250-217-8123 Nomi Kaston, M.Sc., Speech Language Pathologist

Nomi Kaston, M.Sc., Speech Language Pathologist 250-217-8123

www.speechvictoria.wordpress.com

Elul, a time to be new

Amazing, to reinvent my Self just as the month of Elul begins. It is mentioned often that the letters in this months's name spell "Ani L'Dodi v'Dodi li", the words from the Song of Songs that couples say under the chupah on their wedding day, "I am to my a Beloved and my Beloved is to me". The same connection, I to my Beloved and my Beloved to me, exists between me and the organizing geometry that creates and recreates the kaleidoscope that is this whole world. If "I" is that small bit of this world's matter that is entrusted to .....well, me...... then the month of Elul is for rebalancing the symmetries in me, as I live in all four worlds, Assiyah the Physical, Yetzirah the Emotional, Briah the Intellectual, and Atzilut the Spiritual (the four worlds are much much more rich and complex than this). 

*My world of Assiyah, my physical body, the places where I tread. For me, a new house to furnish with flow. Our first Shabbat dinner in the dining room we have lovingly furnished brought Shabbat to the physical ground in our new house. "It was a house", my Dad said. "Now it is a home." May I furnish my living space so that energy can flow. 

*My world of Yetzira, my emotional world. May I accept all of the emotions I find myself feeling. May I nurture the child in me, acknowledge fully that she is feeling and reacting. I loved yesterday's teaching from Dov Baer of Mezrich, through the Velveteen Rabbi, suggesting that when we feel anger at someone, we direct the anger not at the individual, but at the broken shards that are stuck in that person. May my reactions help to release the spark of pure light in each person I connect with. Including myself. I am to my beloved self. 

*My world of Briah, the mental world of ideas and thought. May I expand. May I listen to opinions I don't agree with. May I hold ideas in my head, follow through. 

*My world of Atzilut. May I open to the wonder. I feel no need for my intellect to ponder questions of faith. None at all. It doesn't matter how each person or group define the wondrous oneness of all things in these four worlds. We can each experience and share the wonder, find metaphors when the spirit moves us, share the metaphors when we feel so inclined. But not push our own metaphors as some copyrighted version of what's really there. And not forget the each metaphor is a costume. 

Good Morning

I wonder if I'm back? I'll try to check in with a word or a flower each day.

Even when writing, there was time for the poppies to bloom

Submitted my thesis for the teaching course. In Hebrew. With writing partners less than half my age. A work of love and synergy, and the moon is full, and I wandered among fields of red poppies at dusk. I have been away for so long, I need to find my To Life voice again and I shall. The flowers today, for every day, including when we were co-writing that all consuming paper on Universal Design for Learning, a magnificent concept and timely, yes every day throughout the process I did get out and watch the flowers grow.

To Life !: Even when writing, there was time for the poppies ...

To Life !: Even when writing, there was time for the poppies ...: Submitted my thesis for the teaching course. In Hebrew. With writing partners less than half my age. A work of love and synergy, and the moo...

Changing the Subject

It's a sacred, laden job to be given: teaching kids to communicate. Student clinicians who observed my therapy today asked me why I let the kids change the subject. I let them change the subject because their ideas are far more interesting to me than the ones I bring to the session. Yonatan wanted to talk about David Ben Gurion standing on his head. Shon brought a Tof Miriam, a simple tambourine, and planned a birthday party for it. All the kids knew it was pretend, and practiced their collaborating and conversation skills around the birthday party for Tof Miriam. Mem Fox, a teacher of children's writing, is quoted tirelessly, as wanting children's writing to "ache with caring". That is what I want for my children's conversations. I want them to move from topic to topic, touching upon this and that, until that sparked moment when they come upon something that lights them, flares within them and holds their interest in a heartdriven, real way. The way competent conversationalists chat, and suddently lean in towards each other with intent when they come to an issue that really matters to them. If I stick to my plan, the kids may learn the rules, I suppose. But if I loosen the reins, and let the conversation run free, I'll find out what their hearts are aching to share.