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Friday January 3, 2003

Spiritual guide aims to help soul seekers in a hurry

ABBY COHN
Bulletin Staff

For many of us, getting stuck in traffic is a major -- and regular -- frustration.

For El Cerrito writer Jueli Gastwirth, it's a potential pathway to spirituality.

Gastwirth tries to respond to freeway backups by shifting her gaze away from red tail-lights so she can appreciate other sights around her, such as the Golden Gate Bridge across the Bay.

"It just allows you to catch your breath and connect to the universe in a way that is spiritual," says Gastwirth, co-author of a new book, "Everyday Adventures for the Soul: 52 Simple & Surprising Ways to Wow Your Spirit."

"It's much more simple than people think," she says.

Gastwirth wrote the book with Avram Davis, founder and co-director of Chochmat HaLev, a Berkeley-based center for Jewish meditation. Gastwirth is currently a student in the center's teacher-training program.

Their book is designed as an entry point for busy people who are "hungry and yearning" for more connection and spirituality in their lives, she said recently.

"They don't have time and many don't have the desire to join a community officially or to create 30 minutes to create a meditation practice. This book allows them to have a commitment to spirituality that doesn't take a lot of time."

While both authors are Jewish, Gastwirth said the book "wasn't really written within a Jewish context." Some of its advice is rooted in Jewish tradition and beliefs, however.

"A lot of it comes from our natural experiences," she said. She cites a favorite chapter -- each of the 52 are just two pages long -- entitled "O the moon."

It proposes using the moon as a "kind of compass," according to Gastwirth, in a way similar to the links between Jewish celebrations and the moon's phases.

The authors suggest that readers tie their own activities to the moon's stages, such as starting new projects with a new moon or rejoicing in the abundance of one's life during a full moon.

"That fits directly in the Jewish tribal relationship with the moon," said Gastwirth. "That's when we get together to celebrate, when the moon is full and bright and the community is together."

Gastwirth envisions readers opening the book periodically for brief doses of enlightenment. Each short chapter poses an issue, offers a real-life experience to illustrate it and gives specific responses for dealing with it.

"It's fun, it's light, hopefully it's inspiring," she said.

Another chapter, called "It's So Imperfect!" recommends that readers step back to appreciate the imperfections in their lives. That perspective is based on a Japanese tradition called wabi-sabi and was inspired by a friend of Gastwirth's who started painting her living-room walls bright blue, but never finished.

Wabi-sabi is "not an excuse; it's an art form," Gastwirth and Davis write.

Because it's intended for busy people as an entry point to spirituality, the book tries to take a "practical and grounded" approach, Gastwirth said.

"People are hungry for spirituality but not everyone has time or knows how to access the path that's right for them. Spirituality doesn't require a lot of time, it doesn't require a lot of tradition."

But what it does involve is curiosity, a desire to connect, and an open heart, she maintains.

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