PART I
Hitbodedut: Time for
Yourself
The literal meaning of the Hebrew word hitbodedut is "making oneself alone." The aim
is not to become a hermit. In essence, hitbodedut is private time that you put aside for yourself on a regular basis.
You
detach yourself from your normal routine for a while in order to explore and develop yourself through meditation, introspection,self-expression,
talking, praying, singing and any other method that helps you.
Hitbodedut is alluded to in various places in the Bible.
In different forms it was taught by many Jewish spiritual teachers through the ages. It was given special emphasis by Rebbe
Nachman of Breslov. Some of the main techniques that may be used in hitbodedut are discussed in more detail below.
The
mark of a successful hitbodedut session is that you feel good at the end of it. At the very least, you should feel better
than before! Sometimes this is achieved through relaxation, breathing, settling the mind, etc. At other times more active
methods may be employed, as described later.
The hitbodedut session itself may not necessarily be calm throughout.
In one and the same session you may go through a whole gamut of different experiences, from heightened consciousness, insight,
joy, gratitude, peace of mind and divine connection, to frustration, inner pain, grief or tears.
Be willing to face
negative aspects of yourself and your life honestly and with the confidence that God can help you discover the good concealed
within negativity and darkness. Searching for this goodness will bring you to greater harmony and joy.
Aim to set
aside time for yourself every day. This could be anywhere from about ten minutes to as much as an hour, according to your
needs. Surely you deserve it!
When and Where
Choose a time when you are not likely to be disturbed. Many people
prefer to practice hitbodedut early in the morning before the pressures of the day build up. Some take a break for hitbodedut
between activities.
Others practice hitbodedut at the end of the day, finding that it helps them unwind. For best
results, choose a time when you have not just eaten a large meal as this may interfere with your mental clarity. If you are
unable to sleep at night, you might try some hitbodedut then.
If possible, find a place where you can have some privacy.
If you are confined to bed, you can practice hitbodedut right there. If you are up and about, choose a quiet corner at home
or elsewhere.
Natural surroundings can be especially conducive to calm and spirituality. If you have access to a suitable
natural spot, or even your own back yard, take full advantage of it!
Before you begin a session of hitbodedut, it
is a good idea to decide in advance how long you want the session to last, e.g. fifteen minutes, half an hour, etc. Have a
clock or timer handy. Make yourself as comfortable as possible.
There is no required posture for hitbodedut. Choose
a posture that you find conducive to relaxation and clarity. Many people find it best to practice hitbodedut sitting in a
comfortable chair with the back well supported. If you wish,you may stand or walk about. Lying down is acceptable, especially
if you are tired or not feeling well. However,at other times lying down is not recommended as it may make you drowsy.
Now
you are ready to begin.
Settling the mind simply sitting quietly in a relaxed state, can free your mind and help
you get in touch with your thoughts, feelings and creative powers. One by one you let go of your tensions and they
drop away, leaving you with a blessed feeling of profound calm, liberation, clarity, enhanced sensitivity and alertness.
It becomes easier to think, understand, remember things and work out problems. New insights may result, together with
a growing awareness of the spiritual dimension of life.
The benefits of deep relaxation are so great that it is well
worth spending a little time learning the technique. Initially, you may have to concentrate more on bodily relaxation. Once
you have mastered this, you will be able to enter the relaxed state virtually at will and have full enjoyment of the mental,
emotional and spiritual benefits it can bring.
If you wish, start with a few stretches. If you are confined to
bed you can practice relaxation lying down. Otherwise, sit erect with your head comfortably balanced and your eyes closed.
Focus your attention on the different parts of your body in order,one by one, from the feet upwards. Which muscles
are tense? The key to relaxing is to understand that no effort is called for. Simply let go of tension. If you become
restless, stretch and move around a bit, or take a few deep breaths,and then go back to quiet sitting.
To relax
deeply, you must also let go of the inner fear, anxiety,anger,resentment and other factors that so often cause people to tense
various parts of their bodies. A way to overcome fear is learn to have faith by believing everything in your life is in God's
hands.
The Active Phase of Hitbodedut.
Some people hold that within each individual there are natural wellsprings
of vitality and joy ready and waiting to flow forth,and if you can only relax and settle your mind sufficiently,the happiness
will naturally bubble up within you.
However, this fails to take into account how hurt,wounded, thwarted and stunted
many people are inside as a result of what they have been through in their lives. This is why some people find that when
they start meditating,disturbing thoughts and feelings begin to surface, or they feel gray and cloudy and may want to
go to sleep.
In order to draw out, nurture and actualize the true power of your inner "point," it is not sufficient
merely to relax and try to settle the mind. It is also necessary to work on yourself actively in order to overcome
inner forces that may be inhibiting this latent power.
After an period of quiet sitting,a typical hitbodedut session
turns into a workshop in which you contemplate what is happening in your mind, your heart and your life as a whole. Then you
actively start working on yourself in order to change and grow.
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PART II
The power
of words
Just as you can influence others by the way you speak to them, so can you affect your
own self. With the right words, songs, cries and other means of expression, you can influence your own states of mind and
direct yourself to where you want to go.
Small children innocently express themselves out loud, to God, to themselves,
to invented characters, or to no one in particular. But as we grow older this easy self-expression tends to become muted,
turning into the continual, and often negative,internal dialogs within our minds.
Sometimes our innermost thoughts
and feelings go underground and may be hidden from our very selves. Talking to yourself is popularly considered a sign of
madness. Perhaps it is when the person is not in control of it. But one of the sanest things you can do to enhance your life
is to relearn the art of self-expression and consciously use words to focus your mind, to make contact with the different
sides of yourself, to direct yourself and to talk deeply into your soul and right out to God.
To whom are you really
talking in hitbodedut,to yourself or to God? The truth is that even when you talk "to yourself," you are really talking to
God.
In order to make changes in your life and grow, you must find new inner power. Fresh energy, positive mental
states, insights and original ideas are all new creations that ultimately come from God, the Source of all creation.
In
hitbodedut you consciously reach out to God with words, songs, cries and the like in order to channel new life into yourself.
When you "talk to yourself" in hitbodedut, you are at the point of encounter between your everyday self and the Supreme Power
from which your very life derives.
Don't be embarrassed. You are alone and no-one can hear you. Find your own voice!
Don't worry if you feel you don't know what to say. Everybody has this experience at first. Experiment with different kinds
of self-expression until you discover those that have meaning for you.
By definition hitbodedut is a highly individual
practice. You are completely unique. One must find his/her own way to connect with an inner "point" and with God.
Tailor
hitbodedut to your own personal needs. You may use different techniques at different times depending on your mood and your
needs of the moment.
Guide Words
These are words or phrases of your choice that you repeat aloud over and
over in hitbodedut in order to evoke a desired state of mind, focus your thoughts, etc.
Saying words aloud or in a
whisper is much more powerful than merely thinking them in your mind. Repeating the word Shalom, "Peace," for example can
help calm you if you are tense.
When you want to make changes in your life or achieve other important goals, keep
yourself on track with guide words that express exactly what you want. Convey this verbally to God or some other name for
the Higher Power that has special meaning for you.
Melody
Singing or humming the right song is a powerful
way to guide yourself and influence your moods and states of mind. If you are feeling uninspired, negative or depressed, choose
a melody with a positive energy. When you first begin humming even a favorite song, it may take some effort to get into the
right spirit.
But if you persist and sing it over and over again, you will find that the melody will begin to lift
you. It will bring healing rhythms into your soul, your mind and your very body.
Affirmations
Events, circumstances,
other people and certain forces within ourselves often conspire to make us lose sight of essential truths. An affirmation
is a statement of some important truth or belief about ourselves, our goals and values, or about life in general.
For
example:"My goal is to heal and to live life to the full every day,every moment". Regularly making such affirmations out loud
keeps these truths at the forefront of your mind. Develop your own set of affirmations about your beliefs, goals and ideals
or choose some inspiring quotations. Say them out loud regularly in your hitbodedut sessions.
Guiding Questions
If
you want to use hitbodedut to explore yourself and resolve certain issues in your life, give focus to your quest by asking
yourself guiding questions, such as, "What am I really feeling?; What is my purpose in this life? What do I want out of life?
How can I attain it? What keeps me locked into destructive atterns? What are my positive points etc? Asking such questions
out loud can aid your concentration when exploring various issues and can also help you develop new answers.
Self-Expression
As you ask yourself guiding questions, many different thoughts and feelings are likely to pass through your mind.
In order to understand yourself better, express what you are thinking and feeling out loud. Try to articulate your thoughts
and feelings as clearly as you can.
Listen carefully to what you are saying. Often we are in conflict within ourselves.
Articulating the different sides of our personalities can help us explore and resolve inner conflicts. Give honest expression
to all aspects of ourself,and especially to your highest ideals and aspirations. To give continuity to your mental and spiritual
growth, it can be helpful to jot down some of the ideas and insights that come to you in hitbodedut and keep them in a special
file.
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PART III
Cries and Tears
Little children naturally cry out in pain when they are hurt. You too are allowed to cry out because of your pain
and to complain about the things that are troubling you.
Cry to God about the pain in your body and in your soul.
Cry out about your fears. Weep over your deepest hurt and sorrow. Weep for yourself. Weep for your dear ones. Weep for the
world.
For many people a cry of pain or an unarticulated sob rising from the depths of the heart can be their first
act of outreach to God. "Where are You, God?" "Please help me!"
Thanks
Don't dwell only on the negative. Think
about the good things too! If you can see, hear, smell, taste, feel... thank God for it. Express your thanks out loud. "Thank
you, God, that I'm breathing, I'm thinking... I may not be well, but I'm alive"!
"I've had good times, I've done good
things". List the good things in your life. Count your blessings and thank God for them. People often associate prayer with
making requests to God.
But before you start asking for what you need, first give thanks to God for all the gifts
and blessings you already enjoy in your life. Make it a habit to speak to God about all the different aspects of your life.
Requests
List your prayers and requests. Even if some of them seem unrealistic, for God, anything is possible.
Make detailed requests: e.g.: "Please send healing to my arm, my leg, my heart, my lungs, my liver, my kidneys, etc.
Help me work on my lack of confidence, low self-esteem, anger, pessimism, etc. Help me in my relationship with so and so.
"Help me in that situation at home or at work, etc." Pray for joy and the will to live. Ask for insight and enlightenment.
Put your dreams and deepest yearnings into words, and ask God to help you attain what you want.
Psalms and Prayers
If you feel unable to express yourself to God or you feel that your own words are inadequate, open the Siddur (Jewish
Prayer Book) or the Psalms.
These are rich spiritual treasuries containing prayers of many different kinds expressing
every mood and need in life. If you wish, open them at random and read until you find a passage that has special meaning for
you.
When you find such a passage, say it out loud, even several times. Leave marks in the book so that you can easily
find your favorite passages another time.
Hitbodedut and Growth
Make use of the different techniques of hitbodedut
according to your own personal needs each day.
Life is constantly changing. New things are always happening. Our bodily
states fluctuate from day to day. Our moods and our thoughts shift from minute to minute. For this reason, hitbodedut is different
each time you do it.
Some people may want to launch immediately into the more active forms of self-expression such
as talking directly to God. For others, quiet sitting in contemplation may often be the prime method of their hitbodedut.
No matter where you choose to put your focus, the most important thing is to practice hitbodedut regularly. The effects
are cumulative. As you practice, you'll gain experience and learn how to make use of different techniques in order to grow
and accomplish what you want.
Use hitbodedut as part of your self-healing, or to work on specific problem areas in
your life, whether within yourself, in your relationships, at home, in your work, in the wider community, etc.
Use
guiding questions and self-expression to define and understand your problems and obstacles.
Whether you want to heal
yourself,make a change of lifestyle, attitudes, outlook, etc.,or accomplish any other goal in life, the goal starts off as
an idea in your mind.
In order to turn the potential idea into an actual accomplishment,you must first develop a clear
understanding of what it is you really want.
Next you must work out exactly what you will have to do, step by step,
in order to attain it. Then you must actually take the next step.
Hitbodedut is the time to do this work of clarifying
one's ideas and working out strategies for attaining one's goals.
The way to do it is with words. Articulate what
it is you really want. Try to define the obstacles and difficulties you face.
Express out loud your various ideas
of how you can overcome your problems. When you express your thoughts as clearly as possible, you can begin to see where your
ideas may need further clarification.
What is up to you to do and what is up to God? Many things are in God's hands
alone. All you can do is pray about them, again and again and again.
Even when it comes to the things that are in
your hands, you should also pray for help and the strength to actually do them.
But when the time for action arrives,
it's entirely up to you. The more you articulate your goals in hitbodedut and break them down into small,do-able steps,the
easier it will be to take that next step.
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