September 14 — 20
By: Yehuda Berg
Why are we afraid of taking risks? We're afraid to sacrifice our ego.
Getting hurt, rejected, bloodied and bruised - this is all pain felt by the ego. When we're afraid to go onstage to address a crowd of 1,000 people, or trembling in our boots before asking someone out, is it our soul that's afraid? No.
And by ego, I'm not referring to pride or self-centeredness. I'm referring to anything that's not of the spirit.
In the end, (or in the beginning, depending on how you look at it) all the gifts we have come from the Light. When we're taking a risk, all that we are putting on the line is our ego.
That's what Kabbalah is all about. The connections, meditations, transformational sharing, charity, late-night studies, going against our gravity to help others ... we do all this to receive the strength to take risks!
And what's on the other side of a risk? Certainty. When you go out on a limb and see results, are you going to be afraid to go out on that limb again? No. You'll run out there next time, ready to breakthrough and reveal greater results.
The Zohar says we have to connect all the blessings in our life back to its source if we want them to continue. What does this mean? Whether it's attaining a level of wisdom or success or peak performance, you need to know it's not us, but the way the Light speaks through us that allow for these things to manifest.
When you do take a risk and start a business or become a motivational speaker or whatever, you are worried about you but it's actually the Light that's doing these things. It's a paradox. Do you see what I am getting at?
You have nothing to risk but your ego and if you don't have the ego, than it's just the Light. If you are afraid of success, its not even you, it's the Light that creates the success, so what are you afraid of?
This week, keep taking risks. The more you are able to identify the illusion of the ego, the greater your future will be. Do you really want more energy, success, wealth, happiness, health and fulfillment next year?
You've got to get rid of the old before you can bring in the new.
All the best,
Yehuda
72 Name of the Week
This Name brings the greatest of all free-doms: the escape from my own ego-based desires, selfish inclinations, and the "me first" mentality that ultimately cause pain in my life. In their place, I gain life's true and lasting gifts-family, friendship, and fulfillment.
