Real Torah for the Real World » Rebbe Nachman

Breaking our illusions – 2 22 10

gavriel — Tue, 23 Feb 2010 21:35:14 +0000

Rebbe Nachman addresses the anatomy of illusion – it comes from the heart and from emotion. We create or give in to illusions because they seem more attractive than reality.

rebbe nachman 12 10 09 – the light wants to move, and so do we

gavriel — Thu, 10 Dec 2009 22:06:36 +0000

Once we unearth the light and remove it from its shell, wants to inspire us and those around us. but we need to be sure the circuitry is in place, and this is not so simple. VERY practical stuff.

Make yourself at home – sooner or later

gavriel — Mon, 07 Dec 2009 21:57:33 +0000

When we do a mitzvah, something enters into us. It wants to make itself comfortable inside of us, and might have to rearrange some of the furniture.

Rebbe Nachman at Naropa – 11 19 09 – maintaining the possibility of happiness

gavriel — Mon, 30 Nov 2009 05:10:30 +0000

There is so much we can do to leave the possibility of happiness open. And so much we already do that allows it to close.

Rebbe Nachman – Torah 24 – 11 19 09 – Joy breaks through

gavriel — Thu, 19 Nov 2009 22:15:43 +0000

Our bad feelings, faulty narratives, and various and sundry schtick tend to coalesce around the people and situations we encounter in the form of a hard shell called ‘klipah’, and only joy can break through it. How? And what is joy, anyway?

Rebbe Nachman at Naropa – Torah 24 – 11 12 09 – distortion of relationship and confusion in the heart

gavriel — Thu, 12 Nov 2009 20:21:22 +0000

Our relationships get distorted because of those nasty klipot that stand like dragons, defending the spark we need from them. but don’t get turned away! You need that gold! So don’t let your heart close!

Rebbe Nachman – Torah 24 – the light is contained in shells that are hard to penetrate

gavriel — Fri, 06 Nov 2009 21:44:20 +0000

Without too much work, we can operate at about 91%. But the remaining 9% has been captured and is being held under maximum security. Uh-oh!

Rebbe Nachman at Naropa – Torah 24 II – the demons

gavriel — Fri, 23 Oct 2009 16:36:26 +0000

The work of ascending begins with doing mitzvot with joy. Why mitzvot? Why joy? This class is an interesting exploration of how we remove ourselves and the world around us from its broken state.

Likutei halachot – Shabbat I – Shabbat is a day of soul

gavriel — Tue, 13 Oct 2009 04:16:18 +0000

Shabbat is a day of soul – when we are given the opportunity to line our lives up the way it is supposed to be done – and will be, ultimately, in the end of days. But what is soul? This class took an unexpected turn when we introduced the topic of soul vs. spirit in the context of a letter from the 14th Dalai Lama and some commentary by neo-Jungian James Hillman.

Rebbe Nachman at Naropa – Lesson 33 – part III

gavriel — Tue, 06 Oct 2009 18:44:19 +0000

Shalom is a practice more than an end. But how do we practice it? As always, Rebbe Nachman has something surprising to tell us about it.