I am at a loss. Each time I write, I find holes in my logic. This is my third attempt. Let's see where it goes.
It seems to me, that despite the obvious discomfort one is in, the target of any valuable inquiry, will not get distracted by the presenting feeling. The feeling is never really the problem. The very same feeling can occur, both to the enlightened and to the unenlightened.
So, let us not try to change the feeling, but instead, let us compare the unenlightened to the enlightened.
The unenlightened mind does not understand. The unenlightened mind has questions. The unenlightened mind has answers to those questions - answers which are binding, limiting & blinding.
The unenlightened person asks: "Where is this feeling coming from? Why do I feel this way? This feeling must be generated by something in this world. Maybe it is generated by me - big me, my behavior, my power to act. The unenlightened 3 Principles student might settle on - my feeling comes from my power to choose what to think."
The unenlightened mind takes the blame and thus the responsibility to control it all. The unenlightened mind must think: "there are many ways to feel right now, and yes, I chose this one, and logically, I could choose a better one. Even if, say, I feel pretty good, but I could feel so, so much better."
"There is always more. Like Esav who claims, יֶשׁ לִי רָב (Genesis 33:9). I have a lot, but I could have so much more. I am in control of my destiny and the sky's the limit. There is no Divine orchestration, there is no direct control by G-d. He had handed me the reins. Even a G-d fearing person might speculate, although I cannot control my finances or my health, but I can choose my psychology.
"I could and should be much better than who I am. G-d has given me that right. G-d is calling on me to make myself feel better with the tools he has given me."
To a person who is of such a mind, suffering is inescapable. It is the outlook itself which guarantees psychological angst. The blame has shifted, from pointing at circumstance to instead pointing at oneself – and embedded in this perspective is ego and control. Pain is almost inevitable whenever this person finds themselves falling short of a self-determined finish line.
And while this person, with this kind of mind is also truly a manifestation of a Divine Will and not self-created, still we can see just how mired one becomes while in this state of mind. Within such a mindset, in the most literal sense, there is no way out.
And saying so, to such a person, will likely not do anything but provoke further despair and depression, "I'm supposed to control my mind and now you're telling me I'll never get myself there!"
So clearly, what we are proposing here is not an intervention technique. We are just comparing - comparing an unenlightened mind to an enlightened mind.
An enlightened mind does not have questions in the same way. To an enlightened person, all of life is a divine dream suspended within the boundaries of the time/space experience. G-d, His Divine Will, is the source of all that exists. He is the formless and He is the form. He says, and so it shall be and is. The planets, the animals, the people and all their knowledge and emotions and experiences - there is no place devoid of His sustaining energy. He fashions them, He causes them to exist. There is no reason, there is no explanation. There is only One. The Allness declared that the Isness shall be in this particular way and that's the perfect and only explanation. There are no questions, there is only one answer. One answer, over and over again.
There is no other place to exist, but in this Divine Will. He has “placed” us in this form, in this particular physical and psychological form, with these surroundings, and this family, in this city, at this time in history, with this IQ and this set of challenges, with this knowledge and with this attitude, with this Torah.
While all the forms of life change and change and change again, the One Key which unlocks every single variation of life never changes. He is the origin, He is the energy, He is the unification, the ever present, ever involved, ever immediate essence of every leaf, every breeze, every war, every hiccup, every victory, every idea, every tingle and on and on and on.
Yes, an enlightened mind sees the individual trees but does not lose sight of the forest. There are many trees, but just one forest.
The enlightened mind does not dismay over the momentary changes in experience. Whether they feel good or bad, high, or low, they are all the same - a divine energy manifest. Each feeling is seen as just another platform at which to see and experience the authorship of the Divine.
An enlightened Jewish mind sees all feelings as the same – opportunities to serve Hashem. Urges to refrain from, inspirations to capitalize upon, uncertainties to wade through, challenges to fight through, heights to soar, storms to weather and a darkness too dark to do anything but call out to our Divine Parent - to maintain our faith of His Omnipresence.
We are all sometimes enlightened and often not. Maybe instead of trying to be more of one and less of the other, we would be better served in recognising both enlightenment and backwardness are the same Divine Energy showing up in different states, different forms.
It's best to recognize what state you are actually in because it is only in that humble recognition that you get the best chance to follow Wisdom instead of your ego.
It seems to me, that despite the obvious discomfort one is in, the target of any valuable inquiry, will not get distracted by the presenting feeling. The feeling is never really the problem. The very same feeling can occur, both to the enlightened and to the unenlightened.
So, let us not try to change the feeling, but instead, let us compare the unenlightened to the enlightened.
The unenlightened mind does not understand. The unenlightened mind has questions. The unenlightened mind has answers to those questions - answers which are binding, limiting & blinding.
The unenlightened person asks: "Where is this feeling coming from? Why do I feel this way? This feeling must be generated by something in this world. Maybe it is generated by me - big me, my behavior, my power to act. The unenlightened 3 Principles student might settle on - my feeling comes from my power to choose what to think."
The unenlightened mind takes the blame and thus the responsibility to control it all. The unenlightened mind must think: "there are many ways to feel right now, and yes, I chose this one, and logically, I could choose a better one. Even if, say, I feel pretty good, but I could feel so, so much better."
"There is always more. Like Esav who claims, יֶשׁ לִי רָב (Genesis 33:9). I have a lot, but I could have so much more. I am in control of my destiny and the sky's the limit. There is no Divine orchestration, there is no direct control by G-d. He had handed me the reins. Even a G-d fearing person might speculate, although I cannot control my finances or my health, but I can choose my psychology.
"I could and should be much better than who I am. G-d has given me that right. G-d is calling on me to make myself feel better with the tools he has given me."
To a person who is of such a mind, suffering is inescapable. It is the outlook itself which guarantees psychological angst. The blame has shifted, from pointing at circumstance to instead pointing at oneself – and embedded in this perspective is ego and control. Pain is almost inevitable whenever this person finds themselves falling short of a self-determined finish line.
And while this person, with this kind of mind is also truly a manifestation of a Divine Will and not self-created, still we can see just how mired one becomes while in this state of mind. Within such a mindset, in the most literal sense, there is no way out.
And saying so, to such a person, will likely not do anything but provoke further despair and depression, "I'm supposed to control my mind and now you're telling me I'll never get myself there!"
So clearly, what we are proposing here is not an intervention technique. We are just comparing - comparing an unenlightened mind to an enlightened mind.
An enlightened mind does not have questions in the same way. To an enlightened person, all of life is a divine dream suspended within the boundaries of the time/space experience. G-d, His Divine Will, is the source of all that exists. He is the formless and He is the form. He says, and so it shall be and is. The planets, the animals, the people and all their knowledge and emotions and experiences - there is no place devoid of His sustaining energy. He fashions them, He causes them to exist. There is no reason, there is no explanation. There is only One. The Allness declared that the Isness shall be in this particular way and that's the perfect and only explanation. There are no questions, there is only one answer. One answer, over and over again.
There is no other place to exist, but in this Divine Will. He has “placed” us in this form, in this particular physical and psychological form, with these surroundings, and this family, in this city, at this time in history, with this IQ and this set of challenges, with this knowledge and with this attitude, with this Torah.
While all the forms of life change and change and change again, the One Key which unlocks every single variation of life never changes. He is the origin, He is the energy, He is the unification, the ever present, ever involved, ever immediate essence of every leaf, every breeze, every war, every hiccup, every victory, every idea, every tingle and on and on and on.
Yes, an enlightened mind sees the individual trees but does not lose sight of the forest. There are many trees, but just one forest.
The enlightened mind does not dismay over the momentary changes in experience. Whether they feel good or bad, high, or low, they are all the same - a divine energy manifest. Each feeling is seen as just another platform at which to see and experience the authorship of the Divine.
An enlightened Jewish mind sees all feelings as the same – opportunities to serve Hashem. Urges to refrain from, inspirations to capitalize upon, uncertainties to wade through, challenges to fight through, heights to soar, storms to weather and a darkness too dark to do anything but call out to our Divine Parent - to maintain our faith of His Omnipresence.
We are all sometimes enlightened and often not. Maybe instead of trying to be more of one and less of the other, we would be better served in recognising both enlightenment and backwardness are the same Divine Energy showing up in different states, different forms.
It's best to recognize what state you are actually in because it is only in that humble recognition that you get the best chance to follow Wisdom instead of your ego.
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