Kabbalah of the Secret

Over the past several months, a new movie called "The Secret" has been generating growing attention and excitement across America and beyond.If you haven't heard about it yet, chances are you will. It's aphenomenon.According to the film's producers, an eclectic group of visionaries,authors, motivational speakers and internet millionaires, The "Secret"is the so-called "Law of Attraction". This "Law" states that ourthoughts and emotions, if we hold them consistently enough, willgenerate our physical reality. Is The Secret real? Yes, as far as it goes. But there's far more tothe story than that. The phenomenon of The Secret, as exciting as itmay be, is only a tiny part of the vast cosmic transformation that waspredicted by the Torah thousands of years ago. Geula – Seeing Through Walls"In the sixth century of the sixth millennium, the gates of supernalwisdom will be opened, as will the springs of earthly wisdom,preparing the world to be elevated in the seventh millennium."

Zohar"And the world will be filled with the knowledge of G-d like watercovers the ocean bed." (Isaiah 11:9)According to the Hebrew calendar, this is year 5767 since the creationof the world. We are living in the times of which the Zohar speaks.That's why so many things are becoming possible that were neverpossible before. When G-d created our world He concealed within it a vast reservoir ofuntapped spiritual and physical potential. This latent potential isnow beginning to assert itself in virtually every area of life.Whether in technology, medicine, science, psychology, or theever-accelerating search for spirituality and meaning, new boundariesare being broken every day. This is no accident; it is a sign of thetimes. In these amazing times there are fewer limits than ever before on whathuman beings can experience and achieve. G-d is giving us a glimpse ofthe infinity that lies beyond the walls – a glimpse that points to theunderlying oneness and purpose beneath the surface of our diverse andconflicted world. As we get closer and closer to the times when, as the prophets say,"The world will be filled with the knowledge of G-d as water coversthe ocean bed", it becomes easier and easier to sense those vast,uncharted depths. And the more we relate to that underlying reality,the more we can see it poking through. The Torah tells us that "ein od milvado" – there is in actualitynothing here but G-d. Great tzadikim, holy people profoundly in touch with this deeper levelof truth, have often been able to create miracles at will. Undeceivedby the apparent reality of our separateness, by the seeminglyimmutable limitations of the natural order, they have the power to"see through the walls" and access higher planes of existence,creating or shifting physical circumstances from their spiritual source. However, for ordinary people, trapped within physical bodies in aphysical world, it has always been a great challenge to experiencethis deeper truth as a tangible reality. But that was then. This is now.In these times, poised, as we are, at the edge of history, momentsbefore the final geula (Redemption), it is possible for even ordinarypeople to begin to see through the walls. That means that you and Ihave far more power than ever before to access the realm of themiraculous in every aspect of our lives.G-d's relationship with us has always been in a sense like a game ofhide and seek. He conceals Himself in the illusion of separateness andthe fragmented, confusing details of life and waits for us to findHim. But in these times, more than ever before, He lets us choose therules of the game. When we refuse to allow the limitations of our emotional tendenciesand physical circumstances to get in the way of our relationship withG-d, of our trust, our confidence, our creativity, our joy, G-dresponds in kind. Life becomes miraculous, unbounded by thoselimitations. We become partners in Creation. That is our destiny.You and G-d – Two Partners in Creation "Know that everything above" - all that transpires in the spiritualrealm - is "from you," [dependent on your conduct]." The Maggid ofMezeritch The physical world, although it experiences itself as separate andsourceless, is actually only the end of the long "chain of creation".Like the tip of an iceberg, which is the visible part of a vastmountain of ice concealed below the water, our physical reality is thecrudest, most visible manifestation of its underlying spiritualsource. Far from being separate, whatever happens in the physicalworld is simply an expression of what is happening on the spiritualplane. Like every relationship, this works in two directions, each mirroringthe other. Just as the spiritual reality inevitably expresses itselfin the physical world, our thoughts and actions here below have a verypowerful effect on the spiritual realms. And by the same token, oncethere is a change in the spiritual realms, there will automatically bea corresponding change in the physical world as well. That means that by changing our thoughts, emotions and actions, wechange our world.The Infinite Power of Joy"When man below is of a "radiant countenance" and filled with joy andgladness, he then draws down upon himself the same qualities fromAbove." Zohar (II, p. 184b) "Joy breaks through barriers." The Rebbe"Joy breaks through all the boundaries of golus (exile). "The RebbeKabbalah and Chassidus explain that the greatest channel for accessingthis miraculous power is joy. True, each of us has our "nature", theingrained beliefs and tendencies that limit and define our choices inlife. However, joy – simcha - breaks through those ordinarylimitations within you, allowing you to express yourself in ways youreveryday nature does not allow. In the same way, in the macrocosm, joybreaks through the limitations of the entire natural order, allowing amore transcendent, unlimited light to flow into the world. This lightaffects not just you, but the world around you as well.Since everything you feel is mirrored Above, your joy and happinessnot only expands you beyond your own boundaries, it causes G-d to gobeyond His own "nature" and pour additional blessings into the world. Trust, a Channel for Divine Blessings"Tracht gut, vet zein gut! (think good and it will be good)" theTzemach Tzedek, third Rebbe of Chabad"Blessed is he who puts his trust in G-d, for G-d will be hissecurity." (Jeremiah 17:7)

The Rebbe explains that there is a fundamental difference betweenemunah, faith, and bitachon, trust. Faith is the unshakeable beliefthat everything comes from G-d, and that everything G-d does is forthe good. Trust, however, is more than just belief. Trust is thecertainty that the good that G-d bestows will come out in a way thatfeels good to you. Faith will profoundly affect your outlook and behavior, but it won'tnecessarily change your heart. Trust is different. Trust alters yourfeelings. Trust makes you happy. When you truly trust in G-d, you feel like a very small child in thecare of loving parents. The child knows that his parents will takegood care of him. He assumes, without even thinking about it, that hewill always have more than enough of what he needs in every area oflife. A trusting child has no cause whatsoever for worry or anxiety.He feels happy, peaceful and secure. By the time most of us have passed early childhood we've learned alltoo much about failure, disappointment and fear. That innocent,heartfelt trust is gone. No matter how much faith we have in G-d'sgoodness or love, most of us no longer have the childlike certaintythat everything will turn out just fine.

Paradoxically, that's what makes trust, bitachon, so very powerful. It means letting go of all of your doubts, worries and fears, evenwhen they seem to make so very much sense according to the naturalorder of things. To trust means to simply connect to G-d's infinitelove and goodness, knowing absolutely He will not let you down, thatHe will make sure that you're safe and well provided for NO MATTERWHAT. From the perspective of this kind of trust, it doesn't matterwhether the solution to your troubles seems impossible to achieve. Itdoesn't even matter whether you deserve to have things change or not.Obviously, as a responsible human being you should do your part asbest you can – but knowing that success does not depend on you. Total trust, if it is real, can't help but make you happy. But there'smore to it than that. Your authentic, unconditional trust comes from a very deep place inyour soul, and is very precious to G-d. When you trust in this way,you have gone beyond the illusion of separateness. You have raisedyourself, in a sense, higher than the limits of the physical world andconnected yourself directly to your Creator. This one action is soprofoundly powerful that it will bring blessings, even miraculousblessings, into your life - even if you may not fully deserve them. The Rest of the Story"All delicacies will be like dust" (Maimonides, Laws of Kings(referring to the time of Redemption)

Like the myriad breakthroughs in communication, medicine, science andtechnology, the phenomenon of The Secret is just another manifestationof an accelerating spiritual transformation. As we continue to move closer to the Climax of History – the UltimateRedemption – the physical and spiritual planes continue to move moreand more into alignment and our thoughts have an ever more profoundand direct effect on our reality.

However, once again, this is only asmall piece of the story. What we can accomplish and where we aregoing is far more profound and complex than that. Maimonides, in his Laws of Kings, says that in these times "alldelicacies will be like dust". On the surface that means that just asdust is infinitely plentiful, there will be great physical abundance.Those material luxuries that were once scarce, reserved for people ofgreat power and influence, will be available to ordinary people. Formost of us this has already begun to come true. However, there is a deeper explanation as well. In our times, at theClimax of History, we have the power – and the obligation – to lookbeyond the struggle for survival, beyond the elusive lure of status,success and material prosperity, toward pleasures and possibilitiesthat are far more compelling and real. We are in the midst of anongoing and accelerating journey toward consciousness. That is why"all delicacies will be like dust". Not only will they be plentiful,but they will be relatively valueless – like dust – compared to thefar greater and more exciting pleasures in store. Yes, we can communicate instantaneously with anyone in the world. Yes,we can send people into space. Yes, we can create medical miracles.Yes, we can crack the genetic code. And yes, we can attract materialabundance into our lives, far more easily than ever before. And all ofthose things have great value. They are all fulfillment of prophecy,and bring us closer to our ultimate destiny, a world that is full ofjoy, goodness, abundance and G-dliness for everyone, forever. But the real question is not how much we can get, but how far we cango; how we can use these newfound abilities to bring the world – andourselves - even more quickly toward our ultimate destiny.Kabbalah and Chassidus hold the keys to unlocking this treasure houseof human potential.

As the Blueprint for Creation, it is what willallow us to break through our unique challenges and access ourunprecedented opportunities. It will help us to fulfill our purposeand meet our destiny. That's where the ultimate Secret lies. The phenomenon of The Secret reflects a growing recognition thateverything in the physical world has a spiritual source, and thatthrough connecting with that source we can change our lives and ourworld. To learn much more about what Kabbalah has to say about TheSecret and the amazing possibilities of our times, click here toregister for the new two-hour class, Kabbalah of the Secret athttp://www.kabbalahoftransformation.com./__._,_.___