4/14/2017 ReProgrammingourSubconscious:1ContemporaryKabbalists

ReProgrammingour Elulisatimeofmakingonesselfsmallbyhumbling
theegoandactivatingsomeofthesubconsciouslevels
Subconscious:1 ofoursoulandpsyche.

ElulTheMonthofDeeperWork
ByDovBerPinson

Elulisatimeofmakingonesselfsmallbyhumblingtheegoandactivatingsomeofthe
subconsciouslevelsofoursoulandpsyche.

TheoldestknownKabbalistictext,SeferYetzirah,teachesusthatthemonthofElulisconnectedtotheHebrew
letteryud,thesmallestandmostfundamentalletterintheAlephBet.Theletteryudisconnectedwiththesefira
ofchochmaorwisdom.chochmaisattributedtothe"right"hemisphereofthebrain,whichischaracterizedby
nonlinearthought,creativeintuitionandimagery(asopposedtolanguage).Fromthisseriesof
correspondenceswecanseethatElulisatimeofmakingonesself'smalllikethetinyletteryudinorder
tohumbletheegoandactivatesomeofthedeeper,subconsciouslevelsofoursoulandpsyche.

Furthermore,Elulisalsoassociatedwith"silence",whichisthestillness
Elulisatimeofmaking
thatcomesbeforesound.ThisissignificantconsideringthattheShofar onesself'small...
isblownonRoshHaShanah,thefirstdayoftheNewYeardirectly
followingthefinalmonthofElul.ThisShofarblastisconsideredthefirstsoundoftheyear,theinitiatory
vibrationthatgivesbirthtothenextcycleofcreation.WelearnfromthisthatElulisthusatimeoftransition,
inwardreflectionandserious,spiritualwork.

Beingthatitisthelastmonthofthe"year",andbeingthateachstepofourjourneythroughtheHebrewcalendar
isilluminatedbyacorrespondingstageofspiritualdevelopment,Elulisrecognizedasthehardestanddeepest
stageoftheyearlycycle.Forasiscommonlyknown,thestageofcompletion,orcleaningup,isoftenmore
difficultandlessexcitingthanthemessyandinspiredprocessofcreation.Itisofteneasiertostartsomething
thantofinishit.

ButwhatexactlyistheworkofElul?Andwhatistheproperwaytogoaboutdoingthiswork?

Toputitsimply,theworkofElulbeginswithus.Thispresentsuswithaparadox,beingthattheselfisanentity
thatisatoncebothaccessibleandelusive.

Weallhaveanimageofourselves,whichoftensubconsciouslyinformsouractions,wordsandeven
thoughts.

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Weoftenfindourselvesdoing,saying,orthinkingcertainthingssimplybecause,onasubconsciouslevel,there
isthisunconsciousimageingrained,andtheseinvoluntaryactionsarearesultofitsinfluence.

Wemustthereforedelvedeeplyintothedepthsofourmultilayeredpsycheinordertoreleaseourselvesfrom
thegripofthisimagetheegoandreturnourcenterofpowertothesourceofourtruebeingtheSoul
orHigherSelf.ThisistheworkofTeshuvah,ofrectificationandrealignmentthisisthedirtyworkofElul.

ThroughoutthisintenseandinternallydirectedprocesswemustperformaCheshbonHaNefeshAccounting
oftheSoul.Itisthroughthismeticulousrecapitulationofourcharactertraitsandbehavioralpatternsthatwe
attempttoacknowledgeallofourmistakes,misdeedsandmiscommunicationsoverthecourseoftheprevious
yearandfurther,toexorcisetheirnegativeenergeticrepercussions.Elulisthetimeofthecleaningoftheslate,
whereweattempttobalanceourcosmiccheckbook.

Wemustapproachthispathconsciouslyandcompassionatelyhowever,fortheremayoftenbegreat
inconsistenciesbetweenourintellectualknowledgeandouractualbehavior.

Forexample,onecouldhaveastrongintellectualconvictionthatlyingisharmfultooneselfandothers.This
convictionmaybebasedonanextensiveknowledgeofTorahteachingsconcerningtheprohibitionsagainst
lying,aswellyearsofpsychologicaltraininginthemechanicsofthemind,culminatinginadeepunderstanding
ofthemanyreasonswhypeopleliealltonoavail.Onesdeeplyingrained,potentiallyunconsciousand
emotionallytriggeredhabitoflyingcouldstillremainuntransformed.

Why?

Theansweristhattheconscious,orrational,levelofthemindisjustone
...theconscious...levelof
leveloutofmany.Therearemanydeeper,lesstangiblelevelsofself, themindisjustonelevel
whicharecommonlyunderstoodtocomprisethesubconsciousmind. outofmany.
Theseunconsciousattributescanoftenoverrideourconsciously
articulatedmoralcompassanddetermineourbehavior.

Toreiterate:Whenwefindourselvesdoing,saying,oreventhinkingsomethingnegative,maliciousorhurtful,
despiteourbestintentions,itisoftenbecausethereisacertainselfimagedeeplyingrainedintherecessesof
oursubconsciousmind.Thismaybeanunconsciousidentificationpatternwhichissometimesformedearlyin
life,ormaydeveloplateronasaresultofanynumberofdifferentexperiences,traumasortransformations.

Whenweareinthepresenceofcertainconditions,charactersorstimuli,thisdeeplysetselfimagecanendup
takingthereinsdictatingouractions,wordsandthoughts,anddefyingourconsciouscontrol.Youmighttell
yourselfverystronglytostopdoingsomething,butthismaynothavealastingorproveneffectwhenexposed

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tocertaincircumstances.Despiteallyourefforts,whenthestimulusreturns,youmaystillinvoluntarilyreturnto
yourunconsciousreactionorreflex.

Thisrevealsadisconnectbetweenourconscious,logicalandverbalselfandourdeepersubconsciousvisual
self,atensionbetweenwordandimageasrepresentedbytherightbrainandleftbrainmodalities.

Howcanwetransformoursubconsciousmind,ifnotthroughintellectualorconsciouseffort?Howdowe
influenceourselvesmoredeeplythanourverbal,orlogicalleftbrainiscapable?

RepetitiveBehavior

Oneapproachistheexperientialpathofrepetitivebehaviorthepathofdoingsincehabitcanbecome
secondnature.Itisthroughthispracticeofrightaction,ratherthanrightintention,thatgivesbirthtothe
commonconceptionofTorahsperspectiveofdeedovercreed.Thiscanbeahighlyeffectivetechniquetoalter
onesbehavioralpatternsonthesurfacelevelfromtheoutsidein,sotospeak.

Butthereisanotherapproach,adeeperwaythatattemptstoconfrontthesourceofnegativecharactertraits
andrefinethemattheirroot,akintoaweedingofourpsychologicalgarden.Thispathsidestepsourlogical,
linearleftbrainandworksdirectlywiththerightbrainmodalityofvisualizationandimagery.

ImaginationCheshekDesire

ThesourceofallsufferingornegativityisCheshek,desireandexpectation.Ourdesiresareoftenfueledby
ourimaginations.SowecanapproachTeshuvahrectificationorrealignmentonthelevelofaction
insteadofdoingacertainbehavior,wecanjuststopdoingitbutthatwouldnotbeafullTeshuvah.Itwould
notgettotherootofthedesire,whichislodgedintheabyssofunrectifiedimagination,thesourceofourfalse
selfimage.

FullTeshuvahwouldrequireatransformationofperverseoregocentric
FullTeshuvahwould
cheshekintopositivecheshek.Thiswouldresultintherecognitionofall requirea
desirebeingrootedinthedesiretoreconnectwiththeInfiniteOne transformation...
withGd.Wewouldthenbecapableofvisualizingnoblethingsand
imagininggoodness,insteadofentertainingperverseordemoralizingfantasiesbasedonunconscious
conditioning.Itisthroughthisrewiringofourinternalcircuitrythatweareabletoredirectourimaginationsand
energiesfromsintoMitzvah,fromdepressiontoexaltationandaliveness.

Inconclusion,themonthofElulisrepresentedbythezodiacsymboloftheVirgin.Thisenergymanifestsintwo
ways.ThefirstisthatduringthecourseofElul,throughthegradualandcleansingprocessofTeshuvah,we
attempttobecomepureandvirginlike.Butmoreimportantly,thispowerfulmonthremindsusofan
indestructiblepuritythatexistswithinusthatisneversoiled.Thereisapartofoursoulthatremainsforever
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pure,unaffectedorunscathedbyanyexternalinfluence.Thataspectofourbeing,althoughattimesobscured
orneglected,nevergoesawaywearealwaysessentiallywhole.

DuringthemonthofElul,ourworkistochipawayatourkelipaorcharacterarmor,sothatwecanrevealthis
everpresentpuritywithin.

ClickhereforPart2

[From//IYYUN.com]

BYDOVBERPINSON

RabbiDovBerPinsonisaninternationallyacclaimedauthor,teacherandspeaker,whohas
lecturedinbothscholarlyandlaysettingsthroughouttheglobe.HeheadstheIyyunInstituteand
lecturesattheJewishLearningAnnex,acenterdedicatedtoadvancedJewishstudiesin
BrownstoneBrooklyn.HisfourpublishedbooksincludeworksonReincarnation,Meditation,and
"TheKabbalahofMusic".

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