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Hi Gianni, the topic of descents and ascents keeps working in me (naturally, because it is the YG topic, I suppose),… now, with all I learned I understood that descents are really important. But I am not all clear what to look out for.
Q1: I understood a descent in two ways: 1. it is like when you are on a staircase, or a mountain trail, and you become aware of what you still have to work through / what you are still missing out and you feel the hardship in this on OR 2. it is the moment when you feel pulled away from the creator, when you feel dissconnected. Now, is this both part of ONE descent or are there different sorts of a descents? Because for me feeling the deficiency and lack of having a long way to go is not the same as feeling disconnection.
Q2: I understand the descent to be the moment when the vessel expands, a new deficiency appears, which increases the desire, which then might make a person work more towards bestowal / connection, which then might lead to drawing more light, which then might feel like getting closer to the creator, which is called an ascent. Is that right? And if it is… what is the purpose of an ascent – is it just like a „reward“ that will keep us going ( like a carrot for the donkey?), or is there more to it? What is the merit that we can pass on to our friends when we feel in an ascent?
Hi Gianni, I have been reading about the letters.I understood that the letter bet is special, because its force is so pure, that no impurity can cling on to it. Also, I understood that it it represents the light of blessing, and that this light of blessing can reach down to the very lowest state of creation… which is where we are. Now a few questions came up… and I could not clarify them…
Q1: What distinguises the light of blessing from the light of mercy ( it says „the letter bet is the property of Hesed in Hochma“, but further down in the text it is more about the light of mercy being the force that can reach all states down to the lowest, where we are).
Q2: When can we perceive the light of blessing OR the light of mercy in the work?
Q3: Is there a sensation of the governing force through the light of blessing OR the light of mercy before we attain the very first spiritual degree ( it says the letter bet is the only one suitable to reach ALL of creation… so might this be what in „regular states“ we perceive as a sensation of the governing force?).
Q4: It says the creator reveals in the connection between each other in the work in the ten. Is this perception related to the light of blesing OR the light of mercy or is this something else?
Sorry, there is one more thing, as I tried to understand more, I read about Shamati 23, where it says we should hate evil, I.e. the will to receive, meaning to understand this will to receive causes all the losses and meaning not to accept it. What is the right attitude and actions reflecting that one truly hates evil? In other words, how can I hate evil „correctly“?
Dear Gianni, This is really helpful… thanks so much… just one last additional question…I am not sure if I understood you correctly: does that mean that „A regular state“ I might be in , has actually to be considered a lie, because it’s a reflection of the will to receive and the trick would be to clothe it in the truth of „connection“, and the truth of „everything comes from above“… because this truth reaches further than any such lie? So, whatever might be in me, even or especially in a descent, I have to be careful or considerate to not let this lie, that forms my inner state, speak first?
Hi Gianni, Thanks for the answer and for taking the time, answer…it’s helpful…now helpful. Actually I am not relating to a Rabash article, it was more about what we learned in YG about descents that kind of confused me. For one thing I feel that „crying out from the bottom of the heart“ is hard to grasp…. Not that I don’t know such states. But how do I know it’s the bottom? I might fool myself and still have some pride left …so my cry would be like a child crying for a lolly and not for real help from the creator. I understood that there is no use crying out if it’s not a REAL deficiency- like that child that cries for a lolly and the mother ignores it it…whereas when the child cries because it really fell, the mother is really there to help and comfort. So, how to be aware of whether it’s a lolly-cry or a real cry? And how to let it be a real cry, if it is a descent, without dwelling in this state for too long? Because to pass through the states quickly and not dwell there longer than necessary was the next thing I took from the lesson.
And the other thing, which I called „sharing the pain“ was just meant to describe what to do in a low state, a descent that causes a deficiency. (I just used the wrong words, sorry, I didn’t mean a self-help group) … My question relates to the contradiction of keeping low states away from the friends versus overcoming a descent „through the group, through the friends “, including admitting onès weakness and clinging on to the friends ( that’s what I heard in the YG). So, that’s the point… I feel the friends, I want to be there for them , it’s an uplifting and real connection… a descent may pull me away from the group… or to disturb the group…it might be a point to share it or to hide it. I understood it’s no point staying away from the group, and I found friends to be quite sensitive for each othersˋ state. In general, I would be intuitive in this and try to feel the friends and the connection and ask the creator to help me in this… is there any way I can be more precise about it? Or is it better to just ignore it and keep going? And how do I keep a 0.5/24 ratio?
Hi Gianni, I have got a question about descents…
It says”The benefit from the rejections is that through them a person receives a complete need and desire for the Creator to help him since he sees that otherwise he is lost”
When I feel the pain of a descent, how do I know when it is completed and when it’s been “enough” of this state to receive a complete need? How do I even know it is a true descent and what if it appears to pull me away from the creator , but it is not so much a spiritual thing? Adding to this, how and when do I responsibly share such a state with the friends without abusing their care and help and without running away from the lecture I have to learn? I understand there is no point dwelling in any state, but what should be my attitude when I recognize it? Is this an individual thing… because some people can bear more discomfort or pain than others before they cry out and some people need longer to share their pain with friends than others and some open up about weaknesses more easily than others? I feel the group of friends is such a treasure, and the creator IS revealing in them… so how to balance this properly in order not to confuse the friends or the work, not to contaminate this environment unnecessarily with any struggles and at the same time allow real connection which asks openness?
