Beruflich Dokumente
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Having an extra~rclinar~
intellect, he
the mystical aspecrs of the tradition: the nature of God, the creation story.
the exlsrence of angelic and demonlc forces, the secret reasons for the Jew~sh
laws-thtsc
and many other subjects were addressed. In thc. rhirteenth century,
this mystical lnovement gained considerable mo~ncntum,which led to the camFilation o f the rnosr influential kabbalisric work: the Zohar
T h e actual datcs o f compositian of rhe Zohar are not clearly known, but
rnajor parcs o f the manuscript were crrct~laredin the latrer part of the thirrccnth
century. T h e individtial considered to he its most 11kcly author, Moshr dr Leon,
was born some time close to r h )+ear
~ 1.240 CE, and thus was almost the same
in the Garden o f Eden five thousand years ago, the mystical perspective (the
Kabbalah)
1s
awareness
that distinguishes humans from the rest o f the antma1 kingdom. Indeed, the fiill
rrcognltion of
~171.5
1s
~t IS
the rncss~ah.
ts
when
sciousness is to transcend this Iewl to reach rhc scvcnrli Jay, rhc Sabbath clay:
when mess~anicconscior~snesswill appear.
Sn the Kabbalist sees the thousand years chat begm rn 1249 CE as the final
millennium of transition that Ieads up to a new species in rhc unirerst, one
w ~ t hmesstanic consciousners, T h c coming scvcnth milIenniurn w ~ l lbegin in
tht- Hrbrew calrndar year 6000, by our ~eckoning,2240 CE, a httle over two
hundred ).ears from now. According to the kabbalistic model, thrs is a time when
not
necessarily be wcIl
%LIITIII
fill. C ~ I S V I Vof
~ t h e S ~ C C I C S This
.
is B major season why the indtrlllual quest
flu 1111111- CIIII~IICC~CJ
* ~ ~ t i o each
n s , person's impact on the universe o f conscltusIic%a+
IX
11
~n our t ~ m c .
\o Iliipclrt.lnt
1,
IIOL
Abulafia,
I'll15 ~iiptc~.rozr\
rirer
111g t l i c ' ~ I X A.tvr
,I.)!
(Sll.tl,lr.rt,
represents a barricr
o f rhe week-nothing
that
~ert.ntli
~IILIS
1% 111~11 11 c . l ~ l n t ) t
( C X L - I * ~~
i i l i strict
~ c ~
17.11
sclr)tl,Ilv\.\. Aly111.11;,1
C R I I C ~ thcse rnvst~calbarriers
k n t ~ hi n
n \I
1 .iiill
I ~ , I ~ I ,II kiill~
I ~ - I 11.~1111 .i rope. It acts as a dam, blocking and cornpllcac~ngthe
smooth flow t 3 1 I U I ~ ; i i ~ r ~dcxw~
r ~ the line o f the rc~pe,In Abubfia; view, when
the knots are untied, the natural flow can he reestablished, and we will autor n a t ~ c a l enter
l ~ the reaIm o f original unity. This is his metaphor o f finding and
liberating the ten losr tribes, which represent multiplicity, to return to oneness.
Unfortunately, Abulafia never comFleted his search. W h e n he arrlved m Acre,
a war was being fought at the time in the Middle East between the Mamelukes
and the Tatars. T h ~ was
s a llteral barrlcr he could not overcome. H e was forced
to leave
We learn from this that the knots keeping us from full llhera-
tton take many forms that are the conditions and circurnstanccs of our lives.
was a harbinger
who "opens che closed doors."This inner mover 1s our own, personal spiritual
mentor, "who wlU guide us through rhe veils o f cnnfusion." Our mentor can be
a human teacher we have already met or about whom we have knowledge, or it
can be an unusual reacher who will appear to us in some form we will recognize
as our practice deepens. Our personal tcacher could show u p mystcriouslv in
if wr
haw the
Irvels of reality.
DISSOLVING KNOTS
W o w do you untie rhe knots of your souls? Imagine the soul as a ves~elmade
of clear glass surrounded by light, bur the glass is encascd in a fabric, woven in
c ~ g lknoa,
~t
char prcvcnrs light from entering (or ex~r~ng).Yo~r
will w c latcr thar
zq
meditation practices.
things. T h c s c
15 a
IS
when only a few knots are looscncd, p u can see some form of light or trurh
rhac srnrt wirh that lcrrer, irs shape, its placement in the alphabet, its numeric
value (for cxamplc, a = 1, b = 2, c = 3, esc.j, the numeric value of words and
entire phrases, where Ln the mouth a letter is pronounced-all
these and many
other aspecrs are rxpIored. Bur wc do not have to be kabbalist~cscholars to $01low Abulafia's technique, for alrhauph he was learned in all aspeia of Kabbalah,
hr leaned rnore heavily on rntuitlve, inner revelation than or1 intrllrctual expertise. 7nTewtll work with Ah~lafia'stterhni~ue
in the next haprer, but first let US
expcrlence a special chanc chat relies rntircly on our intu~rion.
Abwlafia's Practices
one;
highly intricate
thought problems that can only be appreciated through the use of l~nique
logic, relatively few individuals are able ro appreciate the results o f this kind
upon chanting one of the h~ghcst "names of God" in Hrhrew. the fvtlr
conscrnants of the ancient Hebrew name o f God, the retragrammaton, oftrn
about rhis mcrhcxl in detail, but these trchniques were descr~bcdas early
as the nlnth century It is helievcd that many practices go all the way back to
sccret transrnis-
We all knolz~the story of the sage who awakens from a dream abour a burtrr-
tvvrrs hc dscarn~ngahoul
rerfly now drearnlng about him? &Zany traditions. and in!.stlcs In general, belleve
rhar our mundane realit:. is norlung hut a dream thar wc Icusraln throughout each
dai.
and that we coustnnd,v create new rIrmcncs in t111sdream. For cacll of us.
1s
In addirton, J mystic would say that e ~ c hperson 1s a vehicle of d i r ~ n cexpression. O u r accions. words, and thoughts act out dirtne p r o r ~ d c ~ ~ cand
e , some
a rule ln this process. SO we are not sirnFl,v
bcl~cwrliac free wiIl aIso
mbors, doing ehrner thar are Frcorclaincd, but are
of tllr time),
wu
we
n e c t ~ dwith the way vowels are lvritrcn in Hebrew. The sound Oh r? a dot over a
shoulder, pardel to the ground and then return to center tvhen sound~ngchis letter. T h e sound Aa is represented by two docs on a line pralleI tu the ground, so
we d o the rtvcrsr
lift i m r r
III'RCI
;h3
Chmrin~tht sound Ee.
,I~nvl!
hiurr
and thcn rerurra to ccntcr.The \otmJ Ec ir a dur lrndrr a Icrrcr, rI~usrrlc lo~\tcrollr
heads and rrrur n to cciltcr w h m rnBiiig thc 17.e F
rctlrrscntcd as three
Jots
O ~ I ~ I ~ .
on an ~ n ~ ldnd
c , ~t 1s rcptcsentcd bl. a dot tn thc mlddlrl
of n ircrc~t~l
Iine. T11c a\st>c~accdhrad murcment
5%
f01~vard~ I b~ikxvarcl
J
and
thcn rcturnlng rr, ici~tcr.At first thcsc head movcmcnrs arc cmpllas~zcilrvhcn n c
lnronc each rcspect1r.r vowel >ourid. .Iftter a hart rlinc, rI~eniuvemcnrs bccoinr
\*cry SIIL~CIE, l ~ ilvc
t
TI115
helps
;Jw,I;'s
us s ~ ~ s t athc
~ nsequence of soundr. %\111ch
bccome farrl~ coinplrcnted
in ad~anccdpractlcr,
.111d
.c~sualizatlonschar
arc ashocl,~t~d
~ i t thr
h Trcc of Llie, T h e pmccirr oh tlldr trchnqtlc Icads clnr
la
a stare
t ~ ba1;tncr
t
dnd
Ii.~rmor~y.
Abulat;nas sysrem
1% suincrt
I ~ n diffrrcnt.
r
Hi5
HIS
Ir
, heart.
vibrations. You should attempt to practice in that p u r i t ~of
11Sl'tlN 7 3 3 TIWCK 3
$l$~~f.r't,i
k 3 . t . 1 ~
rhanrs
IS
COMBINING DOUBLETS
O n e o f the f ~ ~ n d a r n t nttc~c~hln ~ ~ u ctaught
s
by Ahulafa is to chant *'doublets."
A Joublrt is rnadc u p
with thr vowel Oh, a
Oh-'14!, 011-Yee,
Oh-Hu, Oh-Chh.
Oh-Ho.
Oh-Ha,
Oh-Hey,
Oh-Yah.
Oh-He.
Oh-\Gh.
Ot1-\4c, 011-Vu.
Oh-Ha,
Oh-Hey
Oh-Ile,
011-HLI .. . fidlou~edby another cornFlerc
011-Ma,
round lrke t h ~ sbut bcFinnlnF with rhr Ah vowel. This round would he followed
011-\'ah,
bv nnc heginn~ngwith the Aa cowel, then one wrth thc Ec and finall! one w t d ~
the
Uu.
Notice chat this description may srrm confusing whrn you rcaJ it. T h e
c31 part of che brain wants to "figtlre
IK out."
!ngi-
expri-icnce the d ~ a n t l n gprocess on a somatic level, with thc hody, you will see
thar it works much inore easily than logic had suggested.
internally making the sound of the
Begin by tnhdlnF whdc sirnultanc~usl~
'
To TRACJ<
A I n u l ~ t ~d<~1t.~li.i5
d
each sound, as this movement will assist !.our abil~tyto stay with the
correct sequence. Now please turn to Track 4, and
that will cart! !,uu through the pr~cticr.
~OII
011
sound three rimes, comFlrtely covenng the enelre exhatarion with rhc sound.
Ih. Continue makine the Oh sound threc more
tunes,
ing u p
at
cxhalat~oncomer to an end, so you 15,111 be moving your hcdd chrec times, once
o n each exhaiatlon. N o w rest
The Ah Sound
2a. Imagine you want to ~rnakea pure Ah sound. Chanr Ah for a full exhalation.
Each time the mind drifts, gently bring your consciousness back t o the soundrne
of Ah. Notice where rhls sound vibrates in your body. Continue with threc Ah
sounds, completeIy covering the entire exhalation with the sound.
niovcqnirr h~d~ n dface
2h. As yuu arc sounding Ah three more times, slowk and
tmvartl your left shoulder as if looking at nine o'clock on a large clock in frcrnr of
you. Kemrn to cenccr a each exhdarron comes ro m rnd. 50 !nu will tw rnorbinq your
hear three times, once on each exhalarion. Now rcsr qu;etl;r for a few moments.
The Aa Sound
3a. Repeat 22 for the pure A a sound,
The Ee Sound
4a. RcFcac 2a for the pure Ee so~ind.
The UU Sound
5, Repeat 2a for the
FUrC
Crr
bound.
5b. Repcat 7h. this tlmc with two movements: First, p~rshthe head gt~rt(t.fiward,
you
~FWY~I
ininutrs, bur
nil l o l ~ than
~ ~ r
vocalizing. br sure to start the sound Frecisc.ly at the moment you bcpn t o
exhale and cn coordinate thr. complcr;on of the sound wrth thc end nC t I ~ ccxI~aIacion. Jl'hcn shifcing tu silrnt chanting, it is st111important to ~ ~ n c h r u n i zefir
c
innrr sound with thr tSxacc moments o f beginning and ending cnch inhalation
and rxhalat~on,to [Ire best of your ability. The object is to immerse oneself in
rhc cxprricncc of the breath and its sound.
One way to do srlenr c h ~ n t i n g1 5 sirnpl! to follow the i.equrnce o f consonanrs cornbined wr th thc regular secluencc of r-owels. There are numcraus
y o s s ~ b ~ l ~for
c ~ edetermining
s
which of many variations you m11 undertake. See
...
I~thale. .
Exhale
Inhale . . . 5
You
You
Eshalc . .
Mo
Ho
I-ld
Vah
Hev
Ha
\'a
\ 'ec
Inhjlc ..
IS
Exhale . .. 10
Inhale .. . I 7
Exhale .. . I8
. . 19
Eshalc ... 20
Inhale
possible vdrrations
In
the head accord~ngto the Inner vowel sound: Oh (up), Ah (Icft!, Aa (nghtj, Er
(down). U u ,forward and backward;.
Tnhalc
Oh
Oh
Exh~lc
Yeh
Ho
Oh
Voh
Oh
Ho
Inhde
Oh
Exhalr
011
Yah
Ha
011
\hh
011
Ha
Inhalc
Oh
Oh
Oh
Oh
Euhale
Yay
Hay
\[I?
Hay
Inhale
ExhaIc
Oh
Oh
Oh
Oh
Ite
He
\ke
He
InhaIe
Oh
Oh
Oh
Oh
ExhaIe
Yoti
Hu
\ '11
Hu
Ah
Erhale
Yoh
InhaIc
Ah
Yah
EvhaIc
Inhale
-4ll
Exhalc
Hay
Inhale
Ah
Exhalc
He
Inhale
Ah
Eahalr
Hu
Y-H-V-H doublet sequences beginning with the vowels Aa, Ee and Uu.
Alirr cornplesing t I ~ cAh sequence, the practice conrrnues wlth .m Aa seqalcnct.,
simply r u b s t ~ r t ~ r Aa
i n ~as the vowel sound,then an Ee sequence and finally a U u
sequence. The completion o f the Uu sequencr is considered one full round.
Many students practice untd they are ahk to do a full round at the beginning
of each meditation Fcriod.This requires considrrahle concentration and s~gnificandy clerprns one's praccice when a round 1s accumplished without mistakes.
UThenrhe above scquencc 1s mastered, new sequences that are mote challenging
can be developed by che student.