Wisdom from Rabbi Ted

The Hebrew word for faith is amuna. And the sound, it's the same as the word amen. And amuna, which is translated as faith, literally means “it-is-so-ness.” It is. So it's not faith in something. It's faith in the isness. And what all of us are doing, actually always, is ising. This is our individual and mutual isness.

I have some bad news. I can't do it for you. No one can do it for you. And I have some good news. I can't do it for you. No one can do it for you. You're doing it every moment.

This is just such an incredible adventure. Consciousness, which is the constant, the life, the always, is expressing through each and every one of us on this human adventure.

And without us, consciousness got bored. You know, in absolute unity, in absolute oneness, nothing is happening. It's called “nothing.”

And actually, it's called Nothing with a capital “N,” because behind it all is Nothing. And out of Nothing comes awareness, light, the creative word.

The Hebrew word for “word” is davar. The Hebrew word for “thing” is davvar. So the metaphor of God creating with words is what we do all the time. Every time we take an unlimited consciousness, which in fact is always unlimited, and we condition it with words and beliefs and perceptions and actions. And behind it all, consciousness is cheering all possible experiences.

Wow.

You know, people pray for God to give them things, to make things better. The question is: what are we giving God? God is infinite consciousness. God is infinite awareness. God is that which always holds every thought, every action, every urge. And as those awaken through us, that's what we're giving God.

We are living in a trauma world, but behind the trauma is always the radical opposite, because the way the world works is light and dark, up and down, warm and cold. You can't do without it. If you're going to have a physical reality, that's how it's going to be.

We have this notion that we can have peace all the time. You know what would happen if we had peace all the time? Nothing. Really. We wouldn't even know it. If everything went well all the time, people would think, “Yeah.”

We moved this week. Do you remember moving? It's a wonder that we're here. I mean, I don't know if I've even found the box that I'm in! And it's great. It's great, just the letting go of a whole place and opening to something radically different. It's such a great adventure.

However, I'm stuck with all these beginnings.

What I really want to tell you is that each and every one of us is an expression of a single consciousness. Consciousness, by its very nature, is creative. It cannot help creating because that's its nature.

So just think about what's going on inside you. There's a creation of thoughts. There's a creation of memories. Everything that's going on for each and every one of us is going on now, not as a future and not as a past. Because in spiritual terms, there actually is no future and there actually is no past. There's only now.

Anytime, any place we find ourselves, it's always now. We think that now is this little dot that opens up time after time between an ever-expanding memory of a past and an ever-expanding fantasy of a future. And it's not. That's purely a thought. It's all now.

See, the mind calibrates on conditions. When conditions are nice, I feel good. When conditions are not nice, I don't feel good. Well, consciousness is far freer than that. Consciousness can open beyond conditions. Consciousness is not bound by conditions. The mind is bound by conditions.

Have you ever just sat and paid attention to your mind? Whoa. If anybody talked to us like our minds talk to us, we would not want to be around that person.

And it's not your fault. It's conditioning. We are trained to confine ourselves to this physical form. So we try to deny. We try to preserve.

If we had billions, we'd put billions into trying to live forever. Which is ridiculous, since we're already living forever. Right now, we're living through this form. Whatever your name is, whatever your perceptions are, whatever your memories are, whatever your dreams are, this is the form we're living through, but it's not who we are. It's who we're doing right now.

What this means is that, on a very deep level, there's nothing to be afraid of. There's everything to love. Does God love the good? Does God love the bad? God embraces it all, because the drama is bigger.

If I could say one thing and have it penetrate, it would be this: You are absolutely safe. You are absolutely loved, even that part of you. Even that memory. Even that hope. There's nothing you are that's not love.

What would you do in your life right now if you became totally aware that you are totally safe and totally loved? What would you do? What would you be?