Tuesday, August 25, 2009

Expecting Different Results?


“The definition of insanity is doing the same thing over and over again and expecting different results.”

Insanity is thinking that I can continue to fly on auto-pilot in my avodas Hashem; flying without remembering to maintain regular communication with the control tower.

Insanity is thinking that I can continue to think about, speak about, and speak to my fellow human being without full cognizance and focus on their nekudos tovos.

Insanity is thinking that my level of avoda during the month of Av was sufficient for serving Hashem in this month of Elul.

7 Comments:

At August 25, 2009 at 8:49:00 AM EDT, Anonymous Anonymous said...

I hope that isn't the definition of insanity, as sometimes we have to daven and daven and daven for the same thing and know that once we earn it a different result will come. Sometimes we have to live and live and live an action before we FEEL it, doing the same thing and knowing that with the right intention we will earn a different result

 
At August 25, 2009 at 11:03:00 AM EDT, Blogger Neil Harris said...

Dr./Rabbi A Twereski has a great book called "Addictive Thinking" that actually touches on topic. I should really reread it.

I guess that identifying the problem is a good first step.

 
At August 25, 2009 at 4:31:00 PM EDT, Blogger Jen said...

This is a little off topic, but maybe it will be an idea for a future post. You post such wonderful pictures of men who I assume are Chasidic and/or Breslov. They truly are wonderful-the garments, the hats, the dancing, etc. I love to see them. But then I wonder, what are the women doing? What is their Shabbat like? What is their worship like? Just to be clear, I don't mean this as a snarky, feminist comment. I'm sincerly curious.

 
At August 26, 2009 at 5:13:00 AM EDT, Anonymous Anonymous said...

Jen go to the shul and ask the women, you'll get a better answer than people on here guessing. Unless there are Breslover women reading.

 
At August 26, 2009 at 5:15:00 AM EDT, Anonymous Anonymous said...

i presume he doesn't post women pics for tznius reasons

 
At August 27, 2009 at 7:24:00 AM EDT, Anonymous Rabbi Y.Y. Bar-Chaiim said...

A profound idea. Who was the author of that quote? It should be noted, no?. The converse is also true. Repeating behavior DUE TO THE HIGHLY LIKELY POSSIBILITY OF ACHIEVING THE SAME RESULTS is eminently sane. That's what Jewish ritual is all about.

Now what about repeating behavior without ANY results in mind? It's "just what I do". Perhaps that is the definition of psychosis while the above is neurosis. As the joke amongst psychotherapists goes, neurotics build castles in the sky, psychotics live in them and psychiatrists collect the rent!

 
At August 27, 2009 at 7:26:00 AM EDT, Blogger A Simple Jew said...

That's a great joke!

The quote is sometime attributed to Albert Einstein and sometimes to Benjamin Franklin. Given the fact that I didn't know decisively, I let it stand on its own and put it in italics so it would be understood that it wasn't mine.

 

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