Vayera – Genesis 18:1-22:24

Nov 1 to 7, 2020 | 20 Heshvan 5781

G’d Revealed: Be Not Far From Me

Vayera heralds a new era. In this parsha, we are instructed to leave the past behind, to honor the transformation in human awakening. Three angels arrive to give the improbable message of Isaac’s birth, the inheriting son of the covenant with Avraham, the seed of the moral human being. Clearing out the old ways of interacting continues with the destruction of Sodom.

The contrast between Avraham’s ethics – the height of hospitality – and the rawness of the common culture is stark. Avraham wants to know G’d, while the inhabitants of Sodom want to “know” Lot’s guests. The door to Avraham’s hospitality is a signpost for G’d. In Sodom, the men tried to break down the door to assault Lot’s visitors.

Similarly, the Binding of Isaac revealed to the people of the day that child sacrifice is not what is being asked of us to dwell with the One G’d. We let go of the ties that bind and do not serve.

Sacred Duty of Hospitality

According to a midrash, when travelers would enjoy a meal in Avraham’s tent, for payment he would ask that they acknowledge the true provider of the food, the One G’d. Thus, Avraham is the key figure in raising the consciousness of the day.

And today? We are again in a pattern of chaos before a new consciousness takes hold. Like Lot’s family, we are being asked to let go of the past to prepare for the present, a closer relationship with G’d. When we doubt our underlying progress, please remember the ark of history is long.

We can see this clearly during the shutdown due to COVID. The human experience is changing. We will not go back to the old stasis. Far too outer-directed without reflection, it wasn’t a normal, balanced life anyhow. Inner eyes and ears tell us that we are again in the middle of major shifts. A new pattern is emerging.

Hineyni – Here I am

What is being asked of us today? Then as now, to hear and see signs of G’d. In life’s puzzling ways, we are not alone. We have inner light to help us navigate. Just as when we walk the path of a labyrinth, we set our intention, eyes and ears keenly alert to inner guidance.

Hineyni doesn’t mean “I’m coming” or “I was there”. Vayera envelops us in the here and now. Like Lot’s family escaping the destruction, we are not to look back, lest we get calcified in old ways of experiencing life. Hey, we didn’t eat from the tree of the knowledge of Good and Evil for nothing! By being present now, we prepare for tomorrow.

For this week’s practices, we will seek to open the door to divine guidance. To continue our progression from the external to the internal, and ultimately, to bring the two together, in the marriage of heaven and earth. This is how we can be in tune with the Infinite and the rhythm of life. This beautiful, chaotic, ever changing life. This life right now, right in the heart of all the uncertainty and fear. And yes, joy and laughter. As we listen deeply to the sound of silence, we come to know humanity as one body.

From Hazrat Inayat Khan:

Everything in life is speaking, in spite of its apparent silence.
Every action that we call life has sprung from a source we call silence.
I have seen all souls as my soul, and realized my soul as the soul of all.

WEEKLY PRACTICES: Be Not Far From Me

With the Soul Manifestation Process, we set our intention to strengthen the movement of divine qualities in our lives. As a Jew and a Sufi, the teaching is to enter path to inner connection with G’d through the Heart. And here, the Heart that I speak of exists prior to our physical hearts. I am speaking of the center from which the physical heart is conceived, sustained and purified.

For our practices this week, we’ll draw from acts of LISTENING. Avraham, Hagar, Lot and Avimelekh (in a dream) all hear the voice of G’d. They listen, respond and act. So may we. The door of love opens outward through our hearts. To turn toward the door of the Heart, we will follow these practices of breath, light and sound.

Suggestion: Do one practice a day, or do all 6 consecutively. Remember… have your Journal nearby to jot down any insights that may arise.

Audio Recording – Coming Soon

Breath:

Sitting comfortably with an upright spine, breathe in and out through your nose. Inhale deeply. Exhale completely, eliminating all of the spent air in your lungs. Inhale deeply and focus on your abdomen. Exhale completely. Inhale and focus on your chest, then exhale completely. Once more, inhale and focus on your crown, and then exhale completely.

Breathing comfortably, imagine pure white Light entering through your forehead. On the next breath, imagine this clear light filling your head. On the next breath, filling your upper body. And then your torso to your legs and toes, and down your arms to your fingertips. And now, breathe in the clear light of guidance and exhale light all around you. As you continue to breath comfortably, feel this light of guidance as it enters through your forehead, fills your body, and radiates outward in all directions.

With eyes closed and mouth relaxed and open, breathe in and out through your mouth.  This is the purification breath of Air. Sense the spaciousness in your body. As you exhale, imagine all of your molecules being scattered far and wide. As you inhale, recollect yourself through your Heart center in a more loving, harmonious, beautiful formation. Your inhale is the same length as your exhale, rhythmic and gentle. You are spreading yourself throughout the cosmos as you exhale, reforming yourself in Divine Light as you inhale.

Contemplation:

Following your breath, mentally recite these contemplations drawn from the words of this week’s parsha and from the Sufi master Hazrat Inayat Khan.

Light:

With eyes closed, breathe in and out through the nose. Let your breath be gently and refined. Allow your breath to become shallow. Keep your body still. Breathe gently in and out through the nose.  This is the subtle breath of ether. In this refined state, imagine Light entering through the top of your head, your crown center. Breathe in Light through your crown, exhale Light through the palm of your hands. Allow yourself to receive any shift in awareness that happens. No effort; simply receive in stillness. When you are ready, open your eyes and breathe fully, deeply. Feel a sense of gratitude for the experience of stillness filled with Light.

Sound:

Similar to mantra, to practice Wazifa is to repeat a Name (quality) of G’d. The meaning of the Name, which is encoded in the sound vibration, will be revealed to you through repetition and focus.

To answer of inner call with “Hineni” (I am here) is not about physical location. It means being fully present, being truly here, ready to listen, see and act. This week’s Sufi practice with sound vibration will focus on hearing and seeing: Ya Sami’ and Ya Basir. 

As a starting point, we can say that Ya Sami’ (yaa sa-MEE’) calls on the quality of divine hearing. Ya Sami’ endows you with inner hearing so that you hear all sounds as sacred. Your heart becomes an ear to signs of G’d.

Ya Basir (yaa ba-ṢEER) is divine seeing that is complete in understanding and realization. Your heart become an eye to inner able to perceive signs of the divine presence.

As you inhale, hold and exhale, softly repeat each Name out loud, 33 times. If you are practicing daily, see the suggestion in the table below. Afterward, feel the effects of the sound vibration on your being.

Zikr:

Meaning “remembrance”, Zikr is the repetition of a sacred phrase with the intention of returning to the essence of Unity. Continuing from last week, we will repeat the central Jewish prayer known as the Sh’ma.

In Hebrew:

שְׁמַע יִשְׂרָאֵל יְהוָה אֱלֹהֵינוּ יְהוָה אֶחָֽד

Shema Yisrael YHWH Eloheinu YHWH Echad

The Sh’ma can be translated as: “Hear, O Israel: the LORD our God, the LORD is one”. LORD is the unpronounceable four letter word יְהוָה – YHWH, the Name of G’d that can’t be named. Instead, we’ll use the word “Adonai“, meaning Lord, or “HaShem“, meaning The Name.

When practicing Zikr, it’s best to use the original language in which the prayer was revealed. As you inhale and exhale, softly repeat out loud, 33 times. Afterward, feel the effects of the vibration on your being.

Nature:

Excellent! Now it’s time to return to the every day world, refreshed, renewed and reconnected.

When you wake up in the morning, recall this week’s practice. When do you feel most connected? When does self-grasping arise? The next time you feel you are in need of connection and renewal, practice the air purification breath. Breathe in and out through the the mouth, feeling the spaciousness of your breath. What affect does that have on your emotions?

Take a moment each day to quietly inhale ya Sami’, exhale, ya Basir. We are in the labyrinth of life, with the ability to see and hear in ways more subtle than the material world. What does your seeing, hearing heart tell you?

Shabbat Shalom!
After 6 days of practice, when Shabbat arrives, observe how this week’s practices shape your Shabbat experience. Be sure to check in Sunday morning for next week’s parsha.

You are invited to comment on how the contemplations and practices for this week have shaped your experience of daily life… any big Ah-ha’s? Please share your thoughts and feelings below.

חַיִּים
L’Hayyim…. To Life!

Lekh-Lekha – Genesis 12:1-17:27

Oct 25 to 31, 2020 | 13 Heshvan 5781

Go To Yourself: Journeying into Essence

We, too, are Avram and Sarai. This parsha calls each of us to ask, “What is my purpose, and how can I move toward fulfillment in this moment?” From Or HaTorah, the expression Lekh Lekha literally means “go to yourself,” to your essence.

Let’s explore the Light this parsha shines on our capacity to journey from a multiplicity of outer forms to an awakened inner experience.

Go-you-forth from your land,

from your kindred,

from your father’s house. (Gen 15:1)

G’d is calling us to abandon our ordinary way of thinking, to ascend to a higher spiritual plane. Fortunately, we don’t need to leave home to do it. The door we stand before opens toward the One, uniting us with All.

Entering the Door of Trust

Already a spiritual adept seeking connection with the One Being, nonetheless, to deepen spiritually G’d called Avram (the Exalted) to leave the land of Haran, of ego-driven striving — ultimately, to enter the land of Unity (Israel). In the Journey from outer striving to trusting inner guidance, he becomes Avraham, the Exalted Father of Nations. And Sarai becomes Sara, the Princess. Name changes like these indicate spiritual transformation.

Be not afraid, Avram,

I am a delivering-shield to you,

your reward is exceedingly great.  (Gen 6:12)

You know the saying, “Trust in G’d and tie your camel?” In our modern, rational, goal-directed culture, more often than not we “tie our camel” but forget what’s most important, to trust G’d.

Seeing Beyond the Rational Mind

This parsha takes us beyond the rational mind to into the realm of direct experience – of Presence. Like Avram the smasher of Form, we are called to trust that which we cannot see. This invites me to contemplate, “What forms do I cling to, from material substance to mental concept?”

Occurrences out of the ordinary are a repeating theme in this parsha. When Hagar gave birth it was to be expected. But Sara giving birth in her 90’s could only happen through divine intervention. How many other examples of “beyond rational thought” are there in this parsha? Like Hagar, we are invited to touch the vibrational energy of Angels directly.

How can we connect with the interior world and, ultimately, bring this awareness into every day life?

Role of Conscience

The Covenant of Circumcision reminds us to “cut away” all that blocks our heart from connection with the One. The human capacity for conscience is a more subtle tool than simply discerning right from wrong. It is the fine-tuning that allows us to know whether or not we are acting from Love. Whether or not we are responding in Harmony to create Beauty. I see this as our Grand Mission and Purpose as human beings. How that plays out in each of us unfolds as we awaken and connect with the life beyond the duality of form.

The similarity of experience among mystical paths is striking. I wish to share with you the beautiful imagery of the Sufi poet, Fariduddin Attar. Living not far from Tehran in the twelfth century, he penned what is known as “The Conference of the Birds”:

O Goldfinch! … When you have burnt up your attachments the light of G’d will manifest itself more and more. Since your heart knows the secrets of G’d, remain faithful. When you have perfected yourself, you will no longer exist. But G’d will remain.

Rather than acting from willfulness, rather than striving toward a goal, we learn from this parsha to listen to divine direction. From the prayer Khatum, by Hazrat Inayat Khan:

Disclose to us Thy Divine Light, which is hidden in our souls, that we may know and understand life better.

For this week’s practices, we will seek to open the door to divine guidance. To continue our progression from the external to the internal, and ultimately, to bring the two together, in the marriage of heaven and earth. Individually and together, we can work to tame our willful self-centeredness that sometimes forgets, even denies, the world beyond our five senses. 

WEEKLY PRACTICES: Journey into the Unknown

With the Soul Manifestation Process, we set our intention to strengthen the movement of divine qualities in our lives. Experientially, we are actuating the Tree of Life within. For our practices this week, we’ll draw from the story Avram, who becomes Avraham, fulfilling his destiny to be the father of two great nations.

To open the door to the unknown and venture forth with a sense of trust and protection, we will follow these practices of breath, light and sound.

Suggestion: Do one practice a day, or do all 6 consecutively. Remember… have your Journal nearby to jot down any insights that may arise.

Audio Recording – Coming Soon

Breath:

Sitting comfortably with an upright spine, breathe in and out through your nose. Inhale deeply. Exhale completely, eliminating all of the spent air in your lungs. Inhale deeply and focus on your abdomen. Exhale completely. Inhale and focus on your chest, then exhale completely. Once more, inhale and focus on your forehead, and then exhale completely.

Breathing comfortably, imagine the light of the North Star, the clear light of guidance, filling your forehead. On the next breath, imagine this clear light filling your head. On the next breath, fill your upper body. And then your torso. And now, breathe in the clear light of guidance and exhale light all around you. As you continue to breath comfortably, feel this light of guidance enter through your forehead, and radiate outward in all directions.

With eyes closed, breathe in through the mouth as if sipping through a straw. Breathe out through the nose.  This is the purification breath of fire. Sense the warmth in your body. Focusing on the inhale, imagine you are breathing in light. Exhale through your nose, carrying away all impurities. 

Contemplation:

Following your breath, mentally recite these contemplations drawn from the words of this week’s parsha and from the Sufi master Hazrat Inayat Khan.

Visualization:

With eyes closed, breathe in and out through the nose. Let your breath be gently and refined. Allow your breath to become shallow. Keep your body still. Breathe gently in and out through the nose.  This is the subtle breath of ether. In this refined state, imagine Light entering through the top of your head, your crown center. Breathe in Light through your crown, exhale Light through the palm of your hands. Allow yourself to receive any shift in awareness that happens. No effort; simply receive in stillness. When you are ready, open your eyes and breathe fully, deeply. Feel a sense of gratitude for the experience of stillness filled with Light. 

Sound:

Similar to mantra, to practice Wazifa is to repeat a Name (quality) of G’d. The meaning of the Name, which is encoded in the sound vibration, will be revealed to you through repetition and focus.

This week’s Sufi practice with sound vibration will focus on protection, shielding and connection wth G’d: Ya Wakil, Ya Qadir and Ya Wadud. 

As a starting point, we can say that Ya Wakil (yaa wa-KEEL) means to rely on G’d entirely. Ya Qadir (yaa KAA-dir) is the expression of divine purpose. Ya Wadud (yaa wa-DOOD) is divine love’s most intimate manifestation.

As you inhale, hold and exhale, softly repeat each Name out loud, 33 times. If you are practicing daily, see the suggestion in the table below. Afterward, feel the effects of the sound vibration on your being.

Zikr:

Meaning “remembrance”, Zikr is the repetition of a sacred phrase with the intention of returning to the essence of Unity. Continuing from last week, we will repeat the central Jewish prayer known as the Sh’ma.

In Hebrew:

שְׁמַע יִשְׂרָאֵל יְהוָה אֱלֹהֵינוּ יְהוָה אֶחָֽד

Shema Yisrael YHWH Eloheinu YHWH Echad

The Sh’ma can be translated as: “Hear, O Israel: the LORD our God, the LORD is one”. LORD is the unpronounceable four letter word יְהוָה – YHWH, the Name of G’d that can’t be named. Instead, we’ll use the word “Adonai“, meaning Lord, or “HaShem“, meaning The Name.

When practicing Zikr, it’s best to use the original language in which the prayer was revealed. As you inhale and exhale, softly repeat out loud, 33 times. Afterward, feel the effects of the vibration on your being.

Nature:

Excellent! Now it’s time to return to the every day world, refreshed, renewed and reconnected. Through out the day, in a quiet moment, ask yourself, “What is my purpose?”

When you wake up in the morning, recall this week’s practice. When do you feel most secure? When does fear arise? The next time you feel you are in need of courage and endurance, practice the fire purification breath. Breathe in the the mouth and out through the nose, feeling the heat of your body. What affect does that have on your emotions?

To develop trust, practicing gratitude turns the knob on the door. How can we recognize the support we receive now? Happiness is making a bouquet of flowers of those within reach. What’s in your reach right now? When we recognize the simple blessings – a comfortable bed, a full belly, a friend – the shift in perception is like the tuning of the harp. 

Shabbat Shalom!
After 6 days of practice, when Shabbat arrives, observe how this week’s practices shape your Shabbat experience. Be sure to check in Sunday morning for next week’s parsha.

You are invited to comment on how the contemplations and practices for this week have shaped your experience of daily life… any big Ah-ha’s? Please share your thoughts and feelings below.

חַיִּים
L’Hayyim…. To Life!