In his second book, Beyond the Opened Door: Grief as an Opportunity to Rediscover the Self, Yehuda Jacobi shares his experiences with grieving after the loss of his partner, friend and Teacher in the Taoist tradition. His psychologist recommended that he keep a grief journal to document his mourning process. Using those journal entries, he shares his dreams, life events, and commentaries, as well as his shock, anger and fury. He reveals his discoveries and challenges to achieving his eventual forgiveness, reconciliation, and peace.There is a different focus with this memoir and it is that Death presents a challenge for everyone who mourns. After stripping all the labels of religion, culture, or sexuality, the one question that appears to be common for everyone is: how do we move on after the death of a loved one? The answer lies in the opportunity to rediscover the Self, a Self which is waiting beyond an opened door. The answers will be different for everyone who grieves so the self-discovery process is unique. One thing is certain: the answers will not reveal themselves until the mourner crosses the opened door. 'Ann pulled me out of my reverie when she rushed up to me and asked if I had seen the quotation on the card I had selected. As I said, I hadn't paid that much attention. She shoved the card under my nose. The card depicted a garden setting with an open iron gate. The quotation was from the Book of Revelations, Chapter 3, verse 8, and read, "Look, I have set before you an open door, which no one is able to shut." It was the perfect quotation.'
About the Author: Yehuda's interest in religion started at age twelve when he attended a Catholic seminary for five years. After he graduated from college, he met Arthur, a Taoist who introduced him to Taoism and Hinduism. Together they attended the Temple of Kriya Yoga in Chicago. In 1981, he moved to Norfolk, Virginia with the intended goal of studying Edgar Cayce at the Association for Research and Enlightenment in Virginia Beach. That never happened as he met the late Rev. Cathy Mannino and studied Spiritualism and trance mediumship under her guidance. After returning to Chicago and after Arthur's death, he attended a class in Kabballah and shortly after that, met and married a Jewish man who taught him the concepts within Judaism. After a year, he converted. He has a basic knowledge of Astrology and is proficient in Tarot, which he has studied for over forty years. Yehuda also studies Kabballah, Louise Hay, and the writings of Seth/Jane Roberts. Yehuda has delivered sermons at the Memorial Spiritualist Church in Norfolk Virginia, then Or Chadash, an LGBTQ synagogue, in Chicago, Illinois, and devotions at the First Presbyterian Church of Lake Forest, Illinois. In Norfolk, Virginia, he has taught Tarot classes as well as lectured on the spiritual concepts within Jim Henson's movie, The Dark Crystal. He has given a presentation on Kabbalah and The Tarot at The New Studio in Evanston, Illinois. Yehuda has compiled some of his sermons and devotions into his first book, Precious Scars: My Journey to Freedom through Forgiveness. Yehuda draws on his experiences using the memoir style of writing, which is personal, introspective, and sometimes intense. His intent is to stimulate the reader to think differently about their personal lives.