Tailor Made Challenges II
Here is Part I
Are challenges real? Is the obstacle really there? In the case of the horse trainer, the obstacles are obviously real. That is the only way to get the horse to jump. G-d has it better, he can give us the illusion that we have an obstacle in front of us, and achieve the same result: get us to jump over.
Our Kabbalah teachers tell us that indeed all obstacles to spiritual growth are only illusions, for there is nothing in G-d's world that can really hold back a person from getting closer to G-d. It just doesn't make sense. The illusion disappears as soon as we have the willingness to jump... As soon as I make the decision that I will ignore the obstacle, and continue to grow spiritually despite the problems, that in itself is the jump. The obstacle has already served it's purpose, so it will cease to exist in G-d's world.
So indeed it's that easy... all I have to do is to made the decision to turn over my will and my life to the care of G-d, and all the obstacles will disappear...
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Yisrael,
I have studied this concept with you on several occasions. I remember ponderiing this thought, over and over in my head. So much so that I had made it a point to speak with several of my Chabad friends in regards to this teaching. I think that I agree. I am not sure why because I keep going back in my thoughts to that analogy in which I compare the addict's plight to that of the professional boxer.
If the obstacle really ceased to exist in this world after I went over it then why in the world does it hurt so bad. How is it that these seemingly spiritual obstacles transcend and transpose themselves into physical pain in this physical world.
I got in a fight-We are all boxers here. I won the fight (thank G-d for today)I got bruised in the process, and it f---ing hurts. It did not just dissapear. G-d willing one day the scars will fade and my skin will be stronger in that areea, but it hurts. And the ones that have faded can sometimes hurt more just to look at.
So tell me Rabbi, because I can't figure this out.
Why do I think that agree with you?
Heller C.
I have been thinking about your analogy and how it is relative to this post. I think the reason why you have having trouble putting together what Yisrael said to a boxer is because Yisrael is talking about a world were everything happens for a reason and there is a lesson to learn from every move that happens is this world. But you’re talking about a person who chooses boxing as a profession, of course you will get beat up and injured as a boxer. In the world Yisrael describes, if you’re in a situation that seem difficult or you get hurt, and you can find and understand the lesson or that there is a lesson then the struggle becomes less of a struggle. But with a boxer you need to get punched again in order to win another fight. Plus the only reason for fighting is money and a title. If you want to compare what Yisrael said to a fight look at the torah and compare it to Jacob fighting the bad angel. The angel hurt Jacobs’s hip and I am sure that Jacob was in pain because he limped after that. But Jacob understood that this was part his journey and his mission.
Ben A and Yisrael please feel free to correct mistakes in my comment or to make further connections.
Ben R,
Nobody is saying that life's challenges are illusions, as if you can walk through the wall or something. Maybe in Eastern mysticism they believe existence is only in the mind, but we are Jews. The world is real. But it's completely controlled by G-d.
If you really want a "fight" metaphor, then imagine that you are training in martial arts and your sensai starts beating the crap out of you. He's in perfect control and will not hurt you anymore than he has determined he needs to. You are really getting hurt, but everything is completely under control and all designed by your master to make you into a better fighter.
To continue the analogy, sometimes the sensai doesn't smack you around. He tells you "wax on, wax off," "paint the fence," "sand the deck." And you're getting really annoyed, but, again, he knows exactly what he's doing. He's not wasting your time.
I think that an appropritae quote here would be from the Big Book... (Page 449 in the old versions, 417 in the 4th edition)
"And acceptance is the answer to all my problems today. When I am disturbed, it is because I find some person, place, thing or situation -- some fact of my life -- unacceptable to me, and I can find no serenity until I accept that person, place, thing or situation as being exactly the way it is supposed to be at this moment.
Nothing, absolutely nothing happens in G-d's world by mistake. Until I could accept my alcoholism, I could not stay sober; unless I accept life completely on life's terms, I cannot be happy. I need to concentrate not so much on what needs to be changed in the world as on what needs to be changed in me and in my attitudes."
I will leave it up to Rabbi Ben A. to give us the Chassidic spin on acceptance
I know that Life's challenges are not illusions. What Yisrael said and what I am agreeing with is when I am told to wax on and wax off, its not because life sucks ( think Cool Hand Luke's "what’s that dirt doing in my hole") it IS because the sensei is in total control. (I now have an image of g-d as the old guy in Kill Bill who taught Uma Thurman how to punch through a board). I think the bottom line for me is that when I feel like the Armageddon is coming and everything is in my way and it’s everyone else’s fault. I have to remember that it’s all part of the master plan and I need to “Go Over” the supposed obstacle, not through it.
Ben R,
with all due respect. No. I am not talking about a person who chooses boxing for a profession. I am talking about the recovering addict. The recovering addict is a boxer. The only difference is that he fights for his life, not to get paid.
I am not having a hard time relating my analogy to Yisrael's post, however I think you may be.
A boxer trains for years, and learns many tools to be sucessful in his plight. The recovering addict does the same thing, only higher stakes,ans different tools. The boxers tools are a speed bag, a heavy bag, a great sense of timing/tempo and a good trainer.
The recovering addict's tools are 12 step programs, sponsors, therapists..you get the picture.
The second you fool yourself and think that you are not in a full fledged fight ALL OF THE TIME is the second your evil inclination will punch. And as I stated before, the punch that knocks you out is the one that you did not see coming.
So I suppose you are right when you say that the only reason you would fight is for a title. This title is not a big shiny gold plated belt. This title is "I am clean and sober for today."
The question I was reslly asking was stated in paragraph two of my comment. "If the obstacle really ceased to exist in this world after I went over it, then why in the world does it hurt so bad. How is it that these seemingly spiritual obstacles transcend and transpose themselves into physical pain in this physical world."
I am not posing this question to argue with anything anyone has said or to try and be confrontational. I am really trying to understand this concept, and how I can relate this teaching to my recovery.
As I said before, I agree with this concept. I just am not sure why. Maybe nobody has that answer to that but me.
Thanks for all your time.
Heller C,
Obviously when you get hit it hurts. Everyone agrees that there is a physical reality that is painful. That indeed doesn't go away.
Now it appears to us that that painful physical reality is an obstacle to our spiritual growth. To this Kabbalah says, that this apparent obstacle is only an illusion. And once you decide to "Go Over" and to not accept it as an obstacle, it will cease to be one. The physical pain will remain in the physical world.
Example: I am in pain because someone in my family died (physical event). Because of that pain it becomes impossible for me to stay in recovery (obstacle to spiritual growth). When I decide to "Go Over" I will stop experiencing the death as an obstacle to my recovery. So I will be able to stay sober, regardless of the fact that my family member remains deceased and I remain in pain.
I think that this is a great discussion. In answer to Heller C's question: maybe the pain that lingers is the Illusion that is there to help us over the next obsticle?
Thanks Levi S
I thinnk I can relate to that. G-d willing I will remember to remind myself when it hurts.
Yiarael,
Your example is interesting, However I don't know if I am understanding how the death of a close loved one fits so nicely in the "physical" realm. Does such a loss not also greatly affect the "spiritual" realm also.
It must.
That does not mean that recovery becomes impossible. An "obstacle to spiritual growth" does not equal "impossible to stay in recovery" It does mean that it can be a longer and much more involved process.
for some of the sickest addicts ,I have frequently heard the same saying..This program is simple--all you have to change is everything."
As you very well know this is a famous AA quote.
If you beleive this saying to be true you would have to agree that the term "everything" is clearly refering to both the physical and spiritual.
One cannot exist without the other, and one cannot be seperated from the other here on earth- As we know the purpose of the creation of man of is "To make a comfertable resting place here on this earth "physical" So that he may dwell among us. "spiritual".
One without the other simply cannot exist.
What I am saying is your example seems to seperate "physical" and "spiritual" so nicely, almost as if they can be wrapped up neatly in little boxes and seperated.
I do not think that many find life to be so neat.
G-d willing there will be a spell check on this blog soon.
I read this in a book about Kabbalah, I'm not positive, but I think it may apply here. it said "Make an effort to see the good in every situation and to appreciate negative events as opportunities rather than punishments. Your actions do have consequences but you're also free to change what you experience. Guilt and shame block you from taking true responsibility for your life. They put you in the role of victim and make you feel powerless, so that you become an effect rather than a cause"
Heller C
The reason I gave the exaple from a "physical" obstacle was to answer your question on why is it painful. But it really doesn't make a difference. Some people have spiritual events or feelings that become obstacles to spiritual growth. For example, I can't do what I need to do to stay sober, because I need to go to synagogue, to study Torah, or to save the world. In this example, a spiritual situation is apparently keeping me away from true spiritual growth. It doesn't make it less of an illusion. Anything, anything in this world, may it be physical or spiritual, that blocks me from my relationship with G-d, or limits my relationship, or keeps my relationships from growing, MUST be an illusion. There is no other possible explanation. One of the example in Chassidus is of a parent and child who are playing hide and seek. When the parent hides, it is for the sole purpose of the child looking for him and finding him. Sure, some times the parent makes it more difficult than the child would like to, but the joy that the child achieves when he succeeds is also much greater.
Rita,
Related or not, no one can argue with that statement, what book did you get it from?
God Wears Lipstick: Kabbalah for Women by Karen Berg
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