Unraveling Religion - 'Spirituality In Everyday Life': Amber Light, Int. and Education Training Center, Inc., A Collaboration

'Spirituality In Everyday Life': Amber Light, Int. and Education Training Center, Inc., A Collaboration

12/22/23 • 5 min

Henry Cretella and Joel discuss collaboration to present a series of four workshops in 2024 from Amber Light, Int. and Education Training Center, Inc.'s Ground and Sky Poetry Series entitled 'Spirituality In Everyday Life.' The topics of the four workshops are: 1. Spirituality And Service 2. Spirituality And Relationship 3. Spirituality And Mental Health and 4. Spirituality And The Arts.

Also, Henry discusses some of the aspects of Amber Light, Int. and its podcast Alchemical Dialogues and Joel explores the Programs and Services of Education Training Center, Inc. and the ways it seeks to address mental health and marginalization.

In this brief talk, the foundation of Amber Light, Int.'s relationship to Sufism and the threads found in all world's traditions are discussed as well as Education Training Center's podcast Unraveling Religion's relationship to build and support mental health through a strong spiritual or existential foundation, and other programs and services of Education Training Center, Inc. that address mental health without distinction to cause.

Listen to this collaboration to build healthy community with two old friends who share a common vision and passion to improve the quality of life for others.

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A Jewish Means To Vanquish Darkness, Lighting Shabbas Candles: A Conversation With Torah Scholar Rabbi Heschel Greenberg

From The Lubavitcher Rebbe, Menachem Mendel Schneerson, to the Ba'al Shem Tov, to Maimonides and Moses this discussion includes topics of the security of the Jewish people and the Land of Israel and how the Jewish people can fortify their existence and safety. Rabbi Greenberg and Joel examine the best Jewish responses to the terror attack October 7th, 2023. The journey of this conversation addresses Jewish Unity, and the exiles and returns to Israel of the Jewish people, Family Purity (i.e., Niddah), Shabbas, and Kashrut (law of keeping Kosher), Gematria, examining the teaching of G-d's name and the Tetragrammatron, reducing the ego as a step in giving Tzdekah (i.e., Charity), the mind of the Teacher toward their students, the Kabbalistic teaching of the masculine and feminine energies as refined through discipline, the influence of Torah on marriage, the 613 mitvot and the Talmudic teaching of 248 postive mitzvot correlating to the 248 bones of the human body, and the 365 'negative' (i.e., 'don't do') correlating to the 365 days of the year. Also examined are the Zohar, Mishnah, Talmud, and Kabbalah and lighting Shabbas candles as a weapon to dispel darkness (i.e., Neshek). Please join us to engage in this fascinating dialogue exploring aspects of our humanity and Judaism's role in illuminating the triumph of 'Good' and creating the World as it was meant to be from the beginning.

Biography:

Rabbi Heschel Greenberg is one of the world’s preeminent Jewish thinkers, scholars, teachers, inspirations, and inspirers. With a sublime blend of incredible intellectual prowess, vast encyclopedic knowledge, beautifully articulated language, and resounding resonant relatability, Rabbi Greenberg has brought the highest ideas to the broadest audiences. Across half a century, Rabbi Greenberg has elevated the way people live and feel by elevating the way they think. In a world of new media, where digital waves move oceans of information across continents, Rabbi Greenberg stands out as a voice of clarity. In the fathomless sea of information, often overwhelming and confusing, Rabbi Greenberg serves as a calming conveyer of eternal ideas—an expert lighthouse directing the ships of humanity through the possibilities of life by the light of the divine.

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Part 1 As A Fly On The Wall: Eavesdropping On Human Musings, Existence, and 'Coming Home'

In Part 1 of this three part episode, Joel lassoed Rich Grego and Lisa Carley into a conversation recorded weaving threads through time and space and love, itself.

This conversation meanders among these three old, dear friends, and touches on nihilism, dissolution and romanticism, Dharma decay and Dharma renewal, changes and transformations.

Is there room for Hope in the world today?

Optimism?

Does the state of the world allow a falling away so that things might improve, a sense something better might come.

What does Enlightenment look like? What does Enlightenment feel like?

In this deeply intimate talk, Rich, Lisa, and Joel explore aspects of the existential path requiring courage and bravery, and the conversation deconstructs aspects of the work required to build a strong existence or spiritual foundation.

Lisa, Rich, and Joel examine challenging and evolving social constructs, darkness versus light, mission and meaning and purpose, how do we find mission meaning and purpose?

Asking 'how' versus asking 'why?'

Fundamentally, what makes us feel we are far from where we should be, what makes us feel we are far from 'home.'

Biographies:

Richard Grego is Professor of philosophy and cultural history at FSCJ. His research interests focus on cross cultural themes in religion and science— including philosophy of mind, comparative world religions/world civilizations, and the metaphysical - theological implications of theoretical physics and cosmology. His publications have included studies in the history- philosophy of science and conceptions of nature in the history of western philosophy, as well as cross-cultural perspectives on mind/ consciousness in western philosophy - psychology and the neo-Vedanta Hindu tradition. Prior to his academic career, he was a criminal investigator-polygraph examiner for the Florida Office of the Public Defender and in the private sector Instructor at the Criminal Justice Institute and International Academy of Polygraph Science in Florida, and national Academic Director of the Criminal Defense Investigation Training Council.

Lisa Carley is passionate about India, existential and phenomenological philosophy/psychology and maternal mental health. She chooses to explore her passion through travel, connection with others, and writing. She holds a degree in English Literaure from SUNY Albany, has work toward a Psy. D. in Clinical Psychology with a Masters in Existential Humanist Psychology from Saybrook, is a mother, student of Philosophy and English, artistian, and poet.