming the obstacle to overcoming obstacles!  This paradox is simply resolved in seeing that obstacles are really there to help you in your plan for growth.  The greater the obstacle, the greater the reward.

So my plan right now, right in this moment, is to finish this blog in enough time for me to be on time for my next class. I have three more entries to complete and eight minutes to accomplish it.

Day 26 - Hod in Netzach

What are your limits in overcoming obstacles?  Surrender is not giving up or even giving in—it is giving way.  The best approach at times is not to meet the force head on, just move to the side. This requires not only humility but also determination to seek a way around obstacles.

I must acknowledge my limitations and not persist with the battle if the battle is not to be overcome.  I now have six minutes (or I will just need to finish this later).

Day 27 - Yesod in Netzach

Yesod is the filter through which we measure our integrity. Obstacles are the greatest challenge and the greatest assurity to measuring our integrity. On that basis I create a foundation for change. The changes I chose remain important and will be a measure of my integrity to the process of change. Need to leave now to be on time!

Day 28 - Malchut in Netzach

This week is still not action but contemplating those obstacles that need to be released or removed.  It is now a day to rest assured in your own capacity to move forward, to overcome obstacles.  The vision of freedom has been strengthened by the need to confront impediments to growth, recognize the stumbling blocks and move past them.