Getting to Know Your Feelings - 001 Becoming Aware Of Our Feelings

People are made up of three parts: thoughts, feelings, and actions. This book deals with our emotions and feelings. The main point of this book is to show us how to differentiate between what is our feeling and what is our imagination, as well as how to deal with our feelings – their roots, and their branches.

Every force in our souls is a mixture of good and evil. Our emotions and feelings as well are a force in our soul, and they have good as well as evil in them. In this book, we present the reader with the seven main negative emotions in the soul, and how to steer our negative emotions in a positive direction.

Our feelings are very important. However, our feelings are only good when they are balanced with proper action, as well as being with proper thought. When our feelings overtake our thoughts, a person is unstable and cannot attempt to build up the soul.

In this book, we will explain how to balance our emotions with our thoughts. A separate work on building up our thoughts will be published soon.

(Translator’s note: Although it is recommended to start from Chapter One and go in order, if the reader wants to immediately begin healing negative emotions and learning how to properly go about each of the seven main emotions, then the reader may go immediately to Chapter Ten and get started from there.)

Becoming Aware Of Our Feelings

Torah, prayer and kindness – in the physical, and in the emotions

The Mishnah in Avos (1:2) states, “The world stands on three pillars: Torah study, Avodah (sacrifices\prayer), and kindness.”

The world stands on these three things. What does the soul stand on? There is a concept known in the holy sefarim as Olam (World), Shanah (Time) and Nefesh (soul). This means that everything that takes place in the world also takes place in time, and everything that takes place in time also takes place in the soul. If the world stands on Torah, Avodah and kindness, then the soul must also stand on these three.

Most of us are accustomed to superficiality, and read the Mishnah dryly: We must learn Torah, we must daven, and we must do acts of kindness. We relate to everything as physical actions. This is true, but there is more depth to the matter.

In the deeper, internal aspect of this matter, there is a power in the soul called “Torah”, there is a power in the soul called “Avodah” and there is a power in the soul called “kindness”. When a person learns Torah, does Avodah and does kindness, he utilizes these three forces of his soul and brings them to their potential.

For example: Doing kindness. The simple understanding of kindness is that a person has to do acts of kindness, such as rejoicing a bride, escorting the dead and having guests. But upon a deeper look, we know that kindness is not just how to act. Kindness is a force of the soul, and we must utilize it to its potential. If a person doesn’t understand that kindness is a force of the soul he is using, then all his acts of kindness will be superficial, because he is not utilizing his soul’s potential of kindness.