Truth - American Mussar

Connection Between Prince and Passover — Prince changed his name to a symbol to escape the “narrow place” of his contract

Prince’s death on the eve of Passover has touched a spiritual nerve for me. It took me a while to understand why a felt a connection between Prince and Passover. Then the phrase came to me: Prince was never a slave in Egypt. Let me give you some context.

The Torah refers to Egypt as “the narrow place.” It was a stage in the history of our people when our spirits were oppressed and confined by slavery. Spiritual oppression is severe – it saps the mind of will and the body of strength. We were limited in our choices, and did not feel empowered even to try. The “narrow place” transforms a story of physical freedom into a story of spiritual liberation.

In listening to the story of Prince, I heard a story of the fight for freedom. Remember when Prince changed his name to an unpronounceable symbol? It turns out he did that because he felt oppressed by a recording contract. Warner, which owned the rights to his music, only wanted one album a year. Prince wanted the business to serve his music, not his music to dance to the tune of the business. Unable to get out of his contract Prince changed his name in protest. He even wrote “slave” on his face. (See it here).

For Prince, changing his name, and cranking out a flood of albums to fulfill the contract was liberation, was an escape from his narrow place. If the company owns the name Prince, I’ll change my name so they don’t own me. Rabbi Nachman of Breslov taught that “the Exodus from Egypt occurs in every human being, in every era, in every year, and in every day.” Prince intuitively seemed to understand this. You are either growing and setting yourself free from what is holding you back, or you are still stuck in Egypt, in that narrow place. The connection between Prince and Passover is the story of spiritual liberation.

President Obama reminded us yesterday that Prince once said “A strong spirit transcends rules,” and went on to say that nobody’s spirit was stronger, bolder, or more creative.” Sounds like a freedom we all can aspire to.

Good night sweet Prince.

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Image by Jimi Hughes from Ballymena, Northern Ireland via Wikimedia Commons

I had an interesting realization this morning. My Mussar group facilitator asked us to meditate for a few minutes to get in touch with our inner Truth. I let my mind quiet, looked within, and discovered that I am afraid. I’m afraid that the book will flop, and I’m afraid that it will be wildly successful. Wow, talk about setting yourself up to be dissatisfied with any outcome! I feel empowered by having that realization. The book launch will be a big deal for me. Whatever happens, things will change. Now that I hear this internal voice, I can choose how to respond.

Another realization this week: 85% of readers I surveyed feel disconnected from friends and family, or that no one knows the real them. Wow! This is just from a small sample of infrequent readers, but it has made me wonder about the rest of you. Many people have told me that my email newsletter is the only one they are sure to read whenever it comes.

I write about myself, but I don’t know anything about your spiritual journey. I’d love to hear it – please take a few minutes to take this short survey – it will help guide the topics I write about. I’ll let you know the results next week too.

Mussar is all about taking action. When we feel that no one knows us, what is one small action that we can take to let people in? More importantly, what inside is holding us back from making those connections? Many soul traits could be in play, but which soul traits will vary from person to person.

The Real Question, The Real Question is how well do you know yourself? Today I learned something important about myself. Not something I’m happy about, but now that I know I am afraid, I can take action to make sure I don’t derail myself.

How many people know the real you? Do you want more people to know you?

If you have successfully reached out to others, and no longer feel this way, please share your success story below. It will inspire those of us who want to follow your example.

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