And still stuck! I just had a massive lunch of Tuna sandwich 3 giant fish sticks, a coke, and on my way back I grabbed a candy bar and some crackers. I didn't touch the candy bar and crackers, I feel sick to my stomach (which seemed bigger a few minutes ago), but now I feel slow and tired and totally unmotivated.
Strike 1 for leaving exile.
No, being a fatass is not a sin, but the self control associated with healthy eating is very much a Mitzva, in fact the Rambam calls healthy living "a path in the service of G-d".
Also, as we know, self control (mind controlling the heart) is an essential character of redemption, a release from the capitivy ehpomized by the exile in Mitzraim (Egyptian exile), and exile in general.
Basically, if I'm not in control of my own "heart" (meaning my emotions and urges), then I am captive by them, and hence my G-dly soul and power is "exiled" or captive. This doesn't mean that the name of the game is "deprive yourself of anything pleasurable", seems like that technique led more to priests molesting 8 year old boys then any sort of redemption.
At the same time, the idea is to control our physical desires, so as to direct them and use their power in a corrected and positive way. In terms of food - the cheese sticks were probably a mistake, did not add value and hurt me on both the short and long term.
The 1:46 minutes of pleasure I got from the lucious melted motzerela dipped in Marinara was definitely not worth the cost. At the same time, there is even a place for Motzerrela sticks (Ok I have no idea how to spell that word, relax), but at the right frequency and quantity (blew it on both counts today).
Same is true with sex, sleep, self confidence, love (giving or receiving), or any other physical need. If we are captive by our body's needs, if we are not in control, then there is no end to the desire (until it catches up with us). Ever find yourself at the bottom of a big bag of chips wondering how the heck did you get there and feeling like throwing up? Same is true for everything else.But how do you control yourself? Well, first, if I knew the answer then I wouldn't be sitting here talking about it. But, as far as what the tehoretical answer is - let's see (and maybe we will even get to apply
Monday, September 15, 2008
Friday, September 12, 2008
Leaving Exile (for real this time...)
B"H
OK, so I did not leave exile last time, even though I thought I would. Better luck next time (now).
So this is supposed to be a log of my leaving exile and entering redemption, enlightenment, whatever you want to call it. It's supposed to be really cool, but so far it's so hard to get started.
I will spare you all the "lecturing" using religious sounding words like redemption, or Yoga sounding words like "enlightenment" (even though I just did), but will log my daily attempt at leaving the captivity of my body and release my soul to guide my body in perfect balance with the universe (what is this hippie talking about?)
The crazy thing is I'm not crazy (honestly, I'm not). this is a very real goal and it happens to be the basis for every religion, but so far, billions of us, across many different religions are born and die without fulfilling this goal.
I know what I need to do, today that's not so hard, there are plenty of books written by kabbalists and sages teaching us what to do. The problem is that so far I'm willing to bet that most contemporary books written about personal redemption or enlightenment have been written by people who know the "facts' but have been unable to implement it in their lives. It's evident from their own writings!
So, what makes me different? Nothing. I'm in exile, I have no revelation of my G-dly soul or G-dliness in my life, I act like a jerk sometimes, my life is chaotic, etc. I can write all these cool "how to" guides about meditation, balance, harmony, prayer, but I will be regurgitating what I read somewhere else (probably by someone who is also regurgitating...)
But I want to change it, I want to apply what I am learning. So this is my diary as I go about doing it. Please share with me your stories if you want to come along.
OK, so I did not leave exile last time, even though I thought I would. Better luck next time (now).
So this is supposed to be a log of my leaving exile and entering redemption, enlightenment, whatever you want to call it. It's supposed to be really cool, but so far it's so hard to get started.
I will spare you all the "lecturing" using religious sounding words like redemption, or Yoga sounding words like "enlightenment" (even though I just did), but will log my daily attempt at leaving the captivity of my body and release my soul to guide my body in perfect balance with the universe (what is this hippie talking about?)
The crazy thing is I'm not crazy (honestly, I'm not). this is a very real goal and it happens to be the basis for every religion, but so far, billions of us, across many different religions are born and die without fulfilling this goal.
I know what I need to do, today that's not so hard, there are plenty of books written by kabbalists and sages teaching us what to do. The problem is that so far I'm willing to bet that most contemporary books written about personal redemption or enlightenment have been written by people who know the "facts' but have been unable to implement it in their lives. It's evident from their own writings!
So, what makes me different? Nothing. I'm in exile, I have no revelation of my G-dly soul or G-dliness in my life, I act like a jerk sometimes, my life is chaotic, etc. I can write all these cool "how to" guides about meditation, balance, harmony, prayer, but I will be regurgitating what I read somewhere else (probably by someone who is also regurgitating...)
But I want to change it, I want to apply what I am learning. So this is my diary as I go about doing it. Please share with me your stories if you want to come along.
Monday, August 25, 2008
Tuesday, August 19, 2008
Follow up to our world in 2012 or 2020
The first blog was really just putting some ideas on paper regarding how our world will look in just a few short years. Again, not to be a Messianic freak or anything, but I think it's just so obvious how our world is advancing towards the living manifestation of Messianic prophesies and parables.
Just for example, it says in the bible (probably Isaiah, I don't know for sure - sorry) that in the times of Moshiach (the Messiah) G-d will bring the Jewish people to the Land of Israel on the "wings of eagles". Now, 2,500 years ago I bet this sounded pretty mystical and far out. Imagine how the Yemenite immigrants coming to Israel on El-Al airplanes 50 years ago felt! By the way, what happened to them once they got to the "Land of Israel" is a totally different and sad story, but you get my point.
The term "Messianic Times" or the "Days of Moshiach" is not clearly defined in Torah or biblical and Talmudic sources. However, the consensus agreed upon by the Rambam as well as the Kabbalists and leading sages of the generation, is that the Days of Moshiach are grouped into two different time periods.
The first time period is called the Days of Moshiach, which includes the world's coming of age and the revelation of the King Moshiach (King Messiah) and all the "stuff" that goes along with that (some people say it is going to be "bad", the Lubavitcher Rebbe is adamant that it will be very "good" and "natural). One thing is for sure, during this first period of the Days of Moshiach (Messianic Times), the world continues to "act" naturally, only with the difference in human perspective and understanding, and more open revelation of G-dliness, leading to the end of envy, hate, wars, and negative phenomenon.
The second time period is sometimes called the "Resurrection of the Dead" or "The World to Come", which basically is referring to a time where the very fabric of nature changes towards the fusion of physical and metaphysical phenomenon.
Even in the first period of the Days of Moshiach (Messiah) - which is actually right now, but certainly by the dates of 2012 or 2020, there is a strong suggestion (based on the Rebbe's talks for example) that we will reach eternal life. Now, the concept of eternal life scares many scientists who are scared of the world running out of natural resources (including room on the planet) to support this infinite growth of population. At the same time, eternal life sounds pretty impossible right now.
Well, if you read some of the points in Dr. Kaku's essays (as well as many other sources), it is apparent that advances in biotechnology and specific genetics will make it very possible to reverse the aging process, regrow ailing organs, and support very long if not eternal life. This is a good time to mention a very interesting point made in books of Kabbalah. The Kabbalists say that the human body is designed to exist for ever (I'm not sure but I think physicists basically agree with this statement). Kabbalah explains what is written in the bible that "sin is the source of death", and that Death was introduced through the original sin of the "Tree of Knowledge".
Basically, the Tree of knowledge kabbalistically represents ego consciousness or self awareness. Before the "partaking" of the Tree of knowledge, Man did not feel himself as a separate being from G-dliness. Through this "sin", or "deviation" Man became aware of himself as an independent existence which then led to "Knowing" meaning "self experience" of creation. Ultimately this is a good thing, as in the times of Moshiach (Messiah), this self experience will be rectified to bring about a higher experience of creation, thus elevating it. In the meantime, this led to "friction" of Man's ego or self consciousness with his environment leading to Death. Kabbalah explains that it is exactly this "friction" with reality that slowly kills us, literally "taking things to heart" is the root cause of aging and illness (by the way, nutrition plays a key role here too, but nutrition is actually included in the kabbalistic concept of awareness - look to see how the Rambam views nutrition and health as a part of divine service).
According to Kabbalah, every time our ego consciousness takes things to heart or is affected by external forces, it is a tiny amount of death. This could be good things or bad things. If you take a big complement to heart, it is death just like taking an insult to heart. According to the kabbalists, a person who takes literally nothing to heart, who is so so focused on the G-dly reality that he doesn't feel himself as a separate existence, is thus not affected by the friction with creation and can live forever. This is almost impossible though, as even the greatest kabbalists and sages, while not feeling themselves as a separate reality from G-d, took upon themselves the sorrow and friction created by their followers or the common people, thus elevating the rest, but introducing (artificial) "death" into their lives. I'm really not an expert on this, but it will seem to me that this could be a meaning of a riotous person "dying for our sins". Again, not my specialty here, just a thought.
Either way, as ego consciousness gets rectified (part of Messianic redemption), and advances in science and technology we will see (very soon) very long if not eternal lives. At the same time, with advances in technology and the human race's G-dly ability for invention (i.e. colonizing distant planets), there is no doubt that not only will we have enough resources to support this growing population, but this growing population (remember there is no war or envy at this point in the game) can finally begin to implement G-d's purpose for His creation (which is the whole reason G-d created man). More on this another time (maybe).
Just for example, it says in the bible (probably Isaiah, I don't know for sure - sorry) that in the times of Moshiach (the Messiah) G-d will bring the Jewish people to the Land of Israel on the "wings of eagles". Now, 2,500 years ago I bet this sounded pretty mystical and far out. Imagine how the Yemenite immigrants coming to Israel on El-Al airplanes 50 years ago felt! By the way, what happened to them once they got to the "Land of Israel" is a totally different and sad story, but you get my point.
The term "Messianic Times" or the "Days of Moshiach" is not clearly defined in Torah or biblical and Talmudic sources. However, the consensus agreed upon by the Rambam as well as the Kabbalists and leading sages of the generation, is that the Days of Moshiach are grouped into two different time periods.
The first time period is called the Days of Moshiach, which includes the world's coming of age and the revelation of the King Moshiach (King Messiah) and all the "stuff" that goes along with that (some people say it is going to be "bad", the Lubavitcher Rebbe is adamant that it will be very "good" and "natural). One thing is for sure, during this first period of the Days of Moshiach (Messianic Times), the world continues to "act" naturally, only with the difference in human perspective and understanding, and more open revelation of G-dliness, leading to the end of envy, hate, wars, and negative phenomenon.
The second time period is sometimes called the "Resurrection of the Dead" or "The World to Come", which basically is referring to a time where the very fabric of nature changes towards the fusion of physical and metaphysical phenomenon.
Even in the first period of the Days of Moshiach (Messiah) - which is actually right now, but certainly by the dates of 2012 or 2020, there is a strong suggestion (based on the Rebbe's talks for example) that we will reach eternal life. Now, the concept of eternal life scares many scientists who are scared of the world running out of natural resources (including room on the planet) to support this infinite growth of population. At the same time, eternal life sounds pretty impossible right now.
Well, if you read some of the points in Dr. Kaku's essays (as well as many other sources), it is apparent that advances in biotechnology and specific genetics will make it very possible to reverse the aging process, regrow ailing organs, and support very long if not eternal life. This is a good time to mention a very interesting point made in books of Kabbalah. The Kabbalists say that the human body is designed to exist for ever (I'm not sure but I think physicists basically agree with this statement). Kabbalah explains what is written in the bible that "sin is the source of death", and that Death was introduced through the original sin of the "Tree of Knowledge".
Basically, the Tree of knowledge kabbalistically represents ego consciousness or self awareness. Before the "partaking" of the Tree of knowledge, Man did not feel himself as a separate being from G-dliness. Through this "sin", or "deviation" Man became aware of himself as an independent existence which then led to "Knowing" meaning "self experience" of creation. Ultimately this is a good thing, as in the times of Moshiach (Messiah), this self experience will be rectified to bring about a higher experience of creation, thus elevating it. In the meantime, this led to "friction" of Man's ego or self consciousness with his environment leading to Death. Kabbalah explains that it is exactly this "friction" with reality that slowly kills us, literally "taking things to heart" is the root cause of aging and illness (by the way, nutrition plays a key role here too, but nutrition is actually included in the kabbalistic concept of awareness - look to see how the Rambam views nutrition and health as a part of divine service).
According to Kabbalah, every time our ego consciousness takes things to heart or is affected by external forces, it is a tiny amount of death. This could be good things or bad things. If you take a big complement to heart, it is death just like taking an insult to heart. According to the kabbalists, a person who takes literally nothing to heart, who is so so focused on the G-dly reality that he doesn't feel himself as a separate existence, is thus not affected by the friction with creation and can live forever. This is almost impossible though, as even the greatest kabbalists and sages, while not feeling themselves as a separate reality from G-d, took upon themselves the sorrow and friction created by their followers or the common people, thus elevating the rest, but introducing (artificial) "death" into their lives. I'm really not an expert on this, but it will seem to me that this could be a meaning of a riotous person "dying for our sins". Again, not my specialty here, just a thought.
Either way, as ego consciousness gets rectified (part of Messianic redemption), and advances in science and technology we will see (very soon) very long if not eternal lives. At the same time, with advances in technology and the human race's G-dly ability for invention (i.e. colonizing distant planets), there is no doubt that not only will we have enough resources to support this growing population, but this growing population (remember there is no war or envy at this point in the game) can finally begin to implement G-d's purpose for His creation (which is the whole reason G-d created man). More on this another time (maybe).
Friday, August 15, 2008
Our World in 2012 or 2020
These years sound far but they are right around the corner. Nevermind the popular Mayan calendar "end of times" in 2012, I just read some freaky stuff from world renowned physicist Michio Kaku (http://www.mkaku.org/). Here are a few quotes from his speech at the Futures Foundation (http://www.futuresfoundation.org.au/Future-News/Features:-Applied-Futures/The-world-of-2020-and-beyond-20051123240/):
"Moore's Law says computer power should double every 18 months for the next 15 years. In 2020 computer chips will cost about a penny [and] will be everywhere and nowhere, hidden by the billions in the environment, our clothes, the walls, the furniture, even our bodies. The destiny of the computer is to become invisible. Even the word will gradually disappear from the English language. Computation will be quiet, seamless and invisible, the internet following us unnoticeably as we move from house, to car, to office and back."
Add to this advances in stem-cell reseach and biomedical technology, and we also see a trend towards eternal life. In Dr. Kaku's words:
"In biotechnology, we will be able to establish a 'human body shop' capable of replacing livers, hearts, skin, bone, etc. as they wear out, created by proliferating stem cells in a test tube. We will also gradually unlock the secret of the aging process at the genetic and cellular level. Already scientists can grow skin, ears, noses, cartilage, bladders and bone in the laboratory, but not much more. Soon, they will be able to grow livers and other simple organs, thereby curing many ancient diseases of the body caused by failing organs."
This is a very sober reality, not science fiction anymore.
While so many bloggers and websites are feeding on our inherent fears of "the end of the world", we see clear signs that the metaphors and analogies using in the bibles and later sages to describe the messianic redemption are being played our in a very "natural" way. But it can (and will be) in a good way, unlike what so many say.
"Moore's Law says computer power should double every 18 months for the next 15 years. In 2020 computer chips will cost about a penny [and] will be everywhere and nowhere, hidden by the billions in the environment, our clothes, the walls, the furniture, even our bodies. The destiny of the computer is to become invisible. Even the word will gradually disappear from the English language. Computation will be quiet, seamless and invisible, the internet following us unnoticeably as we move from house, to car, to office and back."
Add to this advances in stem-cell reseach and biomedical technology, and we also see a trend towards eternal life. In Dr. Kaku's words:
"In biotechnology, we will be able to establish a 'human body shop' capable of replacing livers, hearts, skin, bone, etc. as they wear out, created by proliferating stem cells in a test tube. We will also gradually unlock the secret of the aging process at the genetic and cellular level. Already scientists can grow skin, ears, noses, cartilage, bladders and bone in the laboratory, but not much more. Soon, they will be able to grow livers and other simple organs, thereby curing many ancient diseases of the body caused by failing organs."
This is a very sober reality, not science fiction anymore.
While so many bloggers and websites are feeding on our inherent fears of "the end of the world", we see clear signs that the metaphors and analogies using in the bibles and later sages to describe the messianic redemption are being played our in a very "natural" way. But it can (and will be) in a good way, unlike what so many say.
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