Each day we are given twenty-fours hours (okay, maybe more like 18 depending on how many hours you’re asleep.) Each of those hours is bringing us minute-by-minute opportunities to choose positivity or to allow negativity. You might say, “Monica, each day is a little more complicated than that isn’t it?”
Nope. It’s not. It really is that simple. No matter what your day looks like—your best day, your worst day, and all the mundane days in between—they all come with this same opportunity posed as a continuous question: Are you choosing growth or are you choosing comfort?
That question on its own is a great litmus test for where your consciousness is in this moment. Does that idea feel daunting or heavy? Or does it feel inspiring? Probably a mix of both, I’m guessing. That’s okay, a majority of people find themselves right in the middle which is why all of our intentions to shift our consciousness are so important. But what if I told you that you’re about to receive an invitation to supercharge your consciousness?
Yesterday was the first day of Pesach and today we begin the Counting of the Omer. It is an incredibly potent and transformative period of 49 days that begins with Pesach and ends with Shavuot. It is a spiritual marathon if there ever was one and it offers us a chance at accelerated growth.
But first, what is The Omer and why do we count it?
The kabbalist Rav Avraham Azulai wrote, “When the world was created, there was also a creation of 50 Gates of Purity and elevation, controlled by the Angel Michael and all of the angels that supported him. But because of duality, there were also 50 Gates of Impurity and darkness created, which are controlled by the most negative of angels, the Samech-Mem.” Our job is to move up the gates by connecting to purity and releasing impurity.
As I mentioned above, we are always choosing.
The Arvei Nachal explains that to move through the next gate, we must complete an eight-day cycle of transformation. Let’s say a person begins her spiritual process, and she is between the 50 Gates of Purity and the 50 Gates of Impurity. Right in the middle. She sets an intention to grow, and if she does her work of spiritually connecting and transforming for eight days straight, she will have completed the process necessary to elevate into the next gate of purity.
However, during the Counting of the Omer, we have the ability to elevate to the next gate in a single second.
It not only shortens the time it takes us to pass through the next gate, but it also enhances the quality of our spiritual growth. When we connect with this spiritual tool, we are thrown through an entire gate—eight days’ worth of pure work—instantly! This system of the Counting of the Omer is one of the more magnificent gifts the Creator gives us. Not only do we have the ability to stop the process of falling through our observance of Passover, but the Creator also gives us a rocket booster into the process of elevating through the 50 Gates of Purity.
So how do we do it?
Kabbalah teaches that the Creator interacts with the human world through seven channels or sefirot, and these channels are reflected in us through 49 aspects of our personality. The seven channels are the seven basic human traits that make up the foundation of the human experience. At the root of all suffering is a misalignment of one or more of these traits. The Counting of the Omer helps us to realign ourselves via focus on that week’s specific trait and the corresponding aspect of humanity.
The practice takes about five to ten minutes—we all have an extra ten minutes—each night for the 49 nights between Passover and Shavuot.
In practical terms, one week will focus on the emotion, and each day of that week is dedicated to one way in which we work with that emotion. For example, week one focuses on love. The second day of that week focuses on love and restriction. By engaging in the practice, we are brought to thoughts, words, actions, and circumstances that help us to cleanse and grow through all of these specific traits and emotions. Below is an outline to clarify:
Week 1: Chesed ~ Loving-Kindness: This week focuses on the ways we love, how we give love, and how we receive love. It is the pure energy of our being and the foundation of our lives.
Week 2: Gevurah ~ Justice & Discipline: This week, we examine all the ways we reveal our love through logic, discipline, and discernment. Love requires direction and focus, which are found through restriction.
Week 3: Tiferet ~ Harmony & Compassion: This week builds upon Chesed and Gevurah, exploring how we focus and reveal love through compassion, honesty, and selflessness.
Week 4: Netzach ~ Endurance: This week, the focus is on the self, examining ambition, drive, and tenacity and how we balance those traits with patience and determination.
Week 5: Hod ~ Humility: This week, we focus on our humility. During Netzach, we look to what we wish to accomplish; this week, we bring modesty to our pursuits. We look at all of our strengths, remembering they come not from us but from the Creator.
Week 6: Yesod ~ Bonding: Building upon the first five weeks, which deal primarily with the self, we now take a look at the ways we connect and the quality of those connections, examining the bonds of each relationship in our life and how those bonds are nurtured.
Week 7: Malchut ~ Sovereignty & Leadership: Finally, we arrive at Malchut, the state of being when all six states of being are aligned. This week, we focus on all the ways in which we embody leadership and look to examine our independence and confidence.
As Rav Berg said about Kabbalah, it is simple but not easy. The Counting of the Omer is simple but not necessarily easy. As we move through the Omer, we will be doing the work. We will be given opportunities in our lives to grow, and our lives will shift in marvelous ways, right before our eyes. It may not always be comfortable, but your discomfort will be the first indicator that you are on the right path.
I encourage you to be gentle with yourself during this time, to practice certainty and trust, and to connect back to the Light every time you feel strained, stressed, or unsure. And remember, this gift of transformation is one that we give ourselves and the entire world.
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