Sidesteps

Rabbi Alon C Ferency
  • 5.0 (4)
  • Arts
  • Updated Monthly

Toward a Spiritual-Cultural Renaissance:  The Way Forward Is Sideways www.eclecticcleric.com

  1. 6h ago

    Beauty Is a Spiritual Practice: Mayra Clay on Meditation, Creativity, and the Courage to Create

    "When we become empty of ourselves, that's when creation, inspiration, and beauty arrive." — Mayra Clay Episode Summary: What happens when spirituality stops being something you search for outside yourself and becomes something you discover within? In this deeply moving conversation, Rabbi Alon Ferency sits down with children's author and meditation teacher Mayra Clay to explore her journey from a Catholic upbringing in Mexico to meditation, motherhood, creativity, and writing The Boy and the Pink Light. Together they discuss beauty as a gateway to the sacred, overcoming self-doubt, helping children develop emotional freedom, and why authentic creativity emerges when we quiet the inner critic. The episode concludes with Mayra leading her powerful Pink Light meditation and a closing prayer for creativity, healing, and wholeness. Key Takeaways [00:00] – Mayra's spiritual journey: growing up Catholic in Mexico, moving to Italy, and discovering meditation [12:30] – How The Boy and the Pink Light grew from motherhood, teaching, and the desire to help families connect more deeply [24:00] – Fashion, beauty, and why external beauty can become a doorway to the soul instead of a distraction from it [37:00] – Creative self-doubt, intuition, and learning to create from the heart rather than for an audience [49:00] – Brainstorming Mayra's next children's book and the role of vulnerability between parents and children [1:03:00] – A guided Pink Light meditation for self-love, healing, and compassion Links & Resources Guest Info: Mayra Clay is a children's author, meditation teacher, and speaker based in London. Her work encourages children and families to cultivate self-love, emotional openness, and inner peace through storytelling and simple meditation practices. Website: https://mayraclay.com Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/mayrasclayb Learn more about The Bright Path meditation: https://thebrightpath.com Resources Mentioned: The Boy and the Pink Light by Mayra Clay https://www.mayraclay.com/ https://thebrightpath.com If this conversation inspired you, please subscribe to Sidesteps, leave a review, and share this episode with someone exploring creativity, spirituality, or parenting. To receive Rabbi Alon Ferency's reflections on creativity, sacred texts, and meaningful living, subscribe to his newsletter and visit https://eclecticcleric.com.

    54 min

  2. 4d ago

    What Happens When We Stop Resisting Movement? (with Lara J. Day)

    What can dance, qigong, trauma release, and the changing seasons teach us about creativity, healing, and spiritual life? In this episode of Sidesteps, Rabbi Alon Ferency speaks with movement teacher, qigong practitioner, and author Lara J. Day about embodiment, nervous system regulation, creativity, and reconnecting with nature as a spiritual practice. Together they explore neurogenic tremoring and trauma release, the transition from dance to yoga to qigong, the wisdom of the body's natural healing responses, and why modern culture often teaches us to suppress movement, emotion, darkness, and rest. The conversation also examines winter solstice rituals, the origins of modern holidays, homeschooling and creativity, parenting, aging, and the role of faith and surrender in times of crisis. Topics include: • Qigong and energy medicine • Trauma release and nervous system healing • Dance, creativity, and embodied practice • Seasonal living and winter solstice traditions • Spirituality, nature, and the experience of God • Parenting, education, and lifelong learning • Faith, grief, and letting go of control If you've ever wondered how creativity, movement, and nature can become portals to healing and meaning, this conversation is for you. https://www.larajday.com   https://www.amazon.com/dp/1582708843?lv=shuf&bestFormat=true&social_share=cm_sw_r_ffobk_cp_ud_dp_H73CX65BDB4NJSJ71YWM&channelId=704&ref_=cm_sw_r_ffobk_cp_ud_dp_H73CX65BDB4NJSJ71YWM&plpRedirect=mhFallback

    55 min

  3. May 27

    Through Three Camps

    This guided imagery is inspired by Numbers 4 - 7 (Parashat Naso) and the ancient teaching of the three camps surrounding the wilderness sanctuary. In this journey, you move inward through three sacred circles of belonging. First, the camp of Israel: the place of family, friendship, memory, and human connection. Here, you reflect on the people who hold and shape your life. Then, the camp of the Levites: the realm of music, creativity, devotion, craft, and passion. This is the fire of your gifts, your voice, your art, your calling. Finally, you enter the camp of the Shekhinah, the innermost sanctuary beyond words — the quiet place of soul, mystery, Divine presence, and deep benevolence. Through breath, visualization, and reflection, this meditation invites you to travel from outer life to inner essence, discovering how community, creativity, and spirit form a path toward wholeness.

    14 min

  4. May 25

    Bedtime Ritual 78

    A gentle nighttime meditation inspired by the ancient Jewish practice of preparing the soul for sleep. This ritual invites you to close the day with softness, honesty, and gratitude — releasing tension, reviewing the moments that shaped you, and returning to yourself with compassion. Through calming breath, reflection, and quiet awareness, you’ll create space to let go of unfinished thoughts and settle the nervous system before rest. Rather than striving to “sleep perfectly,” this practice treats bedtime as sacred threshold: a crossing from effort into trust, from noise into stillness. Ideal for evenings when the mind is crowded, the heart is tender, or the body needs help unwinding. Come as you are — weary, grateful, restless, hopeful — and allow the day to gently loosen its grip.

    14 min

  5. May 19

    Veronica Moya: Reconnecting You to Childlike Wonder

    Roughly a week ago, Veronica Moya contacted me to appear on my podcast. I had never interviewed anyone here before, and I'm glad I took her up on it. Veronica is multi-faceted with a spetacular personal, professional, and spiritual history: artist, performer, educator, mindfulness teacher.  Our wonderful talk touched upon the soul, creative Sidesteps, the transcendent power of song and other performance, and especially the ways in which childhood is limited by external messages, yet how to reinforce play, creativity, and resilience instead.  Thank you Veronica for being my premier guest! (https://veronicamoya.com) (The song referred to is Soda Stereo's "En la Ciudad de la Furia" with this beautiful live recording: https://youtu.be/FvYwvQt6jO0?si=zH_qcO0T6uSEk_Ji)

    51 min

  6. May 13

    Family Reunion

    A guided meditation inspired by the Book of Numbers and the great encampment in the wilderness. In the Bible, every tribe gathered in its place — close enough for connection, with enough space for dignity, difference, and belonging. In this meditation, you’ll enter a wide open landscape and slowly create your own sacred camp: inviting family, friends, teachers, ancestors, estranged loved ones, and unexpected guests into the circle. Through gentle visualization, you’ll imagine where each person belongs, how close or far they sit, what gifts they bring, and what healing may emerge simply from being gathered together beneath the open sky. Some arrive with joy, others with complexity, memory, or grief. All are welcomed with curiosity and care. This practice offers space to reflect on community, boundaries, belonging, and the deeper question of what it means to make room for one another in the wilderness of our lives.

    14 min

  7. Apr 27

    Bedtime Ritual 77

    A Jewish-inspired bedtime ritual rooted in the ancient practice of the nighttime Shema. This meditation invites you to gently review the day, release what’s unfinished, and soften into rest. With simple breath awareness and a quiet letting go, you set aside worries, offer forgiveness to yourself and others, and entrust your spirit to the care of the night. No striving, no fixing—just being held. A calm threshold between doing and rest, helping you ease mental noise, relax the body, and prepare for restorative sleep.

    19 min

  8. Apr 23

    Pride Affirmation

    A grounding meditation on pride as a steady, honest recognition of what is good in you. Often dismissed or distorted, pride here is reclaimed as clarity—the ability to see your efforts, your growth, your character, and to name them without apology. Through gentle reflection, you’ll be guided to notice specific qualities you respect in yourself: moments of courage, persistence, creativity, care. This is not inflation, but right-sizing: standing in your own life with dignity and awareness. A quiet strengthening of self-trust, rooted in truth and attention.

    3 min
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Ratings & Reviews

5
out of 5
4 Ratings

About

Toward a Spiritual-Cultural Renaissance:  The Way Forward Is Sideways www.eclecticcleric.com

Information

  • Creator
    Rabbi Alon C Ferency
  • Years Active
    2012 - 2026
  • Episodes
    20
  • Rating
    Clean
  • Copyright
    © Copyright Rabbi Alon C Ferency. All rights reserved.
  • Show Website
    Sidesteps