The Welcoming Nest

Compassion is ... "womb" in Hebrew, from the root word "rachamim."

When we offer compassion to another soul, it is like we are holding them in our womb. What a beautiful metaphor :)

A nest has the same concept of a womb. It is a sacred vessel for precious new life and a womb is the same. When we give compassion to another, it is like we are being a sacred vessel for them to receive "new life" to keep steady on their journey.

4th day of the Jewish month of Av - the month of Compassion

Marriage can be hard sometimes. And when it is, it’s possible to wonder what life would be like with a “fantasy” partner who was more laidback, communicative, easygoing, rich, smart, generous, sensitive, emotionally intelligent, good-looking, etc. This is very human.

However, if this “wondering” is happening often because the drain and strain of your relationship is just too much to bear, then it’s time to get help. Most people do try to get guidance by going to regular couples therapy, but that can be a disaster.

READ IN COMMENTS BELOW MARRIAGE MAGIC SOMATIC TIPS: The Divorce Litmus Test

Compassion relaxes our nervous system state.

Our thoughts affect our body states and our body affects our mind states—the act of being self-compassionate changes our nervous system state from Dorsal Vagal (heavy, low, despairing) and from Sympathetic (fight or flight) to Ventral Vagal (befriending).

READ SOMATIC WELLNESS TIPS IN COMMENTS BELOW: The Healing Power of Self-Compassion and the Vagus Nerve

Compassion is ... big goals require patience and kindness to yourself.

Writing "God Said What?! " took me 8 very long years of early morning writing time. Having such a big project that I was committed to moving forward everyday was a work of passion and patience. My coach training with Martha Beck taught me to take turtle steps and cut them in half. That's exactly what I did. An hour or two every morning with discipline was what I devoted to the project and I'm grateful to have accomplished what I did. Being kind to my body during the 8 years of writing by not push-pushing the project faster was a life-changing and wise decision.

Touching hearts from people of all different faiths made it all worth it!

“I picked this book up on the recommendation from a friend and once I started reading, I couldn't put it down. Miriam's memoir of her journey to find faith in God's love and the wisdom of the Torah is set to the backdrop of connecting to romantic love.
The way she wrote about her struggles to find and accept faith, it felt as if she was pulling me right along with her and I was somehow blessed with a piece of her hard earned wisdom. While I am not of Jewish faith, I felt deeply connected to what she shared. And in the final chapter, her call for everyone of all faiths to do what we can to allow love to transform the world into a place of peace. It is just the salve I feel the world needs right now for deep healing.” - Sherrie Papa

2nd day of the Jewish month of Av - the month of Compassion

Today is the first day of the Jewish month of Av.

Unfortunately, many tragedies happened to the Jewish people in the month of Av including the destruction of the First and Second Temples (the Western Wall in Jerusalem is the wall that surrounded them).

When the Temples existed people came from far and wide to visit because the "Shechina,"—G-d's presence and the feminine aspect of G-d—rested on these holy structures.

The "Shechina," (G-d's presence) is also referred to as "G-d's nest," a place of dwelling. I like to look at our bodies as a dwelling place for our soul, similar to a nest which contains something precious. So in taking the metaphor further, how can we "rebuild" the Temple in our own lives? By taking care of our bodies, including making peace between the physical aspect of our body and the spiritual aspect of what dwells within it—our soul.

This also includes processing our emotional energies and dissolving the untrue beliefs and thoughts of the mind, resulting in transforming our ego into light. We need compassion towards our humanness to do this so the theme for this month is Compassion.

Empowerment is ... using the energy of the emotion of anger to take action forward.

Anger arises in us for many reasons. Most often it is because an emotional or physical boundary has been violated. This could be by someone who is being dishonest and incongruent with us or it could be by someone who is just unaware.

Ask questions of the emotion since emotions have messages for us. What is the anger here to tell you? How can you establish a boundary for yourself? What action or awareness do you need to have to make a change?

Somatic healing helps decipher the messages and process the emotions coming up to give you wisdom. I feel blessed to do this work with women 🙂

Are you rejecting your husband's efforts?

Are You Rejecting Your Husband’s Efforts? Marriage Magic Mindbody Wellness Tips Dear Awesome Woman, We had a problem with outdoor tables surviving in our backyard. I don’t know what kind of “energy” was going on, but somehow every time we got a table to enjoy meals out in the garden, it got destroyed. It was either the wind tipping th...

Empowerment is ... Kabbalistic guidance to provide a salve for the world.

This was the intent when I wrote my book, "God Said What?! ."

As a dear reader shared:

“I picked this book up on the recommendation from a friend and once I started reading, I couldn't put it down. Miriam's memoir of her journey to find faith in God's love and the wisdom of the Torah is set to the backdrop of connecting to romantic love. The way she wrote about her struggles to find and accept faith, it felt as if she was pulling me right along with her and I was somehow blessed with a piece of her hard earned wisdom.

While I am not of Jewish faith, I felt deeply connected to what she shared. And in the final chapter, her call for everyone of all faiths to do what we can to allow love to transform the world into a place of peace. It is just the salve I feel the world needs right now for deep healing.” - Sherrie Papa

20th day of the Jewish month of Tammuz—the month of Empowerment

Empowerment is ... knowing that all our footsteps are directed by the Creator.

Sometimes the map of G-d doesn't take you where you thought you were going, but it always takes you where you belong. In fact, in the Jewish prayer book, one of the morning prayers said every day acknowledges this—that Hashem (G-d) directs the footsteps of humans.

This is a very empowering notion because it can remind us that only so much is in our hands and though we can let go of the reigns, we can try to direct our thoughts to what service is being asked of us at every given moment—a connection with a loved one, a kind word, an expressed appreciation or compliment, a positive deed or an exchange of spiritual inspiration.

May all our directed steps be with revealed goodness and kindness. Amen.
18th day of the Jewish month of Tammuz - the month of Empowerment

Miriam Racquel Feldman

Empowerment is knowing whether you're dealing with a Narcissist or not.

The Difference Between a Conflict with a Narcissist and a Conflict with a Non-Narcissist. READ IN COMMENTS BELOW!

As I'm finishing up my second book, I loved turning to this page in Barbara Abercrombie's book, "The Year of Writing Dangerously." This is true for my 1st book, "God Said What?! ", as well as for my 2nd book, one on somatic healing.

The spirit line is a great lesson for life♡

Pick flowers, bring seeds of joy into the present, breathe in scents, and choose beauty in your life♡

Empowerment is ... knowing that love is an inside job.

This is not narcissism which stems from fear and insecurity, a psychological wound. Having warm regard for yourself is necessary for living a healthy, joyful and purposeful life. Hashem (G-d) believes in you and you can believe in you.

8th day of the Jewish month of Tammuz - the month of Empowerment

Yup!

Joy is ... using Kabbalistic wisdom in everyday life.

The Kabbalistic term "Hod" is the divine energy of giving space and receiving awareness of another. It sits metaphorically on the left thigh.

On the right thigh sits the divine energy of "Netzach" which is the energy we use to connect and reach out to another.

All relationships require both energies—reaching out with Netzach and giving space with Hod.

Notice in relationships when you are being overly assertive, using too much Netzach (easy to do with teens) and space is required (Hod).

Or are you being too passive in a relationship and needing more of the energy of connection (Netzach)?

With balance, we get Yesod—a true foundational bonding of safety, trust, empathy and connection. This is truly a joyful connection.

The incredibly talented singer, Shulem, with my book "God Said What?! " :)

What a humble man with a gifted voice! He uses it to bring beauty and light to the world. may we all do the same. Amen!

One of my all time favorite quotes:
"You've always had the power, my dear, you've just had to learn it for yourself." - Glinda from the Wizard of Oz

Extracting the golden messages from emotions.

READ SOMATIC/MINDBODY WELLNESS TIPS IN COMMENTS BELOW: "Disappointment. Extracting the Gold when Things Don’t Go Your Way."

Joy is ...helping clients rebuild their marriages.

There is such a feeling of satisfaction and wonder knowing that I'm not just helping save two people from destructive habits, but I'm helping create a legacy of peace, love, kindness, commitment, and connection across generations.

You can hear the excitement in this client's words—

24th day of the Jewish month of Sivan - the month of Joy

Joy is ... the healing of shame.

"Shame is all about not wanting to feel what you feel, and not wanting to know what you know." Dr. Bessel Van Der Kolk

Spend time feeling what you're feeling so you can know what your body and soul want you to know.

I feel blessed to do the Somatic/Mindbody healing work I do which includes the healing of shame and the healing of trauma, anxiety, and many emotional and physical pain ailments.

"Miriam's work is amazing! She is a Healer. Miriam operates with laser-like focus using tools to remove trauma long held in the body. She has helped me access my inner wisdom for guidance and recommended numerous resources for me to pursue between sessions. The results have provided me with clarity, motivation, and deep self compassion." — G.T., New York

20th day of the Jewish month of Sivan- the month of Joy

Joy is ...the spiral of life.

We are never in the same place that we were before even though it may feel like it. There are layers of change happening all the time, uplifting our spirit as we use our intuition to guide us into love, acceptance, boundaries, and risk.

11th day of the Jewish month of Sivan - the month of Joy

Our health - emotional, physical, spiritual- benefits from processing emotions. We don’t need to judge, rationalize, or suppress our feelings. We don’t need to explode them either. We can pause, process, and heal. 💜



SEE COMMENTS BELOW💜

Healing is ... speaking about Jewish mysticism and the healing of the world 🙂

I'm fortunate to be the opening speaker for the 69th Annual Jewish Women's convention on Thursday, June 6th and sharing stories full of love, humor, and mysticism from my book, "God Said What?! ". Looking forward to connecting with women from all over the world!

May the event shine more light and radiate Geulah (Kabbalistic Redemption) energy into the universe for healing.

Healing is... charity. The blessing keeps giving and giving!

I was at a charity event today for the Hinda institute which helps those who are incarcerated reenter society. Judge Ruchi Freier spoke beautifully at the event and then raffled off a tehillim (psalm book) from an organization she started called Ezras Nashim. Ezras Nashim provides emergency medical care to women in the Jewish community in Brooklyn to help preserve their dignity. I was so excited to win the raffle!

Judge Ruchi brought me up on stage and announced how much she loved my book, God Said What?! , and proceeded to sing its praises. I was a bit shy but also wowed that she took the moment to share the spotlight and uplift me as an author. What a dignified and humble woman she is. I will cherish her autographed gift.

Also, at the event was a woman whose brother serves in the IDF. I had been at a tehillim (psalm) gathering a few months earlier where she had mentioned that her brother's commando (special operation forces) was in desperate need of bullet proof vests. I had eagerly donated and was blessed today to meet her brother at the charity event. He had finished his service and remained alive, thank G-d. He thanked me for being one of the donors and said that his commando unit of 100 soldiers all got the protection they needed. I gifted him my book as a thank you to him for battling for the Jewish nation.

Giving charity is a blessing that radiates its goodness beyond what you can imagine. It's a healing for the world.

25th day of the Jewish month of Iyar - the month of Healing

Creativity!

After I published my memoir, "God Said What?! ," I was invited to speak to a group of young students about the creative process. Creativity comes from the soul and it's so important to nurture that in the lives of youth and your own life!

Gremlins will always come to attack, telling us that "we're not good enough", "why bother?", "who will care?", "it's a waste of time" and yet, it is our job to not listen and continue to create.
Putting your soul out there into the world, whether it's just for yourself or for others, is a vulnerable process. It behooves us to honor and respect ourselves enough to move forward in joy while we paint, sculpt, write, sing, dance, collage, garden or whatever else expresses your awesome creative self.

Healing is ... encouraging creativity!

After I published my memoir, "God Said What?! ," I was invited to speak to a group of young students about the creative process. Creativity comes from the soul and it's so important to nurture that in the lives of youth and your own life!

Gremlins will always come to attack, telling us that "we're not good enough", "why bother?", "who will care?", "it's a waste of time" and yet, it is our job to not listen and continue to create.

Putting your soul out there into the world, whether it's just for yourself or for others, is a vulnerable process. It behooves us to honor and respect ourselves enough to move forward in joy while we paint, sculpt, write, sing, dance, collage, garden or whatever else expresses your awesome creative self.

21st day of the Jewish month of Iyar - the month of Healing

Are you a Superwoman? Do you have to do everything yourself, resist compliments, and reject offers for help?

READ IN COMMENTS BELOW SOMATIC/MINDBODY TIPS: Are You a Superwoman? The Gift of Receiving.

Healing is .... the ability to accept compassion and compliments from others. Receiving is a vulnerable muscle to exercise. Grace and humility, allow and surrender.

Healing is ... sharing the mystical teachings of the Torah, known as Kabbalah. Contained within its wisdom is the healing of the world.

Last night and today is called Lag B'Omer and it is celebrated as a Jewish festival to commemorate the passing of Rabbi Shimon Bar Yochai, the Jewish sage of the 2nd century who was the first to publicize the teachings of Kabbalah in his holy work the Zohar.

There is a great divine light that descends into the world on this holy day that causes us to shine spiritually. To celebrate this great light, bonfires are lit, music is played, and people do car parades 🙂 And prayers for healing are answered.

18th day of the Jewish month of Iyar - the month of Healing

Healing is ... letting go of being your own energy vampire. How do you speak to yourself? Do you trust yourself when something doesn't feel right?

If you disregard a negative feeling after an interaction with someone and give yourself a guilt trip for feeling what you feel—that is you emotionally blackmailing you. And that is draining.
Remember, physical sensations hold information and emotions contain valuable messages. If you judge yourself for what you are feeling instead of accepting and allowing the emotion and hearing what it is telling you, then you will feel drained. And that is you being your own energy vampire. So, healing is stopping that pattern. This is totally possible.

READ SOMATIC HEALING TIPS IN COMMENTS BELOW: Are You Your Own Energy Vampire?