I saw an article today that called Madonna the "world's most famous student of Kabbalah". How sad. Its not that I don't believe Kabbalah is doing anything for Madonna. I'm sure it is infusing parts of her life with meaning and a focus on spirituality. But her public persona is so far from the ideals of Kabbalah that its actually a desecration of God's name that she's associated with Jewish Mysticism. I truly hope she continues to study until spirituality can permeate every aspect of her personality.
In the meantime, its a sad state of affairs.

When viewing our own personal problems we have the opportunity to infuse our life with the presence of the Infinite Being by asking what lesson we can learn, what character trait is being tested, and what type of growth we can expect from having to deal with this particular challenge.

When we bring holiness or Godliness into the world we're doing what we were created to do. There are many ways to do this. Just having God in mind in an activity no matter how mundane it is, elevates the activity. When you pump gas you can think about how just like a car needs to be refueled, my soul needs to be refueled spiritually once a week with a day devoted to spirituality.

Now that I've had some of my morning latte my brain is working (a little). Back to our topic. The Passion. Aside from the fact that the movie portrays an uncomplimentary stereotypical group of Jewish sages, the whole idea of making a movie that zeroes in on an event which has been used as an excuse for Christians to kill Jews is offensive. I hope Mel Gibson has some asbestos pajamas for where he's headed in the next world.

Mariah Carey is now reportedly studying Kabbalah. Just what we need, one more scantily clad starlet with a red string bracelet.

Anyway, the messiah is one of the deeper concepts of Judaism. It includes the rectification of all mankind. When the messiah comes we will have peace, no war. We will have all peoples united to serve God. We will NOT have gory Hollywood movies about a man with a thorny crown.

Pain is also necessary for pleasure. It is often the price for pleasure. An accomplishment doesn't mean much without enduring some type of pain. Who is proud of a degree they didn't have to work hard for? I once interviewed a large number of people and asked, "What accomplishment are you most proud of?" Everyone had something that took a lot of pain. Climbing Mount Kilimanjaro, quitting smoking, running a marathon, finishing college, etc. Our most precious achievements are often acts that come with pain, suffering, or difficulty. Therefore pain is not an indication of no pleasure. In fact, it's often a prerequisite to pleasure.

Although many people are experiencing pain in various forms during their lives, we also are experiencing an awful lot of pleasure. And the truth is that most of our pain is self-inflicted. When you follow the principles that the Almighty gave us, you will automatically experience loads more pleasure, and a lot less pain.

Since the Al-mighty is infinite, the act of creation was truly and completely for the sake of mankind. We are here for our ultimate benefit and pleasure.

I'm about to write my fourth section for a book project. Basic kabbalah for the layman with a focus on how to apply kabbalistic ideas to everyday life. Hopefully it will be available at a bookstore near you by the end of the year. In the meantime you can check out my initial book "A Map of the Universe: An Introduction to the Study of Kabbalah" at www.xlibris.com/AMapoftheUniverse.html

Today is the first day of the rest of my life. What would I do if it was my last? How would I interact with others? What would I eat? How would I spend my time? What would I study? Would I post a blog?