Chapter 1.8 – Cause and Consequence
Our lives are really learning experiences. Sometimes the world appears so dark and bitter, that we think the end of the world has come and there is no way out. But as we continue to study, we see it isn’t so, that these are only exercises sent from Above. Only after they are over can we understand and appreciate the necessity for those exercises while in our "pre-correction" phase.
For that reason, we should endure as long as we can and stick with the purpose of our progress without losing our heads. If we are given those situations when we feel we are in the middle of a fire and there is nothing we can do to save ourselves, it is only to show us once again that we are not the owners, that it is not us running the show.
There is no way around these situations, but they can be made much shorter and much less painful. To do so, we need to join a group of students who work together, to read and to study. We must follow the verse, “Whatsoever thy hand attaineth to do by thy strength, that do” (Ecclesiastes 9, 10).
How does one who is concerned with doing inner work deal with one's surroundings? Is the person's environment supportive of this quest?
Sometimes, situations at work or at home make us feel hostile to the apparent source of the troubles. Then we quarrel, blaming the boss, our colleagues, spouse, children and so on. We feel trapped, angry, and think we can’t go on. But afterwards we realize that all this was given to us from above in order to experience a certain series of emotions.
We realize that we were the ones who exaggerated and misperceived the problem. Eventually, it is resolved, but soon a new situation will arise. The sooner we escape these situations and tell our group about it, the better it is for us. The worst thing is to remain immersed in the situation, drowning in our emotions.
When we feel good, we should remember that there were bad situations in our lives and relate to them as cause and consequence, as good that comes after the bad. This brings us closer to completeness and eternity.
We begin to look at things as opposite sides of the same coin; we cannot have one without the other. Then, evil can also be accepted as good, because it is only in our corrupted vessels (emotions) that we feel evil as dark. If our vessels were corrected (in order to bestow) we would perceive both good (Light) and bad (dark) as Light.
As long as our natural attributes (pride, greed and desires for power and sex) don’t disturb us, as long we are not ashamed of them and don’t understand that they are in fact the barrier between us and the spiritual progress, these attributes will not perform the task for which they were created. There is no choice but to be ashamed of what we have inside and understand that until a force comes from above that enables us to be owners of our own desires we will not be happy. The important thing is to direct our desires in the right direction. There is not a single negative attribute in us. Only the way we use these desires can be negative.
When we face a certain situation in life, the first thing we need to say to ourselves is, “Look what the Creator is doing with me.” That will maintain our connection with the Creator, meaning with the One who is really creating these situations. If we can hold onto that thought, the connection will not let us fall back to a lower degree. A fall is when the Creator disappears from our feelings. In that case, we can connect with a book or connect with the group. Within a short time, we will feel a change for the better.
However, every situation should be taken as an ascent to the next degree. If the time has come for the soul to correct, there is no escaping. Any attempt to do so will only make the pain worse.
All we can feel before we cross the barrier are beastly desires. As we approach the barrier, while in it and across it we discover the desires of the Creator. In none of those desires will we find man himself. The only desire in which we have free choice – is agreement with the Creator’s Providence.
The soul of Adam ha Rishon (the First man) broke into 600,000 parts that are interconnected, but have a different coarseness, from the root to the fourth degree. For us to the Creator there are 6,000 degrees/years.
In the first two millennia, the root degree souls were corrected. All they had to do was simply live in this world and endure some suffering (wild animals, enemies, famine etc.). For them, attempting to escape the pain was enough to correct the root degree coarseness.
In the third and fourth millennia, the first degree coarseness was corrected in the souls. Then came the second and the third coarseness degrees. (At the end of the sixth millennium (our time) the time had come to correct the souls with the fourth degree of coarseness.
This is a very general description. But today, we are nearing the conclusion of the sixth millennium, and the time of the spiritual redemption begins, the time of the coming of the Messiah.