Focusing.Art.Prayer

To Be a Prayerful Human

Embodied Kabbalah

“There is a kind of prayer that is not meant to accompany life but to transform life.

This kind of prayer doesn’t place the ‘I’ at the center, with its needs and requests, but rather the unfolding revelation from which the ‘I’ is formed.”

(The Art of Prayer, by Dana Ganihar and Baruch Brenner, 2024)

You are invited to a series of gatherings intended to be a time of prayer. This is not a conventional course, but rather a set of encounters where we will move between:

Learning: Immersion in ancient texts from the world of Kabbalah that fundamentally transmute our understanding of the essence of the human and the meaning of prayer.
Practice: Dedicating time to be in the field of prayer. We will allow for a longer time of prayer for cultivating what we have been studying, refining the practice and attuning to finer resolutions.

These gatherings are recommended for:

All who have studied with us before and wish to deepen their practice and understanding.
For anyone who is yearning for prayer and seeks a time of “Being” that profoundly opens the life that we are.

The purpose of these gatherings is to explore, through direct experience, the process of moving through different states of consciousness until reaching a unique state called “prayer consciousness.” In this state, a shift occurs in the perception of life, giving rise to new steps into reality.

This course is based on sacred knowledge found in the writings of the early Kabbalists.

course details:

4 consecutive zoom sessions on Sundays

The dates are: March 15th, 22nd, April 12th, and 19th.

Time: from 20:15 to 21:15 Sydney Time

Recordings of the sessions will be available for viewing only, for up to three months from the end of the course

Join the course

price: 90$

Please write to us if in need of financial assistance to info@shakio.org.

testimonials

"Standing in front of the gateways of prayer, taking time to breath, observe, listen. Doing this together, even if within zoom-frames, in conversation and silence, with the lucid guidance of Dana and Baruch..this is a gathering with new and known depths, personal and universal, temporal and infinite - we've been blessed to have this opportunity"

Prof. Sara Sviri, Writer - The Sufi Anthology

"Focusing is the art of paying attention to what exists and what will come into being. Prayer is the opening of the heart to the infinite. Dana and Baruch attentively and delicately take us as partners on a wondrous path of practice and recollection of the secrets we all already know. Highly recommended!"

Rabbi Dov Singer, Rosh Yeshivat Makor Chaim

"Working with Baruch and Dana has been a very important and deeply stabilizing experience. Especially when the Corona measurements hit us and fear and insecurity spread I felt I was coming home when entering our shared space. I am so unspeakably grateful for being part of this group where failure does not exist and trials are welcome. Where being human gains a whole new depth."

Judith Weisz

"The Art of Prayer opened for me gateways of love towards fellow humans, the world, the future..to the understanding of our communal becoming, and a participation in the processes of creation. Many thanks."

Sigal Golan, Psychotherapist

"The Gates of Prayer are a profound experience that have brought a deep peace and colorful joy into my conflict ridden life."

Inga von Staden

"Touching upon the inner language of authentic prayer, the mystery of communication between human beings and the infinite and connecting with the depth of human experience - this course has provided me with great inspiration. The experience, knowledge and originality of Baruch and Dana transported me from the conceptual to the actual tools of spiritual work".

Yair Harel, Founder - the Piyut Website

"The course opened for me actual gateways for entering into the my self and from there to explore the sacred space inside. It generated in me new awareness with the field of prayer, based on personal experience of observing my flowing life spring. This is a meeting with mind-diamonds that have been polished with accurate spiritual labour."

Rabbi Avi Luria

Meet the Teachers

Shakio is a space for collaborative exploration founded by Dana Ganihar, an experienced Focusing instructor and a teacher of the philosophy of Eugene Gendlin, and Baruch Brenner a multidisciplinary artist, rabbi and certified Focusing instructor who investigates and teaches performance art and Jewish mysticism.

An interdisciplinary artist and an ordained Orthodox Rabbi. Baruch has been a leading innovator in integrating Jewish and spiritual practices with experiential work in Art. Over the course of thirty years, he has dedicated himself to researching the world of the body as a vehicle, the realm of consciousness, the language of imagination, and transformational practices through working with ancient songs. Brenner is the author of ‘A Diary of a Worshiper’ (Idra Publishing, 2022) – a book based on a personal initiation journey into the world of Kabbalah and the mystery of prayer. He is also a co-author of ‘The Art of Prayer’ (2025).

A pioneer of the Focusing movement in Israel. She studied directly with the father of Focusing, Eugene Gendlin, A close friend and colleague of Rab Zalman. Dana served on the global board of the International Focusing Institute and is dedicated to advancing Gendlin’s teachings. Dana has initiated cooperative research exploring the potential impact of Focusing practices on diverse fields such as biology, architecture, creative writing and religion. She is a co-author of ‘The Art of Prayer’ (2025).