Blessing From Above

We do what we can do according to our power. Plus we have the intentions in our hearts that direct our actions to their destination - a prayer that only the heart knows. This is all we have. The rest of the action comes from Above, only when it pleases it. We wait for the blessing to drop from Above. While we build up the anticipation in our hearts, we continue doing. We shall do and we shall hear. May we be given the power to do what is necessary to attain the blessing which is adhesion to Him.

Longing for the Creator

Blows come upon us in many forms.

They are like a leash. We are being pulled in a direction we do not even know where. But the more resistant we become, the more the blows get severe.

Until we cry out because we ran out of options. Like a cry of a cow when it runs out of grass to eat.

We cry out to the Creator even though sometimes we are doubtful of His existence.

Then, all of a sudden the blows stop.

We figure what happened.

We shouted from deepest realms of our gut and the Creator heard.

He must be saying, 'Good boy!'

Internal Work

Our work is not external.

Accomplishing corporeal work is not our goal.

What matters is what is inside. What is our intention?

We read passages. We sing songs. We listen to friends. All these we do to remind ourselves of our real intentions.

Study should be central to our group because the remedy is in there.

Working with the group is raising our beast to a level of man, but the Creator does this.

Interconnectedness

Underneath our brokenness is our interconnectedness.

It is our obligation to one another to reveal this brokenness and cry out to the Creator for help to assist us in this work of unity.

It is the Creator's work. If He does not build a house, we build a house in vain.

Our role is to reveal this brokenness and allow the Creator to remedy this.

Unity

Our souls are interconnected.

It is written that the advancement of one is the advancement of the many.

We are already united. It is concealed and we are given the responsibility to reveal this unity.

We get sparks once in a while, and we live our lives trying to relive this unity. We long for this. It is in our nature, but we forget.

Belongingness

Did you ever feel real belongingness?

Every moment, we always strive to belong.

Husbands belong to their wives. Children belong to their parents. He belongs to that school. She belongs to that man. They belong to this organization.

It is such an unfortunate thing to not belong to anyone or anything.

You long to be with someone. It is like an immediate action every instant.

In a party, you look for somebody you know in the middle of the crowd without delay.

This is your nature. No matter how much you want to disconnect to the world once in while, you are pushed back into it by a force so strong that you could not go against it.

I bet people will immediately delete this nature if they are given the power to do so. But, the Higher Force must have a good reason why He did not allow for it.

Connection

You hear people say, 'I feel you.'

It is a common phrase you hear at the movies. You also hear that once in a while in the background of your mundane existence.

It does not have to take a true knowledge of the person to express this statement. A complete stranger can say this to you without knowing the details of your life.

And when you hear it, you feel that you are not alone in your situation. During this one moment, the two of you unite in the same feeling. There is a feeling of camaraderie.

It is just nice to have somebody tell you this once in a while.

Repair the World

If you look at the world, it is not complete.

Developments happen constantly. You see how advanced we are now than five or ten years ago. You can only imagine what five years from now would bring as far as advanced changes and developments are concerned.

People find ways to make things better. It is part of human nature. It will never stop until the end of time.

Look at a car. It was made from resources we already have. People's ingenuity put all these raw resources together to create a vehicle.

This is a good example of how you are created to make things better.

A question that you need to answer today is, 'What did I do to repair the world today?'

Obstacles

Obstacles are brought to you by the Creator for a purpose.

They are usually more tangible and visible before a great revelation. The intensity of it can be felt as you get closer to the goal that the Creator set for you.

The Israelites faced the Red Sea as they were being approached by the chariots who wanted them back to Egypt. Before they reached this situation, they had to go through the plagues which the Creator sent the Egyptians to let His people go.

There were fears, doubts, uncertainties, anxieties. With the prodding and encouragement of Moses, the Israelites proceeded and crossed the Red Sea.

You know the great Parting of the Red Sea story. It was a great miracle that happened after the Israelites went through tough times and made some tough decisions with 'faith above reason.'

They reached the Promised Land only after so many obstacles. Most of these of obstacles were deep within them. They put in front of themselves an invisible barrier that prevent the Creator to allow them to reach their goal.

It took them 40 years to allow the Creator to purify their intentions and to be deserving of the Promised Land.

Use your obstacles to empower the importance of your goal. These will propel you to spiritual heights.

Humility

Humility is an on-going effort to check yourself every moment with the way you think, speak, and act. Checking how you see yourself in every situation will give you a purview of how you see highly of yourself and poorly of others.

It is natural to always want to better yourself as compared to others. You always want more.

Training yourself to look at others greatly entails a habit. Whenever you find a moment that you look down at another person, immediately change the direction of your thoughts by finding the positive qualities of that person.

Having a mantra in your head saying that the other person is better than you will help in developing humility.

I admire people who do not consider themselves better than others, even though they clearly are better than others.

If you find yourself in a situation that you see yourself as very accomplished, a Jewish sage said to remember the greatness of God and the vastness of his creation. His magnitude will diminish how you see yourself.

Check out the 'Letter of an Uncle to His Nephew.'

Forgiveness and Asking for Sorry

It is hard to forgive. It is also hard to say sorry.

It takes an effort in the physical, psychological, emotional, and spiritual aspects to reach out one's hand to the person you have a grudge against.

Saying a prayer before bestowing forgiveness or asking for sorry gives you a surge of power to enact what is difficult.

Jacob was fearful when he was about to encounter Esau after years of resentment, betrayal, and grudge. Jacob thought that he was going to be given what he deserved by his brother. He took Esau's rights and blessings. It was only right that Esau treat him badly or violently for this reason. However, Jacob prayed and asked God for help.

Jacob extended peace offering before physically meeting his brother to appease what was otherwise a sour relationship. When the time of the meeting came, Esau embraced Jacob.

God truly intervened here for nothing is random. There is an added force here which the prayer allowed to happen.

Forgiveness and saying sorry is hard, but you are not meant to do it alone. Ask Him who is the Source of them.

Read 'Forgiving an Enemy in Three Simple Ways.'

Ego

You usually hear the word ego as something to overcome. You praise a person without any "ego" because he does not show the "me" kind of mentality, but is it really possible to erase the ego?

From the writings of the Jewish sages, ego is the representative of evil inclination. It wants to receive. It only looks after itself. However, even though it sounds evil, it is a necessary element of our existence.

The Creator is the giver and we are meant to receive. We always want pleasure and that is how we are created. We cannot take that out of how the Creator built us up.

The question is what do we want to receive. We are given mundane pleasures to push us to a higher pleasure which is the Creator. These enjoyments we are receiving here on earth are very limited as compared to the magnitude of the world of infinity.

We can be as selfish as we want, only use it in a proper way.

If we crave for the Creator, the Creator will give himself to us.

Check out 'Overcoming Your Ego.'

Adversity

It is said that adversity is like a gateway to a new level of existence. Obstacles are being put in your way because you are being blocked from passing through. It is like you are given distractions that allure you to a different direction.

That is why it is really important to stop always to reflect, especially if you are given options that are too difficult to reject. Most likely, the option that is least desirable for you is the one that you should be picking.

Distractions are dressed in beautiful and attractive wrappers. They are meant to be that way to serve their purpose. We are meant to look at them and to really be mesmerized by them.

The allurement succeeds if one gives in to it. That means you are not allowed to pass through to the next stage.

Every stage has its form of difficulty attached to it. Same kinds of difficulties will be given to you, but on a different level.

It is essential to ask for a Higher Force assistance to be given a second nature that will overcome what needs to be overcome. It is meant this way, so that you will know that you are powerless and that only a Force outside yourself can help.

You are meant to cry out for help when you are already pushed against a wall.

Check out 'Five Ways to Overcome Adversity.'

Teacher and Student in the School of Life

According to the Jewish sages that in order for a student to learn, he has to humble himself to his teacher. Doing menial tasks for the benefit of the teacher is part of the learning process. In the old tradition of a Jewish teacher-student relationship, the student does what he can for the teacher. If it is necessary to sort coffee beans for the teacher, the student is obliged to do it.

This obligation is not bestowed by the teacher to the student, but rather the student necessitates himself to do this because this is essential for imbibing the teacher's wisdom.

I heard a rav who used to wash his teacher's clothes and even provided food for his teacher. In return, the student is influenced by the teacher's way of thinking, way of life, his holiness, his knowledge, and most especially his wisdom.

If the student looks at himself as greater than the teacher, he cannot become a student. Not because the teacher rejects him, but rather because of his disposition of pride puts him in a place where he cannot learn from the teacher.

The student has to be awed by the teacher. He has to look at the teacher as if he has all the qualities he wants to have. He has to look at the teacher as if he has what the student is craving for.

Letting Go and Plodding Along

It is easy to get distracted by the little disturbances in life. There are hundreds of stimulation you get every moment. If you do not check yourself, you can get carried away. What you entertained for kicks initially could consume you in an unhealthy way.

Letting go is a decision that you make every moment. Eventhough, we always say let go, it is not an easy thing to do. Every situation we decide on can affect what is going to happen next. Careful thinking is always necessary for a rational human being.

What you decide on reflects what you place highly in your priorities.

Do you value selflessness or selfishness? Do you choose your friends than your family? Do you choose to drink beer when you are supposed to be driving moments later? Do you choose to spend your money on an unessential big item ticket than to use it for the needs of your family?

Every choice makes a difference in a bigger scale and it ripples out to a much bigger scale. You affect the grand scheme of things with your decisions, so you need to always stop and to reflect.

Raising the Intention

It is said according to the early Jewish writings that the final action is developed from a tiny seed that was planted long before the action had taken place. The action today springs forth from the days or months or years of nurturing a thought that leads to a culmination of an action.

Our constant thoughts brings forth the reality of our life. It is necessary to always ask ourselves of the question, "What is my intention with this action?," in order to cultivate a reflective way of living.

It is easy to live life thoughtlessly, being tossed high and low by the waves of life. To be thrown by situations in different directions can be stabilized by the continuous questioning of your motivation. From there, you can assess if the motivation is in accordance to your values. You can also question whether your values are in harmony with the positive laws of the universe.

Your attitude, thoughts, and values can be the tipping point of the world to righteousness or to wickedness. In every action that you do, you tip the scale to one side or the other. The question is where do you want your scale to tip?