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I finally feel like I understand how and why my life has been as its been until now, and feel drawn to re-aligning myself with the Creator.
By “bestowing upon ourselves”, I mean receiving in a way that removes the shame by “allowing” ourselves to receive the pleasure that the Creator wants to give us. If we are all one soul, then surely we must treat ourselves the same way we treat others, with the same intention of bestowal, and seeing ourselves as worthy of the Creator’s light.
I say all this in order to know how to deal with shame for receiving our desires. PhaseGimmel helps explain how this can be done, where the creature agrees to receive some of the light, not for itself, but for the benefit of the Creator. How does one do that?
Is shame the reason for the rejection of the light in Behina Bet?
I know these 4 Phases have to do with the upper worlds, but does this process also reflect in the lives of individuals?
Can some one become aware of the source of the giving and be ashamed, and reject the gifts that the Creator wants to give?
I asked in weeks 2 & 3 if the correction for this would be to agree to receive in order to be able to bestow upon ourselves (“corrected” receiving) and bestow on others, is my understanding correct?
Hey Seth, looks like this response answered my question from week 2:
“Do we have to transform our will to receive into a form of bestowal upon ourselves?
Meaning, we turn the receiving of our own desires/pleasures into an act of giving them to ourselves consciously, instead of just unconsciously taking?”
It looks like Phase 4 says we do exactly this, to receive everything from the Creator in order for our vessel to “overflow” and be able to give endlessly like Him.
That makes more sense. I started having these thoughts when I heard Dr. Laitman mention Shame in a lecture, that we experience Shame when receiving from the Creator because receiving highlights our opposite nature to Him.
So if one has Shame towards receiving even the basic desires, then one could change the intent from receiving to bestowal upons one’s self of the Creator’s gifts, that way it is no longer purely selfish.
Towards the end of the speech you linked, Rabbi Ashlag talks about inverting “bestowal into reception”, which is what I think I am getting at here: receiving as a form of bestowal, receiving in a way that elevates you to the level of the bestower.
Yes, but is there a way of changing the intention of the will to receive of basic necessities into a form of bestowal upon ourselves?
If we are all one soul, then shouldn’t we treat ourselves and our desires in the same way we treat others with a will to bestow?
