Stories From the Journey – Israel

Home at last.

It’s been 12 years since I left Israel to explore the gifts of the far east, and six years since I left again to explore those of the modern, American west, and what can I say – it’s good to finally be back in communion with the most precious of treasures that were at home all along.

Being back in the same streets still often feels surreal, and while externally everything seems mostly the same, inside myself – they can’t be more different.

One of the biggest pleasures of the spiritual path, for me, are those moments when things that were once a great challenge in life are now flowing smoothly, harmonically, due to one’s inner work and changed perception to the same eternal stimuli. Whether it is your perception of the people down the streets, your town, your country, or your family, it is always amazing to see how once you change – everything truly does changes.

A key aspect of that, as Kabbalah would advise, is to get into the habit of always (as long as its reasonably possible), to judge others favorably – which is often easier said than done, but highly recommended!

Having grown in my love and appreciation for my Israeli identity that I once despised, I can now better appreciate every person, every corner, and every street of the Jewish state. A whole country where most people are of Jewish heritage and speak Hebrew? What a miracle to behold and unique gifts that if harnessed, can benefit the world in a way no other culture could. And if this sounds overly patriotic to you, I invite you to consider whether one can truly care for the whole world, if they don’t have appreciation to their own unique self, family, upbringing, and culture, or, in other words, whether one can appreciate in another something that they can’t see within themselves?

This reminds me of my reading of a book by a dearest of authors and teachers to me, Peter Kingsley, who reveals how when famous psychologist, Carl Jung, went on a spiritual journey to India in perhaps one of the peaks of his search and yearning, he was faced with intense dreams – messages, that he should actually look back to his own culture, and not to foreign shores, to get in touch with the ‘holy grail’ that he was seeking to reveal within himself.

Not that there is anything wrong with appreciating the gifts of other cultures, of course, and there are certainly many insights that one can develop through such explorations, but I’ve found that more often than not these days, those that are speaking on behalf of world unity and progress actually harbor paternalistic perceptions of the old and ancient, and/or mesh everything together so superficially that the only appreciation that is left is for how silly or smooth saying ‘hello’ in those other languages sounds, or how exotic their food may be.

Kabbalah says that we are all born to a unique, tailor-made situation at birth and in every moment since. The appreciation to that never-to-be-repeated place in time, people – close and far, and external challenges, I’ve found, are essential for anyone looking to truly grow into their unique self. And after my 12 years of self-inflicted exile, I’ve found that it is only a trap to keep looking far, instead of looking closely and under your nose to figure out who you are and what you are here to do.

Not that I have any definite answers to that in my own life… but especially when I have ZERO answers to that question in a given moment, and things may seem dark, confusing, or gray, I now learned a great secret – the people who love you often know the answer. And if you allow yourself to love and be loved, and remain present with them as they offer care or sift through the discontent that your pretending-to-hide-from-yourself causes them, the answer just might be revealed to you.

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In other news, I am excited for my first Kabbalah Wellness Virtual course to begin on November 13 through Aleph – Alliance for Jewish Renewal!. Please feel free to check it out and share with anyone who might be interested. Participation is donation based with recommended donation of only $50 for the five sessions.

https://aleph.org/virtualprograms/

Many Blessings,

Or