Children of Kings... What is the impediment?

Rabbi Kalonymus Kalman Shapira in his book Conscious Community A guide to Inner Work (p 12,13,14) states that we must understand that We are the children of the King; we have an intimate bond with our father a private and personal relationship. He states that there are 2 basic limitations that keep us from living this reality.

1. We are blocked emotionally- He says that when we feel either excitement or sorrow we become immediately more open and alive. Even if we are moved just a little bit we have already transcended our mundane physical concerns. But when our hearts are constricted we cannot fathom thoughts that transcend our physical needs and perceptions. He says that this is especially true when we are anxious. He says that anxiety itself is a kind of obstacle. The Rav Schneur Zalman of Lyadi wrote that when you feel as if your heart could break on Yom Kippur, indeed your heart and mind are wide open. But the rest of the year when day-to day anxieties overtake you, you loose touch with the immediacy of the power of your heart and mind.

2. Our power of concentration is inadequate- ....He states when a person with developed awareness has moments of powerful clear perception he can see what the Israelite prophets saw: the presence of G-d. This person even after the moment of inspiration has passed can maintain the former perception and clarity. With the capacity for mindfulness and attention he can reawaken the initial inspiration at any time. If we have not developed this faculty of attention we are constantly limited by the lack there of. Since our sensitivity is blocked we focus on mundane considerations potatoes, bread and work. Any inspiration descends on us from above as it does on Yom Kippur. When it falls on us to awaken spirituality from below, that is where the difficulty lies.

*Stay tuned for the Peasetzna Rebbe's advice on how to work on these areas