What Planet Are You On?

There are two worlds a person can live in. When we say "world", we really mean perspective or "mind-space". When a person perceives the people and things around him to be separate from the Divine energy and hence from the Divine influence, that is a world of pirud, of division and schism.

The second space a person can live in is a world of ichud, of oneness and unification. Recognizing that when one person is Klal Yisroel defies the edict of Hashem, it is as though each one of us individually have sinned. Similarly, when one person performs a mitzvah, in essence we all have done that mitzvah. I am you and you are me and there is no difference. It is a place of ahavas yisroel, of positivity and constant connection with Hashem. Everything has its source in Hashem. Linking every situation, every person and thing we come in contact with to its Source, and experiencing the inner core of everything as opposed to getting caught up in the "bubble-wrap" (as the Rebbe often gives as a mashal), is what the Maor Einayim and others refer to as the embodiment of the pasuk חכם עיניו בראשו, "a wise person's eyes are in his head" (Koheles 2:14). The Zohar Hakadosh (Parshas Balak 187a) asks the obvious question. Inasmuch as that every person's eyes are in his head, not just the eyes of a wise person, the Maor Einayim explains this pasuk to mean that a person who is wise, is someone who always looks to the head, the source, the beginning of everything. From where did this thing emanate? He sees things as they are in their source.

The Rebbe said that the first step towards spending more of the time connected to the Source of everything is to identify the differences between life lived in pirud-world as opposed connected, oneness-world. Once we can picture the kinds of things that stem from living in the world of pirud, then when we sense ourselves slipping into those areas or those kinds of behaviors, we can train ourselves to have a signal go off in our heads. At that point we can step back into the right space. By reacting to those signals, we can slowly learn how to stay in the right mindset more and more often.

If I were seeing things clearly, how would I behave? What would my speech be like? Would I see things in a better light? Would I be more tolerant of others, of the situation, of myself? How would I spend my time? How about the converse? And when I am not seeing things as connected, what does my world look like?

These are the types of questions we need to ask. Once we have a clear picture of both worlds then we can be cognizant of where we are and take the requisite steps towards where we want to be.