Soul Full Together

Whether you are exploring Soul Full with your family or as part of agroup, each chapter concludes with Soul Full Together, activities designed to build confidence, connection, and community.

FOR FAMILIES WITH YOUNG CHILDREN WowPower

When children observe something awesome–an image of Earth from space, ababy chick emerging from its egg, the feats of atalented athlete– they want to learn how it’s possible. Curiosity is critical to children’s growth and success. While their constant questions might try your patience, awe-inspired curiosity drives them to learn. Awe also inspires creativity, because it encourages young children to understand the world more broadly, consider new perspectives, and see beyond their present situation. In a2012 study from Tel Aviv University, children were asked to look at aseries of photos. One group started with basic everyday objects, then shifted to vast or faraway things like the Milky Way. The other group saw the same photos, but in the opposite order. The children who saw the images from small to expansive performed significantly better on creativity assessments. Blessings can help us shift the attention of young children from small to expansive. It’s not just adoorframe; it’s an opportunity for you to feel blessed every time you walk into your room– let’s affix amezuzah. It’s not just bedtime, it’s atime for you to feel loved and connected to God–let’s read the Bedtime Shema. It’s not just aroad trip, it’s an opportunity to feel safe and secure along the way–let’s say the Traveler’s Prayer. It’s not just arainbow; it’s acovenant–let’s share ablessing. Blessings help you find the Wow Power in everyday life and share that wonder with your kids.

FOR FAMILIES WITH TWEENS AND TEENS WelcomingWonder

Studies show that experiencing awe can shift your perception of self and help you see yourself as “right sized”– as acharacter, not the character, which allows you to feel more connected to the world around you, to acknowledge your strengths and weaknesses in amore balanced way, and to better recognize how outside forces contribute to your success. In afascinating 2017 study, researchers asked visitors at Yosemite National Park and Fisherman’s Wharf (aSan Francisco tourist area) about their experience of awe and their sense of self. Respondents at Yosemite reported experiencing significantly more awe, chose smaller circles to represent themselves when given achoice of sizes, and drew self-portraits that were nearly 33 percent smaller than those of tourists at the wharf. Opportunities for wonder and awe are often in short supply in the lives of tweens and teens, one among many reasons middle and high schoolers struggle to have an accurate sense of self. While you likely can’t climb amountain with your kids every week, you can create opportunities for awe by introducing to your tweens and teens blessings for the beauty of nature, scents, and good news. Create afamily practice by intentionally sharing beauty, wonder, and what delights you, and by modeling the blessings for them by saying them aloud with them when you’re together. You will soon find that you experience more awe not because you are suddenly taking more trips to Yosemite, but because you are more attuned to the awesomeness all around you, the wonder that punctuates your every day, if only we stop to see it, smell it, hear it, and bless it.

FOR GROUPS Blessings:OurSpiritualEditor

1. Frame One way to approach blessing is as atool that can help you to understand the story of your life–your home, your day, your travels, your environment–from adifferent perspective. It is very easy to pass through life unaware of the awesome story unfolding around you. Blessings can heighten your awareness and amazement, and help you connect to aPower greater than yourself.

The filmmaker Stanley Kubrick once said that editing is unique because it allows us to see something from different points of view almost simultaneously, thus creating anew experience. In this way, blessings can be a“spiritual editor,” alens through which to interpret your narrative and make the most of its meaning. 2. Small-Group Learning Divide your participants into small groups. While you do not have to cover the entire chapter, assign each group asection of content to explore:

• Mezuzah and Blessing the Home, p. 148 • Bedtime Shema, pp. 150–157 • Traveler’s Prayer and Prayers for Israel and the IDF, pp. 158–163 • Wonders and Beauty of Nature and Scent, pp. 166–169 • The Unknown and Miracles, pp. 172–175

Using the following prompts, invite each group to spend twenty to thirty minutes immersing themselves in their blessings, drawing from their conversation takeaways to share with and questions to pose to the larger group.

• Share experiences, if any, that you have already had with this blessing or you are having when the blessing is said now. • Why do you think that this particular moment or idea stood out to our sages as something worthy of blessing? • As you read over the blessing, how does it make you feel? • Share atime when this blessing would have been (orwill be!) applicable to you. How do you imagine using it as a“spiritual edit” to shift your mindset? • Consider the direction taken by the personal prayer(s) associated with your blessing(s). What would you include in your own personal prayer or blessing on the topic? If you have time and feel inspired, begin to outline your own.

4. Share Back Return together and give each small group five minutes to present. Invite everyone to take notes directly in their book, enriching each blessing with new perspectives on awe.

HEAR THE SOUL SPEAK

PRAYERS FOR VULNERABLE MOMENTS