Indwelling of Beauty, 21 Days Omer 5782

May 6

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Today is twenty-one days, which is three weeks, of the Omer in the year 5782. שכינה שבתפארת, Shekhinah ShebeTiferet, Indwelling Presence of Beauty. Do you feel the Beautiful Mother within you? Can you acknowledge your inner beauty?

Reflecting on the Journey

I don't spend a lot of time explaining why I write these meditations or what I hope to accomplish by counting the Omer. Perhaps because there are plenty of apps and books that provide that explanation. Perhaps because I've been busy doing other things.

Counting the Omer is something I learned about at Ohr HaTorah. Rabbi Finley's explanation of the sefirot, a dozen years ago, was centered on three: Chesed, Gevurah, and Tiferet / Emet. Part of the reason for my meditation is to allow myself access to the breadth of the lower seven sefirot from my own vantage point. I take values extremely seriously and I find this practice helps me sink in. These sefirot ground me and they remind me to align myself with HaShem in all that I do, all that I think, all that I feel, and all that I say.

The Beauty Within

It can be hard to love ourselves completely and unconditionally. We are constantly bombarded with messages to Improve Ourselves.

This year, I am trying to have a more gentle Omer count. Acknowledging the various dimensions of each sefirah without castigating myself for following short of my Ideal Image.

I have heard people say that in order to prioritize the beauty within, one must ignore the external. That somehow it is a moral choice to avoid makeup and other beauty products. Personally, I don't see one's appearance as intrinsically connected to one's morality. On the other hand, makeup and its accoutrements is not the focus of the beauty I have been seeking this past week.

I am enough. You are enough. We are enough. And we radiate beauty by being grounded in the Indwelling Presence of the Divine.