Embodied Kabbalah
Art of Prayer - Level 1
There are unique movements of consciousness that are possible for human beings. We have the freedom to practice them; it depends on us; it won’t come naturally. When we choose to practice these movements, we not only discover new capabilities in our lives, but we also evolve into our full human potential.
When we allow ourselves to become aware of these movements, and act from them, the full restoration of our humanity takes place. The sages describe It as restoring the full human potential that was diminished after eating from the ‘tree of knowledge’. We can add that something is also being diminished by the encounter between our lives and the cultural patterns we live in.
Throughout the ages mystics of Jewish and other traditions developed intricate and delicate practices for this restoration, calling them – ‘Tefillah’ (prayer).
Prayer is a defining characteristic of being human. It is not merely a practice for quieting our minds or hearts in the ongoing hectic pace of daily life. Rather it is a practice that supports the evolution of ‘Life’ on its own and lets us ‘taste’ it in a deeper way.
The series of courses “Embodied Kabbalah - The Art of Prayer”, invites us to perceive anew our understanding of prayer and praying, in a way that sheds light on the inner work of heart wisdom, as it was passed down through the ages from one generation to the next.
During this learning series and the consecutive levels, we will take an iterative approach in deepening our experiential practice of the ‘Art of Prayer’. We will be practicing microsteps and the Prayer Gates, as well as exploring Kabbalistic texts, while holding a communal space and working in small groups.
Lesson structure:
Tuning in/questions for reflective meditations
Reading an inspirational kabbalistic text
Pointers for practice
Experiential prayer - practicing the gates
‘Hevrota’ -Sharing in small groups
Q&A and suggested practice
Shakio has been created out of the need to refresh, reformulate, re-invigorate tools for prayer both to people whose prayer is part of their lives in various forms and to those who are curious even though prayer is still not in their world. The school is open to every person in the world without cultural or religious differences.
Course Details
Dates:
May. 2, 16, 23
June. 6, 13, 20, 27
Tuesdays:
7:30pm - 9:15pm Jerusalem / 5:30pm - 7:15pm London / 12:30pm - 2:15pm New York / 9:30am - 11:15am Los Angeles
Join the course
Two payment levels. All motivated students will be accommodated. Please write to us if in need of financial assistance to [email protected].
Testimonials
"I find that the practices we explore in the Art of Prayer support the deepest yearnings of my soul. These practices have begun to open to my awareness a sense of life force - Living Presence - bubbling up in me and calling me forward to participate in the unfolding of Creation." Rabbi Nahum Ward-Lev
"Since learning with Dana and Baruch, I can mark the time when my heart began opening itself, and pointing the way towards the depths of my soul. As I find more of myself through the Art of Prayer, my relationships are softening and growing. And those closest to me are beginning to find their own softening, growing and soul-deepening." Lynn Rosen
"Standing in front of the gateways of prayer, taking time to breath, observe, listen. Doing this together, even if within zoom-frames, in conversation and silence, with the lucid guidance of Dana and Baruch..this is a gathering with new and known depths, personal and universal, temporal and infinite - we've been blessed to have this opportunity" Prof. Sara Sviri, Writer - The Sufi Anthology
"Working with Baruch and Dana has been a very important and deeply stabilizing experience. Especially when the Corona measurements hit us and fear and insecurity spread I felt I was coming home when entering our shared space. I am so unspeakably grateful for being part of this group where failure does not exist and trials are welcome. Where being human gains a whole new depth." Judith Weisz
"The Art of Prayer opened for me gateways of love towards fellow humans, the world, the future..to the understanding of our communal becoming, and a participation in the processes of creation. Many thanks." Sigal Golan, Psychotherapist
"Touching upon the inner language of authentic prayer, the mystery of communication between human beings and the infinite and connecting with the depth of human experience - this course has provided me with great inspiration. The experience, knowledge and originality of Baruch and Dana transported me from the conceptual to the actual tools of spiritual work". Yair Harel, Founder - the Piyut Website
The Prayer Gates
The 1st Gate: Doing nothing with open eyes - synchronizing with living/life.
- Turning awareness to the body (The `living process` of life).
- What is the meaning of ‘doing nothing’ and how to practice it.
- How to work with peripheral seeing.
- How to overcome the temptation to ‘stay with the impact’.
- Why thinking is not an enemy.
- Tuning myself through asking “what is my heart's intention?”
The 2nd Gate: 'Dimension shift' - Shifting the understanding of the ‘I’ and releasing the assumptions of the conventional world.
- Practicing following what occurs without interpretations.
- How to “fall asleep into awakens”.
- What does it mean to create a holy place/state inside.
- Opening to ‘Shakio’ (the stream of life) beneath all my roles, tags and definitions of myself.
The 3rd Gate: expanding my awareness - Transforming my point of view. Acknowledging my life and the life of all, as a manifestation of infinity.
- The usage of a unique kind of imagination as a way to widen our perception.
- Transforming the I-sense to the soul-sense: moving from an observer perspective to the subtle state of ‘being part of…’
The 4th Gate: heart intention and blessing - Recognizing the intricacy of every phenomena (implicit & explicit) - this is the blessing that already exists. Opening my heart intention into alignment with the Infinite’s blessing.
- Turning our attention to a specific phenomena.
- Letting all the intricate details emerge…
- Deliberately opening our heart intention toward the source of blessing.
The 5th Gate: Shema Yisrael - The state of oneness/unity; union and love (Veahavta), union that includes the person who is praying.
The distinction between oneness and Yichud.
- Exploring the Kabalistic meaning of the names of the divine
- How to say the verse in a way that let it potential open
- How is this verse an inner work that can evolve my perception of God.
The 6th Gate: Subtleties of the ‘field of re-questing’ (Bakashot) - Life as a movement of asking for…Every moment is a prayer for further creation. From needs and wants to what is being asked of me.
- How to open myself toward what is really new.
- How what I'm asking for is not known yet and is freshly revealed
- Listening to what is being asked of me or through me
- Practicing the re-quest as an Inner Position of readiness to receive
- How to place my life as a prayer in the infinite.
The 7th Gate: Co-creation - Returning to the particularities of my life, 'Prayer' as a model of life.
- Exploring how my daily life can be a continuation of prayer.
- Development of capabilities: listening, observation, being in wonder, sensitivity to other humans and to the whole of creation.
- Evolving the perception of human beings as co-creators with God.
- How to “redeem” situations and interactions.
Preview - The Prayer Gates
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Baruch and Dana
Baruch Brenner is an Israeli Focusing facilitator, theater director, actor, singer, teacher and an ordained Orthodox Rabbi. Over the last 25 years, he has been a leading innovator in integrating Jewish and spiritual practices with experiential work in theatre, movement and vocal arts. He was the artistic director of the Vertigo lab in the eco-art village, and a research fellow and member of Jerzy Grotowski theater ensemble.
Dana Ganihar, M.Sc. is a teacher and researcher certified as a Focusing Coordinator by the international focusing institute in New York. Over the last couple decades she has led numerous workshops and seminars exploring the work of psychologist and philosopher Eugene Gendlin: IBF - Instancing Based Focusing, PoI - Philosophy of the Implicit, and TAE - Thinking At the Edge.
Dana has initiated cooperative research exploring the potential impact of Focusing practices on diverse fields such as biology, architecture, creative writing and religion.
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