I am so moved by the communication during this war. It moves me often to tears. On one hand, I feel cut off, from daily life, on the other hand, more connected than ever to the essence of life!

I received a beautiful email from Jane Abromowitz, a lovely lady who also writes an uplifting and inspiring blog from Israel (more evidence that I am not
the only one :-)!!!!! Visit her blog here:

I wrote this to her and I wish it for all of us:

I am sure that the river will clean out all the debris from the current stormy waters in your life, and holding in mind that each one of us will move in the direction that serves our highest good.

War and Sleep - or lack of it

Can you believe it? I have been up all night.

The rooster is crowing. It is almost five thirty in the morning.
This war is having it's way with my body clock. Learning to make peace with that too.

I guess I'll go take a shower, do my morning meditation and then go to sleep.

Between five and six in the morning is a powerful time to sit and focus upon intention.

Peace in the War Zone

I just came back to the computer after going to sleep.
Only I lay there with too much on my mind to allow me to doze off.

Also, I slept until one o clock this afternoon. My body clock is way off.

War'll do it to you every time :-)...
Forgetting that I had just sent out another message to my good news email list (you can subscribe at: , I reopened the computer to discover ten well wishing emails from the announcement. What a plesant suprise! Thanks!

I decided to write what I learned as I was sitting in meditation before getting into bed, and before trying to fall asleep. I am writing down my experiences (there are so many and will organize them into a book) that I will be able to share with others in a constructive way. Gonna go write some more now.

Thank god for the computer and for internet. It's a life saver in war. Makes me feel connected.

All the best....

Latest Breaking News from Israel: Northern Galilee

I have been up since five thirty. Not because the missiles kept me up... I kept the fan on last night to silence the military vehicles with white noise...

No, I have been up to start writing a book to share how I am staying peaceful in the midst of all this calamity.

I swear, I am finding such deep compassion and meaning in life, by showing up, moment by moment.

I'll keep you filled in .

My morning coffee was punctuated by the song of birds chirping in the trees (will write more later about this)... It was quite amazing to experience the duality of both the silence, the song and the hum of the fighter planes in the distance.

It all exists at the same time.

What do you want to focus upon? I am choosing the silence.

There's something bigger here, and I am going to find out what it is... and share my good with you.

Please remember to do something kind for yourself today... you deserve it!

A twisted back to straighten out my attitude

So today, has been spent mostly in front of the computer.

I already wrote about taking Matthias to the bus this morning.
He arrived to Caesaria safely and spent the day wandering around the ancient
Roman ruins, and site of the Hebrew spiritual Eli Eli (Oh Everlasting Divine), written by Hanah Senesh, the resistance fighter who was captured by the Nazis on her way into Germany to free Jews from the concentration camps.

Funny how yesterday we had a talk about the holocaust. In my youth I was incredibly sensitive around the subject. I refused to go to Germany. During my years living in France, I had a major healing with it, enabling me to enjoy a music peace tour there as well as host and share that delicious weekend in the Galilee with Matthias, in peace, while the military planes flew overhead and missiles flew around us.

Matthias just called to say good night. I told him about the connection. We had a good laugh over the irony of God's creativity in bringing about healing for us all.

Make no mistake about it... healing is happening... even in this war. I am one example of it, and there are many others.

This afternoon - after speaking to my mom on the phone (she lives in LA) and assuring her that I will take good care of myself (it's part of the Jewish gene pool :-)... I left the house to go swimming. At least a dip in the water will refresh me. Bombs can't explode in water... they will just melt. It was a comforting thougth.

I got to the pool and was suprised by the amount of activity going on. These last few days, the village (and everywhere else in the north has been like a ghost town).
The children were playing in the water. I was only able to swim two laps before my back rebelled. I am getting the message over and over again: "Stop, rest, look and listen. You will find everything you need".

Those minutes that I sat by the pool watching two children play hide and seek in the shallow end of the pool, taught me without a shadow of a doubt, that innocence is the way... especially in response to violence. They don't know what is going on. They continue to play.

I do not mean to say that we should be irresponsible... I suspect there may be those of you reading whose minds may criticize. This is ok. Only I ask you to consider another option - something that I am learning big time these days: compassion.

Compassion is born of innocence. If we truly allow ourselves to connect to that part of ourselves, we will find the solution to our basic problem... disconnection from the Source... that sense of being alone.

I am applying it right now. Half hour ago, bombs hit Carmiel, Rosh Pina and Tsfat... that is very close to me... I heard alot of commotion in the distance. It is leading me to prepare my bedding in a center room of the house, where there are no windows, just to be safe... This has brought up fear.

How do I respond.... I meet the fear - meaning I am not running from it, I am accepting it. I ask it what it is teaching me. I listen for the answer. I asked whether I need to leave. The still small voice answered, no, yet it might be a good idea to sleep in a secured space. I am being obedient to that voice. Better safe than sorry (I've gotta write the blog tomorrow, no :-)??!! I will take care of myself and do what is neccessary to protect my being.

Tonight I go to sleep confident in the Highest Good. I am sure of it. I surrender to it. I have NO IDEA what it looks like, or what it feels like now, but I am 100% committed to learn and experience it. THis war is teaching me true peace. Stay tuned, I will fill you in on what I learn.

Not knowing is a powerfully safe place to be. AMEN... and good night.

Weathering the Weather

This morning I awoke feeling so much better.
Allowing myself to feel the deep pain yesterday washed me clean.

Matthias and I left at 8:00 am to go to my yoga class in the village.
Only on the way up the hill Bea called to say the course is cancelled.
No one is coming... she said.

I decided to take Matthias to Carmiel - to the bus station... hoping there would be buses. Yesterday, there was no transporation and the roads were closed.

Last night, we had no water for about an hour. I wasn't sure what to expect this morning.

The road was silent and the stormy clouds reflected the dark mood. It was such bizarre weather for the middle of the summer.

I dropped Matthias at the bus station, fortunately there were limited buses running.
I continued to the supermarket, to the bank and to the gas station.

On the way from the supermarket, I picked up a hitchhiker from Sakhnin, on his way to the shopping center. Sakhnin is the Arab town, whose soccer team won the World Cup for Israel this last year.

I let the hitchiker out, and he thanked me graciously. It felt good to have something to give in this gloomy atmosphere.

With my trunk filled with food and water, I made my way back up the hill to Amirim, the village where I live. We are fortunate to be blocked by a large mountain "Mitzpeh HaYamim". The missiles (katyushas) would either hit before the mountain or after it.

Today I have been inside - mostly on the internet. My cat is sleeping on my lap, paws locked on top of my fingers as they type this entry.

I feel glad for the sunshine. Glad for the hour. Glad for the moment to be alive. People have been calling and emailing yesterday and today. It feels so good to know that others are thinking of me. It makes me want to give even more.

I really hope that people are reading these entries... I have NO idea.

IT would be great to hear from you.

My tears could water an entire garden

Renatia, a lovely woman from Rosh Pina, who spent the last two days sleeping in a bunker, decided to come out and sleep in her house.

She called this morning to share a song that she is in the process of preparing. During the conversation, she mentioned something about Germany, I asked if that is where she was originally from. When she answered, yes, I suggested that perhaps she would like to speak to my guest, Matthias. I was thinking that perhaps it would provide him support to speak to someone in his native language.

As Renatia and Mathias spoke, I lay on the couch, deep pain in my back, tears welling in my eyes and silent sobbing convulsions finishing the cycle.

I am crying because I feel pain. My inner voice says: "Yes, sweetheart, cry... it is so healthy to be human." I dont' know Matthias very well, so I wondered how he would respond to my tears. Habit made me want to stifle it.

"No. It is healthy. It is human. It is loving. Thank God you are a human being with feelings. Let the boy see your pain. Let the boy see who you really are, what you are honestly made of". Tears are coming to my eyes as I write.

I hurt. I hurt because of all the good that gets squished by the ignorance and fear of others who cannot see. And I do not intend to hate them back. That would only be continuing the cycle. It would be easy. I would have lots of support for it... but I would not feel satisfied.

So today, I cannot work. I am in pain. My back is tied in knots like those of the ancient olive trees in the biblical groves below my village.

I am grateful to the friend who asked me to consider what is even more powerful than love.... compassion. He suggested that I sit with this pain, and find my compassion within it.

So , I am doing this. It brings the ancient pain of generations of dissappointed failure and fear and isolation to the surface.

Thank God for my opportunity to heal. I promise to use every bit of this pain of war to resolutely end my inner war - compassionately.

Love is stronger than fear or hate, or my isolated aloneness. Thank God I have someone here to give to. Thank God for what I have to give. Thank God for the war that is teaching me peace. May I be able to share this with others.

Amen.

Morning amidst the missiles and marketing

With the roads closed here, and my lovely German guest here in our peace filled bubble, it is a support to receive your comment.

All of us are saddened by destruction - doesn't matter how it happens and by whom... everyone loses.

It causes me to practice compassion... That's all I have to say this morning.

The other thing is that I have to go to the market. I wonder if they are open? I think I'll go to the small store in the village, save myself the need to go out. Best to lie low today.

I thank God for the oasis of peace I am in.

Blast in Northern Israel - Watch It!!!

This is a blast of a DIFFERENT kind... if you get my drift.

It's a video filmed last week by Rani Barghouti, son of my peace activist friend, Kamel Barghouti of Nazareth. Every first Friday night of the month is Open House here in Amirim in the hills of Galilee.

Another peace friend came from Ramallah in the Palestine Authority... Daria and her daughter Kyra were here from the US. On Saturday Daria gave a great peace concert here for the families. Many others from all over came as well.

At the end of the evening, we filmed this short piece with the peace flag banner that Daria brought me as a gift to the Peace Center.

Go to the site to watch it:

Saturday, Eden and Missiles

In the background, I could hear the boom, boom of the missiles landing in the distance. Where I was not sure.

I sat on my porch table, coffee in hand, cat perched on the green tablecloth, purring her usual morning song.

Inside, Matthias lay quiet, drunk in the midst of his slumber.

"How can all this exist at the same time?" I wondered to myself.

Last night after posting my evening blog, I did a short search on google to get an update from the latest news. It didn't take more than one minute of perusing the front page of headlines before I made the decision to turn the computer off. Each headline expressed some jargon or particular political slant that the newspaper or wire service was trying to sell.

Here I am sitting in the middle of missiles going off, choosing to make peace with the contradiction and pain around me.

It's so easy to point fingers or to make simple conclusions about the situation. We do this every day with all kinds of situations in life. It's dangerous. It leads to more mayhem.

Each one of us is responsible for how we think and choose. I am so sorry at how few of us in humanity know to apply this. I am so sorry that we get so carried away by the drama of life, that we never get to reach underneath it's facade.

Beneath the dark beyonds of the scary depths - beneath the bowels of the earth, lie the answers to our deepest secrets. It is there that I am willing to go today.

Yes, today, I feel sad. And today I feel human. Today I feel compassion for the dark and the light.

Who am I to judge. I will not fall into that trap. It's a dead-end street. I am on a journey into the unknown. Yes, it's scary, and it's also exciting.

What if there is a larger picture to all this? What if there is something beyond, what seems evident.

I am choosing to go there. I'll keep you posted. Please ask me questions. I would love to answer.

Late Breaking News

I'm tired... gonna go to bed as soon as I post this message.

Matthias, my guest from Germany is sound asleep, after three days of hiking through the Galilee hills.

Funny huh?! He's been hiking while the bombs drop.

We are so drugged by the brain washing of commercial media, that the news of rockets, immediately conjure up images and war torn damage everywhere, in every place.

This is not so. Matthias was living in a different reality these last several days.
I live in another one as well.

Do you know how good it felt to be in the company of many people today, who consciously chose to meet to share in harmony.

One of my students said that she told no one where she was coming because she was afraid of their response... "How can you leave home?" "What am I going to do, sit at home and wither away?", she asked. "I know in my heart that I am safe."

I think it's sad that we, who are faithful and filled with courage, feel like we have to hide our light. I think that THIS is the big shame...

I'm no longer willing to hide my light under a bushel. I am so grateful to have playmates.

Sweet dreams.

My latest news from Northern Israel

I will be writing more regularly - as much as possible now, in order to provide you with my personal experience of living in peace, even while rockets are blaring around the area where I live.

Yesterday, when the missiles began to hit the Western Galilee, I wrote a quick newsletter that I mailed out to my mailing list and also to my family. It was preceeded by: "Before you read too much news and watch too much television, I write this message to provide you with my personal account... of living in the Galilee today. How does one respond with peace in the midst of mayhem? Consciously, answering my own question.

Last night, I drove to Nazareth to attend the concluding concert of Daria's English camp program. Award winning singing Daria
came for two weeks to Israel with her delightful daughter Kyra, to volunteer at an English summer camp directed by my dear friend Kamel Barghouti. Single handedly, Kamel arranged this innovative camp.

Daria and I met through the internet. She read an article that I wrote for Global Rhythm Magazine, about how Israeli and Palestinian musicians navigate the mid-east crises. I wrote the piece at the height of the Intifada (crises), a few years back.

Last year, Daria and her colleague Nalida Silva attended my performance in the Music of Peace concert at the United Nations, where we met in person. I performed at Daria's daughter's school. She mentioned wanting to come to Israel. I told her that I didn't know how I could help, but I will keep her wish in mind. I spoke to Kamel about Daria, and he was delighted with the idea. This trip, is the result of the introduction.

The roads were almost empty, most people sequestered in their homes.

I arrived to Nazareth to the performance. Almost two hundred children bustling with youthful energy and their parents filled the community center auditorium. I brought my drum with me... thinking that singing for the children would uplift my spirits, and keep me focused on healthy, constructive thoughts.

It wasn't easy. During the concert, I was feeling heavy and sad inside. I allowed room for it, not wanting to suppress my natural expression. It came time for Daria and my piece together - Shalom - Salaam. How appropriate. Jew and Arab - in Israel are in the same boat. I felt comforted by our song. We continued with another piece.

Later that evening, Kamel said, "I always liked you, but tonight, your coming here, given the situation, makes me understand you even more. Thank you."

His words encouraged me beyond my weariness, beyond my sadness, beyond anything that could even start to get in my way of silence.

THis morning, my students arrived for our last sacred healing music session together. Yosi, from Tel Aviv called last night to ask if class will be held. "Of course", I replied.

It was a sublime day. We used the katyushas (missiles) as an allegory for the ways we ambush ourselves in daily life. The measure of a person is not when things are going well, but rather when they arent'.

After they left, I took a nap. I was awoken by another woman from Rosh Pinah. "Hi, I want to sing for you", she said. From her, I learned about the activity there today. "Last night we slept in underground shelters, it was like sleeping in the womb of mother earth", she said. What a constructive way of looking at things...

Five minutes ago, a German boy arrived upon my doorstep to stay the weekend. We are meeting for the first time. Matthias started out in Migal (where Mary Magdalene was born), this morning, hiking his way through the valleys until he arrive here this evening.

Stay tuned, I'll keep you posted with my personal accounts of daily life here.

Hope it will inspire you. Please ask me questions!!!!!

True Independence is a State of Mind

Today, in the United States, it is Independence Day. Having been born and raised in the US, the date rings a bell, resonating with a certain chime.

I live in the Middle East. Although the fourth of July is just an average day, I take the time to celebrate the essence of true independence.

Underneath the icon of a country's day of Independence, what is the essence of it's meaning? As I see it, the freedom of an individual to determine his/her own course in life. It is our birthright as human beings to use our free will.

How often though, do we really use it freely? Conditioning, bad habits, fear, lack of inner confidence and worry undermine our true worth.

Today, I remind myself that I am free to choose, and as well am RESPONSIBLE FOR, my decisions.

The quality of my life and my experience is measured, not by the events which occur, but by the way in which I choose to respond to them.

Wishing every one of us the freedom to actively choose that which will bring our highest good.

Happy Independence!

Relaxing in the midst of chaos - simple, fun exercise

Here's a simple and easy exercise which, if you are willing to practice for only one minute, can turn your busy workday irritation into an inspirational and meaningful therapeutic activity.

Here's how it goes:

1) While walking down a busy street, stop for one minute and just listen. Count how many different sounds you hear - without judging. Notice how your body feels.

Next step...

2) Listen for another minute to these same or other sounds and listen for their rhythm. You may hear honking, trucks whooshing by, sirens, loud talking, drilling, any type of sound in the city scape. If you live in a rural or country setting, do the same steps with the natural sounds you hear around you.

After discover the rhythm of these seemingly dissonent sounds...

3)Listen in order to discover the harmony amongst all those sounds. Yes, if you listen for it, you WILL discover it. Notice how you feel. How is your body now?

Don't believe what I write... it's worth nothing. Try it out and experience for yourself... that is worth EVERYTHING.

Look forward to your feedback.

Reconnecting and Healing Detachment

I see it's been almost a week since I posted.

Yes, I have been busy - and lots has been going on. Most importantly, I have been connecting with lost parts of my soul, those jagged, rough and unseemly sides to myself, that at other times, I'd prefer to ignore and pretend they're not there.

Honestly, the reason for my delay in writing is connected to this.
In defering my posts, I could sit with myself more. Only, sitting with myself in this case, is a dose of isolation in order to "get it right with myself", before connecting with the outside world.

It's a case of being too concerned with myself, and not seeing others. Being too concerned with myself comes from fear of not being good enough. Deep inside, there is a dread that I am unworthy and "bad". I have been dancing with this side of myself, consciously inviting us to tango. My intent is to honesly accept all sides of me, expecting that by doing so, there will be less to hide from. It will enable me to meet others in the open.

One thing I noticed this morning is how easy it is for me to isolate, just as I am getting ready to succeed... waiting for others to agree to a collaboration, following through on a request from a client that would provide me with more income and enjoyable projects, calling a friend to ask "how are you?" to keep the connection alive... I notice that as I come close to merging with the "one", which in the above description, are expressed through different facets, I hedge, I haw, like a repelling magnet, I run in the other direction.

It's not pretty for me to admit this, let alone expose it to the world for all to read... yet it's my way of coming out of isolation.

It's my way of taking responsibility for my experience of life - to love and accept myself unconditionally. It provides me with an opening to learn something new and to receive the good that I and all of us so deserve.

Mary Magdalene's Well Part Two

In this audio post, Stephanie Gunning and I are at Mary Magdalene's well, across from the Sea of Galilee, just as a flock of sheep (maybe 200+), enter "stage right", and line up around the banks to drink from the clear pure waters. You might think this came just out of a movie, only it's real! Sometimes life is much better than fiction.

Listen to the sheep and goats "baaing" and drinking. We are there too, talking and laughing and adding our own notes.

At Mary Magdalene's Well Part One

My editor and friend Stephanie Gunning visited me in Galilee. I took her on a tour of the Holy Land sites mentioned in the bible and places that are actually much older.

One morning, after bathing in a secret well (actually we found soldiers who were camping under a nearby tree), we continued to visit Mary Magdalene's well, the place where she and Jesus had originally met.

Listen to our discovery and impressions here:

Israeli-Palestinian Peace: Listen to it!

Open House - Continuation

Peaceful Greetings - Open House June 2, 2006