MSI Press Blog

  Shai Tubali approached us with the concept of a book about mind expansion, a topic he had been leading workshops on, after his first book with us, The Seven Wisdoms of Life , became popular and a finalist in the Book of the Year competition. As a publisher, having worked with him before, we knew what the tasks would be, including careful copyediting since English is not Shai's native language though he does a wonderful job of writing, i.e. producing literate text, which not all native speakers can do. So, the production of this book was almost routine -- except for the title. Up until almost the day of publication, he and we, together, were searching for a title that would work: short, clear, consistent with content, and appealing. Originally, the title was longer: hard to file, hard to look up, and clear but at what cost. Then, we played with making a form of the title into a subtitle, and that worked. Now, though, we really needed a title. Bliss came up very quickly, but what a

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, lighthearted

  Excerpt from A Guide to Bliss Expansion and the Creation of the World Let us now “expand” the context in which the principle of expansion is activated. In the teachings of Ha’Ari (Isaac Luria, 1534-1572), which to this day are considered the prime interpretations of the Kabala, the process of creation is presented as a process of contraction. The infinite divine light contracted itself, more and more, into structures, and this is, in fact, the created world as we know it: a denser, or more contracted, divine light. Matter is, in effect, a condensed or contracted spirit.  From this astounding point of view, we can perceive the entire universe as narrow channels through which divine energy flows, as formations containing a condensed divine light. Each form and every structure are nothing but an “entrapped” light, a light that was limited so as to create and make visible the form or the structure. Hence, contraction was a necessity in the original divine creation. Without it, cr

There is too much stress, anger, anxiety, and depression today. We all need a counterbalance to them, some sunshine among the shadows, and some MSI Press authors have written just those kinds of books: either ones to help cope or ones to help achieve happiness. This blog posts focuses on the latter, including self-care because without good self-care, it is indeed difficult to achieve happiness. 57 Steps to Paradise For more posts on Patricia Lorenz and her work, click HERE . 108 Yoga and Self-Care Practices for Busy Mamas For more posts on Julie Gentile and her books, click HERE . A Guide to Bliss For posts on A Guide to Bliss , chick HERE . A Woman's Guide to Self-Nurturing For more posts on Joanna and her books, click HERE . Creative Aging For more posts on Joanna and her books, click  HERE . God Speaks into Darkness For more posts on Bennett and his books, click HERE . Good Blood: A Journey of Healing For more posts on Irit and her book, click HERE . Harnessing the Power of Grie

  Excerpt from A Guide to Blis s - Preface Fourteen years ago, when I was twenty-three years old, I underwent an intense, world-shattering expansion of consciousness for a few long months. It took place in the midst of a fervent spiritual search. Until then, my three years of seeking had granted me only brief glimpses into broader states of consciousness. Those glimpses far from quenched my ever-increasing thirst. This time, something else erupted within me, or so it seemed. This expansion, which permeated my entire being, did not dissipate, but rather grew day after day without any substantial effort on my part. It seemed like the only thing I was expected to do from then onward was observe the happening and not interfere.  Back then I lived at my parents’ house. For a whole year, I remained enclosed in my small room, only leaving the house from time to time to wander about for hours and curiously examine my new relationship with the world. Of course, at that time I did not d

    Excerpt from  A Guide to Blis s - Your First Step into Expansion  Everything in this universe is a structure. Every phenomenon in this universe has frontiers and sidewalls, particular shapes, characteristics, and attributes. This does not apply only to visible forms— everyone knows that an African elephant possesses a shape, a color, a character, and a repetitive pattern of behavior—but also to subtler phenomena, such as thoughts, emotions, and sensations, as well as ideas, beliefs, symbols, and human patterns of behavior. In fact, even the universe has a structure, which we can reflect through our consciousness, and indeed, even our consciousness itself has a structure.  The discovery that everything has a structure, and therefore, that everything has a limit, is of crucial importance and goes far beyond mere philosophical implications. Actually, the moment one identifies a structure and its limitations, one can easily transcend it; dis covering that which lies beyond limi

  Excerpt from  A Guide to Blis s - Your First Step into Expansion, part 2 We will focus our consciousness on one object and then carry out an expansion. We will break through limits and realize new possibilities/ways of experiencing and feeling.  We shall begin with a very simple expansion, the expansion of a positive emotion. Of course, we are not used to expanding positive emotions as they seem to be more than enough on their own. The very suggestion indicates that there is something beyond a positive emotion’s borders that we ought to find. Why would we expect this? After all, if it were up to us, we would rather abide in positivity as much as possible before sorrowfully collapsing into some negative emotion, pain or even the daily existential tension that follows too many of us! Well, the thing is that, in actuality, positive emotions in their expanded states can lead us to truly sublime experiences, overflowing bliss, and an existence beyond sorrow, beyond the ability

Practice: The Expansion of Positive Emotions  Expanding a positive emotion can be a wonderful way to start your day. However, it can be performed in almost any situation and at almost all times. As emphasized in the introduction, it is highly recommended to try out expansion, at least in your first attempts, with a friend guiding you. Important: whenever you see this mark, “…” it is your sign to pause for a few seconds in order to either receive a response or settle into and deepen a new state .  1. Sit in a comfortable position and close your eyes. Allow your entire being to relax more and more. Breathe slowly and deeply… You are about to enter into your innermost Self… to enjoy a state of self-knowing, which is the sweetest and most wondrous state possible… Now, from this relaxation, let the moment or time in your life in which you experienced the highest level of happiness, elevation, and limitlessness rise to the surface of your mind. Recall the situation within yourself.

  www.allthingsmindful.org I came across an excellent post recently about personal development on the All Things Mindful website. The article says, quite rightly, that change starts with embracing transformation, not from rote applications of suggestions of coaches and books. Take a look at this great article, "Maximizing Your Personal Growth and Development," and then, when you are ready, check out MSI Press books, by experts, that can help provide you guidance as you leap from pillar to pillar, gaining strength and agility at life itself. A Guide to Bliss: Transforming Your Life through Mind Expansion (Tubali)   A Theology for the Rest of Us (Yavelberg)   A Woman’s Guide to Self-Nurturing: How to Build Self-Esteem by Being Nice to Yourself (Romer) El Poder de lo Transpersonal (Ustman)   How My Cat Made Me a Better Man (Feig)   How to Get Happy and Stay That Way (Romer)   How to Live from Your Heart: Deepen Relationships, Develop Creativity

  Just released: the hard cover of edition of A Guide to Bliss by Shai Tubali. Read more posts about Shai and his books HERE .                                                                       Sign up for the MSI Press LLC newsletter                           Follow MSI Press on  Twitter ,  Face Book , and  Instagram .