I have five “spiritual guides” who I invoke on a regular basis. They keep me grounded, honest and hopefully, a bit balanced. These guides reflect aspects of my personal theology and are deeply influenced by Jewish wisdom and teachings. I want to share them with you because I sense that they are universal and are solid tools for spiritual seekers.
My first guide teaches me that there is only Divine Source. Humans are all created in God’s image and are emanations of the Divine. There is no duality in the universe – no competing forces of good and evil, only God Consciousness that is realized and not yet realized. Illusion can lead us to falsely believe there is “other;” that our one understanding is the only understanding of Absolute Truth and all other understandings (or religions) are forces of destruction. In fact, there are a myriad of expressions of the One Truth. We are all made up of the same evolved star dust, incapable of complete understanding of Divine. Aspects and reflections of that One Truth manifest in our lives and it is up to us to use these truths for goodness, with deep compassion.
Compassion is my second guide. She teaches that it is crucial that we ensure our actions are based on compassion. Through acts of lovingkindness we activate the parts of us that are created in God’s image and we generate compassion. We need to constantly self reflect on our actions and intentions to discern if we are acting from a place of genuine care or for our own ego. Compassion is not only to be directed at others but also, and perhaps as importantly, to self. We become compassionate when we act with compassion. We become compassionate when we strive to maintain an awareness that there is only Divine Source.
My third guide teaches me to laugh at myself, that we should not take ourselves too seriously. In our crazy temporal world we encounter God as a paradox. We experience absurdity. We need to be reminded that the little truth we hold so tightly is just a little truth and sometimes we need to be flexible and allow for change and growth.
My fourth guide teaches me loyalty. What are the core values and virtues that are part of the fibres of my being? These virtues are connected to our gifts and talents and are the engines that power our lives. We spend much of our lives seeking and defining these parts of self in order to refine them and eventually give them to others in selflessness. We need to remember that not only are we loyal to those values but in fact they are loyal to us.
My fifth guide calls me to travel and journey. It does not need to be physical travel, although I find that super fun. It can be traveling in the realm of new ideas through learning, encountering art and beauty, it can be a journey of meditation. She teaches me to go down the rabbit hole and explore new realms and experience new mysteries. It is through authentic encounter - the kind that can change us, even subtly, that we gain self knowledge, awareness and growth.
In our rapidly changing and evolving world it is easy to become overwhelmed and reactive. I sense that we need to develop inner tools and guides to navigate our lives so we can find inner peace, wisdom and be joyful, compassionate flourishing humans.
Rabbi Harry Brechner is Rabbi of Congregation of Emanu-El in Victoria, B.C.
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