The Happier We Are, the More We Draw the Light

One of the most important aspects of a spiritual life is the need to be happy at all times. This is one of the easiest lessons that there is, but still we find ways to make it complicated.

The kabbalists have taught that joy is one of the most important prerequisites for a connection to the Creator and His Light. It is a wonderful spiritual cycle; the happier we are, the more we draw the Light of the Creator to ourselves, which in turn makes us more joyful and fulfilled.

It is important that we understand the logic of this spiritual law.

In the physical world beings become close or separate through time and space. But spiritual entities become close or separate depending on their similarity of form. If two beings are similar in nature then they are close and united spiritually. And if they are dissimilar in nature then they are separate spiritually. This is a fundamental spiritual rule that has many ramifications.

We know that the innate quality of the Light of the Creator is of fulfillment and joy. There is no energy of sadness in the Creator’s Light. Therefore, to connect and draw Light we need to be similarly joyful and happy. It is only when we are similar in this way that Light can come to us and reveal even greater joy.

Moreover the amount of Light that we can draw through any spiritual action is in exact correlation to the amount of joy that we have in doing the action, the greater our joy the greater the Light that we will receive.

This is a powerful and important lesson. Many great Kabbalists have said that they achieved their greatness mainly through a constant state and focus of joy.

There is one more aspect to joy that can make a big difference. Sometimes we find ourselves in a bad or sad mood. All we need to do is simply tell ourselves to be happy, and we can change our mood in one second. Especially now that we know that sadness actually blocks the Light of the Creator, and that as we change our mood to joy we can draw to ourselves more of the Light and bring ourselves even greater joy and happiness.

Random Is Never Random

To get from point A to point B in life, we need to have some sort of plan as to how to get there. This goes for every aspect of our lives, from the physical to the spiritual. Whether it’s our schedule for the day, time spent with our family, or our spiritual work, we have a vision of the best course of action, and we do our utmost to act on that vision. Naturally, when our arrangements are thwarted, when life gets in the way, we become upset and disappointed.

However, kabbalists see a change of plans in a different light. From a spiritual perspective, it is more probable that the unplanned, or what we call random occurrences, are greater opportunities for connecting and revealing Light than what we originally had in mind.

When we set a course of action for ourselves, we hope what we are doing is right, but we can’t be sure. Whereas, when interruptions occur and we are thrust into situations we didn’t want to be in, the consciousness we want to have is, Who put us there? Of course, as individuals on a spiritual path, we know the answer to that question – the Light of the Creator.

This beautiful understanding reverses how we see mess-ups and mix-ups. When the unexpected, unscripted occurs, we can know for certain that this is where we are meant to be and what we are meant to do.

This is a very important distinction to make, which, when understood, can completely reorient how we view unpremeditated events. The less control we have over a situation, the more clearly and directly it is coming from the Creator, and, therefore, the greater an opportunity for connection.

A couple of weeks ago I was in Mexico City for the weekend. As we were returning home and as the plane was set to land in LAX, we were informed that the airport was closed, and we were rerouted to Ontario. From there they sent us back down to a small airport in Mexico for refueling, and then back to Mexico City!

After a night spent flying in circles, I arrived in Mexico City as the sun was rising and was met by Ariel, a Kabbalah Centre teacher and friend. Together we prayed our morning prayers right there in the waiting area. As we prayed, I turned to him and said, “It’s obviously important I pray here this morning. There is some Light I need to reveal here.”

I told him I am always happier when things don’t go according to plan for this very reason. Let’s suppose I had made it back to LA and prayed according to my usual schedule. My hope would have been that my prayers revealed the most Light possible, and yet I couldn’t be sure they would. However, because I was put back in Mexico – not by my own plan – I was certain it was the greatest opportunity for me to reveal the most Light. Rather than be disappointed that my plan got messed up, I was excited to know that this was exactly where my greatest revelation would occur.

This week know that when your best laid plans go awry, it is a sign that the Creator is showing you a clear path. Instead of worrying and reacting, just change your perception from being a victim of events to realizing, “I am being guided towards what I am meant to do.” Know that whatever the situation is, you can accomplish much more now than with what you had originally planned!

No Rest

Kabbalists call our physical world the World of Action. This name holds within it a very important and powerful lesson.

The purpose of our lives in this World of Action is simply action. We need to constantly push ourselves to do more and more actions of spiritual transformation. This is a relatively clear lesson, but there is another side to this lesson, which is frightening, and important.

The lesson from the term World of Action is not simply an exhortation asking us to continue our spiritual actions and growth, but a statement of fact. This is a world where action will be present in one way or another in our lives here. Our choice is whether this “action” will be positive and proactive or not as positive and reactive. This is not reward or punishment per se but rather the nature of this World of Action.

We can chose to spend our time of “action” in proactive action of sharing and spiritual growth or the “actions” can be forced upon us with situations, problems and stress that we would rather avoid. This needs to be a very serious understanding. We cannot change the need for action, it is the nature of this world, but we certainly can control the nature of the “action”.

Understanding this we gain more impetus for our spiritual work, for not only does our spiritual work and actions bring fulfillment to our lives but it also prevents any other not so positive actions from coming into our lives. We should remind ourselves that this is a World of Action, not of rest; our power is in determining what kind of action our lives will be filled with.

Keeping this lesson in mind always can ensure that our lives our filled with nothing but positive, proactive, fulfilling actions.