Emuna Therapy

Tikkun for Autism

 

 

by Dr. Zev Ballen

 

In my recent article, Hashem's Special Kids, I mentioned a new tikkun (soul correction) that was revealed to one of today's hidden (lamed vav) tzadikkim by Eliyaho HaNavi. The hidden tzaddik then revealed the complete formula to my Rebbe - Rabbi Shalom Arush who has revealed it to us. Since my article was published there have been requests for the actual tikkun so here it is:

 

1. The Tikkun should only be done on Thursday evenings.

 

2. Starting at sunset on Thursday evening refrain from speaking; this should continue until after the morning prayers are completed. Only words of learning Torah may be spoke during this time.

 

3. Divide the night into three equal parts. Starting from shkia (sunset) until alos hashacher (dawn).

 

4. During the first part of the night learn Talmud.

 

5. During the second part of the night learn Mishna.

 

6. During the third part of the night say the entire Sefer Tehillim.

 

7. Following the Tehillim do an hour of hisbodidus (personal pray).

 

8. Immerse oneself in a mikvah before alos hashacher.

 

9. Recite the vidui hagadol (confession) of Reb Nissim Gaon which can be found in some nusach sefard siddorim or in pamplet form (usually distributed before Yom kippur).

 

10. Pray at a netz hachamer minyon (at sunrise).

 

There is someone in our Yeshiva, Yeshiva Chute Shel Chesed, who has been following this procedure dutifully for 4 months and has seen an approximate 40% improvement in his autistic child's condition. When Rav Arush told this to the hidden tzadik, the tzadik said that if this person will continue the tikkun his child will be completely healed.

 

The tikkun is an extremely demanding procedure. It requires physical, emotional and spiritual preparation. Particularly one should not undertake to perform the tikkun when under pressure or strain. It is very important to do the tikkun with joy. If one is not able to do the tikkun with joy, it is better not to do it at that time. Do not underestimate the power of your regular hisbodidus to also bring about miracles.  

 

Wishing you Great Hatzlacha,

Dr. Zev Ballen

Self-Alignment

By Dr. Zev Ballen

Are you currently unemployed? Are you struggling to make ends meet? Have you been seeking employment without success? If you are, you are not alone. As I am now approaching retirement age, I find that my standard of living is objectively lower than what it ever was - but here is the good news - never, in my life, have I been happier or more successful than I am now. How is this possible? - Please read on.

Although I have less money and material items that I did before making Aliyah, I feel rich because I see that I can be happy with much less. Since I have accepted that I will only receive the bounty that Hashem designates for me, I have been relieved of the obsessive pursuit of money. The more time and energy that I give to serving Hashem and others, the more spiritual abundance that I receive back. The very situation that made me feel impoverished before, has led me now to a spirit of prosperity which I can joyfully share with others. See the full article right here.

With Blessings,

Dr. Zev Ballen

Cognitive Dissonance

By Dr. Zev Ballen

Moshe is a mentally sharp 92 year old secular Jew – a retired attorney. Moshe takes a copy of the Garden of Emuna down from his neighbor’s shelf and starts flipping through it like one who has examined alot of books. After a few minutes, Moshe places the book on the table and exclaims “this is an excellent book! – it’s very well written.”

The neighbor says, “So take it Moshe – you can keep it!”

Moshe answers: “No - it's not for me.”

Puzzled by Moshe’s response the neighbor continues: ”But Moshe – you obviously like it - Take it - Enjoy!”

“No - I won't enjoy it”, Moshe snapped angrily “this book will give me nothing but tzoris." (Yiddish for troubles)

“But why,” persisted the neighbor – still perplexed.

“Because”, said Moshe, “it’s too late for me – I’ve been living this way my whole life – at my age, this book is dangerous – even if it is true! Now leave me alone!”

A Jewish soul is an amazing endowment – imagine - even after being deprived of Torah, Shabbos, and kosher food for 92 years – it still knows the truth! Moshe doesn’t have to become a believer all at once – it would be enough if he would want to become a believer - Without that willingness, though, his soul just continues to wither away like a tree that was cut off from its roots – it still appears to be alive – but unfortunately it’s not. See the full article here.

With Blessings Always,

Dr. Zev Ballen

No Self-Blame

By Dr. Zev Ballen

The surest way to end up depressed is by telling yourself that you don't try hard enough or that you should have been more careful or that you are simply defective in some way. Our Sages tell us that even if one were to transgress the entire Torah many times, G-d forbid, that we dare not blame ourselves for it but rather should see it as having been Hashem's Will. Once we accept that everything comes from Hashem even the transgressions that we have made, we are able to make peace with the past - we know it was sent for our very best - and now we can ask Hashem to reveal the message that that he clothed in the "failure" or the Torah transgression that needed to take place. We want to know how we can improve our future not how we can change the past. We view whatever happened in the past with emuna - whatever happened was from Hashem and we do not have bechira (free-choice) regarding the past. We do however, have bechira for the future and so we can repent out of joy instead of sadness and have regret about the past with optimism for a brighter future. You can watch my full video lesson on this right here.

With Blessings Always,

Dr. Zev Ballen

Just Relax

By Dr. Zev Ballen

Everyone wants to speak with Hashem in personal prayer, but many find it challenging. Some just can't seem to find the "right" words; others say that they can’t concentrate and quickly lose patience; and still others say that they become anxious with the unstructured nature of personal prayer. Whatever difficulty that you may be having in connecting to Hashem – don’t despair. Even the pros get tongue-tied now and then. Know that even your frustrated attempts to connect with Hashem have earned you a priceless reward - but if you want to see just how easy it is to converse with Hashem - you can see the method that is helping many people at: Just Relax right now!

With Blessings Always,

Dr. Zev Ballen

Sheila's Bridge

by Dr. Zev Ballen

Psychotherapist Zev Ballen helps a woman shed her agoraphobia – her aversion of stepping foot out of her house and going to public places – by helping her to connect to Hashem. See the full article at Sheila's Bridge.

With Blessings Always,

Dr. Zev Ballen

 

Cybersex Tsunami

By Dr. Zev Ballen

Dr. Patrick Carnes, PhD, is an internationally noted psychologist, researcher and author in the area of addictions and recovery - especially sexual addiction which he has been studying for the past 30 years. Carnes’ research findings are alarming to say the least: two thirds of kids in Junior High School are watching pornography online while doing their homework and 34% of these children will become addicted. Carnes further states that a combined research study of 100 University studies asked the question of college students: when did they begin to look at internet pornography? The answer - most of them began looking before the age of 10 years old. If this is true, and I think it is – get ready – we have a tsunami coming! What can we do to stop it? See the full article at: Cybersex Tsunami.

With Blessings Always,

Dr. Zev Ballen

Fighting Back Against Financial Stress

Dr. Zev Ballen

Are you currently unemployed? Are you struggling to make ends meet? Have you been seeking employment without success? If you are, you are not alone. As I am now approaching retirement age, I find that my standard of living is objectively lower than what it ever was - but here is the good news - never, in my life, have I been happier or more successful than I am now. How is this possible? - Please read on.

Although I have less money and material items that I did before making Aliyah, I feel rich because I see that I can be happy with much less. Since I have accepted that I will only receive the bounty that Hashem designates for me, I have been relieved of the obsessive pursuit of money. The more time and energy that I give to serving Hashem and others, the more spiritual abundance that I receive back. The very situation that made me feel impoverished before, has led me now to a spirit of prosperity which I can joyfully share with others.

Now I can give encouragement, inspiration, and hope to anyone who wants it. I can tell people how kind Hashem has been to me and how close He is to me now. I can write about how Hashem has helped me shed my self-centered personal ambitions and has elevated my talents to a far higher purpose. Hashem has taught me how he likes to be spoken to and I am finally asking him the right questions. Hashem has answered me by letting me know my true purpose and mission in this world.

When you find your true purpose, you too will cherish it beyond anything in this world. By living your life in alignment with your true purpose, you will continuously live in close contact with Hashem, and you will never compare or measure yourself by what other people think. You will no longer be fooled by the evil inclination who cloaks bad with "good." Your eyes will no longer be drawn to the cheap thrills of this world; instead, you will be drawn to Holy people and seek to be close with them - for only they possess the truth, beauty, and goodness that you seek.

There is no poverty in the Truth - a life devoid of connection to your purpose is not even worth living. A person who does not recognize Hashem is headed for complete bankruptcy. While someone who serves Hashem without questions is elevated to national and global significance. Hashem will take you on as a partner in the rectification of His world. Hashem will open your eyes to the pain of His world and cause your heart to ache for those do not yet know Him. When you pray for them, through your tears, you will achieve complete wholeness - you will lack nothing.

The depravity and foolishness of today's world offers you an unprecedented opportunity to choose Hashem instead. Hashem, whose essence and crowning Glory is His Joy, wants nothing more than to give you a life of paradise. A life based on these principles will lead you to a happiness that you have never known - you will acquire a happiness that is beyond your present conception of happiness and beyond psychology and philosophical speculation. Your joy will be deep, powerful and permanent. Your daily mood will be characterized by elation which will seem very simple and natural to you.

Hashem wishes to touch you with his Benevolent Hand and lavish you with his Abundance - there is only one prerequisite and that is your complete faith that there is a Creator – a Super-Being who loves you more than your conception of love can fathom. Just believe that nothing happens haphazardly. Hashem is running His world without mistakes so there is never anything to worry about. Then, you will extract joy and find a connection to Him in literally every thought and occurrence of your life.

Do you have clean water to drink? Do you have clothing, shelter and nutritional foods to eat? Do you have access to medical care and Torah education for your children? Why not rejoice in what you have right now. Hashem is certainly meeting your needs! Thank Hashem for every "little" Blessing that you have received and He will surely give you even more to thank Him for. Absolute poverty only comes with sadness, complaints and dissatisfaction with what you have.

When you realize that you can be happy right now with what you presently possess, you can put an end to your worrying. Then you will discover that you yourself possess the power to heal other people. You will discover that Hashem has filled you and enveloped you with his brilliant white Light. The radiance of your smile will now bring life to the masses of sad faces you encounter; your Heavenly reward for this - alone - will transcend the reward of even scholars and philanthropists.

With Blessings,

Dr. Zev Ballen

Welcome to Emuna Therapy

It's amazing - when Hashem wants something done it gets done. Soon, with Hashem's help, this blog will be a source of support, advice and information for anyone suffering from emotional distress. Secular-based psychotherapies have utterly failed to provide us with lasting joy and satisfaction because they distance us from Hashem - the sole Source of all emotional healing. Join me and you too will find your ultimate happiness in the teachings of my Rebbe, Rabbi Shalom Arush. I practiced psychotherapy for 32 years before Hashem brought me to Israel to reveal the truth about what is therapeutic and what is not. This week's article, Therapeutic Wasteland, is a must read - in it I answer a collegue from a very prestigious American University who charges me with ignorance in relying on blind faith in the treatment of people with severe emotional distress.