Give Attention with the Heart and Light up the World

We know about paying attention, like paying attention to the teacher in the classroom. There’s a difference between ordinary paying attention and offering loving attention.

Feel the difference for yourself.
We offer loving attention with our heart, not our mind.
It is the ability to connect with our heart, not with our mind.
Engage in loving attention and see if you can get a stronger feel for it.

Darkness is the opposing force to light and love. Our sages tell us darkness is the force of illusion. The biggest place to find it is in this physical world of “Assiyah.” In fact they call this the world of illusion, the False World.

But keeping your flame lit dispels illusion.

It’s like in the movie house, when there’s plenty of darkness, you see and engage with the drama on the screen. You think the movie is real.
But when light arrives, it’s like the house lights are turned up, and the movie disappears. The illusions disappear.

In the place of light there are no more illusions.

Many people live with the movie, however.
They are invested in desires and fears, running after desires and hiding from fears.
This can go on for lifetimes. It does not matter.

Eventually the person will become aware that their desires and fears are illusions.
When this is revealed, it comes with the knowing that these things always were illusions.

So your good deeds light up the world and light up the fire in your heart.

However – sometimes service becomes a burden. When we have tons of work to do for others, our ordinary eyes see overwhelm in our life.

Yet the flame in your heart tells you that service is the whole reason you are here on the earth. Service and good deeds are the fuel for the fire in your heart.

There’s a story about a man in Europe who started a charity fund that grew larger and larger until it was difficult to handle all the duties of that. He didn’t know what to do. It was getting to be too much. His wife suggested that he go ask the Chofetz Chaim what to do. (Rabbi Yisrael Meir Kagan of the Mussar movement, died 1933.)
So the man traveled to a town in Poland at that time to see the Chofetz Chaim.
When he walked into the Rebbe’s home, the Chofetz Chaim was just finishing his supper, saying the final prayer. The prayer says “goodness and kindness chase me all the days of my life.”

Right then and there the Rebbe turned to the man and explained to him, “Your good deeds will chase you all the days of your life.” The message was to keep serving in the way he had been doing.

We should continue serving because we light up the world.
This is our purpose in being here.

This is an excerpt from Chapter 28 of Volume 5, Walking the Bridge: to Freedom and Light

(Thanks to J3SSL33 on Flickr for this image.)

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Find the Bright Divine Fire in Your Heart

Question: Would you please tell us more about heart fire?

The divine fire is within you already, in your heart. It never leaves you.
This fire may burn brighter or dimmer according to your action.
A person may be aware of their heart fire or unaware of it.

In this world, wherever there is a light, darkness advances to cover the light. The amount of light and darkness is balanced in this dualistic world.

So you want to shine your heart flame to repel the forces of darkness that always want to cover it up.

How can we help our heart fire to burn brighter?

The Alter Rebbe (Rabbi Shneur Zalman of Liadi, Russia) said the way to catch fire to the wick is through your actions. Through good deeds, taking care of others – mitzvot. Good deeds illuminate the world.

In this world the suffering is great. The darkness is deep and dark compared to the other worlds.
But your good deeds help the fire to blaze in your heart.

We don’t need to worry about keeping the darkness away from ourselves. We don’t need to fear contamination. We may get contaminated, so to speak, dragged down a bit into darkness. But on the other hand, our sages tell us, when we are on an errand of service, we are protected.

If you ever feel tinged by darkness, you know how to find the Source of All Light.

Another way to catch fire is through prayer.
Prayer is focused attention.

We know that we give life through our attention.
We know that our plants do better with attention, as do our children.

It is so important to use your heart to bring your loving attention.
People thrive on this.
Your loving attention is much greater than your good advice.
Remember This.

What about when there’s a big crisis? When everything is falling apart? When the situation is so extreme that you don’t know what to do for your friend, you don’t know what to say.
Here again you bring your loving attention and your ability to connect with your heart. This is what people need.

We know about paying attention, like paying attention to the teacher in the classroom.
There’s a difference between ordinary paying attention and offering loving attention.
Feel the difference for yourself.

We offer loving attention with our heart, not our mind.
It is the ability to connect with our heart, not with our mind.

Engage in loving attention and see if you can get a stronger feel for it. …

Darkness is the opposing force to light and love. Our sages tell us darkness is the force of illusion. The biggest place to find it is in this physical world of “Assiyah.” In fact they call this the world of illusion, the False World.

But keeping your flame lit dispels illusion.

It’s like in the movie house, when there’s plenty of darkness, you see and engage with the drama on the screen. You think the movie is real.

But when light arrives, it’s like the house lights are turned up, and the movie disappears. The illusions disappear.

In the place of light there are no more illusions.

 

Many people live with the movie, however.
They are invested in desires and fears, running after desires and hiding from fears.
This can go on for lifetimes. It does not matter.

Eventually the person will become aware that their desires and fears are illusions.
When this is revealed, it comes with the knowing that these things always were illusions.

 

So your good deeds light up the world and light up the fire in your heart.

However – sometimes service becomes a burden. When we have tons of work to do for others, our ordinary eyes see overwhelm in our life.
(Take a break to nurture yourself too. – editor)

Yet the flame in your heart tells you that service is the whole reason you are here on the earth. Service and good deeds are the fuel for the fire in your heart.

 

 

This is Isaac’s teaching from Chapter 28 of Volume 5, Walking the Bridge: to Freedom and Light

Thanks to Public Domain for this heart fire image.