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I want to write!

For years, I have felt a drive to share in writing what I have been teaching and speaking about in religious and educational settings for decades. Lately, it feels like it is really bubbling to the surface. I have shared many of these ideas, practices, experiences, and ways of thinking in other settings, yet a way to ‘bring them all together’ in a kind of unified and coherent philosophy has eluded me.

There are all kinds of reasons for that, but when things are aligned and all of the groundwork is set, and none of the ‘reasons’ really seem to matter anymore, its time to get started.

I often teach the Talmudic saying: “Kol Hatchalot Kashot” - ALL beginnings are difficult. Not SOME beginnings, but rather ALL. There is something about beginning that requires of us a measure of risk, change, and maybe even discomfort. I have started many disciplines, in life, and have mastered more than one or two, so now it’s time to start writing.

It’s really that simple.

It’s my hope that the voice I am developing here, and the teachings I will share will inspire you to more meaningful living and relationships, challenge you to think and experience differently, and to develop martial, creative, and spiritual mastery.

When I have to give it all a title, I say that I write and teach about the nexus of martial arts, creative arts, and spiritual arts. Over the coming posts i will share more of what I mean each of these ‘arts’ and how they come together in my experience as a rabbi, a teacher, a martial arts Black Belt, a marksman, and a musician.

How it’s going to work

Part of the challenge for me in writing of my own experiences, and the way of living I have derived from them is that there is no pre existing structure. I ask myself “where do I start” and how to I put it all together so that it is a good reflection of what I mean? So instead of writing, I thought about how to start writing.

I had already planned the Substack, when just this week, my wife and one of our college age children began an online challenge to artists of all kinds called The Alphabet Superset, in which participants produce one piece of their art each week for the next 26 weeks following prompts in Alphabetical order - week #1, A, then B, and so on. Each week (I hope) I will publish a new short ‘chapter’ of Martial Arts/Spiritual Arts following the ABCs.

Thanks again for joining this shared experience, please support the project and invite friends to join as well. Next post will be “A”…