About...

Lisa here.  Many of you know me as the former coordinator of the Inside Edge - Eugene video/discussion nights.  Others may know me from the Women's Wisdom group at the Center for Spiritual Living or the producer of the www.SpiritPathNow.com blog for spiritual seekers or the www.SpiritPathNow.com/Eugene calendar of progressive spiritual events.  And still others may know me as one of the regular participants in Beth Miriam Rose's Jewish Songs of the Spirit singing group at Temple Beth Israel.  Then again, some of you may know me as a small family CSA farmer with a flock of 15 very pampered, hand-spinner's wool sheep. These are very diverse communities, even for Eugene, Oregon standards, but 'diverse' is my middle name.

I have never fit into just one 'box'.  And this goes for my spiritual path too.  As a ten year old my favorite quote was the Buddhist saying, "There are many paths up the mountain but when we reach the summit we all enjoy the same moonlight."  It still is!  My step-family is Buddhist and I took my first Hebrew lessons in the 60's at the over one-hundred-year-old Ohel Leah Orthodox Synagogue in Hong Kong yet I was a practicing Reform Jew.  Odd juxtapositions are the bread and butter of my life.

Judaism has always been my spiritual home yet my spirituality was also deeply informed by my family ties in Asia.  I found spiritual value in many traditions and many paths but it was when I began studying metaphysics with Michael Beckwith for two years in Los Angeles in the mid-80's that I felt the divergent aspects of these spiritual paths melt away into something transcendent and whole.  I continue to study metaphysics at the Center for Spiritual Living in Eugene and appreciate the inclusive nature of the teachings there and their invitation to create a space of spiritual practice honoring my Judaism.

Recently I began studying with Rabbi Shefa Gold's Kol Zimra Jewish Chant Leaders program in New Mexico - a program that brings together students from all over the U.S. and Canada for a 2 year program - and I again discovered a new level of unity within the healing and transformative practice of chant.  I also discovered just how small a world it is when one of the other students turned out to be an old friend of Rabbi Jonathan Seidel, a local Eugene Rabbi.  I'd been exploring creating a contemplative, meditative, service at the Center for Spiritual Living and am excited to have Rabbi Seidel join me this spring for these Saturdays!