Dear Friends,

Did you know that a caterpillar becomes a butterfly by digesting itself inside its cocoon, dissolving its entire structure and becoming goo. This goo is filled with "imaginal discs" that later become the component parts of a butterfly. You can read all about it here and watch it happen here:

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Wow.

So many parts of this process resonate with every major life transition I've ever had. The old thing has to dissolve - often painfully - to make way for the new. The in-between time is SO gooey. It is disorienting. It is scary. It is uncomfortable. It is filled with confusion and mystery about what comes next. If all you have known is caterpillar, how are you supposed to know what butterfly is like?

But while your thinking mind is in complete chaos, something else within you knows exactly what needs to go where. You, too, are made of imaginal discs, slowly taking shape to become exactly who you need to be for your next chapter. These discs are not scared or confused. Your task is to learn to hear them and trust them - and life itself - to take you to the other side of the transition.

This is the LAST week to join us for Flourish.

Are you in a moment of painful dissolving? (GOODBYE to the year of the snake and its major skin sheddings!)

Are you deep in the goo - filled with uncertainty, confusion, chaos, and anxiety?

Do you have the support, wisdom, community, and guidance to find your way to the other side of these changes? To find your path to flourishing?

If not, I really really (really) want you to join us.

​Flourish is a Jewish Mindfulness Immersion and Certification Program. Over 12 weeks (March 10 through May 26), you'll immerse yourself in Jewish and Buddhist wisdom and practice and learn the essential skills to guide others. Each week includes live group sessions, on-demand instructional videos, guided meditations, rich Jewish source material, and journaling prompts. You'll also be part of a lively WhatsApp community and a cohort of people showing up together in community, cheering you on.

By the end of the program, you'll have the inner steadiness and the practical skills to hold, guide, and lead others in meditation with real confidence.

This is the last week to sign up, and we are almost full. If are craving a community of serious practitioners, longing for support as you navigate changes happening in your life, and ready to commit to 12-weeks of profound practice, don't miss this chance to join us.

​[Reserve Your Spot] - use my special code YS_2026 for $100 off the tuition.

Curious if it's right for you? Just hit reply to this email and let's talk. No pressure - just an exploration of fit.

And finally, enjoy this writing on the topic of dissolving and becoming:

“In nature, we are quietly offered countless models of how to give ourselves over to what appears dark and hopeless, but which ultimately is an awakening beyond our imagining. All around us, everything small and buried surrenders to a process that none of the buried parts can see. We call this process seeding and this innate surrender allows everything edible and fragrant to break ground into a life of light that we call Spring. As a seed buried in earth can’t imagine itself as an orchid or hyacinth, neither can a heart packed with hurt or a mind filmed over with despair imagine itself loved or at peace. The courage of the seed is that, once cracking, it cracks all the way. To move through the dark into blossom is the work of soul.”

​Mark Nepo, Seven Thousand Ways To Listen

Much love,

Yael

Yael Shy is the CEO and Founder of Sefira Wellness with over two decades of supporting others in uncovering their inherent worth and capacity for deep joy through mindfulness. She is the author of the award-winning book What Now? Meditation for Your Twenties and Beyond (Parallax, 2017) and teaches at NYU’s Wagner School of Public Service. You can find her on Instagram at @yaelshy1. 2299 Summer St. #1249, Stamford, CT 06905 ​Unsubscribe · Preferences​