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I expect to gain greater understanding about who/what I am in this world and to open new channels of reception in my mind so that I can influence things in this world toward more loving fulfillment.
Hello! My name is Dyrk (pronounced “Dirk”). I’m 55 years old and I guess you could say I’ve had a love-hate relationship with Kabbalah for nearly 10 years. Presently, I reside in Appalachia territory of Kentucky, USA, although I have travelled and lived several other places. I’m back again–like a boomerang–and more determined to learn more truth about whatever truth can be known before I wear out this little “body bag” I’m blessed to walk around in. : )
Cheers all!
Hi Chris,
I found your response to Hing’s question quite meaningful. One comment, in particular, stands out and prompts me to submit further questioning of my own.
You (Chris) stated: “In Kabbalah, a person learns how to react correctly to the growing ego instead of blaming it on some other foreign force besides the Creator or trying to ignore or lessen it or restrain it.”
My (Dyrk) question: What does it mean to “react correctly to the growing ego?” Can you provide an example of what this means or how it might be experienced?
For example, we live in a time where there’s a lot of “activism” against a lot of unkind treatment (egoism) between humans and other humans (racism, misogyny, transphobia, terrorism, etc.) and all of nature (factory farming, strip mining, fossil fuel emissions, gene augmentation, etc.).
Is it my internal ego or my soul that is reacting in pain to these events? Am I to become immune to this suffering? Are “activists” (I’m not one, by the way) acting out of their own egoic consciousness when they react to what many of us perceive as injustices? If it is my/our ego, then does a state of correction mean that I/we should not experience pain because of these events? Does it mean that I/we should do nothing to try and stop other humans from engaging in committing these atrocities?
I’m drawn at this juncture to your (Chris’) comment: “I don’t need to “believe” in anything or really make any kind of physical action since there’s nothing in this world that we can do that affects anything in the spiritual, only work on our desire which we learn we get from our environment.”
This confuses me because it seems to say that any tangible efforts we make in this (corporeal) world are of no benefit. Is this true? Can you elaborate and/or clarify?
I apologize for the amount of verbiage in my questioning. It’s just that I truly struggle with the concept offered by so many spiritual teachings that seem to describe some kind of “bliss” or “inner peace” that people should strive for in this life and that if you don’t experience it, then you simply have not been “chosen” by God or you are not disciplined enough within yourself and, therefore, are a failure at spiritual practice.
In Kabbalah, it is explained that there are two paths toward attaining true spirituality: (1) path of suffering, (2) path of Kabbalah.
Am I on the “path of suffering” because I experience immense psychological pain due to my knowledge of the aforementioned atrocities (and more) listed above (paragraph 4). Am I on the “path of suffering” because I have been betrayed and targeted with violence? Am I on the “path of suffering” because, despite my personal efforts to live differently and my desire for others (including all of nature) to not suffer, I cannot change reality or the way I perceive it? Am I on “the path of suffering” because immediate family members are going through terrible events and my heart aches for them? If I embark on “the path of Kabbalah,” will my suffering and the suffering of others cease or at lease ease? Lastly, how will I know if I am actually on “the path of Kabbalah?”
Please understand, my tone is friendly in my asking. I am genuinely at a point of near exhaustion with my life and I REALLY want help with these difficult challenges. I have been studying Kabbalah off and on for 10 years, although I have not succeeded at working in a Kabbalistic group. I’m willing to become more connected through KabU, but I would be lying if I said I was not skeptical or untrusting due to bad experiences in other settings where I was involved in groups. Is skepticism and distrust a common part of the Kabbalists journey?
Thank you, Chris (and all at KabU), for inviting questions and, especially, for having the patience and understanding to provide meaningful feedback. This journey seems not for the faint of heart.
Many good days….
This lesson leaves me wondering, is all of humanity is going to cross the gap? How do we know when we, as an individual, have crossed the gap between arrow 2 and 3? Is it a gradual process? If life feels like it keeps getting worse instead of better, does that mean we have entered the gap or are we getting further away? Can we get further away or is it a one-way trip no matter what we do or how we live our lives? How do we cope with gaining “equivalence of form” (EOF) when other people seem not to be……OR, is it a sign that we are NOT gaining EOF if we struggle to deal with other people that we perceive as very selfish and uncaring? I’m weary of feeling like a blind man stumbling around in the dark being told there is attainable light, yet never sensing it and, worse, sensing what feels like greater darkness.
I feel like I’m in a bad dream where I have amnesia or something. No, strike that. It’s more like being in a zombie movie where I’m the only one who’s “alive.”
Ever since I was a young child, I believed humans were becoming “better.” I recall a TV commercial that depicted a Native American with a tear rolling down his cheek because of pollution. That commercial made me feel hopeful because it acknowledged that the way were treating the planet was not okay. I thought that meant we (humans) would soon stop polluting the Earth. Boy, was I wrong! I have been terribly disillusioned over the past decades about what seems to really matter to most humans. It’s not “love of others,” including ALL others….plants, animals, land, air, etc.
I’m ready for the next phase of whatever is to come but I dread the idea that it will keep getting darker before there’s any greater sense of Light.
