meditation

In the Passover song ‘Who Knows One?’, when we answer “God is One in Heaven and Earth” we mean that God is both transcendent (unknowable and so far beyond us) and  immanent (right here within us) at the same time.  Really, these are not two different things.  Transcendent God (in Heaven) and Immanent God (in Earth) is One.  A good word for this is non-dual.  The red ש Shin (symbolizing Fire) in this picture is open upward towards 'Heaven'; while the blue מ Mem (symbolizing Water) is open downward towards 'Earth'.  The yellow diagonal between them hints at the Letter ו  Vav (which means '… more

"3 Mothers א Aleph, מ Mem and ש Shin are Air אויר (avir), Water מים (mahyim) and Fire אש (aish). Fire is above, Water is below, and the Breath of Air balances between them. 

Mem hums, Shin hisses, and Aleph is the Breath of Air between them. (Sefer Yetzirah)

This picture can be used as a focus for meditation.  Sit comfortably and become aware of your chest rising and falling with the Air of your Breath.  Breathe in through your nose down into your belly with your lips closed.  This is the Mem.  Open your lips and breathe out through your teeth.  This is the Shin.  Repeat… more

A vision of the Divine Merkava is described in detail in Ezekiel Chapter 1.  The Hebrew word מרכבה (Merkava) means a vehicle; or a combination (of abilities).  The Kabbalah teaches that the more one becomes aware of one’s Eternal Soul, the more one sees oneself as a Merkava for the Shechinah.  The Tree of Life Diagram in this drawing has 13 Sefirot (instead of the traditional 10) that form two Magen Davids embedded in a large figure 8.  13 is the Gematria of the Hebrew word for 'One' אחד (echad).  13 is also the Gematria of the Hebrew word for 'Love' אהבה (ahava).  Putting these two 13s… more

This drawing shows a woman sitting in meditation, visualizing her body as the Tree of Life Diagram - the 10 Sefirot - and the 4 Letters YHVH, the Holy Name of God.  Often called the One Name, it points to the Eternal Existence.  YHVH means Was, Is, and Will Be.  This Eternal Name was revealed to Moses by the burning bush in Exodus 3:15.  In Exodus 20:21 God said, "Any place in which my Name is called (or meditated upon), I will come to you and and bless you."  I made a woman here because Malchut is Feminine, and is associated with שכינה (Shechinah) a word that means dwelling within.  In… more

One of the most complex meditative techniques of the Kabbalah uses the 72 three-letter Names of God in this picture.  These 216 letters (72 x 3 = 216) actually comprise One Name. This Name is mentioned in the Bahir and the Zohar, in Rashi’s commentary on the Talmud, but it was Rabbi Abraham Abulafia, the controversial 13th Century Kabbalist, who taught how to use this Name in order to attain prophetic insight.
 
The triplets of this Name are derived from three verses in Exodus Chapter 14 (verses 19, 20, and 21) that tell the story of the splitting of the Red Sea when the… more

"10 Sefirot of Nothingness:
Their end is embedded in their beginning
and their beginning is embedded in their end
like a flame tied to a burning coal
For the Master is Singular, He has no second
and before One what do you count?" (Sefer Yetzirah)

 
A common meditative technique in the Kabbalah is to contemplate the flame of a burning lamp.  Our soul is likened to the energy of the flame whereas our body is like the material candle or the oil being consumed by the flame.  In this picture a blue lamp contains fuel that is being drawn up its wick. … more