Entering within, there are two paths of healing before you: From the top down, or from the ground up.

Working top-down, you see nothing but good, you do nothing but kindness, and you spread wisdom and light everywhere. The divine, lost sparks are drawn to you as to a magnet, leaping into the fire of their own accord, consumed in totality.

The transformation you achieve is astounding. But it does not last. The sparks dance only to the light of your fire; as soon as it begins to fade, they fall back to their places. Nothing has really changed. The darkness returns, perhaps yet more powerful from your nurture.

Working from the ground up, you enter within the world that holds those sparks in captivity and become part of it.

You do not ignore the beast within you; you recognize it, speak with it, eventually convincing it to look up to the heavens and realize that it is not the sum total of all that is.

You do not ignore the world around you; you deal with it head-on, on its own terms. Only that “all your deeds are for the sake of heaven,” and “in all your ways, you know Him.”

This transformation is real and lasting, because it comes from within.

Maamar Padah B’Shalom 5722 (also 5659, 5704, 5712); Maamar Vayakhel 5714.