Transitions Radio Magazine Show Readings
by Levi Ben-Shmuel
October 2006 - March 2008
The first blossoms on the old apricot tree in our backyard began to bloom this past week. The delicate, fragrant flowers on the mostly bare tree created a stark contrast between one season ending and another beginning.
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From Freedom to Truth
by Levi Ben-Shmuel
January 2008
For many years the quest for freedom from old ingrained patterns, beliefs and limitations that kept me from a straight and unconditionally loving relationship with God, and life, was my focus. The original tag line for my site, “Freedom. Inspiration. Compassion.,” was born out of that quest. What a joy to be free from self-created prisons!
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How Many Lies
by Levi Ben-Shmuel
May 2006
Like many people I know, for many years politics played a peripheral role in my life. For me, what was of greater importance was my own spiritual journey. It took precedence over putting much energy into getting actively involved in the political process other than letter writing, keeping up with the news, and voting.
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On Being a Spiritual Nomad
by Levi Ben-Shmuel
October 2005
In the spring of 2003 I was given an unusual vision. My teacher saw a desert scene with a band of nomads traveling across it, their caravan laden with spices, foods, and other things people needed. She saw me being a nomad, i.e., one who is not attached to any one place, but of a different kind than what she saw initially in the vision.
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Getting It Straight on the Road to Varanasi
by Levi Ben-Shmuel
August 2005
The line of colorful trucks blocking traffic went on for over a mile. As I looked out the window in despair at that endless line, our driver suddenly veered into the opposite lane and sped fearlessly towards the front of it. Oh, India!!
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Guess Who Made the Prison?
by Levi Ben-Shmuel
March 2005
For our third anniversary, my wife and I agreed to treat ourselves to a rowing machine. The pressures of raising our twenty-one month-old son and working at home on multiple projects made time seem even more precious to both of us. We liked the idea of the convenience of having an exercise machine right in our home.
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To Sing or Not to Sing
by Levi Ben-Shmuel
January 2005
I was never known as a great singer. In fact, I could hardly hold a tune for most of my life. Many times when I tried to sing my throat would tighten, my ears wouldn’t hear what I was singing, and it seemed better for all if I kept my mouth shut.

Over the years my lack of singing ability bothered me, but it wasn’t important enough to do anything about it. Life went on, and when I was in social situations where singing was required, I kept a low profile.
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A View of Lady Liberty
by Levi Ben-Shmuel
December 2004
I had mixed feelings about moving back to New York after a twenty-year absence. The circumstances of my departure were not joyful. I had returned to the States after a magical eleven months in Israel in the fall of 1983. When I arrived at JFK and tasted the dirt, noise, grime and push of New York City, I felt that I had made the biggest mistake of my life in returning. It was truly by the grace of God that I crawled out of the deep depression I had sunk into at my parents’ house on Long Island and was able to start to live again a few months later in Boston.
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