Aryeh Recommends: Self-Improvement

Awesome Gifts

"Who is pressuring me? Who is stopping me from living, from enjoying life? Why am I constantly exhausted? Why am I unhappy?"

Who pressures us? We pressure us. Our own dissatisfaction pushes us to look for more and more.

Be Happy and Succeed Who stops us from living, from enjoying life? We do. We need to pause a moment and enjoy the scenery. We need to breathe in the fresh air, smile, and thank Hashem.

Why are we exhausted? We do not sleep enough.

When will we be satisfied with all that we have? Only when we are satisfied with all that we have. For, "… there is no peace for the greedy, says Hashem.

We have to set aside our jealousy, our lusts, and enjoy all we are. Each one of us is unique; each one a treasure chest, a source of surprise and pleasure. Instead of looking at what we lack, we need to ogle at what we have - the awesome gifts in our lives. In addition, we need to care for our health: to eat properly; sleep properly. We can be happy. Let us be happy - now.

Pleasures

Many things give us many types of pleasure. Still, we need to learn to take pleasure in Hashem.

We may enjoy our families and friends. We may enjoy resting after a long, hard day. We may enjoy a hot meal when we are hungry or a cold drink when we are thirsty. We may enjoy shopping, acquiring new possessions. We may enjoy our accomplishments, our victories. We may enjoy a day at the beach. We may enjoy a sunset, or a piece of music.

Still, we need to train ourselves to see Hashem as the author of these pleasures, the source of all this enjoyment. Then we will also learn to enjoy life even without the extras, without the trimmings. Then we will learn to enjoy Hashem for Himself, and attach ourselves to the source of all happiness, for all time. This is the ultimate way to live.

Circle of Happiness

Where do we stand on the Circle of Happiness? This isn’t a simple question. We keep swiveling around. At one moment we can be close to depression - at the next, close to ecstasy.

However, there’s an average position that we hold - that we guard - for ourselves, for our families - for our day, for our week. This position depends on how close we are to having what we need. Do we have the food we want? Are our living conditions comfortable? Do we have family, friends to interact with, live with - support and be supported, encourage and be encouraged? Do we have stimulating, meaningful activities to fill our minutes, our hours?

And still, no person reaches perfect happiness. Somehow, it escapes us - stands beyond us. Within our desire to increase our happiness lies our challenge. Will we look for honest, honorable ways to fill this gap in our life? Or will we look for cheap thrills, extravagance? Worse, will we mock and make fun of others for our pleasure?

The first option is the true target, something great, awesome - but it requires great and awesome efforts. The second, while easy, is a mistake. For by acting in evil, ugly ways, we lose Hashem’s support and blessing, and step onto the path that leads only to poverty, misery and unhappiness.

Only with wise decisions can we be happy.

Happy, and Safe

BeHandful of Light Ramban letter Iggeret Iggeres haRamban buy Torah happy and you lack nothing. Be happy and you are secure - you are safe.

But can we lack nothing? Yes, if we look at our world this way - if we look at what seems bad as being good. With such an attitude, with such a joy, we gain ourselves a new peace of mind and wellbeing.

When we lack something, we are vulnerable. When we are in need, we become dependent. We depend on the person or group who may supply us our need. We are slaves. We are open, exposed to any hurt others might cause us. However, once we lack nothing, once we have everything we need, we are invulnerable. No one can hurt us.

At times, we need to be weak. But this is only when we deal with Hashem - when we negotiate with Hashem - when we pray to Hashem. But when it comes to working with and dealing with people, with family, friends and acquaintances, we should lack nothing at all.

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Not just another book, but a series of lessons - each and every teaching a session to help us change our lives radically, turning darkness into light, misery into joy, shame into dignity; to give us a sense of direction, that we may advance through life with enthusiasm, passion, that every day may become a jewel, a treasure, a source of great pleasure and pure enjoyment.

Empower yourself, enjoy and enrich your life with ideas that fire you, inspire you. Learn to create and reach for your biggest, happiest, most exciting dreams. "PiCK-ME-UPs" is a collection of ideas, meditations under topics such as, Desire, Happiness, Focus, etc. They are short, powerful thoughts, blooming in the fertile soil of the author's inner world - a world steeped in all areas of wisdom, the psychology of self-development and personal growth, the secret, mystical fundamentals and the Kabbalah; ideas to increase our inner strength, joy and purity of heart, and bring heavenly light into ours' and others' lives. Often they are only one or two sentences, but if meditated upon daily, slowly transform our world, giving us clearer glasses with which to look at ourselves, others and the Creator's universe. The author first wrote these ideas to raise himself, but now many others have benefited from this wisdom, insight and approach to life. Try them - you'll like them.

"Navigate the many challenges of life, improve yourself, be happy, succeed, uncover the secret of success, let heavens' light shine on you, the power of mysticism energize you." You would expect any of these ideas from Rabbi A.T. Schwartz, author of many works on self-help and growth, and now jolting his readers to a new awareness with his "PiCK-ME-UPs". Rabbi Avraham Tzvi Schwartz is part student, part teacher, part reader and part author. He lives with his wife and children in Kiryat Sefer, Israel. "PiCK-ME-UPs" is his tenth book. Of himself, he says, I am constantly thinking of ways to improve my inner world and thereby my outer world. Through my writing and teaching, I look also to improve the lives of others. The world of ideas is the most powerful world of all, and through the exchange of thoughts, we affect the greatest changes of all. This is the special challenge of each individual. Each person lives in his own private world. However, when we give to others, and especially when we give of our deepest self, we profit in other ways. The more we contribute, the more we gain. "The goals we have yet to reach, the gain, the growth we can still achieve is huge, endless in its scope. This should excite us more than anything else should. We literally have worlds, universes to conquer, and we can do it all with thought, with imagination, the inner world we create for ourselves." Rabbi A.T. Schwartz is also the author of "A Handful of Light", a commentary on the Ramban's famous letter written back in the 12th century. A second work, "Wealth - a Torah approach", compiles teachings from the Talmud, Medresh and Zohar. Over 700 ideas elaborate on this important subject, showing how best to approach the issue of money, and providing advice how to grow our riches. "Heavenly Ways" brings us affirmations to lift ourselves in the many life-situations. "Hearts on Fire" penetrates single verses from Tehillim. "The Need to be Great" speaks about just this - each person's need to be great. "Keep Smiling", "Be Happy and Succeed" and "Be a King", one after the other, provide encouragement and the fire to take on new challenges. Along these lines, "Empowering Thoughts" takes readers yet another step forward in their growth. To all these works, "PiCK-ME-UPs" adds a lovely crown, providing short lessons, two and three liners that springboard us to heights we have never before experienced. Join the world of this special writer.