Blogs – all – Shine & Grow

What’s your key word for 2025?

Posted by: Sara Benveniste Posted on: 9th January 2025

My keyword for 2025 is LIGHT.

Light to me is the gateway to a productive, happy and fulfilled life all round, both professionally or and in my personal life too.

It’s a reminder for me to:

– Shine bright and stay authentically me.

– Continue to embody taking consistent imperfect action in my job search in alignment with the person I am and love being.

– Embrace my imperfections and be kind to myself.

Note to self: Imagine you are talking to your best friend or colleague and the words you would say to them – think before you speak in a judgemental way out loud to yourself. Notice it and catch it when you can! If you don’t catch it, don’t worry, forgive yourself and make a note to catch it next time 😲

– Stay grounded in my core purpose and values and all that matters to me most in life. Love, peace and joy is very important to me all round plus I also value authenticity, hard work, loyalty, integrity, diversity, a good sense of connection and great collaboration with whoever it is, family, friends and colleagues, celebrating each others’ successes too as well as supporting their growth, ideally maintaining clear, positive, kind and respectful communication. And finally, playfulness and embracing the need for creativity, laughter and inspiration to enhance happiness, self-esteem and productivity which has a ripple effect on all those around you.

– Continue to learn new lessons and gain new insights through each of my life experiences. Mistakes and bumps on the road are the only way to grow!

– Continue to spread my light across all the different communities I am connected with – friends, colleagues, business connections – and embrace new opportunities for growth and expansion.

– Prioritise self-care, practice mindfulness and gratitude always.

– Continue to incorporate musical and mindful practices and child-like play into my daily routine, which serves a great purpose to me in increasing productivity, creativity and clarity along my journey in finding my dream role with an employer “who accepts me as I am with the skills and talents I have right now, someone who looks beyond my imperfections and sees the potential in me as someone they can mould to become the greatest version of myself in line with their business needs and desires, someone who can see beyond my struggles and weaknesses, someone who they can see growing and thriving in their organisation using what I have right now.“ (quoted from one of my recent blogs).

– Trust my own intuition and guidance. My heart and authentic being is now leading the way in 2025!

Hope I’ve given you some food for thought… Happy and healthy new year all!!! Let’s make 2025 an exciting, successful and positively memorable year!

Sweeten the smallest moments with gratitude

Posted by: Sara Benveniste Posted on: 2nd January 2025

In holding on to all the good things from 2024, and it being the last day of Chanukah, I thought I would reflect on everything during the past year to solidify the positives (and light) I can pull from each of my experiences and the lessons I’ve learned.

I’m so grateful for my Jewish identity now more than ever this past year whilst absorbing everything that has happened in Israel and the antisemitism that has spiked big time all around the world. We are an absolute miracle – this is a core part of who I am and I wouldn’t have it any other way. I am so proud of the Jewish people as a collective, and all that we stand for, and the joy that the Jewish spirit brings to me and my family. I’m also really grateful to all our friends – whatever their religion or beliefs – all those who have stood with us in our time of greatest need and believed in the truth of who we are and our innate capacity for love and peace.

It was such a miracle this year that Christmas fell on the same day as Chanukah. We started our Chanukah celebrations when the sun went down and the stars came out whilst during the daytime, Christmas was being celebrated by many people. This has only happened 3 times in the last 100 years – and I believe it is a true sign of the times and especially true of the close friendship that we have built with our fellow Christians, especially this past year since October 7th, who have played an important role to help us fight the toxic antisemitism that has plagued the world after the worst attack on Jewish people since the Holocaust. I’ve loved every minute of Chanukah this year, and the light it has brought to me and all those people who have been inspired by the light we have shared around the world on social media, the shining bright public Menorahs at outdoor community events, indoor community events, in our homes with our families, the joy it has brought to the kids in lighting the candles and exchanging presents… Our lights have shined really bright this year.

I am so grateful for all the music that has inspired and uplifted me this year, whether it’s through the two choirs I’ve attended – Rock Choir and Mill Hill Community choir, the karaoke sessions I organise virtually every month at the Sync Bar, through chakra dance and Natalie Southgate’s enlightening and fun chakra dance meditations or through all the sound baths I’ve attended too which have been a great release, and also, all the amazing musicians I’ve come across on social media or YouTube that you may or may not have seen me share on Facebook in my news stories.

I’m grateful to have taken part in the “You’re the voice” Rock Choir event in November this year at the New Wimbledon theatre – the atmosphere was so incredible. I am looking forward to starting weekly Rock Choir sessions later on this month as we’ve had quite a long break over the winter break – I’m definitely now ready to rock ‘n’ roll again, and looking forward to the new singing experiences I’ll take part in this year!

I’m also grateful for the opportunity to participate in my first orchestra concert last week playing the flute for a local community soup and doughnut lunch to celebrate the 6^th day of Chanukah. As well as it being initially nerve-wrecking, I was surrounded by a warm group of people and we had fun with it and I managed to laugh those nerves off, and just enjoy the feeling of getting myself out there doing something a bit different and brave too, doing the best I could, and learning some new lessons for the next time. It’s a totally new “listening” experience playing in an orchestra compared to playing on my own especially when it comes to timing the notes exactly with the other instruments, but also, developing a real mindful awareness of the sounds of the other instruments to listen out for, which is a new technique I am developing. As well as identifying those areas I could improve on for next time, there is also an element of patience that goes along with this as part of the learning process and being kind to myself in the moment.

I’m also grateful for all those job opportunities and freelance work this year that have come my way this past year that have played a big role in strengthening my recent work experience, amplifying my skills in the process, opening new doors for personal growth and development and increasing my own self-confidence and self-worth. I’m looking forward to what this year will bring, the people I will meet and the new opportunities that will arise.

Finally, I’m so grateful for simply being alive, especially when I think about those who are suffering so much right now and don’t have this opportunity. Life isn’t perfect by any means but I have learned to embrace it as it is, nurture my soul’s needs more and really get in touch with what makes me glow inside, and nurture the good and all the positive relationships that surround me. Music has become my sanctuary but also such a catalyst for my growth and expansion and has inspired me to grow through my experiences of life in general especially this past year which has been a real learning curve – learning how to thrive in the darkness, learning how to live and enjoy life in the best possible way despite what other people might think of me, and learning how to best change my perspective on life despite how it might look on the outside.

2024 has been a life-changing year which I will never forget. May the tears of 2024 water the seeds of 2025, today and beyond. It can surely only get better now.

Cheers to a fabulous, magical, successful year and a peaceful one too full of light, love and joy.

Firework by Katy Perry

Keep shining your bright light in 2025. May the light continue to shine each and every day of the year without it needing to be Chanukah. Let’s make 2025 an amazing year!!!!

Never stop dreaming

Posted by: Sara Benveniste Posted on: 26th December 2024

Based on my last two interviews where I was a strong candidate but not strong enough to get the job, in my usual style, and especially coming up to the end of 2024, I wondered what can I do with the positive feedback I received, and how do I move forward into 2025, be the “Number One Candidate” and get my dream job.

Job hunting has become a real mission over the past few months, and also one of personal growth and development. I am grateful for every next step I‘ve taken in finding different creative ways to boost my confidence during interviews and improving my answers to interview questions, which has led me to applying for the roles I’ve had interviews for, not also forgetting all the amazing friends and family who have supported me in the process.

I am still to find the right role, one where we both equally align with each other – which seems to be the biggest challenge – not just me aligning with the goals of the organisation and the people that interviewed me. It’s a two-way process.

I’ve been told at different points in time by various people that when a job is meant for me, it’ll happen in its own time. I’m doing my best to keep the faith and to trust the process – which is another part of me I’ve been working on too. I know deep down that I’m somehow being guided to the right role though I can’t see it clearly now. Each step I’ve taken has pushed me to grow and to embrace my authentic self even more which has led me to this point.

Somewhere out there, I know there is a job that is meant for me, and that someone who will choose to employ me is someone who accepts me as I am with the skills and talents I have right now, someone who looks beyond my imperfections and sees the potential in me as someone they can mould to become the greatest version of myself in line with their business needs and desires, someone who can see beyond my struggles and weaknesses, someone who they can see growing and thriving in their organisation using what I have right now.

I love to grow as a person and learn new things. I’m very adaptable and flexible to change, I have a positive attitude to work and I’m very self-motivated. I work well on my own and also work great with colleagues in a team. I demonstrate a high level of empathy, compassion and diplomacy no matter what level of seniority in the organisation. I’m also a hard worker and get the job done which are all important qualities to have.

For one of my recent interviews for a charity, both for Administrator roles, I had questions sent to me in advance so I had a few days to prepare and reflect on giving the best answers and best real examples I could possibly give, and this was evident in the feedback letter I received which at the start said the following:

“Firstly, your application form scored very highly in our process. It was one of the highest scoring across all applications received due to how well it illustrated your ability and prior experience to meet the job specification. It was also incredibly well structured which made it very easy to pull out key bits of information. In your interview, we were very impressed by your level of experience and you had clearly done a huge amount of preparation. It is clear that you were a high level and incredibly capable candidate.”

What amazing feedback right! I was blown away because not everyone takes the time to give much feedback if any at all (once I was emailed a blank template rejection letter!), so I am grateful to hear these positive and encouraging words, which must mean that I am somehow moving in the right direction. I asked myself, how do I take this forward? It felt so good to hear this feedback; I felt proud of myself of everything I had achieved until that point. I really did give it my all. However, I still wasn’t quite there yet where I wanted to be, at that final destination.

There were also other things I had to work on that were mentioned in the feedback email which included improving my answers to questions on the spot in the interview which wasn’t a surprise to me as this is my real struggle – and a constant work-in-progress too. I’m not naturally a sales person, and although I might not tick every single box in an interview, I have lots of amazing transferable skills and extensive administration and copywriting experience which I have gained over the last 25 years. If there is something new I need to learn, so be it. I am always up for a new challenge and will work hard to get up to speed to where I need to be.

Nerves is a big one for me because when they take over, I can simply just go blank despite how many hours (and days) I have spent preparing for this moment to shine in the interview. I was like this during exams at school aswell so I know these feelings well. These moments don’t always reflect my truest self but I do my best as I always do.

Preparing my answers in advance and having notes in the interview is a big help to me in terms of calming down my nerves. All of me was written down on paper, all my reflections, all my strengths, my best examples, my thought processes, my best presentation skills are all written down, and written whilst feeling calm which always brings out my best self. That’s not to say I can’t juggle under pressure – I have had lots of experience with this – but I do find it hard to sell myself under pressure.

Unfortunately, in that particular interview for the charity I spoke about earlier, it wasn’t a sales presentation as I thought it would be. I prepared my best content but unfortunately, I ran out of time to shorten my notes in bullet point format and practice talking with confidence without notes, saying what I truly want to say from my core. Hindsight is always great.

After every interview, I re-evaluate things and think about how I can improve my answers and my technique for the next time. I am also doing my best to include practices on the day of the interview that help calm and release those nerves – normally including meditation and exercise in the morning plus a really good sing-song in the car on the way to the interview – and build that confidence for when I walk in that door!!!!

In my last interview, I did a short session of Qi Gong that morning too, which was also helpful, especially as I did the whole interview without notes and only consulted them when I was asked at the end if I had any questions for them. I stayed calm and composed during the whole interview and this time, it felt like more of a conversation than a sales presentation, but by the end, I had given it my all, and wanted to consult the notes I had made earlier at home to jog my memory and make sure I asked the right questions.

Although job hunting may seem like an impossible task, I will carry on as I always do. I’ve always been very determined and I have worked really hard to get this far – giving up or stopping is not an option for me. My only option now is to stay strong, keep up the self-care, never give up hope and rise above the obstacles, against the odds, above the competition.

“Our greatest glory is not in never failing but in rising every time we fall” (Ralph Waldo Emerson and Confucius)

Today is a new day. A new beginning.

A chance to start afresh. Another chance to get it right.

A piece of heaven

Posted by: Sara Benveniste Posted on: 17th December 2024

Aside from playing the flute, singing in two choirs and karaoke-style too, I’ve been on an enlightening sound healing journey over the past two years, and especially this past year. I am fascinated by the way in which sound can heal your body, how the frequencies of sound can be incredibly relaxing, energising and such a great release for the body and mind.

I participated in a sound bath using gongs at the end of the Chakra Dance retreat I attended in April 2023, which this was the start of my sound journey.

To give you an idea what it’s all about, to start with, we lay down as if we were about to meditate (or have a nap) under a nice, cosy blanket. It was an incredible experience – I’ve never experienced anything like this. It really felt like I was having an internal massage, that I was able to breathe like I’d not done before in such a deep way, unknotting any balls of tightness and stress as the frequencies of sound travelled up and down my body, making me feel so expansive, taking me to an amazing, peaceful place. I ended up being the last to wake up from this trance-like state though I could have stayed there for ages, but at some point, I did have to wake up!

Since then, I’ve had lots of other sound healing experiences locally, otherwise known as sound baths, and found a nice, warm community at The Silo at Hill Farm in Radlett run by Natalie Faulkner. I’ve really enjoyed the sound baths run there every month by Sanchia from Head to Toe Harmony who always runs a great sound bath, all of which help to fill my cup with more positive energy and have brought me more calm and peace in my busy everyday life.

For those who don’t know, sound baths are a type of meditation. I love meditation already and the sound just adds an extra dimension to how I experience it all. During a sound bath, all you need to do is lie down, close your eyes and focus on the musical instruments being played. Nothing else.

Instruments can vary and can include for example, gongs, crystal and Himalayan bowls, chimes, shamanic or ocean drums, rain sticks and lots more.

Each of the sounds played on the instruments resonate with the frequencies within our body. It’s a very relaxing experience. It really helps to calm down our nervous system and helps with managing any anxiety or overwhelm you might be feeling, and especially if you go on a regular basis. None of us are immune to the feeling of being overwhelmed – there is so much digital clutter and overwhelm as well as all the to do lists that we plough through in our everyday lives, varying of course from person to person.

As someone with moderate hearing loss myself, music is one of my big passions. You really have to experience a good sound bath to understand what it’s all about and how good it can make you feel. I am so grateful for music and to be able to access the sound frequencies that I can’t hear without hearing aids, which for me are the highest frequencies and ironically the ones that are the most healing for me. For this reason, I love to empower others to look after their own well-being and discover some new forms of self-care that are really very nourishing for the mind, body and soul. I only discovered it recently and would love for others to discover the benefit of it for themselves. It’s also a great way of connecting with ourselves.🎶

Another sound bath I experienced that has stuck out in my mind is one that was performed by a lady based in Elstree called Claire Freeman who runs an amazing Gong bath, but also uses crystal and Himalayan bowls, rain sticks, amongst other instruments. I am going to one of her sound baths next Saturday 22^nd December which I’m really looking forward to. It’s a great time to do this sound bath as we approach the end of the year. It’s also a perfect way to release and unblock stuck energies in the body, and simply relax as we all need to do at this time of year.

I thought I would share a review of my first session with Claire:

“What Claire did at the beginning was really nice, which was to prepare us all for the experience in doing some simple relaxing deep breathing exercises and some gentle self-massage to get us in that relaxed state for when we lay down on our backs snuggled up under a blanket, closing your eyes, and drifting away to the relaxing music started to play using various different instruments including the gong, Himalayan and crystal bowls, rainsticks and more.

It was a really divine experience. A piece of heaven. I really felt like I was able to drift away into a peaceful, blissful state, that nothing in the world could take away from you. It is such a great release from all the everyday stress and worries some or probably all of us experience to different degrees.

I felt like I could lie there for ages but after an hour and a half, I had to wake up! It was almost bedtime when it finished, ie 9.30pm, so I wasn’t sure if I would be able to go to bed straight away but I was still tired as usual and slept really well that night”.

I’d definitely recommend Claire’s sound bath – she is based in Elstree, so for those of you who are local, do message me if you are interested in joining this session as I’d love for you to try it out in December before the chaos of Chanukah/Christmas kicks in and our diaries get overwhelmed with events and ticking off items on our to do lists, otherwise if you have an opportunity to find a lush sound bath near you, then that’s great, I hope I’ve inspired you to try out a new form of self-care.

A time to hope

Posted by: Sara Benveniste Posted on: 26th November 2024

I just wanted to share details about this Jewish book I have started to read to my son called “A Time to Hope” by PJ Library. It’s a really lovely book for kids.

PJ Library is a charity that provides free educational books to Jewish children of all ages, starting from 3 until the end of primary school mainly. My family has benefitted over the past 10 years from PJ Library’s free books, and experienced the positive impact of their brilliant, funny, insightful, inspiring books first hand.

I’ve also been nosing around their website resources and it’s not just for kids – it’s a great educational read for everyone, adults included! They are also great resources for non-Jewish people to read too.

I love how they include information about Sigd too which is a festival celebrated by Ethiopian Jews. It’s really interesting to hear about their traditions too. It’s such a miracle so many thousands of Ethiopians were saved and flown to Israel. However many times I read about this, I’m always amazed. 8,000 Ethiopian Jews were saved in November 1984 (“Operation Moses”) and then 15000 Ethiopians were saved over 3 days in May 1991 (“Operation Solomon”). Picture that, so many incredible, beautiful lives saved. Now, this Jewish community called “Beta Israel” are thriving in Israel and their customs and traditions are well respected, nurtured and celebrated. It’s lovely how Jewish people from all over the world share the same traditions but also, it’s so interesting to see how they vary according to each person’s culture depending on where in the world they come from.

I love how on this website, all the resources are neatly organised under each festival, for example, any songs, music, traditions, art or cooking activities for kids, recipes, or stories that relate to that particular festival. There are also lots of opportunities in this book to self-reflect, to see how these stories relate to our everyday lives and make us more conscious of how we are spreading our light in the physical world and perhaps inspire us to spread even more….

It’s easy to follow, it can be read in small chunks and the design is nice and bright which always fills me with hope.

https://pjlibrary.org/hope

Reach for the stars

Posted by: Sara Benveniste Posted on: 18th November 2024

I went to a Rock choir event yesterday with a few friends and a whole theatre load of other Rockies called “You’re The Voice” for the London/ Greater London region which took place at the New Wimbledon Theatre.

You’re The Voice – named after the song by John Farnham – captures the essence of this show, of the concept of Rock Choir, and also of life and how every day, we start a brand new chapter or page,

“We have the chance to turn the pages over, We can write what we want to write”. Such an empowering song!

Just because we’ve had a bad day or start to the day, it doesn’t mean that tomorrow will be the same. We can change the course of our day as we choose – we don’t have to let the stress around us affect us so much. Of course it’s not always straightforward and our lives can get stressful in situations that are out of our control, but we can only do our best and make sure we dip in and out of self-care as and when we need it. Which is where singing comes in sometimes!

We can’t ever take our life for granted – there’s no guarantee of tomorrow – which is why it’s so important to live in the moment and live each day as it comes with as much joy as possible.

Sunday evening’s event was absolutely incredible – “singing heaven” I call it – absolute bliss. The atmosphere was fabulous with around 1200 other people we call “Rockies” from different choirs coming together in unison to sing all our favourite Rock choir songs. The energy in the room was so high vibe and so liberating – the adrenaline from all the music, singing and laughs we had kept us going and standing up most of the time (even though we all had seats!!!). It was such a shame it had to end! It was great to see all the Rock choir leaders on stage and to cheer on our own leader Simon Reynolds every time he came to the front of the stage.

During the show, we did all the fun bits we enjoy doing at the end of class when we sing along in all our different choir voices along with the live track, but this time, we were all scattered all around the theatre and sang our parts as best as we could, though I’m sure quite a few of us dipped into the tune as well or some of the other sections – whoops! – but we all sang our hearts out and the energy was electric! So much so that the sound on stage stopped working towards the end of the show, but all was well as it was handled well on stage and it only lasted a few minutes and then the power was back on! There were some new songs that were sang as well by the leaders which we hadn’t sung in Rock choir – classics like “You are my sunshine” which was a great song to sing. So much musical talent amongst them all, each one of the leaders with their own personality and style which we all love and respect.

Also, there was a live band playing with a big screen in the background showing videos and lyrics of each the songs we sang – this was even more blissful for me, as anyone who knows me, knows I love karaoke too! It’s always good to have a reminder of the words we are supposed to be singing so we can enjoy the singing even more and don’t have the worry of wondering what the words are that we should be singing next, especially if it’s a song I don’t know or a song I haven’t sung for a long time.

During the show, we also recorded a new song – keeping my lips shut about any more details – which should be released next year, so that’ll be exciting to listen to! It was nice to be part of this experience too and also to be raising money for Comic Relief at the same time.

“You’re the voice, try and understand it, Make a noise and make it clear…. We’re not gonna sit in silence…. We’re not gonna live with fear”.

Oh, whoa – powerful words! Why should we have to live with fear… We can’t control those who want to make our lives fearful, but we can choose to not live in fear! It is however within our control and our decision to choose what’s right for us as an individual, and at the same time, what is right for us as humanity.

We have to fight for what is right, for how we want society as a whole to look from the inside out. This is the only way to a more loving, joyful society. We all have a huge innate capacity for love that we can give to ourselves and also that can be shared with other people around us. We are so much better as human beings when we stand (or sing!) united as this is what enables our lights to shine so brightly over the darkness which I hope and pray will fade in good time. Darkness doesn’t ever lead us anywhere good, but increasing the light around us can make us feel so incredible, and so peaceful that the sky is our limit of never-ending possibilities, which is a wonderful feeling. Never underestimate the amazing feeling peace and joy can bring to us! “A Thousand Years” was a great example of this last night with all our phone torch lights lighting up the theatre so brightly along with all the multi-coloured lights people were waving in the air too. A magical experience.

Caroline Redman Lusher, founder of Rock Choir, was amazing as always last night. This was her 11th – out of 12 – show! I can’t imagine how she must have felt at the end of the show. It must be an indescribable feeling… It’s so amazing how she has created this choir that is now truly well-established all over the UK. No doubt Caroline must be feeling on top of the world for what she has achieved in creating such a fabulous choir and giving so many people so much joy in their lives to look forward to every week and during these fun events they put on for us where we all come together in unison.

I’m going to end this blog and share some lyrics from one of the many favourite songs I love to sing, “Reach” by S Club, one of many songs that were played at yesterday’s event and a great message for us all:

“We’ve got to all stick together
Good friends are there for each other
Never ever forget that I’ve got you
And you’ve got me, so

✨✨⭐️ Reach for the stars⭐️✨✨
Climb every mountain higher
Reach for the stars ✨💃✨🕺✨
Follow your heart’s desire ❤️💙💜🩷🧡💛
Reach for the stars ✨💃✨🕺✨
And when that rainbow’s shining over you🌈
That’s when your dreams will all come true”

Singing is such a joy

Posted by: Sara Benveniste Posted on: 8th November 2024

Singing is such an uplifting and spiritual experience for me which I why I was curious to try out Mill Hill community choir. I already go to Rock Choir locally, and though I love it there, I was interested in singing different types of songs and see where it took me without any expectations.

I love to sing so it was a no-brainer that I wanted to do more of it, feel all the feels and expand my musical capacity and my capacity for joy too. Especially as I have some spare capacity, this has been a great way to meet new like-minded people and has made the “networking” process fun. Isn’t this what life is all about, enjoying our time on this planet whilst we are alive? There is so much in life that can get us down and cause us lots of anxiety – we can’t take our life for granted anymore. Each and every one of our lives are so precious – so it’s so important to grab those opportunities for joy when we can and make the best of life as it is with what we have right now in this present moment and look after our mental well-being.

The warm-up exercises Ryan, our choir leader, normally starts with are lots of fun – we all let our hair loose and have a good laugh. I sometimes wonder in class what others might think when looking at us from the outside – however, in the moment, we are so focused on the joy and fun we are having that it really doesn’t matter!! Ryan isn’t ever fussed if we make a wrong move, sing a wrong note or in the wrong tune or harmony though most of the time, we manage to get the vocals right in the end and it always sounds great by the end. I always get lost in the joy that singing brings to me. The most important thing Ryan says is to get it out of your system! The more we do it, the easier it gets.

It really is very empowering just to let it all out, to let our voice loose. We all have our own voice and the right to express ourselves as we truly are. Singing is a great way of connecting with our authentic selves – it really helps us to access our own heart and sense of compassion, even if it is only for ourselves. Self-care and looking after our own well-being is so important, and singing plays an important part in this.

It’s so lovely to see everyone from all walks of life coming together in unity and joy to sing lots of new, insightful, empowering, uplifting, peaceful songs with various different harmonies – and also in different languages sometimes – which we all experiment with to see which frequency harmony resonates with us the best. We can all explore as we choose when we get to class – we aren’t ever stuck in any particular harmony though I often like to sing the alto parts and sometimes those higher frequencies if I can manage it.

Music is a great tool to communicate our experience of life in a way we wouldn’t normally express ourselves with words. It also makes a big difference to our well-being and the communities around us and really helps to connect us all like no other medium can.

Let it go

Posted by: Sara Benveniste Posted on: 30th October 2024

I was listening to this inspiring video by David Bayer one of my friends (and coach too) Karen Astill sent to me as she thought this might give me some inspiration on how I can move forward in life with more ease, joy and flow instead of having to carry the weight of the world on my shoulders, and simply find a way to give myself a break from thinking about what is happening in the world.

I have my own ways of escaping things like using mindfulness, music and singing which are really great and extremely useful tools for me. But ultimately, as well as all the self-care I’m already investing in, it’s also about changing the focus of what I think about everyday, developing that awareness of my thought processes, and in turn, reducing the burden of those heavyweight thoughts and incoming negative energy that the news or general stress in our everyday lives for example can bring.

Talking through problems can be helpful of course, but sometimes, we can speak our problems into existence if something is always on the forefront of your mind, which can make the problem seem even bigger. That’s not to say we should bottle our problems inside, but instead, learn to speak to your own self. Tell yourself something in a way that works for you, such as “It’s not happening to me right now” or “It’s ok, I’m safe” and consciously choose to let these thoughts go. When we catch them, this is the best time to develop a better awareness around our thoughts and when we might be bringing the problem into our reality unnecessarily in the present moment which takes away our feelings of joy and inner peace. It’s easy still to get caught up in negative or fear-based thoughts, particularly when we’re tired or busy, but we can’t be 100% perfect all the time, so we use these moments for self-compassion and wait for the next arising thought that you might want to let go of.

Words can be so powerful – we can create our own reality through everything we say out loud. If we constantly think fearful thoughts, then it will look really scary on the outside through this lens despite the distractions, even if they are self-care based. However, if we feed ourselves with positive thoughts, surround ourselves with those people who lift us higher, those people who want the best for you, and do more of the things that make you happy, then the lens we look through can feel much more peaceful, fun, uplifting and inspiring even.

Time is so precious

Posted by: Sara Benveniste Posted on: 7th October 2024

It’s October 7th today. It’s now been a year.

A year of navigating our way through the terrible October Rain. A year where we’ve been plunged into the darkness not knowing when we will see light again. A year of terror, destruction and war that Israel, the only democracy in the Middle East, didn’t want. Israel more than anything seeks peace and in doing so, continues to fight their enemies and defend itself from evil in this relentless battle against terrorism. As it should do, and especially after the October 7th massacre where 1200 precious, innocent, beautiful souls were slaughtered in the worst, most brutal attack on Jewish people since the Holocaust. Never again is now.

A year of despair not knowing if those hostages living in unimaginable terror are ever going to get out of there. All those people, young and old, babies, parents, grandparents, who lost their lives on that day or who were murdered in captivity. Those who have suffered and continue to suffer so much, those people who survived an unimaginable trauma I hope I would never have to go through in my lifetime, whether they were taken hostage and released. Or those who somehow miraculously escaped the terrorist attack and took refuge somewhere safe, but who lost loved ones, dear friends or family on that day. All those families of the hostages still remaining who are suffering so much still…. I can’t imagine what they are going through – all I know is that as a parent myself, a year is too long to have to worry about the whereabouts of your child, knowing terrorists are harming them and not knowing when they will come home again alive. Not resting until they are home safe in your arms.

Bring them home now.

A year of still being shocked to my core by those people who choose to stand on the side of evil by standing against Israel and the peace it stands for. Not realising the sacrifices Israel is making for the West in eliminating the evil in the Middle East that threatens the security of Israel but also eventually, the security of the West. Even after the deadly missile attacks by Iran, knowing full well they are behind all the attacks on Israel and are determined to wipe Israel off the map – and all the Jews off the planet too if they have their way. Still frustrated after a year that there are still so many ignorant people – even after so much truth has been put out there – who prefer to be sucked into the lies and Jew hate instead.

A year of getting my head around how the Jewish people who have suffered so much trauma can bring so much light to the world. The courage of the Holocaust survivors who are suffering now as they didn’t imagine they would witness another one in their lifetime. The courage of the Nova survivors to tell their story to the world about what they endured. The brave, young soldiers who left their families to fight in the war not knowing if they are going to come out of it alive. The grief of all those families, those children who are learning to live now without their mum or dad, or neither parent. Those people who were torn apart on that awful day and lost their entire families. I still can’t believe that such evil exists on this planet. At a peace festival. How could this be.

A year of discovering how antisemitic the world is and has become, how broken it is, how much repair (aka “Tikkun Olam” as the Jewish people call it), is needed to be able to live our lives in peace and joy free from hate, intolerance and threats and acts of terrorism on our streets.

A year of holding onto hope that Israel can bring more light upon the nations of the world despite all that has happened. Of hoping that Israel and the Jewish people can persuade all those who are against them that they have gotten it all wrong and not to believe all the lies and propaganda in the press and social media.

A year of remembering who I am as a Jewish person and continually having to remind myself that the light shines brightest in the dark. Of looking up to the light when all I see is darkness around me. Always looking to the light for inspiration and hope where possible even when it’s so very dark and grim💛

A year of living my truth boldly, holding my head high, and being proud of who I am ✡️

Enough is enough! Stop the hate. Stop the ugly antisemitism.

A year of holding onto hope and praying that Israel can destroy the evil that has been bestowed upon them once and for all knowing that G-d is behind us.

A year of hoping for good to prevail in the name of humanity, for love, kindness and peace.

A year of discovering and appreciating how incredible Israel is, despite how tiny a country it is, despite how much trauma they have had to endure over the past year. They display such resilience, beauty and authentic love for their people, and have achieved so much in its lifetime since it’s creation in 1948.

A year of enlightenment, of realising that despite the atrocities of this year, in ways I can’t yet comprehend, that G-d is with us doing his best to protect us from the evil that is on our planet right now.

A year of rediscovering my faith in G-d and being grateful for the incredible people and light workers from all faiths around me that I have met along the way who stand in solidarity with the light of who I am, my Jewish light. I’m so humbled that despite the haters and demonic evil, there are many good people of all beliefs and religions who unite and pray for us with compassion for all that our people are going through, and the sacrifices Israel is making for the sake of humanity.

A year of building communities and fostering close connections with people of all faiths. Of finding new creative ways of sharing the truth of what Israel stands for. Although Jews have been mostly affected by the massacre and war in Israel, Israel is the home for Muslims and Christians too, and over the past year, multi-ethnic bonds between communities have strengthened within Israel and all over the world.

As well as this, Jewish communities all over the world have been doing what they can to help, raising awareness of Israel’s plight, spreading the truth and giving comfort to those who are suffering in the way of marches, rallies, vigils, advocacy work and fundraising to support the victims and relieve suffering – collectively doing all we can to support Israel at its time of need and more importantly, doing our best to raise awareness of and sharing the joy and light of who we are as Jewish people, to make sure this never ever happens again and at the same time, strengthening our community even more.

We are the Jewish people, and we aren’t going anywhere!!! We are just as human as everyone else and have every right to live peacefully on this planet. Any Jewish person alive today is a walking miracle, and over the past year, I really do believe this and am so grateful for all the values I hold that make us who we are, the special traditions we have, and moreover the love we have for life and bringing ourselves joy. I cannot be prouder of my Jewish roots, more than ever before.

A year of discovering who I am now that my core beliefs have been exposed, and finding out who my true friends really are – those who care for me are the ones I have to focus on right now. Let them hate. Let them be who they are because I know I’m on the right side of history.

To conclude, I thought I would share some wisdom from late Rabbi Jonathan Sacks which sums up what Judaism, and Zionism too, is all about:

“Judaism was the first religion in history to place love at the heart of the spiritual life: Love the Lord your God with all your heart, all your soul and all your might. Love your neighbour. Love the stranger. And what we love most — because that is where G-d is to be found — is life itself. That is our greatest strength. It enabled our ancestors to survive every persecution. It helped Holocaust survivors to survive. It gave the Jewish people the courage to rebuild the land and state of Israel.”

He said it plainly, “We just ask for life. That is what Judaism is: a life of love and a love of life. All the rest is commentary.”

It’s been a long year. Light has to prevail.

Introducing the singing bowl

Posted by: Sara Benveniste Posted on: 7th September 2024

One of my friends told me about a Lighthouse she visited in London today that contains a Longplayer that basically houses a large collection of singing bowls – normally an instrument used in the sound baths I have experienced until now, which are very relaxing. I love this instrument!

And the coolest fact I found out from their website (as below) is that so far, Longplayer has been playing for:
24 years 250 days 07 hours
44 minutes and 14 seconds

I investigated this a bit more (as you know I like all things musical) and you can click on the link below on this website to listen to the music that it plays virtually non-stop on a live stream:

https://longplayer.org/stream/ (Live Stream)
https://longplayer.org/about/ (a couple of mini-films)

Last Thursday, I went to a floating sound bath at Westminster Lodge in St Albans and it was so amazing. Not sure if you’ve ever experienced a sound bath, but the noise of the water was lovely and complemented the music being played on the crystal and Himalayan bowls, shamanic drums, and chimes (I think I’ve covered them all).

We had a bit of reiki included in the experience aswell and so we were well looked after as our airbeds were constantly being moved/ manoeuvred to flow with the sound of the music and the water too to make us feel relaxed. They also gave us a card to pick at the end.

All in all, it was a lovely atmosphere and the biggest soundbath I’ve ever been too – think there were about 30-35 people there covering the whole swimming pool!