When is a voice not a voice? When it is silent!

daniel e hochman

I’m reaching inside to find courage to start posting again. Please forgive a few test posts to get the process working!

And this is the end of the test.

This is a test

this is a title

and this is a message:

Thank you for indulging me as I make tests to posting. I will always try to give some inspiration.

and this is the inspiration:

We do not succeed at projects we do not start. Take the initiative and start your dream!

Your Peaceful light is the calm within the storm. It is the eye of the hurricane. It is the connection to your heart and soul that remains calm and vibrant in the midst of chaos of the world.

USA Today posted an article about dieting in America. Here is a link: USA Today Diet Article.

It says that not as many people in America are dieting anymore. Hmm. How many of you reading this think about what you eat? Calories? Fat? Cholesterol? Pounds? Health? BMI? Carbs? If any of these words enter your thoughts when you eat or when you think about eating then you are probably dieting in one way or another. The article suggests that the percentage of those saying they are dieting may be reduced because:

“Dieting has negative connotations, so it’s possible that people were trying to lose weight but didn’t call it a diet…”

Well, I have been doing that for years! I never liked the meme associated with the word dieting, so a long time ago I started a “voluntarily reduced calorie intake plan.” That is not a diet.

However, the magic of those words has seemed to wane for me as well, and recently, I’ve just been saying that I am dieting. Whatever I call it, I have been a slave to the meme for most of my adult life. I only know a very few people that don’t watch what they eat in some way.

But once again, that is changing for me. Interestingly, this survey analyzed 51,000 people and determined that being overweight is healthier than being underweight. This survey pooled 97 studies and 3 million people to conclude that being “overweight” does not shorten life expectancy. I also remember reading a book called “Big Fat Lies” by Glenn A. Gaesser that explains clearly through scientific review of many previous surveys the same thought: dieting to lose weight does not increase life expectancy. Dr. Gaesser also concluded that it does not increase quality of life! Wow!! Continue reading “The Weight of the Situation”

We are all dreamers. Aside from the occasional nightmare, we dream of happiness and of success. We dream of money and food and running through green meadows and scoring the winning touchdown and finding our soul mates. We strategize and plan, and we daydream and we muse.

I believe that whatever it is we dream about, whatever it is we focus on, we bring about in some way. The trick is to hold an intent close to your heart: to dream it and vision it so clearly that you are at one with your dream. And then, when you have your goal firmly placed within your being, to somehow let go of needing to plan the details. Instead, focus on love for yourself, and love for God. And focus on the certainty that God loves you.

When your faith in this process is well underway, it is then time to notice what happens. Opportunities start to show up in your life. You end up finding yourself closer to your dreams than you could have ever imagined, and you discover despite your best planning, the path to your dream was beyond your imagining.

One example from my life is here today. Continue reading “Rabbi Solomon Installation Speech”

Today, I woke up knowing that I would later in the day do a soul retrieval. I intended to do ceremony and journey with the specific purpose of gaining back the fragmented pieces of self that were lost along the way. I knew in my heart where these pieces were. Some were lost as long ago as when I was three years old. Some were lost a month ago when I underwent painful surgery and recovery.

For the past several months, and specifically for the last month, my story has been one of suffering and woe. Almost for 15 years, this physical pain has defined me in many ways. I have been in someway, in part or in whole, to varying degrees, in victim mode. The pain has drained me emotionally, spiritually and physically.

In the few weeks since the surgery, I have felt violated,cast aside and traumatized. Continue reading “Every Act is Done When it is Conceived”

Shannah Tovah!

As I think about the last year, I recall feeling a mix of emotions ranging from love to loneliness, gratefulness to thanklessness, humility to arrogance. I suppose that I am no different from any of us. one particularly challenging time for me occurred just last month when I was hospitalized for pain management following surgery. In those solitary moments when I was left alone, wondering my fate, I asked if I could find purpose in the agony of recovery. Now, as I am in the final stages of physical healing from that ordeal, I reflect upon the meaning of my dark night of the soul. And I find that what carried me through were the moments in which I felt connected: to my wife, to my mom, to my clergy, to my therapist, to my patient advocate, and to my dog. I also noticed a profound shift from the moment that I asked to be put on the Mi Sheberach list.

Sometimes I get so caught up in my own stuff that I forget that I am part of a community. Continue reading “Rosh Hashannah 2009”