This activity can be done alone or as part of a group. 

First, find a quiet spot. Maybe it’s at home, on a favorite couch, or maybe it’s sitting in a circle with like-minded people, feeling connected to their power and strength. Get comfortable in that quiet spot, and let your mind start to drift to all of the ways in which our world needs healing. What does that healing look like for individuals? For communities? For wildlife? For our planet? 

When you’re ready, bring your mind back, and recite this meditation out loud. Repeat this meditation as many times as you’d like: 

May we hear and recognize our own calling, 

We are the ones with the capacity to heal, 

To nurture, and to repair the harm we have caused, 

And the harm of those who came before us. 

May we strive to practice tikkun olam,

May we repair the world through collective action

So that we can not only survive this changing world,

But thrive here. 

May we be courageous in the face of apathy, 

In the presence of our own fear and indecision, 

May we move together even through grief,

Remembering that there’s still time to act,

There’s still time to remember the world

Back into being.

By Trisha Arlin

Baruch Atah Adonai

Brucha At Shechinah

Blessed One-ness, Blessed Connection, 

Kadosh Baruch Hu:

We pray for all who are in pain

And all who cause pain.

We pray for those of us

Who are so angry

That we have lost compassion for the suffering

Of anyone who is not a member of our group.

And we pray for those of us

Who cannot see the suffering

Behind the loss of that compassion.

We pray for the strength

To resist the urge to inhumanity

That we feel in times of fear and mourning.

We pray for the courage

To resist the calls to inhumanity

That others may make upon us in times of crisis.

Baruch Atah Adonai

Brucha At Shechinah

Blessed One-ness, Blessed Connection,

Kadosh Baruch Hu:

May we find relief from our hurts and fears

And may we not, in our pain,

Lose our empathy

For the hurts and fears of others.

We pray for all who are in pain

And all who cause pain.

Amen

-by Trisha Arlin

Before starting this activity, take a few minutes to read through and sit with this prayer by Trisha Arlin. Read it as many times as you’d like and take notice of what comes up for you. What resonates? 

Instead Of: A Prayer for Peace by Trisha Arlin

Blessed Yah, Creator, Created, Creating...

We pray for peace,

For ourselves and the world,

Even if only for one day:

Instead of anger, we choose kindness.

Instead of revenge, we choose justice.

Instead of resentment, we choose empathy.

Instead of work, we choose rest.

Instead of ideology, we choose compromise.

Instead of destruction, we choose community.

Instead of fear, we choose endurance.

Instead of invective, we choose prayer.

Instead of violence, we choose peace.

Blessed Yah, Creator, Created, Creating...

We give thanks for this day of peace.

May it change us, may it change the world,

And let us say, Amen.

Now grab a pen, and work through these prompts.

1. Which of these negative feelings can you relate to? Which do you find your mind naturally draws from? Highlight those that stand out. 
2. Which of these positive feelings come as a struggle to you? Place a circle around the ones that you’d like to work on fostering more. 
3. What else would you add to this list? What other feelings or thoughts do you find within yourself that you’d like to reframe or replace? 

Instead of __________________________,

I choose ____________________________.

Instead of __________________________,

I choose ____________________________.

Instead of __________________________,

I choose ____________________________.

Instead of __________________________,

I choose ____________________________.

Instead of __________________________,

I choose ____________________________.

In Jewish tradition, the cycle of the moon has been compared to the Jewish people, as it waxes and wanes but is ever-present and continuing. Additionally, the Jewish calendar is modeled on the phases of the moon, with each month beginning on a new moon. So too, our sense of healing may wax and wane from week-to-week or month-to-month.

Choose an evening when the moon is clearly visible in the sky. Feel free to intentionally select a night with a moon phase that aligns with how you’re feeling (for example, waning crescent if you’re feeling tired and depleted, waxing gibbous if you’re noticing growing strength in your body, mind, or spirit). No matter which phase the moon is in when you do this practice, take a moment to breathe deeply and approach the moon with a mindset of curiosity. What might the moon teach you tonight? 

Notice how you feel when you look at the moon. If you haven’t intentionally selected your moon phase, notice what phase the moon is in tonight. Do you know if it’s waxing or waning? You may wish to look up this information later if you’re not sure. If it feels good to do so, you can put one hand over your heart and the other on your belly to ground yourself. 

Take another breath, and when you’re ready, say the following out loud or in your heart: 

Shekhinah, Divine presence, may I remember tonight and always that, much like the moon, the work of healing is ever-shifting and changing. 

Thank yourself for being here tonight. You can keep looking at the moon for as long as it feels supportive to do so. 

Notice if anything has shifted for you during this practice, and know that it’s also ok if you feel no different or if nothing seems to have changed. While this can be a frustrating experience, it may be helpful to recognize that healing is a nonlinear process of ebbs and flows. What you put effort into will reap rewards, but it might not always be right away.