What is the Shechinah Project Exactly?
Hi! Shalom, Namaste, Welcome! I am the founder of the Shechinah Project. By day I am an estate planning attorney. In my life outside of my career, I am a daughter, a mother, a wife. I find great passion in a respect for nature and the study of the chakra system, astrology, meditation, and my foundational upbringing in Judaism. I was raised to ask questions, research all things, and to make my own path. This lead to a great deal of journeying on my own but I was extremely active in my jewish community from the time I was 14. I went to URJ summer camp, participated in NFTY retreats and activities and I was on the board of my temple youth group in the suburbs of Atlanta, GA.
I have been amazed over the years in all of my research and practice how much cross over and shared theory and ideology there is between the chakras, Kabbalah’s tree of life, and astrology (among other things). I meditate daily in my own life, which has opened so many doors for me, and use a number of modalities in my own spiritual practice. In my business and career, as an estate planning attorney, I work closely with parents on creating a written story of their lives as a legacy for their children. This is an aspect of parenting that is so often forgotten and it certainly isn't cherished by lawyers in general! Over the last several years I have found myself utilizing these spiritual modalities when connecting with my clients and the personal life for me often bleeds in to my career - it is all part of the bigger picture of who I am after all!
The Shechinah Project came to be from a number of sources, rituals, goals, and relationships of study on the divine feminine which has played an increasingly larger and larger role in my own life (especially after having my own children). Regardless of whether you identify as spiritual, religious, or none of the above, there is a beauty to nature and self that can be appreciated through many different aspects of practice. Shechinah is one of many spellings of a Hebrew transliteration. Shechinah has become defined as the divine feminine in all things. There is a balance of feminine and masculine as it relates to the energy of the universe. If you look to astrology, Kabbalah, and many other methods of spiritual practice, there is a belief that we are in an age of what is commonly referred to as the divine feminine rising. I have felt for years that it is important, now more than ever, to start to rebuild and recreate the village we have lost as a community and as a piece of humanity. The knowledge our ancestors passed from one generation to another through ritual practices has been lost to a great degree because of the singular and separated way of life we lead (most especially in the US). I see it all the time in my connection with other mothers and women I meet that we are all seeking that deeper connection. The Shechinah Project is here as one avenue to reconnect.
After I gave birth to my first child, I met some amazing women in my Atlanta community and one of the things I experienced was my first red tent event. I went and sat with a number of other women in this space, held as sacred, and shared stories, hardships, and wisdoms. It was nourishing to my soul, cathartic for sure, and it changed me. I always hoped to be able to share this amazing experience with others and I hope to share it with you now.
As I launch this new project, my first series of events will all be retreats that involve the red tent. Some retreats will be geared towards mothers and daughters, some women in general, and some Jewish in nature.
The Shechinah Project is here as a tool, a resource, and whatever you want to make it to be, to delve into this spiritual ideas and look to our ancestral roots to find meaning in what can be a chaotic time. Through the Shechinah Project, we can come together and celebrate our power as women. And so it is. xoxo.