Daily Tune-Up by Yehuda Berg

Did you know that we can borrow from a better version of ourselves before it becomes manifest?

Imagine how the person you really want to be would handle the ins and outs of your everyday life, and then be that! With practice, those better behaviors become like second nature to us.

You can fake it until you make it because what we give energy to becomes our destiny.

This is the week when Rabbi Shimon Bar Yochai revealed to students, the greatest source of spiritual wisdom, the Zohar. (For more information, see Zohar.com.) As students today, we learn that nothing is random; there is a time for everything. The reason the Zohar was revealed in this particular week is because the energy available in the cosmos right now allows us to connect with ancient spiritual truths that can help us better understand the laws of the universe, and make choices that will bring us to greater destinations.

There is an energy in the month of Gemini that propels us to take our dreams, goals, and ambitions to the place of making them manifest. In fact, if you haven’t done so recently, the start of this month is a good time to get clear on what it is you want. Make new goals now, and with effort, you could see those dreams of yours beginning to actualize by the month’s end.

How do you know you don’t like something if you’ve never tried it?

How do you know you can’t accomplish something if you’re not really giving it your all?

How do you know your enemy isn’t destined to become your best friend, if you haven’t yet approached them with an open heart?

Trying what we thought we’d never try leads us feel things we thought we’d never feel, broadening our horizons and creating a life far more enriching.

In time of conflict or judgment, it’s important to remember that we all have way more in common than we have differences.

Everyone hurts.

Everyone wants love.

Everyone has good days and bad.

99.9% of our DNA is the same. Let’s not let a little 0.01% get in the way of having tolerance and respect for each other

We tend to give up on goals when we don’t see results. Some people give up when they don’t see a change overnight, while for others it might take several months to reach their breaking point.

It’s in raising our endurance that we become stronger, and grow closer to reaching our goals. If we persist when we feel like we can’t take it anymore and are ready to throw in the towel, that’s when we step into the miracle zone.

Many of us first come to study Kabbalah or take up a spiritual path in hope that our life will become easier – and in the beginning, this is sometimes the case. Every week I receive countless emails from new students who tell me they have experienced an awakening due to their studies, and are seeing great changes within themselves and the way they perceive the world.

Yet I receive nearly as many emails from students who, after a few months, find the initial infusion of energy they received has not only worn off, but the challenges are still there or new ones have emerged.

This week begins with Lag B’Omer on Sunday, which marks the death anniversary of Rabbi Shimon Bar Yochai, author of the Zohar, the source of all kabbalistic wisdom. There is great energy available for us to tap into, not just today but throughout the whole week, that will assist us with the work we came to this world to do.

The kabbalists teach our purpose in this world is to transform from a selfish being into a being of sharing. We do this inch by inch, and layer by layer, removing one aspect of our negativity after another to reveal the truth of our soul’s sharing nature.

Sometimes students ask me, “How do I know if I’ve truly transformed?”

We don’t always control the external circumstances of our lives – sometimes something happens unexpectedly.

The one thing we can control is whether or not we choose to react to it.

When we react, we check out. We’re no longer the one in charge of ourselves. We become the effect of whatever it is we are reacting to.

It takes a great deal of discipline to remain calm and steadfast in our certainty that everything is for the best, but the more we practice it, the greater we grow our peace within.