Planting Seeds of the Divine

<p>Experiencing deep personal fulfillment happiness and sustenance comes from feeling connected to our authentic selves which involves building an ongoing relationship with the Divine Presence within us says author Yiscah Smith. Quite organically then we may begin sensing the Divine in our interactions with other people. This is because for each of us our essence as a creation by God is God.</p><p><em>Planting Seeds of the Divine</em> elucidates how Judaism's sacred texts can provide the foundation for the end destination of experiencing intimate encounters with the Divine Presence within--the God-consciousness that so many of us find elusive. Imagining ourselves as spiritual gardeners we can cultivate our unique gardens with seeds centered on <em>middot</em> (emotional dispositions character traits spiritual sensitivities). Each seed corresponds to an aspirational Torah commentary consisting of a selected Torah verse linked to one of the <em>middot</em> a summary of the biblical text preceding the verse classical commentaries teachings of Hasidic and Neo-Hasidic masters and the author and step-by-step experiential practices to help us internalize the <em>middot</em> and encounter the Divine.</p><p>Each seed contributes to the garden's beauty--the beauty of the self in God-consciousness--which hopefully blossoms into a magnificent garden of the soul. </p><p></p><p><strong>Yiscah Smith</strong> is a thought leader and spiritual activist committed to empowering and ennobling others in the spiritual practice of encountering the Divine spark within and beyond. She teaches Jewish contemplative practice and spiritual texts at the Pardes Institute of Jewish Studies in Jerusalem and for the online platform Applied Jewish Spirituality. She is the author of <em>Forty Years in the Wilderness: My Journey to Authentic Living</em> and founder of Conscious Community Nachlaot an alternative prayer space in Jerusalem. Her <em>Authentic Jewish Living with Yiscah</em> podcast episodes are available on platforms such as Spotify and Apple Podcasts.</p><p></p>