Do you want to cultivate a better relationship with yourself?
The first step is to apply the Soul Trait (Middah) of Truth to who you are. You are a soul in a physical body. The soul reminds us of our Divine nature, and the body brings with it baggage, hurts and pains from the past that hold us back. The more we can understand that we retain that spark of goodness not matter what, the better positioned we’ll be to show up in life in a whole-hearted way.
Opening Your Internal Landscape: An Embodied Mussar Practice brings together the ancient wisdom of yoga and the Jewish practice of Mussar. From Mussar, you’ll gain the judgement of Truth, which is seeing the Truth from another’s perspective. From yoga, you’ll discover how to observe the Truth without emotional hostaging.
Please join American Mussar Mavin Greg Marcus and Israeli Yogini and Mussar facilitator Helaine Sheias for three highly experiential zoom video conferences. You’ll have an opportunity to cultivate a relationship to the Truth, and in the process cultivate a better relationship with yourself.
In week one, we’ll explore the relationship of Truth and Humility. You’ll walk away with practices to turn down that inner critic. You’ll learn about embracing who you are without emotional violence, i.e. without causing harm to yourself or others with harsh truths that ignore mercy and self-compassion.
In week two, we’ll go deeper into the truth. While one part of Truth is avoiding falsehoods, another is recognizing that each of us have unique perspectives and experiences that color the Truth we take from every encounter. The greatest gift you can give to someone is hearing their truth, without judgement and with love. You’ll walk away with a practice to grow your inner capacity to hold the truths of those closest to you, even if the relationship is sometimes fraught.
In week three, we’ll delve into the Truth and Silence. When you developing discipline, discernment and patience, it serves the betterment of us all. Silence is a tool to quiet the ego. Without silence, the ego can lead us to speak the truth without kindness, or truth from a place of anger. Mussar teaches that you should not speak your Truth when it can cause harm to another. Being able to embody that practice through the breath and body work is a key landmark on the journey to wholeness.
In this workshop, you’ll walk away with tools to:
- Understand from a Mussar and Yoga perspective what Truth is and how to be at peace with it.
- To simply sit in & be with wholeness, accepting your faults without layering on self-criticism
- Reclaim your truth as a Divine Soul
Each of the meetings will focus on a single Mussar soul trait at it relates to the Truth. They are Humility, Truth, and Silence. During each call, there will be embodiment practices, such as meditation and seated, yoga, exploration of Jewish and Yoga wisdom, and most importantly, an opportunity to discuss how they relate to your journey.
Opening Your Internal Landscape: An Embodied Mussar Practice is for people who
Practice Yoga and want to integrate the practical Jewish wisdom that Mussar has to offer
Practice Mussar, and want to explore embodiment as a key element towards wholeness
Have any level of experience with mindfulness, Mussar, yoga or Jewish learning
Are ready to take a meaningful step of personal exploration
& want to understand themselves better
Dates and Times
Opening Your Internal Landscape: An Embodied Mussar Practice will meet on March 5, 12. 19 4:30 to 5:45 Pacific time by Zoom videoconference.
Cost
Opening Your Internal Landscape: An Embodied Mussar Practice will cost $89.
Scholarships are available.
Register here with Paypal or credit card
About The Faculty
Greg Marcus has been practicing and facilitating Mussar for seven years. He is the founder of AmericanMussar.com, and the author of The Spiritual Practice of Good Actions: Finding Balance Through the Soul Traits of Mussar. Greg earned a Ph.D from MIT in biology, and worked for ten years as a marketer in the genomics industry before a spiritual experience on Yom Kippur changed the course of his life. He is a graduate of the Mussar Institute’s Manchim facilitator training program, and is currently facilitating three Mussar groups. Greg offers guidance on how to lead a life of mindful harmony and spiritual integrity, drawing upon timeless Jewish teachings and contemporary wisdom.
Helaine Sheias is a Certified Yoga Therapist and Founder of Yinspiration Yoga – a Therapeutic Approach to Yin Yoga. Helaine holds a PhD in Human Sciences, and is a graduate of the Socially Engaged Spirituality Program at Saybrook University. Born in Massachusetts, Helaine made Aliyah to Israel in her teens, served in the IDF, and settled in Israel for more than two decades. She returned to the U.S. in 2007 and has found her place in the Bay Area. Yoga reopened her passion to spiritual journeying – igniting her curiosity in Mussar and Jewish Learning. She is a graduate of the Yesod training program at the Mussar Institute and is currently facilitating TMI’s “Taste of Mussar” course. Mussar has opened her heart, softened her soul, and lifted her spirit. She feels blessed and honored to embrace Mussar as part of her Jewish spiritual journey.
What People Say About Working With Greg
I just wanted to take a minute before Shabbat, to thank you for a lovely workshop experience last evening. Your virtual Mussar workshop really made my Jewish High Holiday season so much more meaningful, and spiritually relevant. Also, being able to share the journey with other individuals, who were also in the process of transforming their lives, was the true delight of this workshop. We were all companions on this journey together, and it was wonderful to have input from others. Lastly, I was able to experience true teshuva – a return to God, with an even deeper connection than I had had previously. I most heartedly recommend these superb Mussar workshops to anyone, of any faith, who wants to dig deeper into their soul to help achieve a more magnificent sense of calmness and peace. – Selina Glater
*************************************************
Before I met Greg, I did not know what Mussar is. Greg’s clear and wise way of presenting and engaging people in Mussar has allowed me to develop both a daily practice and ongoing reflection. I encourage anyone who is interested in Mussar to learn from Greg and American Mussar. – Elisabeth Sylvan, Ph.D
*************************************************
My wife and I have participated in several Mussar classes led by Greg. He is an excellent teacher and facilitator; in each class, he has a manner and approach which enables the students to find their own path to an insight. The discussions he leads have been meaningful and compelling, and makes connecting the particular Mussar topic under question connect deeply the participants’ everyday life. – Micah Yairi
What People Say About Working With Helaine
Helanie is the most amazing teacher I have been blessed to practice under. As a former world class swimmer I can attest to teachers that engage their students through a true art. She has helped me and countless other achieve a path of deep enlightenment through her practice. It makes my day when u have the blessed opportunity to practice under her. – Jason Z. Petaluma, CA
*************************************************
Helaine’s work is centered around you… the whole you.
Body, mind, spirit, soul, beliefs, psychology, chakras, yoga and spirituality, with a focus on that which will bring you to a greater level of integration within your self.
She is highly trained in the arts and sciences of psychology and yoga, and can bring both to bear simultaneously. Her work is adaptive ~ again, always focused on that which will bring you to a greater level of integration, now. Her work is more authentic in its attention to yogic practices and yogic philosophy than most standard US yoga instructors.
If you wish to discover more of who you are, who you can be, and ~ not necessarily eliminate your “blocks” to this, but rather learn to have these more difficult parts integrate themselves into your whole self, rather than continuing to stand apart within you saying “no!” to your authentic life ~ go see Helaine! – Markus T. Alameda, CA
Accepting the Truth of Who You Are
Mussar is a practice of becoming a Mensch, a person of outstanding character. Each of us has the capacity to grow into more of a mensch, because at our core, we were created in the image of the Divine. If you are not sure about the Divinity, you can think of it as that common core of humanity we all share. If you’d like to become more comfortable with yourself, experience greater calm and ease, and bring your best to relationships at home and at work, please join Greg and Helaine for Opening Your Internal Landscape: An Embodied Mussar Practice.
Register now.