| This final email before the holiday is longer and more technical than usual. I will attempt to illustrate, using these silly things called words, the unchanging and unyielding context in which all of life occurs. As always, if these statements are in contradiction with our holy tradition, please disregard what it written and let me know! Bear with me please. |  |
I'm no longer embarrassed to admit, I was well into my twenties before I gained a working comprehension and practical understanding of certain basic English words. One such word was: context. According to Merriam-Webster, "the parts of a statement or discourse that surround a word or passage and can throw light on its meaning".
And of course, after being lobbied by the paper manufacturers, those good folks at the dictionary company added another definition: "the interrelated conditions in which something exists or occurs".
There are certain interrelated conditions which govern and dictate your ability to experience happiness. Those same interrelated conditions govern and dictate your ability to experience sadness. Remorse. Freedom. Angst. Longing. Awe. Humility. Love. Commitment. Truth. Wrath. Compassion. Boredom. Alacrity. Apathy. Devotion. It never begins with me.
And of course, after being lobbied by the paper manufacturers, those good folks at the dictionary company added another definition: "the interrelated conditions in which something exists or occurs".
There are certain interrelated conditions which govern and dictate your ability to experience happiness. Those same interrelated conditions govern and dictate your ability to experience sadness. Remorse. Freedom. Angst. Longing. Awe. Humility. Love. Commitment. Truth. Wrath. Compassion. Boredom. Alacrity. Apathy. Devotion. It never begins with me.
Every single experience of which you or I could possibly witness, are born of these interrelated conditions. It is no wonder, that a life lived without understanding these "interrelated conditions" is a life lived devoid of context. It is a life of incredible limitation - if not darkness. Confusion. Why do I feel this why? What can I do to change it? It is a life of taking ever-burdening responsibility for things that never had anything to do with us.
Nobody but nobody could possibly transmit to me or you a perfect explanation of this interrelated condition or the context of life, but we are learning more each day. We refer to to them as Mind, Consciousness and Thought. We understand them to be different words all pointing to a source which already operates before the existence of you or me and certainly before the existence of any feeling in this moment or any other. We understand this force to be the ultimate author of all of life down to the smallest blade of grass, a fleeting breeze and this feeling rising in me now. In fact, this intelligent creative context even controls whether we are aware of it at any given moment or not.
Previously, when describing the Principles, I misleadingly made statements such as, "You feelings come from inside, not outside". This is a hopeful statement but leaves open the possibility that I am the author of my own feelings. This is false. G-d is the scribe, the divine engineer of all of which I am aware. Not me.
It is my not so humble belief (I represent nobody else), that only within the context of this truth, could we begin to explore and investigate our responsibility, our role - our purpose.
Wishing you a Chag Kasher V'sameach (Happy Passover)
Tzvi Werther
Twerski Wellness Institute
Nobody but nobody could possibly transmit to me or you a perfect explanation of this interrelated condition or the context of life, but we are learning more each day. We refer to to them as Mind, Consciousness and Thought. We understand them to be different words all pointing to a source which already operates before the existence of you or me and certainly before the existence of any feeling in this moment or any other. We understand this force to be the ultimate author of all of life down to the smallest blade of grass, a fleeting breeze and this feeling rising in me now. In fact, this intelligent creative context even controls whether we are aware of it at any given moment or not.
Previously, when describing the Principles, I misleadingly made statements such as, "You feelings come from inside, not outside". This is a hopeful statement but leaves open the possibility that I am the author of my own feelings. This is false. G-d is the scribe, the divine engineer of all of which I am aware. Not me.
It is my not so humble belief (I represent nobody else), that only within the context of this truth, could we begin to explore and investigate our responsibility, our role - our purpose.
Wishing you a Chag Kasher V'sameach (Happy Passover)
Tzvi Werther
Twerski Wellness Institute
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