THE THREE DEADLY SINS OF KARMA #3

 DESIROUS ATTACHMENT

You cannot control results, only your actions. 

You cannot decide outcomes, only your choices.

 So, it is best that you practice 
non-attachment to any concern related to outcome.

Impermanence is at the heart of nurturing Non-Attachment. 

Desirous Attachment is antithetical to the principle of impermanence. We cannot take “it” with us. At the end of the day we will be evaluated on how we dealt with our experiences. Only karma, love, truth and the soul live on. Everything is a test - its not what happens to us but how we handled it that counts. 

“More possessions - more worry. More generosity - more peace. There is nothing wrong with possessions, only to being possessed by them.” Hillel

When we cross over we take nothing with us. Material attachments can also hamper the soul’s journey during transition after death causing the spirit to either become earth bound (lost between the worlds) or to inherit a lower vibration in the Astral.

Everything we acquire should be scrutinized against the polarities of need and want. We release more spiritual energy if we get rid of clutter. Every now and then we need to look through our belongings and make sure they belong to us and we do not belong to them. If you have not thought of or used anything in the last few years, give it away, sell or dump it. You will surprised how much lighter and freer you feel. 

Keep to the source of living waters.
Do not think to store in cisterns; they will break and crumble and the water will be lost.
Cup your hands and drink deeply and often and you will have health and joy.

There is nothing wrong with desire, it is the attachment to desire that is the issue. 

It is the want that is our enemy and not the need.

Steve Jobs once instructed his employees that their task at Apple was not to give people what they needed but to tell them what they wanted. Many bottom liners follow this mantra. 

 It can be challenging not to be overwhelmed and trapped by the allure of materialism and all those new, shiny, compelling commodities that inundate us. They are designed to wear out more quickly than previously and be replaceable rather than fixable - the latter often being more costly. Planned obsolescence has been taken to a much higher level of sophistication. The excuse is the ever ongoing, so called improvement of technology. Is this just a trap to give us less control and make us lazy or technology for the sake of technology itself rather than practicality? 

Or we may be compelled to buy the latest version and dispose of the older one because the new is contrived to be sexier but not necessarily any better and sometimes worse. We have to be aware of the fact that we are being manipulated to continually borrow and spend more money than we should.

"Use it up, wear it out. Make it do or do without" Unknown

“Where there is too much, something is missing. - Chassidic Saying. 
Yes, the disguise of plenty. The Grail is not there.” 
Gene Kelly

Kabbalah also talks of The Bread of Shame… If we have too much while others have little we may feel shame especially if it was easy to attain and we have not earned or worked hard for it. Those that are fortunate can make use of this “bread of shame,” by becoming philanthropic and giving it away, preferably by doing so anonymously.

 

We should be attached to our spiritual transformation and all that is involved in our Becoming but not to the deadly sins of ego that get in our way. 

Consumerism is designed to build the market at the expense of the planet's sustainability. 

“By attributing worth to tangible objects man becomes attracted to them; attraction brings desire for them; desire leads to competition and dispute. These create anger and the result is delusion. Delusion completely overcomes man’s sense of right and wrong.” Srimad Bhagavatam

The more "stuff' we accumulate the more time, money and energy we spend maintaining it rather that doing something meaningful for our spiritual growth. Stuff and especially clutter get in the way of our spiritual work. 

There is always enough as long as one is free from the compulsion for more. Narrow mind is about having – Spacious mind is about being.

K.I.S.S.

Keep it Simple, Stupid

“Fill your bowl to the brim and it will spill, keep sharpening your knife and it will blunt, chase after money and security and your heart will never unclench, care about people’s approval and you will be their prisoner. Do your work, then step back, the only way to serenity.”  Tao Te Ching

Re  "... care about people’s approval and you will be their prisoner...”  Tao Te Ching

We should not concern ourselves about those who have much more than we do. 

“Should the other climber steal your sack and your purse and wax fat on the one and heavy on the other, you should pity him. The climbing will be harder for his flesh and the burden will make his way longer. And should you in your leanness see his flesh puffing upward, help him in a step, it will add to your swiftness.” Unknown

Many of us feel we need to keep up with the Jones'. Ego can make us inherently more competitive in order to impress or prevent feeling like a loser. This is often because of a delicate ego and a feeling of inferiority. 

"…you are accepted by the sun, you are accepted by the moon, you are accepted by the trees, you are accepted by the ocean, you are accepted by the earth. What more do you want?
You are accepted by this whole universe. Rejoice in it!” Osho

Universal Self- Acceptance - U.S.A. of ourselves (and others.)

Both can be difficult.

“Everybody feels inferior in some way or other. And the reason is that we don’t accept that everybody is unique. There is no question of inferiority or superiority. Everybody is just one of his/her kind - comparison does not arise. 
The moment you accept yourself as you are, without any comparison, all inferiority, all superiority, disappears. In that total acceptance or yourself you will be free from these complexes - inferiority, superiority. Otherwise you will suffer your whole life....


Just be yourself, that is enough… Osho

God want you, to be truly you. You were created for that.

For many, the attachments are are to sensory pleasures. We are here to enjoy but enjoy responsibly. Being in a sensory body is a gift which we lose when we cross over the veil between worlds. Sensory deprivation  is antithetical to our spiritual trajectory. We are here to savor the senses and will be held accountable to the extent we did not. Rev. Nachman taught; "Joy is not incidental to one's spiritual path, it is vital."

The way to God is through the senses. From the senses will I behold the Creator.

Excesses and addictions to; alcohol, drugs, raves, gambling, certain genres of discordant music and food, especially sugar etc. may also compromise health and sabotage spiritual transformation. We do not want to spend most our energy bailing out water from a leaky boat that we have to navigate down the river of life. We need to maintain our bodies to the best of our bodies's abilities.

 

“… Abundance is not an achievement of the acquisitive but rather a legacy of the perceptive – a realization of plenty – not an acquiring of more – a delight not a desire.” Hillel

Our focus should be on the basic necessities and our wants should be in line with spiritual transformation.

“Give up owning things and being somebody. Quit existing.” Rumi

 

Rumi tells us not only about being wary of grooming our persona by "being somebody," but not also not to be enraptured by owning more stuff. “Being somebody” also speaks to grooming the persona with objects that display ones pride, prestige, opulence as well as a desire for recognition or fame.

 

THE THREE DEADLY SINS OF KARMA #2

EGO'S sELF CHERISHING (of the small self) 

The challenge is relief from ego, how to be free from its tyranny. 
The way is relief from ego, surrendering and releasing one’s instinct for protection and cultural conditioning; subduing its tyranny but with respectful and grateful acknowledgement for its appropriate worth.  
The "prize" - the place of arrival - is relief from ego and a true sense of the pleasure of its place.

Ego is our power center and how we make our way in the world. Ego's self-cherishing can comprise, arrogance, pride, prestige, opulence and fame.

Karma depends not only on what we do, but how we do it, why we do it and how we feel about it. If the last is grudgingly or if it benefits us only materially it may be karmically neutral or there could be a karmic consequence.

Determine well your heart’s desire for in releasing your intention its energy will affect its holiness or unholiness.

The Ancestors teach that ulterior motives are greatly under-rated. It is good to donate money in order to build a hospital or anything else that can help humanity but for karma's sake it should not be attached to an agenda. It is better to give charity – even if it is to get one's face in the media or for a tax deduction - than not to give it, but the act may not have spiritual merit depending on the intent. It should be given anonymously or, better still, instead of giving a person a fish, rather teach him or her how to fish.

All must be done for its own sake, not for reason of an outcome.  All is a journey not a destination and it is a continual arriving.

We need to do things for their own sake and not because of any ego driven agenda – hidden or not. If rewards were always immediate there might be a huge incentive to always perform correctly because of the gratification we would expect from our actions. We would be no better than anyone driven by a Pavlovian response.

The results of cause and effect (karma) are often not immediate because they would influence free will. The Creator wants us to do things for the right reasons, not out of fear and shame or because of what may result, but out of justice and love.

Ego is slippery, it is like a chameleon, always changing colors or shape shifting to disguise itself. The higher we get up the energy hierarchy the more devious Ego becomes. It is supported by the Shadow, Monkey Mind and our Tricksters who will play on our weaknesses. 

“The Light of lights looks always on the motive, not the deed… the shadow of shadows, on the deed alone.” W.B. Yeats

The light of lights is our inclination to do good and there are spirit forces outside of us that seek the same on our behalf. The shadow of shadows is our evil inclination. Our own inner light and our dark sides are affected by those light and dark forces on either side of the veil between worlds. These are operating in opposition either to subordinate, or to enhance Ego and these compounding negative inclinations. We should also remember that the imprint of our soul's "Store Consciousness" is also operating in the background of our subconscious. The challenge is always more complex than just the Ego alone.

Yeats recognizes the “enlightened” implications of doing things for their own sake which is a Higher Self, Good Inclination, Spacious Mind motivation. If its for the deed alone, it may for be a self-cherishing, ego-bound, narrow minded agenda related to our shadow or evil inclination. Karma dictates we do things for their own sake and the means never justifies the end.

God does not measure results, only the trueness of intent and the fervor of effort. This is why there is such joy in daring one’s best.

 

If God were after numbers he would have made the way to Him abundantly apparent and attractive – enticingly so, ego free and forever lasting. And of course, S/He has also granted us our own lens for seeing and our own will for choosing what we see.

Humility, Modesty

"Don't be so humble, you are not that important." Unknown

We needs to first have a level of self-mastery and hubris to be able to merit any ability to be humble. Renunciation is easy when there is nothing much that we have earned to renunciate.

Kabbalah teaches that humility is truthful acknowledgement about the wonders of yourself, taking appropriate credit for your part but recognizing the Infinite One's gifts to you. 

Our task of course is to find and pursue those gifts, be it our core strengths or true destiny.

Modesty … has more to do with realizing how small the container is for the overwhelmingly great gift, yet trusting in God's offering and so accepting and using it without pretense.

True humility should make others know God better through you. One ought to marvel at what God can accomplish through you.

There are things that the Creator cannot do without our cooperation. We are here to co-create with the Divine's unlimited Intelligence with our own limited but potentially divinely inspired imaginative abilities. We should not hide our talents under a bushel. 

God gives the talent but He would not have an Antonio Stradivarius violin without Antonio's hands.” Stradivarius

It is easier to get ourselves and any sense of unworthiness out of the way if we use our gifts on behalf of others. That gift that is given is not about us but given so that we can benefit the planet.

"Just as its presumptuous to put ourselves above others, so it is pretentious to put ourselves below them." Unknown

“This is what God asks of you, only this, to act justly, to love tenderly and to walk humbly with your God.” Micah

Pride 

“God cannot be realized if there is the slightest trace of pride.” Upanishads

"Pride comes before a fall."

"Until you empty yourselves of pride God cannot be realized."

Talmud

“There is no room for God in him who is full of himself. The sages tell us concerning the proud man; God says; “I and s/he cannot dwell together in the world.” Talmud

Fame versus Honor

As fame can enslave, so can the costs of money impoverish. Make sure the need is worth the price. To overpay can rob the Self.

Mother Theresa did not go to Calcutta to help the poor, sick and downtrodden to become a saint. She became one while not seeking sainthood.

Its a sad state of affairs when we hear the media celebrating some Rap artist's birthday instead of someone like Gandhi who was born on that same day.

Fame is a fickle food

Upon a shifting plate

Whose table once a

Guest but not, The second time is set.

Whose crumbs the crows inspect

And with ironic caw Flap past it to the Farmer's Corn 

– Men eat of it and die. Emily Dickenson

Fame is a bee. It has a song— It has a sting—Ah, too, it has a wing. Emily Dickenson

There are distinct karmic advantages to not being on top. Even if we are first and strive to stay there, it will not be long before someone else overtakes us or we are forgotten. When we pass over to the other side of the veil between worlds to reconcile with our karma, humility will be even more critical.

 

“Those that will be first will be last.” Jesus

 

Let them be king.

Let them come along and shout

- they will shout their name last.

 S/He who does good and does not pursue honor, him honor overtakes. 

In seeking fame honor will be lost …” Hillel

Wealth

“It is easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle than for a rich man to enter the kingdom of heaven.” Jesus

When the disciples heard this, they were very astonished and said, ‘Then who can be saved?’ And Jesus said, ‘With people this is impossible, but with God all things are possible.” 

There is nothing wrong with being wealthy but it can monopolize vital energy that could be devoted to a spiritual life. The opposite is also true. Wealth can give more opportunities for pursuing the Self as well as being philanthropic but it may require an element of renunciation - the Buddha is as an example.

Knowledge

Those who exploit knowledge are lost to wisdom. Wisdom is born of humility and is nourished by compassion. It is grace in action. When knowledge is used for self-gain and control it is conceit in action.

If study and prayer do not serve justice and mercy they are but  the hollow sound of one's own arrogance. 

Truth can be ego clinging to its own image.

"Whoever undertakes to set himself as a judge of truth and knowledge is shipwrecked by the laughter of the gods." Goethe

The self-Cherishing Persona revels in the same indulgences when ego is centered around having more knowledge than others.

When the Ancestors say with all your strength get knowledge they are talking about knowledge that serves your spiritual path and not the Ego. 

… in seeking knowledge wisdom may be forgotten.” Hillel

Information is not to be equated with knowledge, knowledge not to be equated with understanding, understanding not to be equated with wisdom and wisdom not to be equated with virtue.

Although Ego is necessary for our self-mastery and self-actualization there comes a time when it gets in the way of spiritual growth and Self-Realization. Attachments to Ego's self-Cherishing, Desirous Attachment or Judgment create karmic burdens. Being tied to these will guarantee more wasteful, future lifetimes where we come back to correct the errors of the past instead of going forward. 

Non-Attachment to ego is commendable. 

Attachment to ego will guaranty us more reincarnations. 

A path that is attached to pursuing a life that embraces spiritual transformation will bring happiness and inner wealth.

 

 

 

EGO'S THREE DEADLY SINS #1

THE THREE DEADLY SINS OF KARMA

sELF CHERISHING (of the small self)

DESIROUS ATTACHMENT

JUDGMENT

The search for the Real, True or Higher Self or soul or that part of us made in the image of the divine is at the core of all spiritual motivation whether we know about it or not or do anything about it or not. The Higher Self or Soul cannot be realized in the presence of a dominant ego.   

Until you empty yourself of pride, God cannot be realized.

We discussed this same topic in the prior blog on how to navigate the apocalypse by turning to spirit. The purpose of this blog is to dive more deeply into the subject because it is so important for our karma.  The ego is one of the greatest detergents for those of us on the path. It helps, for ease of explanation, to divide them into the three categories above all of which can overlap with one another. All three are centered around our Third, power Chakra of Ego. Energy maps to spirit can help tell us where we have been, where we are now and where we still need to go. 

EGO’S TRIAD  

“To know the real Self to be one’s own is the greatest attainment… To know wrongly the non-self, such as the ego, to be the Self is no attainment at all. One therefore should denounce this perception of taking the non-self for the Self.” Sri Sankaracharya

"S/he who loses himself, will find himSelf." Matthew

THE YOGA CHAKRAS

The Chakras below the diaphragm comprise our survival Chakras: 

The first; flight or fight. 

The second; regeneration of the species. 

 The third; Ego or the self-cherishing persona 

- our power center and how we make our way in the world. 

These hold us back from moving energy into the heart chakra above. The yogis teach that the heart chakra is the most difficult one to open. 

Kabbalists say that when the student has mastered Tiferet, representing love at the heart of the tree, the student can then teach him/herself. 

Above the diaphragm are our growth chakras:

 The fourth of love.

  The fifth of creative expression. 

The sixth or Third Eye of intuition. 

 The seventh, the Crown, our connection with the Field and divinity.

The symbol of the Heart Chakra in Yoga is a hexagon. The three mini-triangles above on the hexagon relate to our Higher Consciousness, Awareness and Awakening into our "Becoming" slowly closer and closer to the Higher Self.

 The three lower mini-triangles point downwards, towards the lower, survival chakras and Ego below the diaphragm. Ego comprises: 

 self-Cherishing (with a small s)

 Desirous Attachment

Judgment 

These can also be represented as a Triad

and can be affected adversely by Monkey Mind, Shadow (our Evil Inclination) and Tricksters. 

“The Light of lights looks always on the motive, not the deed… the shadow of shadows, on the deed alone.” W.B. Yeats

Non-attachment and realizing the nature of impermanence of all things is key I helping us to subordinate ego to the Higher Self. Everything around us is in the process of being broken.

Keep to the source of living waters.
Do not think to store in cisterns
for they will break, and crumble and the water will be lost.
...

“One day the people came to the master and asked: “How can you be so happy in a world of such impermanence where you cannot protect your loved ones from harm, illness and death.” The master held up a glass and said. Someone gave me this glass and I really like this glass. It holds my water admirably and glistens in the sunlight. One day the wind may blow it off the shelf or my elbow may knock it off the table. I know this glass is already broken so I enjoy it incredibly.” Achaan Chah Stab

Many of the challenges we face arise out of our sentient existence and the temptations of being in a sensory body. When we leave for the "Elsewhere" we lose the sensory body. The yogis teach that we are bound by the yoke of ego and any action linked to ego can have karmic implications. We are born again and again (the continual wheel of samsara) because of the mishandling of our sentient bodies and our sensory bound existence. We are here to enjoy things fully but responsibly.

The Ancestors say that it is better to do good deeds even if linked to ego rather than doing none at all. Nevertheless, these "merits" may be karmically neutral or even negative depending on the intention.

Emperor Wu asked, “I’ve built temples and ordained monastics; what merit is there in this?”
 Bodhidharma replied, “No merit.”

“In the samadhi that comes at the end of reasoning and discrimination no such thing as “I” exists but it is extremely difficult to attain as “I” consciousness lingers so persistently. This is why humans are born again and again.” Sri Rama Krishna

Jung doubted that the Western Mind could ever truly get rid of Ego. It is usually fleeting in the Oneness Experience or Unity Consciousness when the Knower, the Known and the process of Knowing fuse into one thing. Maslow called this a Peak Experience. It cannot be programmed and usually comes for most of us through grace. Whatever the stimulus, this oneness experience, ecstasy or rapture is temporary and we soon come back into a sense of duality. The challenge is to be aware of this duality and still endeavor to see the divinity and our oneness in and with others and all the Beings of nature.

 Doing things for their own sake and without any personal agenda is the crux of ego subordination. Our deeds must be done for the greater good of all, including ourselves, without consideration of any reward or pay back. 

THE TREE OF LIFE

“A net is spread out for the living (the net of temptations) and everything is given on loan...(impermanence).” Rev Akiva

There are Three Triads on the Tree of Life with ten sephirot or energy centers.

The Five Loves designated by the small hearts expand and the other five of Fear restrain or contract. Will and intention in the center hold the balance.  The First Triad above is the Triad of Becoming (Self-realization) and Keter, the Crown is balanced by Wisdom and Understanding.

The Middle Triad of Love is balanced by Judgment and Mercy.

The lowest Triad of Ego is balanced by Attachment and Non-Attachment of the self-Cherishing Persona and Desirous Attachment. 

This Triad, as well as Kingdom below it, comprise our survival Sephirot or energy centers. Kingdom represents the planet and the struggles we have responsibly navigating the challenges of being in a sensory body on earth.

Resignation leads to Detachment. Detachment is not the same as Non-Attachment. Resignation is a giving up as opposed to surrender which is a giving in to something bigger and more important than one’s little self.

 

Concerning detachment, one of its paths leads to a lifeless world without enthusiasm or hope, a place of indifference where one could become ensnared in hidden traps of dejection and despair, where one no longer cares to love nor dares to trust.

 

Detachment can lead to, hopelessness, doubt, disbelief, denial, desperation, depression and despair. 

 "Whoever undertakes to set himself up as a judge of truth and knowledge is shipwrecked by the laughter of the gods.” Goethe

The red lines on the T.O.L. accentuate the pathways involved. Judgment is not part of the T.O.L.'s Ego Triad. (In this blog Judgment  is considered part of Ego's Third Chakra.) Judgment, because its a harder nut to crack, requires heartfelt-ness. Ego's Triad on the T.O.L. is balanced by Attachment and Non-Attachment. Love's Triad is balanced by Judgment and Mercy. It is extremely difficult to discriminate or discern with an open heart and sweeten the judgments as well as ... to walk for a day in another person's moccasins.

 Non-Attachment is key to opening us up to the Love sephira above it in the Tree's center. This is because Non-Attachment does not only apply to self-Cherishing and attachment to "stuff" but also to our relationships. These should be governed for their own sake alone and not for any agenda, hidden or otherwise.

 All of the three deadly sins of karma, however, follow us up the T.O.L and challenge us especially Judgment. For this reason the five fear energy centers are also sometimes called the Five Judgments. 

 

ENERGY AND VIBRATION - MORE ESOTERIC EFFECTS (C)

The mystery invites us to surrender to what is inexplicable, to what we cannot really know and yet how the not knowing fills us with wonder and awe…

…We are not limited by the laws of the natural world. We are subject to, but not constrained by them.

"Miracles happen not in opposition to nature but in opposition to what we know about nature." Augustine of Hippo

"There are two ways live your life. One that nothing is a miracle and the other that everything is." A. Einstein

Spiritual practice should help us find our mission, purpose and destiny  or archetype. This is at the heart of the hero/ine’s journey. If we lose our self, as in the little self or ego, we can find our Self (Jesus) as in the True Self. Connecting with Self is not selfish – quite the contrary. It will lead us to better serving others and the planet.

You must free yourself to be your Self.
Do not be captive to the demands of false duty.

Release yourself from what you are not accountable.

 Be attentive only to the responsibility of what compels.
Bestow blessings, refuse burdens.
What makes you beholden enslaves you.
What makes you grateful blesses you.
What you touch, touches you. 

What you let touch you, enhances or diminishes. 

Anything or anybody who does not make you more of who you are, makes you less of who you are. 

Life is really all about healing the planet and the Four Beings of nature be they Still, Growing, Wild (and domestic) or Talking. At the end of the day its about helping others.

"We are here to help others. What on earth other are here for I do not know." W. Auden

In other words Karma Yoga - service oriented yoga - the Mother Theresa archetype. 

Isaac Luria, a 16th century Kabbalist, teaches us about Creation and the shells, shards or husks that contain Holy sparks arising from Kabbalah's Contraction or Tzimtzum. This process has been likened to the Big Bang. Its understanding can help us recognize that all living and inanimate things contain holy sparks. Everything that we encounter contains Holy Sparks waiting to be liberated from their husks. How we do this is through mindful living and by practicing random acts of kindness in all that we do. Depending on our intention, our actions can release these Holy Sparks from their husks. We need to go back to the Beginning, the Big Bang  and Luria's explanation of how creation came about to explain what he meant.

THE BIG BANG

In brief. "After the initial expansion, the universe cooled sufficiently to allow the formation of subatomic particles, and later simple atoms. Giant clouds of these primordial elements later coalesced through gravity in halos of dark matter, eventually forming the stars and galaxies visible today."

 WASTE AND VOID (Tohu Va Vohu) IN GENESIS

 
Prior to Creation, there was only the Light of Infinity filling all existence within the "Waste and Void - a wild, chaotic potential also thought of as a murky emptiness out of which creation took place."

"The earth was without form, and void; and darkness was on the face of the deep. And the Spirit of God was hovering over the face of the waters." Genesis.

According to Kabbala, creation occurred in three stages.

The mysterious void place - that if filled only with God nothing could exist and if empty of God nothing could exist. Hence it is sufficiently empty of God to allow for the possibility of existence and filled with God to allow for the actual happening of existence.

 CONTRACTION #1

As above, the Creator had to contract Him/Herself in order to enter the potential space required for creation to take place. 

Contraction describes the first step in the process in which God began the process of creation by withdrawing His total essence but inserting just enough of it to allow for Creation.  

At that time vessels were created in the empty space. The Creator poured His Light, the "Light of Infinity" into them. These vessels contained the Holy Sparks of creation. However, they were not strong enough to hold the light. They shattered and were carried downwards, held within these husks. 

It is said that through this light He emanated, created, formed and actualized the multiverse through the Ten Sephirot (energy centers) of the Tree of Life. 

THE SHATTERING OF THE VESSELS (Tzimtzum) #2

Were a consequence of the Light of Infinity required for creation being introduced within the "Waste and Void." This occurred in a relatively tiny space, in a split second but the vessels of creation could not contain the power of that Light. This "Shattering" has been  compared to the Big Bang. The shards or shells (Klippot) which contained and held the Holy Sparks of creation represent the archetype of evil. Every particle in our physical universe, every structure and all beings have shells or husks containing sparks of holiness (Think of the nutritive value of a nut being held in its shell. The shell has to be broken in order to release the nut i.e. the Holy Sparks.) 

This is not unlike the Zen Buddhist approach to doing everything that they do with mindful excellence.

 REPAIRING THE WORLD (Tikun Olam) #3

is the liberation of these concealed divine sparks exiled from creation during the Shattering of the Vessels. 

Our task, according to Luria, is to release each spark from the shell and raise it up, ultimately to return it to its original state. The way these sparks are raised are through acts of loving kindness, of being in harmony with the universe, and through higher awareness. It is our mission in this world, (the world of repair,) to uncover these holy sparks and release them back to their source. 

"There is no sphere of existence, including organic and inorganic nature, that is not full of holy sparks which are mixed in with the kelippot (shells, husks) and need to be separated from them and lifted up.”  Isaac Luria

“The strength of the forces of holiness and the destruction of the shells or husks that imprison holy sparks depends upon joy.”

"Joy is not incidental to your spiritual practice, it is vital."

  Rev Nachman

Where there is joy, there is light. Where there is gratitude there is light.

“Joy is the infallible sign of the presence of God.” 

Teilhard de Chardin

Joy is a strong word and implies something greater that happiness, equanimity, serenity, inner peace, harmony or balance. Spiritual practice can help us to "repair the world" with any of these qualities and through a greater mindfulness.

Practicing random acts of kindness is empowered by gratitude which can create equanimity. 

We all have a vital role to play in the ongoingness of creation. 

Magical powers are not necessary for this to happen and can be a distraction if they are not used for this healing.