Meaningful Life Skills: Weekly Global Class

Can we trust humans? In his new book, Enlightenment Now: The Case for Reason, Science, Humanism and Progress, Steven Pinker gives sole credit to humans for all our progress. "The Enlightenment is working," he writes. In his opinion people do not "need to believe in magic, a father in the sky, a strong chief to protect the tribe, myths of heroic ancestors." "Our ancestors replaced dogma, tradition and authority with reason, debate and institutions of truth-seeking. They replaced superstition and magic with science. And they shifted their values from the glory of the tribe, nation, race, class or faith toward universal human flourishing... Secular liberal democracies are the happiest and healthiest places on earth." On the other hand, many survivors of the Holocaust and other travesties perpetrated by man, have declared, that these tragedies have taught us that we no longer can believe in humans; we can only trust G-d. With all the human corruption and selfishness we have witnessed an

Common perception holds that introverts are inferior to extroverts. As recently as 2010, the American Psychiatric Association even considered classifying “introverted personality” as a disorder by listing it in the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual (DSM-5), a manual used to diagnose mental illness. Is this true? Please join Rabbi Jacobson as he analyzes the personality of the introvert. Learn what defines an introvert and about different types of introverts. Discover surprising benefits and advantages of introverts over extroverts, and how each of us have an introvert within -- and how accessing it can transform your life and relationships for the better.

One of our great challenges is to protect our relationships and children from the traumas and negative experiences that have misshaped our lives. We want to avoid projecting and passing on our fears and insecurities; we don't want them to cloud or pollute our existing and future relationships. But how can we achieve that? As subjective people who are prejudiced by our life experiences, how can we transcend them and not bring them into our interactions? How can we give our children and spouses the best of us, unmuddled by our pasts? Please join Rabbi Jacobson as he teaches us how to navigate from a darkened past into a brighter future, from a dysfunctional childhood into healthy relationships. Discover methods to separate the silver from the dross, to learn from our challenges -- to get beyond the ghosts and skeletons in our closets and build powerful, dynamic and wholesome relationships.

Do you ever feel lost and overwhelmed by the accelerated pace of modern life? With information streaming at us from all directions at dizzying speeds, it's hard to avoid the overload and over stimulation of our senses. Can we even measure the impact and consequences of all these "rush hours" on our psyches, and the amount of stress and anxiety it triggers in our lives? With so many forces tugging at us, what can we do to find space, tranquility and repose that our souls so desperately need? How do we prevent becoming splintered and burned out from this unceasing barrage? Please join Rabbi Jacobson as he prsenets a simple but powerful exercise that can help each one of us find focus, clarity and purpose in our increasingly high-charged turbulent world. Discover some of the secrets that make your soul work at its best. Learn how a moment of silence each day can transform your life, dramatically improve our homes and our schools -- and even make them safer -- and help raise our social

Whatever your opinion is about the best ways to prevent school shootings, it's impossible to ignore and not be touched by students around the country rising up demanding action be taken to prevent violence in our schools. When an approximate one million young people, from kindergartners through high-school seniors, take to the streets, we all should take pause and ask: What lessons can this teach us? What is it about the young that makes them so idealistic and so fearless? What can we learn from them, especially from their ability to forever alter mountains that otherwise seemed unmovable? Please join Rabbi Jacobson in this empowering discussion on the psycho-spiritual power of our young -- our most precious commodity and the ones who carry our future destiny -- and discover how we can harness this enormous energy into a force for change. Learn how the purity of youth – unadulterated by the cynicism of material life – has the power to change worlds. We’ll call it the youth revolutio

Trust is one of the most fundamental ingredients of a healthy life. Trust of parents, siblings, family. Trust in marriage and relationships. Trust in business and social interactions. What would our lives be like without trust? And yet, we most likely will meet people we don't necessarily trust. How do we deal with such individuals? Or worse: We may encounter experiences where trust was breached. Situations in which someone you trusted -- or should have trusted (like a parent or other family member) -- has betrayed and hurt you. What do we do then? How do you face such people when you have no choice and must engage with them? Please join Rabbi Jacobson as he addresses, in his unique style, this vital matter, and learn new life skills and tools to cope with trust issues. Can trust be regained after it was lost? How do we learn to trust, especially after we have been hurt? Can a relationship be mended after it has been fractured? What things can we do to engender and build trust i

Many argue that a narcissist cannot be healed. Obviously, there are degrees of narcissism, but overall the attitude is that it's best not to have a relationship with a narcissist. Narcissistic Personality Disorder has even become a diagnosis. The reasoning is: because people with this condition present with a great deal of grandiosity and defensiveness, which makes it difficult for them to acknowledge problems and vulnerabilities. Is there hope for those with NPD and the people who love them? Is there anything we can do if we see early warning signs or actual diagnostic criteria besides end the relationship? Please join Rabbi Jacobson in this important lecture, as he dissects the deeper roots of narcissism and offers a surprising new approach to treating this condition based on seeing the human psyche in a new light. Our general attitude and confidence in correcting a personality disorder is in direct proportion to our understanding the depths and powers of a personality in the

Why do some people become overwhelmed or unhinged under pressure, while others remain perfectly calm? Is this due to nature or nurture? Are we wired differently? Is there a method to keeping composed and collected in stressful situations? Please join Rabbi Jacobson as he analyzes and dissects the underlying causes for stress and anxiety, and learn new tools to maintain your equilibrium. Discover the secret of finding inner calm and serenity even in the most trying of circumstances