my perspective on Hasidic Judaism changed this weekend when I saw Oprah's interview with a Hasidic family and with a group of Hasidic women in Brooklyn. Even though I live among some Hasidic people, there was alot I didn't know. I honestly felt that alot of their rules about women were due to a severely patriarchal system. But according to these women, this is absolutely not so. They do not feel they need to answer to their husbands about hardly anything. I'm not sure that I don't still think it's patriarchal, but what I see now that I didn't before is that the subservience is to God, not to the husband. I see that the center of the religion is not the synagogue, but the home, and the woman is the ruler of the home. I hadn't seen it that way before. My eyes are opening.....

This is a wonderful idea for group sharing.  Shifting our perspectives can be so difficult!  I am challenged almost daily.  The other day, I was having an intense discussion with an old friend about homosexuality.  I had posted a sweet video of Molly sharing, via signs, her ideas about Christianity, love, and being bi-sexual.  My old friend who is a conservative evangelical Christian came out against the video.  She was concerned about where you draw the line.  If we allow homosexuality then why not sex with children and bestiality.  I was getting frustrated at her lack of understanding...getting really triggered!  As a lesbian, I began to take it a bit personally.  But towards the end of our discussion, I realized that all my friend really wants is some order in the chaos.  She wants some rules.  She doesn't want evil people wandering around.  She doesn't want children and animals abused.  That's where this comes from for her. I realized that her perspective had value.  I realized that all of the great organized religions have brought a certain measure of order to our societies.  I was able to calm down and affirm that in her.  She has a piece of the puzzle.  It is true but partial (as Ken Wilber would say).  I can acknowledge the intent and the true.  I can transcend and include it.  The bottom line: once I was able to take her perspective, I relaxed and even appreciated her in the midst of our disagreement.

i'm so glad you posted this, carla! this is similar to an experience i had last week when i was watching an episode of the new bill moyers series. i had been banging my head against the wall at the right wing and at the attitudes you expressed her in your friend. but this expert sociologist on the show got through to me when he explained that the right wing is essential one that believes in rules. rules must be abided in order to avoid chaos for them. for we artist types rules are more like a jail. but those rules don't always mean that people like your friend want to oppress everyone the way we think. it means they simply want rules. and while i don't agree with those rules either, it helped my perspective to understand where they are coming from. like you, i took a step back from feeling like they are fools to understanding how their brain works! that is one reason i am starting this group. we simply can't be creative thinkers if we don't have shifts in perspective! thanks!

Today, and part of yesterday, I went from a person who liked dogs to a "doggie mommy"!  I love animals, but I didn't realize the attachment one develops with such a sweet little creature!!  Truly moved...

you'll have fun seeing things from a dog's perspective, maryrose! so happy for you. i think seeing things through an animal's perspective heightens our own lesser used senses. i also think that we focus on the most important "in the moment" things as well as all the love.

i always like it when i find out that something i became cynical about is not at all the way i was looking at it. in other words, my perspective shifted. i used to like tony robbins, but i honestly felt like he was a money motivated guy who capitalized on the self help movement of the eighties. and, yes, he's made alot of money doing just that. however, i saw his interview with oprah and saw more of what he does in his marathon sessions. and now i feel that he's a man who is not motivated but DRIVEN to help people based on his abusive background. he's determined to help those in need and to help those who need ...a perspective shift. i don't think he is driven by the money. i think he enjoys the money. but i think he's as passionate in his marathon sessions as springsteen is in his marathon concerts. he doesn't talk much about the abuse he suffered, because he doesn't like to go to that head space. but it was bad. ...anyway, i loved seeing him a new way.

I didn't like Tony Robbins back in the day either, but I agree with your observations now, Lisa.  I've been watching him for about a year now and I'm pretty impressed.

I watched part of the Tony Robbins show last night and found that it was very cult like. With the pumping up the audience before the show with exercise girls and the people jumping up and down. It really creeped me out.

ok, ericka, but you have to tell us how your perspective SHIFTED. for example, did you like him before and don't now? yes, that part was creepy. but my shift changed when i learned more about what makes tony do what he does. tell us something where your perspective shifted. doesn't have to be about tony....but it could...

my perspective shifted today on the haves and the have nots. i increasingly am seeing that the haves have no clue about how the have nots struggle. they are not only cold, but they are uninformed. i want to make a bigger effort to inform about poverty in america. that it's not only there, but what it is, what it means to live that way....

My perspective shifts everyday, because every day holds a mirror to see self in other and other in self.  I know that whenever I stray from the Center of my beginning, I am returned to see I had not been seeing clearly.  Sometimes I can rebel against this and become cynical, until I come upon the mirror of my negativity that makes me dig to see where it is really coming from.  Until, yet again, I am humbled and grounded.

that's cool, kimberlyann! i think it's the only way to live. i think if our perspectives are not shifting, then we are not living consciously. you can see in politics and elsewhere how easy it is to get stuck in one neuropathway. it's so bad for us. we need to use our whole brain!

I do have to be honest and say it can be challenging in times of great stress and fatigue...which can cause some neuropathways to "freeze".  I think this is where we need to open the door more for compassion...compassion toward ourselves and others.

good point, kimberlyann. i didn't get a notification of this the way i wished i had and missed it till now. i believe there is a part of us that absolutely wants to stay stuck. it's probably part of our primitive brain. some kind of safety mechanism. and yet we die if we stay stuck and don't create new neuropathways.

right now i'm shifting perspectives on God by listening to a lecture by a Sufi mystic! :-)

I can't even describe the experience just an hour ago when my perception suddenly shifted because of a sudden movie in my mind that showed me something that brought tears of understanding and joy to my heart and soul. To see the true connectedness of all beings in a flash was/is humbling and words are so limited in describing what I felt and what I witnessed. OMG would be a way of sharing :-) All I know is now, I can't see "you" or "them" or "me" as I once did. My perception shifted when I opened up unexpectedly. I pray I am able to retain this moment in my memory enough to truly live and give expression to "my perception shift".  Meditation can be unexpected shifts within :-)

that's pretty deep stuff, maryanne!  anything that shifts us towards seeing that we are all one or all unique pieces of a one is a true miracle and the most powerful type of perception shift. i've heard mystics have experiences like yours through meditation...cool! thanks for sharing!

my perspective shifted today when someone said what's new about the martin shooting is that people are talking about it. i hadn't really looked at it that way. 50 years ago, would this story have had much news space if any?

50 years ago it would not have the coverage because of two things: 1. 50 years ago this country was still openly segregated and racist could do pretty much as they pleased without consequence if their crime was against one of color. 2. 50 years ago we were not connected via social networks so many were not aware of such crimes.

Of course, my opinion is subjective .. has to be because it is my opinion! Hugs!

yes, ma'am. all true! my perspective is changing today the more i see how insane our country is allowing itself to become. i'm trying to watch out for what is sane debate vs crazy. there is some force out there that is leaning crazy. i want to watch out for it.

of course you should start painting! even posting this means you need to! try dickblick.com and get started! i want an update! :-)

My self noted a change on Sunday to how I reacted to a common ongoing problem i my home. (this is a long story not for here but it was an important shift)
I also vowed to get more creative, I haven't put my art close to first in such a long time. Haven't picked up a brush or pastel in like 16 months. Time for a change.
xo

perspective shifts are really EVERYTHING, annie. i'm so glad you not only had one or two but that you shared it with us. we will be supportive of you in your desire to paint again. you are terrific, and we love seeing your work!!

Thanks!