Meaningful Life Skills: Weekly Global Class

Balance is the healthiest and most coveted approach to life and the challenges we encounter. Extremes usually lead to undesired consequences. When we act desperately, without disciplined composure and presence of mind, we usually make mistakes and go too far in one direction or another. Yet there are times when extreme measures are warranted. How does one determine when to exercise an extreme approach and when not to? Please join Rabbi Jacobson in this special High Holidays talk which addresses healthy ways and methods of introspection and soul searching, without going to extremes. Everyone faces situations which may require stronger than usual responses. Discover how to navigate your life knowing when to stay the course and when to veer sharply left or right.

We all want a good life. But what does "good" mean? Does it signify anything more than a platitude? The traditional New Year greeting is to be blessed with a "good and sweet year." What is the difference between "good" and "sweet'? Why are these specific terms used? Please join Rabbi Jacobson is this pre-Rosh Hashana talk and discover how the two dimensions of "good and sweet" capture the primary thing we are all looking for: A year of abundance and blessings in all matters, material and spiritual, all in good health. A year of life and joy, filled with nachas (pride and gratification) from yourself, your family and your children. A year of having the humility and gratitude to appreciate your gifts, and the strength and courage to face your challenges. Learn what you can do to help manifest a good and sweet year, allowing you to actualize your greatest potential and build healthy and successful relationships.

How high can we reach and how do we reach there? These two questions lie at heart of life's "big" questions. Some argue that we mortals are quite limited and cannot reach very far. Others add that even if you were able to reach to the stars, you wouldn't know how to or you wouldn't be able to find a vehicle that can take you there. These perspectives hardly leave us with much hope to discover great vistas. No wonder many of us give up before even trying. Enter two great mystics who taught us both the what and the how of transcendence: that we can indeed reach the sky and beyond, and the tools how we can achieve that. Please join Rabbi Jacobson on this special day, Chai Elul, the birthday of these two great luminaries, who provided us with the ladder to climb to the greatest heights and with the method how to climb. You will not want to miss this presentation, which illuminates the Kabbalah of you -- the two primary dimensions in your spiritual DNA, that allows you to see yourself in

How many of today's marriages are healthy and successful? What even defines success in marriage? Is it simply two people getting along, or is there more to it? While failed marriages can be difficult to measure, current statistics show up to a 50% divorce rate. And that does not take into account dysfunctional marriages and emotionally divorced couples who remain only technically married. So we are left with the million dollar question, which is asked again and again: Can we build a marriage that defies the odds? Is there a formula for a healthy and successful marriage? Please join Rabbi Jacobson as he tackles, in his unique way, this formidable challenge. Take a journey into the heart and soul of love and relationships, and above all -- into the inner obstacles and demons that block and blind you from finding and holding on to your soulmate. Yes, you can be, unbeknownst to you, your own worst enemy, acting in ways that undermine your own happiness. Learn methods to identify and neu

We usually associate great power with sheer size and strength. A while back the strongest army was the one with the most military personnel and the largest weapons and arsenal. But as science has increasingly demonstrated, it's not quantity but quality that wields the greatest potency. The splitting of a microscopic atom can deliver far more energy than the largest weapon. Same with the human body: The most powerful forces in our organisms are contained in the tiniest forms in nature -- cells, chromosomes, DNA. How does this play itself out in our personal lives? What can we learn from the power of the minute that can enhance our lives and relationships? Please join Rabbi Jacobson for a fascinating talk on the awesome power of one moment to change your life. We need not wait for dramatic fireworks or elaborate schemes to create revolution. Every second of our lives, every move we make, every step we take, every fiber of our beings, contains enormous potential to reshape destiny and t

Do you consider yourself ordinary? Who would you describe as being extraordinary? What defines a hero? Who are the people you admire most? Are they also your role models? What are our criteria for greatness? The standards for excellence in our modern culture are quite confusing. The idols we worship today -- superstars in sports, Hollywood, TV and all our other cultural symbols -- deeply skew and distort reality. How can anyone growing up in today's society have a clear headed view on true value and worth when the greatest premium is placed on celebrity hood, wealth, power and influence? When looks and pizzazz eclipse substance and character, how can an impressionable child ever hope to value the simple beauty of the "ordinary" person and the power of innocence and unadorned beauty? In the shadow of fantasy stars of celluloid and gold, no wonder so many of us consider ourselves ordinary, plain and unexciting.

Some of life's greatest lessons can be derived from the cosmos. We can learn much just from just looking up at the heavens and seeing the celestial bodies in space. This is especially true of the moon, which continues to mesmerize the human race. Its close proximity to earth, its haunting glow, its phases and effects on our tides and plants -- have, and continue to feed romance, science, religion and folklore, and our quest to better understand ourselves and the world in which we live. During the night of the full moon this month (on July 27/the 15th of Av) the longest total lunar eclipse of the century will fill the sky (it won't be visible in North America, but most of the Eastern Hemisphere will see it). Totality will last for 1 hour and 43 minutes! Please join Rabbi Jacobson for this special full moon edition, and learn fascinating lessons from this historic phenomenon. Discover the deeper meaning of the moon as an archetype reflected in each one of us, and how the lunar cycles

Fear is one of the most debilitating -- and invisible -- forces that we need to contend with in life. How does one find courage to face fear? It seems like a catch-22 situation: Fear is the antithesis of courage. If you have fear, how can you muster up courage to fight fear; and if you have courage, then you have no need to fear the fear. Is there a way our of this quagmire? All this gets more complicated when you take into consideration your being comfortable with your routines and habitual traps. Your comfort zone coupled with your fears create a formidable resistance to facing challenges and being proactive in finding solutions. Is there hope? Please join Rabbi Jacobson, in this pre-Tisha B'Av talk, and learn how to enter into the dark abyss where our fears reside, and into the crevices where our comfort zones hold us hostage, and come away with greater strength than ever. Fear and habits contain enormous energy -- but that energy is imploded and inverted, entangling us in their c

Why is it that we an't seem to free ourselves of our pasts even when we determine to proceed on with our lives? What is it about the past that keeps us down and even trapped? Why can't we just shake off previous experiences and move forward? In this powerful class Rabbi Jacobson uncovers the mysterious power of inertia created by our pasts, and teaches us how to loosen its hold. Learn how to unclog blocks that imprison your psyche -- and release the enormous energy within, allowing you to build a bright new future, with beautiful new possibilities, unhaunted by the ghosts of yesterday.

Independence Day seems to be a good time to take stock of your own state of independence. Do you feel free or do you feel subjugated to forces controlling your life -- your job, expectations of others, your inner fears? Is your spirit light and soaring like a bird, or are you weighed down and drained? Perhaps this compels us to ask the bigger question: What actually is true independence? Is it a physical state -- as in not being confined to a dungeon, or is it an emotional and psychological state? What can we do to experience and grow our independence? How can we become freed from our trappings? Please join Rabbi Jacobson on this July 4th special, and learn how to honestly evaluate your state of independence and your capacity to free yourself of the shackles (within and without) that hold you down. Whether you are dependent, co-dependent or in-dependent you will discover news ways that empower you to take wing and fly to unprecedented heights.

Integrity is a critical component in virtually every aspect of existence. From infrastructures to relationships, from nature to medicine, from education to leadership - when integrity is compromised the entire entity is jeopardized. Integrity engenders trust and builds confidence and stability. Nothing, frankly, can be relied upon if their is no integrity. And yet, most of us can agree that we live in times when integrity is in crisis. What impact does this have on our psyches and societies? What can we do to restore integrity? The first step in addressing all problems is awareness -- realizing the vital importance of integrity, identifying the problem, understanding its consequences and implications and finding solutions. Please join Rabbi Jacobson in this candid talk, shining a light on ourselves, on our values and on our current social standards -- asking the big question: Why is integrity so rare of a commodity today? Do we appreciate its value and power? And how can we rebuild

With high profile celebrity suicides in recent news, this painfully tragic issue has returned to the fore. Perhaps the single most dreaded and shame-filled act, suicide remains one of the darkest deeply hidden secrets in a family's life. Citing statistics about something so alarming, seems callous and insensitive, yet this unfortunate data can hopefully serve to propel us to action with increased and focused urgency. Facing the devastating facts, that 45,000 people die by suicide each year - and that's only in the USA - should open our eyes and hearts to be more vigilant to the signs of those who are at risk. The annual age-adjusted suicide rate is 13.42 per 100,000 individuals... And this does not even touch upon attempted suicides. What can we do to stem this tide? What can we do or say to someone with suicidal thoughts or words? How can we help a family member or friend in need? Please join Rabbi Simon Jacobson as he addresses this most distressing issue from both a practical and

"Trust me" is one of the most untrustworthy statements one can make. Would you trust someone simply because they ask you (or tell you) to trust them? Trust must be earned. This is especially true in a situation -- and an environment -- in which trust has been violated, and people have been hurt by those they trusted. But how does one earn trust? Trust is the single most important ingredient in any true communication; it creates the fertile ground for all relationships. What ingredients are necessary for trust to flourish? How do we gain trust? Can one love without trust? And how does one regain trust after it has been betrayed? Please join Rabbi Jacobson as he dissects the anatomy of trust, its importance in our lives and how we can build (and rebuild) trusting relationships. Discover surprising insights into the nature of trust, and how it can help you in every aspect of your life.

When faced with a dilemma do you usually find yourself stuck between two stark options - yes or no, right or wrong, hold or fold, proceed or retreat? Do you tend to look at things in black and white? Or in extremes? Do you see people in terms of being either friend or foe? When someone hurts you, do you write them off? When you run into an obstacle, do you easily give up? So often, we only see two options before us. Whether this is due to social conditioning or lack of training, this myopic view on life -- that things are either good or bad -- can seriously limit us from achieving our goals and beyond, as well as impede the great potential in our lives and our relationships. Please join Rabbi Jacobson in this fascinating presentation, which offers a new approach to dealing with virtually every challenge and confrontation in life. We shall call it The Third Option -- one that looks beyond the immediate and the obvious two dimensional perspective, and finds a third way to see things.

How would you define civilization? Do you think that the standards for a civilized society have changed over the years? Would we consider, say, ancient Greece as civilized? How would they consider us? Which words would you use to describe civilized: cultured, educated, ethical, enlightened, refined, sophisticated, advanced, or something else? Are there even objective values with which to measure civilization? Please join Rabbi Jacobson in this pre-Shavuot class as he presents a surprisingly new definition of civilized life based on the 3330-year old Sinai experience. Discover how this revolutionary event radically changed the universe and introduced the true meaning of a healthy civilization to the world. Learn how it offers us a blueprint for personal and global transformation and redemption.

How much energy and time do you expend on fighting your inner fears? The catch-22 is the more you dwell and obsess over your demons the stronger they become. Is there a way to 1) protect yourself from negativity in the first place? 2) fight your dark thoughts once they consume you? Please join Rabbi Jacobson as he addresses this urgent and crucial issue, which is all-pervasive, impacting virtually every aspect of our lives. Discover tools and methods to dispel fear and anxiety. Learn how to preempt and prevent negativity from entering your psyche, and how to free yourself from it after it has attacked. Find out how you can spend more time and energy cultivating your flowers instead of uprooting weeds.

How many partners are there in a relationship? Some say that there are at least six people -- the two spouses, and each of their parents, whose attitudes shaped (and often continue to shape) the lives of their children. When you consider past relationships, then you can throw in more partners -- since a previous relationship often continues to impact (or haunt) a present relationship? On the other end of the spectrum, some cynics argue that there really are no partners in a relationship; that ultimately a "relationship" is nothing more than a self-absorbed relationship with yourself, and your partner and all others are simply "props" to enhance the self. Now let's rephrase the question: How many partners are there in a healthy relationship (with emphasis on the word healthy)? Relationships are difficult enough without bringing into the mix parents and previous connections. So how many partners are necessary to create a robust, growthful and mutually enriching relationship?

How important is respect in life? How would you rate the level of respect in society today? Is it strong, average or weak in our homes, schools and workplaces? And what are the consequences of a lack in respect? What impact does it have on us, our children and our world?

Having a broken heart is one of the most debilitating, yet powerful, and overwhelming experiences one can encounter in life. Can one possibly avoid heartbreak? Can one heal from it? Are there ways to recover from shattered emotions, and grow from them? Please join Rabbi Jacobson as he dissects the heart and its mysterious secrets in this - well - heartfelt talk on the nature of love and vulnerability. Learn powerful tools to mend the cracks, suture tears, and discover that nothing is truly as complete as a broken heart.

Our relationship with nature is as fascinating as it is underappreciated. On one hand, we, our entire survival, is completely dependent on the intact health and balance of nature’s harmony. On the other hand, we are almost completely oblivious of this dependence. There was a time — particularly in the agricultural age — when we were acutely aware of our reliance on nature: we knew, for example, that our very sustenance was dependent on rainfall; the seasons regulated life activities. But today, technology has desensitized us. Nature hums quietly along, doing its thing to maintain the universe, without us even noticing. Is that healthy? What are the implications of our detachment from the natural order in which we live? Are there deeper, psychological and spiritual dimensions to our connection with nature? How could we benefit from them? Please join Rabbi Jacobson, in this New Year for Trees workshop, as he uncovers the hidden roots and origins of our symbiosis with nature, and ho