BARBARA'S TCHATZKAHS

I have never been able to experience intimacy without genuine emotion. I do not understand people who do that. I believe its exploitative of others. I learned in the last few years that many pathologicals: Narcissists & Sociopaths mostly, are truly capable of corrupting, abusing and using this. Tiger Woods, Steve Philips and all you others who abuse & use others for sex... you're not addicts - you're predators. The Deeper Meaning of Physical Intimacy by Rabbi Chaim Levine It has the potential for intense holiness and intense corruption, depending who's at the helm -- your soul or your ego. Did the title catch your attention? Why? There is something about this topic that sets off firecrackers in people's minds. Ad agencies use sex almost ubiquitously to prey on your pocketbooks -- they tie it together with selling minivans, french fries, mail delivery services, and computers. What's underneath all this hype is the reality that physical intimacy carries tre...

Mental illness is nothing to be ashamed of, but stigma and bias shame us all.” - Bill Clinton Since the Virgina Tech Tragedy in April and this week's numerous shootings, I have been spending a lot of my online time searching for what the Torah and the Jewish Sages have to say about mental illness, depression and the treatment of trauma. For too long we have swept the problems of mental illness under the carpet... and hoped that they would go away. -- Richard J. Codey Some of what I read was oversimplification. Some of it assumes a level playing field with all the mentally ill. Some of it, unfortunately, posits that mental illness can be controlled by willpower - ignoring medical research that points to the fact that mental illness is caused by chemical changes in the brain that are often permanent and sometimes genetic in cause. Additionally, some say that depression from abuse can be overcome by sheer willpower, completely ignoring once again - that abuse and trauma can cause p...

If you are on an aggregator, click here to view the video above. Love can fail, and we must know it can fail. For if love was always reciprocated, how could there ever be sincere love? Rather, every person retains his free will. No matter how strong you pull with cords of love in the right direction, he may always turn his back and run away. But you have done your part, you have shown love. And what is the reward for that love? It is the elevation of your soul, and his soul, and the drawing of the Infinite Light upon all the community of all the world. text from "Be Within, Stay Above" words adapted by Tzvi Freeman PLEASE CLICK HERE TO JBLOG ME

Ben Goldfarb Director, Paradigm Shift Communications We sometimes think we understand other people's motives, and more often than not, we condemn others for their words and actions. Perhaps we need to change the way we look at the world. The Talmud states that we don't see the world as it is but rather as we see ourselves. The founder of the Chasidic movement, Rabbi Israel Ba'al Shem Tov (1698-1760), takes this notion one step further. He suggests that we look at the world as if looking in a mirror. When we see good or bad character traits in others, this is simply a reflection of who we are. This concept is illustrated beautifully by the following story: A traveler approached the gates of a city and, before entering, asked about the nature of its inhabitants. The guard asked him what the people were like in his hometown. The man described in no uncertain terms all the negative attributes of his former neighbors. The guard said that the people in his city were iden...