As a blazing summer sun drops behind the mountains giving way to a muted orange and gray sky, members of the Malibu Jewish Center & Synagogue welcome in their holy day of rest at Malibu’s Westward Beach. Shabbat blessings are recited over wine and bread, candles flicker across the sand, and grandparents, parents, teens and young children stand in a circle, arms linked, swaying to the blessings of Rabbi Judith HaLevy. Seagulls swoop overhead, dolphins dance among the waves, and an older man smiles, gazing into the eyes of his small granddaughter snuggled beside him.
Rabbi HaLevy asks all to walk to the water’s edge, then invites those present to “say aloud the name of a friend or loved one” in need of healing. While the sound of the names dissipates amidst the crashing waves, cantor Marcelo Gindlin sings the evening prayers, accompanying himself on his guitar and encouraging all to join him. “Through music I create an environment to open the senses so people will be one with nature, aware and sensitive to the miracles of life,” Gindlin says.
Outdoor prayer gatherings like this Shabbat gathering are not uncommon in temperate Los Angeles. While this group prays at the beach, others meditate or attend Easter services in the colorful garden at the Pacific Palisades Self-Realization Fellowship Lake Shrine (SRF), a haven of tranquility and natural beauty for visitors of all religious denominations. The 10-acre sanctuary, established in 1950 by Paramahansa Yogananda, is just a quarter-mile from the ocean and features a springfed lake and two waterfalls, surrounded by plants and trees from all over the world.
“The first thing people find when they arrive here is receptiveness,” SRF’s Brother Priyananda explains. He believes that people become restless and out of tune with nature, thus diminishing their receptivity, so when spirit makes itself known here, they’re unprepared for tears and the ensuing tranquility. “It is the soul responding,” he says. “It is grateful for nourishment.”
At the Wayfarers Chapel in Rancho Palos Verdes, outdoors comes in, via a glass ceiling that allows beams of light through the canopy of trees above. The stunning chapel, designed by Lloyd Wright in the late 1940s, is known for its unique 
architecture that incorporates the natural landscape.
Rev. David Brown feels that people are drawn to the chapel because of their affinity to the natural world. “Those who label themselves as spiritual but not religious are comfortable here,” he says. “In the realm of their spiritual journey they have discovered a deep connection to the Divine and to nature.” Outside, the annual Easter sunrise service at one end of the 3.5 acre property brings upward of 200 worshippers to a grassy cliff overlooking the ocean.
Whether it’s beach, lake or forest, as Rev. Brown observes, “To be present in the natural world has an effect. We really need this now, more than ever.”
Find Your Bliss
* Westward Beach, Westward Beach Road, Malibu
* Self-Realization Fellowship Lake Shrine, 17190 Sunset Blvd., Pacific Palisades 310.454.4114
* Wayfarer’s Chapel, 5755 Palos Verdes Drive South,
Rancho Palos Verdes, 310.377.1650
