|
 |
|
|
|
Tuesday Night Meditation GroupMin Kantrowitz & Reuben Weisz, Nahalat Shalom, Albuquerque, NMFive years ago, when Rabbi Lynn Gottlieb was taking a sabbatical, Nahalat Shalom decided to conduct High Holiday Services ourselves. To prepare, a small group of people met weekly to meditate on the deeper meaning of the Holidays. Preparing to conduct the services was a very small part of the spiritual preparation in which we engaged. After the holidays, we realized we wanted to continue meeting, to continue working together toward spiritual transformation. The process is a journey, one we have broken up into a set of shorter passages or expeditions. Each passage takes approximately two to three months. During each day of that time period, group members are working on a particular theme. We gather each Tuesday Night to explore that theme in the Four Worlds using a variety of techniques. We rotate facilitation responsibilities throughout the members of the group, with newer group members co-facilitating evenings until they are comfortable facilitating on their own. The Physical activities for the evening are selected according to the theme of the evening. These might include T'ai Chi Chih (one of the members is a certified teacher), creative dance, or Hebrew letter movements (Otiyot Chayot). Others methods are used to raise our states of consciousness through the Four Worlds, such as mantras, various types of meditation, contemplation, guided visualization, and so on. Each method employed throughout the evening is integrated with the other techniques so that they may form a unified whole for that experience and theme. In that context, we have tried a variety of approaches to mantra meditation. We often use selected chants that Rabbi Shefa Gold has written. The specific chants chosen for that evening are associated with the theme of the evening and the theme of the overall two to three month period. For example, ten weeks last fall were dedicated to the ten psalms that are traditionally used in spiritual healing. We used the book "Healing of Soul, Healing of Body" edited by Rabbi Simcha Weintraub. One Tuesday evening was devoted to Psalm 16 which contains the line "I put the Divine Presence of God before me always". That evening, we chanted Shefa's chant: "Shivit Shechina l'negdi tamid". During any two/three month period that the group is working on a particular theme, the group is closed to newcomers. This enables participants to develop a deeper, trusting relationship with other members as we do spiritual work together. After that time, the group opens again--people whose schedules will not allow them to make a full commitment may decide to cycle away from Tuesday night for a period; others may join. The commitment is taken seriously; the group assumes you will be there EVERY Tuesday night unless you are out of town or sick. We have worked with many themes over the five years, including Song of Songs, a daily meditative Omer Counting practice, the weekly parsha, Aryeh Kaplan's Jewish Meditation book, spiritual preparation for the High Holidays, moving toward freedom before Passover, light and darkness, and so on. Group members often commit to a daily practice to continue the work of the group; we usually do a "check-in" at the beginning. At the minimum, this consists of "What do I need from the group tonight and What can I give the group tonight_" It is good to have a special place for chanting. We meet in one home every Tuesday night. Over time, the experiences that we have accumulated there have made this a sacred space, a sanctuary. One of the most important htmlects of that space is that it be quiet. We enhance this quality though making our group adults only, taking the phone off the hook, etc. Having a special, predictable space helps to put us in the mood for the work. After the chanting is completed, the group spends a number of minutes in silence with our eyes closed, meditating. Depending on the theme and facilitator, we may spend 20-30 minutes in silent meditation together. This quiet time allow us to experience and absorb the full benefits of the chants and other techniques. We often share with each other what we have experienced during the quiet times. We get a little more grounded near the end by standing up, forming a close circle, doing a final song or chant, sending healing thoughts to those we know who may need them, and wishing each other Shalom, Leila Tov and Shavuah Tov.
|
|
|