1112 Meditation: On Healing the Dead

1112 MK

Communication with the dead has been accomplished through dreams for thousands of years. Kabbalists frequently use active imagination to enter unknown realms. This process is based on the kabbalistic principal that our imaginations are connected with higher realities. Today we call this method "waking dreams," the process of actively engaging an altered state of consciousness that simulates the experience of dreams. In fact, this is an ancient method the sages used for contacting souls that have passed over the threshold of death.

1200 HASIDIC TEACHING STORIES

1200

Stories is one of the most popular methods to transmit mystical and hidden teachings. The stories of the Bible, of course, are predominant in Western tradition. Hasidic Judaism is known for its wonderful and memorable tales. Many of the teachings have become classicsal transmissions of subtle (and not so subtle) ways to achieve high levels of conscious Awareness. These stories can be told time and time again without getting stale. Enjoy!

For those who would like a complete set, almost all of the following stories were excerpted from the Sounds True CD set called the Mystical Kabbalah which is linked on our Books and CD's page; individual stories can be purchased in digital form on this website on-line.

1332 Ma asey Merkayvah: The Holy Chariot (free)

1332 EG

The work of the chariot, ma asey merkayvah, is forbidden to teach except to highly qualified students. This is the foundation of Kabbalah. Only in the past fifty years have people been exposed to the teachings of the Holy Chariot.

This chariot, of course, is a metaphor, a vehicle that can carry one to higher consciousness. One of the ways that literally gives us an experience of being in the metaphysical chariot is through listening to the sound of the shofar. When we hear the call of the shofar, most people experience a momentary transformation. This is a hint of the experience of God Consciousness through which we will ultimately enter into a paradigm shift that will cause us to see this world with entirely new eyes.

1331 Ten Sefirot of the Tree of Life

1331 MK

The beginning of Genesis in the Torah repeats the phrase “vayomer” (and God said…), ten times, such as: “and God said, let there be light.” Each of these is ten repetitions is viewed by Jewish mystics as the creation of one of the primordial emanations (sefirot) which are the foundation of the Creation. Speech thus is viewed as more primordial than vision, for sound preceded light.

1330 The BrokenVessels of Creation

1330 EG

The Kabbalist Isaac Luria postulated that the universe is filled with Divine sparks (nitzozoth) that were spread across the universe at the time of creation, when vessels were burst (shevirat hakaylim) by the overpowering light of creation, releasing untold numbers of sparks which became the source of creation as we know it. It is our primary task in life to free these sparks from the husks (klipot) in which they are contained. The release of the holy sparks results from good deeds, acts of loving kindness, charity, and clean living. (also see: 1322, 1310 and 1312)

1328 Importance of the Sabbath

1328 MK

One day off a week is a gift that is strongly suggested in the Torah, but rarely observed. It is so important, according to the Torah, it is actually one of the Ten Cmmandments. Isn’t that interesting.

We have a commandment to take off one day a week from our mundane activities to contemplate, reflect, relax, connect, love, and be still. But most people don’t observe this commandment. 

1327 Alive in Each Moment

1327 MK

The past and the future only exist in our imagination. The past has already happened and is gone, forever. The future never arrives as we expect and there is no way to determine what it will be, ever. There is only this flowing, unfolding, moment-to-moment reality that we call Now! Now does not exist because it is constantly moving, always changing, always. Yet, we can release our thoughts in a way that allows us to fully experience the passing Now, as long as we do not try to stop the flow, which is in fact what happens the instant we think about past or future—which is never here, for it only exists in our imagination. Closing this circle is the experience of liberation, being and flowing in the Here and Now.

1326 Non-Duality means non-Separation

1326 MK

The basic teaching of Judaism is that there is one God and God is everything. There is nothing that is not God. The creation is not separate from God; nothing is separate from God. For some people this is a paradox as our experience seem to suggest that the creation is in fact separate from its source. It “seems” separate, but the mystics tell us that separation is not possible. 

mp3 (7:20)

1325 Pardes: Four Ways to Study the Torah

1325 MK

The word for garden in Hebrew is Pardes. The root is P-R-D-S. It is taught that there are four ways to read and explore the scripture. The basic approach is Pshat, which means literal. Another way is Remez, which means a hint and is the metaphorical understanding. The third is Drosh, which is the analytical approach in which different parts of the scripture are brought to explain each other. Finally is the Sod, which means the secret approach, which is unwrapping the codes that explain the scripture. The sod makes up the body of the Kabbalah.

1324 Gaining a Mystical Perspective

1324 MK

Mysticism suggests that there are many different realities and to gain new wisdom all we need to do is attune to them. Mystics have a way of communing with one another without have ideological interference. There is a mystical fragrance in which all differences fall away. Mystical insight is more common than most believe. Anything we experience that brings us into the moment is a mystical experience.

1323 Kabbalah on Giving and Receiving

1323 MK

The desire to give creates a desire to receive. This teaching lies at the heart of the mystical Jewish approach to cause of the creation. Without someone or something to receive, then giving cannot occur. Each needs the other.

As the Source is also referred to as the Bestower because it “must” always give, that which receives must be intrinsic in the giving process. Thus the Bestower, with an absolute “will to give” must simultaneously create a Will to Receive, and this Will to Receive is, by definition, the nature of Creation.(See 1308) 

1322 The Holy Ari: Isaac Luria

1322 MK

One of the best known and most influential Kabbalists is Isaac Luria, known as the Holy Ari, who lived in the sixteenth century during a time when there was an unusual gathering of Jewish mystics in the city of Safed. Luria became one of the key teachers in Safed for these Kabbalists and his unusual teachings dramatically changed the direction of Jewish mysticism, which in time deeply affected (and still does) mainstream Judaism.

1321 The Five Worlds of Kabbalah

1321 MK

The Kabbalistic model has four worlds, plus one. The physical world that surrounds us is called Asiyah, the world of action. Next is Yetzira, the world of formation, followed by Beriah, the world of creation, topped off in Atzilut, the world of Emanantion. Above all this is Adom Kadmon, the primordial world of initial consciousness, will, and the potential for beginningness. All this is fundamental mystical Judaism building a foundation upon which this creation if built.

1320 The Five Levels of the Soul

1320 MK

In the Kabbalistic model, there are five worlds, each representing a different realm of reality, and each connected with its own aspect of the soul. The five souls are: nefesh (the level of basic physicality), ruach (the level related to movement, like wind), neshama (the level connected with the breath), chaya (connected with life itself, and yehida (the unity where all souls are connected with Source.

1319 Kabbalah as Metaphysics

1319 MK

As a metaphysical field of inquiry, the Kabbalah is more of a series of systems than a single ideal. There are many ways to break down the Torah, the Talmud, and other Jewish teachings in a way that seeks the underbelly of Jewish mysticism. Kabbalists manipulate letters, shapes of words, mathematical interpretations and hermeneutical logic (an unusual special way to make connections).

Moreover, under the umbrella of Kabbalah there are different approaches, some having more “merit” than others, but each making yet another contribution. All of this adds complexity and in some instances confusion to what Kabbalah is all about. Still, the compiled methodogies offer a new and brighter look into the possibilities of exploring and speculating on the deepest and most serious questions of what this world and this universe is all about.

1318: 32 Paths to Higher Consciousness

1318 MK

The Tree of Life is often presented with twenty-two lines that are drawn in a way that interconnects the 10 emanations. The twenty-two lines are directly associated with the twenty-two letters (consonants) of the Hebrew alphabet, and the ten sefirot are connected with the vowels.

Kabbalistically, the consonants are treated as vessels, and the vowels as light. The mystical teachings show how when all this is put together, every root and every word in the Hebrew language has potential interpretations of understanding that give each Hebrew word dimensions on multiple levels far beyond the initial meaning of the word itself. This all falls under the category of the 32 mystical paths of higher consciousness.