Meaningful Life Skills: Weekly Global Class

With all the incessant and unrelenting talk addressing the upheavals of our time, one critical element is glaringly missing in the conversation: The utter lack of visionary leadership.  Can you recall one -- even one -- memorable and inspiring talk delivered by any of our so-called leaders, giving us hope and confidence, calling upon our noble spirits, offering us a clear and focused long-term vision. Someone who invokes our past history of resilience under pressure, discovering greater strengths in times of crisis, learning how to grow and thrive -- not just survive -- through the greatest difficulties. The "leaders" of our time -- in politics, business, academia, education, even religious leaders; not to mention our celebrities, in film, music, sports and entertainment -- have at best taken a reactive posture, addressing -- some better than others -- the presenting challenges on the ground.  Some are completely silent. Others are speaking up, but very often pandering and politicizing positions i

Why does the unknown unnerve and frighten us?  Just witness the way people are struggling with the uncertain future created by the pandemic, coupled now by the racial unrest raging in our cities. The disruption of everything we usually relied on - our schedules, our plans, our work, our children's activities, our travels -- virtually every one of our otherwise dependable routines, is shaking us all up. So much about life is unknown. Indeed, whatever we know is just a fraction of what is unknown. The more we learn about the universe and about our own bodies, the more we recognize how much more there is to learn and discover. Scientific breakthroughs in quantum mechanics and neuroscience (to name just two examples) have shown us that when we peer into the building blocks of existence, we discover that we have barely pierced the surface. As we have discovered molecules, and beneath that atoms, made up of subatomic particles, we wonder how many further layers lay beneath? How far down does the "rabbit hole

In the wake of the Covid-19 pandemic, another pandemic has taken to the streets. Cities are burning across the U.S., filled with people protesting racism, including angry mobs looting and violently attacking police and innocent store owners. How should we be reacting to all of this? We are all appalled at the blatant killing of George Floyd by a police officer. But what is a healthy and legitimate response? Besides for demanding justice, is it justifiable to disrupt entire communities? Should violence be met with violence, crime with crime?  How do we fight racism and oppression? Do we wage war or do we surrender? Do we pray or do we escape? Is there a long-term solution to prejudice and discrimination? The best answer for any dilemma, especially one as serious and long-term as this, is to look back at history and see how hatred and persecution was addressed in the past, who was successful at dealing with it, and what results it yielded. The Jewish people are the best model to turn to in such times. Cl

Where does heaven meet earth? Can we rise and transcend our physical limitations and social distancing? is it possible to fuse matter and spirit? Can a mortal creature experience immortality? Can a finite being touch infinity? Do we have the ability to unite with the divine in our homes as we do in our synagogues? An event took place 3332 years ago, which changed the world forever and contains the answer to these and many more fundamental life questions. And this event is relevant today more than ever.  As we remain restricted or quarantined in our homes, one may think that our confined state limits our ability to manifest the unlimited divine. Sinai teaches us that nothing can be further from the truth. On the contrary: The earthshaking and life transforming Sinai revolution married heaven and earth, and empowered us to connect our fragile mundane existence with eternity, and manifest the Divine Essence itself in our individual homes, hearts and souls. Please join Rabbi Simon Jacobson in this special

Quarantine has challenged us in so many different ways. What are you like when you can't go to work, school, ballparks, theaters, restaurants, vacation spots and all your regular destinations? What part of us emerges when we don't have our usual outlets? In times like this, one of the most important questions to ask yourself is this: When your physical movements are limited, what happens to your soul? When our usual routines were in place, some of us may have not given our souls much thought. But whether you have been in touch with your soul or not, now is an opportune time to think about and get to know your soul. What distinguishes your soul from your body? How different are their functions and perspectives?  Do they see and experience the world in the same way? Is your soul contained by space and time -- and other parameters -- that limit physical matter?  How do we define the parameters of a soul? Can a soul be quarantined? Can it be trapped and enslaved?  Please join Rabbi Jacobson on a

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Quarantine is exposing us like never before. Stripped of so many of our otherwise conventional support systems -- our workplaces, our social circles, our cafes, restaurants, theaters, stadiums, our travel plans and vacations -- we are left now to our bare internal resources searching for stimulation. Just a few months ago, we could avail ourselves of endless places and outlets to escape feeling alone. We were able to share with others "a cup called loneliness, because it's better than drinking alone." Our external togetherness concealed our lonesomeness. But today -- among many other challenges --- we face the prospect of being alone, in solitude, alienated in isolation. Today, in virtually every aspect of our lives, the pandemic lock down is challenging us in numerous ways, challenging our very identities. Without external structures to depend upon, the question stares us in the face: Am I all alone? Does anyone care about me? Do I have any value while locked in at home? Do I know how to be alone? Loneline

Among the many challenges we face today, one of the most important is: How to speak to our children? What should we be telling them when so much of what we relied on has been disrupted? How do we provide security and reassure our children, both emotionally and psychologically, amid a climate of fear and uncertainty? In this time of crisis and upheaval we actually have an unprecedented opportunity to shape, educate and inculcate into our children indispensable strengths and tools that will serve them for the rest of their lives.  Please join Rabbi Jacobson as he presents L.E.A.D.E.R. -- a novel and dynamic program that promises to train our children to become leaders instead of followers, proactive instead of reactive, initiators instead of "waiters" -- to face adversity with courage and fortitude, and build a far better world. L.E.A.D.E.R. Long Term Empower Act Determine Empathize Redeem

Just a few months ago very few of us were concerned with the question of how to balance our work life and our home life. Even if we were concerned, we didn't do much about it. The conflicts and tensions between our vocations and our homes, between our careers and our families, were usually "resolved" (or better said: unresolved) through either denial, compartmentalization, compromising our homes in face of our career climbing and social status, or a combination of the above. Foundations are invisible to the eye, and are often overlooked and overshadowed by the glitz and drama of our "upper floors." But now that our workplaces and public squares have been closed down, and we have been quarantined in our homes, we are compelled to ask ourselves: What does home mean and how vital is it for our well-being? What is the foundation, and what should be the priority, of our lives?  What is the means and what is the end? Where should our energies be focused for maximum impact? Why are we here? Both historically

Security is a vital need in every person's life. Children need secure homes, dependable parents and reliable schedules to grow into self-confident adults. Adults spend their lives building security for themselves and their families. Virtually every aspect of a wholesome and successful life requires solid and unwavering foundations, like a deeply rooted tree. But what happens when our conventional security blankets have been stripped away from us? Besides for feeling disconcerted and unnerved, we are challenged to ask ourselves: What indeed defines true security? Is it our health, our jobs, our money, our equity? Can anything in the material world assure us of permanent safety? After all, everything material is impermanent and perishable; everything mortal erodes and ultimately dies. How then can we find security in an ephemeral reality? What will provide us with everlasting and trustworthy safety, and what can we  truly depend on? As part of our new Corona series offering empowering resources in these

Today's global pandemic has upended people's entire realities. Whatever we thought was real and reliable just a few weeks ago, has now been destabilized and stripped away from us. Our schedules, our jobs, our economy, our plans, our vacations, our children's routines -- virtually every aspect of our lives is no longer what it was. And what will tomorrow bring? When our pre-existing realities are no longer serving us, we can either allow these earth-shaking events to unnerve and demoralize us, or we can view them as an opportunity that challenges us to ask what indeed is real: Our perceived realities of the past, or perhaps something far more grand and beyond our usual ostensible experiences? Please join Rabbi Jacobson, in this must-view presentation, on a journey into an inner and higher reality -- one that is far beyond our common superficial perceptions. Learn how to use this time, when our our existing systems and realities are under question and even crumbling, as an opening to experience a deeper reali

The unprecedented global Coronavirus pandemic - Covin-19 - is effecting literally every person on earth, and disrupting every sector and industry. We turn to the medical community and our political leaders to do whatever they can to contain and ultimately eradicate the disease, as well as mitigate its economic and other effects on our lives. But how do we address the emotional and psychological toll this is taking on our psyches? Every day things change, and the unknown future is driving fear and panic into people's hearts. With schools closed, travel all but ended, public events banned, people working from home, the stock market plunging - with virtually every detail of our lives rattled -- how can we prevent this craziness from not driving us all mad? In many ways, demoralization and fear can be even more debilitating than the virus itself. Please join Rabbi Jacobson as he presents a 3800-year-old time-tested formula for becoming stronger and more powerful in face of crisis and upheaval. Discover what we

Often, to appreciate a gift, we need to imagine what life would be like without it. What would our lives be like without joy? Without happiness? Even with the capacity for joy life can be quite difficult. Devoid of any joy, it would simply be unfathomable to imagine how unbearable existence would be.  But if joy is such a necessity, why is it at times so difficult to access? Is there anything we can do to become happier people? Before we can answer these questions, we first need to understand what exactly is joy and what role it plays in our lives. Many of us confuse joy with pleasure, and think that we become happy through gratifying our desires. With such a distorted perception of joy, no wonder we aren't becoming happier people. Don't miss this eye-opening -- and heart-opening -- talk by Rabbi Jacobson, which dissects the anatomy of joy and the essential nutrients it provides us. Discover how joy is actually the experience of transcendence. And like oxygen for the body, the transcendent power of joy

Can every one be happy? The way some people describe their negativity and even hopelessness, you would think that not everybody is blessed with the capacity to be happy? But that is not true. Happiness seems to be inherent to the human condition. Look at children. They are naturally happy people. Buoyant and enthusiastic. So then, how do happy children become sad adults? When and how do they lose their positivity? How do calm children become anxious adults? And how can we retrace the steps and reclaim our inherent joy? The answer to these questions carries the secret to happiness Please join Rabbi Jacobson in this journey into our core beings and discover the natural spring of joy flowing in the inner chambers our hearts and souls. Yes indeed, beneath and within layers upon layers of your assumed personality and collective experiences lies a live reservoir brimming with optimism and happiness. And it's waiting to be released. Learn how to access and actualize the natural joy that is your birthright.

Happiness is as elusive as it is cherished. We all want to be happy. Joyous people are healthier and more productive. And yet, it seems so challenging to find inner joy, especially in trying circumstances. Is there a formula for happiness? Perhaps we have to begin with the questions: What exactly is happiness? And how can we acquire it? John Stuart Mill famously said: "Ask yourself whether you are happy, and you cease to be so." "Those only are happy who have their minds fixed on some object other than their own happiness; on the happiness of others, on the improvement of mankind, even on some art or pursuit, followed not as a means, but as itself an ideal end." So then what should we fix our minds and hearts on to achieve happiness? Please join Rabbi Jacobson as he discusses how the fundamental nature of happiness is directly linked to the very core of the human being: understanding who you are and your higher purpose in life is intrinsically connected to your level of happiness. Discover the two dimensio

Psychology - the study of the soul - is not a modern phenomenon. It is an inherent part of the human condition. As long as human beings have been in existence, we have been seeking and struggling to understand what makes us tick. What forces shape and define us and our behavior? How much potential do we contain? Are we intrinsically selfish or selfless? How much of our lives is controlled by pre-wired circuitry and how much is in our control? Can we overcome fear, insecurity and distrust? What is love? Obviously, the more we understand our inner workings -- the DNA of our psyches and souls -- the more we can grow and improve the welfare of our lives and our relationships; the more we can transcend our fears and anxieties. Please join Rabbi Jacobson in this fascinating journey into the earliest origins of human psychology. Plumb the depths of the psyche and the roots of human consciousness and beyond. What defines a healthy psyche? What is the genesis of dissonance and duality? Is consciousness our ultimate

Why be honest when we see deception everywhere we turn? We all consider truth and honesty as true virtues, and no one likes being called a liar. So why is it that so many people lie? And why is it so easy to lie? Is deception a natural part of the world order, or is it an aberration? Can we maintain our integrity and succeed in a duplicitous world? Please join Rabbi Jacobson as he, in his inimitable style, digs into the core roots of deceit and deception. If all of existence and each single being began as one unified, seamless entity (one cell), how did duality and dissonance come to be? By understanding the origins of duplicity we learn how to counter its far-reaching effects, and discover ways to deceive deception and bring unity, honesty and truth into a false world

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Fear is one of the most powerful and misunderstood forces in our lives. It's formidable impact on virtually all our decisions, and lack of decisions, is compounded by the fact that fear is invisible and silent. You can't see or touch it. And you certainly can't measure it. Even though we feel, at times, palpable fright, most of fear's effects on our behavior cannot easily be traced to fear. We often justify our indecisiveness and lack of commitment with other reasons and excuses than fear, even though fear may be the root cause of our tentativeness. Can we quantify how much fear impedes our ability to grow and succeed? How can we overcome our fears? Please join Rabbi Jacobson as he takes us on a journey into the roots of the abyss called fear, where does it originate and how can we reverse its effects on us. Discover ways to counter fear and develop the courage embedded within your spirit to free yourself of fears tentacles. Learn how you are never alone, and that there are powerful forces that travel with

Many of us carry painful memories of hurtful experiences in our pasts. Some of these memories remain etched in our psyches, at times even haunting and disrupting our lives -- in ways that we are aware of, and often unaware of. How many of our emotional fears, insecurities and trust issues are a result of old scars? How then can we move on from these deep wounds? Can we free ourselves from the tentacles of difficult past experiences? Is it possible to forgive if you cannot forget? Please join Rabbi Jacobson as he tackles these big questions, and offers a method and formula for not allowing painful memories define who you are; not allowing your past define your future. Discover the power of forgiveness -- how it is not just about forgiving another, but forgiving yourself; how it allows you to transcend your experiences and achieve closure even if you may never forget what hurt you. Learn how to access dimensions within yourself that help you liberate your spirit from the forces that keep it trapped, and sprea