[[The Ten Sefirot of the Tree]]

Infinite in potency, bound in essence.
Never separate, always combined.
- Never alone, always in combination
- Powers combine and work coherently together.
- Two or more bring about an event, or activate something
  - create thoughts and feelings
  - combination of the forces of the sefirot
  - thus expressing a certain unique essence
    - like the DNA (crystallisation of the essence)
    - activated by the epigene.
Variety of forms
manifest structure of 10 sefirot
state of perfection?
- no distortion of relations between body and soul
  - “The superior man is one whose thoughts and actions are in alignment” (I-Ching).
  - “Yet in my flesh I shall see G-d” (Job 19:26)
  - see whole order of relations between G-d and the world
  - through order of relations within the Sefirot
not real
nothing separates us from the Divine
appearance of something
macrocosm of human plane
exist in a higher plane
- and their relations produce whole span of thoughts, feelings and actions, etc.
organic all inclusive reality
unique function
complementary
relationship

Gevurah

Restraint
Concentration
Control
Fear & awe
Contraction

08 -Hod

Persistence, Holding on (more Netzach?)

Malkhut

Sovereignty, world, receptacle

Revelation

Responsible universal laws; contract & change => our world
Events influence
Crystal - emotions
Coherence => G-d
- in physical
- in spiritual => miracles

Choice

Freedom to choose → affect the system
being constrained by yourself → expression of sovereignty (not necessarily individuality!).
no choice - being constrained by another.
(Free) choice → turning away => Infinite removes Itself?
- forget, as if asleep => as if living in a dream
- lucid dreaming => as if awake
- entheogens => awaken → addiction

Mitzvot - to bring greater coherence into the system

Will of G-d
Universal laws
Prayer
heart => influence events
cured from sickness
ask for grace
change in network
re-arrangement

Evil

disruptive (to life)
what is it?
Transgression
shock, short circuit
increases klipot

Thought, feeling, deed
Scriptures → personal
Description (prophets) allegorical

Understanding

moving from observer to participant

“Dream”-like state

space and time not significant
everyday reality inadequate
hesitate
underground pools of reality
“Dreamlike state of physics”
- state & process
- quantitative vs. experiential view
- 2 descriptions of nature
- Heisenberg → “Consciousness behind symmetries and other laws of nature”
- The Human Soul
- Schrodinger → “Ghastly silence”, Universal Intelligence
- Physics, soul (psychology), collective wisdom = shamanism?

World Soul Time

World
- (Sense) some perceptions correspond to each other (Consensual Reality), others do not (Non-consensual Reality).
  - CR → impersonal, authorised, fundamental
  - NCR → personal, individual, subjective, less fundamental, less consent, less authority
- Impersonal sense perception authorised by science (or psuedo-scientifically based beliefs)
- “Real” → not necessarily “true” → some objective facts, some matter of opinion, based either on faith, or on a limited understanding.
- Truth
  - Problem → absolute truth
  - experience of real vs. “not real” → mad, marginalised → discriminated against
Time - spiritual progress
- ability to raise self to level of identification with a higher mind.
- beyond that of contact with mind and spirit
  - spirit (ruach) → higher soui (נשׁמה) –> Chaya => prophecy, revelation (rare)
  - (Chaya) receives power and plenitude directly from the world of emanation.
- more one rises, the closer to realisation of the highest purpose of one’s being
- few achieve this, for the most of us we are blessed with only occasional flashes of awareness (and insight), though one such event can change one’s life (הנני moment)
- Life is lived in the realm of action
Soul
- functions through its instrument or vessel (body)
- fulfils its function → after all, it is a creation created before you existed, too.
- to perfect the world → Nay, to bring about the Sovereignty of the Divine.
  - To realise one’s spiritual potential
  - to achieve the realm of the Divine
  - to always remain connected to the realm of the Material
  - part conscious, part unconscious
The head the upper 3
- consisiting of the 3 supernals(excluding da’at)
- Arikh Anpin, the Long Face
  - the macrocosm, the macrophage
- כתר
  - essence of will
  - contains all the higher powers that activate soul from above
- 1st 3: Aspects of pure consciousness
- חוכמה
  - expresses power of original light
  - distinguishes and creates basis of intuitive grasp
  - shine light → enlighten
- בינה
  - expresses analytical and synthetic power of mine (of universal mind too)
  - builds and comprehends forms
  - probes meaning of that which חוכמה reveals
- דעת
  - crystallisation of awareness in terms of conclusions
  - abstract ascertaining of facts
  - enables consciousness to make transition from one form of existence to another
  - ensuring continuity
The body - the lower 7
- 2nd 3: the world of the mind
  - חסד
    - grace & love
    - inclination towards things
    - attraction to beings
    - outgoing flow
    - opening to the world
    - that which gives itself whether as will, affection or relation
    - in giving, opens up
  - גבורה
    - strength (seduces)
    - inward withdrawal of forces
    - concentration of power
    - provides energy source for
      - hate, fear, terror (and love?)
      - justice, restraint and control
  - תפארת
    - harmony, compassion, beauty
    - being as synthesis
    - balance (or repulsion and attraction)
    - moral and aesthetic appreciation of the world
- 3rd 3: the world of sensation, emotion
  - נצח
    - will to overcome
    - urge to do
  - הוד
    - strive to achieve
    - strive to attain desire
    - repudiate obstacles & challenges
    - persevere
  - יסוד
    - power of connection
    - capacity and will to bridge, contact, relate
- מלכות - physical experience
  - action → reaction
  - realisation of potential
  - transition of essential being from soul → outward existence; thought, deed, feeling
  - effects transmutation back to כתר. (or rather, the goal is…)

Malchut: First step: establish the ego, one’s kingship in this world (ego).

Yesod: Once your foundation in the world is well rooted, the next step is to develop a strong foundation in your own self. It is not a foundation that should anchor you even more in the world, but a foundation upon which you can begin the journey (of two legs) to the world that awaits us all.

This can only occur by having a strong enough personal foundation to be able to find balance and harmony between the duality of self and other through both personal and community service. This nourishes both the particular and the general, the immanent and transcendent, opening up the gate to one’s higher I, and the beauty and splendour of your (and other’s) being.

Netzach & Hod: This awareness is based made up of two elements. One that is “involuntary”, in that it just “perceives”. The other is that the being has the ability to “receive” and cognite his (or her) experience. It is made up of the innate aspects of life, and the particular, individual apprehension of that experience, which is unique to the person.

Netzach is on the pillar of expansion, the push to infinity, and Hod, on the pillar of contraction, the push to nothingness. The central pillar, upon which we need to align our axis mundi, is the connection between infinity and nothingness, at that space-time point which is our present present.

Gevurah גבורה is the holy splintering. It is our shadow manifest on the canvas of Creation. It is, in it’s weird way, also our connection to the Greater Manifestation. This is why we need to do our shadow work, why the dark night of the soul, the hero’s journey, our trail through darkness, leads us to an encounter with the Divine. By growing from the challenges of our shadow, we can reach a state of grace.

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The Ten Sephirot (Notes)

Description:

[[The Ten Sefirot of the Tree]]

01 -Keter

Chokhmah

03 -Binah

04 -Chesed

Gevurah

06 -Tiferet

07 -Netzach

08 -Hod

09 -Yesod

Malkhut