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Practice #1:
Tikkun Middot (repair of one's
character)
Here’s the first practice. All of us have traits that
block us from being who we most deeply are – for some of us it’s
impatience, for some of us it’s greed, for some of us it’s
laziness.
Whatever it is, pick the trait, spend one week watching
yourself every time that trait reveals itself, and make a note in a
notebook at the end of the day.
For example, you might record the
following:
I was impatient today when this
colleague came into my office who always seems to come in and asks
me questions right at that moment when I have work to do.
I was
impatient today – I got home and I was not home very long when my
kids got on my nerves right away. All they asked is to play.
Impatient!
In performing this practice, don’t judge yourself. Just watch
for the traits that block your awareness of being an image of God.
This process is called tikkun midot
– attending to and repairing your characteristics.
Practice #2: "Who
Am I?"
This is the practice that
Franco and Irwin modeled at the beginning of this show -- the "Who
am I?" exercise. (Click here
to review the exercise.) Perform this exercise by your self or
with a friend, asking over and over again the question “Who am I?”
-- and peeling back the "layers of the onion" that is the self and
its roles Do that for one month
every day for five minutes. At the end of the month,
you should be a transformed human being, understanding yourself better
than you ever could have imagined.
Practice #3:
Secret Service (Avodah)
The heart of this practice
is to perform services for others without letting
anyone (not even the beneficiary) know. It’s critically
important that you do not let anyone know because service as we spoke about gets at who
we most deeply are.
By making these practices your own
you will begin
the process of uncovering the image of God that you really are,
which is what we most deeply yearn to be
– and which is actually more than we can ever imagine. |
