Panic

since the fall, this world is a world of suffering. People are so self focused that there is no room for others, mostly G-d. Once one looks at self and not at G-d, they are on the downward spiral. It is the best medicine, meditate on his word every day, and somehow, like a miracle, all those feelings start to melt away. It takes a lot of work. But isn't that what the Torah is all about.

Sometimes the simpler something looks, the deeper it goes, however you went on a trip and know that work is not as simple as speaking. I did too and now I could appreciate this meditation all the more as I am sure you can. My point: I guess he is not talking about the work it takes, but expressing the realization to understand how to start the work and what tools to use.

I think you're being a bit simplistic here, Rabbi. It's not so easy! I myself spent 18 years in psychoanalytic therapy trying to "harness" those panic attacks (along with other issues, of course) - and I eventually did. It was a very deep journey and I recommend it to anyone who can swing it. It is probably actually the best way to "get control" and to "free" yourself - that is, to first understand your impulses and where they're coming from and then to slowly, slowly grow and mature with the help of a trusted, knowledgeable, kindly therapist. It works but it's hard! Not to mention expensive. Nothing's so simple as this suggests - NOTHING. I'm sure you mean well, but I don't think it's helpful to suggest that there are simple solutions to such deep and painful problems that people truly suffer from.

Thank you for clarifying. I really enjoy reading your "Thought of the Day". I have had situations where I am struggling with a way to deal with a situation or finding a solution to an issue and then I read your "Thought of the Day" and therein lies the solution or answer I have been searching for!

Could you not leave us in limbo? How about elaborating a bit for those that really want to get out of those wake nghtmares of panic, despair, depresion and anger at onself ?
How can I get out of that prison?
Could you, Rabbi Freeman , give steps to help us?
Didn't the Rebbe elaborate on the HOWS OF CHANGING?

My question is regarding the heart and mind. A mature mind comes with study and discipline over many years of experience. Now is it ever possible to have a mature heart or is the heart the source of untamable nature which provides our lives with the spark of opportunity to bring forth a fire from deep within and the mind provides the conduit in which to transfer that spark to the world where the fire may be nurtured into a flame. The reason I question the hearts ability to be tamed is, in my youth I had started many fires that burned innocent people and now that I am older it is not that my heart sparks less but that my mind is more aware of the dangers of the fire. Can the heart ever be tamed or is our responsibility to develope a mature mind that can manage the raw nature of our hearts? Or is approaching the notion of the heart and mind as separate entities as much of a fallacy as the notion of a head with no body?

Aren't panic, confusion and pessimism the product of the mind gone wild - thoughts circulating without control? Surely the heart is about faith, trust and love - so when the heart reigns in the mind, we get calm, understanding and optimism – that is, the human mind and not the spiritual inner eye.