Intention above All

252Question: We need to reach a state where all the pleasures we experience are directed for the sake of the Creator. How can we cultivate this state within ourselves?

Answer: We cannot achieve this on our own. However, if we gradually direct ourselves toward this goal and relate our actions to the Creator so that He may accept them, then corresponding sensations, desires, and intentions accumulate within us. As a result, when we have gathered enough strength in our intentions, we are granted the quality of Lishma (for the sake of the Creator).

I was created as an egoist, and my primary concern is to fulfill my own egoism. But if I rise above my egoistic desires and prioritize only my friends and the Creator, it turns out that I am working for their sake. This constitutes the transition from “for my own sake” to “for the sake of the Creator.”

Question: But in order to transition to “for the sake of the Creator,” should there be a filter “the Creator and friends” before each of my desires and only then reception?

Answer: Yes, absolutely. First, there must be an intention: for what, for whom, and for whose sake am I performing this action?

Question: So does the intention of Lishma inherently contain the power to scrutinize and separate what is for the Creator and what is not, what I can receive and what I cannot? In other words, is it a calculation?

Answer: Yes, it is a calculation. Moreover, it is a calculation within feelings, knowledge, and sensations where you can precisely identify the state you are in in relation to Lishma.
[337104]
From the 1st part of the Daily Kabbalah Lesson 11/15/24, Writings of Baal HaSulam Shamati 20 “Lishma [for Her sake]”

Related Material:
Achieve Lishma
Not for One’s Own Sake
Kabbalistic Terms: “Lishma”

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