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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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