Question
The Rav has said that most people are heavily attached to the materialism of This World because of all the different luxuries and physical desires which they pursue, and this causes most people to be distant from Hashem. Only a few rare individuals on this world are really close to Hashem. It seems that the rest of us have no hope! How can we be close to Hashem when most of our being is immersed in the materialism and physical desires on this world?!
Answer
Disconnect on an emotional level from all of the attachment to materialism, like the Gemara says [regarding marital intimacy], “As if a demon forced him to do it” (Talmud Bavli Nedarim 20b). But this should not be done out of any feeling of pressure. Rather, it needs to come from a place of inner calmness in you that isn’t attached to the materialism.
