|
Happiness in our Hearts
By Cheryl
Glover, New Thought Kabbalah
Holidays bring out the best in everyone. They are a needed
vacation from the mundane, the stress, and the negativity in the
world. It also brings about, for some people, fear, loneliness,
regret, and despair. How do we align this in terms of a
Kabbalistic viewpoint?
Many people are focused, in this time of season, on the
meaning of happiness. I have heard: happiness is a state of
mind, make a decision to be happy, just be happy. In a
Kabbalistic viewpoint, happiness as represented in the 72 name
Yud, Lamed, Mem is tied to the Morning Prayer that says: give me
peace of mind and take away negativity. In other words, “help me
control my negative thoughts.” The prayer: “Create for me a pure
heart, O Elohim, and renew a correct spirit within me.” It is
the “correct spirit” and the “pure heart” that is the key here.
Happiness is not so much “control” as if we were to manipulate
our emotions but having the ability to allow and then correct.
We need our emotions: to release, to grow, to express, and to
initiate change. Therefore, we must allow those negative
emotions to flow through us. It is when we dwell on those
negative emotions—we get stuck in them, we start to enjoy them,
we gain comfort from them, we associate them with the past, we
allow them to control our behavior resulting in violence or
other such negative action—that we lose our spiritual selves.
Therefore, on one hand, we would allow the emotion to flow, and
on the other, we would not allow it to control us. In the
Kabbalistic world, one side is the negative energy, the other
side is the positive energy, and in the middle column is where
we find our direction and our source.
The flow in the middle column comes from
1) Not having an expectation of receiving,
2) Having an openness to receiving, and
3) have an intention (Heb. Kavanah)
4) Sharing what you receive.
All four aspects are required. 1) Our society is antithesis
to the first requirement: expectation is what advertising is all
about. The dream becomes the drive and turns into a forcing
energy stream. When this is forced, you are just about
guaranteed not to fulfill it or fulfill it at a heavy cost
(health, relationships, etc.)
2)The second idea is squashed by low self esteem, believing
parent, society and religious dogma about our limitations, and
by looking outwards (envy.) If your eyes are on someone else’s
dream--so is your energy. The word Kabbalah is about receiving.
This means we build our vessel—our ability to receive
Light—large. The larger the Vessel, the more Light can be
received. In fact, the Sabbath is about building our Vessel for
the week. This might seem the opposite of point (1) above,
however it is not. Being open to receive means, you understand
that receiving comes from having more Light from the Creator.
This means while you have dreams—you do not force dreams, you do
not have to have it, you do not hold onto it in a form. It means
you are open to receiving in any form. You Let Go of the
Outcome.
3) The issue is to have a dream or an intention but to let go
of how it might manifest. Let HaShem’s Light fill you and create
from that foundation. In Pathwork this is called “Continuing the
struggle (dream, intention, planning)—and cease all struggle
(Let go and let G-d.)” Struggle, planning, intention, and dreams
are important. It is equally important not to make them an
expectation. This can create unhappiness as you are always
falling short of what you expect. However, intentions without
openness to receiving “what is best” will create peace of mind.
Sometimes you win, sometimes you do not,—both are OK.
4) An integral part of Kabbalah is sharing what is provided
to us. This is the theme of Thanksgiving. In the daily prayer
often said, three times a day called the Amidah. Here is a
translation:
“We give thanks to You, for it is You Who is our G-d and the
G-d of our fathers, the G-d of all flesh, our Maker and the
Former of all creation. Blessings and thanks to Your great and
Holy Name for giving us life and for preserving us. So may You
continue to give us life, be gracious to us, and gather our
exiles to the courtyards of Your Sanctuary, so that we may keep
Your laws, fulfill Your will, and serve You wholeheartedly. For
this, we thank You. Bless the God of thanksgiving.”
As you can see, the focus is on thanking Hashem, fulfilling
Hashem’s will, and serving Hashem.
May your find a Happy Thanksgiving every day,
Blessings and Light |
