Spirituality Group Blog

I woke up this morning wondering what this day would bring. The sky was clear, the air was crisp, the birds and squirrels were at their business of life. I went through all of the motions of preparing for the day and found myself on auto-pilot and arriving at work. I consider myself very fortunate to have the job I have. Every day, I get to go to a holy place and spend several hours existing in that space. I get to serve a community of people who I not only love as a whole but also love individually. I am truly blessed. And yet...

We all go through seasons in our life. For me, these past few months have been the most difficult I have ever experienced. The details are not important, things occur in time and soon find their place in our past. The processing is painful and difficult and time continues to march forward. I'm in that processing space right now and as I sit in that space, I know that I must do the hard work to heal and continue to live my life in a way that is intentional and that honors G-d. After the great flood, G-d enlivened the sky with a rainbow - a promise that even in difficult times, there is the divine presence. I take great comfort and solace in that promise and I have found a myriad of instances where I can lean on the love, foundation, peace that that divine presence provides. 

Being in community with others and developing a core network of people with whom I can share and process my experiences is something that I desperately needed and did not yet exist in my current environment. And so I started this Spirituality Group. At first we were scheduled to meet just once per month. But that was not enough for me. I craved the conversation and meditation and support that the group gave to me and I believe others in the group felt the same way. So, we increased our connection to twice per month. Through it all, I began to read voraciously - different texts on Jewish meditation and spirituality - looking for tidbits that might provide me comfort and that I might share with my group. And so I have felt a transformation begin. 

The group has now embarked on a Timeline and Spiritual Mapping project that will carry us well into this new year. Our numbers have expanded and we began our project last night (January 8, 2025). For those who were unable to join our first session, you will find the instructions on how to begin below. Please connect with me to arrange for pick-up of the physical resources (binder, post-it notes, etc) needed to participate. 

I feel honored to be able to lead this project. It is my hope that it will help us all to embrace our unique individuality and move forward in our lives with intention and a purpose that brings us fulfillment and joy. 

L'Shalom - Mary Frank

• Each session, we begin with a guided meditation. CLICK HERE to listen.
• The following selections from the Tanakh can help you to prepare for the work of chronicling your Life Story. As you read them, reflect on the underlying meaning in the words. More will be said on these in a future post.
  • Psalm 139 and Proverbs
• Personal Timeline Mapping Process - in our group, we began the work of step one in the process. My expectation is that you continue to work on step one and potentially step two over the next several weeks. We will move on to step three at our session on February 5th.
• At our next session on January 15th, we will focus on meditation and exploration of the divine through additional text study and discussion.