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Hi Gianni, another question:
are we in the “preparation period” right now? then Lo Lishma, then there is crossing the Machsom, then Lishma?
what marks the transition from preparation period to Lo Lishma? is it that I notice I do things not because I should but I want to? how to make that transition happen?
thanks again!
Hi Gianni
what need to happen in order to increase the importance of the creator? is that a result of prayer or a result of my own effort such as: attend a class whether I feel it or not, read an article whether I want to or not, make time for friends etc…and eventually by doing those things that I don’t deem to be important (yet) will eventually increase the importance of the creator?
thanks as always
Yes, you raise the importance of the Creator for yourself, by those things and others, and also for your friends. With that importance, they can make efforts, and raise the importance for themselves and for you. Then you do the same again for them. This way the goal becomes higher and higher, and helps you rise above every degree of egoism that gets revealed in you, until upon the great egoism you reach the Creator.
In Shamati 1, the right and left hands are described as two approaches in the work. Can these also be seen as the states of ascents and descents, or are they a different kind of discernment?
Hi Gianni
how is the joy different in corporeal life, in Lo Lishma and in Lishma? in what causes my joy? in how long does the joy last? in what I do with my joy?
thank you as always
True Lo Lishma is practically the same as Lishma- except in Lishma there’s the revelation of the spiritual world. But for the person who wants to reach bestowal, they are the same. Everything I would do if the spiritual world were revealed, I do as if it is already revealed. That’s called Lo Lishma. And I’m in joy all the time because I only want to bestow. So, I don’t need the spiritual world, I don’t need anything. My joy is in another opportunity and another, to bestow upon the Creator. With corporeal joy, I enjoy that something enters me; whereas on my way to Lishma, I enjoy that it does not enter me. Instead I enjoy bestowal outside of me. We need the Surrounding Light to work on us so that such states can shine for us, so that we can understand their sublimity.
We had a friend who was struggling with some group dynamics and left for about a month. The very day he came back, several members of the ten arrived late to our ten meeting because they had just been in a private side meeting together. It also became clear that there’s a side chat among them. Not long after this, that same friend ended up leaving again.
At the retreat, Tony said: the path will hit you square in the place it hurts the most. That’s exactly how this feels. My biggest fear is that the path could turn into just a social club, and when I see these dynamics, it goes straight to that fear. Sometimes it feels like a kind of social hierarchy in the ten, a “first string” and a “second string,” like a high school sports team.
What weighs on me even more is when I see the friends just move on so quickly from this, almost as if nothing was learned. In those moments, I feel the selfishness of it, and then I realize that feeling itself is within me. The friends are like a mirror, and if I feel selfishness in them, it’s because I’m equalizing with those feelings that are also in me. That leaves me feeling selfish for even wanting things to be different. It becomes heavy, like something I can’t overcome in myself.
I haven’t brought this up in the ten, choosing instead to keep it as inner work. I’m trying to follow the guidance I’ve heard: not to let criticism pass my lips, but to judge myself, lower myself, and raise the friends above me. My focus has been: love covers all crimes, anything but leave, there is none else besides Him. And it is I who must love the friends, not the friends who must love me. It is I who must give importance to the friends, not get importance from them. I’ve been praying to bring my heart into the ten, not my mind, and to annul myself before the friends even when my perception makes it difficult.
I don’t want to blow this out of proportion or stir conflict. And I wonder: is this even appropriate to bring up here in the forum? But I also can’t deny that it weighs on me. I’m trying to use it as material for connection, and I’d welcome any feedback.
Well, I don’t know the situation. In my ten there have been side chats, to help a certain friend. Or individuals contact one another. That’s ok. If we’re creating some exclusive chat for some purely social reason or to exclude certain friends, then we won’t have any spiritual benefit because the ten as a whole is the place of my correction. If I’m talking to a friend, it’s as if to the whole ten. If something else is going on, you should scrutinize it as a ten.
Dear Gianni,
at the last Young Group, a friend asked an important question. As a pastor who studies the Scriptures and works with people, he wondered whether he must keep Kabbalah separate from his work or whether he may disseminate it. He was told that perhaps the Creator has given him an additional role to navigate this path.
I bring up this topic because I, too, am a spiritual leader in my community and am inwardly struggling with how to approach this in a way that is aligned with Kabbalah and with the natural laws.
Thank you.
Hi Leila,
You need to reveal the Creator, and from this connection with Him, give your audience exactly what they came for (not Kabbalah), and they will feel the Light to the extent of your connection with the Upper Force.
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