We're just a few days left before the Jewish festival of Purim.
I thought today we'd focus in on a really beautiful,
I think very powerful idea about what it really truly means to be happy.
You know,
From the beginning of this month we're told we have to lift our level of joy up.
Misha nichnas adar marbin b'simcha,
When you hit the month of Adar,
Your simcha,
Your joy should increase.
But it's quite interesting that this festival of Purim is a festival where we also recognize a very powerful and strong enemy that lurks deep within us.
The enemy we deal with on Purim is the enemy called Amalek.
Amalek,
Our sages tell us,
Is actually the force of the Yeh Tzahara,
The evil inclination,
The anti-self,
The part of us that's pushing and cajoling and tempting us,
Taking us away from the journey we really want to get to.
So part of the role of Purim is to eradicate that Amalek,
To eradicate that Yeh Tzahara from deep within us.
And in the Torah reading that we say just before Purim,
We're told that we have to remember and never forget exactly what that power of the Yeh Tzahara,
The evil inclination is trying to do to us.
How fascinating that we're told that we can't forget,
Don't forget,
Never forget.
I think this could be because one of the greatest weapons that the anti-self,
That the Yeh Tzahara has,
Is the power to make us forget.
Sometimes we find ourselves moaning or complaining about everything we're lacking.
We find ourselves feeling down or sad,
Telling ourselves that we wish we had what everyone else had.
Every single day is difficult and hard when we're always looking over our shoulders for what everyone else has.
In Genesis,
There is a Pasuk verse that mentions the following words,
Rakh rakol ayon.
It's referring to mankind at the time that they were acting negatively.
The words translate as everything's bad all the time.
If you take the last letter of those words together,
You get the word Amalek.
Amalek is this power that tells us that everything's bad all the time.
Why are we able to be seduced by the voices and sounds of the Amalek?
Why is it we are persuaded by our Yeh Tzahara?
I think we could say that one of its greatest weapons is the weapon of forgetting,
Of shikhah.
It's because we forget all the blessings that we do have in our life.
It's because we forget all the good that comes to us with every breath we take.
We are so blessed to have so much joy in our lives,
But each time we forget,
We find ourselves in an exile in our mind.
We find ourselves unable to access that goodness and light simply because we have forgotten.
And so we're told just before Purim comes,
Do not forget.
Do not forget all the good that's happening in your lives.
We are so blessed in our lives that we have to make a real stand and not allow ourselves to forget.
And so when it comes to Purim,
Our aim is in eradicating this power of forgetfulness and instead tapping into the joy of realizing,
Who is really rich?
Someone who's happy with their lot.
That which you have in your life,
It's been given to you because the master of the world knows exactly what you need.
And so on Purim,
We let go and we embrace that idea and we don't forget all the goodness in our life and we don't forget just how important it is to be happy with everything that we've been given by Hashem.
And so as a special treat before Purim,
Let's meditate on this idea,
Finding yourself in a comfortable position where you're not disturbed.
Allow yourself to feel warm and relaxed throughout your body.
Breathing in through your nose,
Big deep breath,
Holding for a few seconds and then breathe out.
Breathe in once more,
Fill yourself with air and then breathe out again.
Noticing the sensation of your feet against the floor,
Your body against the chair or the bed,
Feeling warm and heavy,
Relaxed and secure.
Once again,
Breathing in through your nose,
Filling yourself with air,
Allowing your body to feel really relaxed right down as you breathe out.
Should be in a state of calm,
Feeling centered.
We don't have to go far to consider the blessings in our lives.
Just as we breathe in,
Let's not forget just the incredible gift of being able just to breathe.
So you take in the oxygen into your body,
The oxygen goes down through your lungs,
Goes into your bloodstream,
To your heart,
Around your whole body and at the same time the carbon dioxide and the toxins come out of your body with the exhale.
As you breathe in,
Just meditate on that idea that this is just one massive gift of being able just to breathe,
To stay alive.
It's something that you do subconsciously without even thinking about.
Take a deep breath into your nose,
As you're breathing in,
Feel that gift and then breathe out again.
That's more as you breathe in,
Just consider the gift of breath.
Forget that we're breathing half the time,
We forget what breathing is doing for us.
So don't forget,
Just be conscious and be aware.
As you breathe out again,
Stay totally focused on this gift of breath as you breathe in,
Holding for a few seconds and breathing out.
Should feel so warm,
Heavy and relaxed right now.
And joyful,
Because the true joy is waking up from the state of forgetfulness of the anti-self the door is putting us into.
It's like sleepwalking through life and not noticing all the gifts that are around you.
So I want you to now focus on one gift you have in your own private life that you haven't said thank you for,
For a long time.
In this beautiful state that you're in right now,
Think deeply about just one thing that you really,
Really,
Really want to thank the master of the world for.
As you thank and as you keep breathing,
Feel that thank you with every part of your body and soul.
As you do so,
You'll be eradicating the strong,
Relentless power of forgetfulness.
I want you now to thank Hashem,
To thank the master of the world for something great,
Not just for you,
But for your family that you haven't thanked for a long time.
Towards the end of the meditation now,
I want you to think of something that we as humanity,
We're not thanking enough.
Something we've forgotten to say thank you for.
Something that we need to say collectively that we appreciate,
But that we overlook from day to day.
As you breathe in and breathe out,
Feel that gratitude and burn away the power of forgetfulness.
In doing so,
I wish you all a happy,
Mindful Purim.
