When is our thinking dangerous? An insight for Pesach
Thinking is dangerous – if it expands faulty or negative ideas. This relates to Pesach in terms of our understanding of chometz, which represents an expansion of ego.
What if a person does not have truth in her mind? Every person, by nature of our construction, is subject to our perceptions. Because we are imperfect, our perceptions are also imperfect. It is crucial to understand that our perceptions are designed by Hashem specifically to present us with opportunities to correct and fix something specific for our souls. What if a person mistakes her own thinking for truth and reality? In fact, without an understanding that our perceptions are designed specifically for us to fix something in our souls, we DO believe our own thinking as truth and reality, and we are led down a path of suffering as a result until at some point, our eyes are opened to a truth and we correct ourselves OR our eyes remain closed and we are lost, Heaven forfend. It is our job to properly read our suffering as a way to shepherd us back to the basic truth, which brings our thinking into proper perspective, that there is a Divine Mind and Will running things, that we have intelligence only for the purpose of reflecting and advancing the Divine reality because there is nothing but Hashem and that He is behind every event and interaction.
For example, let’s say that something or someone presents us with a challenge. We want to judge them, accuse them, say what we think about their opinion, condemn them, stop them in their tracks with words. Why? Why do we wish to do so? In a split second, we expand into our own feelings, making how we feel about it so important as to create darkness for another. In a one world picture, this is every day life. We see it everywhere, considered as being assertive, self-protective, and some might suggest it is a sign of good self-esteem to keep others from putting us down! How mixed up we are!
The reason why we we should NOT behave so is that it is at that moment our obligation to sacrifice our own negativity by asking Hashem what is the Divine reality and please help us do the Divine reality. It is His Will and Reality that we want to attach to because He is real, He is everything and He sustains us. The fact that our puny intellect screams negative emotions to us about how inconvenient it is, or how negatively this other person’s approach and conduct is makes the test – will we or won’t we remember to reflect and expand into Divine reality instead of into our own feelings?
That said, every person has a dream, a mission to accomplish. It is our drive, our motivation and feelings that keep us going toward that goal. The constructive, natural feelings that bring light and positivity into the world are also from Hashem. He wants us to pursue these and it gives us great pleasure to do so. The difference is simple – are we expanding into a negative place that brings darkness to ourselves or to those around us or are we expanding into a positive space led by Hashem in order for us to bring our talents and intelligence into this world and shine light?
Thinking is dangerous when we mistake our own negative perceptions as action-worthy. Thinking is dangerous when we stew about something that we have no idea if it is true or not. Thinking is dangerous when we bounce thoughts off of a situation, projecting our worst fears onto the matter and then treating the matter as if our worst fears are being inflicted upon us, creating darkness for ourselves and others and causing everyone undue pain. Thinking of this kind is really NOT thinking of what the Divine reality is. That is our mistake, thinking that our imperfect thinking is reality and not looking further, asking penetrating questions, and changing our thinking to subdue it and convert it to operate as a reflection of the Divine Will and recognition of the Divine reality as we can know it through Torah.
Categories: Ahavas Hashem, God Consciousness
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