ARCHITECTURE OF THE SOUL # 8

Below are some of the main challenges that will confront us at every level of ascent towards Unity Consciousness.

We are meant to enjoy the whole conundrum and savor the journey - good or bad, light or dark, sacred or profane. However, lurking in the background, also, are the following factors constantly challenging our spiritual transformation - The Shadow, Ego, Store Consciousness, the occult conditioning of our Subconscious over the course of our life time as well as trickster spirits.

 

Finding the balance between MIND-Understanding (which also houses Narrow/Monkey Mind), INTELLECT (Wisdom and Spacious Mind,) EGO  and SHADOW is an ongoing process that the Ancestors call a process of "Becoming." Depending on our spiritual practice we can subordinate;  Ego to the Higher Self as well as our Shadow or Evil Inclination to our Inclination to do Good. Spiritual pursuits will help us control our Store Consciousness and the dark side of our past lives. It will also assist in modulating the negative aspects of our conditioning residing in the subconscious. Sensory driven positively worded imagination is especially powerful in reprogramming the subconscious.

Without the desire for spiritual transformation we will confine ourselves to the sentient pleasures of the body - PHYSICAL. 

A sensory practice such as yoga asanas (postures,) pranayama or breath meditation, Chi Gong, Tai Chi, kirtans and other practices will help us access ENERGY.

Balance here goes a long way to helping to control MIND.

With this dynamic we can more easily allow INTELLECT to take command

and begin to approach UNITY or Bliss-Oneness or Causal Consciousness.

 

The Mind must mind what the mind minds best.

 

Use the mind, do not let the mind use you!
Use it to support the heart’s wisdom.

 

The heart must honor the mind for its understanding and the mind must follow the heart in its wisdom.

 

The solution is spiritual practice and also;

"With all your strength get knowledge."

The Ancestors also teach ...

It will be given to you according to the measure of your humility.

Transcending Ego by doing things for their own sake and not for an ulterior motive and also attending to needs not wants.

It will be given to you according to the measure of your love.

Opening the heart chakra is the root to the Soul or the Higher Self. Love as a commitment not necessarily an emotion or sentiment. Seeing the divine in others with compassion (You do not have to like them.)

Finally ...

It will be given to you according to the measure of your faith.

 

The challenges that confront us at all the levels of Soul and with each sephirah of the Tree are as follows.

 

At the level of PHYSICAL lies the temptation to immerse irresponsibly in sentient pleasures. Most of us hopefully, even after Covid, are beyond being tied to our survival needs and can begin to emerge again into our growth needs. Sadly, many on the planet are in survival mode clinging to a subsistence living and do not have this luxury.

 

When we get to the two triads of ENERGY, the first triad of Ego tempts us with the need to groom our personas to conform with the expectations of others. Or we become trapped by pride, the desire for fame or and power as well as our attachments to our wants and not to our needs. 

In the second triad of Love, Judgment is one of the hardest sephirot to master. Here we are required to invoke the power of Mercy and to “sweeten” our judgments with compassion. This requires that we see the divinity in others and understand that some have serious conflicts that we do not have or that our spiritual practice has allowed us to overcome. Alternatively, they may be young souls, burdened with Store Consciousness and the poor cards they were dealt at birth. Because of fate they are not as far along the path as we are. We may have even been worse than them in prior life times. Mercy requires discernment and discrimination and the understanding that Ego may be projecting our Shadow onto others for self-gratification.

 

In the top triad of Keter, the shadow side of MIND-Understanding is Monkey or our survival mind. This primitive mind encompasses the qualities of; dogma, zealotry, denial, detachment, resignation and hopelessness.

INTELLECT-Wisdom on the other hand embraces; hope, faith, belief, trust and surrender. The shadow side of wisdom is heartlessness. 

 

Will, intention and passion in the center limb are key to holding the balance between the two limbs of the Tree, the left side of contraction (fear) and the right side of expansion (love.) All these qualities are essential for spiritual transformation.

Tricksters and dark forces become unrelenting at the top triad of Keter. Our light is a reproach to them. Ego also changes color like a chameleon and Shadow can shape shift and delude us that the means justifies the end. The dark forces know our weaknesses and will play on these.

Click, play and meditate 

07_Tilling_the_Soil_..>

11_Golden_Husks.mp3

 

ARCHITECTURE OF THE SOUL # 7

The Four Worlds are the Planes of manifestation.

These apply not only to the Creation but also to anything that we might create. Everything we do must also go through these four stages.

These Worlds correspond to the Five levels on the Tree of Life as below. 

With regard to Creation of the universe or multiverse as well as any of the Four Beings of Nature including us, the Four Worlds or Planes of Reality are as follows.

Emanation

Arising from Source

above Keter, the Crown sephira. 

In the beginning was the Word (or the Song/Sound/Vibration,) the Intention, the Thought. 

Keter emanating from Nothingness nourishes Creation.

Creation

 The plan or the blueprint. 

On the Tree of Life this embraces and requires

 both Intellect (Wisdom) and Mind (Understanding) - 

the two sephirot just below Keter. 

Wisdom is undifferentiated thought - the Einstein archetype. Einstein wanted to understand the mind of God and said that his powers of fantasy and imagination meant more to him than his cognitive abilities.

The Ancestors teach; 

To think like God is to think with imagination.

and

As you think it, so it can be, as you imagine and believe and have faith, so it will be.

Faith 

- not a true sephira - 

is interposed between Wisdom and Understanding and helps us gain access to Keter.

Creation is a property of Wisdom-Intellect-(Spacious Mind.)

Wisdom's imagination, however, requires Understanding-Mind to help it take form.

The shadow side of Mind-Understanding is Monkey (Narrow) Mind with its fear bound limitations of dogma, zealotry, denial, resignation, desperation, detachment and hopelessness.

They are balanced by Wisdom's Faith, Belief, Hope, Trust and Surrender. The shadow side of Wisdom-Intellect-(Spacious Mind) is heartlessness and a lack of Love.

Formation

 The elements and the mystery of the unexplainable ability of the Creator to make something out of nothing. This began with the Big Bang when the elements of the periodic table were infused into the void (Nothingness) to eventually become "Somethingness" and then slowly evolved into order through the world of Formation probably in seven periods of time (maybe billions of years) rather than seven days as in Genesis. There is no time on the other side of the veil between worlds.

The Spirit-Breath-Energy of Formation is contained in 

six sephirot

Love 

in the center is balanced by Mercy on the right and Judgment on the left. 

Ego 

in the center is balanced by Non-Attachment on the right and Attachment on the left (our attachment or non-attachment to our ego and persona as self-Cherishing, Desirous Attachment and Judgment.) 

Actualization

You, me and us in a physical body (and the other Beings as well) living here on Earth where we manifest our sentient existence.

Whenever we do any great project - unlike the Supreme Being -

we can only make something out of something else.

 The process follows the same Four Stages, for instance in the building of a hospital. 

First - the idea, the intention, the thought (Emanation.) 

Second - the plan or design, the architect (Creation.) This begins in Wisdom's imagination; 

"What cannot be imagined, cannot be fulfilled."

 Wisdom's imagination must take form 

with the help of Understanding. Understanding is the sephira of practicalities. How to make the plan fit to what the building contractor requires.

Third - the building contractor putting all the necessary artisans and materials together (Formation.) 

Fourth - finally the building materializes (Actualization.)

If we acknowledge the importance of all these Four Stages and put it out into the "Field," the Creator and our guides in a sensory stimulated active imagination we will have greater success in our ventures.

The correspondence of the 

Fours Worlds to the Five Levels of Soul 

is as below. So as not to confuse, the Five Levels are in magenta, the Four Worlds in purple. 

Hence also - our spiritual transformation will arise by "reverse engineering"- using the sephirot of the Tree, the Five Levels of Soul and the Four Worlds as a template, taking our sacred intentions to a higher level.

Click, play and meditate on the Wisdom of Imagination.

07_Imaging.mp3

13_Imagination.mp3

 

 

 

 

 

ARCHITECTURE OF THE SOUL # 6

"Play in the exultation of the possible." M. Buber

You are much more than you know but ...

"Anyone who isn't confused here really does not understand what is going on." Anonymous

This journey is a little like a layman trying to explain quantum physics. Even the quantum physicists acknowledge that anyone who thinks they understand quantum physics, does not understand it.

The Ancestors say that our role is not to try and explain the mystery but to be in awe of it. However, it helps to try because the deeper we go the less we know and this exaggerates the awe. When we open Pandoras box the mystery becomes even more mysterious.

The soul and breath from the Creator are pure.

 Both arise as a spark from the 

Flame of the Infinite One.

"Flame of the Infinite One is the Soul-Breath of the human."

Click, play and meditate by focusing on your breath. 

Prolong the phases. The exhale should be longer than the inhale. Be aware of the pauses between inhale and exhale as well as exhale and inhale to connect with your divine spark.

06_Soul_Breath.mp3

"The life breath of the human is the flame of the Infinite One searching through the chambers 

of our core." 

(the heart chakra also incorporates our lungs oxygenating the blood being pumped to the circulation).

Click, play and meditate on the purity the breath we are given to animate us. When the Grim Reaper comes to takes us away, that breath will cease.

04_Life_Breath.mp3

 This is an attempt to examine the architecture of the soul by combining Patanjali's Five Sheaths of Consciousness with a similar concept in Kabbalah - 

the Five Levels of the Soul. 

Unity - the First Level 

 descends from Source down through the Four Worlds until it is housed in the body. 

We are a microcosmic chip of the Supreme Being - a minute holographic representation, each with its own destiny and each fueled from the Flame of the Infinite One, to become our own pure soul-breath. 

The Creator made something out of nothingness. Hence I have given Unity - the first level - the designation of a zero (0). 

Unity then descends adopting the other Four Levels or attributes along the way.

Our purpose in life is to ascend back up again into that realization of Self, made in the image of the Divine. There were two Trees in the Garden of Eden. The Tree of Knowledge (ego and acquisitiveness) which got us got kicked out of the Garden and the Tree of Life by which means if we ascend this Tree we can regain "Eden" (The enlightened or Causal realm or the Pure Land of Buddhism.) These Five Levels correspond not only to the Four Worlds (the next blog) but also to the Tree of Life.

However, it is not easy and on the way up we will be confronted by many challenges. The higher up we go the harder it gets.

 "The gates are wide but few will enter."

The purpose of this blog series is to explain some of the challenges presented to us on our journey back to Unity when we rejoin the Flame.

Patanjali's Five Sheaths or Bodies of Consciousness are almost synonymous with the Five Levels of soul. 

The Food (Physical) Sheath. 

The Energy Sheath. 

The Mind Sheath. 

The Intellectual Sheath. 

The Bliss Sheath (Unity in Kabbalah.)

Patanjali's are represented below as circles going from without inward, somewhat different to Kabbalah's representation on the Tree of Life,  where they manifest from Source above (# 0), to the physical (#4) below.

As above, so below, as below so above.

As without, so within, as within, so without.

The Food or Body Sheath in the Patanjali's figure is the same as the Physical level in Kabbalah. 

The Energy Sheath or Sheath of Prana (Breath) is the same as the Energy Level, also of Breath, Wind or Ruach in Hebrew. 

Mind is the same in both. The shadow side of Mind is Monkey (Narrow) Mind.

The Intellectual Sheath is synonymous with Intellect which houses Spacious Mind.

 Ego is not part of the Five but forms a critical Triad with Mind and the Intellectual Sheaths. Shadow should also be included here. These four are always in flux between the properties of Monkey (Narrow) Mind and The Intellectual Sheath (Spacious Mind.) Depending on which prevails we go inward or remain outwardly directed and bound to Ego.

The Bliss Sheath in yoga is where the Higher Self (Soul) dwells and is the place where duality is replaced by Oneness or Unity Consciousness Ananda (Bliss) - Unity in Kabbalah.

The various qualities ascribed to Patanjali's Sheaths and the Ancestors Five Levels are aligned below. The energy centers or sephirot of Understanding and Wisdom on the Tree of Life embellish Mind and Intellect. 

These Five Levels correspond to the Tree of Life as shown below.

They comprise the architecture, anatomy or structure of these levels  - a map to help us navigate the polarities. By a process of "reverse engineering"- if you like - we ascend up the Tree to Unity - to our rightful place with divinity.

Unity 0 

Intellect 1 (Wisdom)

 Mind 2 (Understanding)

 Energy 3 

Physical 4

There are three triads on the Tree

Keter-Intellect (Wisdom)-Understanding (Mind)

Faith between is not a true sephira but is essential to arrive at Keter.

Energy comprises two of the three triads

The Heart triad 

is balanced by Mercy and Judgment. 

Judgment is harder to control so it is situated above Ego. 

We are told to "sweeten" our judgments with compassion. Moreover the Ancestors teach; 

"When you no longer need to be right the purity of your soul will shine through."

The Ego triad 

is balanced by Attachment and Non Attachment to self-cherishing and the desire for the material.

The Ancestors teach that Netzach - the sephirah of Non-Attachment is the key to spiritual evolution since it opens the sephirah of Love (or the heart chakra.) In yoga the heart chakra is the most difficult one to open. In Kabbalah it is said that when the student has mastered Love he or she can teach themselves.

 

Physical 4 (Earth)

Us in a physical, sensate body living on our planet with the huge task  to not only ascend and Self-realize but also to protect our earth home.

In the next blog we will discuss the Four Worlds with their respective correspondence.

The details do not have to be studied or remembered they are just to give an idea of the miracle and complexity of the Divine plan for us.

 

THE ARCHITECTURE OF THE SOUL # 5

EGO'S TRIAD

Ego forms a triad consisting of Ego's self-cherishing, Desirous attachment (or attachment to the object of one's desire) and Judgment. These all overlap but it is useful to distinguish them. Ego in general is always grooming the persona. It wants pride, power and fame and even when it gets them it wants more, often leading to greed. It also wants the "stuff" of Desirous Attachment and Judgment makes it feel better about it's little self.

EGO

 "God cannot be realized if there is the slightest trace of pride." The Upanishads 

"Any motivation bound to an ego motive can buy you another lifetime." Yoga wisdom

It is better to do the right thing than not to do it but this action will be karmically neutral or negative.

"All must be done for its own sake not for any reason of outcome and it is a continual arriving. All is a journey and not a destination" 

"God does not measure results only the trueness of intent and the fervor of effort. This is why there is such joy in daring one's best."

""God is not out for numbers." The Ancestors

DESIROUS ATTACHMENT

"Give up owning things and being somebody. Quit existing." Rumi

Rumi is telling us to attend to our needs and not our wants. It is the want that is our enemy and not the need. Desire is normal but attachment to it is not spiritually transformative unless the desire is for "becoming" more of who we truly are. Moreover, simplifying leaves more time and energy for inner rather than outer work.

JUDGMENT

"Whenever you see a worthy person endeavor to emulate him/her. When you see and unworthy person then examine your inner self." Confucius

When we point fingers, we need to remember that three fingers are  pointing back at us. We project our own shadow onto others so we can feel better about our shadow. We would be unable to recognize a bad trait in others if it were not also a part of our own shadow or evil inclination.

There can be heavy karmic consequences if we judge others.

since at the end of the day when we cross the veil and meet with a spiritual tribunal, Matthew warns ...

"Judge not that you not be judged  For with what measure you judge, you will be judged and for what measure you mete it will be measured to you again." 

When we judge, depending on our evil inclination or shadow, we may gossip, slander and character assassinate or covet what someone else has. Covetous may lead one to want what someone else has or prevent them from getting what they want or even destroy what they already have. Hence the commandment; "do not covet your neighbor or anything that belongs to your neighbor."

 Witchcraft and Sorcery arise from a heart of envy.  

MONKEY (NARROW) MIND

Monkey or Narrow Mind sits on our shoulder continually chattering messages of delusion. It resides in our primitive, survival brains and is linked to the sympathetic nervous system - Flight of Fight. 

Flight or Fight has now taken over our daily challenges when it was designed to help us manage a survival situation. Monkey Mind connects us to our harmful emotions; anger, hatred, vengeance, our desires, compulsions, habits and addictions. We default to Monkey Mind unless we control it is with meditation or any technique of going inwards.

Spacious or Big Mind on the other hand is our higher consciousness. It resides in the prefrontal lobe of our brains and facilitates our; notions, ideas, ideals, concepts, beliefs, discriminations and discernments. Advanced mediators have more neuronal density in the prefrontal lobe and default here using the survival response for when really necessary. Spacious Mind connects to the parasympathetic nervous system and a relaxation response and also allows access to the "Field," our guides and our dreams by opening the Third Eye or sixth chakra.

THE SHADOW OR EVIL INCLINATION

"We have a light and dark (shadow) side to our nature. To make a choice, inclination for both good and evil must operate freely. The dark side of our nature must be properly confronted, neither dismissed nor conquered but acknowledge for what it is, even valued as such." The Ancestors

Just like Ego and Monkey Mind, Shadow also has its place. All three must be controlled but also appreciated in their proper place.

"S/he who has no evil inclination at all cannot give perfect service. What counts is to restrain the blaze in the hours of desire and let it flow into hours of prayer and service." 

The Talmud

In this way we can turn potential transgressions into merits.

"The soul is like an orb inside which are two worms - a blue one and a red one which move constantly. The blue represents good and the red evil. These components balance the soul. A balance of the two is essential for all souls to exist. 

If there is only blue

or good, the soul cannot long survive 

(presumably spiritually - there has to be tension in our choices for spiritual growth.) 

If there is only red the person deserves not to survive."

Credo Mutwa (Zulu Sanusi or prophet.)

 

There is a Native American legend about a grandfather talking to his grandson and explaining to him that in every person there are two wolves fighting for domination. The one wolf represents good and the other evil. The grandson asks his grandfather; "who wins?" His reply; "the one you feed."

STORE CONSCIOUSNESS 

AND THE SUBCONSCIOUS

Store Consciousness arises from the accumulation of both the good and bad experiences from our past lives which become part of our 

 soul's unconscious memory. The bad ones are the skeletons in the closet of our subconscious minds from past unskillful incarnations. It is controlled by spiritual pursuits.

The Subconscious itself records everything we do or say or is done or said to us regardless of whether it is positive or negative. No matter what we think we think we will usually act out what resides in the subconscious. These depend on our life experiences and conditioning from cradle to grave. The best way to help the subconscious is to only talk in positives. If one wants to be healthy we should affirm that: " Everyday in every way I am getting healthier and healthier" rather than - "I never want to be sick." The subconscious can best be reprogrammed in an altered state in meditation or around sleep when the conscious mind is on hold. Imagination and the senses are key to this reprogramming. In addition, the detail provided during the process gives permission to your guides to act on your behalf according to the context of your request. We need to ask in detail in order to receive. For this, it helps to stimulate the senses, for instance with music.

TRICKSTERS OR DARK FORCES

The Ancestors teach that if we ignore the presence of tricksters we do so at our own peril. They add, that their best defense is in making us believe they that they do not exist.

"The light and the dark each exist. The ambushes are clearly marked and can be guarded against if we are aware. The contest is fiercest when the stakes are high. Expect to be challenged in all of your weaknesses." The Ancestors

I like to think of it as:

Mosquitoes at the picnic at the beginning of our journey of spiritual transformation.

Wasps at our spiritual picnic when one gets beyond the lower three chakras (including ego) and are opening the fourth or heart chakra. 

Rattlesnakes, when we are getting close to mastering the sixth and seventh chakras.

The higher we go the more tricky they become. It gets harder not easier.

 Ego also is like a chameleon, always changing colors and shapeshifting to make us believe that what we are doing is for the greater good and not for its self, with a small s.

Ultimately we need to: 

Subordinate Ego to the Higher Self,

Monkey (Narrow) Mind to Spacious or Big Mind 

our Evil Inclination to our Good Inclination, 

and,

the Tricksters or Dark Forces to the Higher Self, our Good Inclination and Spacious Mind with the help of our guides.

These tenets go a long way to helping us:

Spiritual practice to make us aware

"A person who cannot see him/herself, cannot be redeemed. We can only be redeemed to the extent that we can see ourselves."

The Talmud

Know and understand the laws of spirit which are as real as the laws of gravity.

"With all your strength get knowledge." The Ancestors

Do everything for its own sake not for reason of any outcome.

Try to see the Divine spark in everyone.

Forgive.

 Practice random acts of kindness for their own sake.

This will lead to more gratitude which causes joy and can be in itself a form of spiritual practice.

"I do not know what your destiny will be but one thing I know; the only ones among you who will be truly happy are those who will have sought and found how to serve."  Albert Schweitzer

 Click play and meditate 

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