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Hi, I have got three  questions. I hope itś ok to ask, because it is kind of bothering me to get a proper feeling and learn.
1. I understand that we dwell in a place of darkness, being in this world.  However, I am wondering, as everything that has been created, before it was shattered, was part of the „whole soul“, and started off in the light… does it still have a spark of light in it? All the inanimate,, animate, and speaking matter… from an overall perspective,.. does it still have any light in it when itś bound to this world?
2. I understand, we are surrounded by light, and I understand we are looking for it in the connection with friends,… like glue  that connects the shattered pieces, is that right? Is this light in its quality different to the light within the beings of different degrees (inanimate/vegetative/animate/speaking) ? And can we actually connect to our own spark  or to other sparks of light? (If there is one) Or can we only perceive that „glue“ , the light that reveals in the connection towards others?
3. I have understood that the absence of light, this darkness around us or also within us, is kind of „natural“ for being in this world, and that learning Kabbalah  offers an invitation to grow beyond this. I also understand (and feel) that pain between these alternate states …  light and darkness …(well, more darkness for now…) ,  and I absolutely feel the switches to be extremely unpleasant,… . However so far I discovered two seemingly contradictory ways to deal with it. One is to accept that itś a developmental stage, and try to grow from there, the other one is to  call it „bad“ and „evil“ and try to overcome it. I am not trying to wriggle myself out of it, but I feel that darkness itself is hard enough to cope with, so I am wondering what the idea of „evil inclination“ is trying to teach us, and if judging ourselves here is helpful and to which degree (thinking about that idea that in a way we are like children trying to learn… I wonder if it really helps if we put ourselves down for our will to receive…after all, thatś what we are.)
1. Everything has a spark of light in it from the Shattering.
2. We have a spark of Light, but a spark is not Light. Between us, there can be actual Light.
3. The evil inclination is only teaching us not to stay in it. Advancement should be like dancing. Though there are ascents and descents, because of their rapid changing, one feels the whole experience as joyous. If it’s bad, it’s that I’m only standing, remaining in one state.
Dear Gianni,
Is the bulk of the work done specifically when you don’t wanna do it? It feels like this is the only place where I can go against the ego, because even if there is a small desire to do the work, I am not going above reason, I am still in self-love, fulfilling that small desire. So, logically, the more resistance I experience, the better. But how can I come to this place? What can I coerce the body to do? Go to meetings? Read? Watch lessons? I find that every time I decide to coerce the donkey to do something, it tricks me by finding pleasure in it. This makes it impossible for me to find a place where I can go above reason. What am I doing wrong?
Thank you! <3
Could workshop rules be applied to creating a common prayer in the ten? What are some guidelines for a person to consider when writing a prayer into a group-chat: text that is formatted together with the additions from other members of the ten to create one common prayer of the day? Each person contributes to the whole and I’m wondering if there is an established approach or recommendations for writing in a way that can bring the ten closer to the creator and avoid it being charity.
The workshop rules are general guidelines but the rules are much deeper. The whole work is really a workshop with the Creator through the friends, so it’s not amenable to a few rules. I think in the asynchronous case, in a chat, I need to be found in a state as though I’m really hearing the friends, integrating with their desire, and continuing them just enough and not more than the ten needs.
Hello Gianni.
I keep hearing in various classes and reading in various articles that we have to come to the point that we realize we don’t and can’t really love our friends and that we have to reach a point where we feel so deeply how much we love ourselves that we are thoroughly disgusted and ask the Creator to help us change. Yet all I hear in the tens is how much in love everyone is with their friends, and so on. Should we not be trying to uncover our deep-seated love for ourselves, and not trying to fool ourselves into believing we love one another? It seems that trying to get ourselves to believe that we really love one another is prolonging our progress in the work, because until we come to the realization how evil we are in our will to receive we cannot come to a true prayer and that is what is needed.
What am I missing?
Could we also say that connection is also direction? In other words, directing the friends to the Creator?
Why am I powerless to avoid a decent, even when i can see the trough of the wave is approaching? For example one day i have a fantastic feeling of being so in love and concerned for the friends, i volunteer all sort of things toward them and aspire for equivalence of form with all my heart. Then, a couple days later, I’m skipping meetings and am more interested in what I’m having for lunch, even though I continue to receive reminders and invitations to engage. I’m stuck as to why this keeps happening and why each time there is more internal resistance to overcome.
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