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I have been taught that to “ask” for something in prayer is to further distance yourself from it. That we already have everything we want and need and its only our belief that we do not that keeps these things absent from us. So to ask is to further reinforce that belief. With that said is it believed appropriate in Kabbalah to “ask to receive” from god?
Terry,
There are thousands of belief systems and religions in the world.
Each one has its own approach.
In the wisdom of kabbalah we are always praying, asking as often as possible.
The desire for food renews itself automatically, the desire for sex and money renew automatically, all of our natural desires grow and renew naturally. However we are in the business of eternity. How can we receive eternity, we don’t even want it, so we accustom ourselves to want it. The praying does not change the Creator. The asking, the praying constantly formats our desire to the shape of the Upper Light.
The Creator is closer than our closest friend, our closest lover, we can speak to Him all the time, ask of Him what we want, tell Him how we want to be with Him, how we want life to be good for everyone, etc. Don’t be shy.
Seth@KabU
Hi Seth, colleagues, my question is this:
Can regular everyday people connect with the upper worlds without the Torah?
For example: a caveman fulfills his lower desires, for food, shelter, family…he then picks up a stick and carves a flute. he creates songs on it. Later he picks up some plants and creates dies, and draws what he sees in nature, animals, plants, everything in his visual field. There’s a kind of satisfaction of a higher desire, a feeling of connections with the creator. There is no social expectation for him to do these, things, so it seems that this is an exercise of free will.
The second example has to do with intuition. A flight is fully booked but only a quarter of the people who bought tickets arrive. The plane crashes and everyone who took it dies. Through some inexplicable force, the people who didn’t take the flights describe a gut feeling guiding them not to take it. Some are sure the creator was communicating with them, so they acted on their desire to be closer to the creator by abandoning their plans. Are they exercising free will?
Dana,
Later after education is corrected and the family unit is corrected and a person grows up in healthy psychological and emotional environment where he learns how to work with these forces, then it will be the most natural thing to connect with the upper world. This is of course due to the light of the Torah that raises the person, but not everyone will sit with The Study of the Ten Sefirot and work like we do today.
Everyday people today can experience all kinds of phenomenon, some very “magical”.
What we are working on attaining is something else.
We are talking about ascending to the degree of the roots of the forces that manifest in this world. To become equivalent to that force of bestowal and love.
This takes place through many efforts and an inner transformation. It doesn’t happen accidentally or by chance.
Seth@KabU
Michael,
You can say that.
However let’s be clear. If the will to receive is ruling us than we cannot say that sinned or did something righteous after all, the Creator created us with a will to receive and we are just following its commands. Can we say that a parrot or a lion sins? No, they just follow their programming.
On the other hand if we were an angel and only carried out the order of the Creator than we also cannot say that we are the owner of the action since the Creator is so great that we are nullified before Him and carry out His command.
So a real sin is only when we stand right in the middle between reception and bestowal, and somehow as if choose reception.
We will learn about this more, but to be at that middle point, called man’s free choice, then we must have the force of bestowal, without the force of bestowal there is no sin on our part, there is only following the dictates of our will to receive.
Seth@KabU
Am i correct in understanding that as we begin to develop an point in the heart and start our journey in bonding with with Creator , he will purposefully put us un situations that will cause doubt? That these situations are a test of our certainty that difficult situations are for our benefit? I was introduced to Kabbalah by creator a few months ago at a low point in my life and although my situation has not changed, my perspective has. I can see the purpose of it now. Should I expect something difficult or tragic to happen in the future as a sign that I’m ready to move to the next level? And if so, by expecting it wouldn’t I be unconsciously begin setting this opposing force in motion toward me?
Jd,
We are never expecting bad or tragic, God forbid. There is no mitzvah to suffer.
Think of spirituality like physics or science.
For example before there was a microscope most people didn’t know that bacteria and viruses were all over their hands and disease spread easily. Imagine the difficulty those with microscopes had convincing other people that there were little creepy crawlies, that you can’t see all over your hands and when you eat and rub your eyes they are going in your mouth and eyes and you are getting sick.
It sounds like witchcraft!…little invisible creatures on my hands that crawl in my mouth and make me sick!Imagine that you were in that situation and you think that the Creator is punishing when you don’t feel well. No one is punishing you, you just need to wash your hands before you eat. This is a simple example that really happened in this world.
Now regarding the spiritual world, it’s a similar situation, there are laws that are invisible to the eyes and we don’t have microscope or any physical instrument that can perceive spiritual forces, however the scientists who discovered and work with these forces, these are the sages, the kabbalists, they detail to us what these forces are, how they are operating and how we can transform ourselves into being in harmony with them.Now, if a kabbalist were to step in front of a bus, he is still bound by the laws of this world too.
So here is what I recommend, write out on a piece of paper the challenges that you are dealing with.
At the bottom of the paper, put the corporeal ones, food, shelter, sex, family, money, etc., next draw a line in the middle of the page and put your spiritual challenges above the line…feeling of emptiness (but make sure it’s spiritual emptiness, not because you haven’t eaten all day and your blood sugar is off), lack of meaning, lack of connection, spiritual attainment, etc.Everything below the line you need to start to organize like a good person in this world. It doesn’t have to be over the top, but stabilize your regular, corporeal life, if you are neglecting your corporeal, material life and complaining about spirituality, it’s going to be a long and bumpy road for you, you’ll arrive at the destination but after a long time and many bumps.
So arrange your corporeal life and simultaneously, above the line, we are going to start with a clean slate and start to build a spiritual perception of reality.
A kabbalist lives in two worlds and if you mix them, especially now, it will be confusing and your development will be slow.
As you begin to stabilize your spiritual life, you will see how your entire life will become more harmonious.
Think about it, when you fall in love, you don’t mind if someone cuts in front of you in traffic, but if you are upset, every little thing bothers you. So the things that you are viewing as problems, these are opportunities to connect spiritually, to ask the Creator for help.Seth@KabU
Hello
I have a question regarding the fact that every action that occurs either positive or negative is from the creator and that my attitude is what matters not my actions, however, what role do I play if any in behaving kindly and positively towards my fellow and/or committing crimes? I’m a little confused.
Thanks
YvetteYvette,
You heard that everything positive or negative comes from the Creator and we are working together to build that perception.
Nevertheless we still live on planet Earth and you live in a country with laws and a place that has customs.
For example on the lower level you breathe and eat. On the upper level you can be thinking about committing a crime or saving a life. It’s two levels that exist simultaneously and this is how it is arranged. by nature and we cannot disqualify this and say, oh I committed a crime but the book says, there is no bad?!
So we advance by stabilizing our life in the is world with family and work and health, to be a good, normal person (this is similar in my example above to breathing and eating, etc) and above that we make efforts in the spiritual dimension.
Seth@KabU
Sorry i get stuck on this like every time i start diving into kabbalah.
I know when i read a little into kabbalah for the student i read that the “so what” is the worst corrupter, what exactly does this mean?
i can see it in a practical sense like obviously i cant always do and say what i want because honestly alot of things the creator sends me makes me very angry, and i have to try harder somedays not to fly off the handle at people. In aa there is a saying that honesty without compassion is brutality, and i can never find my voice when it comes to things i see as wrong, either im too passive and i try to ignore it and brush it off or i blow up, and i never really know, what the right thing to do is, because whatever i seem to choose is failure, so i try my best to pick what i would think would cause less harm. But it never really seems like the right choice. Except when i see it that way and then i get shown that there is, but then again how could i ever be sure?
But like, it always feels like “so what?” i mean if the creator controls everything its like whats the point?
And i apologized at the beginning because i always feel like i am to blame, because theres only 2 real logical conclusions for me.
1. the creator is in control of everything and i cant escape this “so what” feeling, because everything would depend on him to bring me forward one way or another, and i feel confused and resentful that it always has to be so painful, which would mean im just being tortured, because theres nothing i would be able to do to stop it.
2. through whatever divine manipulation i have come to aquire free will, in which case i would be to blame. and if the creator wanted me to feel like i have free will even if i dont, i would still have to blame myself because if i did have an active role and had clear choices, of course i would be making a mistake, even if i knew everything underneath is being guided, i would accept that i have free will because the creator wanted it that way, because there is responsibility in having that.
This has always been EXTREMELY frustrating for me
But thats even like, why ask a question in the first place? surely there is something in me that feels wrong, or i wouldnt be seeking advice, and I wouldnt be asking if i didnt feel like there was an answer.
I hate myself, because i cant trust myself, because i cause so much pain, without even realizing it, and im just so lacking in perspective, that without a little bit of “so what” i get scared to even move, and i cant accept that god is a part of me because i feel so wrong and misguided. Even when im “feeling good” or i have “good intentions”, i see people do horrible things seemingly without a conscious, like theyre just fine with abusing and destroying things, and how would i, how could i, ever be any different? i try to be good but i can see even small things just end up causing pain.
For example if i started dating a cute girl but it actually cause another man who maybe loved her even more than me pain, or maybe id be robbing her of a better opportunity. Or if i got a position at a job and id be taking someones place who is perhaps more qualified, or even maybe im having such a good day i didnt realize i inconvenienced somebody in a significant way, or maybe i tried to help some one and give them advice or offer them help, but it actually ended up hurting them or making it worse, because i cant know or control how others perceive things.
If i do have free will, even just the illusion of it, i want to do the right thing, but the problem is i never really know what that is, because i can never fully see the consequences of my actions, it would be impossible to do so, theres too many variables, and the more i look the more blind i can see i really am.
It always feels like im going in circles, because to get rid of the “so what” i would have to take accountability for my actions, but how would i have accountability if everything depends on god? Maybe its a paradox, can they both be true? What am i not seeing?
OK Oliver,
I’m going to give you a response here and I’m hoping that you can hear it.
First of all understand that all of these things that you have clarified in your mind, it’s like there is a bucket with 100s of legos (the little colored blocks that children build with) and you have already done the work of sorting them into colors and sizes. Understand that most people go through life and they don’t ask these questions seriously and they don’t stop to sort these things out in their mind and understand what is happening and why. So first of all you have prepared yourself. That is good.Second of all, you need to acquire a correct perception of where you are in the big picture. Imagine a child playing in the sand and he feels free that he is digging holes and building castles and he doesn’t think that there is a world and that someone is preparing lunch for him and someone will take him home later and put him to bed. To him, this is his world now. But around him are his parents watching him, watching the waves don’t get too close and watching that he doesn’t fall and thinking about what to feed him for dinner and what time he will go to sleep. Oliver, we live on a small planet, a million Earths can fit in the sun. Our sun is one of billions of stars in the our galaxy and there are billions of other galaxies too. So let’s get in touch with reality. We are a small cell in a very large system. We happen to be the only cells in the system that feel themselves, but nevertheless we are small cells in a large system. So second of all stop taking responsibility for everything that is happening in the universe. With what powers are you going to fix all of the injustices in the world?! Of course you are studying the wisdom of kabbalah and we deal with this, but not in the way that you think. You think you like the girl so then the other guy will be hurt and what about the ants who once lived where your house now stands and what about the children who worked all day in a factory to make the clothes that you are wearing and the laborers who worked 12 hours in the sun to bring food the market for you? It is never ending and you can’t fix these problems by locking yourself in the house or by not engaging in the world.
Here is your answer, when it comes to this world, indentify good role models in this world, you want to be a scientist, find a good scientist, you want to be a good plumber, find a good plumber and be a good man of this world. That’s it. Normal person, be a good husband and good father and a good boss or a good worker, to the standard of the times and place you live. In this sense, you are an animal in the jungle (kabblists call this the level of “beast”) and you live, let the wolves be wolves and let the elephants be elephants and whatever creature you are with whatever qualities you have, live in the jungle (your town) with the other creatures (people) with all of their qualities and get along in a normal way.
Now above all of that normal life on the “beast” level, you have found the authentic wisdom of kabbalah. Now, you have the ability to not just be like the child on the beach or the animal in the jungle you have the ability to open your perception to the bigger picture. However, you keep the lower degrees as they are, do not disrupt them. No one will know you are a kabbalist. You look and behave like the other people in the world, however now we are learning about the hidden world of intentions, the invisible forces operating the system.
I recommend reading the texts again and not to make everything about you now. Just read them like you are taking a shower and they are washing over you.
In this way you will learn like an infant begins to learn language, not by studying, but by being under the influence of the “Upper Ones” he absorbs it from them. Similarly now you need to absorb the influence of the Upper One, of the kabbalists and the Creator who are shining on you through the authentic books. You need to put all of those castles and fortresses that you built in your mind about how the world is and who you are and how He is, and put it to the side at least during the time of study and allow some other influence to work on you.
You asked many questions and we can’t answer them one by one with a few lines and then you will calm down.
The answers you want don’t enter the ear, they enter the heart. Take the advice and progress naturally and slowly and I hope that I will hear good updates from you and God forbid not otherwise.
Seth@KabU
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