In this extraordinary era, we find ourselves at the heart of a global spiritual awakening. Increasingly, people worldwide are longing for a life marked by clarity, joy, and heightened consciousness. What makes this moment especially remarkable is the unprecedented accessibility to teachings that resonate with our souls. In fact, this very moment in time and the trajectory we’re on are the culmination of the entire sweep of history.

Interestingly, though overall book buying trends are on a downward spiral, there’s one niche that’s bucking the trend: the self-development and spirituality genre. Today, more people are reading and downloading books in these categories than ever before, indicating a widespread thirst for personal growth and spiritual exploration.

As part of this self-selecting group of spiritual seekers, you’ve shown readiness and willingness to take the next step on this journey. Your decision to spend some precious time exploring these concepts is appreciated.

The Talmud offers a profound insight: Truth is not learned, but recognized. It suggests that the Torah, symbolizing truth, is taught to each individual in the womb, only for them to forget upon birth. This implies that when something resonates with us, we’re not learning something new but reconnecting with what we already inherently know to be true.

This is not about introducing unfamiliar concepts, but rather about reminding you of the truth that already exists within you. We are simply guides pointing you back to that truth.

In this context, we will discuss Geula – a Hebrew term meaning redemption, which encapsulates our collective spiritual pursuit. To fully grasp Geula, however, we must first comprehend its seeming opposite, Galus – translated as exile.

Galus is derived from the word “gal,” which refers to what is revealed, just like “galui.” Exile signifies displacement from one’s home – physically, emotionally, and spiritually. We feel out of place, disconnected from our roots and source. The word “gal” refers to all that you can perceive with your five senses: your life, your past, your dreams, your knowledge of physical reality. Galus is essentially being lost in this world, trapped in a perspective limited to what we can see or sense. This is the state of spiritual unconsciousness, a complete unawareness of the spiritual dimension of reality – the non-physical essence that permeates everything we perceive through our senses.

However, the word “gal” also means wave, like an ocean wave appearing separate from the vast sea. This is the root of our spiritual forgetfulness: seeing ourselves as isolated waves, not realizing we all form part of the same vast ocean. The separateness is merely an illusion, a surface-level phenomenon. The water is the same; the ocean remains unbroken.

Our collective yearning for relief from pain, stress, and towards love, joy, peace, creativity, inspiration, and fun, stems from a deeper desire to return to our source energy. It’s a pull towards truth, self, and an awakening to what, somewhere deep within us, we already know to be true. This is where the concept of Geula becomes relevant. Geula is Gal with an additional “aleph,” symbolizing an alternate reality hidden within what’s revealed. It directs us towards the ineffable, the infinite, the spiritual domain, the inherent oneness behind the surface layer of reality.

We spend most of our time attempting to escape the “cage” by seeking something else within the confines of the cage. But Galus is an illusion. Nothing needs to change externally; the whole work is internal.

The Torah starts with the letter Bet, symbolizing duality and separation. But the entire course of history is a process moving backwards from two back to one – to the aleph of Geula. It’s a journey from separation to unity, from fear to love.

The world is like a story written in letters of energy. We are so engrossed in the story’s details that we often forget the plot and the story’s essence. The story of life is the story of our soul and God. When we begin reading and understanding the story anew, in alignment with our true nature, we can even begin to rewrite it.

In essence, our collective purpose is to fill the world with God consciousness – or as Rebbe Nachman puts it, the consciousness we call love. This global awakening to the truth of life is our ultimate destination on this evergreen voyage of self-rediscovery and redemption. We should all be blessed to find ourselves and not just our higher truth, but Our Highest Truth.