Zoom in on how to make Hashem's Will our will, sincerely
Finding a door to an infinite path of connection and closeness to Hashem can only happen if a person knows there is an infinite path to look for. Yet once we know, it is not so easy to find the door to the path. Why? The part of us that is our physical, lower self does not naturally seek it out. It is only if someone intrigues us with this idea that the body might become interested in its higher self and the soul which, ideally, should be the part of ourselves that the body serves. Instead, the “default” position is that the body serves the mind or, in some sad cases, the body itself. The key to generating interest from our physical side in our higher self is to comprehend the benefit to us (our physical self and our eternal self) by using our free will and choosing to make Hashem’s Will our will.
Let’s look at a metaphor for what this looks like. Imagine a 4 year old child who wants a cookie from the cookie jar on the counter. The child may get a step stool, climb onto the cabinet, and try to open the jar, only to find the latch beyond what a 4 year old can open. In so doing, the jar tumbles to the ground and the cookie gets ruined, mixed in with broken chards of glass. The child begins to cry, not only because the cookie is gone but because the entire thing was so scary! Imagine instead that the 4 year old child goes to Mommy and says, “Mommy I want a cookie.” Mommy says the child can have it after dinner for dessert. The child does not like it and puts up a fuss, but in the end, accepts it, eats dinner and gets the cookie.
The description here is intended to show how when we make Hashem’s Will our will, He takes care of our needs and our will. If we are properly utilizing the energy that He gives us every day, will He not provide what we need to continue to do so?
Translating this to every day life, we have personalities, and we have will. Very often, our personalities are complicated due to negativity, pain, challenge and more, and we act in ways that may or may not reflect the values of our higher soul. Herein is the challenge. How do we, when we see we are headed in this direction, put the brakes on where we are headed and “return” to the values of our higher soul?
Recognize that who we are is far larger than our physical, lower self.
Step back from our physical self at times when we are overwhelmed – relax, step back from the situation, see ourselves as small and beloved in Hashem’s eyes and looking at our circumstance in Hashem’s presence
Sit with the feeling that we have a choice, even if we feel compelled and correct to do what we intend. THIS IS THE DOOR. Then, speak out to Hashem “I wish to use my free choice in a manner that is pleasing to you, please help me rise above what my physical lower self is shouting and ready to do. Keep repeating this until there is a glimmer of certainty felt that there really is a choice.
From the place of choice that has now been created, which feels more relaxed because it is attached to Hashem, Who is infinite, explore in Hashem’s presence which of His Attributes of Mercy could be emulated here in lieu of what had been previously considered.
Realizing that every occurrence is an opportunity to bring Hashem into the picture and with zeal and commitment and a desire to connect and become greater today than yesterday, use the mind as a relay of the soul’s value to instruct the body in how best to proceed.
Have Emunah that Hashem solves things in a manner that is good and wait to see what happens next.
We will soon begin to see ourselves not just as our physical lower self, as we did before, but rather, as a higher being a part of which has a physical side designed to do Hashem's Will and to serve Him with delight and love and pleasure, for He returns so much good to us and we feel gratitude and awe as the spiritual reality of the world becomes more familiar to us.May we realize that we are keyboards to do Hashem's Will and that the goodness that He sends to our physical lower self becomes enhanced with a far greater sense of pleasure because our gratitude becomes combined with awe.
Categories: G-d Consciousness, Higher self
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