Omer Day Three
18 Nisan 5780
11-12 April 2020

Omer Day Three: Harmony within Lovingkindness

Day 3 of the Omer count is about love & harmony, Tiferet within Chesed. We base our practice today on the Shema prayer — a prayer of unity and connection, sandwiched on both sides with love in the traditional liturgy (Ahavat Olam or Ahava Raba and v’Ahavta).

💕 שמע💕

Shema translates to “listen” or “hear” so the practice begins with listening to a favorite love & harmony song, then we move into a classic nature connection tool called sound mapping. We hope this practice helps to create a feeling of calm, relaxation, harmony, and expansion in a time when too often we are feeling isolated, anxious, and disconnected.

☀️Omer Day 3 practice ☀️

  1. Find a comfortable position — ideally outside — prepare to close your eyes — set a timer for seven minutes;
  2. Listen to a love song – see suggestions below or use your own favorite (3-4 minutes);
  3. Shema Sound Map (with remaining time) — with eyes closed, listen all around you, create a mental map, allow a feeling of expansion in all directions as you listen (3-4 minutes);

🌀Materials 🌀

  • Space for sitting (outside *highly* recommended!)
  • Music player with speaker
  • Meditation timer

✨Practice Notes ✨

  • Doing this outside is highly recommended but not strictly necessary;
  • Breath from the belly while listening;
  • Choose a song from below or a favorite song relating in some way to love & harmony, something relaxing and enjoyable, no longer than 3-4 minutes;
  • Don’t have any other songs in the que, just the one, so that you can go directly into sound mapping;
  • If you need to stop the music between, no big deal — press stop, then close your eyes again, take a breath, continue into sound mapping;
  • Shema sound mapping suggestions: Create a mental map of the sounds you hear: what are they, which direction are they coming from, how far away are they?
  • Begin by directing your listening focus straight in front of you, then behind, to each side, up, down, etc;
  • Make space for your awareness to extend globally, 360 degrees, in all directions as you continue to listen;
  • Song Suggestions: 

…And we’d love to hear what other songs ya’ll use for this!

☀️This post is part of our Omer Wellness Series – a daily 7-minute opportunity for introspection and intentional focus on caring for ourselves, each other, and our environment in this incredibly challenging time. ☀️#omer #wellness #jewish #countingtheomer #jewishmovement #movementculture #movementecology #selfcare #dailypractice #hebrewcalendar #kabbalah #jewishwellness #dailyomerpractice #omerinplace #omer5780 #shema #soundmap

Leave a Reply