What does Hishtavus mean, and why is it important?

Hishtavus is related to the word Shaveh, which literally means “the same.” Thus, meaning “sameness,” “Oneness,” or “equanimity,” Hishtavus is a state of nonjudgmental awareness. You are able to totally accept reality as it is without labeling things as essentially better or worse. It is the beginning of what it means to live in the presence of God. It is the secret of life.
You can live in harmony with all of life and enter into conscious alignment with a higher order. This state of allowing and surrender opens a space inside of you that engenders renewed creativity, connection, and the experience of love to expand. Seeing life through this lens of Oneness lets you see the good and the love laced within creation. There are seven life-changing qualities related to sameness. Harmony, alignment with a higher order, love recognition, allowing, surrender, space, and a lens of Oneness. Let me explain.
Hishtavus means to live in perfect harmony with all of life. Life is happening. It stops for no one. It has been said that life is God in action. When Moshe (Moses) asked God, “Who shall I tell the people is setting them free from Egyptian bondage?” God responded with the words, “Ekyeh Asher Ekyeh,” “I am that I am” or “I will be Who I will be.” Things are as they are. They will be as they will be. To live in the denial of this truth is to deny the presence of God. To live in harmony with this truth is to live in the presence of God.
Hishtavusis to enter into conscious alignment with a higher order.There is a deeper intention behind everything that occurs. Nothing ends with what we see on the surface. There is always more behind the scenes. The Creator, Sustainer, and Director of life, as it unfolds, has intentions of the highest good and love. We only see a small fraction of reality. Being open to this spiritual guidance allows for openness in all our experiences, with the people we meet and the places we go. Living with equanimity, you will find a hidden harmony, a sacredness, a higher order in which the knowing, the known, and the knower are one.It is the fertile ground for wisdom and freedom and a space for compassion and love. True sameness produces radiance and warmth of being. There is an ease within that comes when we see a bigger picture. It is being able to hold space for unlimited potential and infinite possibility—an inner knowing that all things lead in the right direction, whether or not it unfolds according to how we think it should.

Hishtavus is recognizing the love that exists everywhere. It is the awareness that the energy of all things and events are flooded with a loving presence of the Creator, despite their outer appearance. It is possible to literally feel the connection between you and all other creations, all part of the love story being told by God. You are totally conscious of the miracle of life and see how love is the epicenter of creation.

Hishtavus is a state of allowing. To allow things to happen with inner resistance is not weakness. It is strength. Non-resistance doesn’t mean letting people walk all over you or allowing your house to burn down. Whatever is happening, instead of wishing it were different, you allow it to be exactly as it is, then take action from that place of allowing.

Hishtavus is a state of surrender. Although we associate the word surrender with a negative charge or loss, surrender is a powerful door opener for peace, love, and harmony. We seem to constantly be in a fight with reality. There’s never enough time, not enough money, and we’re always doing the things we wish we weren’t doing. But to surrender means to let go of how you think things should be and accept them as how they are.

Hishtavusis a space inside us that allows creativity, connection, and love to expand. Connection and flow happen within the space of sameness. It is not a form of doing. It is a space, an inner stillness that allows for and fosters authentic connection. It is the silence out of which a song is born, the quiet from which breakthroughs and epiphanies emerge.

Hishtavusis seeing life through the lens of Oneness. According to Kabbalah, there are five levels of consciousness, the highest being yechida – Oneness. Instead of seeing division, we see unity. Instead of separation, we see togetherness. Instead of difference, sameness. It is an all-inclusive way of viewing the world.

It does not mean repressing our emotions. It can be easy to confuse sameness with denial, but it is not about denying a particular situation. Rather, it is about accepting each situation for what it is and dropping all resistance. Denial means looking into the face of reality and covering it up with a label that says something to the effect that, “Everything is okay. Don’t get angry.” Denial leads to more pain, while Hishtavus leads the way to freedom.
It doesn’t mean you always feel amazing.It might seem that if we’re at peace with everything that happens, we will always feel fantastic, but this isn’t the promise of sameness. On the outer layer of reality, i.e., life as we know it, things are always changing. Nothing stays the same, nothing lasts forever, and nothing is everything it seems. Because of the nature of life, there are things we experience that make us very happy and things that make us sad. This is how it’s supposed to be. The only difference is that with sameness, these remain on the surface, while behind them you rest in a deep sense of peace, presence, and love that is unshakable. Wishing you only peace and blessings in your journey forward.

– Excerpt from It’s All The Same To Me