The human spirit consists of warring entities that constantly wage war against each other to gain control of the human mind, body, and intellect versus animal emotion. This concept is part of the universal human experience. We are all familiar with cartoon images of the little devil standing over a person’s left shoulder arguing with the little angel on the right. The devil urges the host to seek instant gratification while the angel warns of the unintended consequences of mischief. This conflict usually ends with one hitting the other and convincing the person to act or refrain depending on whether good or evil won the day. The Kabbalah calls this the war between the “good and evil inclinations.” This is the world of opposites in which we live and live within ourselves.
Each of these warring spiritual factions continually use every means at their disposal to gain the upper hand. The evil inclination is a consummate liar; That is why we humans are experts at rationalizing. With our evil inclinations, we can find a valid reason to justify anything we want to do and convincingly argue that there is no other option or that it is harmless or acceptable “because everyone does it!” And the end result is unintended consequences that we could have avoided.
Indeed, there are two types of realities from the human perspective: what happens and the story we make up about what happens, to fit the scenario with what we want to feed the bloated ego or avoid taking responsibility. So we believe the embellished version as the truth of what happened and live within the story.
This is the reason why we mishandle our body and develop destructive and unhealthy habits such as smoking, overeating, sedentary life, habitual anger and the like; reason gives way to rationalization and the perception of reality gives way to self-deception. Our “bad side” justifies our self-destructive behaviors; and it takes a great deal of effort for the “good side” to overcome temptation.
By conquering the evil inclination, by changing bad habits and practices, and by drawing closer to G-d, we can gain the upper hand and rid our bodies of the pain, illness, mental and physical ailments that plague our lives.
This book is based on the Kabbalistic work of Lubavitcher Hasidism, the Tanya (meaning “teachings”) and how it can be applied to maintain physical and mental health. Tanya, through her discussions of the purpose of creation, the essence of G‑d, and the relationship between the Creator and humanity, demonstrates how all that we are is a process of thought, word, and action. The Tanya teaches how to conquer the evil inclination in order to change the reality in which we live. By changing the destructive spiritual conversation we have with ourselves, we can get rid of the habits that lead to a destructive lifestyle. The performance and responsibility for healing and prevention falls on each of us. It is simply a matter of acquiring the tools for transformation.
In this book, Moshe offers many different anecdotes to demonstrate how the perpetual war of good and evil in many of his subjects led them down paths of inevitable destruction, leading to unhappiness, failure, poor health… and death. Each case illustrates how poor decisions and interpretations have damaged the individual. He shows how changing the perspective we have on our lives, our environment, and our relationship with our Creator and his creations leads to desirable results.
True “spiritual healing” is an understanding of who you are in relation to your Creator, taking responsibility for your choices and changing those familiar ways of being that are the root causes of existing and potential health problems. It has provided a practical and philosophical approach to achieving health and happiness.
These pages will provide you with the key to achieving better health by understanding our polarized existence. The first step towards a healthier life begins with learning the distinction between truth and falsehood and between perception and deception. You’ll use what you learn in these pages to address a wide range of ailments and destructive habits: including drug addiction, smoking, obesity, anger, depression, hate, jealousy, and more.
Moshe’s vivid writing covering his many years in healthcare, coupled with his explanation of one of the most important philosophical works of all time, Tanya, will dramatically change your life.
