The Latest Fads

So many of us have become jaded by all the “latest” therapy fads that promise us so much and simply don't deliver. How is Emuna Therapy any different from CBT, NLP, Imago Therapy and all the rest? The difference – and this makes ALL the difference – is that secular psychotherapy takes G-d out of the picture, thereby compounding the root problem, that people's souls are crying out for a direct connection with their Creator.

We are faced with a choice: either, we can continue to chase after the latest psychological fads and trends that leave the real solution completely out of the picture, or we can choose a method   that's based on a deep, fundamental belief in G-d.

One of the most influential and extensively studied theories in social psychology is the theory of cognitive dissonance. Cognitive dissonance refers to the very uncomfortable feeling that we get when we’re conflicted about something, or in a state of doubt. Research shows that when we are in inner mental conflict, we will use almost any mental or behavioral strategy that we can to relieve ourselves of the painful feelings of confusion and doubt.

Doubt and confusion are more mentally toxic than anything – the psychologists are right about this. They’re very good at seeing problems, but unfortunately they come up pretty short on solutions.  When people doubt or forget about G-d they risk developing a psychiatric or psychological disorder. Lack of emuna can also destroy a “normal” person’s life-potential. The simple faith that there is an all-powerful loving G-d who oversees our lives with His superior wisdom, and who yearns for us to turn to Him with our problems, is really the only formula for personal fulfillment and mental health that we have.

The goal of Emuna Therapy is to encourage our clients to let G-d into the picture, and to live lives of emuna, that will enable them to acquire a happiness that is beyond their present conception of happiness and beyond psychological and philosophical speculation. When a person truly lives their emuna, their joy will be deep, powerful and permanent. Their daily mood will be elated, happy, optimistic and upbeat.

What are the two most limiting beliefs that people have? The biggest one is that they are dying. People that think that they are dying are either depressed or live with a constant undercurrent of anxiety and sadness. What makes people frightened? They think that since their lives are going to end, it may happen today or even right now! Sadness comes from thinking that you are going to lose something.

But a person who knows that death is just a change of address and that their lives are eternal, don’t worry at all – in fact they end up living more fully and meaningfully with awareness that everything that they do has eternal consequences. This is why Rebbe Nachman of Breslev, of blessed memory said: “There is no place for despair in the world.” He was talking about people who knew the truth – that their spirit never dies and there is absolutely no reason for them to ever despair!

The second most limiting belief that people have is that they need to possess more than they presently have, whether it’s physical or emotional or even spiritual. But people who realize that they literally can be happy right now with what they presently possess stop worrying and start living. Then, they start to discover their own latent powers and abilities, and they realize that they, too, can help and heal other people. G-d starts to fill such people up with His light, and before they know it, they are full of an infectious joie de vivre, and happy optimism that they can share with others people.

Before I had G-d in my life, I wasted a huge amount of time and money trying to use conventional psychology routes to “solve” my problems – but it didn't work. My problems only intensified and I was feeling sorry for myself. It was only when I started talking to G-d, and living my life with emuna, that I began to feel more optimistic about the future, and to feel G-d’s loving presence in my life. Today, I am happier and more successful than I’ve ever been in my life because I’ve learned the hard way that G-d is the only true reality in my life and that I simply can’t be happy without Him.