Saturday, May 5, 2007

What is Kabbalah?

The word "kabbalah" comes from an Aramaic word meaning "to receive." There are two ways of receiving: (1) receiving for the self alone, which is what the ego wants. This way will always create suffering and cut us off from the light. (2) receiving for the sake of giving. This is the key to attuning to the light and reaching total fulfillment. God is about giving, and if we are to become like God, then we need to overcoming the selfishness of the ego and share what we receive from the universe, be it time, energy, intelligence, money or anything else. Through sharing we dissolve the boundaries of the ego, heal conflict, and affirm the fact that we truly are all one and are all manifestations of God.

The thing I find so interesting about Kabbalah is that it is at root so simple. All you need is love! Now it is true that kabbalah can be very complicated, and for those of you who delight in learning and studying all the details of our miraculous reality, Kabbalah can take you into a very intricate world to show you all the subtle workings of energies.

The fact that Kabbalah is at once totally simple and yet very complicated is mirroried in our own bodies. On a chemical level we are elaborate beings consisting of a myriad of organic compounds all working together in a vast symphony. But on another level you don't need to understand chemistry, physiology and psychology to smile at someone. Really the simplist definition I can give for Kabbalah is that it's the art of continually being kinder and kinder to other people! That's the universal medicine!

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