The Trust Factor
A daily lesson that focuses on achieving unparalleled success in life using ancient wisdom in modern times.
We will be discussing critical concepts as they are laid out in the book Sha'ar Habitachon - The Gate of Trust. Written 1000 years ago, the author reminds us of the values and wisdom that have allowed humanity to thrive throughout history.
The concept of trusting in a higher power that exists purely for our benefit, puts us in the drivers seat with absolute confidence to achieve greatness.
Eliminate: Fear, Hatred, Anxiety, Depression, Jealousy, Greed...forever!
* Note that some terminology will be in the original Hebrew or Aramaic which I will always follow with the English translation.
The Trust Factor
Episode 52 - Beyond Human Providers: The Path to True Trust
Ever wondered why some people can provide so abundantly while others struggle? The answer reveals a profound spiritual truth about where we should place our ultimate trust.
This episode delves into the concept of providers – those individuals who shower others with attention, material support, and care. While we naturally place conditional trust in proven human providers, discovering the ultimate source behind all provision changes everything. When we recognize with certainty that there exists an all-knowing, all-powerful Creator who actively participates in our lives, we transform how we understand human relationships.
Rather than seeing fellow humans as independent sources of provision, we begin to recognize them as channels through which divine provision flows. This perspective extends even to traditions like praying at gravesites of righteous individuals – not praying to them, but asking them to advocate on our behalf to the true source of all blessing.
The sixth quality necessary for developing trust, according to ancient wisdom, is contemplating the immense goodness bestowed upon humanity from the beginning of our existence. This regular practice of gratitude and reflection serves as a secret recipe for success and contentment. By taking time to marvel at the intricate design of our bodies – from the billions of cells in our eyes to the trillions of neural connections in our brains – we develop appreciation for what we typically take for granted.
Why wait until something is gone to appreciate its value? Start your journey of gratitude today by reflecting on the extraordinary provisions already present in your life. Your perspective – and your happiness – will never be the same.
Good morning everybody and welcome to the Trust Factor, another episode of the only podcast that guarantees success through the use of divine age-old wisdom. We're back into the book of the Gate of Trust. We finished before laying out the seven criteria that we need to look for in providers. We're going to wrap that up today or tomorrow and then switch gears. Now we're all providers. There are many providers in this world. If you're a parent, you're a provider. If you're an Now we're all providers. There are many providers in this world. If you're a parent, you're a provider. If you're an employer, you're a provider. If you have a role in government, you're a provider.
Speaker 1:There are many times and instances and individuals in this world that are providers, and some are really good at it and some are really bad at it, and we see the ones who are really good at it because generally they're the ones who are well liked, because people love to be showered with attention and material and time and what all the other things that we provide as providers. People enjoy receiving and so when there is somebody who's really good at providing, oftentimes you will find an entourage around them of people who are ready and willing to receive. At the same time, we have people who's really good at providing. Oftentimes you will find an entourage around them of people who are ready and willing to receive. At the same time, we have people who are really bad at giving. They're really bad at providing. They're just not focused on other people as much as they're focused on themselves. Okay, there's a place in the world for everybody.
Speaker 1:The point is, Rabbeinu Bachi acknowledges this and says wait a second. So we understand that there are people who are good at providing and people who are really bad at providing. How do we define the ultimate provider so that we know where we should put our ultimate faith? In other words, if we know somebody is a really good provider, a human being is a really good provider, then we have the ability and the right and we should put much of our trust and faith in that individual. When it comes to worldly matters, no problem. They've established themselves as being good providers. At the same time, we recognize that there are people who are not good providers and in those people we should not put a lot of stock. That's just the way it goes.
Speaker 1:You have to do your due diligence, analyze the individual in the situation and recognize who you should put your trust in who you shouldn't. But ultimately, ultimately, all of that goes out the window. Once you've established that you know with absolute certainty, as clear as you know, that you have 10 fingers and 10 toes as clearly as you can identify the back of your hand. You know with absolute certainty that there is a God, that he runs the world, that he's intimately involved in your life, that he is all powerful and all knowing and wants to give and wants to see you succeed and is the ultimate provider who lacks nothing. Then everything else goes out the window, because now you know where the source is.
Speaker 1:Now does that mean you don't rely on humanity? What that means, in my opinion, is that you modify your reliance on humanity. What you do when you rely on humanity is you say I'm relying on this individual, that God should be able to work his magic through that individual. The same way we said before, God is the one who gives people compassion, he's the one who makes people able to be good providers. So if he's the source of all of those criterion, then ultimately he's the one who we should be putting all of our trust in. So what that means is, when we have to rely that somebody is going to do the right thing for us in this world, because we're put in a situation where you have to depend on them. We pray to God to say that God should recognize and enable this individual to come through for us. That's the way it works, my friend.
Speaker 1:It's the same way when you see people who go to the gravesides of very righteous individuals. You know it's a very longstanding custom and tradition and it's a very powerful tool to be able to ask for your needs by the graveside of a righteous individual who passed. Why is that important? Because that individual, while they were in life, while they were alive, God enabled them in ways that he didn't enable other people. He has the people who he loves, who are really, really close to him and study his Torah day and night and are connected to him on a whole other level, and oftentimes he works miracles through those people. We've seen them throughout history. Now, when that individual passes, they go up to the heavens and they stand by the chair of God. They become advocates for us in that world.
Speaker 1:So when you want something in this world and you see people going to the gravesides, the most popular one that we see is the Chabad Rebbe, who was a very big giant and a miracle worker. Oftentimes, people will go many times a year to pray by his graveside and ask for the things that they need, and there have been tremendous stories of miracles that have come out of that. Now, when somebody goes there, they have to be very careful. When people go to pray by the side of the righteous, we have to be very careful Because if you're confused and if you don't know what you're doing, what you'll end up doing by mistake is praying to the individual to say you were a righteous individual, you were a miracle worker. When you were alive, you did all these wonderful things and now you're in heaven, which means you have even more providence over us. So please enable me to get through this health crisis. Please enable me to be able to finally break through the barriers that have stopped me from earning my income. Please help my child find a match that they can get married. You're praying to the individual as though the individual has the power to do that. That is very dangerous, my friends. That's where you get into trouble.
Speaker 1:The way that you should pray when you're standing by the grave of a righteous is exactly the same way that I just described to you. When it comes to praying to God through a provider, you are asking that that individual should advocate on your behalf to the Creator and that that Creator should, through the merits of that righteous individual, provide you with the things that you need in this world. That's how it works, my friend. So now we're finishing this up. Let's just get in real quick to the sixth quality over here. And it says that the sixth quality for one who wishes to acquire trust to focus on is as follows that he should take heed at how much goodness God bestows upon mankind. More than that, he must think about how God began providing him with so much kindness and goodness from the very beginning, without being worthy of it. When you were even a fetus, in your mother's womb, you were being nourished and taken care of and you had everything being done for you. It was a pure gift, it was a kindness.
Speaker 1:And when we stop and we reflect on that, what Rabbeinu Bachi is telling us over here, my friends, is a very critical component of life. It is a secret recipe for success. And what is it? It is gratitude, it is introspection, it is reflection, it is stopping as often as you can. There is a positive, direct correlation with the amount of times that you stop and reflect on all of the good things in your life, all of the blessings that you have, all of the things that you have to be grateful for.
Speaker 1:The more you stop and reflect on them, the happier you will be, the more content you will be, the better your relationship will be with your creator. Why? Because what you're doing is you are stopping and you are assessing your life, being grateful. You are acknowledging the good that's being done for you and you're being grateful for it. And two things happen. Number one you feel happy because you recognize all the good things that you have. Oftentimes, all we do is focus on the negative things, the things that we don't have. Right Now, we've already established that even the things that you don't have, you have to be grateful for. So when you have that mindset, you can't help but be happy because you're grateful right. So that already improves your life. But more than that, you acknowledge and you cement your relationship with your creator. Right, when you acknowledge who's providing for you and you see it and you analyze it and you recognize that you were even undeserving of it, but he still continues to give, then you fall in love with the giver, with your provider. Now you can do a 30,000 foot assessment and say these are all the wonderful things. I'm alive, I live in a free country, I've got family, I've got kids, I've got a job. That's 30,000 feet and those are all wonderful things to be very grateful for. But you can go very deep with it, my friends. It doesn't have to start and stop there. It can certainly start there, but where you can go with it is to recognize.
Speaker 1:Just think about your eyes. Just think about the I don't know the number of billions of cells that are in your eyes that are specifically created to be able to see with such precision and clarity. Think about that. As much as the medical industry and biotechnology is advanced in their abilities, they still cannot create a human eye. They just can't. And the reality is people are born every day with two beautifully working eyes that see in high definition. It's spectacular.
Speaker 1:Think about the cells in your body, trillions of cells, each one doing a specific job, each one following the other, running, coursing through your veins and arteries, doing their job. They know where they need to go and why they need to get there, and how they need to get there and when they need to get there, and they don't get confused. The heart cell doesn't decide it wants to become a lung cell and the lung cell doesn't decide it wants to become a liver cell, Because if that happened we would cease to exist. They keep doing their job day in and day out morning, afternoon, night, while you're sleeping. It keeps working like a charm.
Speaker 1:Just think about the human body.
Speaker 1:Think about the human brain and the fact that it's almost entirely made of water.
Speaker 1:And yet there are trillions of nerve endings and fibers that are thinner than a human hair, that compose probably more nerve ending connections than all of the fiber optic networks that have ever laid cable on planet Earth.
Speaker 1:Are encapsulated in each individual's brain times 8 billion individuals on planet earth, generation after generation. And we're all wired where, if we want to raise our right hand and we raise our right hand and our left leg doesn't kick out like we're wired properly and it's all water. And there's trillions of connections, and yet we function day in and day out for generations. Guys, all you need to do is stop and think about one of your ligaments, one of your arms, any aspect or dimension of your body, and you have what to be grateful for. They say you don't know what you've got until it's gone. That, my friends, is a real shame, because if you stop every day and assess and be grateful for the things that you have, then you don't have to wait for them to be gone in order for you to appreciate them. That sums it up for today, my friends have a spectacular day. We'll chat tomorrow.
