In dreamtime I was told by a rabbi: "Your shekinah is your shoulder, all right?" I replied, "I don't know what I was thinking!" I have no idea what prompted this conversation, except it seemed I was in a school of mystical learning.
I just now looked up the definition of "shekinah" (nope, I'm not Jewish and know only two words in Yiddish that I never have to look up: "oy vey" and "meshuggah"). According to the Jewish Encyclopedia (http://www.jewishencyclopedia.com/articles/13537-shekinah), shekinah is interpreted several different ways, although all interpretations essentially mean that God dwells within us and we in His temple - a manifestation, if you will - and that most references are spoken of as radiance or light. As readers of this blog know, I don't believe in a "God" although I do believe in the universal One connection of all of us, and I believe we each are god-like in our abilities to become one another. Okay, I just re-read what I wrote, and it definitely sounds inane and trite and rather "body snatcher"ish. What I mean is that we each hold the key for greatness and good; when you're able to "walk in one's shoes" and gain full insight into that other person (or being!) and actually experience his or her joy and pain, you then become what our various religions refer to as "God."
So what did this conversation mean? As to all things mystical it's part of a whole, and I'm pretty sure it meant that the Light resides even in our shoulder, as it does our toes, our minds, our hearts, our souls. Why was I shown and told this? As a reminder that we each hold the key to light and radiance in every fiber of our being if we would only remember that it's there. I think I may have been given this vision because the shooting at the Sikh temple yesterday was weighing heavily on my heart, along with all the violence and hate that is being spewed from all corners of the world. It's exactly the type of reminder that I needed - "I don't know what I was thinking!" indeed. I only hope more now than ever that the shekinah shines more brightly through all of us in this world so filled with turmoil.
I just now looked up the definition of "shekinah" (nope, I'm not Jewish and know only two words in Yiddish that I never have to look up: "oy vey" and "meshuggah"). According to the Jewish Encyclopedia (http://www.jewishencyclopedia.com/articles/13537-shekinah), shekinah is interpreted several different ways, although all interpretations essentially mean that God dwells within us and we in His temple - a manifestation, if you will - and that most references are spoken of as radiance or light. As readers of this blog know, I don't believe in a "God" although I do believe in the universal One connection of all of us, and I believe we each are god-like in our abilities to become one another. Okay, I just re-read what I wrote, and it definitely sounds inane and trite and rather "body snatcher"ish. What I mean is that we each hold the key for greatness and good; when you're able to "walk in one's shoes" and gain full insight into that other person (or being!) and actually experience his or her joy and pain, you then become what our various religions refer to as "God."
So what did this conversation mean? As to all things mystical it's part of a whole, and I'm pretty sure it meant that the Light resides even in our shoulder, as it does our toes, our minds, our hearts, our souls. Why was I shown and told this? As a reminder that we each hold the key to light and radiance in every fiber of our being if we would only remember that it's there. I think I may have been given this vision because the shooting at the Sikh temple yesterday was weighing heavily on my heart, along with all the violence and hate that is being spewed from all corners of the world. It's exactly the type of reminder that I needed - "I don't know what I was thinking!" indeed. I only hope more now than ever that the shekinah shines more brightly through all of us in this world so filled with turmoil.
