Some Guiding Concepts for Derekh Habrachot—the Blessing Path by Jonathan Omer-Man and Shohama Weiner
"The Etz Chaim, the Tree of Life, is the power symbol of the blessing way. It has been with us throughout the totality of human experience to keep us connected to the source of all blessing and to teach us how to live so that we are always connected. We must always remember that our connection to the Etz Chaim is as near as our heart.
"The more we give blessing, the greater our skill becomes. Constantly practice giving blessings. Speak blessings of praise, thanksgiving, and wonder. Offer blessings of well wishing, hope, and comfort.
"We need to always act as if we believe in the power of blessing to heal and to transform. Even when our objective reality says a situation is devoid of hope, seek out the tiniest light of possibility, and concentrate on that as the focal point of our blessing.
"In voicing our blessings, we must always be sensitive to the recipient. As we used to saying the sixties, 'Don't lay a trip on anyone.' We need to frame our blessings in terms that can be heard and welcomed. If the recipient is closed to hearing a blessing from us, speak it silently. If our blessing is said in a way that provokes resistance in the one for whom it is intended, the resistance will diminish its power.
"When we give a blessing, we are more than ourselves. We bring the intention. The blessing itself comes from the Source of All Blessing. In the process of formulating a blessing we need to make ourselves quiet, even for an instant, so we can allow the blessing to formulate itself.
"In the act of blessing, we give name and form to something that is either latent or already exists to facilitate its manifestation in this world.
"We must encourage ourselves not to be angry at, or to judge others for the places where they are broken. When we commit ourselves to Derekh Habrachot, our perceptions of negativity become our reference point for the formulation of blessing. It is our task to strive to transform what we see through the act of blessing. The act of judgment belongs to the one true judge, blessed be His name."
