'As Above, So Below'
THE KABBALAH:
Mysteries in Everyday Mundane Life.
by Jeanne M. House
A few days ago I was watching a movie with Richard Dreyfuss, who was a firefighter and quite a “daredevil.” Anyway, he died while saving a buddy’s life. After he died, he ran into Audrey Hepburn, who proceeded to cut his hair, while casually informing him of his new circumstances and his new tasks. She instructed him to go back and inspire others like him on Earth. Along the way, he ran into his old girlfriend and tried to re-bond with her. He was jealous of the man he was supposed to inspire and he did not want to relinquish his “hold” on this girl. Consequently, Audrey retorted by saying, “That was a total waste of Spirit!”
This reminded me of the whole purpose of the Kabbalah; only it is the other way around. It seems that many of us “totally waste our spirits” when we are not up lifting ourselves, as well as, others. We become so caught up with ourselves that forget our whole purpose for coming here in the first place.
The Kabbalah is a way of personal transformation based on a map of consciousness called the Tree Of Life. Its’ aim is to provide a way back to our original source, by redeeming ‘lost sparks’ that have been imbedded in matter. These sparks originated from the divine and each and every one of us has one of these ‘divine sparks’ within us. However, the spark lies dormant like a seed, until it is re-ignited by us, through nourishment and love, harmony and balance. Our task, here on earth, is to re-ignite ‘holy sparks’ wherever go and whatever we do.
Now how do we go about doing this? By making every action a reflection of Divine Will. We can lift a routine activity into consciousness with pure intention, just like the Count de Saint Germaine did when he turned base metals into gold.
Count de Saint Germaine
He gained a reputation for his alchemical prowess at transforming the common into the something of highest quality. Some called this “magic,” but it really is a science. In the middle ages, people called math magic. The Kabbalah reveals to us that there is a precise order in the universe. This order is the Cause behind all Effects. When our lives become chaotic and random, we are simply “reacting” to events and not tapping into the underlying causes of our own personal universe.
Our five senses inhibit us from seeing ‘other worlds.’ It is only by relinquishing our pre-conceived notions of reality that we see Reality. It sounds like a paradox.
Merlin is the world’s best-known magician. He was in contact with the ‘Other World’ and commanded tremendous respect. (He was also instrumental in arranging events, which would lead to the birth of Arthur, the new King of Britain, who represented Tiphareth, the balance between Love and Power.
Merlin conceived of the round table, where only the best knights of the kingdom gathered, in order to create action plans for a quest of the “Holy Grail.” The quest represents the search for the very highest within us all.)
THE TAO OF NOW
As we dwell on the past or are thinking in the future, we are not living in the ‘Other World’, which is NOW. The elusive now seems to be hidden from our senses. God conceals Herself, in order to be revealed. If we lose our attachment that makes us blindly cling to whatever we find desirable, than we can be open to the MOMENT. By our own free will, we can choose to forego this desire and therefore, we become “proactive,” instead of “reactive.”
This is the first step in our Transformation. Through the process of contraction, we now can expand our Awareness. By withholding the fulfillment of the conditioned response to a desire, we have opened up a window to the divine Light or (Energy). We are operating in the Eternal Now. By becoming more filled with Light, the universe also becomes more filled with Light and God is expanding Her awareness as well. There is a direct correspondence to what we do here on earth to what happens in the entire Universe. This is how we co-create with God and how we redeem sparks.
CHANGE YOUR MIND; CHANGE YOUR LIFE
Thoughts are things. Plato’s version of, the ‘realm of ideas,’ does rule the universe. We must perceive something before we can achieve it. All creation starts with an idea or an inspiration. The word Spirit comes from Inspiration or ‘to inspire.’ This is precisely our goal--to lift up our own mind, as well as other people’s minds. The question is, “how do we transcend our own minds, in order to tap into the Higher Mind of God?” We must first travel through an Abyss.
This reminds me of a hero’s journey. It seems that every hero has to face the “unknown” before he attains his Victory. Along the way he encounters many dangers and must overcome each trial before he can have the ‘grace’ of Insight from the gods. Usually though, the hero has to let go of some part of his/her ego in order to obtain knowledge. The personal search now becomes a search for the good of mankind. This new intention affords them the safety of crossing the dark abyss into the Light.
Most of the dangers are really the hero’s own subconscious patterns or past life propensities that have buried sparks of God within them. The task is to redeem these sparks by transcending negative habits into positive habits. Focusing our minds on the higher qualities of the negative habit does this. For instance, if we hate something, we should love that thing and we can transform the hatred into love. This redeems that spark and love expands in the universe.
The danger, however, is when we gain power; we could use it for personal gain and not share it; therefore we shall have greater chaos in our lives than we had in the first place. And once we have awareness, but we do not act on it, we will suffer for the consequences in an even greater way than if we had not. However, if our tendency is to err, but we overcome and do what is right, than we get even greater rewards. The only way to balance the power is to embody the qualities of Tipherath-Love, balance, harmony, peace, beauty, grace, etc.
A CUP OF LIGHT
The Buddha was presented with a bowl and a golden cup of water. When the Buddha saw the golden cup float upstream, he recognized it as a sign that he would soon gain enlightenment.
Sefirot
The Tree of Life is composed of 10 vessels or cups of Light. This Light comes from the One Light of Ayin, (boundless; endless Energy), which poured Its’ Light into the Great Vessel. The light was too great and the Vessel shattered into many vessels representing aspects of this one Light. Keter, the Creator or the Masculine Principle, (Purest in Spirit), is at the top and Malkhuth or the Feminine Principle, (Mostly Matter), is at the bottom. Once the Spirit is united with Matter, It “floats back upstream” to its’ Source-AinSof. The gold cup represents the Spirit in the cup/Matter. Our task is to unite the feminine and masculine within our own self, in order to become whole and unite with our original source.
This masculine and feminine balance shows up throughout the entire Tree of Life through polarities. This is was the Chinese referred to as a balance between Ying and Yang or the Buddhist referred to as “the middle way.” Whenever we find ourselves in on one of the extremes of the polarities, it is important to become centered in our hearts in Tipherath. Here we will find a reflection of the Divine Light, which mirrors our own Divine Beauty. This is the place of “great encounters” where our psychological self realizes its’ spiritual Self. Once we know who we are, we can also see the spiritual potential in others.
CYCLES OF CREATION-The Four Elements Create Form
I. FIRE/ SPIRIT/ ATSILUTH/ EMANATION
In order to create something in this world, we first get a “flash of insight or inspiration”, from Chokhmah, (wisdom). Combined with Binah, (understanding), we then are able to complement and balance the wisdom of Chokmah. We translate this insight into action, through reason. Da’at emanates the knowledge of Divine Will. Da’at represents the knowledge that comes directly from the divine, (the combined knowledge of wisdom and understanding). The knowledge of the Divine will is translated through Tifareth and Yesod. Atziluth, (nearness), emanates the 2nd world Briah.
Questions for our own life:
1. Here we ask ourselves-“ Are we in tune with the Divine Emanations?”
2. “How much insight do we have on our own destiny?”
3. “ Do we feel the intention that underlies the universe?”
II. AIR/ MENTAL/ BRIAH /CREATION
Briah is the world of Creation. It is the expansive energy that forms the essential earthy particles of atoms, elements and stars. Briah transforms Divine Will into Creativity. Briah parallels the Intellect, the capacity to create ideas and make them real. Here we apply creativity to the energy and start to build a pattern around which the energy from Atziluth can flow. Briah is the world of air and knowledge and the world of thought.
This is not ordinary thought, but creative imaginative thought that ultimately brings new forms into the world. Air is both clear and like the wind, jumps from one thought to another. Here we encounter the knowledge of good and evil and by free will, we must experience and fully integrate this knowledge into the lower worlds. We start to experience polarity-Adam, (atom), and Eve, (Electron) or positive and negative.
Briah focuses on understanding and wisdom.
Questions:
1. “Are your ideas born out the selfish will of your ego, or do they reflect the awareness of the universal need for balance and repair?”
2. “Does your creativity enhance your spiritual life and the lives of those around you?”
3. “To what ends you exercise the power of your mind and intellect?”
III. WATER/ PSYCHOLOGY / YETZIRAH/ FORMATION
Yetzerah, the world of emotion, represents water. It can take any shape, it is difficult to contain and it can be very powerful. This is where differentiation and individuation occurs. Through observation of species, Darwin expounded the theory of evolution, in which the variant forms within species develop over time according to the principle of “survival of the fittest,” and mutation.
The emotional life of the ego and the psychological consciousness exist in the world of Yetzirah. We have both the capacity and the responsibility to develop our awareness between body, emotion, intellect and spirit. The heart does express emotion, but more importantly it expresses knowledge. “I know it in my heart.”
Platonic love arises from the best qualities of a person. The realm of emotion encompasses the balance between strength and mercy and the expression of beauty. Reverberation and eternity, mediated by foundation, governs the forms and interrelationships of life.
Questions:
1. "What feelings and thoughts guide your speech?"
2. "Do you allow the wisdom of your heart to be heard?
3. "Does the form of your life reflect a balance between your heart and your head?"
III. EARTH/PYSICAL/ASSIAH/ACTION
Assiah encompasses action and the realm of the body. The world in Assiah represents the physical plane and all that happens there. The element Earth is the least dynamic and most static of all the elements. It is the concept of completion of the upper worlds into the lower world of matter. Here, the journey of creation ends and the journey of return starts. If all went well, we are made in “the Image of God.” It is through balanced interaction of body, emotions, mind and spirit that we express our divine potential. Each action that we take is an opportunity to repair the world, tikkun olam, and redeem divine sparks. One good deed may tip the balance of the scales of the whole world-“As Above, So Below.” We step toward unification of the broken vessels that once held Divine Light. Here we too, can redeem lost fragments of our own soul.
Most of us spend our time here, where we are focused outward and toward outer reality. The upper face is the lower face of Yetzirah-“inner reflection.” Of we take time for “inner reflection” we can become aware of ourselves, right where we are. This first step of self-acceptance helps us to realize that we are made of divine stuff. All we need to do, is access it Right Here and Now.
Questions:
1. “Do you acknowledge the holy nature of your body and respect and care for it?”
2. “How can you turn a mundane activity into a divine act?”
3. “How can you inspire your actions and relationships to reflect the goal of unification and repair?”
DAY-TO-DAY KABBALAH
Every day we get a ‘cup of Light’ or Energy to be used for that day. We can call it a cup of opportunity or a cup of karma. Either way, we are responsible for how we use that Light. We are Initiated ‘so to speak’ on all levels of the Tree of Life. We always have free will, which comes with opportunity to use that light to uplift mankind or to withhold the Light for our own selfish purposes.
Our individual souls are all connected to the Universal Soul. The outcome of our own stream of life will add to the Mighty River of Life and Its’ Cosmic Currents.
Another paper on the Kabbalah: Mystery of the Kabbalah- God as Energy