Physical Bodies On Earth

True Care

A prominent mayor once credited my father’s teacher Rav Brandwein with inspiring him to quit smoking. What’s interesting is that Rav Brandwein never mentioned the dangers of smoking; he didn’t judge the mayor, or even tell him to quit. The mayor simply felt such concern and care from Rav Brandwein that it was enough to make him quit on the spot.

True care isn’t always about lecturing or giving advice. True care is giving people the space to go through their own process, and realize when it is time to change.
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Spiritual Being--Physical Experience

by Madisyn Taylor

While we are incarnated in a body on this earth, we must remember that we still are a spiritual being at our core.

We are on this earth, in our physical bodies, because our souls have things to learn that we could not learn in any other way. It is through our physical body and the physical world that we can experience life. Purely spiritual beings are just that – they are in a state of being rather than doing – in a place that is beyond the limitations of time and space. But when we incarnate on the physical plane, we are automatically subject to the laws of physics and the world of dualities. In this place, we know what happiness is because we have experienced sadness, and we understand the value and power of light because we have known darkness. Knowing this, we have the opportunity to let ourselves be spiritual beings having a physical experience. 

There is no pain in the spiritual realm, because we know we are one with the limitless source of the universe. But here, in the material realm, our sense of limitation and separation allows us to feel our emotions and to learn about love, forgiveness, and compassion. We go from a spiritual state of oneness to learning how to be in relationship with people who are different and distinct individuals. We learn to understand ourselves through our relationships with the world around us—its seasons and landscapes, challenges and opportunities. And through our journey to find our place among so many others, we begin to recognize our own glimmer of light in a constellation of stars. 

Once we remember that we are spiritual beings, we can revel in the experience of being human while knowing we are all connected. We can live from the place of oneness while truly appreciating the beauty of diversity, the bittersweet feel of love and loss, and the elation of triumph over challenges and adversity. It is through these opposites that we experience life itself, and we can ride through the dark times with the understanding that it will help us to appreciate the light of life and love and spirit more fully. We are here now because we made the choice to experience an earth life, so now we can choose to enjoy the journey as completely as possible.

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