Rabbi James L. Mirel and Karen Bonnell Werth
An innovative yet practical guide to
greater mindfulness
that brings spirituality into our
everyday lives—for any lifestyle.
“Judaism offers a rich tradition for
the spiritual seeker: its spirituality infuses daily activities
with holiness and purpose. While relating the spiritual journey
to a typical day in your life, we will walk with you through
brief sections that discuss Jewish thought and tradition. These
are followed by sections that include methods, activities,
devotions, and blessings to enrich your spiritual practice.
Every page offers the reader another step, another area of
focus, another perspective to bring the sacred into everyday
life.”
—from the Introduction
In every moment of each day, we have the
opportunity to bring the sacred into our everyday lives. We can
perform acts of mindfulness and thanksgiving that can transform
our lives and help us repair the world. Stepping Stones to Jewish Spiritual Living provides spiritual activities,
meditations, prayers, and simple rituals to accommodate any
lifestyle and daily routine, giving us a chance to embrace
God’s creation throughout the day.
Coauthored by a rabbi and a
psychotherapist, it bridges the gap between faith and healing,
tradition and innovation, acceptance of the past and
transformation for the future. Chapters are arranged according
to the cycle of each day—from sunrise to
midnight—and feature creative new rituals, inspiring
passages from traditional Jewish texts, prayers, poems,
blessings, acts of kavanah (spiritual intention), and more:
-
Sunrise
Renewing our bodies with meditation and mindful breathing.
-
Morning
Contributing to tikkun olam (repairing the world) by ethically
pursuing our livelihoods and recognizing our social
responsibility.
- Afternoon
Giving thanks with blessings at meal times, and extending
hospitality to family, friends, and community.
- Evening Combining
study and prayer with relaxation and leisure.
-
Night
Confronting pain, loss, and death with rituals for healing and
renewal for the future.
Includes special sections dealing with the
sacred aspects of relationships, love and sexuality, mourning
and loss, Kabbalah, and more. By transforming our days, Stepping Stones shows
us how we can transform our lives to practice mindfulness all
day, every day—and transform the ordinary into the
extraordinary.
“Stepping
Stones to Jewish Spiritual Living turns
the mundane 24-hour day into a luminous gateway toward the
sacred and the spiritual.”
—Rabbi
Arthur Waskow, Pathfinder of ALEPH,
Alliance for Jewish
Renewal; author of Godwrestling—Round 2
“A wonderful, practical, and
inspiring guidebook to gently bring the riches of Jewish
practice into our busy, everyday lives. Highly
recommended.”
—Rabbi
David A. Cooper, author of God Is a Verb
“Establishes ordinary daily life as
a religious and spiritual journey, anchored by traditional and
creative prayer. A unique gift is the artful inclusion of
well-loved scripture.”
—Sylvia
Boorstein, author of That’s Funny, You Don’t Look
Buddhist:
On Being a Faithful Jew and a Passionate Buddhist
“An exquisite guide to Jewish
mindfulness.”
—Lawrence
Kushner, author of Invisible Lines of Connection: Sacred Stories
of the Ordinary and other books
Rabbi James L. Mirel has served as spiritual leader of Temple B’nai
Torah in Bellevue, Washington, for more than a decade. He is
one of the most respected congregational rabbis in the United
States, and has received awards and recognition for his work in
Jewish and communal services. He has served as a religion
columnist for the Seattle
Post-Intelligencer and as a radio
talk show host on the award-winning God Talk.
Karen Bonnell Werth has been a health-care professional for twenty
years. As a psychotherapist and psychiatric nurse, she has
worked extensively in the realm of body-mind-spirit with people
of all ages and backgrounds. Educated at the University of
Michigan, she has been on the faculty of three universities and
lectures widely on topics such as healing and spirituality,
conflict resolution, and spirituality in the workplace.
