APRIL 1, 2014     

Something I'd like to tell you about - I'm involved with a group who are building an intentional community in Guelph - a place where we can live in an environment of shared values. If you are interested in such a thing and you'd like to know more about it, please feel free to contact me. 

If you'd like to access past newsletters containing articles on the Big Shift, as well as articles on the Physics of Mysticism, Magic, the Power of Mantra and other topics, please visit the 'newsletter' page of my website: 

 whyislife.com

PART 8 - THE QABALA AND HEBREW MYSTICISM 

 by Dennis Gaumond 

In the next few newsletters I'll talk about the mystical traditions that belong to the western religions of Judaism, Christianity and Islam. In the east, mysticism forms the very basis of the bigger religious movements. However, in many cases and to varying degrees, these major eastern religions have gone on to deviate from these mystical principles. In the west, on the other hand, mysticism has been something that the religious administration has had a hard time tolerating right from the beginning, even though both Jesus and Muhammad were mystics. In fact, many of the key western mystics have been put to death by the ruling establishment of their day. Nonetheless, there have been some significant mystical movements such as Sufism and the Qabala, as well as some fascinating individuals.

The Judaic religion, with its ancient Hebrew roots, has had several mystical traditions. The most important of these is probably the Qabala, with its philosophies surrounding the Tree of Life. It is a set of knowledge and methodology, which includes metaphors regarding creation and the workings of the universe. It has much in common with aspects of the Tantra, including the seven levels of human consciousness. (The Tree of Life will be discussed at greater length in a future newsletter)

There are several spellings, ie Kabballa, Cabala and Qaballah. There is also controversy regarding the history and origins of the Qabala. Some say that it started in medieval times, heavily influenced by Gnosticism and later by the Neo-Platonism of the Renaissance era. It contains a strong element of 'magical knowledge' or alchemy in its methodology, which includes the Tarot system of divining. Although the Qabala became increasingly ignored by the Judaic establishment and condemned by Jewish orthodoxy, it enjoyed a great surge of renewed interest by both Jews and Christians during the occult revival of the 19th century. It was a big influence on occult organizations such as the Hermetic Order of the Golden Dawn, founded by influential citizens such as Eliphas Levi. This led to other groups and such controversial figures as the magician/occultist, Aleister Crowley.

Others say that, according to tradition, the Qabala was given by God to Adam. In his book, 'Genesis of the Grail Kings', Laurence Gardner claims that the Kabballa of the middle ages was derivative of the original Qabala, but that much of the original meaning had been lost. He says that it was originally called the 'Ha Qabala', deriving from the Sumerian text, 'the Table of Destiny', also known to the ancient Hebrews as 'the Book of Raziel'. Anyone who possessed the Qabala knew the secrets of 'Ram', 'the highest expression of cosmic knowingness'. The original name of Abraham was 'Abram', which means 'he who has Ram'. This root can be seen in several names for divinity, such as Rama(India/Tibet), Ra and Ramtha(Egypt), and Aram(Celtic).

Another mystical sect within the Jewish tradition was known as the Essenes, living in desert communities in Palestine and Egypt around the time of Christ. A sub-sect of the Essenes were the Nazorenes or Nazirites, who probably go back even further in time. These two groups will be discussed at greater length in a subsequent newsletter. There is much controversy surrounding the Essenes. It is thought that they were associated with and heavily influenced by the Mystery Schools of Pythagorus and Orpheus, with whom they shared many traditions and customs; they wore white robes, lived in isolation, were vegetarian, believed in reincarnation and practiced anointing with water (baptism) and oils.

Like the Mystery Schools, the Essenes had a system of initiation, which was called 'Hekhalot'. This involved the initiate passing through a series of seven inner chambers, which were guarded by 'angelic forces'. Like other mystical systems, this involved the incremental accumulation of knowledge and dissolution of fears. The idea of a seven-fold path can be found in many mystical traditions; the seven Shining Ones - Persia; the seven chanted vowel sounds - Egypt; the seven valleys to Allah - Islam; the seven gates and golden keys - Tibetan Buddhism; the seven sacraments - Christianity; and the seven heavens of Jacob's Ladder (Tree of Life) - Judaism, from whence the idea of 'seventh heaven'.