i would be interested to hear anyone's personal tried and proven eitzos for strengthening their connection with Hashem. The times that ive felt close to Hashem i felt that i didnt want anything else. i think it can help in this struggle.
thanks in advance.

i personally feel very drawn to learning seforim on emunah and bitachon. when im really learning them b'iyun and with hispaalus-life is different. 
at least my experience of it is different.
but i have a hard time keeping up a long stretch...
also when it comes to something like talking to Hashem. i do that pretty often (i think) but its hard for that to make an impact if i dont feel any response.
just sharing and wondering...

I would suggest going back to the rishonim and seeing what they have to say. 

I would also suggest that feelings can be notoriously fickle. Feeling close to hashem might be as fake as a joint... 

whats the source for the requirement?

Good thread.  Interesting, I found that as I work through the GYE program, My relationship/awareness of Hashem has grown.  In the past few months, when I encountered the typical life challenges.  I found myself to be calmer and accept that these are from Hashem.   

just curious,
 
sleepy wrote:
1. is there anyone here who doubts that a person can attain a true sensory feeling that Hashem is watching him and is actualy present?



2.is there any here who is not aware of a Yids requirement to reach that level, and its not just for big Tzadikim?

im not saying i have reached that level , im just asking.
higher wrote back:
i think in the rav avigdor miller biography it says he reached this sensory feeling once when being misbonen on flowers in slabodka (its in the section that talks about his slabodka days) could be im being medayek wrong, thats what i thought. there are many madreigos though. sensory is a big world.

 i believe that the sefer bilvavi mishkan evneh has step by step exercises to gain a sensory awareness of Hashem (chelek aleph). (although Rav soraya deblitzki zt"l a talmid chochom atzum in nigleh and nistar, in the earlier printings of the sefer, cautions that these are very high madreigos of shivisi and not for everybody.)

just passing on the info. i didnt get anywhere near there yet. and many basic madriegos as well.

 i was just thinking that when you see how something worked out through clear hashgacha pratis then dont you feel a ''pat'' on the back from Hashem? even if aint sensory-doesnt the awareness hit you that it as clear as daylight? what about that? maybe we should seize those moments and emphasize on them.

There's a great chapter on Bitachon in Sefer Hamaspik Le'ovdei Hashem by Rabbi Avrohom the son of the Rambam. It's so clear and profound. It is available in Hebrew and English. (English translation is by Feldheim. It is available in most seforim stores or on Amazon: Regular size- https://www.amazon.com/Serving-Classics-Library-English-Hebrew/dp/1583309810/ref=sr_1_2?keywords=avraham+ben+harambam&qid=1572225508&sr=8-2. Smaller size: https://www.amazon.com/Guide-Serving-God-compact/dp/1598269658/ref=sr_1_1?keywords=avraham+ben+harambam&qid=1572225522&sr=8-1)

bego wrote on 25 Oct 2019 10:36:

i would like to comment on this, even though it was posted a while back.
it is def. a good idea, and perhaps even a must, to be solidly based in terms of sources on the rishonim and lmaalah bakodesh, chazal.
that being said the actual mussar and hisorerus should come from a place that the person finds both relevant and that speaks his language to be nispael from.    
there is much more to say on this topic and i will bl''n elaborate upon request.

The pasuk says in Mishleh, “מוסר ה' בני אל תמאס,” and Rashi there explains, if a person is experiencing yissurin, whether emotional or physical pain, he should embrace it with love. Why? The next pasuk says, “כי את אשר יאהב ה' יוכיח – the ones who Hashem loves are the ones who He chastises –“וכאב את בן ירצה – like a father who loves his son and wants the best for him.” After the chastising comes sweetness and soothing. The rebuke is just to get him back on the right path.

When a person is going through a difficult time, he might feel that Hashem is abandoning him, but in actuality it is just the opposite. At that time, Hashem is closest to him. He’s personally dealing with him for his own good. Rabbi Mugrabi quoted from Rabbi Yitzchak Blazer a mashal to explain. Imagine a person was walking down the street and saw a drunkard acting foolishly and making a mockery of himself. Most probably, the person will just continue walking. If the person who he saw that was drunk was a fellow Jew, he’d feel very bad for him and then he’d continue walking. If the person lived on his block, he’d feel so much pity for him. If it was his good friend, he’d even do whatever he could at the time to help him. But what if that person was his son? He would go over to him and drag him by force and if his son would resist, he’d be tougher. He’d bring him home and shake him up. He’d be so much harsher with him than anybody else. Why? Because it is his child and he loves his child more than anything. He won’t allow himself to hold back from putting him on the proper path. He might have to use force, he’ll make him stay home, he’ll give him consequences for his actions, but it’s all because he loves him so much. This is how Hashem acts towards the ones that He loves. Sometimes people need to be chastised for their own good. It’s their Father’s love, doing what is necessary so that His precious child becomes an upstanding and righteous person who everybody will be proud of.

If a person is feeling that his situation is so difficult to deal with and wants to ask, “Why is this happening to me?” He could easily answer that question by thinking, It’s because Hashem loves me so much, that’s why. He didn’t abandon me, He cares about me and He’s actively involved in bringing me where I need to be for my own good. 

This is also why, sometimes, when we accept upon ourselves to become better, we receive salvation for the problems we’re having. We took the initiative to improve on our own, to straighten ourselves out, and therefore the problems are no longer necessary. Of course we could never know the exact reason of why anything happens. Sometimes it’s just a kapara; sometimes it is to awaken us; sometimes it’s to save us from something much worse. We don’t know, but we do know every bit of yissurin is given to us by Hashem because He loves us so much, because we are His precious children and He wants us to be happy for all eternity. If we could have the proper attitude during the yissurin, we’ll gain the full benefit of their purpose. We’ll be calmer and happier and we’ll remain close to Hashem.

higher wrote on 01 Nov 2019 17:02:

Thanks for bringing this back up.

I had an ulterior motive for mentioning this - the majority of Rishonim that i have learnt are of the opinion that only taddikim have full blown 24/7 hashgocho protis. The rest of us might have differing levels and Hashem might intercede on occasions. I wouldn't normally bring a mussar sefer to prove this, but I will here as I know that nowadays people need to see things from a "Rabbi" to believe it - see rav Dessler in cheilek Beis on RH where he quotes the seforno. Then look up the seforno inside for good measure. I know chassidus disagrees. That's cool. But it has taken over! 

To me, a pat on the back (as mentioned in a separate post) is nice, but it isn't Hashem. That doesn't mean i don't recognise that there are some weird things I can't explain, but then again, goyim have that too. 

Please don't swamp me with mussar seforim that argue with this, I am aware of them. And PLEASE don't quote me heintegge English books that are for the masses to make them feel good. 

sleepy wrote on 25 Oct 2019 14:30:

Then you also can't disagree (which you didn't).

We love to see the Yad Hashem in our lives helping us in our time of need. It is so important to internalize that Hashem can always help us. He might choose not to sometimes, because that’s for our best. But either way, He is the One in total control. Feeling this way will help us in our decision making process.
It will help us act with dignity, and it will help us to never second guess ourselves. When in a dilemma, the baal emunah chooses what he feels would be the will of Hashem, and he is confident that the best outcome will come about. The hope that he has because Hashem is available to help him will keep him upbeat and positive.
No matter what the results will be, he’s always happy that he acted in accordance with the will of Hashem.

bego wrote on 05 Dec 2019 11:48:

The medrash tehillim quotes a pasuk leolam hashem divarcha neetzov bashamayim that the maamar yehi rakia is in the heavens giving it existence every moment the Baal ahem tov explains that the world is constantly being created by hashem anew and if hashem's word didn't essay yehi... the world would cease to exist. The Alter rabbi explains in Tanya shaar hayichud vehaemuna that every individual creation hashem is recreating through "speech" every moment. I think this is the definition of hashgacha pratis

Tzvi5 wrote on 06 Dec 2019 02:02:

Thanks - the Nefesh hachaim says something very similar. i was davka avoiding this. 

HHi chevrah,

for me the one thing that has greatly improved my emuna and bitachon is working the 12 steps in a live group. "Learning to let go and trust hashem" and bringing hashem constantly into my life because "i can't but he could" has made me feel very connected with the ribono shel olam.

As my Rabbi a very well known rosh yeshiva told me when i discussed going to live 12 step meetings with him. "Yaakov the 12 steps are really just mega doses of emunah and bitachon" and when done in a meeting with other people who "have let go" and have seen that hashem manages their life way better than they did it's the perfect way for this message to properly stick.......

Guys unfortunately I see that within the GYE community there are a lot of people that have a lot of negative association as well as some interesting psakim from rabbanim who it seems don't really understand what the 12 steps are about. It's time we as a community accept the beuty and power of the 12 steps all it really is, is a chaburah of people injecting themeselves with mega doses of emunah and bitachon.

 Love Yankel