Feeling the Creator: A Journey to Perceive Reality’s Governing Force

6 min readJun 11, 2025

Introduction

We often believe we perceive an objective reality — a tangible world of inanimate objects, plants, animals, and people existing independently around us. However, this perception is an illusion. In truth, we do not sense an external reality but exist within our own desires, confined to an inherently self-serving, egocentric, and individualistic sphere we are born into. This article explores the profound idea that the world we experience is a projection of our internal qualities and desires, and that to perceive the true reality — governed by a single, selfless, and loving force — we must transform ourselves. This transformation, rooted in the Kabbalistic principle of Tikkun Adam (the correction of man), is the path to Tikkun Olam (the correction of the world), enabling us to connect with the Creator through the “godly qualities” of unconditional love and bestowal.

The Illusion of an Objective Reality

Our perception of reality is not a direct encounter with an external world but a reflection of our internal desires and forces. We do not see a “solid” world of physical elements; instead, we perceive desires and forces that we project outside ourselves because they do not align with our immediate self-interest. These projections are filtered through our 100% selfish, egocentric, and subjective “pleasure/pain” calculations.

The Self and the Ego: What we consider “our self” comprises the desires most directly serving our ego, which seeks to maximize pleasure and minimize pain. These desires manifest as our “physical being” and extend to “loved ones” who serve our interests indirectly.
The Others: Beyond our immediate circle, we perceive “others” as competitors or enemies in the “game of life,” where everyone pursues personal gain. Even alliances with “friends” are based on mutual self-interest, which can dissolve when interests diverge.
A World of Conflict: This egocentric perception creates a world of strife, conflict, and wars, as each individual seeks to exploit others for personal benefit.

The critical realization is that we do not encounter independent entities — people, animals, or objects. Instead, we perceive a mirror-like reflection of our own qualities, desires, and intentions. The world we see is a projection shaped by our internal filters and distortions.

The Root of the Broken World

The reality we perceive is broken, dark, and self-destructive because it is rooted in our inherent egocentric, selfish, and exploitative qualities. These qualities are antithetical to life, consuming and destroying like cancer. In contrast, the true reality, governed by a single creating and nurturing force, is characterized by “godly qualities” of pure, selfless, and unconditional love and bestowal. These qualities are the foundation of life, capable of creating and sustaining existence.

To sense this true reality and its governing force — the Creator — we must develop a degree of similarity and matching frequency with these godly qualities. However, our egocentric sphere of perception prevents us from directly perceiving anything outside our subjective reality. Even the Creator we seek to attain is an “image of the Creator” within our vessels of perception, revealed only through the similarity we cultivate with His qualities.

The Path to Transformation: Tikkun Adam

To change the world, we must first change ourselves. The Kabbalistic principle of Tikkun Olam (the correction of the world) begins with Tikkun Adam (the correction of man). This transformation involves reshaping our perception and qualities to align with the Creator’s godly attributes. The process is guided by a practical and purposeful method outlined by Kabbalists: “Make yourself a Rav, buy yourself a friend, and judge everyone to a scale of merit.”

1. Make Yourself a Rav: The Higher Purpose and Guide

The journey begins with establishing a higher purpose: to reveal and attain the Creator by achieving similarity with His godly qualities of selfless love and bestowal. This goal becomes the guiding force of one’s life. To navigate this path, one needs a Rav — a teacher or guide who has already attained the Creator’s qualities and can provide practical instruction.

The Role of the Rav: A true guide, in actual attainment of the Creator, interprets and teaches the method to develop similarity with the Creator’s qualities. This guidance is essential to overcome the inherent opposition of our egocentric nature.
Commitment to the Goal: By prioritizing this higher purpose above all else, we align our actions and intentions toward transformation.

2. Buy Yourself a Friend: The Spiritual Group

Transformation cannot occur in isolation. We must “buy friends” — like-minded individuals who share the same goal of attaining the Creator’s qualities. These friends form a spiritual group, a supportive environment where mutual commitment and devotion foster growth.

Building True Friendship: We “buy” these friends by demonstrating absolute commitment to their spiritual success, helping them achieve the shared goal. This selfless support transforms transactional relationships into true, devoted friendships.
The Power of the Group: The spiritual group is the crucible where similarity with the Creator’s qualities is developed. Through mutual connection, we practice selfless love and bestowal, subjugating our egoistic inclinations to serve the collective.

3. Judge Everyone to a Scale of Merit

Beyond the spiritual group, we must adopt a compassionate perspective toward others who have not yet awakened to this higher purpose. Their actions, driven by inherent egocentric instincts, are not their fault but a result of their unawakened state, determined by reality’s evolutionary plan.

Positive Influence: Instead of blaming or judging others, we influence them positively by embodying the Creator’s godly qualities. By changing ourselves, we project a constructive influence onto the world.
Focus on the Self: The only practical area of change is within ourselves and our spiritual environment. Blaming others is futile, as the world we see is a reflection of our own qualities.

The Spiritual Environment: A Window to the Creator

The spiritual environment — consisting of the Rav, the method, and the group — becomes the practical arena for transformation. Here, we develop the desired similarity with the Creator’s qualities through selfless connection with our friends.

Subjugating the Ego: To connect with the Creator’s bestowing system, we must nullify our egocentric inclinations and enter the desires, emotions, and viewpoints of our friends without subjective bias. This requires complete selflessness, forgetting our own interests to love and support others unconditionally.
The Group as a Beacon: As we dissolve into the collective, the spiritual group becomes the area where the Creator’s qualities manifest. This group, united in selfless love, serves as a “beacon of light,” influencing the broader system within our perception.
Sustaining the Connection: The friends in the group provide mutual support, helping us resist the ego’s pull to revert to selfish tendencies. Their encouragement keeps us aligned with the Creator’s system.

Perceiving the Creator: Come and See

In Hebrew, the Creator is called BoReh, meaning “come and see.” This reflects the process of attaining the Creator: by acquiring and embodying His godly qualities within our subjective sphere, we begin to “see” and perceive Him. The Creator’s presence is revealed only through our relations with others, particularly in the selfless, loving connections we build with our spiritual friends.

The New Collective Self: To connect with the Creator, we must abandon the egocentric self we have identified with since birth. Instead, we transfer our sense of self to the collective “self” we build with our friends, existing only to serve and support them.
Communication with the Creator: Our contact with the Creator occurs through the desires and emotions of our friends. By entering their perspectives selflessly, we create a space where the Creator’s qualities become tangible, allowing us to sense His presence.
The Outcome: Through this process, we open a window within our egocentric sphere, perceiving the Creator’s single governing force as a result of the similarity we achieve. This revelation transforms our perception of reality, aligning it with the life-nurturing qualities of love and bestowal.

Conclusion

The journey to perceive the Creator is a profound shift from an egocentric, subjective perception to one aligned with the godly qualities of selfless love and bestowal. The world we see is not an objective reality but a projection of our internal desires and qualities. To change this world, we must change ourselves through the process of Tikkun Adam, guided by a Rav, supported by a spiritual group, and rooted in a compassionate view of others. By building selfless connections with our friends, we create a space where the Creator’s qualities can manifest, opening a window to perceive reality’s single governing force. This transformation not only corrects our perception but also positions our spiritual group as a beacon of light, influencing the broader system toward harmony and unity. In the end, Tikkun Olam unfolds through our commitment to embody the Creator’s qualities, revealing a reality of pure, unconditional love.