[John]

Looking forward to the groups.

[John]

This is a quote from Exodus 3:13 (King James version, bold type is my emphasis)

In the previous verses, God appeared to Moses in the Burning Bush and commanded him to go to Egypt and tell the Pharaoh to release the Israelites.

13 And Moses said unto God, Behold, when I come unto the children of Israel, and shall say unto them, The God of your fathers hath sent me unto you; and they shall say to me, What is his name? what shall I say unto them? 14 And God said unto Moses, I AM THAT I AM: and he said, Thus shalt thou say unto the children of Israel, I AM hath sent me unto you.

This is all deep, deep Kabbalistic writing, as we have been taught.  I point to this quote, in the context of this question:  “By what means can we strengthen the influence of the reforming light?”  for two reasons:

First, it is the crucial Awareness of our own I AM Beingness, which extends directly from the Creator’s Essence, that we can begin to perceive the Creator, through Faith Above Reason.  Faith Above Reason is Awareness of the Creator.  See the Chapter, “Perceiving the Creator” in Rabbi Laitman’s book “Attaining the Worlds Beyond”.
Second, what is Actually surrounding us and filling us at each moment is the Creator’s Light of Truth and Love.  He IS the I AM, and when we feel our own I Am sense of our own lives, we touch upon that inner core of Truth that The Creator instilled into each of His Creations.

This is not a tricky exercise, not a meditation, not any kind of a mental process, or of our imagination.  Everyone has a sense of “I”, but what we attach to our sense of “I” is all programmed from our infancy:  I am a boy, or girl, or other, I am a Catholic, Buddhist, Muslim, etc., I am a mother, father, etc., etc., etc., on and on into all the self-identifications that we have ingrained as who I Am.  We are taught in Kabbalah that our very essence is a will to receive for ourselves alone.  And this is what most people identify as who I Am.

The reforming light is all around us, in us, and pouring through us though, 24/7.  We can put our attention on our own I Am that is above all of these superficial, programmed, illusory identifications, and intend to become aware of the I Am that is a direct extension of the Creator’s I AM.  This will then open us directly to His Reforming Light.

We will begin to see very clearly that the Treasure of connection to the Creator is already “in our pocket” and He can give us the “Gift of Knowing”  this.  Then we will see that, Actually, we never could have been simply a creature with a will to receive for ourselves alone, but have always, from the instant of Creation, been of His very Essence of Love and Bestowal.

Then we will begin to see everything in our life from this True Perception of our innermost connection to the Creator.

Love and Blessings to all.

[John]

Thank you again Beloved Gianni for your kind and thoughtful reply.

Again, please forgive the length of this post, but what is being shared here is just totally life-changing information.

It is interesting that you reply that “‘The Solution’ is an unpublished article.”  It is indeed published on the http://www.kabbalah.info website.  Its importance cannot be underestimated, in light of the fact that it was quoted at the start of the EU Retreat, as a kind of theme for the whole program.  And one of my study companions had a link to it immediately when I asked for one.  So this article is obviously well-known by KabU students and teachers.

And then, surprisingly,  you go on to reply that, “It was for him, written in a way that he could understand what he needed to touch upon later when he puts it together for the public.”  Did Baal HaSulam categorize this article this way himself?  Do you have a citation for this?

Your next reply was also a surprise: “There is a ton of room for confusion in it. Every word needs explanation.”  It was crystal clear to me that Baal HaSulam was stating a profound but totally simple Truth:  We already are connected to the Creator, and it’s all perfectly natural.  Nothing to even be excited about, as nothing has been added to our reality but the awareness of this fact.

So please do not dismiss this article, but clarify what this article means in terms of Kabbalah Teachings.    It is THE SOLUTION to the whole dilemma of the human condition, as I wrote in my post.

In my search of my collection of Kabbalah books and documents in pdf form, for the words, “aware”, and “awareness” I came up with some very exciting and extremely important information.  Most importantly I found that what we refer to as “faith above reason” which is the key to all attainment, is actually an awareness of the Creator.  Wow!  Here’s what Rabbi Laitman wrote in this context:

In, “Attaining the Worlds Beyond”, in the Chapter, “Perceiving the Creator” Rabbi Laitman poses this question on pg. 16, “How much easier would life be if the Creator were not concealed from human beings, but were clearly perceived and seen by each and every one of us!”  I will not quote all of his answers to this proposition but the essence is that,

“Just imagine how natural it would be (and also how
unnatural and impossible it is in the present condition of
Divine concealment) to give ourselves fully to the Creator, to
surrender all of our thoughts and desires to Him without
reservation, and to be what He wants us to be.”

Rabbi Laitman concludes: “From the above, it should be clear that the only element lacking in our world is our perception of the Creator.”  He goes on to write (bold type is my emphasis):

“The attainment of such a perception should be our sole
purpose in this world. This is the one goal we should spare no
effort to achieve, for only when we can perceive the Creator
can we receive His help. This would save us from both the
calamities of this life and from a spiritual death, thereby
according us spiritual immortality without having to return
to this world.

“The method of searching for our perception of the Creator
is known as “Kabbalah.” Our perception of the Creator is
called “faith.” However, we often mistakenly believe that
faith implies groping in the dark, without seeing or
perceiving the Creator.

“In fact, faith means exactly the opposite. According to
Kabbalah, the Light of the Creator that fills a person, the Light
of the connection to the Creator, the Light that gives a feeling
of unification with Him (Ohr Hassadim) is known as “the Light
of Faith,” or simply, faith.

“Faith, the Light of the Creator, gives us a sensation of being
linked to the eternal. It brings us an understanding of the
Creator, a feeling of complete communication with Him, as
well as a sense of absolute security, immortality, greatness and
strength. It becomes clear that deliverance from our temporal
existence and from our suffering (caused by our futile pursuit
of transient pleasures) lies only in our attaining faith, through
which we will be able to perceive the Creator.

Dr. Laitman then writes, “The aim
of this text is to guide you through the initial stages of the
path to perceiving the Creator.” Pg. 18

On page 29, under the Sub-Title, “Faith Above Reason”, Dr. Laitman reveals,

“Faith, or the awareness of the Creator, must be such that
we feel that we are in the presence of the King of the Universe.
Then, undoubtedly, we will become imbued with the
necessary feelings of love and fear. Until we attain such
faith, we must continuously strive for it. For it is only faith

that will allow us to enjoy a spiritual life and prevent us from
sinking to the depths of egoism, once again becoming
pleasure seekers.

Our need to become aware of the Creator must be
cultivated until it becomes permanently entrenched in our
being. It must resemble a permanent attraction towards a
loved one, without whom life seems unbearable.

“Everything that surrounds human beings deliberately
dulls the need for Divine Awareness, and sensing pleasure
from anything external instantly reduces the pain of
spiritual emptiness. Therefore, while enjoying the pleasures
of this world, it is vital that we keep them from obliterating
our need to perceive the Creator, as these pleasures rob us of
spiritual sensations.”

This whole chapter of “Perceiving the Creator” is profoundly important to all Kabbalah students, especially the revelation that Faith above Reason is Actually Awareness of the Creator.

There is much, much more in the KabU books about the crucial importance of awareness in our Spiritual lives.

I would like to emphasize that what is being pointed to in this post, is that Baal HaSulam and Rabbi Laitman have stated quite clearly that perception of the Creator is the Solution to our whole human dilemma, and that Awareness is the key to attaining this Gift of Knowing.

This has absolutely nothing to do with psychology, mental exercises, philosophizing, speculating, or fantasizing.  Actual, Real Perception of the Creator is Actual Eternal Awareness of our Eternal Oneness with the Creator and all of Creation, beyond the ephemeral, illusory level of the human senses and the illusion of time and space.  Our Oneness with the Creator is Here and Now.  It can be felt and Known.  It can only be attained as a Gift of Knowing by the Creator, but it is already an Eternal Fact of Reality.   And one can then simply do a 180-degree turn in our attention and focus our Awareness wholly, totally, and forever on Him.

It is as you replied, “and Adam knew his wife”. So, must be the awareness of the Creator. It’s knowing, which means truly attaining as if holding it in one’s hand, and nothing less than that.” Yes, this is the Truth.

So what does Kabbalah teach about, “מודעות” (moda’ut), awareness. It shares the root י־ד־ע (yod-dalet-ayin) with the word “דַּעַת” (da’at), knowing. And knowing here is as in “וְהָאָדָם יָדַע אֶת־חַוָּה אִשְׁתּוֹ” (veha’adam yada et-Chavah ishto)”  I would really like to know more about this.

Thank you.

 

 

 

 

 

[John]

Please respond to the second part of my question
Thank you Beloved Gianni for your kind and thoughtful reply.

I did make a reply earlier this morning, but it di not go through.  So I am trying again.

I would like to apologize to everyone for the length of this post, but it is profoundly important and I believe this information below can change the course of your life.

Please understand that I wrote this post and asked this question about why Kabbalah does not “deal with the Creator Himself”, after reading “The Solution”, by Baal HaSulam, under the Subtitle, “Contact with Him”. Here is the link again: http://www.kabbalah.info/eng/content/view/frame/3812?/eng/content/view/full/3812&main.

Please note that a key paragraph in this article was quoted by one of the moderators of the European Retreat as a kind of “theme” to start the program. So this is obviously extremely important for everyone to be aware of. This is the whole purpose that I am writing this post and asking for your comments and clarification. But you did not make any reference to this article in your response. So I am asking again that you please respond to the second part of my post, regarding this article by Baal HaSulam.

I will quote part of it again (bold type is my emphasis): “People imagine that a person who has contact with the Creator is a person above nature…  “However, He is not so. This is because in fact, He owns nature. Hence, there is nothing more natural than coming into contact with one’s Maker, for He owns nature. In fact, every creature has contact with his Maker, as it is written, “The whole earth is full of His glory,” and not that one does not know and does not feel it.

As I mentioned above, the next paragraph was actually quoted by one of the moderators at the very start of the European Retreat, to set the “tone” and the purpose of the Retreat – Please note carefully his emphasis on “awareness“.  Baal HaSulam writes in the next paragraph: “Actually, one who attains contact with Him attains only the awareness. It is as though one has a treasure in his pocket, and he does not know. Along comes another who lets him know what is in his pocket, and now he really has become rich. Yet, there is nothing new here, no cause for excitation. In fact, nothing has been added. The same with one who has been granted the gift of knowing that he is the Creator’s son; nothing has been added in his actual reality but the awareness he had not had before.”

Baal HaSulam tells us quite clearly and plainly three extremely important Facts about “awareness”:

First, we can attain Actual, Factual contact with the Creator – but this is Actually just a shift in Awareness – this Treasure of contact with Him is always there, “a treasure in his pocket, but we did “not know.” We were not Aware that we already ARE in contact with Him. Even in this Here and Now moment of our lives.

Second, “another” can come along “who lets him know what is in his pocket.” Who is this “other”? It must be someone who already knows that there is this “treasure” of connection with the Creator “in our pocket”. And what does this person do? He simply directs our Attention to this Fact – then we become Aware of this Fact – we already are connected to the Creator. It is as the scripture quoted in the first paragraph says, “The whole earth is full of His glory,” and not that one does not know and does not feel it.”. We all “know”, and “feel” this connection.

Third, Awareness of Knowing that we are the Creator’s son is a “gift of knowing” this Truth. But what is of crucial importance, and the whole point that I want to focus everyone’s attention on and get your comments and clarification: nothing has been added in his actual reality but the awareness he had not had before.”

We are taught that, our “actual reality” is essentially, that we are the opposite of the Creator, at the opposite end of His Holiness, and we have to invert our desire to receive for ourselves to a desire to bestow to the Creator. But from this article, it looks like what we really need to do is just redirect our attention from being egos, at the opposite end of His holiness – to the Real Truth, that we already have this “treasure” of connection to Him in our possession, at the very core of our “being”.

It is the direct felt and known experience HERE, that once we receive this “gift of Knowing”, we come into this “Divine Awareness” (“Attaining the Worlds Beyond” pg 30), that we Actually are His Beloved Son; then we will only do as He Wills, bring Him as much contentment and joy as we can, by always receiving His miraculous Gift of Love and Life, just to return it with joy and gratitude back to him. We are “saved” from our suffering as egos, and so the whole world is saved. All with just a shift in our “awareness”.

“Awareness”. What does Kabbalah teach about awareness? I did a search for the word, “aware” in all of my Kabbalah pdf documents and books and came up with 212 instances in 32 documents. A search for the word, “awareness” came up with 275 instances in 31 documents. I am still going through all of these references in the KabU books and documents that refer to just these two words, “aware”, and “awareness”, and it is really amazing the profound Truths that Kabbalah teaches.

So please comment on this article by Baal HaSulam, and on Kabbalah’s Teachings about “Awareness”.  It seems very plain and clear that Kabbalah does indeed teach about the Creator directly.

[John]

I wrote a reply to your kind response to my question, but it did not appear after I clicked on the “Submit” button.  Was it blocked, or was it a technical issue?

In my reply, I asked you to please comment on the quote I gave from the article by Baal HaSulam.  Your answer did not refer to what Baal HaSulam wrote.

Thank you.

[John]

Below is a quote from, “Kabbalah, Science and Meaning of Life”, page 93 (pdf version):

“Kabbalah deals with everything that expands from the Creator
to the reality that He has created, and which He leads to His
desired goal. Kabbalah does not deal with the Creator Himself.”

My question is:  why does Kabbalah limit its teachings only to “everything that expands from the Creator”, but the teachings do “not deal with the Creator Himself”?

I am asking this question from reading this article by Baal HaSulam titled, “The Solution”; here is the link:  http://www.kabbalah.info/eng/content/view/frame/3812?/eng/content/view/full/3812&main.

In this article, he wrote, under the subtitle, “Contact With Him” (the bold type is my emphasis):

“People imagine that a person who has contact with the Creator is a person above nature…  “However, He is not so. This is because in fact, He owns nature. Hence, there is nothing more natural than coming into contact with one’s Maker, for He owns nature. In fact, every creature has contact with his Maker, as it is written, “The whole earth is full of His glory,” and not that one does not know and does not feel it.

Baal HaSulam goes on to write in the next paragraph, “Actually, one who attains contact with Him attains only the awareness. It is as though one has a treasure in his pocket, and he does not know. Along comes another who lets him know what is in his pocket, and now he really has become rich. Yet, there is nothing new here, no cause for excitation. In fact, nothing has been added. The same with one who has been granted the gift of knowing that he is the Creator’s son; nothing has been added in his actual reality but the awareness he had not had before.”

In Light of this Fact that the “treasure” of this “gift of knowing that he is the Creator’s son” is already in our “pocket” – why not just be the person who comes along and “lets him know what is in his pocket”, let everyone come into this “awareness” as quickly as possible?  Yes, it is a “gift” that has to be “granted” by the Creator Himself, but why not orient the whole program to focus the attention on attaining this Supreme, Invaluable, Eternal Gift of Awareness as quickly as possible?  Instead of this whole process of inversion, 125 steps, etc.?  Our Connection with Him just needs to be Awakened – it’s already a Fact.   Baal HaSulam himself so testifies.

In this Awareness that our very Beingness is a direct “expansion” from His very Essence – we would immediately feel and know for a Truth that we are Eternally connected to everyone and everything.  Our whole egotistic nature of receiving just for ourselves would be seen as the illusion that it IS – In Fact, our every breath is both a reception and a bestowal, simultaneously, to the whole of life.  We would immediately and directly know just exactly what to do in each moment, under direct Awareness of our connection with the Creator and all of His Creation, how to both receive and bestow perfectly and harmoniously.

Thank you.

[Author]

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