Recently I checked out an episode of the podcast, “The Indie Spiritualist,” that had an interview between host, Chris Grosso and renowned philosopher, Ken Wilber. I’ve long been intrigued by the idea of Ken Wilber without actually knowing much about his thoughts and ideas. The Indie Spiritualist has inspired me to learn more. During the […]
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Film Review: On the Map
What does it mean to be a part of something greater than yourself? What does it mean to live a life of meaning? What does it mean to be a Jew? An Israeli? These and other profound questions are raised by “On the Map,” (2016) an excellent documentary written and directed by Dani Menkin. “On […]
Everyday holiness
There’s long been a distinction in Judaism between “Kodesh” (“Holy”) and “Chol” (“Profane/Mundane”). In fact, the Havdalah Service at the end of Shabbat includes a blessing that thanks God for distinguishing between these two different states- Kodesh and Chol. The distinction comes from the fact that the rabbis of ancient times thought that part of […]
In praise of the qualitative
April’s #BlogaMonth topic,”How do you internally measure success (beyond that of test scores)?” took me back to my days as an Ed.D. student working on my doctoral research. During those weeks, months (and years), my natural tendency toward qualitative rather than quantitative research heavily influenced the direction and nature of my research into adolescent spirituality. […]
Hiking on Hardtimes
While enjoying our stroll through the woods outside of Asheville I had a chance to reflect on the activity of hiking. Specifically, I had a chance to reflect on the different ways that people choose to journey through the woods (and to some extent through life). The fact that we were walking on a trail […]
Mindful Songleading
Being a Jewish songleader isn’t easy. Here’s a list of reasons why (in no particular order): Jews. We’re an irascible group. We don’t always like to be lead. Music. Music is both incredibly simple and incredibly complex. Many musicians and songleaders do a neat thing– they make complex music feel simple and they elevate simple […]