If You Only Knew
December 12 – December 18, 2004
‘What do I want to do with my life’ Glennis Bastien asked herself recently. She is in the last stages of a debilitating fight with terminal cancer. Her answer came to her not too long after.
She has committed her self to using what little energy she has left to make a difference in this world. She is giving back to the place that brought blessings into her family’s life - the Spirituality for Kids Outreach Program. Her mission is to raise $26,000 to sponsor at least 15 at-risk families for one year.
As she says, “I want to help others feel the benefits of the love and sharing that have been given to me.”
I am deeply inspired by Glennis’ certainty and I wanted to share her story with you, as well as the link to where you can find out more about this extraordinary woman.
Her story has come to my attention at a very powerful time of year, the time of miracles and wonders. This time - Chanukah - continues for the first few days of this week and I hope you are connecting to this awesome energy.
This week also begins the new month of Capricorn (Monday) which offers many wonderful opportunities. However, nothing comes easy this month, though the potential to accomplish your long-held dreams is there if you seize it. This is a month to take initiative, to go forward with enthusiasm into new missions and projects. Dare to live! Go out of your limited boundaries and do what you know you need to do.
These next four weeks are also your chance to stop being dependent on others and what they think of you. Be true to your self.
This month there might be problems communicating with friends and loved ones. Mercury is in retrograde. You can avoid conflict by focusing on what you did wrong. Looking to see what the other person did wrong will get you NOWHERE. Remember this. It will save you and those in your life a lot of pain.
Now back to this week. In addition to what I have already mentioned, The Zohar explains there is a beautiful lesson concerning the nature of fear and how it can have a positive effect on your spiritual growth.
Suppose, for example, that you were called upon right now to justify your life before God. How would you feel? Most people, quite understandably, would feel some degree of fear. But as you’ll see, this is by no means a bad thing as long as you understand your fear correctly.
What does your fear tell you? What is the real meaning of your fear?
Perhaps it reminds you of things you should have done but didn’t do. It might call to mind the too- numerous-to-count occasions when you acted completely selfishly. If you really had to explain your behavior to God, how important do you think desires for yourself alone would suddenly seem?
You can use this week’s energy as a tool for getting in touch with the fear you might feel in honestly reviewing your life. By connecting with the energy of this week, you can turn your fear into a motivating force for positive change in how you live, starting right now.
Kabbalah teaches us (as explained in Becoming Like God) that each of us will, in fact, appear before a heavenly court when we leave this world. But the court will not be anything like a criminal or civil trial in the physical world. There will be no prosecuting angels reading off a list of our sins, nor will there be defense attorneys pleading for mercy on our behalf. That’s only in the movies.
The truth is much simpler: when we arrive in the Upper World, we will simply be shown the real greatness of our souls. True, for some people, and perhaps for many people, this will be a painful experience. They will see the great spiritual potential that had been theirs, and they will realize how they wasted this wonderful gift. They will look back and think “I had this great treasure and I did not use it to the fullest!”
This is a somewhat frightening lesson, but also a truly important one. If only we would know and appreciate our greatness — if only we would see that we are not simply flesh and blood, but that we have a great soul, which is part of the Creator — we would constantly push ourselves to make the most of that gift.
If thinking along these lines arouses a certain fear in you, that fear can be a blessing. Use it as fuel for acts of sharing in the everyday world, and to become a true being of sharing in your heart and your soul.
This week, focus clearly on the twin objectives of external action and inner growth. And with the help of the 72 Name below, you can connect with the spiritual energy that will turn those goals into reality.
All the Best,
Yehuda Berg