Shamati #8: “What Is the Difference Between A Shade of Kedusha and A Shade of Sitra Achra”: It is written (Song of Songs, 2), “Until the day breathes, and the shadows flee away.” We must understand what are shadows in the work. The thing is that when one does not feel His Providence, that He leads the world in a manner of “Good that doeth good”…

The Creator’s governance is absolutely good. This is the attainment we have to reach. The Creator is unchanging and we are not waiting for Him to change in any way. It is written, “I did not change Myself.” One who is eternally good and does good cannot become different. He is absolute and His bestowal is constant. The upper Light is at absolute rest and fills everything.

However, we reveal the One who is good and does good by changing our perception so that we go from negative infinity, from a reality that appears worse than death, to positive infinity, the greatest good, and then regardless of our own sensations, above them, to feel that everything is good. That is the kind of screen (Masach) and perception that we must acquire.

In the egoistic desire we will feel the worst possible states, which we cannot even imagine, and still, above our desires we will correct ourselves so as to understand and to feel that this is the best possible thing. That is the kind of difference that must open up between our sensations within the desire and what we will reveal consciously.

The Creator does not change. He just constantly sends us states that become more difficult and unpleasant, both for the animate body and for the soul, so that above them we would form the opposite perception, permeated with bestowal and love. By carrying out bestowal, precisely above all of the heaviness I reveal the Creator’s good will and come to identify myself with Him.

Thus, a person reveals spiritual life only on the background of difficult and bad circumstances. Otherwise he can’t tear away from our world and enter spirituality.

Today this process is taking on global proportions. That’s because until now we developed in regular egoism – first linearly, and over the last 200 years, exponentially. However, egoism still did not connect us with one another into a global, integral whole. But today the whole world is a group – one that is disconnected, broken, and in need of correction.

This group divides into two parts:
– The “99 percent,” which becomes more and more interconnected and interdependent with each passing day, and more constrained in their lives. This is expressed differently everywhere, and the tendency itself emerged only recently, yet it is developing at a high rate.
– The group within this society, being the “one percent.” The inner group is differentiated by its desire to attain the secret of development: why does it occur and for what purpose? What is happening to us? What is the reason for the current process? How can we control it, or at least go along with it?

That is where we come to the notion of a “shadow,” which makes a person’s life difficult and hurls upon him as a burden that becomes more and more heavy, depriving him of interest in the usual pleasures. Likewise, a person wishing to advance spiritually feels heaviness in his understanding and consciousness and has a difficult time remembering the importance of the path and the goal. All of this happens so we would understand that we have to take the reins into our own hands, and that all the difficulties are evoked by the evil inclination, which the Creator made. The upper Light constantly brings us new problems and greater heaviness so we would see the “shadow” in this and ascend above it.

The thing is that when one does not feel His Providence, that He leads the world in a manner of “Good that doeth good,” it is regarded as a shadow that hides the sun. In other words, as the corporeal shadow that hides the sun does not change the sun in any way, and the sun shines in its fullest power, so one who does not feel the existence of His Providence does not induce any change Above.

The Creator’s attitude to us remains the same, absolutely kind, and it is only our sensation that undergoes a change so we would rise above doubts and questions, continually accepting the Creator’s governance as 100% goodness. When we complete one ascent, we are sent a greater shadow, meaning greater heaviness, confusion, doubts, and thorns among friends. But no matter what the Creator arranges between us, we must collect ourselves and understand that everything comes from Him. There is no one besides Him. And therefore, at every moment we have to realize His goodness.

If we do not complete the current moment with the sensation of the One who is good and does good, then we do not advance since we did not overcome the current degree yet. Therefore, in every state we must first experience bad sensations, confusion, and lack of energy to come to the lesson, a loss of interest in the path and in unifying in the group. This happens constantly, and if we do not concentrate at every moment, then the focus immediately disappears. That’s because our egoistic desire works non-stop, like a counter with wheels that are always moving. It constantly “thickens” our desire so we sink deeper into the life of our world.

As a result, if we do not support the connection, if we do not help one another, if we do not “cling on with our nails,” then we disperse in every direction. The groups falls apart and suddenly we cannot find anything from its foundations. That is the meaning of “shadow” – freedom from past obligations, lack of sensitivity, which suddenly seeps through between us like a thick fog, immersing everything into darkness. This shadow conceals the goal from us, the importance of unification and the spiritual path.

In the end, all shadows – external and internal, private and general, come in order for us to make efforts, to work in spite of them and above them to reveal involvement, unification, connection, and eventually – the Creator, the One who is good and does good. Even if we do not clearly see the Creator and His governance, yet by means of an analysis with our feelings and mind we will nevertheless reach this sensation. This is the completion of the current level where we correct the evil inclination, which the Creator gave to us.

The evil inclination surfaces only between people who want to unite, who intend to correct the breaking. It does not become revealed to the masses, the “99 percent.” They do not have the evil inclination. They are not planning to unite with one another in order to correct the spiritual breaking. Only we go through this correction, attaching them to us.
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From the lesson in Brazil on 5/3/12, Shamati #8

Related Material:
Checking The Connection With The Group
Stages Of Ascent Toward The Creator
“Until The Day Withers And Shadows Will Flee…”

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