Loving Like Water
The Sefirah (Divine Emanation) of Chesed
There is a cosmic invitation this week to open to Divine Love.
“In your abundant Chesed (loving-kindness), I will enter your house. I will lay myself down in awe.” Psalm 5:8
~Imagine you are laying yourself down in Chesed, descending into a pool of loving-kindness.
Notice sensation as you unwind within the Great Infinite Love. Softening & receiving.
What arises as you are held in a field of loving-kindness?
With every flowing breath, allow in a loving presence. ~
From this place, where can you invite in more Flow?
In the rhythm of the Hebrew calendar this week, we enter the pull of Loving Like Water (Chesed), the energy of:
Loving-Kindness
Benevolence
Abundance
Generosity
Compassion
After the Passover Seder, intelligently designed with ritual and storytelling, we acknowledge that freedom is not only about what we leave behind, but what we are now able to live into. Our Sages teach that there are two levels of freedom:
The first level of accessing freedom is freedom from what constricts us.
Then, there comes a higher level - freedom to-
Freedom to practice.
Freedom to heal.
Freedom to live in alignment with something deeper and true.
Freedom to love.
This is why the days that follow the Seder are guided by the ancient practice of Counting the Omer, a slow and intentional unfolding through the Sefirot, the inner qualities of the soul. We follow seven cycles of seven- each week guided by one of the Divine Energy Centers of the Tree of Life that enliven us.
We begin our 49 days of self-refinement by stepping into the flow of Chesed- Loving-Kindness. Every true transformation begins with Love, not fear. With our first taste of freedom, we open the faucet to divine love.
A Story:
There is a Midrash (an ancient oral story) of the first transformation. After being banished in grief from the Garden of Eden, how did Adam return to himself? He went into the Gihon River (one of the four rivers that flowed from the center of the garden)..
“until the waters reached up to his neck… seven weeks of days.. until his body became like a species of seaweed…
What did the Holy One, blessed He do? The Holy One put forth the Divine right hand [the hand of Chesed] and accepted Adam’s teshuva [returning]…
Pirkei d’Rabi Eliezer 20
He descended into the revitalizing waters [the element of Chesed] for seven weeks until his rigid body softened. Leaving his limitations and entering a fluid realm, he transformed into a malleable creature of the sea. He left what he knew [ie the land[, entering into the realm of possibility [the waters]. He sat in the flowing river and prayed until he returned to himself, until he could once again feel the currents of love moving through him.
We too, begin our Great Return through the waters of Chesed.
Here is a glimpse into my Chesed practice this week, which you are welcome to try yourself:
Loving Like Water Chesed Practice:
I place my right hand upon my heart and breathe into the contact fully.
Feeling my sit bones rooted on the chair or ground, I visualize a great waterfall of light above me- sourced from the Infinite Field of Love.
I sense the waters pouring over my crown, into me, and I follow their flow. (Spend as much time here as you desire- in stillness , or in movement)
Breathing deeply in this rejuvenating waterfall; my love is everlasting.
I feel my veins as streams, carrying Chesed through the ecosystem of my body.
Behind me- a river fills my heart with each inhale.
With a lengthened exhale, the river glides out through the front of my heart, pouring love into the world.
I am Flow.
Free Guided Practice for the week of Chesed
20-Minute Guided Meditation: Practice With Me.
Poem for the Week of Chesed:
The Light Between Us by Maria Popova
The longer I live, the more deeply I learn that love — whether we call it friendship or family or romance — is the work of mirroring and magnifying each other’s light. Gentle work. Steadfast work. Life-saving work in those moments when life and shame and sorrow occlude our own light from our view, but there is still a clear-eyed loving person to beam it back. In our best moments, we are that person for another.
Divine Love of Chesed Playlist
If you feel called, I’d love to hear from you:
How does your generosity flow?
Are there leeks in your giving/loving?
Olam Chesed Yibaneh :The World Was Created Through Love- Psalm 89:3
May our breaths flow with love,
Jenna Zadaka, Somatics & Spirituality at AwethenticRoots