 In the Book of Genesis, Bereshit, 33:9-11, Parashat Vayishlach: Yaakov and his brother Esav meet twenty years after Yaakov impersonated Esav in order to obtain the blessing of their father,
Yitzchak, which Yitzchak had intended to give to Esav. Yaakov fled to his uncle's house in a distant city to escape his brother's mortal rage. Now, twenty years later when they meet again, Yaakov asks his brother Esav to take from him the gifts that Yaakov has sent as an offering of appeasement to deflect Esav's urge for revenge. Their resulting conversation is described in the Torah as follows.
"And Esav said: `I HAVE MUCH [YESH LI RAV], brother; let that which you have remain yours.' Thereupon Yaakov said: `Please, no! If indeed I have found favor in your eyes, then take my tribute from my hand, for therefore (do I request it.) I have looked up to your face as to a judge and you have accepted me with kindness. Please take my blessing which was brought to you, because G-d has favored me with it, and then: I HAVE EVERYTHING [YESH LI KOL].' He [Yaakov] pressed him and he [Esav] took it."
The attitudes of Esav and Yaakov are epitomized by their two statements: "I have much," and "I have everything." When Esav says that he has much, there is in his statement a subtle though clear implication that for Esav "much" is not enough and that it would be better if he had more. Thus, while Esav's words seem to indicate that he has abundance, Esav nevertheless communicates an underlying awareness that there is something lacking in his "much."
In contrast, Yaakov's attitude is expressed in the phrase "I have everything." Having "much" is obviously lacking when compared to having "everything." Yaakov recognizes that the gifts he seeks to bestow on Esav are in truth gifts that Yaakov has been favored with by G-d. Because Yaakov is fully aware of the inexhaustible nature of the source of the goodness he has received in his life, he is able to tell Esav "I have everything." This is the attitude of true abundance.
In the paragraphs below, my purpose is to articulate what I understand to be the attitudes and knowledge that make it possible for a person to manifest true abundance in all aspects of his or her life. It is my hope that by reading and assimilating the ideas and information contained herein, you will learn to be like Yaakov so that you will be able to say, with truthful, honest conviction, "YESH LI KOL - I HAVE EVERYTHING."
1. UNDERSTANDING PROXIMITY IN PHYSICAL TERMS
In the physical world, the proximity of two material things (that is, how close one material thing is to another) is measured and understood in terms of the amount of physical space that separates those two things. The greater the amount of physical space there is separating two things, more distant they are from each other. For example, because fewer miles separate Los Angeles from San Francisco than separate Los Angeles from New York, Los Angeles is closer to San Francisco than it is to New York.
This understanding of the proximity of physical objects in very useful when dealing with material things. However, it has no application things which are spiritual and not physical in nature.
2. UNDERSTANDING PROXIMITY IN SPIRITUAL TERMS
Things that are spiritual in nature, by definition, are intangible, incorporeal, and non-physical. Things of the spirit cannot be seen, touched or measured in terms of physical space and dimensions. Space and spatial relations have no meaning or application to such matters. As such, physical distance and separation in space is completely irrelevant to any attempt to understand whether two spiritual things are near to or far away from each other. Accordingly, we need a different way of thinking about distance when we are talking about spiritual entities.
Instead of looking at distance as a function of separation in space, proximity in terms of spirituality can be understood only in terms of the degree of similarity or dissimilarity existing between two distinct spiritual entities. The more similar two spiritual things are, the "closer" they are to each other. Conversely, the more dissimilar two spiritual things are, the further apart they are, that is, the greater the spiritual distance separating them. The following examples with illustrate the point.
3. SIMILARITY = SPIRITUAL CLOSENESS
Two people who share similar values and goals in life are spiritually close to each other, regardless of the amount of physical distance that may separate them. The similarity of their ideas and ideals draw them to each other and form a bond of closeness between them. Brothers and sisters, husbands and wives, parents and children, even colleagues working for a common goal all share a spiritually closeness to each other and that makes any physical distance that may separate them completely irrelevant. Furthermore, as the degree of similarity increases, the degree of spiritual closeness correspondingly increases. The converse of this principle of similarity-closeness is also true.
4. DISSIMILARITY = SPIRITUAL DISTANCE
You can imagine a situation in which a person who is motivated by a hateful, selfish, and mean spirit is standing toe to toe with another person who has a loving, considerate and generously sharing spirit. Although the two people are physically very close to each other, in spiritual terms, the two individuals are "miles apart." Their dissimilar spirits define the extent of the spiritual distance that separates them.
The greater the dissimilarity, the greater the spiritual distance and separation between them. Increasing dissimilarity results in correspondingly greater distance.
5. SPIRITUAL IDENTITY = UNIFICATION
Since the distance between two spiritual things decreases as those two things become more similar to each other, it is easy to see that when two spiritual things become so similar to each other that there is no longer any difference whatsoever between the two things, at that point, they become a complete identity and the two spiritual things become the same spiritual thing. They then merge with each other to become one unified whole and the spiritual distance that once separated them ceases to exist.
6. SIMILARITY AND ATTRACTION
By learning and understanding the principles and effects of spiritual similarity and dissimilarity as discussed above, we come to see that if a person wants to draw close to a specific spiritual reality, or if we want to draw that spiritual reality closer to the person, the way to accomplish this it to make a determined and consistent effort to EMULATE AND BECOME MORE SIMILAR TO the spiritual reality desired. By becoming more similar to that which you want, you close the spiritual distance that separates you from your spiritual goal. As the degree of dissimilarity between the person's ideas and
beliefs and the spiritual reality sought decreases, that person draws to himself or herself the spiritual reality he or she is emulating.
It is really very simple in practice. If you want more love in your life, be more loving to others. If you want to be better understood by others, first make the effort to be more understanding. If you want more respect, be more respectful. If you want material abundance, recognize the abundance that you currently have, and act in accordance with that recognition.
7. DISSIMILARITY AND REPULSION
Just as increasing similarity operates to attract two spiritual realities by reducing the spiritual distance between them, so does increasing dissimilarity operate to repel two increasingly dissimilar spiritual realities from one another, by increasing the spiritual distance between them. This aspect of attraction and repulsion is very useful in shaping one's own inner and outer reality. For example, if your goal is abundance in all things, immediately shift your focus and attention away from all present manifestations of lack and deficiency in you life. Dwelling on those things reduces the spiritual distance between you and lack, drawing more lack into your life. If you persist in this lacking attitude, that is, focusing on what you don't have, then over time lack is all that will manifest in your life. The remedy is to repel lack and draw close to abundance by focusing on the current abundance of goodness in your life.
8. ABUNDANCE OR LACK - THE CHOICE IS YOURS
The spiritual realities of Love and Hate, Truth and Falsity, Good and Evil, and Reality and Illusion are opposites, which are infinitely distant from one another, in spiritual terms. Each pair of opposite concepts forms a dimension of infinitely distant points. One such spiritual dimension which is defined by the opposites of Abundance and Lack.
In this particular spiritual dimension, as in all others, the general spiritual principle that “like attracts and engenders like” applies with full and inexorable force. The more similar two spiritual entities become in the aspect of abundance, the closer they come to each other. The more similar two spiritual entities become in the aspect of lack, the closer they come to each other. Furthermore, an abundant spiritual entity repels and repulses lack while a lacking spiritual entity repels and repulses abundance. The factor that determines whether someone manifests Abundance or Lack in life is whether his or her predominant focus of attention and intention is on appreciating the abundance that he or she already has or whether that person is preoccupied with what is lacking in his or her life. A person will draw to himself or herself and manifest in his or her life whatever spiritual reality most consistently characterizes and predominates that person's thinking.
9. RECOGNITION OF ABUNDANCE IS SPIRITUAL IN NATURE
The recognition of Abundance is a state of mind and a matter of consciousness. Recognition of one's Abundance is therefore is spiritual and not physical in nature. You might think whether or not a person has abundance is a matter of how much "stuff" that individual has. This is not true. One has only to consider an extremely wealthy but also miserly person. By objective standards, such a person has much material wealth. However, because it deeply pains such a person to part with any money, he or she derives no joy from all that wealth. Such a person never has enough, and always wants more. Such a person is afraid to lose what he or she has, and is always focused on that which he or she does not yet have. Such a fearful and feverish focus on what is lacking in life is the antithesis of true Abundance.
In contrast, a person with a generous spirit, who freely shares with others what little material goods he or she may have, is a person who fully recognizes and fully appreciates what he or she has. Such a person focuses only on what he has, and on how it may be used for their own good for the good of others. People who live with the recognition of their present Abundance derive great joy from for all they have and possess a generous spirit, recognizing that they are partners with G-d, the source of all Abundance. Such people see themselves as conduit for receiving and sharing their abundance in the world. Such a person receives so as to give and gives so as to receive.
10. HAVING ABUNDANCE MEANS APPRECIATING WHAT YOU HAVE
This, then, is the heart of the matter. Abundance is drawn into a person's life by adopting and maintaining the attitude of recognizing and appreciating all of the good things one currently possesses. The important thing is to start right now, in the present moment, by shifting one’s mental focus away from what is missing in life and to focus instead on all that you are and all that you have at this very moment.
In the Sayings of the Fathers, (Pirke Avot, 6:6) the Rabbis asked: "Who is rich?" The answer that they give in Hebrew is "HaSameach B'Helcoh." This means "One who rejoices in his portion." By rejoicing in your current portion, however meager it may be by anyone's standards other than your own, and by appreciating its source, you immediately create a similarity, an affinity, and a closeness between your inner state of being and the spiritual reality of G-d, the ultimate source of all Abundance.
11. DON'T DEFAULT TO LACK, DEBT AND DEFICIENCY
It takes an affirmative, deliberate choice to remain focused upon the abundance of good things that fill your life. Unless you ingrain in yourself the habit of consistently choosing to see and experience the reality of the Abundance that is yours right now, you automatically begin to focus on what you don't have, what you lack, and what's missing in your life. If you for a moment take your eyes off the water that fills one half of your
glass, you lose the water and all you have left is the emptiness above the water.
Because most of us consistently focus on what we don't have and what we are lacking, we attract to ourselves emptiness, lack, debt and deficiency. Over time, these are the realities that manifest in our lives. Because this lack and emptiness is all that life seems to offer us, we forget that it is our own consistent inner choice of lack and our refusal to recognize our current abundance that attracts and draws lack into our material circumstances.
Over time, we convince ourselves, and our experience confirms to us, that that's just the way life is. It never occurs to us that our own thoughts and attitudes of lack, create and are always creating a lacking spiritual and physical reality. By repeatedly denying and choosing not to see the abundance that is already ours, we actually draw lack, debt and deficiency into our lives.
12. EVERYTHING INCREASES AFTER ITS KIND
The many miracles of abundant increase recounted in the Torah are all based upon the principle of "Reproduction And Increase After Its Own Kind." In Hebrew the operative phrase is "L'MINEHU" which means "after its kind or according to its species." This is an expression in physical, material terms of the general spiritual principle discussed earlier that spiritual realities are attracted to and engender similar spiritual realities. We shall see that this principle is reiterated throughout the Torah, and is descriptive of a fundamental reality of all creation. Two examples are cited below.
a. ELIJAH AND THE WIDOW'S MEAL AND OIL
In the First Book of Kings, at 1 Kings 17:8-16 the following events in the life of Elijah the Prophet are described. The story begins during a time of prolonged drought throughout the land of Israel.
"And the word of the Lord came unto him, saying: `Arise, go to Zarephath, which is near to Zidon, and dwell there; behold, I have commanded a widow there to sustain you.' So he arose and went to Zarephath; and when he came to the gate of the city, he saw a widow was there gathering sticks; and he called to her, and said: `Please bring me a little water in a cup, that I may drink.' And as she was going to get the water for him, he called to her, and said: `Please bring me a small piece of bread in your hand.' And she said: `As the Lord thy G-d lives, I have not a cake, only a handful of meal in my jar, and a little oil in the cruse; and, as you can see, I am gathering two sticks, that I may go home and
bake the meal and the oil into a cake for me and my son, that we may eat it and then die.'
And Elijah said to her: `Fear not; go and do as you have said; but make for me from your meal and oil a little cake first, and bring it out to me, and afterward make for you and your son. For so says the Lord, the God of Israel: `The jar of meal shall not be spent, neither shall the cruse of oil be used up until the day that the Lord sends rain upon the land.' She did what Elijah said and it so happened."
The principles of abundance and abundant increase are clearly recounted in this story. The poverty-stricken widow who was preparing what she feared would be the last meal for herself and her son, learns the meaning of abundance by listening to and responding generously to Elijah's two requests. First, Elijah asks the widow to bring him a cup of water. The widow does not question Elijah or refuse his request, but instead she immediately goes to get the water. She demonstrates her giving nature and her desire to be of service to others.
Then, as she is on her way to get the water, Elijah makes a second and more demanding request. He asks her to make a little cake for Elijah first and then to make one for herself and her son. The widow chooses to comply with Elijah's second request also. Elijah's request forced the widow think and conclude that although she had very little food, she had enough to share with another. The overt miracle of the widow’s meal and the oil lasting until G-d sent rains to the drought-parched land only occurred because of the quieter and less obvious miracle that occurred within the widow's heart. Despite her extremely desperate circumstances, she actually did what Elijah asked of her. She made a small cake out of the handful of meal she had in the jar and the little oil she had in the cruse, and she gave it to Elijah. By this act of abundant giving, done in denial of the crushing poverty of her circumstances, the widow expressed the generosity of her spirit. By this act of sharing that widow demonstrates that he appreciated what she had and the good that it could do. The widow's discovery and expression of her inner abundance closed the distance separating her from the source of all Abundance. The miraculously abundant increase of the meal and the oil was only the physical manifestation of the inner abundance she manifested by her willingness to share what little she had with
another.
We can confidently assume that the outcome would have been much different had the widow rejected Elijah's requests and decided instead to keep for herself and her son all the remaining meal and oil. If she had thought "I don't have enough for me and my son, how can I give something to this stranger," her focus on the lack in her life would caused her to selfishly consume all of the remaining meal and oil only to thereafter await death. If she had seen only her lack, she would have neither seen nor benefitted from the abundant increase of her meal and oil promised by Elijah.
b. ELISHA AND THE WIDOW'S POTS FILLED WITH OIL
A strikingly similar event is recorded in the Second Book of Kings, 2 Kings 4:1-7, involving the Prophet Elisha, who was the protege and successor to Elijah:
“Now there cried a certain woman of the wives of the sons of the prophets unto Elisha, saying `Your servant my husband is dead; and you know that your servant did fear the Lord; and the creditor is coming to take my two children into indentured servitude.' And Elisha said to her: `What shall I do for you? Tell me what do you have in your house?'
And she said: `Your handmaid has not anything in my house, except a pot of oil.' Then he said: `Go, borrow for yourself vessels from all of your neighbors, many empty vessels. And you shall go into your house, and shut the door upon you and upon your sons, and pour into all those vessels; and you shall set aside that which is full.' So she went from him, and shut the door upon her and upon her sons; they brought the vessels to her and she poured out.
And it came to pass, when the vessels were full, that she said to her son: `Bring me another vessel.' And he said to her: `There are no more vessels.' And the flow of oil ceased. Then she came and told the man of G-d. And he said: `Go, sell the oil, and pay your debt, and live you and your sons of the rest.'”
Elisha asked the widow "WHAT DO YOU HAVE IN YOUR HOUSE?" The widow said she had nothing except a pot of oil. Elisha told the widow to borrow empty vessels [she did not even have other empty vessels of her own, she had to borrow them]. Elisha also told the widow to pour the oil into those empty vessels. The widow did what Elisha told her to do and the widow's sole possession, the oil, filled all of the emptiness in the vessels.
Elisha was telling the widow to focus upon and to appreciate the current abundance of what she had and to use what she had for her good. Elisha effectively shifted the widow's focus away from the debt, deficiency and lack that her husband had left her and the impending arrival of the creditor. Elisha got her to look instead at what she had and showed her how to use it.
Moreover, she trusted in what Elisha told her to do and she did it. If she had been unable or unwilling to do what Elisha had suggested to her, there would have been no increase. How many times do we convince ourselves that circumstances are hopeless, that there is no way out because we cannot see a way out. If the widow had decided that pouring a small pot of oil into a large vessel would only empty the small pot and put a small amount of oil in the large vessel, she would have angrily dismissed Elisha and her sons would have been taken away in servitude by the creditor. The miracle of the abundant increase of the oil occurred because of the widow's willingness and ability to see, appreciate and use what she had.
To get in touch with your own abundance, ask yourself Elisha's question to the widow: "WHAT DO I HAVE IN MY HOUSE?" APPRECIATE WHAT YOU HAVE. USE THE ABUNDANCE THAT IS CURRENTLY YOURS AS REFLECTED IN WHAT YOU CURRENTLY HAVE IN THANKFUL RECOGNITION OF THE SOURCE OF ALL ABUNDANCE. REALIZE THAT ABUNDANCE IS ALREADY YOURS AND ACT ACCORDINGLY. IF YOU DO SO, THEN YOU, LIKE THE TWO WIDOWS
AIDED BY ELIJAH AND ELISHA, WILL INEVITABLY DRAW ABUNDANCE TO
YOURSELF, AND ALL DEBT, DEFICIENCY AND LACK WILL FLEE.
13. RECOGNIZE YOUR ABUNDANCE - DEVARIM, 28:45-47
"And all these curses will come upon you and pursue you and overtake you until you are destroyed, because you did not hearken to the voice of G-d, your G-d, to keep His commandments and His laws that He commanded you. And so they shall be upon you as a sign and as an instructive wonder, and upon instructive wonder, and upon your descendants, forever, SINCE YOU DID NOT SERVE G-D, YOUR G-D, WITH JOY AND WITH GLADNESS OF HEART, IN RECOGNITION OF ABUNDANCE OF ALL THINGS."
This portion of the Torah comes to teach that all of the suffering, distress and punishment that we experience in life comes upon us because of our unwillingness and apparent inability to recognize the goodness and abundance that is already ours. The Torah is saying in the above-quoted text that the source of our troubles is OUR FAILURE CHOOSE TO SERVE G-D WITH JOY AND WITH GLADNESS OF HEART, AND OUR REPEATED CHOICE TO LIVE IN DENIAL OF THE ABUNDANCE OF ALL THINGS. The choice is ours and the consequences of that choice is ours.
Think carefully on this and choice wisely. CHOOSE LIFE! CHOOSE TO REMEMBER AND RECOGNIZE THE ABUNDANCE OF ALL THINGS!
14. LEARN THE CYCLE OF EFFECTIVE PRAYER
G-d is the ultimate source of infinite abundance. Prayer is the means of establishing and maintaining conscious contact with G-d's infinite supply of all good things. Effective prayer is a skill that can be acquired and honed through study and practice. In the Psalms, King David set forth the essential components of true and effective prayer. In Psalm 50:14-15, he expressed G-d's own prescription of how to pray:
"Offer unto G-d the sacrifice of thanksgiving; And pay thy vows unto the Most High; And call upon Me in the day of trouble; I will deliver thee, and thou shalt honor Me."
This Psalm when rightly understood makes it clear that there is a cycle of effective prayer. First, we must recognize and acknowledge the abundance that is already manifested in our lives and that G-d is the Source of that abundance. To truly do this we "offer unto G-d the sacrifice of thanksgiving." This means we must make the effort to sacrifice our own ego-based notions that we are the source of our abundance by giving thanks for our good not to ourselves but to our Creator.
Second, we must actually live in accordance with our acknowledgement of the source of our good. This requires praise of G-d expressed as "paying our vows unto the Most High." We do so by making good on our commitments to G-d, to ourselves, and to others. Simply put, paying your vows means doing what it takes to live a life of personal integrity, a life of saying what we mean and doing what we say.
Third, each person must remember the Source of his or her abundance in the midst of difficulties and troubles and remember to ask Him for help. If a person asks sincerely, G-d will help him. The cycle of prayer is completed when you recognize and acknowledge that G-d has in fact helped in your time of trouble. Your recognition of this fact is marked by prayers of thanks to Him for his goodness. Such prayers of gratitude and thanks return you to the beginning of the cycle of prayer by giving you further
opportunity to "offer unto G-d the sacrifice of thanksgiving."
This cycle of effective prayer: thanksgiving, then praise, then petition, and thanksgiving again, can and should be repeated constantly throughout each day of our lives. If we make the effort to live in accordance with the principles of effective prayer, we will be in a constant state of thankful appreciation for the manifold goodness that is already ours. This in turn will attract into our lives abundant goodness direct from the true Source of infinite abundance and supply. By focusing at all times on the good we already have, we will repel lack, debt and deficiency of all kinds. Over time, the more we persist in this attitude of thankful appreciation, a momentum of abundance will be generated, as the effects of current abundance-based thoughts and actions begin to manifest their results and consequences, and as the remaining negative effects of our discarded lack-based attitudes and actions decrease in frequency until they have eventually little or
no impact on our lives.
Start now, wherever you are, whatever your circumstances. Deny the lack you perceive in your life. Instead, decide with determination to always focus on and appreciate all the good that is currently yours, and if you do, abundant goodness will be drawn to you and added to you.
Don't give up, don't let go, stick with it regardless of your current circumstances. Remember, your current conditions and circumstances you are now living through are the results of your past lack-based thoughts, attitudes and actions. Your abundant future is now being created out of the stuff of your current abundance-based thoughts, attitudes and actions. Resolve and make certain sure the future you are now creating is founded upon and flows from your present grateful recognition of the infinite abundance of all things.
15. PROVERBS (MISHLEI, 3:5-6)
As you grow in your ability to remain focused throughout your day on all the goodness and blessing that is currently yours, you will begin to see more and more of the abundant effects of your newly adopted “gratitude attitude.” These abundant effects will lead you inevitably to a deepening trust of G-d as the Source of infinite Abundance and limitless supply of all goodness. You will come to recognize and accept that by placing your trust in G-d, you ensure your continuing abundance.
King Solomon expressed this well when he wrote in the Proverbs:
"Trust in the Lord with all your heart, And lean not upon your own understanding. In all your ways acknowledge Him, And He will direct thy paths."
16. ABUNDANT BLESSING FLOWS FROM TRUSTING IN G-D
In the last paragraph of the Grace After Meals (Birkat Ha-Mazon) the following sentence is quoted from Jeremiah, 17:7: "Baruch ha-gever asher yivtach be-Ha-Shem, ve'hayah Ha-Shem mivtacho." In English this means: "Blessed is the man who trusts in G-d, and G-d will be his trust." If this sentence is read as a mathematical equation, its meaning becomes clear: THE BLESSED MAN = THE MAN WHO TRUSTS IN G-D.
Therefore, BY TRUSTING IN G-D, A MAN BECOMES BLESSED. Moreover, if you want to increase the blessing in your life, INCREASE YOUR TRUST IN G-D.
17. PSALMS OF TRUST: PSALM 37:3-5
This idea that abundant blessing flows from actively trusting in G-d is expressed throughout the Scriptures.
In Psalm 37:3-5, King David says:
"Trust in the Lord and do good that you might dwell in the Land and be nourished by your faith."
"And take delight in the Lord, and He will give you the desires of your heart."
"Commit you path to the Lord, and trust in Him and He will do for you."
18. RECITE THIS AFFIRMATION OF THANKFUL APPRECIATION DAILY UPON WAKING AND WHENEVER YOU FEEL THE NEED TO REMIND YOURSELF OF THE TRUE SOURCE OF ABUNDANT LIVING:
"This is the day that the Lord has made; I will rejoice and be happy in it. I thank G-d for abundant life, I thank G-d for enduring love. I thank G-d for joy, I thank G-d for glorious health, I thank G-d for infinite supply. I have awakened to a new day. I join the birds and all created things in glorious praise and thanksgiving. My G-d, I give you thanks for the abundance that is mine."
Begin each day with the renewed awareness of all the good that fills your life, right now, right here. Hang on to that awareness in the face of all adversity. Your current determination to recognize your present abundance is generating your future abundant material circumstances.
First, stop seeing the cup of your life as half empty. Make it your top priority to always see your cup filled to the brim, and overflowing with all goodness, all abundance and all blessings. Stay with it, with focused attention to see and know that the cup of your life is bountifully overflowing. You can see it. You can know it. You can live it. You, like Yaakov, can say and truly mean: "YESH LI KOL - I HAVE EVERYTHING."
 |
Subscribe to this comment's feed
Subscribe
