see also www.jwworkgroup.com and www.partnersinshmira.com
The 10 days of Teshuva begin on Rosh Hashana and conclude on Yom Kippur.
During Selichos and the 10 days of teshuva, we can use the four steps of teshuva to help us return as well as to beseech Hashem for forgiveness for ourselves and for all Klal Yisrael
Teshuva
Stop the aveira, confess it, and regret it
Hashem I see that I have done something wrong. Thank you for bearing the burden of my confused mind all this time! I see my confusion! I fell victim to the yetzer hara by…… I see the error and if it was willful I see that willfulness as another error, a confusion of mind. Out of total love for You, I am bearing the burden of my own confusion of mind and have stopped and am making a different choice. Out of compassion for the Shechina, I totally regret having pulled the Shechina or kept the Shechina in the galus of my sin/error, unhealthy pattern. With emunah, I wish to reorganize all this energy in fervent prayer and I ask for forgiveness so that instead I may use the energy to reflect Torah and Your Attributes into the world.
My plan for the future – Please see I am sincere
Hashem I have done a cheshbon and in that introspection I see that the error/sin was due to a blindness that stems from a natural or learned urge, specifically, I mistakenly thought happiness would come from……. And I realize that happiness comes only from learning Torah, fervent prayer to You, and emulating Your 13 Attributes of Mercy
If at this point the next thought is something that is blaming another person or circumstances, notice this and say Hashem I realize that You Alone set my behira. I do not wish to blame anyone, certainly not Hashem! Rather, because it came from You, and because all there is in the world is You, I realize there is a positive choice that You desire from me in fulfillment of my role within Nishmas Am Yisrael. Because You have given this matter in assignment to me and everything You do is good, there is something I am responsible to do teshuva for and hopefully I ask that the teshuva have a ripple effect to benefit klal yisrael.
Forgiveness
Align with Hashem’s 13 Attributes of Mercy to stimulate forgiveness from above
It was You Who decided to present me with the challenge that I failed and with awe in Hashen for how He creates the world, meaning that Hashem has given each of us a neshama empowered to heal the matter, I choose to forgive all the parties who might be involved and all the parties who might have affected those parties, as many generations back as it might go. With love in my heart, I desire to do Your Will and my plan for the future is whenever I find myself in that situation or state of mind, to instead remember my love for You so that I emulate You and forgive it, overlook it, be patient with it, and in so doing, ask that the Shechina released from the galus of my pattern/natural urge instead be used by You to wipe away my error and forgive all of Klal Yisrael for similar errors/aveiras for all time. May my forgiveness remove the mask over the Shechina so that energy comes into the world as a revealed blessing!
Apologize
Hashem I am sorry for the damage that I have done to Your Name and to the world. There is no glory in the world other than You. I thank you for helping me find the place of fear of abandonment or fear of annihilation within me where I stumbled and sinned. With love in my heart to serve You, I fervently pray that all my heart and all my soul and all my might be used with complete awareness that we are never abandoned or annihilated in a two world picture. I hope that my plan of emulating You in order to create bracha and forgiveness for Klal Yisrael is pleasing to You and ask that all the destructive beings I created as well as any destructive beings created that impacted the matter now become merits that benefit all klal yisrael and tip the scales in Your Eyes to make our generation meritorious for redemption,.
Sept 21, 2014 https://www.dropbox.com/s/x3n35yr7icpbefp/sept212014.mp3?dl=0
The Alter Rebbe on Shofar – it is up to us to bring down the new life force for the year!
Sept 22, 2014 https://www.dropbox.com/s/b7rfbygbmy9wmcy/sept222014.mp3?dl=0
sept 23, 2104 https://www.dropbox.com/s/i6df6tu5znjtel2/sept232014.mp3?dl=0
In the discussion after the recording, we opened up the understanding based on our super rational role as Nishmas Am Yisrael regarding the empowerment we have to transform constricted consciousness into love. When we have super rational understanding that Hashem constricts Himself in order to come into time and space and that we experience that as challenges and negative thoughts and emotions, we can strengthen our will and freely choose to open the door for His Love to come into time and space, and the way we can use our ruach best in this regard is through forgiveness. We emulate Hashem by bearing the burden of confusion of our own confusion of mind when we think things are bad when everything He does is good or for our good. In that moment that we align with His 13 Attributes of Mercy, the loving connection we feel with Him can then show compassion to Hashem Who desires to be seen in time and space. Nishmas Am Yisrael is here in the kelipas of taiva and gaiva and only beings in time and space and in the kelipas have free willed choice to open up the matter and take off the mask and reflect His Lovingkindness into the world. It takes emunah and an understanding that happiness comes only from learning Torah, praying fervently, and emulating Him, for all glory is His. Acting in this manner repairs the causes of sinas chinam and repairs adom’s sin, for Adom erred in thinking that man could bring a glorification of Hashem’s Name beyond what Hashem had designed by coming into the world and remembering that all glory is Hashem’s. May our work together continue so that we can become more and more familiar with what we need to do to heal, by forgiving, and by reflecting Hashem’s torah and middos into the world. And may Hashem see our efforts as the arousal from below that will stimulate a new light and the coming of Moshiach speedily!
Sept 24, 2014 https://www.dropbox.com/s/9ia23h784ia8cdt/sept242014.mp3?dl=0
http://beyondanydoubts.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/08/sept242014.mp3
We will be continuing to learn during 10 days of Teshuva at http://beyondanydoubts.com/teshuva-forgiveness/
After that, we will be learning at http://beyondanydoubts.com/joy/ also accessible through www.joyofjewishsoul.com
Please email me if you would like to continue to be on the email notification list for the continued learning after Yom Tovim. We could read transforming darkness into light, which is Rabbi Ginsburg’s book from www.inner.org gal enai. Or anatomy of the soul or something along those lines. Let me know what you think of these suggestions. Our goal is to hold onto something pure to nurture the work we begin for our year.
Sept 28, 2014 https://www.dropbox.com/s/0cbigic5blh7999/sept282014.mp3?dl=0
Please visit www.jwworkgroup.com to continue