The Handbook of Jewish Meditation Practices , livre ebook

Turner Publishing Company - David A. Cooper

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117 pages

English

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To nourish your spiritual self you need “rest” from your hectic life. This book shows you how to do it.

“Renew the soul and your perspective of daily life will completely change. It is simply a matter of taking time, slowing down, shifting mundane consciousness into realms of higher insight and giving yourself the gift of reflection and contemplation.”
—from the Introduction

While broad interest in Jewish meditation is a relatively new phenomenon, meditative practices have been deeply rooted in Judaism for thousands of years. Here, Rabbi David A. Cooper shows newcomers and experienced meditators alike how Jewish meditation can be an integral part of daily life, and can refresh us in our day-to-day encounters with ourselves, other people, and in ritual, prayer, Torah study, and our celebration of the Sabbath and other holy days.

Sujets

Rituals

Philosophie et théologie

Jewish meditation

Jewish philosophy

Judaism

Religion

Practice

Informations

Publié par	Turner Publishing Company
Date de parution	17 mai 2012
Nombre de lectures	0
EAN13	9781580236393
Langue	English

Informations légales : prix de location à la page 0,0850€. Cette information est donnée uniquement à titre indicatif conformément à la législation en vigueur.

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Other Books and Tapes by Rabbi David A. Cooper
Books
God Is a Verb: Kabbalah and the Practice of Mystical Judaism
A Heart of Stillness: A Complete Guide to Learning the Art of Meditation
Silence, Simplicity Solitude: A Complete Guide to Spiritual Retreat at Home
Three Gates to Meditation Practice: A Personal Journey into Sufism, Buddhism, and Judaism
Audiotapes
The Holy Chariot
Kabbalah Meditation
The Mystical Kabbalah
The Handbook of Jewish Meditation Practices: A Guide to Enriching the Sabbath and Other Days of Your Life
2012 First Digital Edition
All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopying, recording, or by any information storage and retrieval system, without the permission in writing from the publisher.
For information regarding permission to reprint material from this book, please write or fax your request to Jewish Lights Publishing, Permissions Department, at the address / fax number listed below.
2000 by David A. Cooper
Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data Cooper, David A., 1939- The handbook of Jewish meditation practices: a guide for enriching the Sabbath and other days of your life / David A. Cooper.
p. cm.
Includes bibliographical references (p. ). ISBN 1-58023-102-0 (paperback) 1. Meditation-Judaism. 2. Spiritual life-Judaism. 3. Prayer- Judaism. 4. Jewish meditations. 5. Cabala. I. Title. BM723 .C665 2000 296.7 2-dc21
00-011089
Manufactured in the United States Cover design by Graciela Galup
Published by Jewish Lights Publishing A Division of LongHill Partners, Inc. Sunset Farm Offices, Rte. 4, P.O. Box 237 Woodstock, VT 05091 Tel: (802) 457 4000 Fax: (802) 457-4004 www.jewishlights.com
Contents
Introduction
I. Basic Jewish Meditation Practices
Ablutions/Mikveh
Sitting Practice
Morning Blessings/Gratitude
Walking Meditation
Lucid Strolling
Reflections on the Psalms
Psycho-Spiritual Journaling
Kavannah and Continuity Practice
Chesed: The Lovingkindness Meditation
Meditative Prayer
Contemplative Study
Hitbodedut: Alone with God
II. Jewish Retreats
Solo Retreats
Retreats of Three Days or Longer
Family Retreats
Meditative Candle Lighting
Meditation Practices for Shabbat Dinner
Havdalah Meditation
III. Kabbalistic Meditations
Yihudim Chanting Meditation
Tehora He/Pure Soul Meditation
Bittul Ha-yesh: Meditation on Ayin (Nothingness)
Divine Protection
Kabbalistic Dream-Healing
Hishtavut/Equanimity
Protection of the Archangels
Teshuvah: Return of the Soul
Raising Holy Sparks
Four Worlds
Inner Harmony
Shadow of God
Tikkun: Healing the Dead
Devekut: Melting into the Divine
Appendixes
Psalms: Selections for Reflection and Memorization
Schedules for One-Day Retreats
Recommended Books and Resources
About the Author
Copyright
Also Available
About Jewish Lights
Introduction
You shall meditate on the Torah day and night, that you may hold firmly all [the wisdom teachings] written within it, and then you will thrive from all your actions and thoughts.
Joshua 1:8
The Handbook of Jewish Meditation Practices offers readers background information on a variety of meditative techniques and suggests specific practices that can result in invaluable hands on experience of what happens in the mind and body when we alter our consciousness. This book, originally titled Renewing Your Soul, has been revised and amended to more comprehensively represent the growing body of knowledge and practice that falls into the category of Jewish meditation.
As a student of meditation techniques in a wide variety of spiritual disciplines-including, in addition to Judaism, Theravada Buddhism, Zen, Vajrayana, Hinduism, and Sufism-I have found that many meditative practices are common in all traditions, despite the fact that each tradition clearly has its own style and methodology. Thus, a fair amount of meditation is generic. For example, sitting in silence is a universal practice, as is chanting repetitive phrases, one-pointed concentration, being mindful of the present moment, and taking time each day for reflection (a practice many call prayer). These are all found in most traditions-only the language changes in how each practice is described.
There are, of course, many meditative practices unique to individual traditions. Zen has a great deal of karma yoga, which is a practice associated with mundane, everyday activities. Zen also has more exotic techniques expressed through highly ritualized forms such as archery and tea ceremony. Theravada Buddhism tends to be abstemious, extremely basic, with simple robes and begging bowls, no meals after lunch, and extended periods of silent practice that last weeks or months at a time. On the other hand, Vajrayana Buddhism is complicated, intellectual, colorful, and filled with imagery. Hinduism has a colorful side that is highly devotional, with many deities and much singing, dancing, and feasting. It also has a more austere side, with a number of forms of yoga that defy scientific explanation. Sufism is built on traditional Islamic practices of ablutions, prayer five times a day, and fasting during the month of Ramadan, with additional meditative expressions that include repetitive chanting of names of God for hours at a time, frequently accompanied by ecstatic whirling.
As there are many different forms of meditative practice, we must first define what we mean when we are discussing meditation. The goal of meditative practice in all spiritual endeavors is to experience our true nature. Each tradition has its own language for what this means. Libraries are filled with books discussing the similarities and differences of spiritual practice, but we can sum it up simply by saying that human consciousness seeks to know the truth of its own existence, its source, and its reason for being-if indeed there is any ultimate truth.
The word goal above is put in quotation marks to acknowledge that quite a few spiritual disciplines are adamant that having any goal or making any effort toward self-realization is, by definition, self-defeating. There are two sides to this argument. Some assert that just as an eye cannot see itself, except as a separate image, consciousness cannot be conscious of itself. The other argument is that all effort for self-realization is foolish as there is nothing to achieve; we intrinsically already have everything we need to know. As there is nothing to get, the very idea of a goal is deluded thinking.
This is a clear example of how language, the tool of rationality, is often inherently in conflict with mystical teaching. Meditative techniques are designed to help spiritual aspirants achieve altered states of consciousness. When this in fact occurs, the results often transcend rational explanation. Throughout history, mystics have been unable to directly communicate their experiences. Rather, they have found ways to transmit experiences indirectly through metaphor, poetry, or enigmatic wisdom teachings. Each mystical teacher finds his or her expression through the cultural structure in which he or she lives, with the culture s beliefs, values, attitudes, and opinions, all of which are molded by the era, surrounding communities, and general historical perspective in those times.
The teachings of these mystics, although not particularly rational, have profoundly influenced the history of humankind. They have birthed many spiritual traditions and have caused these traditions to branch into various directions. The mystics give us pause to reflect on the possibility of something more than life as we see it in front of us. They inspire us to seek more deeply, beyond appearances. In many ways, although from widely diverse backgrounds and even though they use their own distinctive languages, they speak about a common theme.
The metaphor for this is that whereas there are many paths up the mountain, there is only a single peak, higher than all others. Obviously, each person on the spiritual journey has his or her own natural dispositions and characteristics. Different paths up the mountain will be more readily accessible to some than others. For some, a path will seem to be a dead end; for others, the barriers they encounter are simply obstacles that need to be surmounted to get higher up the mountain. The mysteries of these spiritual paths defy explanation, and many spiritual adventurers spend their lives exploring a path and its divergent tracks with remarkable patience. In the end, however, no matter what path we take, the highest peak of truth remains the same for all who seek it.
Judaism is an extraordinary path for spiritual growth, as we shall see. It is a rich tradition with a long history. It is not really one path up the mountain, but many trails that occasionally are parallel but often go on totally different routes. With limited perspective, one might think that the result is that these paths will never meet again. But, when standing back, we can still see that there is only one highest peak and all paths ultimately lead to the One.
Often, people ask, If they all lead to an ultimate truth, how do we choose our path? This question raises many issues. It suggests that we have total free choice, but this is not completely true. We are constrained in many ways. We have our parentage, our character, our physical, emotional, and intellectual makeup, our society, our culture, our ancestry, our language, and so forth. All of these set parameters and incline us one way or another.
Clearly, Eastern spiritual and meditative traditions during the past century have become more accessible in the West. In absorbing some of these teachings, the West has modified, redefined, and remolded the practices to fit a more Western model. This simply is the way it works. So whatever path we choose, we will adapt it to meet our needs.
As Eastern teachings