Emuna Therapy

Psych Yourself Up

 

 

By Dr. Zev Ballen                                                      Image credit: GlacierTim

Is is possible to be happy all the time in every situation? Yes it is - but it is the most challenging goal in Judaism without without resorting to some extreme behaviors to psych ourselves up and get the joy into our physical selves. We need to combine speaking with Hashem with activities like fast walking, jogging, dancing, speaking loudly, singing, clapping, and jumping up and down. If you decide to do this, be prepared to not care about the opinions of some religious authorities that say this is not appropriate behavior. Just do it! We need simple non-intellectual methods to get ourselves into peak states of faith and certainty. From certainty flows the power of real joy.Its just like King David said: Nasata simcha b'lebe. We must actively bring the joy into our hearts!

Wishing you huge Blessings,

Dr. Zev Ballen

Hashem's Special Kids

By Dr. Zev Ballen

When we noticed that our son Yossie wasn’t developing “normally”, we took him to the best Manhattan doctors we could find. After subjecting him to a long battery of tests and interviews Yossie was finally given the diagnoses of  “pervasive developmental disorder” and “autistic spectrum disorder.” Before his diagnosis, we had enjoyed our son and accepted him with joy; after his diagnosis, Yossie’s very presence in our home filled us with dread that he wasn’t “normal” and that the burden was solely on us to save him from the terrible future that his doctor’s portrayed for him – that was almost twenty years ago.
 
When at last we discovered the teachings of Rebbe Nachman, Hashem gave us the right type of mental composure to realize that it wasn’t Yossie who needed fixing – we did. Breslever teachings helped us to see that our son had been sent to help us fix ourselves. When we started turning to Hashem for advice we prayed: “Hashem, why did you send us this child?”; “Do You think that we’re dealing with him the right way?”; “What do we need to learn from him?” etc. From the moment we stopped fighting against Hashem’s decree we started really connecting to our son – we saw that Yossie was the key to an intense joy that we knew nothing about.  Encouraged - we stopped trying to make him normal and started to think about what was missing in ourselves that required us to be given such a gift.
 
If Hashem has sent you a special child you should know, first of all, that Hashem considers you to be very special parents – He trusts you with a soul that is so sublime that it doesn’t fit easily into the physical world.  Hashem does not want you to worry for one second about your child – He has simply sent you the key to a new life that you never would have thought was possible. A special child will show you that everything that the secular world has seduced you into thinking is necessary for your happiness and security in this world is false. Our son reminds us that the conventional pursuits of success and recognition will never work even for those with great intelligence unless one is connected to one’s ultimate purpose.  Our son is happy because he accepts who he is – his pure wholesome innocence can bring a smile to the grouchiest medical examiner. Rebbe Nachman has said that sometimes the only way to stay happy is to engage in good-natured silliness and fun – our son gives us plenty of opportunities for that!  If you have a special child you should be proud of him; Hashem has made you one of His special emissaries to show other parents how they can also be happy with their special kids.
 
You can start right now by letting Hashem know that you recognize the wonderful qualities that He put into your child. “Thank you Hashem for sending us this child who never lies; who doesn’t get jealous; who never gossips about others…thank you for this pure soul who does not sin… who is simply happy to be who he is.” By speaking about the beauty of your children you are showing Hashem how much you appreciate him. If Hashem wants your child to become a rocket scientist he can do that in a second,  in the meantime just love him and enjoy him - he or she will teach you how silly it is to aspire to be “more” than you are. These kids show us that we also don’t need intelligence, sophistication and ambition –  happiness is what we need! Indeed if intelligence doesn’t lead us to be happy with what we have, how can we even refer to it as intelligence? 
 
A  bright and successful businessman came to speak to me about his daughter – he was very unhappy that his daughter was not developing like other children do.  He told me that what was hurting him most about the situation was that he didn’t believe he had done anything to deserve such a decree. His logic went like this: If he and his wife were’nt such nice people and didn’t give so generously to charity he could understand the “verdict” - but he does give generously – and still this was happening to him.
 
Let’s try to understand this man’s dilemma through the eyes of someone who is always close to Hashem - Rabbi Shalom Arush. Continue here...

 

With Blessings,

Dr. Zev Ballen

From Eliyaho HaNavi with Love

by Dr. Zev Ballen

B"H there was a great deal of interest in my last post about the tikkun for autism and other ailments that was lovingly sent to us by Eliyaho HaNavi through a hidden tzaddick who told us about it through our beloved Rebbe - Rabbi Shalom Arush. I was particularly moved by emails from single mothers who had no one to do the tikkun for their children. Rabbi Brody even received an email from a young Autistic man who asked if he could make the tikkun on himself - saying that although he is not able to cross the street by himself, he is able to concentrate on learning and prayer!

Many people have sent me the names of their children and I had all of them in mind when I made the tikkun last Thursday night for the first time. I did not expect to see results so quickly so I was very encouraged to receive word from one mother who sees a very dramatic change in her son's behavior. I have also seen what appears to be a positive development in my son Yossie's condition.

I want to clarify that this is a general tikkun which was found to be very helpful to children with autism, but that it is not limited to autism alone. I prayed for many people with other ailments and difficult life situations as well -- may Hashem grant them Deliverance from their pain!

My next project will be to organize a chabura (group) of Holy Avrechim (married students) from our Yeshiva who are willing to make the tikkun every Thursday night on a rotating basis. For now, I am praying for the strength to continue it on my own. Please feel free to send me the names of your own children or loved ones who you would like me to add to my list. I am particularly eager to hear from the families of Nachlaot where it was recently discovered that an organized ring of "religious" sexual predators have been preying on innocent children for the past five years - May Hashem immediately avenge their pain!

You can write to me at: zevballen@yahoo.com.

With Blessings Always,

Dr. Zev Ballen

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