Jay Michaelson

Santorum's Homophobia Problem

Jay Michaelson | Posted 03.05.2012

Read More: Gay Rights, LGBT Issues, Santorum, Rick Santorum, Homophobia, Jay Michaelson, Rick Santorum 2012, God vs. Gay, Same-Sex Marriage, 2012 Election, Elections 2012, Gay Voices News
Jay Michaelson

LGBT people awoke with a sense of dread to the news of Rick Santorum's near-tie with Mitt Romney in the Iowa caucuses. And yet, this near-win is different, because America is different. Santorum represents not the resurgence of gay-baiting, but its last, self-defeating gasp.

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What's Between New York's State Senate and Marriage Equality? About Fifteen Words

Jay Michaelson | Posted 08.20.2011

Read More: Gov. Andrew Cuomo, Homosexuality, New Yorkers for Marriage Equality, Andrew Cuomo, Greg Ball, Same Sex Marriage, Jay Michaelson, Marriage Equality, Same-Sex Marriage, New York News
Jay Michaelson

State senator Greg Ball has articulated three specific concerns with the bill -- concerns which, I believe, can mostly be answered. This gap is eminently bridgeable.

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The Path To Buddhist Enlightenment: Sometimes Assertion, Sometimes Surrender

Jay Michaelson | Posted 05.25.2011

Read More: Jay Michaelson, Buddha, Enlightenment, Law of Attraction, Ananda, Buddhist Enlightenment, Theravadan Buddhist Tradition, Theravadan Buddhism, The Path to Enlightenment, Spiritual Surrender, Buddhism, Religion News
Jay Michaelson

These days, thanks to the "law of attraction," the Buddha's model of awakening may seem more attractive than Ananda's. But in my experience, the spiritual life oscillates between both.

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An Introduction to Kabbalah, Part 10: The Kabbalah of Inspiration

Jay Michaelson | Posted 05.25.2011

Read More: Jack Kornfield, Rabbi Abraham Joshua Heschel, Jay Michaelson, Thomas Edison, Kabbalah, The Balanced Life, Zalman Schachter, Judaism, Kaballah, Kabalah, Religion News
Jay Michaelson

Kabbalah is largely about balance: love and boundary, mercy and judgment, upper and lower, symbolic and literal, physical and spiritual. Balance, and how things go out of balance.

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Meditation on the Run

Jay Michaelson | Posted 11.17.2011

Read More: Jay Michaelson, Meditation, Relaxation Techniques, Mindfulness, Relaxation, Mental Health, Wellness, Facebook, Healthy Living News
Jay Michaelson

Meditation is a straightforward form of exercise that anyone can do to become more relaxed, more aware, and more sensitive to the things going on around them.

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An Introduction to Kabbalah Part 9: Can You Ever Have Too Much Love?

Jay Michaelson | Posted 05.25.2011

Read More: Kabbalah, God, Love, Burt Bacharach, Gender, Sefirot, Yin and Yang, Relationships, Religion, Jay Michaelson, Religion News
Jay Michaelson

Of course, I think we could all agree with Burt Bacharach that what the world needs now is more love. But how theosophical Kabbalah sees a world in need of balance.

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An Introduction to Kabbalah Part 8: What are the Sefirot?

Jay Michaelson | Posted 11.17.2011

Read More: Mysticism, Jay Michaelson, Kabbalah, Right Brain, Left Brain, Sefirot, Healthy Living News
Jay Michaelson

Ten sefirot of no-thing, ten and not nine, ten and not eleven. Understand in wisdom, be wise and understanding. Examine them, explore them. Know, cont...

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An Introduction to Kabbalah Part 7: Use Your Illusion

Jay Michaelson | Posted 11.17.2011

Read More: Mysticism, Jay Michaelson, Feminine, Kabbalah, Masculine, Healthy Living News
Jay Michaelson

As we are about to begin a multi-week exploration of the concept of the sefirot, let's reframe our exploration of Kabbalah (sorry for the Chanukah-ins...

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An Introduction To Kabbalah, Part 4: Kabbalah As A Spiritual Practice

Jay Michaelson | Posted 11.17.2011

Read More: Mysticism, Symbolism, Magic, Jay Michaelson, Meditation, Kabbalah, Spirituality, Spiritual Practice, Religion, The Inner Life, Healthy Living News
Jay Michaelson

Kabbalah enables the "receiving" of more and more of reality, with more and more depth and sensitivity. Let's see how this works, in each of its three streams.

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The Gay Generation Gap: Reflections on the National Equality March

Jay Michaelson | Posted 05.25.2011

Read More: Don't Ask Don't Tell, Homosexuality, National Equality March, Cleve Jones, Gay Rights, Aids, Obama Gay Rights, Self-Esteem, Homosexuality and Religion, Human Rights Campaign, Jay-Michaelson, David Mixner, Gay Marriage, Marriage Equality, Politics News
Jay Michaelson

Where are the GLBT prophets who call us all to account? If it is true that denying marriage to gays is a moral deficiency, why haven't gay leaders framed it that way?

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An Introduction to Kabbalah Part 6: The Sefirot, or, 'If Everything is God, how come it doesn't look that way?'

Jay Michaelson | Posted 11.17.2011

Read More: Mysticism, Quantum Physics, God, Judaism, Theosophy, Jay Michaelson, Kabbalah, Sefirot, Religion, Healthy Living News
Jay Michaelson

In the first five articles in this series, we've explored some of the basic questions of Kabbalah. Beginning this week, we shift gears, digging into some core concepts and exploring them in a bit more depth.

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An Introduction To Kabbalah, Part 1: What Is Kabbalah?

Jay Michaelson | Posted 11.17.2011

Read More: Jay Michaelson, Madonna, Kabbalah, Britney Spears, Judaism, Spirituality, Healthy Living News
Jay Michaelson

Despite all the fame, or maybe because of it, it's often quite hard to get a clear answer to what Kabbalah actually is. It seems to depend on who you ask.

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An Introduction To Kabbalah, Part 3: Three Answers To The Ultimate Question

Jay Michaelson | Posted 11.17.2011

Read More: Religion, God, Atheism, Judaism, Jay Michaelson, Meditation, Kabbalah, Sefirot, Healthy Living News
Jay Michaelson

Last week, in part two of our introduction to Kabbalah, we suggested that in Jewish mystical theology, "God does not exist -- God is existence itself."

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An Introduction To Kabbalah Part 5: Choosing A Teacher

Jay Michaelson | Posted 11.17.2011

Read More: Jay Michaelson, Chabad Lubavitch, Kabbalah, Kabbalah-Center, Teachers, Spirituality, Religion, Healthy Living News
Jay Michaelson

Being a student means you don't know what your teacher knows. I think there are a few basic principles which ought to guide how you look for a teacher.

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An Introduction to Kabbalah, Part 2: God Does Not Exist, God is Existence Itself

Jay Michaelson | Posted 11.17.2011

Read More: Mysticism, Ein Sof, Yoga, Philosophy, God, Moses Cordovero, Judaism, Jay Michaelson, Kabbalah, Nonduality, Spirituality, Sefirot, Healthy Living News
Jay Michaelson

At the deepest, most fundamental level, the true reality of our existence is One, Ein Sof, infinite, and thus the sense of separate self that we all have is not ultimately true.

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The Truth About Burning Man

Jay Michaelson | Posted 11.17.2011

Read More: Baudrillard, Religion, Black Rock City, Burning Man, Burning Man Festival, Adam Lambert, Jay Michaelson, Drugs, Adam Lambert American Idol, Spirituality, Healthy Living News
Jay Michaelson

Friends of mine have changed their names, their professions, and their entire lives at Burning Man. And not because they were stoned or tripping...

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