What do people think about you?

One of the best things for our spiritual growth – and also one of our biggest fears – is hearing what other people think about us.

When the Holy Temple still stood in Jerusalem, it is said that inside was a mirror one could look in to see the state of one’s soul. When the temple [and mirror] were destroyed, the Zohar teaches that people became the mirror for us.

As we take stock of our lives in this month, preparing our wish lists for the new year, we want to be facing those truths which only others can show us. Don’t do it out of weakness, do it out of strength, knowing that the moment you hold your darkness up to the Light, it burns!

Today, feel the burn of whatever emotion comes up as you ask at least (3) people what they think you need to work on the most. If there was one thing you needed to change for next year, what would it be? And maybe tell them about this risk exercise you’re doing. See where that takes you.

The Math of Spirituality, Bliss, Abundance, and Love

We start off every day with our Light and dark forces in perfect balance. 50/50. The Creator oversees the entire the process. Every time we give in to a reactive behavior, we tilt our scale down. Every time we accept an opportunity to help, to extend ourselves, to do something unexpected, we tilt it up. It’s math.
Today, keep score with your feelings, thoughts and actions. It will help you to not just keep a healthy balance but to overcome darkness. Because sometimes things may look dark but in reality you are just one stretch away from being in the Light.

shall I get rid of the bad or shall I pile on the good?

Get rid of the bad or take superfood? bandits or preachers

The age old question of any spiritual or self-help movement is: shall I get rid of the bad or shall I pile on the good?

If you look at health advertisements, the main line is: take stuff to pile on the good.

What does this say to you? For most people that means, that is what they should do. Look at the proliferation of superfoods, acai, etc. and tell me if this isn’t so.

But “who” is directing the main line? Who’s voice is trumpeted through all media? The Light or the Opponent? Of course it is the Opponent, the darkness, the ego part. But why would the ego part be so interested in you thinking that all you need to do is add some more goodies to your life, and everything will be all right?

I am going to use a little story here to drive the answer home. Imagine a that 100 righteous men are locked up by 100 bandits. The bandits beat up the righteous men every night. The light of the righteous men is dimmer by the day. The world is getting darker by the minute. This is your life: your health, your wealth, your relationships… I am not talking about an imaginary scenario: this is your life!

You have a choice: will you send in troops to strengthen the righteous men or will you send in troops with weapons to get rid of the bandits? Will you try to offset all the bad stuff you do and think with some good acts, or will you kill off the bad stuff?

Eating superfoods is like trying to fatten the righteous men, they will die from the daily beatings anyway. But the sellers make an incredible profit in the meantime.

The smart answer is: decimate or kill off the bandits.  i.e. stop doing what is killing you and what supports the darkness.

And this is what Kabbalah teaches, exactly. Its whole foundation is to make choices, moment to moment, to stop feeding the ego and listen to the soul. You can’t do both. At any moment, you are either in light or in darkness.

When you are hurting others, indulge, or feel jealousy, greed, anger, however justified, your world is all dark. Every moment you share, your world is all light.

Just like stealing money and giving 10% of it to charity wouldn’t make your world light, overindulging in bad stuff and then taking a multi-vitamin is all dark. Superfood are great when you have already stopped what’s killing you.

You need to cut out the bad, like the bandits in our story.

I wish I had known this before. I am paying the price now.

But you see, it’s never too late. Killing the bandits takes a moment. Even if it is your last.

Regrets, Resentments, and other vicious Life-Killers

Regrets, I’ve had a few … .How many of us are stuck in ruts because we cling to past slights, traumas, missed opportunities, and betrayals? The best way to let go and move forward is to acknowledge and accept those negative things you did (or had done to you) as steps on the path that brought you to where you need to be today.

Today, recall the pain of your past. Allow yourself to get to the point where you can accept that they were blessings; the perfect things that helped you build a new you. If you can release your grip on the anger, sadness, and regret, then it will be easier to spot the Light in the darkness. (quoted from daily kabbalah tuneup)

Interesting that this would come up just now.

I am working with a client/friend, let’s call her DD. She has been doing great. She has gotten in touch with the light in herself and her power to choose.

She is severely overweight and it’s effecting her overall health, but more than anything, her self image.

This past week she has gotten hungry twice while she was doing errands, and she didn’t give in to the temptation to get a quick supersized meal at the many fast food places on her way… instead she drove home and ate what she had planned to eat that day. Major victory.

The effect on her self esteem, self image was dramatic. She suddenly could see the light at the end of the tunnel, both in regards to regaining her health, and in regards to making a living, being a good parent, loving herself.

Her capacity to face what she didn’t like about herself increased to a point where Continue reading “Regrets, Resentments, and other vicious Life-Killers”

Kabbalah String aka Red String

This blog is new, and I decided to look for a logo image for it. A picture of a left wrist with the famous red string around it felt like an excellent idea.

So I went on Google and search for “Kabbalah String.” What a mistake. First off, there were 420 thousand pages listed. Intimidating. Second: most of those sites are hellbent at throwing dirt, venom, spit, at Kabbalah, and everything that has anything to do with Kabbalah. They call it a religion: it is not. They call it a cult: it is not.

I resisted being sucked into Continue reading “Kabbalah String aka Red String”