KZoom Archives 2017-2021

Starting in May, 2020, KZoom sessions became available on Shefa’s YouTube channel: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC7eHYlx6H7hsWN0o89ti4aQ/.

December, 2021

On Thursday, December 30th through chant we encountered God’s Presence in this moment of revelation.

During the KZoom session on Thursday, December 23rd we were sent onto the path of love and awareness.

On Thursday, December 16th we explored the role of Joyful Anticipation, Expectancy and Surprise on the Path of Love.

During the KZoom session on Thursday, December 9th we leaned into the Divine Embrace.

On Thursday, December 2nd we lit the candles for the fifth night of Hanukkah and explored how to rest in Being and surrender the illusion of control.

November, 2021

During the KZoom session on Thursday, November 18th we celebrated Rachmiel’s birthday and explored what it means to blossom forth and root down.

In the KZoom session on Thursday, November 4th we surrendered our defenses, were touched by beauty and allowed our true fragrance be known.

October, 2021

During the KZoom session on Thursday, October 28th we explored the wisdom of the body.

On Thursday, October 21st we opened a conversation with the Beloved.

During the KZoom session on Thursday, October 14th we walked the Path from Shame to Glory.

On Thursday, October 7th we awakened our enthusiasm and inspired each other to step onto the path of love.

September, 2021

During the KZoom session on Thursday, September 30th we explored the mystery of beginnings (new year of 5782 with restarting the Torah and Love at the Center cycles) and the Power of the Kiss.

The KZoom session on Thursday, September 23rd was in Rabbi Shefa’s Sukkah in NM as we celebrated the completion of one year of Love at the Center.

No session on 9/16 (Yom Kippur).

During the KZoom session on Thursday, September 9th in the midst of the awesome days of Turning, we sought peace to become peace-makers and receive and give the blessing of wholeness.

The KZoom session on Thursday, September 2nd explored the Divine imprint and how it might lead us to Unity Consciousness.

August, 2021

During the KZoom session on Thursday, August 26th we explored the Wisdom of Love.

On Thursday, August 12th we opened to Shabbat Consciousness as a layer of awareness that can become the sustaining foundation to every moment of the week.

During the KZoom session on Thursday, August 5th we journeyed through the doorway of pleasure into Self-Realization and the fullness of expression.

July, 2021

On Thursday, July 22nd we explored the Dance of Returning to the Fullness of our Divine Inheritance.

During the session on July 8th we took a journey into the depths to discover the pre-conscious.

On Thursday, July 1st we awakened the essential quality of WONDER!

June, 2021

During the KZoom session on Thursday, June 24th we celebrated Unity Consciousness.

On Thursday, June 17th we explored the secrets of the pomegranate.

During the KZoom session on Thursday, June 10th we explored the importance of PLAY on the path of Love.

On Thursday, June 3rd we explored the implications of taking God as LOVER.

May, 2021

During the KZoom session on Thursday, May 27th we explored the spiritual challenge and blessing of Loving THIS — this very moment, this very place.

On Thursday, May 20th we explored the spiritual challenge and blessing of Embracing Paradox and Cultivating a Wide Perspective.

During the KZoom session on Thursday, May 13th we explored the delicious, risky adventure of falling in love. From that vulnerable and powerful state we reached out to establish the spiritual friendships that can sustain us.

The KZoom session on Thursday, May 6th focused on journeying together through suffering. We opened to support, connection and meaning as we face the inevitable challenges of being human.

April, 2021

NO session on 4/29.

During the KZoom session on Thursday, April 22nd we opened to the holy feast of Life, in receptivity, gratefulness, expectancy, generosity and humor.

On Thursday, April 15th we savored sweetness, explored the sources of bitterness within, and practiced the art of sweetening.

The KZoom session on Thursday, April 8th explored the power of poignancy to experience a beauty that pierces the heart, dissolves our defenses, and allows both sadness & joy to co-exist within us.

NO session on 4/1.

March, 2021

The KZoom session on Thursday, March 25th glimpsed the truth of an underlying perfection that holds, supports and suffuses this imperfect world.

During the KZoom session on Thursday, March 18th we listened together for God’s voice, which is always whispering, singing, luring us ever deeper into the Mystery.

The KZoom session on Thursday, March 11th focused on rejoicing in the Unity that underlies all Duality

NO session on 3/4.

February, 2021

NO session on 2/25.

During the KZoom session on Thursday, February 18th we explored what it means to trust the wilderness, the unknown, the Mystery that rises in response to our loving, curious longing.

The KZoom session on Thursday, February 18th explored what it means to be found by awareness.

During the KZoom session on Thursday, February 4th we explored what it means to seek, long for, and be in the Divine Presence.

January, 2021

The KZoom session on Thursday, January 28th explored what it means to establish a sense of mutuality with the Great Mystery that will open us to the miraculous flow of covenantal Love.

During the KZoom session on Thursday, January 21st we explored what it means to cultivate presence and to build our resolve to resist the enticements of the distracted mind.

The KZoom session on Thursday, January 14th explored what it means to cultivate a direct experience of God.

During the KZoom session on Thursday, January 7th we explored the power of relationship for the purpose of sending each other to our depths (our essence), supporting each other in times of trouble, and of seeking the realization of our true potential.

December, 2020

At the KZoom session on Thursday, December 31st we gathered on New Year’s Eve to cultivate expectancy through affirmations. We explored the quality of expectancy (without expectations) and engaged with the magical powerful practice of affirmation in honor of the New Year of 2021.

  • I open to the surprise of life unfolding in miraculous ways that I could never have imagined.
    I welcome the new year with loving curiosity and enthusiasm.
    The Voice of My Beloved
  • I am connected to the Divine resources of strength and resilience as I receive God’s trust in me.
    My faith in the essential goodness of Reality grows each day.
    Building the Intention for Love
  • As I turn to God with all my yearning, all my highest and deepest hope, I will be strengthened in the work that needs to be done.
    I have the strength and courage to face difficult situations and feel supported by Divine Love.
    Turn Your Hope to God
  • I receive every challenge as the cornerstone of my inner work as I build the Mishkan of open-hearted Presence.
    Cornerstone
  • I am attentive to the voice of Wisdom within, guiding me to careful and conscious consuming, and the savoring of each moment of pleasure.
    Mindfulness

The KZoom session on Thursday, December 24th explored the Precious Circle: Receiving Support, Relaxing, Opening, Receiving… .

The KZoom session on Thursday, December 17th was the last evening of Hanukkah. We explored the power of Divine Intoxication as we celebrated the last night of Hanukkah.

The KZoom session on Thursday, December 10th was on the first evening of Hanukkah and we explored diving into the Darkness and opening to the Light.

The KZoom session on Thursday, December 3rd explored the creative tension between our calling to open, rise, expand, soar, blossom into our Divinity… and being rooted, grounded, anchored in our humanity.

November, 2020

Thursday, November 26th was Thanksgiving in the US. There was no KZoom session that evening.

The KZoom session on Thursday, November 19th explored the themes of Arousal and Awakening.

During the KZoom session on Thursday, November 12th we explored the possibilities of activating our imagination and creativity, and receiving this moment as an opportunity to call forth and channel the Divine flow.

For the KZoom session on Thursday, November 5th we came together to turn towards the Great Mystery in conversation with the Beloved.

October, 2020

During the KZoom session on Thursday, October 29th we took the journey From Shame to Glory.

The KZoom session on Thursday, October 22th explored our calling. A calling can be as simple as being called to kindness, to silence, to making beauty or justice. An exploration like this leads us to investigate the obstacles to that calling and our resistance to doing this holy work.

The KZoom session on Thursday, October 15th explored our capacity for intimacy with the Divine Presence that is right here and now, giving itself to us through this world….. if only we could show up and become vulnerable, receptive and responsive.

The KZoom session on Thursday, October 8th explored the mysteries of Inner Joy for Sukkot.

Sukkot is called Zman Simchataynu — the time for cultivating Joy. We are living in a time of immense challenge and to face those challenges, we need to call on all our strength and resilience. Well, it is joy that will bring resilience and strength to the heart; it is joy that will see us through painful times. We met in the Sukkah and focused in on the quality of inner Joy that doesn’t depend on outer circumstance.

Whatever life gives to you, you can respond with joy. Joy is the happiness that does not depend on what happens. It is the grateful response to the opportunity that life offers you at this moment.

Brother Steindl-Rast

The KZoom session on Thursday, October 1st explored the mysteries of the Divine name during the four days between Yom Kippur and the Festival of Sukkot. There is a tradition to designate these four days as a journey through the unpronounceable, ineffable four letter name of God. This is the name that can take us from the innermost Holy of Holies to Zman Simchataynu — the time of Joy, when we can celebrate both the abundance of our harvest and the fragility of our lives.

September, 2020

The KZoom session on Thursday, September 24th was an evening of Tshuvah practice in preparation for Shabbat Shuvah and Yom Kippur. We opened to the possibilities of Tshuvah as Yom Kippur presents a powerful and awesome time when we can surrender to what is, turn away from what’s not working and turn towards the realization of our fullest potential.

The KZoom session on Thursday, September 10th, which was the fourth of 4 Elul sessions leading up to the High Holy Days. As we open to the power of the New Year, we explored the themes of Rosh Hashanah: Malchuyot, Zichronot and Shofarot as they illuminate our relationship to the Present, the Past and the Future within us.

The KZoom session on Thursday, September 3rd was the third of 4 Elul sessions leading up to the High Holy Days. As we deepened our Elul practice, we entered in to some of the themes of the days of Awe, to prepare ourselves for renewal.

August, 2020

The KZoom session on August 27th was the second of 4 Elul sessions leading up to the High Holy Days. Our tradition teaches us to read, study, immerse in, explore, sing and embody Psalm 27th during the holy month of Elul. The words of Psalm 27th can help us to do the inner work of healing, reconciliation and realignment that this time of T’shuvah requires.

The KZoom session on Thursday, August 20th was the first of 4 Elul sessions leading up to the High Holy Days. During this next KZoom session we danced (skipped!) through the gates of Elul: a time of deep reflection, life review, and turning. It is a time to stop, take stock, count our blessings, remember our priorities, connect with each other, notice how we might be missing the mark, and begin setting a new course that is better aligned with our Soul Purpose. Here are the practices that we did as we danced through the gates of Elul into a clearer intention, wider perspective, and shared vision.

During the KZoom session on Thursday, August 13th Rabbi Shefa launched her new project: Love at the Center with reclaiming The Song of Songs as a central text that can inform, remind and intrigue us daily. At our KZOOM this week, she shared her intention for this project and offered some tastes of the riches of Shir HaShirim in anticipation of our immersion starting in October.

The KZoom session on Thursday, August 6th was a reflection on PIE (Prayer Intention Experiment): How shall we pray for each other? This KZOOM session explored the issues that emerged from this experiment.

July, 2020

The KZoom session on Thursday, July 30th focused on this holy day of lament to honor and to celebrate a moment of turning. From R. Simon Jacobson, a mystical source: “The Arizal tells us that in the throes of Tisha B’Av afternoon, as the raging fires were consuming the Temple, Moshiach is born. Redemption is conceived from the ashes of destruction. In the deepest darkness lies the strongest light. However, from our limited perspective we can only see one dimension at a time: either we see dark or we see light. Someone with deep eyesight and strong focus can see the light within the dark.”

No meeting on July 23rd.

The KZoom session on Thursday, July 16th honored the gift that Rabbi David A. Cooper brought to us by practicing in his honor and comforting each other. (Believe it or not, David chose these particular practices and communicated to me with absolute certainty that they were the perfect choices.)

The KZoom session on Thursday, July 9th explored what it means to embrace paradox. I find that this is an essential spiritual capacity which we need to draw on in order to both receive the gift of perfection and rise to meet the challenges of imperfection.

The KZoom session on Thursday, July 2nd honored the English yahrzeit of Reb Zalman Schachter-Shalomi by exploring what it means to cultivate direct experience of God.

June, 2020

The KZoom session on Thursday, June 25th was a time to step consciously on to the path of Mystical Activism.

The KZoom session on Thursday, June 18th was in celebration of Erev Juneteenth. It was a celebration of freedom, sending each other towards the emancipation from our narrow perspectives.

For the KZoom session on Thursday, June 11th we focused on this time of pandemic as having been a time of deep stillness and listening to inner rhythms. As Shabbat Beha’alotecha approached, we emerged from that stillness and let the light of the golden Menorah shine, to illuminate the way forward. And then we listened for the clear call of the silver trumpets to rouse us and send us. Our journey holds many challenges that we will meet step by step, together.

For the KZoom session on Thursday, June 4th, we gathered to bless the world. The upcoming Shabbat Naso includes a very ancient and powerful Priestly blessing, a blessing that must be activated by our intention and will. In Naso, we are commanded to be a nation of priests, taking responsibility for those who have been marginalized, by becoming healers, instruments of love, beauty and justice, and channels of the Divine flow of goodness.

May, 2020

The KZoom session on Thursday, May 28th, on this evening of Shavuot, prepared us for Revelation. We opened, became receptive, stepped under the chuppah (the marriage canopy), and made a commitment to Oneness consciousness. We witnessed each other and sent each other on a path of embodying and living our truest and highest values, moment to moment.

The KZoom session on Thursday, May 21st focused on the power of our wilderness journey to purify, open and prepare us for Revelation. How do we want to take this journey? (You may want to read Torah Journey’s BaMidbar.)

The KZoom session of Thursday, May 14th focused on spiritual practices that call forth joy, connection and grace to support us on our journey.

There were technical problems, so no recording is available.

The KZoom session of Thursday, May 7th focused on the challenge of these pandemic times is to become intimate with uncertainty and trust.
To do that, we need to step back, take in the wide perspective, relax, and open to the possibilities of this moment. We need to honor the grief, manage our anxiety, and then remember how to give ourselves fully to the process of Grace unfolding. Here are the practices that might be of benefit at this extraordinary time:

April, 2020

The KZoom session of Thursday, April 30th focused on these practices to be of benefit at this extraordinary time:

The KZoom session of Thursday, April 23rd focused on establishing some energetic pathways of return for when we get distracted.

The KZoom session of Thursday, April 16th focused on specific spiritual practices.
These were for lifting our spirits, calming our hearts, connecting us to the larger community of Light Workers, and strengthening our resolve to keep our hearts open and choose kindness in each moment.

The session on Thursday, April 9th (1st Day Passover) took us on a journey of liberation.

Say, therefore, to the Israelite people: I am the LORD. I will bring you out from under the labors of the Egyptians and deliver you from their bondage. I will redeem you with an outstretched arm and through extraordinary chastisements. And I will take you to be My people, and I will be your God. And you shall know that I, the LORD, am your God who freed you from the labors of the Egyptians. — Exodus 6:6-7

The session on Thursday, April 2, 2020 focused on “Releasing Fear”.

March, 2020

The session on Thursday, March 26, 2020 was an exploration of our Journey through Adversity inspired by the teachings of the Baal Shem Tov.

The session on Thursday, March 19, 2020 was an Equinox Ritual.
Rachmiel led us in some tune-up practices. Then we called in our guides and angels, dedicating the space and setting our intention and lit a candle. The first chant The Power of Not-Knowing was followed by some heart breathing. Then we called up the Light with Rise Up, Oh Well with a bowl of water. We then transformed difficult energies with Mourning into Joy while holding a feather. We completed our ritual with All Love, All Clarity, All Power and a favorite stone.

There was no chant focus for the March 12th session.
Shefa led the group in chanting Romemu, then someone asked for Resilience, and then we did Through the Waters.

January, 2020

The chant focus for this session was Davkah and Romemu. Shefa also shared Affirmations for 2020.

June 2018 – December 2019

On hiatus: no sessions scheduled.

May, 2018

The chant focus for this session was: Pathway of Covenant (http://www.rabbishefagold.com/pathway-covenant/).

March – April, 2018

On hiatus: no sessions scheduled.

February, 2018

The chant focus for this session was: The Power of Not Knowing.

January, 2018

The chant focus for this session was: Accessing the Highest.

December, 2017

We explored two new practices,:

November, 2017

We focused on a question that Shefa was looking at: How do I establish, maintain and nurture my DEVEKUT, my inner connection with the Oneness that holds us? We explored two relevant practices:

October, 2017

We explored two new practices: