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One thing that really surprised me was how deeply nourishing I found Attaining the Worlds Beyond and Kabbalah, Science and the Meaning of Life. I finished listening to both much more quickly than I expected because they spoke to me so strongly.
I had encountered Kabbalah before, including Attaining the Worlds Beyond and Kabbalah-related YouTube videos, but at an earlier point in my life I was going through some very difficult experiences. At that time, it was hard for me to hear the teaching that what we experience is ultimately for our good. Life is much calmer for me right now—not that I imagine this will necessarily be permanent—and from this vantage point I can look back on some of those harder periods with more perspective. It has become easier for me to consider that those experiences may actually have had a purpose.
Something else that affected me deeply was the teaching that when we recognize egoism within ourselves, we can ask the Creator, or the upper force, for help in overcoming it. When I began actually doing this, I was struck by how quickly some form of assistance seemed to appear through my environment, often in ways I could never have anticipated. What stood out to me was that the help often felt like an accommodation: some circumstance would arise that made it a little easier for me to move beyond my usual egoistic response and act from a place of greater bestowal. It gave me the distinct impression that I was not expected to overcome egoism through my own strength alone. Rather, when I sincerely asked for help, I was sometimes given exactly the kind of accommodation I needed to take a step that I might not otherwise have been capable of taking. I found that very remarkable.
I have also begun noticing how some of these principles seem to have surfaced indirectly in my life long before I had the language of Kabbalah for them. There have been areas where I pursued egoistic desires about as far as I could and eventually discovered a kind of emptiness at the end of them. I found that pleasure itself could reach a point where it no longer seemed capable of providing fulfillment on its own. What began to give it meaning again was a shift toward giving—to connecting pleasure with bestowal rather than simply receiving for myself. Realizing that I have already encountered something resembling this principle in one area of life makes me wonder whether the same transformation can gradually be applied to the rest of my desires as well.
Finally, I have been struck by how radically different this wisdom asks us to perceive reality. The idea that we are fundamentally parts of one whole can feel almost psychedelic to me at times. One evening my partner and I were simply standing beside each other brushing our teeth, and for a brief moment I had this strange, visceral perception that we were somehow one being. I even had the sensation that our faces were the same. It was beautiful, but also slightly frightening, because I am so psychologically accustomed to experiencing another person as entirely separate from myself.
That brief experience gave me a different sense of what it might mean not merely to understand unity intellectually, but to begin, even for a moment, to perceive reality through it.
The Torah is a kabbalistic book ?! That got me.
What most shocked me was that Kabbala is really a science. I am also glad to learn that Kabbala does not drive people crazy. I was a bit hesitant because I was under the impression that Kabbala has to be learned in groups, otherwise it could cause mental health issues as this is what i was told early on in my life.
What really amazed me was how straight forward the explanation was in comparison to all the different ideas on spirituality, religions, philosophies and other sciences. I see different aspects of Kabbalah in all of them but for some reason this one seems like it has been able to clarify the confusion I encountered with the others. It made me feel a sense of for the first time feeling like I am on the path I am supposed to be on. Thank you for the wonderful instruction.
I really enjoyed The Essence of the Wisdom video by our instructor Tony Kosinec! What an amazing introduction to Kabbalah! I also enjoyed the first chapter of Kabbalah Revealed written by Rav Michael Laitman, PhD, wow! I feel fully confident that I’m getting the best education in Kabbalah and am so excited now! Thank you so much! I will do the rest of the reading this week but just had to say I really enjoyed the quizzes and the reading material and how the course is set up. I like that we can download the transcript and even the video! I appreciate the syllabus pdf download! I like the tip and quote of the week 🙂 Very nice and uplifting and also straight to the point. I purchased the ebooks and that made everything more convenient. I’m grateful that Kabbalah has been made accessible to me!
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