MSI Press Blog

  This Pesach/Passover, I was by myself and, frankly, limited in what I could prepare. But that’s hardly an excuse for not observing the so very important and holy tradition of a seder. I am reminded of my brothers and sisters who celebrated the Passover during the Inquisition, and other who celebrated it during the Shoah. Hardship is no excuse. Indeed, a difficult Pesach is a reminder of our history. But for me it is more than that. Pesach/Passover is a deeply spiritual time to remember and reflect, both that freedom isn’t cheap and also that **everyone** deserves to be free – no exceptions. To me, Passover was never a story of the “poor Jews” being enslaved by the “evil Egyptians” and the God of the Jews entering into the affair of humanity to set His people free. Passover was the story of an oppressed people and how oppression must be resisted. Always. And today especially, we are reminded that oppression must be resisted. This year, then, Passover is especially relevant and clo...

    Just released:  When Liberty Enslaves by Jerry Aveta  (audiobook edition)   For more posts about Jerry and his book, click  HERE . Sign up for the MSI Press LLC monthly newsletter (recent releases, sales/discounts, awards, reviews, Amazon top 100 list, author advice, and more -- stay up to date)   Follow MSI Press on  Twitter ,  Face Book , and  Instagram .   Interested in publishing with MSI Press LLC?  We help writers become award-winning published authors. One writer at a time. We are a family, not a factory. Do you have a future with us? Turned away by other publishers because you are a first-time author and/or do not have a strong platform yet? If you have a strong manuscript, San Juan Books, our hybrid publishing division, may be able to help. Check out information on  how to submit a proposal . Planning on self-publishing and don't know where to start?  Our  author au pair  services will mentor yo...

  Excerpt from the pre-publication manuscript: Chapter 13 HOW DO WE USE OUR FREEDOM? “The only real prison is fear, and the only real freedom is freedom from fear.” --Aung San Suu Kyi   ·        When the lockdowns began in March 2020 to stop the spread of the Coronavirus, “to flatten the curve,” we were shocked at this drastic measure. It underlined the seriousness and deadliness of the pandemic. We imagined the shutdown opening after a brief time. My friends and I exchanged humor and cartoons to help us cope with the shock and avoid panic. (The joking has slowed, almost to a standstill.) One cartoon was prescient of a coming attitude and agenda shift. It was a cartoon of a smiling Jim Carrey saying, “Hope they allow us off lockdown by July 4 th …so we can celebrate our freedom.” ·        His humor carries a stinging truth. Disillusionment has set in on a national scale. The lockdown was eased, but COVID-19 cases rose...

A sharing  S ., 20 years old, completely inexperienced in spiritual practices and in therapeutic processes, after her first experience expanding a positive emotion.  When I was asked, at the beginning of the process, to revive the most positive experience in my life, the first image that came into my mind was the day on which I had parachuted for the first time. I had been waiting to jump from the tiny plane; my entire body was already outside of it, and I had felt sure of myself—happy, free and limitless. I had felt that it would be much better to be up in the sky than down on the ground. When I took the leap, it was like floating, and my entire body felt fresh and alive. I was particularly excited while hovering over the sea and seeing the green areas all around. I identified the emotion as “Freedom” and located it in my heart. It felt like confidence and also, lightness, as if all my cells were opening up. The shape was a circle; the color, pink; the feeling, lig...