In Judaism, the 10 days from Rosh Hashanah to Yom Kippur are known as the ‘Days of Awe’ and they invite introspection on a grand scale. In my childhood, it meant going to synagogue for services that felt like they were going to last for 10 days each. As an adult, I created my own rituals which involved fasting, prayer, meditation, letting go of old patterns and ways that didn’t serve, sitting by water, immersing in nature. Far more fulfilling than praying by rote even though some of the familiarity of the prayers was comforting.

This past Sunday, I attended a service at an interfaith community of which I have been a part since 1984. Pebble Hill, located in Doylestown, Pennsylvania welcomes people from various traditions and on specific holidays, offers a flavor of that faith and invites full participation. My friends Deva Troy and Gary Schoenberg led the celebration that focused on the idea of T’shuvah (turning, as in turning over a new leaf).

One of the aspects of the service is doing a personal inventory. This could not have been more perfect timing since I have been working on my 4th step and conducting a “searching and fearless moral inventory”. We were asked to write what it is we wanted to repeat and what we wanted to change.

On my keeper list, was:

Saying I love you everyday

Being reliable

Taking care of myself in body, mind and spirit

Being real and transparent

Speaking my truth

Focus on the positive

Continue to come clean with myself and the people in my life

Continue the forgiveness process

Writing daily

Putting my work out there everyday

Being Love

 

Ch ch ch changes….

Releasing fear

Letting go of co-dependent behaviors

Releasing blame

Slowing down

Willingness to receive love and support when before I deflected it

Self compassion

Trusting in the Highest Good outcome

Walking with myself and others through whatever comes up, without rushing through it

Transforming my inner critic into an ally

 

What are yours?

 

As a group, we ate apples and honey, to symbolize the idea of bringing sweetness into the New Year. It brought together folks who had grown up in the Jewish tradition and there were but a handful of us, as well as those who had never experienced the ritual in a communal setting.

We also recited a Reconstructionist version of the traditional prayer.

Avinu Malkaynu — Our Parent, Our Sovereign

 

“Our Father, our King, teach us how to make this year a new beginning. Our Mother, our Queen, teach us how to grow from the harshness of life. Our Source and our Destiny, teach us how to accept what we must accept. Our Guide and our Truth, teach us to change what must be changed.

From the Yamim Noraim supplement of Congregation Mishkan Shalom, Philadelphia.

http://youtu.be/eUw4TY9H4-g Avinu Malkeinu by Phish ( a rather unusual version)