Be Good to Yourself – The Yemima Method

“There’s always revealed and concealed, until the part where the essence of light is, it is hidden there. Belongs to the secret of secrets.” (Yemima, of blessed memory)

Introduction

It happened to my mother in the ninth month of pregnancy. She felt ill, very ill, and she was rushed to the maternity ward. Apparently, she was infected with Erysipelas, which is a severe bacterial infection that could harm the baby, that is, me.

Immediately after her strenuous labor, I was separated from her. For an entire month she received medical treatment and wasn’t allowed to come near me.

I was left alone in the hospital. My father was preoccupied with financial matters and refused to take me home, despite the hospital’s threats to hand me over to child services. My grandmother took care of my four young siblings, and only after a long time did life get back on track; perhaps it never did.

In a dream I had in 2011, a male voice suddenly spoke to me: “Lidya, wake up, something is wrong with your breast.”

I woke up in a panic and felt my breast. Indeed, I found a lump. I went back to sleep, hoping that in the morning I’d find out it was nothing more than a dream.

I was disillusioned. That dream was real, it awakened me and allowed me to be reborn.

I couldn’t ignore it, since a year earlier I had started my studies in conscious thought according to the Yemima method, and I had decided to be good to myself. Was that what had saved me? We’ll never know.

I found the Yemima method following a series of complex events that led to existential questions. For the first time in my life, I allowed myself to explore and discover my true inner world.

Before then, as far as I was concerned, the inner world was a place where I could hide and conceal what I didn’t want others to know. I meticulously chose what I wanted to project outwardly. I picked according to what was appropriate and appreciated by others. That was all that mattered to me.

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After five years of studying, once my mental, emotional, and physical state had substantially improved, I could finally dive deep into scripture. This time I allowed myself to go where my heart led me, to open the door for unknown spiritual forces. I chose to stop fighting against myself, against my heart, my thoughts, others, the divine presence in my life.

I reinforced the choice to be good to myself.

I felt that Yemima’s writings had much more to offer beyond my personal understanding of the things taught in the institute I studied in. I knew very little about Yemima, the righteous woman herself, who had passed away ten years prior. I was told that her personal life wasn’t easy, to put it lightly, and that she’d converted pain into power, into a virtuous, healing influence and a love for the Jewish people.

She intrigued me. I wanted to follow in her footsteps and tap into the sources she’d derived her knowledge from. Although I didn’t know her personally, I felt her spiritual presence and guidance the whole time. I signed up for psychology studies and joined Kabbalah and Hassidism study groups.

It was thanks to these studies that the love in my life was renewed and enhanced, opening a deeper understanding of Yemima’s writings. There is much spiritual depth in her many teachings, but in order to reach that beyond the ‘priming of the vessel,’ additional knowledge of Torah, Kabbalah, and Hassidism, as well as of modern psychology, is required.

The nigh-palpable presence of death, contrasted with the wonders of the universe, likewise opened certain hidden doors of being. I’d like to share some of these insights with you, so you too may have the way to be good to yourself.

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This book incorporates quotes in Yemima’s own words, as well as explanations to enhance the understanding of them. In the first part of the book, I explain a little about the Yemima Method and go into detail on the list of consciousness/awareness tools. Bear in mind: applying the Yemima Method is an intimate, delicate process, at once spiritual and practical. It takes place over time, according to personal pace and progress. I will try to explain a bit about it, to demonstrate and gather the sparks of enlightenment that emerge from it, to reach the essence of Yemima’s points, and bring your spirit closer to hers.

The second part elaborates on the consciousness tools and their application in daily life. I’m sure that you will find this to contain strong life advice, for you to implement in the foreseeable future.

In the third part I point out connections between the Yemima Method and Kabbalah and Hassidism. I offer a simple explanation of the Tree of Life, Kabbalah’s diagram of sefirot or emanations, which the Hassidim view as reflected within individual person. Finally, I present the structure that I’ve laid out, connecting the Kabbalistic Tree of Life to the domains of the spirit as delineated by the Yemima Method.

…….In truth, some things I encounter will trigger a struggle within me. If, for instance, I’ve experienced deprivation in my childhood, when I’d confront my child’s struggle I’d see a reflection of my own struggle. I might even conflate the two experiences, meaning one struggle will be layered atop another. It is through my experience of motherhood in relation to my children that impressions of want or deprivation will emerge within. This might make me feel more stressed, as I would want to be the opposite of what I had as a child, thus sometimes forcing myself to become more than I’m capable of or overcompensate for it.