A great deal of effort and money has been invested into getting people to forget this age-old wisdom. And so it seems fitting to review it. Some things just never go out of style.

Notice please that the emphasis is not on the knowing, but on the doing.

THE PATH OF THE JUST

The practices described below are age-old. They are very simple, but very, very powerful and effective.

These are some of the practices that those who would lead you in the ways that lead nowhere hide from you when they tell you that organized religion is bad. There are many things that are bad about organized religion, particularly since they have all been infiltrated by people with a nefarious agenda.

But organized religions remain the storehouses of the practices that will move you in the direction of Godconsciousness. These practices are tried and they prove themselves true to anyone who persists in them.

One of the most important practices is to regularly visit the sick and infirm. I found that I learned most from crippled, sick and retarded children. Those Souls that take on a deformed or sick body in this world are on a very high level and they can teach you much. But if you prefer to work with adults who have become ill because your life path has taken you that way, there is no less value in this. For instance, there is a woman who owns a beads store here in Tzfat. Once a week she goes to a hospital and makes jewellry with adult cancer patients. She doesn't work with children because her own son died of cancer as a child and the pain of that is too much for her. She works with the adults. Working with the elderly and the poor will soften your heart as well and they will teach you a great deal. Your emphasis should be on helping them, more than you learning. You will learn, but do it for the sake of serving *them*, not for you.

The second method is giving 10-20% of your income to charity. Do this regularly. It is better to give 10-20% regularly than to give a large sum on an erratic basis. Be consistent in all these practices.

The third method is the way of fasting. It is not necessary to practice mortifying fasting. Once, when people were much stronger than we, they would fast for days on end. This is no longer practicable for most people. There are now many toxins in our systems and prolonged fasting will cause rapid detoxification. It is effective to fast one or two days a week for a 24-hour period. Do it regularly. Do it on the same day or days of the week. Do it consistently. It is well to give the money that you save on food that day to charity. It should be clear that I mean that no drinking or smoking or ingesting of any substance is included here (except prescribed medicine of course).

The way of silence. What I am about to describe is a very powerful tool, but I realize that in the modern world it is difficult to find the opportunity to do this. I am fortunate to have found a town in which the Kabbalah has been practiced for millenia live there. It's not unusual for people to be on what we call a speech fast and to go out and about with a little note that says to people: Forgive me for not answering, I am doing a speech fast today. Everyone understands here. In large Western cities people will not understand as readily :0). Try, if you can, to do this once per week for a 24-hour period. If not, then do it a few times a week for a period that adds up to 24 hours in segments, like eight hours when you are not working or in school. Sleeping time does not count unless you are doing this for a 24-hour period. This should be done when you are awake. Let those around you know in advance that you will be being silent for awhile and ask for their understanding and support. My experience is that this is most effective when you are also fasting from water and food. Nothing goes into your mouth and nothing comes out (except prescription medicine, of course). The practice itself will show you why this is a powerful tool for the heart.

The following is an age old practice that is most important today in modern society when so much emphasis is placed on outward appearance. Go out and about as simply dressed and unadorned as possible. Remove all jewelry. But inexpensive clothes. Buy second hand clothes. This is a double-dipper, as many second hand places are also charities. You needn't humiliate yourself by going about in tatters or in clothes with stains and the like, but wear clothes that make you feel somewhat embarrassed because they are old and out of style. Wear colors and hairstyles that do not attract attention. You will be an object of mild derision in the eyes of many people. That is precisely the goal. This practice will humble you.

Flee honor always.

Flee positions of authority always.

Do not lie.

Limit the use of the words "I" and 'me' in writing and in speech.

When someone insults you, bless them in your heart for the opportunity for allowing you the opportunity to learn humility. Allow yourself to feel the sting to your ego. Do not tell yourself that you don't care what they say. If your ego stings, admit it to yourself. Eventually, it will sting less and you will attain more and more equanimity.

Do not harm others with your words.

Do not engage others in one-upsmanship.

Respect everyone and everything. This should be to the point where when a tube of toothpaste is used up, or there is no more ink in a pen, thank it for serving you before putting it gently into a trashcan. Thank the walls of your house for protecting you. Thank your coat for keeping you warm and your shoes for protecting your feet. Eventually, you will come to see that even "inanimiate" objects possess consciousness. How much the more so should you protect the feelings of sentient beings and most of all other people.

Pray to God for everything that you need. Everything. If you need dental floss, ask God for it.

Take every opportunity to champion the cause of those who cannot defend themselves: the poor, the infirm, the weak, those jailed most particularly those jailed unjust.

Fight every injustice you can without as well as within.

Enter into a direct relationship with God. Whatever puzzles or vexes or hurts you, discuss it with God as you would with a trusted, wiser friend. When you are happy and satisfied direct thanks to God. Whatever exists in any religion that troubles you ask God about. The seemingly irrational and outwardly harsh teachings in religion were not placed there for you to do them unquestioningly. They were put there for you to ask God why. They were put there to get you to say to God: I do not see the justice in this. If you want me to do this, then please explain why. More often than not you will discover that you are not reading what God wants, but your own interpretration of it, which is not on a very high level of inward understanding. God will show you a higher way to understand these things if you ask. This is excellent preparation for understanding the irrational and the harsh that you encounter as you walk through life. In fact, that is the reason why they exist in Holy Writ. They are there as exercises for you to put into practice when reality assails you.

Become God's playmate. Learn to romp and frolic with God.

Keep your sense of humor intact. There are many jokes and puns in Holy Writ. If you have a sense of humor, you will see them. God's humor is so great that, having understood one of God's jokes, you will laugh so hard that your Soul will emerge.

Pray, pray and pray for protection from the confusion in these times. It is so prevalent, so heavy, as never before. Pray for clarity for yourself and others.

Perform random acts of love and kindness. This will teach you a great deal about order and apparent randomness. It will also cause you do more kind things for no reason at all. This will eventually take you to levels of understanding above reason.

These practices seem simple, but they are very powerful and you'll find that they are not easy. Do not expect to master them. Expect repeated failure, in fact. Do the best you can each and every minute, day by day. Expect to be working hard on them for many years to come.

Think not in terms of 'spiritual' but in terms of 'moral'. The truly spiritual, healthy spiritual, comes as a kind of side effect of becoming more moral, which is the same thing as acting in wisdom. Those who ask: "Who is to say what is moral? Morality is relative" are far from wisdom. If we set our hearts to being moral the wisdom of acting morally will come as a matter of course. A rule of thumb is: Do not do to anyone what you do not want to be done to you. This is not the same as: Do unto others as you would have them do unto you. The latter statement is insensitive, presumptuous and self-centered.

Any attempt to seize the spiritual without it being grounded in acts of morality is, well, you don't want to go there.

Listen to, or better play, gentle music, beautiful music. This is an age-old method of uplifting oneself from sadness to joy.

Take walks in nature and look deeply at the trees. Thank them for all they give you.

Know that everyone and everything is God assuming form in order to interact with you and lead you along your path. When you pick up a piece of paper, sit in a chair, put on clothes, most certainly when you nourish yourself, when you turn on a heater or an air-conditioner playfully say to it in your heart: I know it's You. All your costumes don't fool me at all. I know it's You. :0)

Do not attempt to measure your progress and don't do this for the sake of progress. Do it for the sake of becoming a fitter vessel to receive Godliness.

Know that when you walk this path you are walking on a path that was cleared and kept open for you by those who walked it before you. Each of their steps made it easier for you to walk it and you are clearing it and keeping it open and making it easier to tread for those who come after you. All who walk this path, no matter when or where they live, lived, or will live support one another and lend strength to one another. Goodness is cumulative and made permanent. You can tap into the strength of any and all good done at any time that you need it. This is the Path of the Just. This is the path that leads to God - not to light, not to spirituality, not to arcana - to God Itself.

D2