PATH---OVER

As the Passover holiday approaches, I have been thinking quite a bit about the story of Passover and how we tell that story every year.

This year I was asked to lead a small family seder back east. I was wondering how could I help make this year's seder more meaningful for everyone. What concepts or exercises could I introduce that would enhance the seder experience and transform us from slavery to freedom?

Then, a vision came to me. I imagined myself asking everyone, at the very start of the seder, to please pass in their Maxwell House Hagadah's (still a tradition in our family). I bravely announced to everyone, "This year, we are going to tell a different story!" I then passed out booklets to everyone. The booklets were the story of Sidhartha, the Buddha. The vision becomes a bit blurry at that point and I vaguely imagine drawing parallels between the life of Sidhartha and the Israelites. At this point, I received a call informing me that, in fact, this year's seder was going to be at my uncle's home, Rabbi Harold Spivack, who would be conducting the seder.
Whew! Now that I was off the hook, my ego stopped inventing ways in which I would look good in front of everyone, and I realized that my PATH---OVER journey had begun.

The truth is, as jews, we do need to tell ourselves and our offspring a different side of the story. We need to shift our focus and attention from where we came from, slaves in Egypt, victims of the Holocaust, to where we want to go, communion with The Presence in the promised land. We are so caught up in our identity of victimhood that by thinking and talking about it so much we are perpetuating its existence and validity, and it continues to infect us as a people, as the Hagadah says, "...oppressors and tyrants rise against us in every generation..."

I choose to focus on my freedom. Freedom from being controlled by my Pharaoh (ego) in my everyday life and inter-reactions with people, and beginning a new journey of awakening and realizing the true nature of my being, in a peaceful and still place like the desert (or the forest, anywhere that is away from the invasive thoughtforms of gossip, TV, radio, etc.). This is the matzah, the essence, of the PATH---OVER story. To leave our small selves in mitzrayim, that are enslaved by thoughts of worry, doubt, fear, lack, and limitation, and surrender to our Higher Self through thoughts and feelings of love, beauty, joy, abundance, and prosperity.

Practically, in my everyday life, this is how it looks.

1. Each day I spend time alone. This is essential for understanding who we are and what we are doing here on earth at this time. Moses spent a lot of time alone, with The Presence. Since The Presence is everywhere, we have the same opportunity!
2. Each day I consciously choose to focus on the good in every situation. This takes practice and patience, but once mastered we experience the world differently. Where there is limitation, we can see expansion, where there is lack, we see abundance. Which world do you want to live in? The choice is ours. We can focus on freedom and expansion, and experience these qualities, or we can focus on enslavement and limitation and suffering will be our experience.
3. Each day I am constantly reminding myself to Be Present and Wake-Up! I know how easy it is for me to get lost in my own thoughts, making up stuff in my head that is just my ego's way of trying to maintain control. It takes courage and diligence to examine my thoughts and refocus them towards assisting and being subordinate to my Higher Self. We must Wake-Up! Now! The evolution of consciousness depends upon it!

Lastly, I think we owe it to our ancestors, for whom we are deeply grateful, to continue to evolve towards becoming Tzaddiks, enlightened ones. Our ancestors suffered, some greatly, so that we would not have to. It does not honor them to suffer as they did. In fact, it is dishonoring of them. Every generation stands on the shoulders of the next and continues to evolve. As we stand on their shoulders, let us become like Moses, who knew God face-to-face and who communed with The Presence. Let us make this year the year of our awakening. It is happening all over the planet at this time with all peoples. We must embrace our past and then LET IT GO and focus on our expansion. We can no longer wait for the Messiah to come save us and bring us peace. We are the Moshiach energy and we must become the Shalom, peace and wholeness, that we seek.

Running Man

Recently I have become more aware of the internal ticking clock that drives me. It feels to me that the natural state of my physical body is constantly in a mode I call Running Man. It also feels like this mode is necessary in order to exist in this time/space reality. On the other hand, I am also aware of the dimension of me that is timeless and exists outside of our time/space reality. That part of my being craves silent stillness where I am fully present and communing with The Presence. This is the place where I meet the holy one, is beyond thought, a place of feeling.

In order to reach that place of communion I have been doing a meditation that helps me get there. It actually is a process that slows time. The meditation goes something like this:

First, imagine you are on a crowded subway train that is traveling fast through the tunnel. Imagine this is the Time Train. Feel your body rhythms, your breathing, your heart rate and sync them up with the rhythm of the train on the tracks. Relax into that feeling and ride the train for a couple of minutes.

Now, as you hear the conductor call out the next stop, take the next couple of minutes feeling the train gradually slowing down, and feel your body rhythms also slowing down in sync with the train, until the train comes to a full stop. Feel yourself stopping and becoming acutely aware of the stillness in the present moment where time has been temporarily suspended.

As the doors to the train open feel your excitement of peeking out at a new world. It feels to me like cautiously peeking out from the cave I have been living in. Step out of the train. Notice how it feels to have the train doors close behind you. Adventure? Fear? Wonder? This is a place where anything is possible, the eternal dimension. See the train move on and look around. See the sign that says "Welcome To Heaven, You Made It!"

Here is the audio file for this guided meditation:  http://www.box.net/shared/2tza2d09ja

Can a Cup of Coffee Prevent a Stroke?

Drinking two or more cups of coffee a day may actually lower a woman’s chances of having a stroke, according to a study of more than 80,000 female health professionals published in the March 3 issue of Circulation. The benefit appears to be specific to coffee: other caffeinated drinks such as tea and soft drinks did not reduce the risk of stroke.

These results are surprising because some previous studies have linked coffee drinking with high blood pressure and high cholesterol, both of which raise a woman’s stroke risk. However, recent research has also found that coffee does not increase your risk of developing heart disease, and may even protect against type 2 diabetes (an important heart disease risk factor). This is the first study to look specifically at the connection between coffee and stroke in women. Studies in men have had conflicting results, with some finding higher risk and others lower risk the more coffee you drink.

This study looked at the coffee habits of 83,076 women in the Nurse’s Health Study. Every few years between 1980 and 2004, the women were asked about their consumption of coffee and other drinks and monitored for health outcomes. Researchers found that women who drank two or more cups of coffee each day had a 20% lower risk of stroke than coffee abstainers. This was true even after other health conditions like high blood pressure, high cholesterol, and diabetes were taken into account.

Even decaf coffee appeared to have benefits: women who drank two or more cups a day experienced an 11% decrease in stroke risk, although the total number of women who drank decaf was too small to be sure this result was not due to chance. Another important finding was that women who smoked appeared to miss out on the stroke benefits of coffee.

New JavaRoast Creates Great Batch of Costa Rican!

We are celebrating the debut of the JavaRoast Coffee Roaster prototype created by Rourke Ball and Wake-Up! founder Asher Yaron.

A 5 lb. batch of FTO Costa Rican was roasted and turned out beautifully!

Rourke and Asher plan to make the JavaRoast available to small commercial roasters, restaurants, coffee shops, coffee drive-thru's, etc. The pair will offer training, support, and other accessory products.

Wake-Up! Coffee was created to serve those who normally would not have access to locally roasted fresh coffee. Believing that the vast majority of coffee drinkers can taste the difference in freshness, Wake-Up! Coffee is committed to providing its customers with high quality Fair Trade Organic beans that are freshly roasted. Because fresh roasted always tastes better!