Estelle Frankel: The Wisdom of Not Knowing

Real Conversation

Estelle kicked off the conversation with a prayer: “Open my heart, open my mouth.” And then our hearts and mouths were opened and the conversation dropped deep into The Mystic as Estelle led us into wordless prayer, cries of the heart including howling, the prayer of silence, and how the three octaves of unknowing. Then she told the Passover story and suddenly it has a whole new meaning for everyone at this moment.

Real Person

Estelle Frankel is a psychotherapist, spiritual director, storyteller, teacher of Jewish mysticism, passionate student of Kabbalah, and author of possibly the most important book right now, The Wisdom of Not Knowing. She has taught in Israel and the US for over 40 years in both academic and religious settings and was ordained as a rabbinic pastor and spiritual guide by Rabbi Zalman Schachter-Shalomi.

Real Opportunity

Estelle Frankel’s dear friend and fellow Jewish mystic, Rabbi Tirzah Firestone, is leading us in a perfectly timed, intense prayer intensive to discover the living presence of the Divine Feminine in the Tree of Life and in our own bodies.

Real Prayer Action

Estelle Frankel gave us multiple profound prayer practices to carry us into the mystery during this time of isolation at home:

Estelle gave us a perfect prayer for the moment: “Help me. Carry me. Guide me. Thank You.” Take that or write your own and repeat it like a mantra.
She taught us a wordless cry of the heart. Make a mournful cry, like blowing the Shofar, empty yourself to let the voice pass through. Maybe every day at 8pm (or whenever) and howl.
In Israel she learned to go outside and talk to the trees in “Holy Aloneness.” Well, we’re all in holy aloneness, step outside in your own yard if you can and talk to the divinity in nature. Or in the moon.
She taught 3 octaves of unknowing: humble awareness, open-hearted being, and awe. Notice what song of unknowing you are singing. Perhaps by the end of our quarantine, we will meet in a shared state of awe.
Estelle left us with 4 steps: Acknowledge fear, Name it, Witness it, and then Transmute it to Wonder and Awe.

Open your gift bags to receive an excerpt and a gorgeous Hasidic prayer. Then, come to our Praying at the Speed of Love Facebook community and share your own experiences with not knowing. Thank goodness for this precious prayer community. Want to know about future guests, intensives, and events? Subscribe to Janet’s Notes from the Field.

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