Shabbat – Talk to God
Maybe you'd like to ask a different question: "I feel ridiculous all alone, talking to the wind. What am I supposed to say?" Try this: "God, thanks for...
Maybe you'd like to ask a different question: "I feel ridiculous all alone, talking to the wind. What am I supposed to say?" Try this: "God, thanks for the one-hundred-thousand beats of my heart in the last twenty-four hours. Thank you…
Point seven, Saturday (Shabbat): Talk to God.
If you're Jewish, the Sabbath is the most special day of the week, perfect for attaining spirituality. If you're not Jewish, Saturday is a wonderful day to refresh your emotional and spiritual batteries.
Designate an hour for yourself and try to find a place where no one will disturb you. Talk to God like you'd talk to your best friend, your most intimate confidant. Spill your heart out, laugh, cry, dance, and ask for whatever you want. Release your anxiety. Tell God about your aspirations, your fears, your loves, and your deepest secrets.
Maybe at this point, you're saying, "Hold your horses, I don't yet believe in God. I was never educated in religion". Don't worry, cherished friend; many people with conventional religious training also lack genuine belief in The Almighty. Try this test: Find a pleasant place of solitude, and begin talking. Here's the way to start: "Dear God, I've never been aware of You. I desire to know the absolute truth. Could you please send me some answers, and take time to personally reveal Yourself to me?"
The above test works for sincere truth-seekers. God acts quickly on such a request, as tens of thousands of new believers can testify.
Maybe you'd like to ask a different question: "I feel ridiculous all alone, talking to the wind. What am I supposed to say?"
Try this: "God, thanks for the one-hundred-thousand beats of my heart in the last twenty-four hours. Thank you also for the twenty thousand breaths I took in the last twenty-four hours. Thank you for my eyes and for my eyesight. Thank you for my ears and for my hearing. Thank you for my job and for my livelihood. Thank you for my home and for my clothes…" The list is endless. Think of all the blessings in life that people take for granted.
Other people's ingratitude appalls us. Yet, we totally ignore millions of favors (remember that the average heart beats more than three million times per month) that God does for each and every one of us.
When people give thanks to God, God opens their heart. Usually, after going down your checklist of thanks, God helps you speak from the bottom of your heart. The satisfaction of a good talk with God, our Father in Heaven and our beloved best friend, is indescribable. People accustomed to speaking with the Almighty save both emotional and physical wear and tear – less anxiety, less worry, less ulcers, and less anger, as we'll see in the coming chapters.
The Enhanced Spiritual Awareness (ESA) Workshop
Once you've successfully implemented the one-week plan, you're ready for ESA, the enhanced spiritual awareness workshop. During the workshop, you'll choose a subject that you'd like to strengthen, and work on a particular aspect of spiritual awareness.
Our character traits are integral parts of a whole – our personality. Therefore, when we succeed in improving even a lone character trait, we immediately exert a positive effect on our personality as a whole.
Many people ask, "I'm so stressed and nervous all the time; how can I ever be cool and collected? Is it really possible for me to improve my personality?"
We certainly can't wave a magic wand to perfect our personalities. But by working on the individual traits one by one, we are able to "divide and conquer" bad habits and unfavorable behavioral reactions, including anger, stress, and anxiety. I've had the privilege of seeing many people work patiently and consistently on each of the twenty factors that comprise the ESA, who over the course of one calendar year made dramatic improvements in their lives. You can too.
The following page is a handy tabular summary of the basic factors that are conducive or destructive to spiritual awareness:
Twenty Factors that affect Spiritual Awareness
In the same manner that you devoted a day of the "One-Week Plan" to a particular attribute, go down the above list of twenty factors that affect SA, and devote a day's workshop to each factor. I've seen tenacious spiritual trainees devote a week or a month to a single factor, until it becomes second nature.
Let's take a brief look at each factor, and see how to utilize an ESA Workshop day for best results:
1. Faith – think about the many times in your life that you were in dangerous situations. Do you really believe that you were randomly saved each time? Think about the world and all of creation. If you believe in a big-bang theory, then who or what caused the big bang? Ask yourself difficult spiritual questions, and try to focus beyond the limits of your body, time, and space. You'll be amazed at the results.
2. Marital fidelity – Maybe you think this is an extraneous category. Remember though, that your thoughts and speech affect your spirituality as well as your deeds. You may be physically loyal to your spouse, but if you even contemplate an extramarital relationship, you impair the power of your soul. Today, think about your partner, say nice things, and perform acts of love, consideration, and kindness.
3. Modesty – when you flaunt your body, you blemish your soul. Don't treat yourself like a cheap piece of meat for sale in an outdoor market. Imagine that you are the son or daughter of a great king (you are!) and dress, speak, and act accordingly.
4. Healthy, natural diet – today, try to eat with the sole intent of maintaining your bodily health. Prefer grains, fruits, and vegetables to processed foods. Avoid junk foods and fast foods that are high in calories and low in nutrition. Deny your body detrimental substances such as alcohol, tobacco, and drugs. If you can eat naturally and refrain from substances for three days consecutively, you'll experience immediate spiritual gain and a much clearer mind.
5. Body cleanliness – spiritual impurity and lack of physical hygiene are closely related. Wash your hands as soon as you wake up in the morning, every time you visit the toilet, and before eating. Bathe or shower daily, if possible, and wear clean clothes.
6. Compassion and kind deeds – look for the many little opportunities to do favors for people, especially for your loved ones whom you often take for granted. By giving, you imitate Divine behavior and climb quickly up the spiritual ladder.
7. Love and respect of fellow man – look past the other person's appearance. Think how he or she also has a divine soul, a tiny spark of godliness within them, just like you have. Practice respecting family members, friends, and strangers.
8. Charity – this is one of the fastest ploys in gaining SA. When you show compassion for others, God shows compassion for you and rewards you with SA.
9. Honesty – maybe you never lie; be careful, though, to refrain from saying things that you don't intend, like, "Why don't we get together sometime," when you have no intention of implementing what you say. Careful about all the little white lies you might say during the course of a day. Maintain good relationships with others by way of polite candor instead of diplomatic niceties that aren't true. Be careful to deal honestly with others. Even an unauthorized telephone call at work is enough to blemish the soul. Outright swindling completely destroys SA.
10. Mental composure – review point one (Sunday) of the One-Week Plan, and devote more time to working on carefully weighed decisions instead of impulsive behavior and instinctive reactions.
11. Happiness – this was point three (Tuesday) on the One-Week Plan, but it's so important that it deserves additional practice during the ESA Workshop. Review point three of the One-Week Plan, and keep on plugging. Happiness and SA go hand in hand. You can't be happy and angry at the same time.
12. Clean speech – the use of off-color speech blemishes the soul. Try to express yourself in the same manner that you'd speak to a king or dignitary. Patience – try to understand others instead of losing your temper with them. Remember that your children are neither slaves nor dimwits; treat them like miniature adults. Listen to what others have to say.
13. Overcome bodily urges – don't let your bodily appetites boss you around. Whenever you overcome a harmful bodily urge (such as eating that second piece of Boston cream pie), you strengthen your soul.
14. Listen to good speech – hearing gossip, slander, and lies blemishes your soul. Avoid those who bad-mouth others.
15. Look at wholesome images – just as a beautiful sunset strengthens your soul and brings you closer to God; looking at pornography does the exact opposite.
16. Soul searching and contemplation – take time in the evening to evaluate yourself and to think about the direction of your life. Don't let others drag you into impulsive behavior, or into acting against your better judgment.
17. Personal prayer – review point seven of the One-Week Plan. Personal prayer goes way beyond meditation, and is the fastest, most efficient mode of spiritual gain. Prayer allows us to give thanks for past blessings and to request our needs for the future (See also Chapter nine).
18. Reading and learning – review point two of the One-Week Plan, and use your mind in an active mode. Avoid passive activities such as watching television.
19. Judge others fairly, and grant them the benefit of the doubt practice avoiding criticism and hasty judgments of others. Imagine that you'll be judged by the same criteria you judge others.
(The Trail to Tranquility is available in the Breslev Store.)
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