BS”D
THE TOOLS BOOK
By
Kabbalist Rabbi Yitzchak Schwartz
A tools-based guide for achieving infinite empowerment,
transcendent consciousness and
enlightenment.
- A GUIDE BOOK
- TOSS IT UP TO HASHEM
- REPRESSION LIBERATION
TOOLS
- REFRAMINGS
- UPROOTINGS AND THE 4
PRONGED MASTER BLOCK-BUSTING FORMULA
- INNOVATIVE COPING
TOOLS [I.C.T.]
- EMPOWERMENT
- PRESCENCE
- PRESCENCE MEDITATIONS
[pt. 2]
- PRESCENCE MEDITATIONS [part.
3] (WMA)
- BECOMING
UNIQUE (WMA)
- PEOPLE SPARKS-ING
(WMA)
- INFINITE EMPOWERMENT
MEDITATIONS
- INFINITELY EMPOWERING OUR
YEAR--5770 - Part 2
- BEYOND
- Moving into 5770
- CO-CREATING OUR UPCOMING YEAR - 5770
- A Tshuva Meditation
- THE ESSENTIAL POINT OF TSHUVAH AND
YOM KIPPUR
- GET YOURSELF HAPPY RECIPES
A GUIDE BOOK
As
usual, I write these lines from the standpoint of considering myself
to be a constant 'work in progress', an 'explorer'---allowing
myself the
ultimate perogative of re-creating myself and my work at any
stage of
the process.
Nevertheless, since creative output requires structure
[as the Kabbalah teaches, spiritual light requires a vessil
to contain it]
in order to enable it to exist and influence
others--------------------
I therefore hereby announce to you, that this is officially
the beginning
of a book --THE TOOLS BOOK----the book is a guidebook guiding
you towards reaching a type of transcendence, enlightenment
and infinite
empowerment. The means of
getting there is through tools. I hope
to be able to access as many creative resources as possible
in the process
of collecting , internalizing and presenting these
tools.
TOOLS--A BRIEF PERSONAL HISTORY
Before speaking about creative ways of processing tools
, I feel the need
to share with you my premise for being so braken as to
suggest that I will
present the key to enlightenment or
empowerment. As I told you, I'm an
explorer. I've spent the last 10 to 20 years collecting
ways of internalizing
wisdom in ways that transform us and our lives------a process
that I call 'TOOLS'.
These tools have been presented for the last 4-5 years
in 5 booklets comprised
from the weekly email teachings that i have been sending and
still feel moved to
send to you, my beloved online community.
The tools --or sometimes known
as the meditations or formulas, have been used to transcend
life's obstacles ,
as well as to internalize the wisdom of ;
a. the weekly Torah portion [ the 'Parsha Tools' booklet]
b. living a life of Paradise ['Paradising My Life']
c. living a life of jewish transcendent consciousness
['Jewish Transcendence Meditations']
d. achieving a mastery of primal Jewish observance ['The
Masters Book']
e. Kabbalistic living principles ['Kabbalistic Life
Applications']
F.A.B. ---A GATEWAY TO CONSCIOUSNESS
In the course of being occupied with all of these various
types of wisdom-internalizing-tools,
I stumbled upon a pattern----a gateway to enter into higher
consciousness. This is a pattern that
I've checked and rechecked many times
over. The pattern corresponds with
many triad universal
principles/patterns that i have learned in my study over the
years of Jewish mysticism [I hope to elaborate
another time soon on these
triads]. The pattern is what
i've used as a template or outline of the
meditations that I brought in my 3rd booklet, 'Jewish
Transcendence Meditations'.
The pattern is F.A.B.---which stands for;
F-------Flow [enabling flow by removing it's obstacles]
A-------Allness [total self actualization]
B-------Beyond [fusing with the Divine inside and ouside of
us enabling us to go BEYOND our capacities]
CREATIVE FORMATS
Being armed with all of these tools , as well as a pattern or
formula of consciousness which I can use to
organize these tools into---sort of a roadmap----all of this
is a great basis from which to create a tools book---
but it's not
enough! G-d constantly
provides us with with infinite resources to draw upon, and to the
extent that
we are open to receive them from G-d , our lives become very
abundant and overflowing. So,
in opening up
myself to check out SOME of the resources at my disposal, I
come up with the following;
TOOLS GROUPS--------------I spent an entire year , a few
years ago, leading a group who met weekly for an hour
and shared with eachother , all of the original tools that we
came up with and utilized during the previous week. This
group was
one of the best groups I've ever had. I discovered how
incredibly
innovative we all are. We are all full of
tools, my friends,
whether we realize it or not [as the saying goes, 'Necessity is the
mother of invention]. Based on this
life
lesson, I'd like to tap in to the tool-collection of anyone who'd like
to be tapped in to. This could include
[live, phoneor online] a
free form tools format of groups or individuals, a Torah tools
format,
a cross-cultural dialogue tools format, a creative and artistic
expression or packaging tools format, a healing tools
format...and the
list goes on and on.
The way that all this will play itself out , I believe
[with 'Emuna Shlaima -complete Faith] will be revealed to us [by
THE ONE ABOVE] all in good time.
Suffice it to say, that when there is a will, there is a
way. In general, I
hope to be occupied with , and to send out weekly [by email
and hopefully in other formats], the topical tool[s]
of each particular week.
A FEW CLOSING REMARKS IN THIS OPENING OF OUR NEW SERIES/BOOK
Our sages say, 'The time is short and the work is
massive...' I hope that I am beginning to
inspire you to perhaps be
an active participant. I hope to
start with the first of the FLOW TOOLS next time, as we work our way
step by step
through
the F. A. B. format. One
immediate way that I seek your
participation here in Jerusalem [for you locals or visitors],
is to
help me find a place that can be available to me as often as I need in
order to give tools classes or 1 on 1
counseling/healing sessions based on these tools.
TOSS IT UP TO HASHEM
***Where We're At
1. We are beginning the first of the FLOW opening [obstacle
removing]tool categories of our toolsbook
2. To begin to reach the goal of Flow Allness Beyond
transcendent consciousness, we need to have prescence of mind [Be here
now-ness]-----in order to focus all of ourselves [and what's beyond
ourselves] on all that we engage in
3. When our prescence and peace of mind is blocked, the first [and
perhaps most effective] step to take to secure this prescence, is to
seek G-d's help or to actually give over or toss it up to G-d
***'Hashleich' ---Toss it up to Hashem [the concept]
1. King David teaches us the principle in tehillim/Psalms [chapter 55,
verse 23], 'Toss up [Hashleich] to Hashem, your burden, and He will
take care of you...'
2. Our Sages [in the Talmudic Tractate Megilla 18a and Rosh Hashona
26a, as well as more contemporary Sages] learn from this verse, that to
the extent that one places their trust in Hashem, Hashem will take care
of them, so much so, that other people will miraculously seek to take
care of their burdens [financial and otherwise] without being asked
***The Sliding Scale 'Hashleich'/Toss it up to Hashem Tool[s]
Like some other tools, that we will bring, this one is an entire
healing modality and consciousness in and of itself---here are the
sliding scale steps;
A. Perfect As Is
Repeat over and over with closed eyes, the words, 'Perfect As
is'......Allow all of the challenges, burdens, problems and obstacles
etc...to come to mind....See them all as being perfect just the way
they are.....Take note of all insights, feelings and resonations that
come to mind as a result of seeing everything from the perspective that
all is perfect as is......Take note of those problem areas that still
bother you, and go on to the next 'Hashleich' step....
b. On A Cloud to Hashem
One by one, bring to mind those aspects of your life that still bother
you....Experience the pain that you feel---specifically the pain that
comes as a result of needing to have too much control of these areas
[in order to make sure to take care of it properly] and/or the pain
involved in your need to receive approval from others in the troubling
area that you are working with........Now, simply toss up to Hashem
these control, approval worries.....Visualize these worries going up on
a cloud to Hashem.....Trust that Hashem will worry about them for you
and alert you to take action at the right time and place, and in the
right way....carry on in this way with other problems....Take note of
those problems that still bother you, and go on to the next step....
C. The Helplessness Tool
Bring to mind the problem that you are working on.....Go over all of
the steps , efforts and strategies..etc..that you have taken to try to
cope with this problem....Identify what you are\were
able to solve with your own efforts, and what you were not able
to cope with and solve with your own efforts----ie..the areas of your
Helplessness......With great emotion , scream out your helplessness to
Hashem, and plead with Him to take care of it for you because you just
cannot [if you are in a setting where you need to keep quiet, you can
emit silent cries, screams and tears...etc...]....Carry on in this way
with other problems until you have given over to Hashem all those
issues that you can't cope with on your own....
*** Toolsbook Creative Columns
['Toss it Up' and other Tools]
1. From this week's Parsha [Shelach Lecha]
[**note**during this part of the summer, from Shavuot till Parshat
Pinchas, Israel is one parsha ahead of the USA---so I am focusing this
column on the USA Parsha]
One essential message that we learned from the spies episode, is that
the Spies and all of the people of Israel were expected to rise to the
historical occasion---and throw away all of the 'This Worldly'
efforts, speculations, precautions..etc..., and rely on Hashem's
promise to give them The Land despite all obstacles.......This, they
could have done by trusting that Hashem would open up in them, their
hidden 'Above-Nature' powers {similar to what happened when we
said 'Naase vNishma' 'We will
[commit] to do and [only afterwards] listen [how to do it]---as a
prerequisite to receive the Torah}....
This tool [of jumping in to a crucial situation with pure emuna/faith]
is a very elevated demonstration of 'tossing it up to Hashem' in the
face of life's most crucial choices---where, if one did not exercise
this 'Above-Nature'trust in themselves and their hidden powers, there
would be no 'natural' way to succeed....
2. An Open question/contemplation to ponder and discuss
Is tossing up our burden to Hashem, a sign of weakness or strength and
why?
3. Tool-Chest
[...this column is dedicated to sharing with you, and hopefully you
with me, new creative and innovative tools that come up for us in the
course of our week, as well as new creative innovative ways of
'packaging' or presenting our tools----and all these are not
neccessarily related to this weeks theme tool.....]
a.The many friends networking Tool
Make a list of many people that you know.....Next to each of their
names, write down one strong point or trait that they have that you'd
like to have......Communicate this desire of yours with as many friends
as you can.....Take notice, as time goes by, of how enhanced your
social live becomes, as well as your networking life and your general
sense of abundance and expansion in the areas of the spiritual
and the physical as well....
b. The alternative ways of sharing tools Tool
a. mini tools group
b. teleconference tools classes
c. ratzon counseling tools group and 1 on 1 counseling
d. interpersonal and family dynamics tools group
e. creative and artistic packaging tools group
f. mystical musical meditations tools group
g. forming satellite tools groups
h. Torah text tool group
REPRESSION LIBERATION
TOOLS
The Concept
Last time, in the framework of overcoming those
blocks that stop up our flow, we introduced the idea of tossing up to
Hashem's care, all those areas of our lives that we find to be too
difficult to cope with on our own, as well as those areas that we can
and will eventually overcome, but in the meantime, we prefer not to be
burdened or worried about them...
There exists in addition to the 'toss it up'
process, another realm that deals with a whole different dynamic. This
dynamic is 'repression' and how to liberate our selves from
it. We learned last time from the wise counsel of
King David's Psalms that when we are in need of help in coping with a
problem THAT WE ARE AWARE OF, we can 'Toss it up to Hashem, and
He will take care of you..." .
However when we are
NOT AWARE OF THE PROBLEM, as is the case when the problem is a
repressed one, then we cannot begin to liberate ourselves until we
first become aware of the problem. Our Sages [of the
Mystical tradition] teach us that our tests, problems and challenges
are actually lost parts of our souls, beckoning us to redeem them
through our dealing properly with what's presented to us in
life. However this process must be conscientious and
willful. We need to reveal that which is hidden and
repressed, in order to be able to redeem and liberate it....
What follows is a very partial list of repressions hidden inside
of our psyche, and some possible ways or tools for liberating them;
Repression Liberation Tools
a. Drawn from my booklets
1. Your Inner Deceptions
Identify the lies, deceptions and in-authenticities and other forms of
'non-truths' that have taken root in
your own way of engaging the world [as well as in your thoughts and
beliefs and feelings...etc...]. Feel the
negative impact that this inner deception has upon you, as well as upon
others.....The more [and deeper] deception that you can identify and
reveal, the more inner flow that you can potentially
liberate....Many are the ways to reverse the inner deceptions---you can
simply commit to decrease the instances of inner deceptions
while increasing the instances of being truthful and authentic, you can
radically declare yourself to be a 'zero-deception-zone' or you can
Co-Create [declare] a new you --a non-deceptive you--and hand over the
execution of creating this new you to Hashem....
2. Broken-heartedness
Identify those parts of your life when you were devastated, burned,
defeated , rejected etc...and how these experiences served to break
your heart in one way or another. Your 'heart'---ie..
your capacity for experiencing or feeling or engaging life has become
numb or terrified or dysfunctional as a result of your traumas.....
Allow yourself to experience as much as possible the pain of your
broken-heartedness---it's cause or source, it's present effect and it's
future projected experience and consequences........Know that a
significant part of the healing occurs by simply being present with and
identifying the pain and the essential problem.....Know also that
Hashem is with you, and has infinite love, mercy and guidance available
for you if you would only open up yourself to receive it.....Trust that
Hashem will pull you through this, just as He done many other times ,
in similar situations in the past....
3. Lower Soul
Identify your inner lower self urgings ---the urgings or messages that
often seem to contradict what your conscious or higher self
wants....View these inner voices as being the inner child inside of
you---a child who is often rebellious, spoiled, lazy and fun loving---a
child who will not give in easily to your Higher self's demand
of you to be responsible and disciplined in your choices and thinking
and actions.....Know that your Lower self can play a beneficial role in
your life if monitored properly [this is to be distinguished from the
'Yeitzer HaRa' --the Evil inclination--whose sole, exclusive motivation
is to drive you away and disconnect you from G-d and from all that is
good].....Be aware of your lower self and come to terms with
it.....Suggest to it the following deal---if it will let you [your
higher self] have your way, you will let it have it's way---or better
yet, suggest to it a way that you two can best work
together---ie...that you'll do what you 'should do' [the higher self's
life-slogan] in a way that is empowered by the enthusiasm and
excitement of what you want to do [ your L.S.] and avoid suffering it's
inner repressed self sabotaging effects......
b.ToolsBook's Creative Columns
1. From the Parsha [Korach's false pride repression problem]
The Vilna Gaon taught that it is harder to change one character
trait than it is to learn through the entire Talmud [a massive project
that would demand at least 7 days a week, for an hour or 2 each day,
over a period of more than 7 years and a deep stretch of one's
intellectual capacities].....Korach, who was blessed with an abundance
of some of the most valued human traits--wealth , intellect, noble
lineage, access to the Holy spirit, had a major problem---FALSE
PRIDE. It was the cause of his downfall as well as
all those who were associated with him in his rebellion that he
declared against the greatest leadership that our nation has ever known
[Moshe, Aharon...etc...], and against any type of leadership and any
type of hierarchy and any type of interactivity whereby one person
seeks out the help of another in order to gain that which they
lack....................Where did Korach go wrong? He had a
bad repressed case of false pride----a pride that blinded him into
believing that if he could create and perpetuate his leaderless
revolution---he , ironically enough, would replace the existing
leadership and become the leader, and his outlook on life, would
replace the
one existing at that time---both of which would have been fatally
dangerous for the wellbeing of the Jewish people and the entire
Universe....
The 'Repression Liberation Tool' that we draw from the Parsha, is to
identify our false pride and it's effect and impact on ourselves and on
others.....Once identified and exposed, then the ways of dealing with
it are numerous........Sometimes, just the realization of it's negative
impact is enough of a wakeup call for us to commit to invest serious
effort towards minimizing it.......Sometimes we need to reroute or
reframe it's application---ie...be proud for all the RIGHT reasons,
such as your connection to Hashem , your people, your
goodness....etc.......sometimes, we just need to toss it up to
Hashem....
2. Guest Column [featuring one of Jerusalem's premier
tools people]
Rav Zeev Pliskin [shlit''a], wrote a book entitled 'Begin Again Now'
--an encyclopedic collection of his 'states'---mind-states which he
prescribes as a sort of massive mind control approach, whereby a person
decides to tap into the proper mind-state for the appropriate
situation, similarly to the way one chooses the desired channel in a
radio or cable TV. One of the categories
of mind-state tools that R. Pliskin brings is 'Overcoming Life-long
Blocks'--which deals extensively with deep repressions and how to break
out of them. Some of the states that he brings are;
1, the inability to hear the word 'no'
2. one's irrational fear of other people
3. inferiority complexes
4. imaginary blocks that we place upon ourselves
R. Pliskin suggests that in these and other blocks, a person should tap
into their strengths and resources--those of their past, present and
projected future, as well as other people's strengths and
resources.......By focusing on these resource states and making them
one's own present state, almost all blocks can eventually be
overcome....
***I feel that I've given you enough to chew on for the time
being.....Therefore, we will skip some of the other Creative Columns at
this point, such as personal tools and ideas--yours and
mine.....nevertheless, I am always interested in any and all tools that
you care to share --those that we are presently dealing with or
others....
REFRAMINGS
Dear friends,
The next strategy for block-busting and freeing up
flow is a strategy of reframing the perspective that is
causing us to be blocked up somehow....In our previous 2 lessons, we
discussed the need for measuring whether or not we can or are ready to
take on the problem or burden on our own, or whether we make a
conscious choice to toss it up to Hashem.....In our last lesson, we
dealt with making conscious, those repressed blocks hidden deep
inside--and then dealing with them....This present lesson deals with a
way to diffuse our blocks by reframing the way that we perceive them.
The Chassidic Masters taught that where your thoughts are, that is
where YOU are...A related Chassidic slogan, 'think good and it'll be
good'....What we are being taught is that the way that you perceive
reality , not only affects that reality, but it also opens up that
which is presently
blocked up for us....Reframe your situation, and open up the
once-closed flow....
We will refer to this healing principle as
'REFRAMING' and as in the previous 2 tools collections, I found this to
be another of my most prevalent block-busting approaches....I begin by
sending you the REFRAMING tools that I have gathered in my
booklets--dealing with reframing and thereby liberating;
1.time constrictions
2.wealth access constrictions
3.life/death issue constrictions
4. perception constrictions
5. life-trauma constrictions
6. physical, emotional and spiritual health constrictions....
And afterwards, we will continue with our Creative tools
column exploring different approaches to Reframing and more....
Uh, just so that you should know, this email is about 3 or 4 times as
lengthy as my normal weekly sendout---but who’s counting…..
REFRAMING TOOLS
a. From my booklets
1.TIME REFRAMINGS
TIME IS TIKUN
Recall a specific episode or process in your life--a process that began
in a very unrectified way---a cluttered, chaotic, painful r unclear
way....Notice how slowly but surely [or perhaps in your case--quickly
and suddenly], the rough edges became smoothed out---the clutter and
chaos were replaced by order---the pain was replaced by pleasure and
the unclarity by clarity....Be aware that this progression towards
rectification is something that happens in many processes in your
life--with the passage of time involved in each process....Now project
into your future, a life process that is either in the beginning stages
or soon to begin....Foresee that whether or not the process begins with
difficulties, with Hashem's constant guidance--and your adherence to
this guidance---all is smoothed out with the passage of time---and you
see how all will turn out in the best possible way, exactly as it
should....
TIME IS A COLLECTION OF OPPORTUNITIES AND CHALLENGES
SUCCESFULLY COPED WITH[SPARKS]
Contemplate deeply the countless opportunities that you are presented
with at all times---opportunities to complete yourself--complete that
which is lacking....Start now and work your way backwards, and notice
every single Soul--completing opportunity or Holy Spark that comes your
way....Notice how well you reacted....How well does your chosen plan or
feeling or thought or communication help to complete yourself....Now
notice how these Sparks, large and small, when successfully taken care
of--are the true measure of the passing of time ---the true landmarks
that we will be remembered by when we pass on from this world...Project
from this moment onwards, that all opportunities that come your way
from within or from without are customized and personalized especially
for you, in order for you to become completed....Now take a few minutes
to pray that Hashem will help you meet al these challenges as best as
is possible....
2. WEALTH ACCESSING REFRAMINGS
1. SEE WEALTH AS A MEANS-------See your present and potential wealth as
a means and not an end in and of itself [ie...hoarding money with the
sole intention of status-seeking, power or money-lust]
2. SEE YOUR WEALTH AS BELONGING ULTIMATELY TO G-D-------See the
wealth as being a borrowed deposit from Heaven and therefore as a sort
of a Divine test----to see if you use the wealth to free you up from
those burdens and necessities that life demands of all of us, such as
maintaining mental, emotional and physical health and wellbeing---- ALL
IN ORDER TO ENABLE YOU TO DO THE MOST IMPORTANT THINGS IN
LIFE----ie...your personal mission in life and contribution towards
'Tikun Olam'!
3. LIFE REPLACING DEATH REFRAMINGS
BANISHING DEATH LIFE-ING
REALIZE:
Realize that the essence of death is when something comes to an end or
terminates, therefore:
PROJECT:
Project yourself entering into a state of consciousness where
everything you encounter and do and experience, is infinitized, i.e.,
it has the ability to go on and on without terminating.
SPREADING LIFE TO OTHERS RECTIFICATION LIFE-ING
REALIZE:
Realize that any damage or negativity that you have brought into
the world, other people’s lives or your own life, can be at least
partially rectified by drawing down the opposite energy, i.e. an
expansion of life, positivity and benefit for yourself, and for as many
other people as possible in your life and in the entire world,
therefore;
PROJECT:
Project yourself entering into a state of consciousness where you are
constantly concerned with magnifying, expanding, and giving birth to
any and every form of life wherever life is constricted or in short
supply. Experience the wonderful feeling of tikun and healing
that you are constantly bringing about.
4. EXPANDING THE CONSTRICTION REFRAMINGS
'AIN BRAIRA' / THE POWER OF 'NO CHOICE' -----when faced with a
difficult task, project yourself carrying it out in a superhuman
way---which is generated by your crystal clear knowledge that you
MUST succeed-----because theres just NO CHOICE! And then proceed to
walk through all kinds of normally closed doors in life!
CORE MOTIVATION -----ask yourself why you are doing what
you are doing [specifically the very low-level or negative
motivated activities]. Gratefully visualize the object of your
motivation coming to fruition, and ask yourself what more would you
want ---and then gratefully acknowledge receiving that as well---and
keep going deeper and deeper in this way until you reach your deepest
spiritual motivation---- now re-approach your normally low-leveled
motivated activities in an entirely new high-motivated core way
DONE -----project the absolute minimum amount
of work or activity that you would need to do in any given task, and
still be o.k. regarding your responsibility in taking care of this
task. The idea is to thereby free up yourself of all unneccesary worry,
and go ahead and enjoy doing what you need to do
INSPIRATION ------ask yourself how you can
raise the inspiration level of the activities of your coming day [or
week or whatever time period you choose]. Here's a few tips on how to
inspirationalize;
a. project how you can apply all of yourself to the task
b. do it in a way that only you and noone else can do it
c. fuse Hashem into the process amap [as much as possible]
d. do it in a way that stretches you way beyond your normal capacities
5.'TURNAROUNDS' REFRAMINGS OF LIFE'S SETBACKS
******* We live in very hard times.... just scratch the surface
and find out what goes on behind closed doors of peoples lives and the
suffering they endure and you start to think that we're a generation
that's all about suffering horrible personal fates
********but when you dig a little deeper you'll discover that so so
many of these victims become masters of TURNAROUND---- overcoming and
transcending darkness in the most spectacular ways..............
*********we're all 'spiritual warriors' in one way or
another............. here are 12 of the 49 people that i know, that i
have recalled so far [to protect their anonomynity i used fictitious
initials] , that have turned their life around from being a victim
of life's tragedies---- to rising head and shoulders above anyone
else in their special 'thing[s]';
1. M turned------
10-15 years of constant disappointment and failure[homeless,
directionless, failed relationships, penniless...etc]
--------into becoming one of the nicest, funniest, humblest people
around
2. B turned------
a diagnosis of invasive breast cancer [masectomy already done] and
about 5 other major health problems at a very early age and diagnosed
with a limited lifespan
--------into becoming an extraordinary beacon of easygoing,
life-loving, super-creativity expressing, people--loving, G-d connecting
bundle of joy!
3. Y turned--------
a life of suffering of a divorce, very sickly family
including deep emotional problems demanding her full time attention
--------into becoming an extraordinary professor and lover of wisdom
together with wonderful low-key wonderful loving character traits
4. R turned--------
a terribly dissapointing tortuous failed marriage
--------into becoming a creative writer expressing his deepest emotions
in a way i've never encountered before in anyone
5. Z turned--------
a lifelong tortuous, abusive suffocating failed marriage
-------into opening up in herself extraordinary spiritual powers and
abilities that rival anyone i know
6. D turned--------
a lifetime of being treated with psychiatric illnesses and
finding himself in and out of institutions of various levels of
'closedness'
-------into becoming one of the most polite and grateful
true seeker of wisdom and healing i've ever encountered
7. P turned--------
his fate of being an autistic person with all the limitations involved
--------into becoming one of the most creative and talented and
successful up and coming artists in the artworld today
8. R turned-------
a long and particularly tortuous period of watching his wife fall
victim to Cancer and pass away from it eventually at a very young age
----------into becoming the # 1 master of interpersonal skills that i
know, including the warmth, loving and smiling and caring for
others that he does better than anyone
9. G turned-----------
a nitemarish long history of being sexually abused as a child and young
lady
--------into becoming one of the most dynamic up and coming advocates
for the rights and the compassion and healing for today's victims of
sexual abuse
10. U turned--------
a deep period of depression that found her gaining an incredible amount
of weight and totally in a dark despair, barely ever getting out of bed
--------into becoming one of the most brilliant experts on all the
alternative healing methodologies that exist in our time
11. T turned--------
turned a childhood filled with deviant behavior, so much so, that
his parents was left with no choice but to send him away to a faraway
'special' school
-------into becoming one of the most brilliant and righteous and
truthful Torah luminaries of our generation
12 O turned----------
being a victim of a very abusive 25-30 yr. marriage and suffering
through child afetr child of his--falling off the path---that he worked
so hard to lead them in------
-------into becoming one of the humblest, most caring, giving people i
know ----yet at the same time serving as a very brilliant and
courageous and innovative community leaders that i know
6. KABBALISTIC REFRAMING HEALING TECHNIQUES
TURKEY HEALING
A dysfunctional part of yourself will definitely inhibit a free flow.
Liberating the dysfunction, or “turkey”, reopens the channel for full
physic flow.
The healing principle and the name “turkey”, comes from Rebbe Nachman’s
story entitled “the Turkey Prince”.
A prince, thinking he was a turkey, sat cockling and pecking his food
while he was totally naked underneath the table.
A wise sage eventually healed the turkey with the following steps:
a. Radical non-judgmental
acceptance of the turkey just as he is (so much so, that the sage
convinced this prince that he the sage, was a turkey just like him).
b. Take very slow, but deliberate “baby
steps” towards bringing the “turkey” to a complete recovery.
On the ground, when turkey healing, one has to make a very great effort
to lovingly embrace the person and their dysfunction (turkey) just as
they are.
This is the key to the healing process.
To the extent that the person feels your unconditional acceptance, they
will begin to heal.
SOUL BODY HEALING
This healing method is based on the idea that the body knows what the
soul needs in order to heal.
Sometimes the body overcompensates, and becomes very protective;
for example, a person with chronic fatigue will only be able to
function minimally so that the person doesn’t get abused, hurt or
otherwise harmed.
We would tell the body that we will strike a deal with you and if you
release the person from their chronic fatigue, we will create a
strategy whereby the person will be safe from harm. Therefore, do
the following:
Choose any bodily ache, pain or illness.
Contemplate what this pain or illness is intent on protecting in your
life.
Next, contemplate an alternative way to protect yourself other than the
illness.
Speak to the bodily pain and convince it that you are taking over from
here and you won’t need its services any more, but that you really
appreciate its services that its done to help.
The body won’t always be so willing to listen, so you must be
consistent and persuasive.
RAV OOSHER’S PUPPET SHOW HEALING
Rav Oosher (Zatzal) over the years had countless people seeking his
healing help.
Most of them were very miserable and depressed. They felt that
they were victims of people’s manipulations and bad luck. Rav
Oosher taught them to reframe their perspective and view life as a
puppet show.
All of the bad fortune and abusive people in their lives are merely
G-d’s puppets meant to direct them towards their rectification and
enlightenment. The results of this reframed perspective were
breathtakingly astounding.
Here’s what to do:
Identify a situation in your life where you feel that you are the
victim of bad people and bad fortune.
Bring into your mind an awareness that every aspect of these people and
this bad fortune is merely a display custom sent from on High in order
to direct you towards the next level of your growth. Therefore
don’t take personally what this person or circumstance is doing against
you – they are only puppets.
This technique is a consciousness – be patient.
It takes a long time to reap the maximum benefit from it.
Nevertheless, without a doubt, its got the power to transform your life.
GILGUL (REINCARNATION) HEALING
The principle here is as follows:
A very large part of who we are, who we associate with, the challenges
which we go through, our stations in life, etc etc, are a direct result
of a trans-life perfection process. What we didn’t get right in
previous lifetimes is what we will be challenged with in this life.
The way to identify reincarnation based aspects of our life, is to take
inventory of the unique people and situations that we find ourselves
in. Then view these people and situations as being the direct
result of what we have come into this life to rectify.
The healing process happens when we take action in the proper way in
response to these challenges which are thrown at us.
Here’s what to do:
Identify a unique challenge that you find yourself in life.
View this challenge as being the result of a similar challenge that we
didn’t quite get right in a previous life time.
Ask Hashem to enlighten you as to what you are meant to do in order to
get it right this time. (This dialogue with Hashem can also be
enacted in a written manner.
Write to Hashem your question, and write what you think He will answer
back to you.)
Carry on in this way with all the different people and challenges in
your life.
b. Creative Tools Columns
1. From The Parsha ['Bilaam'--Reframing normal reality to be Blessed
Reality]
The Slonim Rebbe in Netivot Shalom [on Balak] teaches that the
essential reason why Bilaam's
attempts to curse resulted in the exact opposite---his blessing the
Jewish people, was because as long as we are in a state of 'Dvaikut' or
'clinging' to Hashem, we are immune to any negative forces--and to the
contrary, we are open to unrestricted blessing.....You can translate
this lesson into a tool for Reframing as follows---Make a list of the
highlights of your week [or day or month...etc..]---See your own
accomplishments as being enabled and empowered by G-d in every detail
[your ability to think, plan, feel, be helped by others...etc..]...Once
you reframe your accomplishments to being Yours and G-d's [which they
truly are], then you not only elevate your awareness of the past to
being Divinely caused, but you also sent a message to G-d to continue
to send more and more Divine assistance ---and thereby reframe and
transform your normal reality into being Blessed reality......
2. Our Weekly Tools guest column [some more of R. Zelig Pliskin's
wisdom about 'reframing from his work 'Begin Again Now']
R. Pliskin comments about the principle of 'Reframing' in a few of the
following chosen quotes from the term 'Reframing';
''Reframing means perceiving a situation or event differently than it
is usually viewed.A person who masters the art of reframimg will be the
master of the emotional quality of their life.While you do not always
have control over external factors, you always have the ability to
reframe.....''
''Some general reframe ideas are: 'Find something positve about the
situation.' 'How can I gain from this?' 'This is only
temporary.' From every situation you can learn
something.' 'Every occurence enables you to improve
your traits.' When you find a creative
solution, you will be grateful for what happened.' Create
an inner voice that tells you to reframe whenever you are angry, upset,
frustrated or disappointed---Hear the voice saying "REFRAME".......'
3. Some Reframe tools I have collected recently from friends and
written works;
A. Dr. Viktor Frankl recalled his dilemma in a concentration camp
during the Second World War when faced with a man and a woman who were
close to suicide; both had told him that they expected nothing more in
life. He asked both his fellow prisoners whether the question was
really what we expected from life. Was it not, rather, what life was
expecting from us? He suggested that life was awaiting something from
them.
The person who feels despair and discouragement is asking the wrong
question. He asks what the world is giving him. As soon as you ask,
"What is the good that I can do?" you will always be able to find an
answer.
B. Yadidya Yair’Sun's Tools
à Flip-to-the-good tool: Every judgment
I have on a person or situation, I should reframe it in a positive
light.
à Criticizing from own Blemish Tool: If
I criticize anyone, it is rather a critique directed at me. This
tool is to have an awareness that I typically project how others view
the world the way I see the world.
2nd Time Around Tool: In any situation imagine that it is the 2nd
time that I have been here and what I would do differently
C. Tools from YAAKOV Dovid
DarrenTitan
“Love Notes from Hashem” - “The world was created for my sake” –
Everything around you, everything you hear, see, taste, touch and smell
was created for you. How is that possible? How can something be created
for me and someone else at that same time? Let’s look at the sun to
illustrate this idea. Its rays can warm an old man sitting on bench in
the park, while illuminating a mother’s gaze at her child, and offering
a healthy dose of vitamin D to a sick patient. The sun is doing all of
this, for each of these people simultaneously. This metaphor offers
insight as to how Hashem relates to us. Hashem is orchestrating the
circumstances of our lives, down to the minutest details, to benefit
each and every person at all times. A blessing is a beautiful
expression of Hashem’s love for us. Our lives are full of these love
notes from Hashem
Seeing in Color – Did it ever occur to you that Hashem did not have to
create the world in color? He could have made everything in black
and white. Imagine flowers, the sky, trees, houses, grass,
everything in shades of grey. The world would be a dreary place.
Hashem, in His infinite kindness and wisdom, created the world with
color to give us pleasure. The next time you have a chance, just look
at the golden rays of the sun, a blue sky, a red rose, or any of the
incredible colors that we see in nature. Really appreciate the beauty
of color and how it enhances your day and your mood. Just think, Hashem
created the world with the most beautiful colors so that I can benefit
from seeing them. The gift of the senses, are among the wonderful
blessings that Hashem has bestowed on us to experience pleasure in His
world.
Overcoming Envy - Have you ever looked at friend and thought to
yourself, I want what they have! Why didn’t Hashem give that to me? We
all face the yetser hara of envy in this materialistic day and age. But
what can we do about it? Consider the following: Imagine that you are
putting together a jigsaw puzzle depicting the Swiss Alps, and the
person sitting next to you is putting together a puzzle of the New York
City skyline at night. Would you ever think to turn to that person and
say, “Can I have a piece of your puzzle!” How could a piece of the New
York City Skyline help me with my puzzle of the Swiss Alps? The
same lesson is true in life. Hashem designed a unique puzzle for each
and every one of us and is constantly providing us with the pieces of
our own, tailored made puzzles. So if you see someone with a job,
house, or relationship that you want realize that is a piece of the
puzzle designed especially for them and is as useful to you as a piece
of the New York City Sky Line in your puzzle of the Swiss Alps. If we
just focus on the pieces of the puzzle that Hashem is constantly
crafting for each us, it can help us appreciate all that he does for us
and help us to overcome the challenge of envy
4. Closing Thoughts*****i don't want to overstay my welcome, and i've
certainly given you more than i should have [especially in our
quick-fix, limited attention span generation]---but, what the
heck---rules [of etiquette] are sometimes there to be broken---or
better yet , are meant to be REFRAMED to be transcended---so , in
that spirit---i leave you with one more reframing idea;
i am chewing on the idea of reframing this whole toolsbook idea from
being simply another email series booklet, into becoming a
CONSCIOUSNESS---how? --By enabling and encouraging Toolsgroups to
sprout up everywhere---every
last one of us is a tools expert, my friends---i've seen this to be
true in my explorations with countless people , in asking them what's
your tool for such and such a situation---the answers are
brilliant----so---therefore --I ENCOURAGE EVERY ONE OF YOU TO SHARE
WITH EVERY ONE OF US YOUR BRILLIANT TOOLS IN COPING WITH LIFE'S
CHALLENGES!!!!!!!!
UPROOTINGS AND THE 4
PRONGED MASTER BLOCK-BUSTING FORMULA
This tools lesson, 'Uprootings', is
our 4th 'block-busting' approach....All of the tools designed to
remove blocks and thus open up flow, that I've collected over the
years, fit into one of these 4 approaches ['toss-up',
'repression-liberation', 'reframe-ing' 'uprooting']....Before I
introduce you to the 4th approach, 'uprootings' , I'd like to offer you
a sort of mini master-formula integrating all 4 of these approaches;
The 4-prong master Block-Busting Formula
Identify the present block
[anything that is preventing you from fully flowing and functioning]
and run it through the following steps;
1.Repression-Liberation-------If the block is one that is not
experienced on a conscious level, but rather something that you know is
influencing the way that you think, and the way that you are---such as
habitual inner self deception, false pride, destructive lower self
drives, a state of brokenness, or any other type of repressed state of
being----if this is the nature of your block, then be aware---be aware
that this is your personal inner reality---take courage and comfort in
knowing that this awareness is at least half of the healing
process.....Now proceed to process this repressed [and newly aware]
block in the next step[s];
2. Toss-Up-------------See your block as being perfect as it is---just
say in a mantra fashion again and again that this block [say what it
is] is perfect as it is...Go with this realization for a while, and if
you experience a sense of peace and an insight that your block is
something that you are capable of coping with and that with time and
patience , you can work it out , or even better than this, you realize
that your situation is truly perfect as is----then you need go no
further---however , if you still feel that your block needs to be
worked out, then do the following;
Open yourself up to experience the essential pain involved in this
block--which stem from one of two factors---either a need to control,
or a need to receive approval from others ----once you identify and
feel one of these two sources of your pain, then simply TOSS THEM UP ON
A CLOUD TO HASHEM [for Hashem to take care of]...
If you're feeling that the impact of the block is still persisting,
then do the following----Declare to Hashem that you are HELPLESS, and
that you've done all that you can do and you are hereby pleading to
Hashem to take away this problem because you just are unable to.....
3.Reframe-ing-------------Whether you are still blocked up after the
above processing,and you want to continue working on the same block, or
you have resolved that block and you would like to process another
block in a different type of way, what you can do is to reframe the way
that you see your block....You can reframe it in a way that you
transform what was once a constricted way of relating to your problem,
to relating to it in an expanded way....Here are some examples of
constrictions that we can expand when we reframe the way we perceive
these realms
1.time constrictions
2.wealth access constrictions
3.life/death issue constrictions
4. perception constrictions
5. life-trauma constrictions
6. physical, emotional and spiritual health constrictions....
I refer you to our lesson where we discussed each of these realms...
4. Uprootings------------------When you want to UPROOT the block , then
here are the steps that you can take ;
a. Open up your heart and feel what it would be like to be free of this
block...allow yourself to imagine in great detail what a block-free
existence would be like...
b.Allow yourself to yearn for this projected liberated reality ---so
much so, that you cannot stand continuing to exist in your present
block-filled reality
c. Go into great detail about how miserable and intolerable is your
present block-filled reality---about how much negativity and disgust it
fills your life with...etc...
d. Allow a void to be formed in your life where the old familiar
atmosphere and environment which your block-filled reality thrived in,
no longer exists....Since nature abhors a void [and the void needs to
be filled] allow your void to be filled with a new possibillity for
existing --an existence that is free of the old familiar block---allow
this new existence create itself naturally, organically---don't force
it ---don't force it to be formed in any preconceived way---allow
Hashem to make it come to life in the way that He sees most fit.....
e. You can go through this same process with other areas of your life
or blocks that you'd like to uproot....In fact, it would be very
helpful to go through a list of blocks that you'd like to uproot, and
just yearn for a projected uprooted reality---don't yet go through the
other followup steps---just feel the feeling of liberation that is
potentially available to you...
***CREATIVE TOOLS COLUMNS
A. From the booklets
[***though there are alot of tools from my booklets, that I would
consider to be in the category
of 'Uprootings' such as
tools that involve primally leaping into new realities or
offsetting the block
through interjecting
the opposite ingredient or trait, we nevertheless will only bring a few
examples
here which I feel are
more directly, in the general category of Uprootings....
1. SOUL BODY HEALING
This healing method is based on the idea that the body knows what the
soul needs in order to heal.
Sometimes the body overcompensates, and becomes very protective;
for example, a person with chronic fatigue will only be able to
function minimally so that the person doesn’t get abused, hurt or
otherwise harmed.
We would tell the body that we will strike a deal with you and if you
release the person from their chronic fatigue, we will create a
strategy whereby the person will be safe from harm. Therefore, do
the following:
Choose any bodily ache, pain or illness.
Contemplate what this pain or illness is intent on protecting in your
life.
Next, contemplate an alternative way to protect yourself other than the
illness.
Speak to the bodily pain and convince it that you are taking over from
here and you won’t need its services any more, but that you really
appreciate its services that its done to help.
The body won’t always be so willing to listen, so you must be
consistent and persuasive.
2. SEFIROTIC LIFE BODY HEALING
The idea here is that there is a direct correlation between the events
of our lives and our Sefirotic health.
If one Sefira is out of wack, then that area of life will also be out
of wack; for example:
If a person has chronic pain in their left leg, that points to some
disfunctionality in the HOD area of their life. HOD corresponds
to the left leg. HOD is the Sefirotic character trait that
corresponds to our capacity to enable others to do their best. If
this enabling process is too strong or too weak, or is being abused by
others, then there is a good chance that this person will suffer in a
part of the body that corresponds to HOD, such as the left leg.
Here’s what to do:
Focus on a part of your body which is giving you trouble.
Identify the body part’s Sefirotic correspondence. (I understand
that many people don’t have this knowledge. In case you are
interested, please consult me regarding the Sefirot correspondence to
your effected body part.)
Now identify the corresponding Sefirotic aspect of your life.
Adjust this Sefirotic aspect of your life to be aligned and in balance
with all the other Sefirotic aspects of your life.
3. GILGUL (REINCARNATION) HEALING
The principle here is as follows:
A very large part of who we are, who we associate with, the challenges
which we go through, our stations in life, etc etc, are a direct result
of a trans-life perfection process. What we didn’t get right in
previous lifetimes is what we will be challenged with in this life.
The way to identify reincarnation based aspects of our life, is to take
inventory of the unique people and situations that we find ourselves
in. Then view these people and situations as being the direct
result of what we have come into this life to rectify.
The healing process happens when we take action in the proper way in
response to these challenges which are thrown at us.
Here’s what to do:
Identify a unique challenge that you find yourself in life.
View this challenge as being the result of a similar challenge that we
didn’t quite get right in a previous life time.
Ask Hashem to enlighten you as to what you are meant to do in order to
get it right this time. (This dialogue with Hashem can also be
enacted in a written manner.
Write to Hashem your question, and write what you think He will answer
back to you.)
Carry on in this way with all the different people and challenges in
your life.
B. GUEST COLUMN [uprootings from the Slonim Rebbe in his work Netivot
Shalom]
BEING PRESENT WITH WHAT HASHEM WANTS FROM US 24\7 [UPROOTING BEING
TRAPPED INTO THINKING, 'IF ONLY IT WAS THERE AND THEN OR NORMAL OR
DIFFERENT...ETC...]
In the holy book “Yesod Ha-Avodah” (vol. 4 chapter 1) the author quotes
Arizal as follows: “Since the creation of the world every day and every
single moment is utterly unique, every person is utterly unique, and
no-one has the capacity to repair what his fellow repairs…The way in
which one performs one’s mission of ‘selecting the holy sparks’ is
determined according to the particular year, day, moment and the nature
of the individual.” This idea is crucial; one needs to discern what it
is that Hashem requires of him—of him in particular. What are the ways
open for him to come close to Hashem according to the root of his soul,
according to his qualities, according to the day, and the period of
history in which he lives?
It is basic that one knows what is required of one
at a particular time and situation for, as we quoted previously from
the Arizal, no moment is like any other. Our master Rabbi Moshe of
Kobrin—may his merit shield us—was once asked what the most important
thing is in the service of Hashem. He answered: “the thing that Hashem
requires of him in that moment.” A person needs to contemplate deeply
in every moment and situation—both in moments of illuminated clarity,
as well as moments of difficulty and confusion—what it is that Hashem
requires of him right now.
In every situation one finds oneself, one needs to realize
that, in order to fulfill his life’s mission, he is required to serve
Hashem and draw near to Him through precisely this situation. Regarding
this the Baal Shem Tov commented on the verse (Ecclesiastes 9) a
pauper’s wisdom is despised (b’zooyah). The wisdom of the pauper is to
recognize that in this (b’zoo) is God (Yah), that the Blessed Creator
is with him in the midst of his hardship. We might add that just as
when one is blessed with great wealth it is a sign that his way to come
close to involves his generosity and kindness, so too the
service of the poor person is that he serve Hashem with his poverty
through accepting it with love.
The same idea applies to one’s traits and characteristics.
Some people have been blessed with a refined nature; they remain far
from anger and are not driven from the world by jealousy, lust, and
arrogance. The mission of such people is that they serve Hashem through
their fine qualities. Some people, though, are completely engulfed in
negative qualities; they are filled with lusts and overwhelmed by them,
God forbid. When such a person experiences clarity of mind he
realizes that his whole purpose in life is to exert himself unceasingly
to uproot his negative qualities. Likewise some people’s minds and
hearts are naturally open to Torah and service of Hashem while others’
are completely closed. Through experiencing clarity of mind the latter
realizes that his particular mission is to exert himself working
from within his close-minded state and that there is no other way for
him to fulfill his mission. Then he won’t complain or suffer
needless confusion as to why his task seems so difficult, and he will
sense that everything is being sent for his benefit.
Also, when a person transgresses or experiences some
spiritual failing he needs to realize that his task, at such a time, is
to resist resigning himself to the circumstances. His mission, in such
a situation, is precisely to draw himself free from whatever pit of
destruction or depths of filth he fell into. This is his specific
service in this moment.
C. FROM THE PARSHA [Parsha Balak......from the Slonim
Rebbe---uprooting our lack of clarity]
Because of its great importance, it is in the area of awareness that a
person is most easily led astray. The Arizal alluded to this when he
commented that the first two letters of the names Balak and Bilam spell
“bilbul” meaning “confusion” for he could only bring about the downfall
of the people after he had confused them first. Sometimes one is beset
by confusion directly; other times the confusion comes about in an
indirect manner through diversion. Confusion is like an enemy that
wages war: sometimes it attacks head-on; other times it acts cunningly
by diverting attention to another place with the sole intent that one
desert the main battlefield. Similarly it is the way of one’s negative
inclination that one indulges in various desires or behaviors until one
becomes despondent, for the real goal of the inclination is not the
behavior but the despondency that it leads to. In a state of
despondency one succumbs easily to one’s basest instincts without
resistance. When one is in a state of mindful clarity, however, his
awareness will save him even from the lowest depths. Concerning this
idea it is written Remember what Amalek did to you –Consider well and
understand that what Amalek did was because of you, for you were lowly,
without the courage to resist him. One’s strength is only through
mindfulness—through the unshakeable knowledge that Hashem is always
with him and will never desert him. I go down to the nether-world—You
are there... Even though I walk in the valley of the shadow of death I
don’t fear evil for You are with me… The holy Rabbi Moshe of Kobrin
once said: “A Jew who is not able to find the strength to pray after
having transgressed even the worst sin in the world has not even
reached the entrance to Jewishness!” This is the inscrutable depth of
Jewish faith—that there is always a path to the Holy One
INNOVATIVE COPING
TOOLS [I.C.T.]
Dear friends,
We have finished the 4 teachings concerning blocks [blockbustings]...We
now move into the realm of full self actualization, or as I put
it--ALLNESS...
In order to ease into this realm [as well as trying out my latest
teaching theory-- that short is best], I'd just like to
present you with a short , 1-dimensional set of
I.C.T. ALLNESS tools;
I.C.T. is what all of us do, whether we are aware of it or not….We are
presented with a challenge in life, and we are forced to respond…Often
the challenge is very difficult to cope with---it seems that any
direction we take is problematic…This is the time that our [Divinely
inspired ] ingenuity and innovation kicks in…It just so happens that I
[from time to time] keep track of the innovations that I come up with
in response to the challenges that I am constantly forced to cope with
in life….Nevertheless, I’ve discovered that we are all blessed
with innovative ingenuity [what is lacking, is taking note of what you
came up with]….I will share with you some of my latest greatest hits
from last week….I’d love it if you share some of yours [or at
least share them with yourselves]…
By the way, I consider I.C.T. to fall in the category of ALLNESS
---because, as the Baal Shem Tov teaches, whenever we are called upon
[by life—by Hashem], to respond to challenges, this is actually a call
for us to complete that which is lacking in ourselves---a call to
transform ourselves from being partial beings into becoming complete
[ALL] beings---and the opportunities to accomplish this are 24\7
constantly---It’s the ‘meat and potatoes’ of what living is all about!
MY LATEST INNOVATIVE COPING TOOLS;
1. 1 –DIMENSIONALISM
I was challenged by having too many ideas and too much info. to
communicate and when I communicated it, people either didn’t respond or
responded with puzzlement [ “I’m trying to fathom what it is that
you’re talking about , Yitzchak, but I can’t wrap my small brain around
it’’…..or….. “It’ll take me
a few days to get through your stuff Yitzchak”]
My ICT is to communicate [including this email that I’m sending to you]
in 1-dimensional fashion….one idea, one concept, one thing to work on
[I suppose I will break my own rule endless times, but it is still a
good rule for most people most of the time…]
2. IMPLOSIVE ASSOCIATIVE THINKING LEARNING
I was challenged by teaching someone a new area of Kabbalistic
wisdom which demands a huge amount of explanations with very little
time or opportunity for that person [or me for that matter] to tap into
their huge ‘data base’ of creative wisdom that they so beautifully
utilize in processing and developing a piece of wisdom that we are
learning….
My ICT was to become my student’s student, and have them share with me
their brilliant and unique and overflowing wellsprings of associated
thoughts that they perceive in this piece of wisdom [this naturally
leads to a bubbly exchange that we share with eachother---pure bliss,
friends!!]
3. 18 MINUTE BYTES [GETTING THROUGH ENTIRE BOOKS IN
BITE-SIZED CHUNKS]
I’ve always been challenged by the deep desire to go through and
teach [and master] entire Books [like the book ‘’Chesed L’avraham’’—the
all-encompassing Kabbalistic classic---ahhhh what a wonderful thing
that would be to do] ---but there’s just way too much to do and too
little time to do it [ by myself and all the more so with others]….
Someone else’s ICT was to go through an entire classic
Kabbalistic work [‘Daat Elokim’] by taping [and probably teaching
live] a series of 130 mini-lessons [each one short and sweet and
‘in your face’ like a jackhammer]—lasting exactly 18 minute---thus
‘’THE 18 MINUTE BYTE TOOL’’
4. SLIDING SCALE ‘OVERWHELM’ HEALING
I was challenged by a person who I was counseling/coaching [which is
always very fertile ground for coming up with Innovative Coping Tools]
…She had a problem [all too common for moms and housewives] of
being overwhelmed ---having to deal with everyone else’s problems in
her growing family, and having no time for her own
expanded consciousness activities, and feeling extremely overwhelmed
all the time [sound familiar ladies?!]
My ICT [that B”H, came to me ‘out of nowhere’] was to suggest to her to
schedule her daily activities in a very different way----ie…to
designate up to 50% of her time
being involved in expanded consciousness activities…The
[hoped-for] result would be that these expansive activities would give
her the joy, mind-state, clarity and energy to cope with the more
burdening-type of activities that she must deal with in ½ the
time with ½ the energy elicited……If 50/50 is too much or too
little for her to properly cope—then she can adjust accordingly to a
ratio that works for her [that’s the sliding scale aspect of the tool
---just in case you haven’t figured that out yet]
5. THE DIFFERENT BELIEF SYSTEMS ANSWER [HOW TO DIFFUSE AN
EXPLOSIVE ARGUMENT]
Someone I know was recently challenged [as I was myself in a different
way not long ago] by someone who was extremely intrusive and
insistent [and downright obnoxious] concerning a certain outlook on
life….They insisted that the ‘only’ way to see things and the ‘only’
conclusions to come to, and the ‘only’ proper actions to
commit to take upon oneself, was ‘their way’…..My friend was conflicted
, because
she deeply wanted to come across in a loving and empathetic and
empowering fashion to this person—but she was feeling that her whole
way of living life was under attack [some people may feel a slightly
different conflict, “ Should I punch this person out
{before they punch me out} and risk my reputation as well as legal
problems or should I cope in a less violent way’’]…..
My ICT that I gave to her, was to simply reply to her intrusive friend,
“Your way of looking at it, is based on your ‘belief system’ ---and if
I were to have your ‘belief system’ than I would agree with you
whole-heartedly, and perhaps be even more ‘gung-ho’ about it then you
are, but I have a whole different ‘belief system’, and my
‘belief system’ [based on a whole different set of standards and values
and information and sources and life experiences…etc…] leads me in a
whole different direction than yours, so let us
continue to be friends and agree to disagree and respect each other as
best as we can….
EMPOWERMENT
Every single encounter, challenge, phase, act, feeling, thought and
every other component of what’s called ‘being alive’,
can be measured by it’s ‘empowerment level’………..
Very simply put, when
you feel like you are alive, self expressed or to use my own strange
parlance, when you are ‘ALL-ING’, then you are empowered ---
and to the
extent that you are not All-ing, then you are dis-empowered…..
the range
of application of this empowerment principle , is as wide as life
itself ……
Before bringing you my favorite life empowerment
approaches from my booklets below [in very brief fashion
–so as to keep
your attention and thus, to make sure that you and I stay empowered],
let me just suggest a possible empowerment tool, that you can use in
any situation ;
AN EMPOWERING YOUR LIFE 24/7 TOOL
1. Make a list of 10 of the activities or experiences that
will happen to you this upcoming day
2. On a scale of 1-10 measure the degree of empowerment
you expect to experience in each of the 10
3. With creativity and inspiration and great
emotional yearning and prayer, plan out how each of these 10
experiences will become maximally empowered….
4. Ask that your empowering be in sync with the Will of
Hashem
****Do all this by first tapping in to how the anticipated
experience is generally [without your
intervention] dis-empowered---
then add your ideas and prayers and
inspirations as to how you can transform this experience into one
with a sense of allness and empowerment
What I have added below are life approaches[ collected over the years
from my booklets] , that I feel can keep you ahead of the game ,
by approaching life from a standpoint of empowerment to begin with….
EMPOWERMENT APPROACHES FROM MY BOOKLETS
1. collecting your life's highlights—----and seeing and
integrating them as if they are guidance from the ONE ABOVE
2. expressing the totality of yourself ------settling for nothing less
than total ALLNESS expression 24/7 [or a.m.a.p.]
3. projecting your ideal future-----and living every day of your
life, moving step by step towards manifesting your ideal
future
4. connecting to your WILL/ RATZON-------by constantly planning
and adjusting all your activities to be in a state of full Ratzon
[Allness]
5. alone vs. the world-----when you are absolutely
clear to see what what you must do/be , then nothing or no one
will stand in my way
6. drawing down and channeling wealth-----by aligning yourself
with the non-harmful, non-self sabotaging source of all abundance
7. discovering your own personal approaches to Torah learning---by
approaching the Torah teaching as if you are the 1st and only one to do
so
8. benevolence based on your strong trait------by tapping in to the
trait that you have that you feel most at home with and most grounded
in, you can inter-personalize in a very benevolent way
9. co-creating----- declaring with absolute faith and clarity of
intention , any reality that you wish to manifest for yourself that
finds favor in the Eyes of Hashem,
and then getting out of
HIS way and allowing Hashem to manifest this reality
10. p.l.u.g. i.n.-----maximally awakening the most primal traits of
self expression that you have—prescence, lower soul, unifying,
grooving, infinitizing and ‘nitzuling’ [maximally tapping your
resources]
11.preemptive initiating-----don’t wait until you have to be on the
defensive and respond to the trial or challenge you are faced with,
rather avoid challenges and trials by initiating a way of
being/behaving that will invite only positive energy
12. soul familying --------------approach all of the people that
you meet , whether they truly seem to be your soul family [ie…those who
you would do anything to enable their achieving their life’s goals and
wellbeing—and they would do the same for you] or not---AS IF they
are your soul family---and that will naturally inspire the relationship
to function at a very elevated level
may the Divine Empowerer empower you and your life in accordance
with His Loving Will ,
PRESCENCE
At this stage in the ToolsBook, we are dealing
with Allness….We are collecting and exploring new kinds of tools and
approaches intended to bring out Allness…
A big part of Allness is
being totally present---a prescence and awareness to that which is
within as well as to that which is with out us….What
I would like to explore at this point, with your permission [and
enthusiasm hopefully], is to present a series of small meditative
paragraphs , all designed to open up different facets of
'Prescence-Allness-Consciousness'…..
I’ll begin with what I believe are
the more fundamental aspects, and then, appropriate meditations that
focus on the 3 week period that we are due to complete next week
[ I may only get around to sending these next week] followed by other
aspects /topics of Prescence awareness;
PLEASURE
Open up your inner sense of PLEASURE ---pleasure for everything ---for
everything that you encounter in your day to day living---pleasure for
your eyes, and your nose and your breath and for the sun that radiates
upon your skin---pleasure for the thoughts that come in to your mind,
always, incessantly---pleasure for the people that you see and meet and
know and love , and don’t so much love sometimes---pleasure for the
many varied circumstances and situations that come to greet you
today---pleasure for your uncertainty of how to deal with certain
things---pleasure for the new gained clarity that comes to you
suddenly---pleasure for the pain and pleasure ----for the relief and
pleasure for being alive...
RESOURCES
Open up an awareness of all the RESOURCES that are available right now
for you---that are right under your nose---that are there for the
taking---allow yourself to recall and take pleasure in all of the
resources that you have---your books, your friends, your memories, your
family members, your wellsprings of wisdom, your wellsprings of
emotions, the unlimited resources that are available to you at all
times—water, air, sun, sights, sounds, smells, tastes---allow yourself
to feel great satisfaction and wealth and richness in all of this
overflowing abundance that is available to you at all times….
PERFECT AS IS
Open up an awareness of the fact that all that happens to you is
PERFECT AS IS---all is sent from Above—sent from the One who sends only
good, only the best of the best----even when it seems to be difficult,
it is only the best----allow yourself to see all that you encounter
from within and from without as being
Perfect As Is—just say over and over and over again, ‘perfect as is’,
and allow yourself to experience how it is all perfect---even that
which seems very imperfect---for you , here and now, it is perfect---it
is the best possible thing that can be….
UNIQUE
Open up an awareness that this moment’s experience that you are
right now experiencing with all that is ‘packed in to it’,
is absolutely UNIQUE---it is a moment that will never happen again, and
never has happened before, and is an experience that is designed to
happen to you and to no one else except you , and is an experience that
contains lessons and Divine guidance and opportunities that await your
response---a response that can impact your life for now and forever....
OTHERS
Open up in OTHERS as well, an awareness of the pleasure and resources
that are available to them at all times, and open up in them an
awareness of how everything that happens to them and with them and
inside of them, is ‘perfect as is’----Share with them [and with
yourself], how this moment’s experience right now and right here is an
experience that is absolutely unique and never has been before and
never will be again, and is a unique opportunity for them
to tap into in a way that neither they nor anyone else is able to do….
may we be opened up by the One Above, to be in a state of prescence as
often as possible....
PRESCENCE MEDITATIONS
[pt. 2]
B'H, we continue with our 'Prescence Meditations'....Our goal is
to achieve the level of 'allness' that is found in the
consciousness
of being constantly present with all that is going on within and
without....
Our 'Prescence Meditations' this week will reflect the nature of these
days
that we are currently in the thick of.......Inside of the
external revealed
calamity and darkness we encounter within and without ourselves,
there hides
an internal hidden salvation and light, the likes of which, we
personally and
the world have yet to witness
LOSS
Open up an awareness inside of yourself of the losses that you have
experienced in your life---losses of friends, of possessions, of
character strengths that you once possessed and many other
losses….First, be present with the pain and sadness of what you have
lost ….Take some time to grieve over each one of these losses [give
yourself enough time to be healing and beneficial and not
harmful]….Once you have processed these losses somewhat, now realize
that
all that Hashem has given to you, and then taken away from you, is just
what you needed---just ‘what the doctor ordered’---the best possible
thing for you—
At the best possible time and place, in the best possible state of
receptivity
that you were capable of coping with…..with this in mind, be grateful
to Hashem for the gifts and opportunities that were given to you
once upon a time…acknowledge that the fact that these ‘losses’ are no
longer with you, is an indication, that they are no longer what you
need at this point in time for your ultimate wellbeing----let go of
them….let them be…..Now focus all of your attention on what is
available to you now---make the most of it….
KERNEL OF LIFE
Open up an awareness inside of yourself of the ‘Kista D’Chayuta’
[essential kernel of life] -----See how this kernel or seed, like all
seeds that are planted in the ground , must first decompose, and only
then sprout into a plant in it’s full glory……See how the brokenness in
your life, is the decompomsition process, which is necessary in order
to reveal the essential kernel which gives rise to the new you— or at
least to an aspect of newness in your life…..Be present with the
fact that all that exists is moving toward perfection, and that you as
well, though you may not be able to understand how [and oftentimes it
seems that just the opposite is the case] , are moving constantly
toward becoming better, more perfect , more healthy and full of
wellbeing …..Be present with this , as much as you are able, and watch
how it all comes to pass constantly, and how your kernel of essence
begins to blossom right in the midst of your brokenness….
SEEING IN THE DARK
Open up an awareness inside of yourself that any and every type of
darkness and source of suffering that you suffer, as difficult as it
may seem, is actually a ‘blessing in disguise’----the greater the
darkness, the greater is the hidden light hidden inside of it….Though
the experience may seem to you to be the worst possible situation , in
truth , it is the best possible situation ----it is a situation sent to
you from Above , from the Source of pure goodness, pure altruistic
love----sent to you in a customized and personalized way, in order to
elicit from you, your best , your highest self, your most loving,
caring , compassionate, rectified self---be aware of what hidden
potential , this trial seeks to elicit from you…..Be aware that part of
the purpose of all the suffering that you suffer, is to sensitize you
to that same suffering that others suffer ---to open up inside of
yourself , a deep sense of compassion , and even to open up inside of
yourself the same unconditional love for others ,that Hashem has
for you—that no matter how far you have strayed and done wrong, you are
still His beloved
one always….
“ALL THOSE WHO CHASE HER CATCH UP TO HER BETWEEN THE STRAITS’’
[Jeremiah /Lamentations]
Open up an awareness inside of yourself that at the times that you are
the most vulnerable—at the times when you are the most naked and
uncovered and susceptible to be discovered and embarrassed and
shattered to pieces---the times when the odds are against you,
when all of your weaknesses are exposed----and despite all of your
dangerous exposure---you have no choice but to take a chance, to do
what must be done----at those very times---when you look up to the
Heavens in a helpless and silent and desparate and urgent plea
for help---then a giant hand stretches down from On-High, and lifts you
up to a place of safety and a place of salvation and a place of
enlightenment that you could never have experienced under any other
circumstances….
PRESCENCE MEDITATIONS [part.
3] (WMA)
****with
your permission, here are a few more prescence meditations,
designed to
awaken in us a sense of 'allness' in our bodies and minds and
lives....also in the spirit of exploration, I am hereby attempting
to convey in an attachment, these meditations in an audio
musical
format....I'm brand new at doing this--so please have
patience with
me---and please let me know if I succeeded both technilogically as well
as strtegically [ie...does the audio musical format help?]
Prescence
Meditation (Part 3 - WMA Download)
Body Awareness
Open
up an awareness inside of yourself--an awareness or consciousness that
engulfs you and your body in it's involvement in all of your daily
activities…Be
totally aware and focused on your body at the moment of waking
up---your body stretching itself into awakeness….Focus all of your
attention [as if in a meditative state] on your arms and legs and hands
and arms , as you lean down to put on your shoe….Be totally aware and
focused on the various parts of your body in the act of relieving
yourself , as well as the act of washing yourself---be aware of the
cleansing and purifying and awakening sensations your body feels upon
it’s contact with water…..Focus all of your attention on all the
different parts of your body that are experiencing the transition from
the indoors to the outdoors, as you walk outside---the sun and warmth
on your body and light in your eyes…Be totally
aware and
focused on your body in all of the various activities of your day [ as
much as you are are able]……Utilize every body awareness experience [in
your normal daily activities ] to wake up and exercise those parts of
your body which are being focused upon…..Be tremendously grateful for
every single aspect of your body that is in working order and ask for a
healing for all those parts that are in need…..
Believe
In Yourself
Open
up an awareness inside of yourself--an awareness or consciousness that
Hashem has been always giving you and continues to do so now and in the
future---an awareness of your unique vision and wisdom and know-how and
genius and all else that you need to best meet the
challenge of all that you encounter in life……Be aware of your
intuition, instinct , inner voice and sense of knowing….Know that
despite what anyone may tell you about what they think is best for
you—if you listen inside of yourself very
carefully, you
will know what is best for you….Be open to hear what others say and
point out about you [especially those who truly care and who know in a
deep way]---and allow their insights to awaken inside of you those
points that you deeply KNOW to be true---all of those points that
really resonate with you—all those things that you really need in order
to fulfill and actualize yourself…….When you must make a life-changing
or life-impacting decision, go deep down, into that ‘quiet knowing
space’ , and with Hashem’s infused assistance , make your decision, and
then let go-----feel trust and belief in yourself
–in
the ‘knowing place’ that you have invoked…..You have done your best,
and you can rest assured that things will work out for the best…..
Total
Clarity
Open
up an awareness inside of yourself--an awareness or consciousness of
knowing that
whatever idea or suggestion or direction in life that someone [or some
book] presents to you---your truth and clarity of that idea, is
accessible to you ---with just a bit of effort and probing….So dig for
it and explore it ---and come up with an understanding that is so
clear, that it rings true for you, no matter what angle you take to
perceive this idea, no matter what difficulties or perplexities come up
that attempt to blur your clarity---no matter what anyone says to the
contrary…..Try to see how others perceive this idea [especially those
whose opinions are authoritative and very dependable]---but don’t leave
it at that---re-examine their ideas again and again, until you are
totally clear….Know that the way that you perceive something is valid
and totally unique---it is a product of all that you are and have
ever
experienced---so trust your knowing---and keep exploring deeper and
deeper until you reach total clarity…..Do this with respect and empathy
and kindness for others in your learning sessions or simple discussions
with them, and encourage them to get to their own total clarity, and
when they do— the share with each other and then express love and gratitude
to them and to the One Above for being able share such a beautiful
experience with eachother…..
Creative
Expression
Open
up an awareness inside of yourself--an awareness or consciousness of your
power of expression---your power to convey all that you convey in a
unique and beautiful way….See all that you express in the world to
others and even to yourself, as being works of art—as being your very
own masterpieces….Open up yourself to receive this artistic inspiration
from Above….. Collect all of these
masterpieces at the end of the week[ or day or month or year] and
delight in them and share them with someone close to you who will
appreciate them….Become an artist of living---an artist whose way of
talking and writing and whose way of body language and whose way of
singing and drawing and whose way of coping and
perceiving and communicating and whose way of doing all of the manifold
things that you do every day ---become works of art and
masterpieces….Collect your masterpieces and celebrate them and see
which ones are best or work best for you and for
others
and which ones stand the test of time and which ones touch a chord so
deep in a universal way, in everyone’s life experience, that you must
share them with others…..
Genius
Collection
Open
up an awareness inside of yourself--an awareness or consciousness of
the fact that the world is a wondrous place ---a place filled with
precious gems---not only physical gems , but spiritual gems ---gems of
genius—peoples’ genius---genius that is accessible in everyone that you
meet and every page of every book or article that you read , and every
song or poem that you hear…..Develop a sensitivity to identifying
genius---genius that by definition is a spark or flash of insight that
touches you and others to the core—genius that retains it’s vividness
and relevance time after time without ever losing
it’s
impact---genius that fills up or completes something that is lacking in
your life or in your very being…..Become a connoisseur of
genius—seeking it out in the ones and things that you love [and even
the ones and things that you barely know]….Collect
genius and share it with others, and get them to share their
collections with you….Let all of the genius that you collect, be an
overflowing source of rich joy to draw from for empowering and
gladdening yourself and others whenever you or they are in need….
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
****as
a continuation of this part of our ToolsBook series that seeks to
integrate tools expressing our ‘All-ness’, we move on from ‘Prescence
Meditations’ to a few other topical meditations----the first one being
that of becoming unique….We’ll explore the first step to becoming
unique---namely, listening for life’s Divine guidance voices—guiding us
to fulfill our unique destiny…..We seek to internalize this process
with a typed meditation, supplemented by a musical/audio attachment of
this same meditation;
BECOMING
UNIQUE (WMA)
Becoming
Unique Meditation (WMA download)
“Since
the Creation of the world, no day or hour are similar to any other day
or hour…..and no two people are exactly alike, and what is meant
to be
rectified [at any particular time]by any particular person, cannot ever
be rectified by any one else…”
[
brought by one of the first Slonim Rebbes in the name of the Holy
Ariza’l]…
The
author of the classic Slonim Chasidic work, ‘The Netivot Shalom’,
teaches [in this week’s Parshat Reeh, as an explanation of what is a
blessing as opposed to a curse] that one of the most important tasks
[and sources of blessing] that we have to do in our lives, is TO
LISTEN----to listen to the Divine guidance that is being broadcast to
us at all times---the guidance that is informing us what our special
role and duty is in this life…..What do we need to listen for? Here are
few possibilities;
THE BECOMING UNIQUE MEDITATION
Listening to the Guiding Voice
1.
Listen
to your inner DRIVES----
**
Listen to the negative drives that are constantly trying to trip you up
, and yet are constantly begging to be overcome, but can only be
overcome by the greatest of effort and self-sacrifice…. Listen to the
guiding voice directing you how to overcome….
**Listen
to the positive drives---those that make you feel as if you were born
to master them ….These are your natural born [and constantly
cultivated] drives and talents that serve set
you apart
from others —These are the realms that you ‘shine’ in— those that you
are able to empower others and the world with…….Listen to the guiding
voice directing you how to maximize these drives….
2.
Listen
to find out what are the unique type of CHARACTER TRAITS that you have
-the weak ones as well as the strong ones …. Be present with them and
be grateful for them and elevate them to be used for altruistic and
holy purposes….
3.
Listen
to find out what is your station and STATUS in life …. whether you are
rich or poor ,a leader or a
follower and all other aspects of the status that you maintain in
life……Be present with and listen to what has been given to you in life,
with the position that you have been placed in ……See that all that is
given to you is a benevolent gift….See that
everything
that is given to you is the very best and most
suitable gift that
you could possibly ask for---in order to enable you to accomplish and
become and rectify as much as possible in this life…..Listen to the
guiding voice instructing you how to utilize your station in life in a
way that will best assist you in fulfilling your destiny….
4.
Listen
to all of the daily OCCURENCES in your live……Be aware of them on a
daily, weekly and yearly basis…. Listen to what G-d is trying to show
you about yourself through the occurrences that happen to you….See what
they tell you about your ‘calling in life’ and what opportunities all
these occurrences open up for you in achieving your personal ‘tikun’
[your life’s calling]….
Once
we learn how to listen---then our lives will be blessed---then our
lives will be ultimately meaningful---then our lives will become
UNIQUE….
PEOPLE SPARKS-ING
(WMA)
People
Sparks-ing Meditation (WMA download)
****Another aspect of achieving total self expression [All-ing], in a
way that is unique
you personally , is by tapping into the 'sparks'[ life's
'fillers' for that which we lack] that the people of your life provide
for you.....R.Natan of Breslov teaches that through appreciating the
special points/sparks in people [as well as in Torah and in life], we
make great strides towards bringing an end to the exile that we are
presently in….
See one of your present and potential future relationships….
See how you are able to remove all preconceptions, limitations and
expectations that presently exist in this relationship….
See your relationship as being absolutely new and unique— full of
infinite potential….
See how this person is an incredible opportunity for you and for him or
her…
See the unique point or points that this person possesses that no one
else possesses….
Find that point and focus on it….
See how that point is exactly what you need to complete a certain
lacking in yourself…
See yourself integrating this fill-in point with or without their
participation….
See how you empower that person as well…
See yourself doing all of the above ‘see-ings’ with as many people in
your life that you can [people that you know as well as people that you
don’t yet know]…
See yourself gathering more and more ‘people sparks’ as time goes by….
See how all of these sparks are not only good for yourself, but for
others as well and ultimately for the benefit of the entire Universe….
See how you begin to celebrate your ‘people-sparks-ing’ process..
See how you share it with many others …
INFINITELY
EMPOWERING OUR YEAR [5770]
1.
Elul
is
here/Elul
is
all
about
Ratzon
2.
Elul's Ratzon is all about creating the life you’re born for [your
calling]
3.
Rosh Hashonah’s Mystical essence is to partnerize your unique
life’s calling with G-d’s Tikun Olam
4.
Partnerizing your calling with Hashem’s Creation purpose is a recipe
Infinitely Empowering our upcoming year [5770] starting NOW!
5.
To live in a state of Infinite Empowerment 24/7, you need to constantly
be
in a core state—and all that you do and decide are motivated and
activated from your core
6.
The following meditations provide b’’H, guidance to get to a Core
State, and from that ‘space’ to
re-create and co-create yourself
NOW, to live in
an
Infinitely Empowered way
INFINITE EMPOWERMENT
MEDITATIONS
INFINITE
EMPOWERMENT MEDITATION (WMA DOWNLOAD)
1. 1.Discover your Core motivation;
A. A. Ask yourself
what is your motivation for doing what you are presently
doing [ex; eating , walking, working…etc…]
B. B. When you discover
what it is, see it as if it is already done, and that you already
own that desired motivation, and express gratitude for it….
C. Once you have
projected owning the motivation, ask yourself what
more do you now want, and project owning that as well….and keep going
in this fashion, until you arrive at your core state [where there is
nowhere deeper to go, and where you are all lit up---some example core
states would be ‘a revealer of Hashem’ or ‘an Infinite empowerer’ or
‘the benevolent one’ or ‘the fixer’…etc..]
2. Project to the end
of the year
A. Project yourself
into the future—to the end of the Jewish year
5770
B. Feel
the elation and satisfaction of having been able to live
an entire year in your
core state, and how all that you became
and accomplished was
from this core state and as a result of it
C. Now see
specifically WHAT you accomplished this [upcoming]
year…See how many of these accomplishments are
beyond your original capacity [at the beginning of the year]
C. D. Now
see specifically HOW you accomplished what you
accomplished…Take note
of as many ‘hows’ as you can gather
D.
E. Now
see how all that you accomplished was not your own
doing, but rather what
Hashem did for you and through you….
see how the more that
you got yourself out of the way and
brought Hashem into
the way, the more you miraculously
got what you sought
3. Come back to the
present
A.
A. Now
that you have projected and created a future roadmap—start walking down
that road
B B. Walk
down that road in your Core State
C. C. Walk
down that road Infinitely Empowered
D. D. Walk
down that road getting yourself out of the way
an allowing Hashem to
make it all happen for you
E.
F.Walk
down that road in amazement –amazed at how
all that you
projected, is manifesting in G-d’s own way
and and in G-d’s own
time [with your Divinely guided assistance]
INFINITELY EMPOWERING OUR
YEAR--5770 - Part 2
INFINITELY
EMPOWERING OUR YEAR - 5770 - Part 2 (WMA download)
Last
time we focused on projecting an ideal upcoming year [5770], based on
our core motivation state…This time, we continue to work on
projecting [practice makes perfect] an ideal year, not based on our
core state, but rather based on our past year, and how that past year
naturally gives rise to or gives birth to our upcoming year…
1. Remembering
5769
Allow
yourself to remember lat year-5769…..Do this by becoming passive and
just noticing what comes into your mind---like someone who is taking
dictation or like someone watching a movie……To help focus your memory,
look at a number of areas of your life….
First
see your family life---focus on your immediate family ---spouse,
children, parents and siblings---what
are the highlites of your year concerning some or all of them---take
note [in your mind and better yet, on paper] of those happenings that
impacted you and your life the most….
Now
focus on your state of mind or consciousness during the previous
year---here too, take note of all that which left the the greatest
impact or impression on you and your life….
Do
the same with other major areas of your life, such as;
Your
influence on others…
Your
greatest challenges and difficulties and how you coped [or didn’t]…
Your
level of spiritual wellbeing…
Your
level of physical wellbeing…
Your
learning growth level….
Your
communications and bondings with people….
Your
financial situation…..
All
else that comes to mind ….
2.
Accessing the theme of your last year-5769
Glance
at all of the memories of your year, and look for 1 common
denominator---a central THEME that encompasses all that you were and
encountered and accomplished….If this is difficult for you, try a few
possible themes , until you arrive at one that truly clicks and truly
represents your last year…..Some examples of your
theme role of 5769 ;
A
seeker of truth
A
spiritual warrior
A
bridge-person
A
coper with difficulties
A
constant explorer
3.
Bridging 5769 to 5770
Allow
your theme of 5769 to give birth to the theme that you see naturally
coming into being and being born in 5770….
For
example, if you have been a ‘seeker of truth’ in 5769---see yourself
becoming a ‘beacon of truth’ in 5770…
For
example, if you have been a ‘bridge person’ in 5769---see yourself
becoming a ‘super-mega-bridge person’ in 5770…
For
example , if you have been a ‘coper with difficulties’ in 5769---see
yourself becoming a ‘master of solutions’ in 5770….
4.
Project
to
the
end
of
the
year
A.
Project yourself into the future—to the end of the Jewish year
5770
B.
Feel the elation and satisfaction of having been able to live
an
entire year based on your new life-theme, and how all that you became
and accomplished was centered around this theme
C.
Now see specifically WHAT you accomplished and became this [upcoming]
year…See how many of these accomplishments and ‘becomings’ are
beyond
what your original capacity was[at the beginning of
the year]
D. Now
see specifically HOW you accomplished what you
accomplished
[and became what you became]…Take note of as many ‘hows’ as you can
gather
E. Now
see how all that you accomplished and became, was not your own doing,
but rather what Hashem did for you and through you….see how the more
that you got yourself out of the way and brought Hashem into the way,
the more you miraculously got what you sought
5.
Come
back
to
the
present
and start walking down that road
A. Now
that you have projected and created a future roadmap—start walking down
that road
B. Walk
down that road that is focused and motivated by your new life-theme
C. Walk
down that road Infinitely Empowered
D. Walk
down that road, getting yourself out of the way
and allowing Hashem to make it all happen for you
E. Walk
down that road in amazement –amazed at how
all
that you projected, is manifesting in G-d’s own way
and
in G-d’s own time [with your own personal Divinely guided assistance]
my
blessings for an Infinitely Empowered year!
BEYOND
- Moving into 5770
BEYOND
- Moving into 5770 (WMA DOWNLOAD)
1.
We
now move from last year-5769, into next year-5770
2.
We
now move from the ALL_ing part of our ToolsBook
series
to the to the BEYOND part
3.
In
order to move up into 5770, we need to create a vessil
called
BEYOND
4.
Going
BEYOND enables us to recall , expand, rectify
and
whole-ize all other partial and fragmented
aspects
of our lives in a way that is BEYOND our present
limitations,
and with Hashem’s help, infinitely empower
the
year 5770
BEYOND
in Recalling
Recall
your past year as much as you can [If you have already
begun
doing this, focus either on a new area or just use what you’ve already
come up with]…..See and take pleasure in the depth and breadth of your
accomplishments ……Take pleasure in the abundance of it all---the
abundance of your growth---the abundance of everything else you did,
experienced and became, all with Hashem’s constant assistance…..See how
it all is way BEYOND what you would’ve been aware
of, had you not recalled
what you did……Make note of the positive and the negative aspects of
your year….
BEYOND
in Expansion
Project
that you will have capacities and capabilities that are BEYOND
what
you have ever had before….See yourself now as if you are a small ,
stationary and
limited being who is yearning to break out of all your boundaries and
limitations……Envision yourself running quickly like a plane that is
racing down the runway just before it takes off…..See yourself
going
so fast, that you begin to take off and fly!! Notice
that you are not bound by anything in your flight……As you fly in the
greatest of ecstacy, experience how you release yourself from all
limitations---time , space, your previous limited capacities and
capabilities……With Hashem’s help, you are now free to go anywhere and
do anything whenever you feel like it…..You are free to accomplish
anything you want……You are free to become whatever you want to
become…..Allow yourself a few minutes to experience this amazing
freedom without any limitations , and take note of what you came up
with……Now begin to apply this limitless BEYOND energy to your
next year -5770……
BEYOND
in Rectification
Bring
to mind one of the lackings, sins, fears and any
other negative areas of your life now and/or throughout your
previous year….Connect to your newfound BEYOND energy---your ability to
transcend limitations, confinements and restrictions….Apply this
energy to transcend all the sins
and
lackings and limitations of your life….See how you can rectify each and
every limitation, just by going BEYOND yourself----BEYOND that which
has held you back until now, and caused you to fall down or come up
short…..Now, instead of coming up short, go BEYOND that which is
limiting and complete that which is lacking and
rectify
that which you did wrong…..Now go through this process for another
shortcoming, and after that another one and another until you begin to
fix up your life as best as you can…
BEYOND
in Wholize-ing Fragmentation
Allow
yourself to step into a world where everything is whole—nothing is
partial or fragmented….Take a look around and then become a part of
this world and this world-view….Notice how you now have an inner
motivation and drive and ability to transform all
that
which is fragmented into that which is whole---to transform that which
is presently inaccessible and out of your grasp and
BEYOND you, to that which is accessible and fathomable….With the power
of wholizing in a BEYOND way, project how the upcoming year-5770 will
be a year of ;
a.Divinizing
all that which is mundane in your life
b.Infinitizing
all that which is finite in your life
c.Primalizing
all that which is shallow in your life
d.Wholize-ing
all that which is fragmented in your life
e.Transcending
all that which is confining in your life
f.
Knowing all that which is only perceived in your life
g.
Uniting all that which is scattered in your life
******Project
to
the
end
of
the
year
A.
Project yourself into the future—to the end of the Jewish year
5770
B.
Feel the elation and satisfaction of having been able to live
an
entire year based on your new power of reaching BEYOND yourself, and
how all that you became and accomplished was centered around this
C.
Now see specifically WHAT you accomplished and became this [upcoming]
year…See how many of these accomplishments and ‘becomings’
are BEYOND
what your original capacity was[at the beginning of
the year]
D. Now
see specifically HOW you accomplished what you
accomplished
[and became what you became]…Take note of as many ‘hows’ as you can
gather
E. Now
see how all that you accomplished and became, was not your own doing,
but rather what Hashem did for you and through you….see how the more
that you got yourself out of the way and brought Hashem into the way,
the more you miraculously got what you sought
*******Come
back
to
the
present
and start walking down that road
A. Now
that you have projected and created a future roadmap—start walking down
that road
B. Walk
down that road that is focused and motivated by your new ability to go
BEYOND your present capacities
C. Walk
down that road Infinitely Empowered
D. Walk
down that road, getting yourself out of the way
and allowing Hashem to make it all happen for you
E. Walk
down that road in amazement –amazed at how
all
that you projected, is manifesting in G-d’s own way
and
in G-d’s own time [with your own personal Divinely guided assistance]
my
blessings for an Infinitely Empowered year BEYOND your wildest
expectations!
CO-CREATING OUR UPCOMING YEAR - 5770
Co-creating
our upcoming yea - 5770 (WMA DOWNLOAD)
So far
1.
we’ve
worked on recalling our previous year’s details and it’s core
motivation & theme
2.
we’ve
projected how our previous year’s details, core motivations and themes
can give rise to a new year of complete self
actualization and beyond…
we seek now to do the following__;
3.
infinitely
empower all aspects of our
upcoming
year [including our year's theme], by fusion with the ‘infinite
one’ or in different words,
become
hashem's partner
4.
co-create [with ‘The one above’] the best
Year of
our lives with the 3–step
co-creation
process
BECOME HASHEM’S
PARTNER
Become hashem’s
partner in all that you want
When
you want to become what you were created to become, let hashem
show you how
When
you want to want what he wants, let hashem
Show
you what he wants
When
you want to know what you really want, let hashem
show you what that is
When
you want to go beyond your limitations, let hashem
lead you there
When
you want to have the best new year that you’ve ever
had, let hashem
lead the way
When
you want to be in paradise 24/7, let hashem
guide you every step of the way
When
you want to be totally free and liberated,
Let
hashem
take care of it for you
When
you want to be successful in carrying out all of your plans, let hashem
be your fulltime partner
Become
hashem’s
partner in all that you do;
When
you walk, let hashem
walk with you
When
you talk, let hashem
talk through you
When
you feel deeply,let hashem
feel through you
When
you help someone, let hashem
help you help
When
you give love, let hashem
give it through you
When
you learn something, let hashem
teach you
When
you laugh, let hashem
show you the humour
When
you create, let hashem
create through you
When
you are healing, let hashem
heal you
When
you heal them, let hashem
heal through you
When
you think, let hashem
think through you
Co-create 5770
1.
co-create
5770
declare
with 100% emuna –filled intention what will be in your upcoming year
will
2.
let
hashem make it happen
get
yourself out of the way, and allow hashem to make it happen whenever
& however Hashem wants [and notice with amazement]
3.
be open to
receive divine directives
follow
all divine directives, showing
you
how to make your vision come true
shana
tova,
yitzchak
A
TSHUVA MEDITATION
A
Tshuva Meditation (WMA DOWNLOAD)
‘LAIV
TAHOR BERA LI ELOKIM VRUACH NACHON CHADEISH B’KIRBI’
‘G-D,
CREATE FOR ME A PURE HEART AND RENEW IN ME A SPIRIT
OF PRECENCE ‘
[PSALMS
51\12]
OUT
OF SYNC
Examine
deeply who you are ---Where did you miss the mark and lose your ability
to be in sync with yourself, with G-d, with others and with
life in general?
****LOOK
DEEPLY INSIDE YOURSELF****
ARE
YOU LIVING A LIFE THAT YOU REALLY WANT
TO LIVE,
OR
ARE YOU LIVING A LIFE AT LEAST PARTIALLY
FULL OF PERSONAL SLAVERY AND EXILE ?
ARE
YOU LIVING A LIFE FULL OF MEANING
,
OR ONE AT LEAST PARTIALLY MEANINGLESS?
ARE
YOU LIVING A LIFE OF AUTHENTICITY,
OR ARE YOU LIVING AT LEAST PARTIALLY A LIFE OF SELF
DECEPTION ?
ARE
YOU LIVING A LIFE THAT IS TRULY G-DLY,
OR
ARE YOU LIVING A LIFE AT LEAST PARTIALLY THAT IS
HIDING AWAY FROM G-D?
ARE
YOU LIVING A LIFE THAT IS FILLED WITH LOVE
FOR OTHERS
JUST AS YOU LOVE YOURSELF, OR ARE YOU LIVING A LIFE THAT DOESN’T TAKE
OTHERS INTO CONSIDERATION FULLY OR PARTIALLY?
BACK
IN SYNC
Find
inside of yourself,the yearning---the great yearning to be born---to be
a brand new , pure, unhindered, fully expressed, unlimited being—a
being that is constantly
&
primally in a state of expansive consciousness—a state of being where
life is full of pleasure and meaning and authenticity and G-dliness and
love for everyone ……..
Now
draw this yearning into
every
cell in your being---draw it into yourself with such impact until it’s
almost
unbearable---and
apply this unbearable yearning for primal consciousness to all in your
life that is out of sync---even partially…..
….and
with all of your heart—filled with regret at allowing yourself to fall
so low--- and in as much detail as you are able to express verbally
---cast away all that which has held you back -----and then, like a new
born child--- step into G-d’s infinite loving embrace, knowing that you
are well on your way back to where you originally came from and always
yearned to return to…….
Dear friends,
Before
sending you an essay below about the essence of Yom Kippur and Tshuva,
I would like to send you something that i hope will be
helpful. A big
part of what we are involved with in the services of Yom Kippur,
is confessing sins...This can be overwhelming for a number of
reasons...What I'd like to do, is to help sweeten up the process
abit....I believe that if we already have a solution or
rectification
for all those things that we are confessing about, then we will be able
to attend to that scary list of sins that we are
confessing--with a
whole different mindset...so i am presenting to you [drawn from the
'artscrolls machzor'] , because of time constraints, the
transliterated
Hebrew confession word--followed by the underlying cause[as opposed to
a literal translation]--and this is followed by the solution
/rectification sign......
After analyzing the main body of 44 confessions---i have come
to realize that there are basic 2 root rectifications;
a.
P-----stands for People-ing---the approximately 50% of sins on
the
confession list that are concerned with my connection to
other
people---and the consciousness stance needed to rectify them is as
follows;
See
and relate to people the way that Hashem would---ie...Hashem
, who is,
was and will be all at the same time, sees who we were , are and will
be at the same time....ie....when connecting with people--see them with
endless compassion for being as they are, as a result of the many
factors of their past, and then see them NOW as they ultimately
will be
in their future perfected state of being
b.
M---stands for Me ---which together with G-d related matters,
comprises
the other 50% of the confessions-----and the consciousness stance
needed to rectify them is as follows;
Bring out your highest and most transcendent ME self---a self
that consists of at least 4 parts;
1. i have a lower soul that's healthily integrated to
the point where i don't get hung up on fallen lusts and
desires
2.
i'm connected to the truth and i am an authentic person who mean
what
i say and say what i mean and only act according to truth
3. i'm not affected by whether people put me down
or bring me up--i[as much as possible] am holding by a state of
equinimity
4. i'm fused with Hashem in such a way,
that all that i do, say, feel and think, is in fusion with the ONE
ABOVE
******I
want to stress, that whether you will be reciting the
standard Viduy
[confession] list on Yom Kippur or not [the one that is worded,
'For
the sin that we have committed for_______...' ], please know that this
list is only an aid or a reminder for us of possible traits
to search
for deep down, , and purge and cleanse ourselves of
----those areas of
behaviour that we have fallen in to......there are
no limitations --as
to how much or how little , how deep or how surface-level--we confess
and feel bad and accept upon ourselves to change---- just be real
with
yourself and with Hashem---do Tshuva to the extent that you are ready
to do it....to the extent that you do it successfully,
to that extent
you will awaken in yourself a renewal of the very essence of your
being....
******one
more thing---an absolutely neccessary part of the Tshuva
process-- involves asking others who you may have
wronged, for their
forgiveness----In that spirit, I want to ask the forgiveness from
anyone reading these lines, for anything that i have done to wrong or
hurt you---i realize that , for me , this is not really doing this
properly, and if i don't connect with you personally , please help me
to do tshuva properly and let me know, if i need to work things out
with you....
*****ok,
here's the confession list essential causes and the P or M
rectification consciousnesses that we described above...i will list the
confessions, and if you choose, you can confess that particular one
together with anything related that comes up in your mind and use the P
or M as a way of rectifying the situation , or any other way that works
for you ;
TRANSLITERATED TERM--- UNDERLYING CAUSE----P OR M 1.
ones /ratzon---unavoidable sin/i have no choice but to sin----M
2. imutz haeiv--I'm always right--M
3. bli daat--ignorance--M
4. bitui sefatayim--too quick to speak or promise--P
5. giluy arayot--immoral sexuality--M
6. galuy v'seiser--public attracting of attention in
sinning\privately thinking people and Hashem's not looking--P
7. daat vmirma--misused knowledge to deceive others--P
8. dibur pe--speech abuse or spoken too harshly--P
9. honaat Reiah--wronging those who trust us--P
10. hirhur haeiv--fantasized about sins--M
11. veidat znut--joined in lewdness discussions--M
12. vidui pe--not taking repentance seriously--M
13. zizlzul horim vmorim--not responding properly to those
who can guide us--P
14. zedon vshegaga--wanton sinning/unneccesary unintetinal
sinning--M
15. chozek yad--taken adavantage of the weak--P
16. chilul Hashem--ignore the fact that people judge
Hashem by my acts--M
17. teumat sefatayim--vulgar speech contamination--P
18. tipshut pe--idle chatter--P
19. yeitzer hara--inciting the evil urge with
lusts and urges--M
20. yodim vlo yodim--wronged peopleto their
faces and behind their backs--P
21. kechas/kezav--lack of honesty--M
22. kapat shochad--sold ourselves out for honor and money--M
23. latzon--reject attempts to improve us--PM
24. lashon hara--gossip and slander--P
25. masa u matan--cheated and connived--P
26. machal vmishte--forbidden and unholy eating--M
27. nesech marbit--profit from interest--M
28. netiyat garon--arrogance--M
29. siach siftotaynu--chattered endlessly--P
30. sikur ayin--gazing at that which is forbidden--M
31.aynayim ramot--disdained others--P
32. azut metzach--shameless--M
33. prikat ohl--not accepting burden and responsibility--P
34. plilut--judged unfairly--P
35. tzdiyat reiya--taking advantage of others--P
36. tzarat ayin--jealousy--P
37. kalut rosh--light headed--M
38. kashyut oref--obstinate--M
39. ritzat raglayim lra--run to do evil--M
40. rechilut--gossip mongering--P
41.hevuat shav--vain oath taking--M
42.sinat chinam--hating people rather than their evil deeds--P
43. tsumet yad--callous to people's needs--P
44. timhon laivav--not seeing G-d's Hand in everyday events--M
THE
ESSENTIAL POINT OF TSHUVAH AND YOM KIPPUR
Shalom and Blessings
ORIENTATION
That leads to deeper
introspection about how I live my life. I don't want to lose all
that
is potentially available to me in conscientious living. I don't
want to
live a lie or to be a walking self contradiction. I don't want to
be trapped in a state of personal exile, self betrayal, futility
and
meaninglessness where I'm so out of touch with myself that
my words
and actions never properly bespeak the true desires of my soul,
intellect and emotions. I'm relentlessly driven to be true to
myself---all of myself---my Divine self within me and my
receptive
self to the Divine that's without me. I'm yearning to live life to
the
fullest--with gusto, meaning, purpose, in sync with my
'calling' in
life.
Let's get oriented. We're
in the midst of an annual renewal process---
a Kabbalistic dynamic
that's presently taking place in the spiritual world; The Divine Male
and Female 'Partzufim' [personas] are in a 10 day process of separating
from a back to back connection. We 'translate' that
separation-metaphor
to mean that G-d is granting us the free willed independent insight to
introspect and see who we really are. G-d ,as well, temporarily free of
us hanging on to His coat-tail [so to speak] ie...a low-level
inertia-fueled relationship, is introspecting also. He
chooses to
start the Creation and world rectification process again---and
this
time around, He takes a real close look at each of our past,
present
and future essences and how we can contribute to
the re-creation and
rectification of the world. That's the judgement dynamic of Rosh
Hashonah.
THE SIMPLE EXPLANATION
2. Where are we at
now, a
few short days before Yom Kippur? The answer on a simple
level is that
this separation\independence\introspective process continues and
deepens. it is known as the '10 days of Tshuvah'.We examine deeply who
we are---where did we miss the mark and lose our ability to be in sync
with ourselves, G-d and life in general---How can we resynchronize,
dedicate and partnerize our unique selves with Hashem's new
'Tikun
Olam' plan?!
This intense process
culminates on Yom Kippur---A day of Divine pardon and a
sealing of our annual fate! Most
of us have experienced these High--Holidays and even know a thing or
two about this spiritual process. Unfortunately, many of us haven't
felt the process to be relevant enough to our lives to jump out of bed
in the morning in order to take advantage of the incredible
Divine
gifts of spiritual growth and purification that this period offers us
[and for that matter, once we truly understand the power of
Tshuva, any
period is relevant]. In light of that, let's explore
a bit deeper;
THE FEAR FACTOR
3. The Kabbalists teach us that this
month of Holidays enable us to rectify the 'Sefirah' called 'Gvurah'.
Gvurah is the trait of withholding or saying no
[ie...setting
boundaries]. The inner motivation of Gvurah is FEAR!! In regard to
the
present 'Days of Awe', the fear is awakened by becoming hyper-aware
of myself. [ the letters for the Hebrew word for fear,
'Yira', can be
rearranged to spell 'Reiya'--seeing or awareness]. I'm aware of
who I
am and I'm aware that G-d is aware of who I am and is watching me and
judging me. This hyper-awareness drives me to clearly recognize my
potential and actual strengths and weaknesses. This recognition
naturally opens up a deep feeling of fear inside of me---a fear of
losing that which I have or potentially have. This includes my
connection with the Divine both inside and outside of myself. I'm also
afraid of losing the ability to live a quality life; a life filled with
gusto, purpose, power and directed by a drive to actualize my calling.
all of this fear serves as a natural springboard to take
action to
protect all of the abundance that I may stand to lose if I'm not
careful. I'm driven to make a better living-recipe that will enable me
to hold on to what is precious. Our Sages teach us that
this type of
fear is an even greater way to insure that we reach self- perfection
than love [of G-d and of our soul] is. However both fear and love
are
neccessary. When the two of them are working together as our inner
motivators, they are referred to as the 'wings to fly' in
spiritual ascent and in doing Mitzvahs. Fear without love is like
a
body without a soul and results in an empty and habitual way of
living.
Love without fear, like a soul without a body, won't allow my
mundane
life to be channeled to a level of expressing and experiencing the
Infinite.
WHAT
IS TSHUVAH
4. Now that we more
or
less have a clear understanding of the 'fear factor', we can now begin
to understand what 'Tshuvah' [PENITENCE] is [and what it isn't].
First,
by contrast, let's try to understand why the concept of Tshuvah shuts a
lot of people down. A Baal Tshuva [ a
penitent] conjures up the image
of a cult-crazed, brainwashed, moralizing, guilt-ridden, Divine
punishment-obsessed, emotionally-crushed,depressive, colorless robot!
That's sure not a good reason to jump out of bed in the
morning during
the 10 days of Tshuvah or on Yom Kippur! So let's try to describe the
real experience of one involved in Tshuvah;
First of all, I
pick up on
the hyper-awareness that we are discussing, along with it's
accompanying sensitivity that what I have is precious and
therefore I'm
afraid to lose any of it. That leads to deeper introspection
about how
I live my life. I don't want to lose all that is potentially
available
to me in conscientious living. I don't want to live a lie
or to be a
walking self contradiction. I don't want to be trapped in a state
of
personal exile, self betrayal, futility and meaninglessness
where I'm
so out of touch with myself that my words and actions never properly
bespeak the true desires of my soul, intellect and emotions. I'm
relentlessly driven to be true to myself---all of
myself---my Divine
self within me and my receptive self to the Divine
that's without me.
I'm yearning to live life to the fullest--with gusto, meaning,
purpose, in sync with my 'calling' in life. These are some of the
inner motivations of a 'Baal Tshuva' [ literally a master of return or
response [to myself}]. Tshuvah is something that a
Baal Tshuvah
seeks out constantly 365\24\7---it's a drive. When the Baal Tshuvah
recites the 'Viduyim' [ confessions] with shame for where they
went off
the track and commitment to change [these are the basic
Halachic
components of the Tshuvah process], they're doing so,
because they're
driven to return to their true authentic self!
WHAT IS YOM KIPPUR
5. I'll be brief
[hopefully]. The Kabbalah teaches that G-d raises us up on Yom
Kippur to a higher consciousnes, an elevated space. They call it
'Bina'. It's a place that transcends evil. It's a place of happiness,
freedom, redemption, ultimate clarity and the source of where are souls
come from. It's the place where we can truly declare to Hashem that
whenever we veered from synchronizing our will with His Will, it wasn't
really us. It was only externalities; the environment, our confusion,
our constricted consciousness, our ignorance...etc. But here in this
Holy Yom Kippur space, we're truly with Hashem....and you know
what
else, we're truly with ourselves
too!
And the way we get
to this place on Yom Kippur is through Tshuvah---real open hearted
Tshuvah---the culmination of all of our spiritual work on these 'Days
of Awe.'
And G-d's
response----Atonement--- thusly He expresses to us His love,
and we
rediscover ours for Him---therefore He signs and seals our annual fate
in the best way possible for us and for His Universe!
TOOLS FOR TSHUVAH AND YOM KIPPUR
6. Here's a few tools
to help us along;
a. TSHUVAH-- BEING
TRUE TO MYSELF
1. To reach the
inner truth
factor, journalize where I'm off and inauthentic. Ask myself
when I
speak or act, if I am really representing who I am, my
desires, my
feelings, my understandings, my gifts, my powers, my abundance, my
interests, my true life-calling and inner Divine voice
2. Allow my unbearable
inner-exile and lack of true self-expression to fire me up to
create a
new recipe of living that will truly represent who I am!
b. CONFESSIONS----Take an
existing list of confessions in any Yom Kippur prayer book [or create
my own], and match my lackings that I came up with in [a] above with
the confessions list. Use this list as an anchor on Yom Kippur [or
anytime] to do the inner work that's needed.
C. THE 'YOM KIPPUR'
POINT----In a Prayer or discussion with G-d, declare that all that I
have done which isn't in line with His Will, isn't really me!! It's
only externalities,...etc..[see above].
D. THE SIGNING AND SEALING
POINT----Towards the end of the day of Yom Kippur in
the 'Neila'
service [ the time of the closing or 'locking' of the gates],
commit
to live from now on from the vantage point of the newly discovered
me!
you should have the
greatest year possible!
Yitzchak
THE
GET
YOURSELF HAPPY RECIPES
GET
YOURSELF HAPPY RECIPES (WMA DOWNLOAD)
***Sukkot
is the ‘Time of Our Happiness’[‘Zeman Simchateinu’] and we can draw
from this time, happiness to the whole year….Therefore, I thought it appropro
to send you some happiness recipes [or meditations—sort of] …..they are
what I myself use sometimes and also a few that I have collected from
the writings of R. Nachman of Breslov [whose Yahrtzeit is today]….I
suggest that you go through the list and –whatever ones work for you—go
for it….The list is definitely not exhaustive, so feel free to add
others and maybe share them with me and others if you like…the main
thing is, as the song goes---‘Don’t worry, be happy!’
GET
YOURSELF HAPPY BY____;
1.
appreciating
all that you have------ make a list-oral or written, and just enjoy all
the abundance that is yours
2.
overcoming
doubts -------perhaps just say the word ‘done’ over and over
again—ridding yourself of doubts and letting in the corresponding joy
3.
utilizing
happiness as a spiritual battle strategy ---------AND THEREBY FIGHT OFF
ALL SOURCES OF ANTI-HAPPINESS
4.
GROOVING
ON SOMEONE’S JOY------ENJOY AND SHARE WITH SOMEONE THEIR JOY OR JOYOUS
OCCASION
5.
DANCING
6.
APPRECIATING
HASHEM’S LOVE FOR YOU ----AND YOUR LOVE FOR HASHEM
7.
APPRECIATING
YOUR LOVE FOR OTHERS-----
AND THEIR LOVE FOR YOU
8.
APPRECIATING
THE FACT THAT YOU ARE JEWISH--------AND ALL THE WONDERFUL AND HOLY
JEWISH EXPERIENCES THAT ARE AVAILABLE TO YOU, SUCH AS Torah and mitzvoth
9.
listening
to music------especially the kind that comes from a pure and holy place
10.
enjoying self improvement---and the
Commitment and subsequent changes
11.
appreciating
your own unique points
12.
switching
focus from helping yourself to helping others
13.
having
the chutzpa to do the right thing----------despite all the difficulties
14.
forcing
yourself to be happy------even in an external fashion [the externality
awakens the internality]
15.
focusing
on the fact that everything is for the best
16.
being
silly-------when nothing else works
17.
dunking
repeatedly in a mikve-----or any other natural body of water or
imaginative body of water in your mind’s eye---and you are having the
intent to be happier and happier with each new dunk
18.
looking
at yourself from outside of yourself----and seeing just how humorous
your various life experiences really are
happy
happy holiday
yitzchak
Back to Home
page.