Praise for Recipes for a Sacred Life
“Exquisite storytelling. Written in the spirit of Elizabeth Gilbert or Anne Lamott, Neshama’s stories (and a few miracles) are uplifting, witty, and wise.”
—Publishers Weekly
“Joy-filled and laugh-out-loud, this beautiful book can open your heart.”
—Science of Mind magazine
“Neshama’s own stories will inspire you to find the magic and meaning in your own everyday life.”
—Bustle
“A bright promise of awakening that comes from simple ingredients and life’s most everyday moments—sunrises, walks, animals, neighbors, parents, being a grandparent, and making lists. The tales carry a resonance similar to healing stories from Rachel Naomi Remen’s Kitchen Table Wisdom.”
—Foreword Reviews
“Recipes for a Sacred Life left us moved—and changed. Wise, poignant, funny, and inspiring.”
—Redbook
“Rivvy’s bite-sized stories will make you nod with deepest knowing. It’s a magical companion.”—HuffPost
“Wouldn’t it be wonderful if there was a guide to happiness? Recipes for a Sacred Life is the closest thing I’ve found. Powerful. Inspiring. About adding love and joy to the everyday.”
—First for Women magazine
Sandra Jonas Publishing
PO Box 20892
Boulder, CO 80308
sandrajonaspublishing.com
Copyright © 2020, 2013 by Rivvy Neshama
All rights reserved. No part of this book may be used in any form whatsoever without the written permission of the author, except for brief quotations included in critical articles and reviews.
Revised and expanded edition. Originally published in e-book and paperback by Divine Arts in 2013.
Author photo by Darcy Kiefel, www.kiefelphotography.com.
Cover photograph of Rivvy and her mother, Irene, was taken by her father, Bernard Feldman, in Miami, Florida, after he returned from serving in World War II.
Cover design by Sandra Jonas
Publisher’s Cataloging-in-Publication Data
Names: Neshama, Rivvy, author.
Title: Recipes for a sacred life : true stories and a few miracles / Rivvy Neshama.
Description: Revised and expanded edition. | Boulder, Colorado : Sandra Jonas Publishing, 2020. | Notes: Originally published: Studio City, California : Divine Arts, 2013. | Includes bibliographical references.
Identifiers: LCCN 2019953126 | ISBN 9781733338615 (trade paperback) 9781733338646 (cloth) | ISBN 9781733338660 (e-book)
Subjects: LCSH: Spiritual life. | Spirituality. | LCGFT: Autobiographies. | BISAC: BIOGRAPHY & AUTOBIOGRAPHY / Women | BIOGRAPHY & AUTOBIOGRAPHY / Social activists | BODY, MIND & SPIRIT / Inspiration & personal growth
Classification: LCC BL624 .N475 2020 | DDC 204.4 — dc23
LC record available at http://lccn.loc.gov/2019953126
v1.9
DEDICATION
To my mother, Irene Dashevsky Feldman, inspiration, dearest friend, and Princess of Germantown Ave, with whom this all began
To my father, Bernard Saul Feldman, a teller of tales and a lover of life, with a spirit so big he still speaks in this book
To my son, Tony, and daughter, Elise, for the love, the lessons, and the journey together
To my grandchildren, Brendan, Jenna, Eli, Isaac, and Jordan, for the joy they give so abundantly (for which I am grateful to their loving parents!)
To Sarah Bowler, with love and gratitude for her endless help, faith, and friendship
And to John, my beloved. Of course.
CONTENTS
Welcome to the New Edition
Beginnings
PART ONE
Basic Ingredients
A Good Day to Die . . . or Not
The Where to Begin
Grateful in Harlem
Tea and Compassion
My Mother-in-Law’s Bedroom
Miracles to Share
Gracias, Gracias
Life, Death, and Laughter
A Good Day
The Lord Is with Me . . . or Whatever
Do the Right Thing
This, Too, Shall Pass
Poco a Poco
PART TWO
The Sun Is Rising
Hello to the Sun
The First Few Steps
Words to Live By
PART THREE
Animal Chats and Other Unions with Nature
In the Woods
Animal Chats
Odes to a Garden
Simple Pleasures
The Bird Connection
With Beauty May I Walk
PART FOUR
To Forgive Is Devine
Looking for God in All the Wrong Places
What the Dalai Lama Said
A Day to Remember
Rites of Forgiveness
PART FIVE
Friends and Neighbors,
Lovers and Strangers
Do You Give to the Ones Who Are Drunk?
The Ballad of Pam and Renato
Buddies on the Path
On the “A” Train
What Is Wanted? What Is Needed?
Confessions of a Listaholic
A One-Minute Recipe from Mexico
Young Babes and Old Broads
Just Like Me
Serving (People) (Dinner)
Have a Great Day! Not.
A Good Neighbor
“_ _ _ _ Is Closer Than You Think”
Come, Come, Come to the Fair
Something about Angels
Recipes for Partners: Keeping Love Sacred
Everything I Know about Sacred Sex
Take Care of Each Other
PART SIX
A Nature Recipe from Frank Lloyd Wright
Study Nature
Love Nature
Stay Close to Nature
PART SEVEN
Sacred Space. Sacred Time.
The Magic Hour
Zen View
A Sacred Space
A Sacred Home
One Holy Day
PART EIGHT
Soul Food
Mrs. Zimnoski and Her Vegetables
Sacred Sound Bites
The Humble Oatmeal
PART NINE
Rituals and Celebrations:
Birth to Death and In-Between
Join the Family
Hello to Dad, Nana, Uncle Bob, and . . .
Meditations on Meditation
Heart Like a Crystal
Sister Judy’s California Meditation Recipe
Greeting the Seasons
Looking for Light
Birth, Marriage, and Death
Pictures and Words
PART TEN
This, Too, Is True
Joy
Kindness—Random or Not
For Days When It’s Hard to Feel Grateful
Slow
The Sounds of Music
Fortune Cookie Karma
Do a Mitzvah. What’s a Mitzvah?
This Being Winter. This Being Human.
A Way to Dance
Tikkun Olam
Half Empty or Half Full?
Speaking Spanish in Mexico
One Last Song
A Note from the Author
Acknowledgments
Endnotes and Permissions
About the Author
LA COCINERA (THE COOK)
These teachings,
take them with a grain of salt,
the salt of your own being,
your own mind and heart.
Sniff it out.
Does it smell right?
Eso no, esta si.
This yes, that no.
Don’t be afraid to pick
and choose.
That’s what cooks do
when they are making a dish.
Este plato es tu propio mismo.
This dish is you!
—ELLEN STARK, 2009
WELCOME TO
THE NEW EDITION
Once, in a small town in Colorado, I drove past a Chinese restaurant called Double Happy. I never ate there, but I never forgot the name. I couldn’t decide if it was a little over the top or if it had a deeper, more philosophical meaning.
When Recipes for a Sacred Life was first published in 2013 by Divine Arts, I was beyond happy, kind of in an altered state. I had dreamed of being an author since I was seven years old, and now that I officially was, everything felt more dreamlike than real.
Now, with this new edition being launched by Sandra Jonas Publishing, I am both calm and excited. With a few new stories, a brand-new publisher, and a new cover photo—of my mother and me—it feels like a rebirth for my book, and I feel twice blessed. Double Happy? Perhaps.
But I think there is a deeper meaning to that name. For what has given me the greatest happiness in regard to my book have been the notes I receive from readers, telling me how it brought them joy
