Virgo 4: THE PERFECTED SELF

“As human beings, our greatness lies not so much in being able to remake the world – that is the myth of the atomic age – as in being able to remake ourselves.” ~ Mohandas Gandhi

The Month of Elul does not just bring about the opportunity to erase past mistakes or better ourselves but it is a process for true transformation. Instead of thinking what I need to change to be a little bit better, we have to see what we need to completely change for overall self-improvement.

There are times when we rely on the sight of others for our own improvement, psychics for example.  Every now and then you may find yourself walking into a psychic’s room, scented with sandalwood and hope, hope that they’ll see brightness and goodness into Your future.  But all of that is a projection – a projection of what they see, a vision that you may not have at all.

Now, there is a time and a place for psychics, granted, but ultimately it begs the question, “What came first, the egg or the chicken?”  It is important that we remember how powerful our minds are.  If a psychic tells us something, be it good or bad, WE have the power to manifest it.

But, I do not bring up the dealings with psychics for this purpose.  I mention it in light of the importance and power of this month, Elul.  Our greatest objective this month is to really see our selves as we are, the big, the bad and the ugly, no matter how painful it may be.  It is important to face ourselves in order to change, grow, and free ourselves from the judgment of others, ourselves and the illusions of perfection that we often times get caught up in.

As it’s been said, “Great people usually did not start their lives out that way.”

Often we look at our spiritual growth and we accept 95% of where we are at and consider that only 5% warrants our time to change.  We accept the lack of it, because that is where we find ourselves, but we have to go beyond.

When we visit psychics, we rely on an outside source to tell us what they see, but what they see is so limited compared to what we know and can see for ourselves.  People think that we need to push ourselves to our limit, but Rav Ashlag says that we need to go beyond our limit.

In this month of Elul, you need to constantly ask yourself this question:

Am I pushing myself beyond my abilities? Am I pushing myself beyond my comfort zones and my potential?  Because this month is about truth, and taking account for who we are and are actions over the year, it is also important that we keep a view of our perfected self.   WOAH!! Take note… I said PERFECTED, not perfect.  There is a big difference…

Kabbalists teach that Rosh Hashanah is the time when everything in the physical world came into EXISTENCE.  Now, the Month of Elul actually precedes Rosh Hanshana and the PROCESS OF CREATION.  Rav Ashlag explains and encapsulates the great gift of this month by calling it “The Thought of Creation.”  Meaning that before anything comes into existence there is a moment of perfection that precedes it.

Rav Ashlag compares this idea to an architect who wants to build a beautiful house.  Certainly he doesn’t lay down the bricks before he has a thought, and he certainly doesn’t lay down the foundation before he has a plan.  The architect asks himself:

1. What do I want the house to look like?

2. What do I want to have in it?

3. How beautiful do I want it to be?

IN THESE MOMENTS OF INSPIRATION, the architect is able to view in his minds eye the entire perfection of the structure before it exists.

Now it may take 3 years to build! And everybody knows the joke about construction, “It’s always over budget & over time!” but however long it takes and however much it costs the thought that preceded the building was perfected.

Whatever process goes on, contractor delays, weather permitting problems, even if it’s 3 to 5 years later… The house as the architect saw it in the beginning, in its inception, before its actual creation, is always there.  As Rav Ashlag explained, “Before anything can come into existence there’s a moment of perfection that precedes it.”  And this holds true for us, too.

Rav Ashlag said that before the creation of our world there was THE CREATOR’S THOUGHT that every soul that comes or will come into the world, (not like how we are now in the middle of our process) is in a perfected state.  As we know, Kabbalah is about leaving this world differently then how we came into it.  A thief who transforms just a little ignites MORE Light in our world than a holy person who enters the world holy and leaves holy.

Now we can begin to understand the power of Elul and the power of the revelation of the thought of the Creator/Creation.  There is no other time that we can connect in a deep way to our own perfection as now.

The gift of this month is that no matter where we are in our process, be it the beginning, middle or end if we ask for it we can connect to our perfected self and consciously disconnect from our imperfections.  Push yourself beyond your limits through your spiritual work.

JOURNAL:

1.  Awaken your desire to connect to your Perfect sense.

2.  Are you aware of your potential?

3.  If you aren’t aware of where you are, how do you think that impacts on you this month?

It’s so important to remember, as the proverb says: “If you don’t know where you’re going, you’re never going to get there.”

So I encourage you, this month above all else, to know thyself.