Chasidic mindfulness and its benefits

Have you ever heard about chasidic mindfulness?

It’s like typical mindfulness — but with a twist.

Typical mindfulness helps us remain calm in stressful situations by focusing our awareness on the present moment, such as things we see or hear.

When life feels overwhelming and everything swirls out of control, mindfulness can take us away from our worries and help us feel more grounded.

Chasidic mindfulness also asks us to pay attention to what we see and hear, not just as a calming technique, but as a divine motivation that gives us a deep sense of purpose and meaning.

The Baal Shem Tov, the founder of chasidism, summed it up in one powerful sentence: “Every single thing that a person sees or hears is an instruction to him in his conduct in the service of G-d.”

Everything we see and everything we hear is not by chance. It is hand-tailored by G-d, a lesson He teaches us to make us better people.

This connection to Him allows us to improve as parents, spouses, siblings, or in whatever role we play in His world.

Suddenly, our days are no longer a sequence of random events.

Each moment contains meaning waiting to be discovered, and each experience is a divine message guiding us toward spiritual growth and self-betterment.

Through chasidic mindfulness, the ordinary transforms into the extraordinary, and every moment becomes an opportunity for connection with G-d.

But let’s clarify two important points.

First, this isn’t just chasidic mindfulness. A better term might be Torah mindfulness, because this idea, like all chasidic ideas, is deeply rooted in the words of the Torah.

Second, while typical mindfulness might require us to adopt entirely new habits, chasidic mindfulness is already ingrained in our nature. It simply needs to be harnessed properly.

The rebbe connects this concept to the prophet Ezekiel, who G-d told about an upcoming siege of Jerusalem, that took place on the 10th of Tevet.

G-d commanded Ezekiel to perform specific actions that seemed, at first, like his private business. Yet these actions prompted the Jewish people to ask, “Will you not tell us what these mean to us, what you are doing?” (Ezekiel 24).

They understood that nothing they witnessed was random. Everything held a divine message meant for them as well.

While typical mindfulness helps us by distracting us from our overwhelming problems, chasidic mindfulness tackles the root cause of anxiety and fear by reminding us that G-d’s love and individual attention constantly surround us.

Mendy Kaminker is the rabbi of Chabad of Hackensack and an editorial member of Chabad.org. He welcomes your comments at rabbi@ChabadHackensack.com

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