B"H

The Two-Pronged Approach to Fixing the World

When we are young idealists see that the world is "damaged". Those
who feel keenly for the injustice done to *others* sacrifice
comfortable lives in order to do everything they can to fix the
world. Those who suffer more from the fact that the world has been
unjust to *them* take flight to various palliatives -
false "spirituality" is one of them.

Seeing that the task of correcting the world is impossible, most of
even the most idealistic people give up and become jaded. They then
going about "doing what's good for me".

A very, very few do not give up their hope for a better world. Those
are the ones who will be blessed with the understanding that the
world that I see is the world that is being generated by my eyes, the
world I live in is that which is being generated by my mind. In an
epiphany they will suddenly know this and they will be filled with
sorrow and shame for God's sake. God is kind and does not take
pleasure in overmuch contrition. Soon they are filled with the
determination of bringing a more fitting gift to God.

They then set about correcting their *own* flaws, insofar as they are
able to, with the very same zeal that they set about correcting the
world "out there" when they were young. Once again, they sacrifice a
great deal in order to be as free as possible to learn and correct
their flaws. No one can actually divest themselves of their own
flaws. It is God who removes our flaws in accordance with our need
and the devotion we have shown.

To those who persist, to those who are relentless in their battle to
bring justice to the world of their own making, to those who suffer
the inevitable poverty and humiliation of the life of self-correction
they have chosen are made known the secrets of creation, they are
entrusted with keys to every door in the Palace.

This is the Way. Everyone who every reached the end degree walked
this Way. There is no other. There are certainly variations of this
Way, as determined by one's own religion, culture, time and place.
The specific experiences along this Way vary in accordance with the
needs of the individual walking along this Way. Yet, this is the
true Golden Path. There is no shortcut. There is no skirting around
it. There are no religious practices which will come in place of it.
All religious practices undertaken are done for this sake of
strenghtenng us to walk this Way. All religions are designed to aid
the devotee to walk this Way if they are properly understood and
undertaken. Again, the culture that we are born into is
not "accident" of birth. It is the culture within which we are to
find The Way.

With blessings,
Doreen Ellen Bell-Dotan, Tzfat