Kabbalah: The Tools For Seeing The Bigger Picture

We all want to feel happy and at peace, but somehow we aren't able to feel that way all the time. One day, everything seems to be going just right - you get a promotion at work, your love life is blossoming, and your health is perfect. The next day, you're fired, you break up with your partner, and you get the flu. In short, both bad and good things come to us from all directions. Kabbalah explains that there's a way to see beyond all these "chance occurrences" and to feel tranquility no matter what is happening. Then we would feel confident about our future and constantly feel joy and a sense of completeness.nnWhy do we feel incomplete? Each and every person in the world wishes to experience goodness. The reason we don't feel that way all the time is that we're only seeing a part of the bigger picture. It's like when we see a tree - its trunk and branches are visible to us, but we do not see its roots - the part that nourishes the whole tree. Kabbalists explain that in a similar way, the world we see around us is the external, visible part of what exists. But there is also a part that we don't see, which like the roots of the tree, nourishes the whole of reality. This hidden part of reality exists beyond the obvious, physical world and can be experienced by any person who has a desire to feel it. Kabbalists are people who feel this hidden part, and they also call it "the roots" or the source of the world in which we live. Based on their experience, they explain that if we could see the roots, then we could better understand why good and bad things happen in our everyday lives. Moreover, by seeing the whole picture of reality, we could make better decisions in life and avoid making mistakes that continually cause us pain. nThe method of Kabbalah gives us the tools to begin to discern this hidden part of reality and our role in it. By knowing this, we would know the way to feel happy and at peace in everything we do. nnSo how do we reach this ideal state of completeness? Because Kabbalists actually experience the whole of reality, they are able to explain to us what this picture is and how we can also experience it. In practical terms, they give us the tools to feel constant joy and tranquility. Kabbalah means "to receive" in Hebrew, because it allows us to "receive" or sense more than we can now. It teaches us how to feel balanced within reality, in each and every moment. Through studying, we are filled with a deep knowledge of everything there is. Kabbalists describe this feeling as unending joy, a sense of perfection and eternity. Everyone is able to learn this wisdom, and all it takes is a spark of interest and a yearning to understand and improve our condition in life.n