Yitro – Exodus 18:1 – 20:23

Jan 31 to Feb 6, 2021 | 24 Shevat 5781

Photography by Glenn Sackett

10 Words Pointing Our Compass Toward LOVE

Indeed, all the earth is mine,

but you, you shall be to me

a kingdom of priests,

a holy nation.

– Exodus 19:5-6

“As Viewed, So Appears.” These words of Padma Sambhava, the 9th century Tibetan Buddhist, capture the dimensionality of this week’s parsha. Yitro explores the self from different vantage points: How G’d sees us, how Moses sees us, and how we see ourselves. The essence is Love.

Yitro, the first unique word of this week’s parsha, refers to Jethro, Moshe’s father-in-law. Joining them at their encampment in the Sinai Wilderness, Yitro is concerned that Moshe will become worn out from meeting the daily demands of the Israelites. He advises Moshe to appoint a hierarchy of judges to assist him in the task of governing his people.

Later when Moshe tells the Children of Israel that G’d has chosen them to be a “kingdom of priests” and a “holy nation,” they no longer doubt. They proclaim:

All that G‑d has spoken, we shall do.

– Exodus 19:8

Yitro’s Addition

Yitro means “his addition.” What does Yitro add to Torah? A convert to the Nation of Israel, Yitro views the multitudes differently than does Moshe. He can see their every-day selves, as individuals with an overwhelming number of petty concerns. Wisely, he advises Moshe to teach Torah’s laws and preside over the major judgements, but to leave the vast array of legal matters to a hierarchy of judges.

You have the vision to select men from all the people,

men of caliber, holding G’d in Awe, men of truth, hating gain.

… Every great matter they shall bring before you
but every small matter they should judge for themselves.

– Exodus 18:20 – 22

Seven weeks after the Exodus, the new nation assembles at the foot of Mount Sinai for the Giving of Torah. Amidst thunder, lightning, billows of smoke and the blast of the shofar, G’d appears on the mountain and summons Moshe to ascend. So that all can hear, G’d reveals the ethical code that points our compass toward YHWH.

The purpose is to create an ethical society — to love G’d and to love each other as ourselves. Although the Hebrew phrase eseret ha-devarim translates as the “10 Words” (Exodus 34:28), it’s reasonable to refer to them as “Commandments” because they are given to us by G’d.

Which Self?

Just as Yitro sees the Israelites in a different light than does Moshe, likewise, Moshe sees them differently than they see themselves. After hearing G’d speak directly to them, the people cry out to Moses.Hearing G-d’s voice is too terrifying for them to bear. They beg him to receive the Torah from G’d and convey it to them.

They said to Moshe:

You speak with us, and we will harken,

but let not G’d speak with us, lest we die.

– Exodus 20: 16

What’s going on here? We are witnessing the contrast of one’s temporal self and eternal being. Moshe sees them as transcendent in their capacity to receive G-d’s Words directly. But they are not ready. They see themselves from their ordinary, temporal perspective.

And how does G’d respond? Agreeing with his people, G’d tells Moshe to teach his people all that G’d instructs.

YHWH said to Moshe:

Say thus to the Children of Israel;

You yourself have seen

that it was from the heavens that I spoke with you.

From this point forward, G’d gives the Laws of the Covenant to Moshe to instruct the Israelites. For more insight into how we see ourselves vs. our true self, visit this Chabad article, Jethro’s Plan.

Alchemical Arch: Where Are We Now?

We have risen beyond doubt, purified ourselves, and have begun to ready ourselves to receive. In the Alchemical process, this represents Stage 2 in the Minor Mysteries. Continuing with the discussion begun in the Parsha Bo:

Stage 1: Separation

The contrast of one’s temporal self and eternal being culminates in the annihilation of the false ego.

• The Israelites accept the Covenant with YHWH and pledge to do all that G’d commands

Photography by Glenn Sackett

Living in the Land of Love Only

True happiness is in the love-stream that springs from one’s soul, and the one who will allow this stream to flow continually, in all conditions of life, in all situations, however difficult, will have a happiness that truly belongs to them.

– Sayings of Hazrat Inayat Khan, Gayan: Song, Chalas

This week we will choose practices that direct us toward Love. Through breath, light and sound we will tune ourselves with the Infinite and harmonize with the rhythms of this life. This beautiful, chaotic, ever changing, all-pervading Life.

Photography by Glenn Sackett

WEEKLY PRACTICES: Compass Toward LOVE

The Soul Manifestation Process awakens us to the present in the fullness of our being. This gentle, embodied awareness allows the heart to begin to heal its wounds and unify the broken shards of separation. This week, we will work with breath infused with light and sound to point our compass toward LOVE.

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

Let’s begin with a breathing practice designed to awaken our hearts to Divine Love. Sit comfortably, with back straight but not stiff. Close your eyes. Relax your arms. Relax your jaw. Relax your tongue. Bring your chin slightly back and down so that your head is balanced on your neck, as needed. With a little practice, you can feel this sweet spot.

Now close your eyes. In this relaxed stillness, witness your inhale and exhale. Without changing anything, just notice the swing of your breath, in and out.

Next, focus on your heart center in the middle of your chest at the hight of your physical heart. With a gentle, indrawn breath, what do you feel? On the exhale, feel your heart radiating light. Notice how far the light of your heart extends. Inhale and witness the qualities of your heart; exhale and radiate your light outward. Stay with this breath for a few minutes, keeping the inhale and exhale even. After awhile, you’ll feel your heart beating. Inhale for 4 heartbeats; exhale for 4 heartbeats. Inhale receiving life and exhale bestowing light.

With your attention on receiving and bestowing, do you feel the stillness? What do you feel? When you are ready, return to your normal breath and open your eyes.

CONTEMPLATION

In this sacred atmosphere, contemplate these words drawn from this week’s parsha and from the Sufi master Hazrat Inayat Khan:

LIGHT

With eyes closed, breathe in and out gently through the nose. Balance your inhale with your exhale. Keep your body still. As with the practice on breaath, focus on your heart center. Visualize emerald green light. Breathe in emerald light, exhale emerald light for 5 breaths.

Continuing to breath emerald light in through your heart center, exhale whispering, “Toward the One.” As you inhale, remain receptive and open to what comes. Stay with this concentration as long as you can peacefully, comfortably maintain it.

When you are ready, open your eyes and breathe naturally. Witness your experience of this practice. Do you feel the “greening” of your heart? What qualities arise?

SOUND

The 99 Beautiful Names of Allah carry a sound code with the capacity to quiet our minds and open our hearts to Truth beyond concept. Through repetition, focus and intent, layers of meaning of the Name will be revealed to you.

Curious to know more about how sound becomes sacred language? Listen and receive a hint about the Mystic Sound:

This week’s parsha Yitro invites us to consider the eternal nature of our true self. We are being reminded in whom we live and breathe and have our being.

To open the windows of the heart, we will practice the phrase, “Bismillah ar-Rahman ar-Rahim.” Bismillah literally means “I yearn for the protection in the Name Allah.” Its deeper meaning can be expressed as, “In saying bismillah, I invoke the actualization, the presence, of Allah.”

The first act of creation is sound vibration (In the beginning, G’d said…) The root of Bismillah, “bism” means sound. We begin in sound (Source: Physicians of the Heart by Pir Shabda Khan).

Note: Allah is the Arabic word for G’d, whether a person’s religion is Christian, Muslim or Jew.

Ar-Rahman is endless love: the infinite, unconditional reality of Love. Ar-Rahim is the embodiment of this Love which flows from the Infinite.

We recite Bismillah ar-Rahman ar-Rahim 33 times. To keep your focus out of your head and into your heart, you may find it helpful to put your right hand over your heart. And when you say Bismillah, slightly bow to greet and invoke the presence of Love. 

Afterwards, let the sound of this practice reverberate in your being. Note how you feel.

Anchor this awareness in your body by pressing together the thumb and ring finger of your right hand. While moving through your life, when you wish to awaken in Love do this: with a gentle in-drawn breath, press your thumb and ring finger together. Think-feel Bismillah ar-Rahman ar-Rahim.

ZIKR

Meaning “remembrance”, Zikr is the repetition of a sacred phrase with the intention of returning to the essence of Unity. Similarly, in Hebrew Zakar means to remember, recall, or call to mind. Today we will offer Zakar in Hebrew and Zikr in Arabic. Simply click on the tab labeled “Zakar” or “Zikr”.

NATURE

This week as you take time to walk in nature, notice your life-giving breath. Can you coordinate your footsteps with the rhythm of your breath? Pay attention do the play of light. Where do you glimpse the color emerald green in nature? What shades of green does the winter light reveal?

To be guided in two more nature practices – the Medicine Walk and the 360 Listening Practice – please listen to the podcast with Maria Rosa Galter: Answering Our Soul’s Longing to Connect in All Dimensions.

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!

Beshalach – Exodus 13:17 – 17:16

Jan 24 to 30, 2021 | 17 Shevat 5781

Zachor: Remember

And you shall know that I am YHWH your G’d.

– Exodus 16:12

Beshalach, the first unique word of this week’s parsha, means “when (Pharaoh) let go.” With the power of G’d, Moses leads his people safely through the Sea of Reeds, provides sweet water and food in the form of manna and quail, and establishes Shabbat. When the army of Amalek attacks the Israelites in the narrow straits of Redifim, Moses prevails. How then could the Children of Israel question, “Is G’d with us or not?”

In a word, doubt. Doubt is the enemy that lurks in the rational mind and sets the conditions for Amalek to attack. Just as the neck separates the head from the heart, in the narrow straits of Redifim the battle between doubt and faith is fought; this time the Israelites prevail.

Despite all the assurances of YHWH, three times the Israelites are caught in the narrow straits of doubt:

Doubt at the Sea of Reeds when Pharaoh’s army marches toward them:

Indeed, better for us serving Egypt
than our dying in the wilderness!

– Exodus 14:12

Doubt in the wilderness when they are hungry:

Would that we had died by the hand of YHWH in Egypt… than death by starvation.

– Exodus 16:3

Doubt when encamped at Refidim where they have no water to drink:

For what reason did you bring us up from Egypt,
To bring death to me, to my children and to my livestock by thirst?

– Exodus 17:3

In this way, the Israelites repeatedly test YHWH’s presence and Moses’ patience. With their internal compass pointed toward doubt rather than faith, the battle with Amalek ensues. Prevailing, Moses builds a slaughter-site and names it: YHWH My Banner. Moses says:

Yes,
Hand on YAH’s throne!
War for YHWH against Amalek
Generation after generation!

– Exodus 17:15-16

Who is Amalek?

Amalek is apathy, cynicism and senseless doubt. And what antidote does Torah provide? The answer is expressed in a single word:

Zachor: Remember

From Rabbi Schneur Zalman of Liadi: Faith is not something that must be attained; it need only be revealed, for it is woven into the very fabric of the soul’s essence. Faith transcends reason. Unlike the perceptions of reason, which are defined and limited by the finite nature of the human mind, through faith one connects with the infinite truth of G’d in totality.

Reflection: There is faith in G’d; and there is faith in ourselves to overcome obstacles toward happiness and fulfillment of our purpose for coming to earth. A purpose that exceeds the boundaries of our individuated selves. A purpose that serves others. Take a moment to gauge the quality of Imam – faith – you hold in this regard.

Point Your Internal Compass Toward Faith

As human beings, we determine our attitude. We get to choose our North Star. When pointed toward doubt, then doubt appears beyond every bend in the road, behind every trunk, beneath every rock. When we choose to hold faith in G’d, faith in our neighbor, faith in ourselves, then the door to real possibility opens.

In times like these, what helps you to draw from the well of your soul’s reserves of faith? Our faith in G’d and in our purposeful selves can get buried under “a mass of mundane involvements and entanglements”. What brings you into remembrance of that inborn faith which can meet our every challenge?

The Sufi mystic Hazrat Inayat Khan illuminates this question. Quoting from his book Healing And The Mind World:

Faith is so sacred that it cannot be imparted, it must be discovered within oneself; but there is no one in the world who is without faith, it is only covered up. And what covers it? A kind of pessimistic outlook on life.

And from the Bowl of Saki:

The soul brings its light from Heaven; the mind acquires its knowledge from earth. Therefore, when the soul believes readily, the mind may still doubt.

Reflection: We have a saying, “Take me from the unreal to the real.” When I find myself caught up in the involvements and entanglements of life, when pessimism toward fulfilling my purpose creeps in, I repeat this thought: Take me from the unreal to the real. And with a gentle indrawn breath I remember,

Breath is G’d.

G’d is breath.

Chesed and Gevurah

Kabbalah teaches us to balance loving kindness (Chesed) with discernement (Gevurah). From this union arises beauty, clarity, mercy (Tiferet). Thus, when offering loving kindness and compassion, remember your inner assignment is to be bold. Meaning, when you put your heart and soul into your purpose, you can do anything.

Reflection: When we meet external or internal resistance to inner guidance, our most fruitful response is resilience: to go forward. May you find direction with these words on the meaning of parsha Beshalach: Chabad, The Four Factions:

(1) Not to escape reality, (2) not to submit to it, (3) not to wage war on it, (4) not to deal with it only on a spiritual level, but to go forward. Do another mitzvah, ignite another soul, take one more step toward your goal. Pharaoh’s charioteers are breathing down your neck? A cold and impregnable sea bars your path? Don’t look up; look forward. See that mountain? Move toward it.

The Ever-Present-Eternal doesn’t depend on anything. Beyond any concept, no beginning no end, now and now and now. This week we will practice the Art of Remembrance. Through breath, light and sound we will tune ourselves with the Infinite and harmonize with the rhythms of this life. This beautiful, chaotic, ever changing, all-pervading Life.

WEEKLY PRACTICES: Remembrance

The Soul Manifestation Process awakens us to the present in the fullness of our being. This gentle, embodied awareness allows the heart to begin to heal its wounds and unify the broken shards of separation. This week, we will work with breath infused with light and sound to remember the home of our soul.

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

Let’s begin with a simple breathing practice, one designed to integrate mind and body. Sit comfortably, with back straight but not stiff. Close your eyes. Relax your arms. Relax your jaw. Relax your tongue. Bring your chin slightly back and down so that your head is balanced on your neck, as needed. With a little practice, you can feel this sweet spot.

Now close your eyes. In this relaxed stillness, witness your inhale and exhale. Without changing anything, just notice the swing of your breath, in and out. Instead of thinking, “this is my breath,” realize “this is the breath.” All life breathes the same breath. Without breath, the body can no longer contain life. 

Let your exhale extend far and wide, beyond the confines of your body, your room, your neighborhood, community, city, state, country… extend, extend on the exhale. Inhale gently through your heart center, recollecting your location in time and space. When you are established in this expansive, rhythmic breath, add the following:

• On the inhale think, “Toward the One.”
• On the exhale think, “United with All.”

Explore and enjoy this expansion and contraction. All is well. When you are ready, return to your normal breath and open your eyes.

CONTEMPLATION

In this sacred atmosphere, contemplate these words drawn from this week’s parsha and from the Sufi master Hazrat Inayat Khan:

LIGHT

With eyes closed, breathe in and out gently through the nose. Balance your inhale with your exhale. Keep your body still.

Next, focus on your heart center in the center of your chest. Visualize clear yellow light. Breathe in yellow light, exhale yellow light for 5 breaths.

Now focus on your third eye, slightly above and between the eyebrows. Visualize deep blue light filling your forehead. Breathe in deep blue light, exhale deep blue light for 5 breaths.

Now breathe clear yellow light in through your heart center, thinking, “Toward the One.” Exhale through your forehead thinking, “United with All.” Stay with this concentration as long as you can peacefully, comfortably maintain it.

When you are ready, open your eyes and breathe naturally. What is your experience of this practice? Do you feel the unity of heart and mind, despite the narrow strait of the neck?

SOUND

This week’s parsha Beshalach teaches us to remember. Doubt arrises from a feeling of separation. To overcome this difficult state of mind, simply remember in whom you live and breathe and have your being.

Curious to know more about how sound becomes sacred language? Listen and receive a hint about the Mystic Sound:

The 99 Beautiful Names of Allah carry a sound code with the capacity to quiet our minds and open our hearts to Truth beyond concept. Through repetition, focus and intent, layers of meaning of the Name will be revealed to you.

To dispel all doubt, we remember the longing of the soul to return to its source. In Quran G’d says: “Remember me, and I will remember you.”

O Protector is Ya Hafiz (yaa ḥa-FEEḌḤ). We pair that with Ya Wakil (yaa wa-KEEL). Here we are relying on God entirely, because only God is worthy of complete trust in every affair (Source: Physicians of the Heart by Pir Shabda Khan).

We recite Ya Wakil on the inhale and Ya Hafiz on the exhale:

Inhale: Ya Wakil

Exhale: Ya Hafiz

With your eyes closed, focus on your breath. Feel your chest and abdomen expanding and contracting. Rhythmically inhale and exhale, softly repeating these names out loud 33 times.

Afterwards, let the sound of this practice reverberate in your being. Note how you feel.

Anchor this awareness in your body by pressing together the thumb and ring finger of your left hand. While moving through your life, when you wish to return to remembrance do this: with a gentle in-drawn breath, press your thumb and ring finger together. Inhale ya Wakil, exhale ya Hafiz.

ZIKR

Meaning “remembrance”, Zikr is the repetition of a sacred phrase with the intention of returning to the essence of Unity. Similarly, in Hebrew Zakar means to remember. Today we will introduce Zikr in Arabic. Simply click on the tab labeled “Zikr”. 

NATURE

This week as you take time to walk in nature, notice your life-giving breath. Can you coordinate your footsteps with the rhythm of your breath? Pay attention do the play of light. Where do you glimpse the color blue in nature? Where do you see yellow? Blue and yellow give rise to green. What shades of green does the winter light reveal?

For a communion with nature that delightfully engages us in the play of shadow and light, please listen to the podcast with Heart Whisperer Jennifer Reeve.

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!

Bo – Exodus 10:1 – 13:16

Jan 17 to 23, 2021 | 10 Shevat 5781

Photography by Glenn Sackett

I Will Take You As My People

Considering the rapid, chaotic, even deadly transformation of our current world, we are truly in a BARDO, a state of existence between death and rebirth — a time when our usual way of life becomes suspended. The Ten Plagues which descended on Biblical Egypt must have created a similar panic. When in the Bardo, we must seek a calming influence. 

In the parsha Bo — meaning come, enter, penetrate — locust and darkness signal YHWH’s presence to the multitude of nations. While the first nine plagues leave the Israelites unaffected, the slaying of the first born requires the Israelites to perform a mitzvah to protect life: to sacrifice a lamb at twilight, put its blood as a sign on their doorposts, and eat the roasted flesh with matzah and maror (bitter herbs).

With this consecration we understand that the Fourth Promise, “I will take you for me as a people” is reciprocal: the Israelites must participate in this union. Hastily, under the midnight moon Moses leads the Israelites out of Egypt. A multitude of nations follow Moses who skillfully welcomes them.

With G-d’s help, Moses succeeds in confronting Pharaoh.  When viewed as an Alchemical process, Exodus takes on new contours which shape and hold each of us today.

Alchemy is the quickening of this process: the enactment of the Fourth Promise recorded in Exodus:

I will take you for me as a people,

And I will be for you as a G’d.

– Exodus 6:6

Moses endured his own Alchemical process in preparation to lead the Israelites and the multitude of nations who followed him to experience the freedom of the Soul. And what is the soul being freed from? Mitzrayim. Being caught in materialism without love, devotion and surrender to the One Being.

Let’s look at Moses’ development through the lens of the Six Stages of Alchemy as taught by Pir Vilayat Inayat Khan.

Minor Mysteries

The journey begins with the Minor Mysteries which lay out the process of letting go of the attachment to one’s temporal being to merge in eternal Oneness. They are called the Minor Mysteries because the process returns one to the natural state. To rest in Oneness.

Stage 1: Separation

The contrast of one’s temporal self and eternal being culminates in the annihilation of the false ego.

• Seeing the hardships of his people, Moses’ sense of self as a Prince of Egypt is irretrievably lost. In anger he kills an Egyptian and must flee for his life.

Stage 2: Rising

Fire distills Spirit further from the body, completing the separation. One further identifies with the real being that one is: pure consciousness.

• After fleeing to Midyan, Moses cultivates the benign leadership qualities of the shepherd. After many years, he sees the burning bush that is not consumed. At first he resists, not willing to go it alone as Moses by himself. With the assurance of G-d’s presence, he acquiesces to the path laid out for him in unison with YHWH.

Stage 3: Pure Spirit

The sense of individuality collapses. Symbolized by the receptive crescent moon, the soul awakens in the state of all possibility and pure potential.

• Moses returns to Egypt to face Pharaoh

Major Mysteries

Now begins the inner journey called the Major Mysteries. They are termed thus because, in the miracle of all miracles, Spirit is infused with matter — a vessel wherein G’d can dwelling — the reason for life itself.

Stage 4: Descent

This is best described as the Alchemical Marriage of Heaven and Earth. Here one consciously participates in the rebirth of spirit into matter.

• Moses begins to fulfill his mission by summoning the courage to appear before Pharaoh and act out G-d’s commands. Similar to the renewal of life on earth during Noah’s time, the first nine plagues represent this rebirth.

Stage 5: Incorporation

To fix and maintain this realization, one must affirm one’s real being against the forces that tend to push one back to what one was: the courage to be who one is. As the parsha Bo teaches us, behind one’s own manifestation is the thrust of God’s wish for completion.

• Moses appears with the Light of G’d infused into his personality as he faces Pharaoh. This stage culminates in the slaying of the first born.

Stage 6: Unity

Symbolized by the radiant sun, this realization completes the spiritualization of matter and the materialization of spirit. As a result, the unique contribution of one’s being is impressed upon the universe to outlast the vehicle through which it operates. As with our patriarchs and matriarchs: this is the realization of eternal life.

• At the end of Bo and throughout the rest of Torah, Moses maintains his intention to remain in Unity with G’d. Not quite meeting this exquisitely delicate standard, he is denied the right to enter the Promised Land. And yet he lives on, immortalized in the retelling of this story. 

And what of our own Alchemical Journey?

Mankind’s Mission on Earth

By following the arch of Genesis and now of Exodus, we are shown that the mission of mankind is to transform the world into a dwelling place for G’d. This mirrors the challenges each of us confronts daily to cultivate the midot (divine qualities) in our own character. For as above so below: each one of us expresses this mission as a unique ray of the One Being.

To learn more, listen to Marilyn Saltzman speak about the gifts of her life-long practice of Musar: Soul Traits for an Ethical Life.

Reflection: How frequently and fully do you dedicate your G’d given abilities for a positive purpose? And even more fundamentally, ask yourself:

“What am I living for? Am I seeking mainly self-gratification, or am I living a life dedicated to a higher purpose?”

This week’s practices continue to support our journey from mitzrayim (materiality) to awakening in life. We will seek to soften our hearts and build our capacity to create harmony in daily life. Through breath, light and sound we can be in tune with the Infinite and the rhythms of this life. This beautiful, chaotic, ever changing, all-pervading Life.

WEEKLY PRACTICES: Alchemy of Breath

With the Soul Manifestation Process, we awaken to the present in the fullness of our being. This gentle, embodied awareness allows the heart to begin to heal its wounds and unify the broken shards of separation. This week, we will work with breath infused with light and sound to work its alchemical magic.

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

Let’s begin with a simple breathing practice, one designed to integrate mind and body. Sit comfortably, with back straight but not stiff. Close your eyes. Relax your arms. Relax your jaw. Relax your tongue. Most of us tend to jut the chin forward. If this is you, bring your chin slightly back and down so that your head is balanced on your neck. With a little practice, you can feel this sweet spot.

Now close your eyes. In this relaxed stillness, witness your inhale and exhale. Without changing anything, just notice the swing of your breath, in and out.

Next, on the inhale hold your breath for a few seconds. Can you feel your heart beating? Putting your hand on your heart can help. After awhile, notice how your blood circulating through your body feels. Can you feel the pulsing? Look for it in the hold between the inhale and exhale. Take a moment of joy, gratitude and quiet amazement in this sacred sensation.

Return to your normal breath and open your eyes.

CONTEMPLATION

In this sacred atmosphere, contemplate these words drawn from this week’s parsha and from the Sufi master Hazrat Inayat Khan:

LIGHT

With eyes closed, breathe in and out gently through the nose. Balance your inhale with your exhale. Keep your body still. In this refined state, focus on your physical heart. Visualize red light. Breathe in red light, exhale red light for 5 breaths.

Next, focus on your right chest, about where the physical heart rests on the other side. Visualize white light. Breathe in white light, exhale white light for 5 breaths.

Now focus on the center of your chest. Visualize green light filling the center of your chest. Breathe in green light, exhale green light for 5 breaths.

When you are ready, open your eyes and breathe fully, deeply. What is your experience of this balancing practice?

SOUND

In a tangible way, parsha Bo instructs us to embody divine qualities of G’d. Although we cannot name YHWH the Un-nameable, we can name and draw upon qualities of YHWH.

The 99 Beautiful Names of Allah carry a sound code with the capacity to resonate with divine qualities already present in ourselves. Like activates like. Nothing is “added” that we don’t already contain. We are awakening these divine qualities within ourselves via resonance. Through repetition, focus and intent, layers of meaning of the Name will be revealed to you.

In full view of the rapid, chaotic, even deadly changes of our current world — truly a BARDO — we call upon the calming influence of  Ya Qawiyy (yaa ḲO-weeyy) and Ya Salam (yaa sa-LAAM), which is peace itself.

The divine aspect of G’d named Al-Qawiyy commands the primitive, adamant self. It disarms our defenses so can see that all personal power is the result of the real power that is coming from the divine source. It awakens our inner strength to overcome distorted passion (Source: Physicians of the Heart by Pir Shabda Khan)

We recite Ya Salam on the inhale and Ya Qawiyy on the exhale:

Inhale: Ya Salam

Exhale: Ya Qawiyy

With your eyes closed, focus on your breath. Feel your chest and abdomen expanding and contracting. Rhythmically inhale and exhale, softly repeating ya Salam, ya Qawiyy out loud 33 times. Afterward, feel the calming support of this sound vibration on all aspects of 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

This week as you take time to walk in nature, feel the beating of your heart. Can you coordinate your footsteps with the rhythm of your heart? Pay attention do the play of light. Where do you glimpse the color red in nature? Where do you see white? What shades of green does the winter light reveal?

For a view of nature that marries the cosmic with the transcendent, please listen to the podcast with nature photographer and chaplain Glenn Sackett: Exploring Beauty and Resilience with Nature and in All Our Relations.

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!

Va’era – Exodus 6:2 – 9:35

Jan 10 to 16, 2021 | 3 Shevat 5781

And I Appeared

Two names of G’d. Four promises. Seven plagues. That encapsulates this week’s parsha, Va’era meaning “And I appeared” — the first word G’d speaks in the second parsha of Exodus.

Speaking of plagues, aren’t we in one now? Four thousand people dying in a day. A number that could be greatly reduced simply by wearing masks. Ego, self-centeredness, a hardened heart: the REAL plague. The plague that underlies all others, in Biblical Egypt and now.

But I,
I will harden Pharaoh’s heart

– Exodus 7:3

Why did G’d “harden Pharaoh’s heart”? Doesn’t that run in the face of free will? Let’s consider the next sentence as well:

I will harden Pharaoh’s heart,
I will make my signs and my portents many in the land of Egypt.

– Exodus 7:3

In contemplating these phrases, I thought of my own life. When has my heart hardened? Whenever I see myself as separate. An “I”, separate from you, from my neighbor. When fear, greed, and self-grasping behavior darkens my sight to the needs of others. When I do not love G’d. When I forget to remember to point my compass Toward the One.

Signs and Portents

And yet when see G-d’s many signs and portents; when I remember to love G’d with all my heart, all my soul, all my might; when I love YOU as another myself, then my heart softens. It opens. Fear melts away like ice turning to water. I trust that the answer is at hand. I trust there is enough.

As human beings, we innately have the capacity for loving acts and for heinous acts. Sometimes I hear myself questioning G’d: “Why would you create sensitive beings, with intelligence, with empathy, who can act heinously to each other?” What role does G’d play in hardening hearts?

Why Do Hearts Harden?

If anything, why didn’t G’d soften Pharaoh’s heart? And why not leave Pharaoh alone to make his own decision?

Perhaps G’d hardened Pharaoh’s heart to unequivocally show what happens when we don’t listen. When we don’t see. When we serve only ourselves. That is a hardness that underlies many, perhaps all, of the plagues we face today – COVID, global warming, wars, famine, wealth disparity, the caste system called racism, the political divide. Aren’t these all due to our hardened hearts? A sense of a separate self? The will to protect only me and mine?

What Sufi practitioners call nafs is similar to ego. The word means breath. As long as we are in the body, we can’t rid ourselves of our breath. However, nafs can and must be refined through practice. A refined breath brings us into remembrance of our true nature, the One Being.

How else will light find its way into the solidity of rock? Right into the materiality of creation:

Raise us from the denseness of the earth,

Thy Beauty do we worship

– From the prayer Saum, Hazrat Inayat Khan

Not through the angels who are inseparable expressions of the One Light. They continuously sing praises to G’d. It is we human beings who have come fully to the earth, into the Garden, only to eat from the Tree of Knowledge of Good and Bad TOO SOON. Before we matured enough to remember that the home of our soul lives in the Spirit of G’d.

You see, we have the innate capacity to know G-d’s presence. To bring the Light of G’d right into the densest material. From Keter to Malkhut to solid rock, even into a heart that is turned to stone. But how?

At the very start of this parsha, G’d reveals to Moshe a greater name:

G’d spoke to Moshe,
He said to him:
I am YHWH.
I was seen by Avraham, by Yitzakh, and by Yaakov as God Shaddai,
But by my name YHWH I was not known to them.

– Exodus 6:2-3

What does the name Shaddai mean? That G’d is enough. Right down to the physical level, to Malkhut: G’d-the-Provider is Enough. The same root is in the word Dayenu – “it would have been enough.”

And now the name YHWH, the name that can’t be said. What does this represent? G’d the transcendent. G’d who is beyond any separation. As my teacher Fakhir Pran Nath would say with a wave of his hand, all is G’d.

If nothing is outside of G’d, it makes sense when G’d says, “I will harden Pharaoh’s heart”. For YHWH who knows no separation, even a hardened heart comes from G’d. And how do we soften this hardened heart? Through practice.

Matzah and Wine

Remember the three Matzos on the Passover Seder table? They represent G-d’s three promises: I will bring you out, I will rescue you, I will redeem you from the dry, tastelessness matzah of servitude.

And the four cups of wine? What do they signify? Wet and flavorful wine signify these three promises plus the sweetness of the fourth:

I will take you for me as a people,
And I will be for you
As a G’d:
And you shall know
That I am YHWH your G’d,
Who bring you out
From beneath the burdens of Egypt.

– Exodus 6:6-7

YHWH will take us as a people from beneath the burdens of the separate self. A presence that softens the most hardened of hearts. Ponder the sweetness of this.

The fourth promise can only be made willingly, with reciprocity. It’s not one-directional. You (we) must prepare yourself (ourselves) to receive this blessing to be taken as a people, who take YHWH – The Un-nameable One – as our G’d. Different from the first three promises, this fourth promise is a two-way street. Our hardened hearts must soften to each other, held in the arms of the Beloved.

Ego separates. The flip side of ego is actualization: the fulfillment of discovering one’s purpose and potential as a living, breathing Child-of-G’d.

If you’ve been following the practices, the balancing of the vertical and horizontal planes within ourselves expresses this dichotomy. As above, so below. As in the beginning, so in the end. The horizontal line of the cosmic (material, embodied, manifested) intersects the vertical line of the transcendent (all-powerful, omni-present, all-pervading).  Integrated, timeless, uniting Heaven and earth in each of us. If we allow it.

How do we exit the land of Egypt and become free? Only through the Love of YHWH and by loving my neighbor as myself: Shaddai. There is enough. All is One.

This week’s practices continue to support our journey from galut (exile) to returning to the home of our soul. We will seek to soften our hearts and build our capacity to create harmony in daily life — to continue our awakening in Awe and Oneness from which we have our Being.

You are not a drop in the ocean,

You are an entire ocean in a drop.

– Rumi

Through breath, light and sound we can be in tune with the Infinite and the rhythms of this life. This beautiful, chaotic, ever changing, all-pervading Life.

Photo by Glenn Sackett

WEEKLY PRACTICES: Finding Our Way Home

With the Soul Manifestation Process, we awaken to the present in the fullness of our being. This gentle, embodied awareness allows the heart to begin to heal its wounds and unify the broken shards of separation. You are invited to initiate this process via 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

Let’s begin with a simple breathing practice, one designed to integrate mind and body. Sit comfortably, with back straight but not stiff. Close your eyes. Relax your arms. Relax your jaw. Relax your tongue. Most of us tend to jut the chin forward. If this is you, bring your chin slightly back and down so that your head is balanced on your neck. With a little practice, you can feel this sweet spot.

Now close your eyes. In this relaxed stillness, witness your inhale and exhale. Without changing anything, just notice the swing of your breath, in and out.

Next, on the inhale hold your breath for a few seconds. Can you feel your heart beating? Putting your hand on your heart can help. After awhile, notice how your blood circulating through your body feels. Can you feel the pulsing? Look for it in the hold between the inhale and exhale. Take a moment of joy, gratitude and quiet amazement in this sacred sensation.

Return to your normal breath and open your eyes.

CONTEMPLATION

In this sacred atmosphere, contemplate these words drawn from this week’s parsha and from the Sufi master Hazrat Inayat Khan:

LIGHT

With eyes closed, breathe in and out gently through the nose. Balance your inhale with your exhale. Keep your body still. In this refined state, focus on your physical heart. Visualize red light. Breathe in red light, exhale red light for 5 breaths.

Next, focus on your right chest, about where the physical heart rests on the other side. Visualize white light. Breathe in white light, exhale white light for 5 breaths.

Now focus on the center of your chest. Visualize green light filling the center of your chest. Breathe in green light, exhale green light for 5 breaths.

When you are ready, open your eyes and breathe fully, deeply. What is your experience of this balancing practice?

SOUND

Similar to mantra, to practice Wazifa is to repeat a Name (quality) of G’d. Layers of meaning of the Name, which is encoded in the sound vibration, will be revealed to you through repetition and focus. In this his week’s practice with sound vibration, call upon the intimacy of your heart. Ya Wadud (yaa waa-DOOD) is divine love’s most intimate manifestation. It is the constant embrace of the affectionate, loving universe.

This embrace penetrates to the deepest place, the most subterranean reaches of the heart. The Sufi poet Hafiz said, “If you want to see the face of God, sift the dust in a barroom floor.” There’s no place you can’t find this love. 

(Source: Physicians of the Heart by Pir Shabda Khan)

We recite this Name of G’d on the inhale, allowing receptive silence on the exhale. Note the stress in the pronunciation: Ya Wadoooood.

Inhale: Ya Wadud

Exhale: (silence)

With your eyes closed, focus on your heart center, the center of your chest, as you inhale Ya Wadud. Rhythmically inhale and exhale, softly repeating ya Wadoood out loud 33 times. Afterward, feel the effects of this sound vibration on your mind, heart and soul. 

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

This week as you take time to walk in nature, feel the beating of your heart. Can you coordinate your footsteps with the rhythm of your heart? Pay attention do the play of light. Where do you glimpse the color red in nature? Where do you see white? What shades of green does the winter light reveal? 

For a view of nature that marries the cosmic with the transcendent, please listen to the podcast with the physicist and sufi mystic Suhrawardi William Gebel, author of the book Nature’s Hidden Dimension: Envisioning the Inner Life of the Universe.

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!

Shemot – Exodus 1:1 – 6:1

Jan 3 to 9, 2021 | 25 Tevet 5781

Watercolor by Nurullah Anya Godwin

Name Reveals Destiny

Following Bereshit (Genesis) is Shemot (Exodus). Meaning Names, it identifies both the first parsha of Exodus and the Second Book itself. Last week, in the 12th and final parsha of Bereshit, we explored how the 12 Names of the parashot encapsulate the essence of the spiritual path, from Creative Purpose to Eternal Life.

Thus, in Bereshit we discover mankind’s reason for being and how to live that purpose. In the beginning we only knew the Garden – at one with G’d, yet child-like. When we awakened to the knowledge of good and bad, we were cast out into the big, wide world. Ever since, we have yearned to find our way back to peace and unity with G’d.

Like a spiral, Shemot retells this story, beginning with Israel’s journey toward nationhood. Once Yaakov and his family had lived in the Holy Land. Now the Children of Israel toil in galut – exiled in Egypt. 

Thus begins the story of our journey back to the promised land to live in unison with G’d. More than a telling of historic events, Shemot narrates the birth of a people with a revolutionary world view, thus revealing the meaning of Israel’s historical experience with implications for all humanity. We see G’d acting directly in history, visible to both the Israelites and their captives. The fledgling Israelites will receive a new covenant, this time one that requires reciprocity between G’d and his people.

Reflection: What is your specific, unique purpose for living? How might the experience of the exodus — from bondage to freedom — inform and direct your behavior and the choices you make?

Life Triumphs Over Death

Establishing continuity with Bereshit, the first parsha in Shemot begins by listing the names of the Israelites who sought refuge in Egypt: Yaakov and his 12 sons. As time passed, a new pharaoh arose over Egypt who had not known Yosef. Fearing their strength and numbers, the pharaoh enslaved the Israelites as bricklayers of Egyptian cities. Multiplying evermore, he decreed that all Hebrew male children would be thrown in the Nile and drowned.

Triumphing over the male prerogative to decree death is the female principle of giving life. Floating in his basket, the pharaoh’s daughter has the baby pulled from the Nile, names him Moshe, and raises him as a prince.

In early adulthood, after killing an Egyptian taskmaster, Moshe flees to Midyan. Serving as a shepherd, he is yet unaware of the role he is being cultivated to fulfill. Years later, after the pharaoh who sought his demise had died, the Israelites groaned from their servitude:

G’d harkened to their moaning,
G’d called-to-mind his covenant with Avraham, with Yitzhak, and with Yaakov,
G’d saw the Children of Israel,
G’d knew.

– Exodus 2:24-24

This the iconic moment when Moshe sees the burning bush. It is such a dramatic passage that I encourage you to reread a translation of Shemot from 3:1 onward… it keeps getting better and better.

This parsha ends with YHWY saying to Moshe:

Now you will see what I will do to Pharaoh:
for with a strong hand he will send them free,
And with a strong hand he will drive them out of his land.

– Exodus 6:1

See, Know, Serve

In discussions of previous parashot, we discovered that a name reveals its essential nature. Similarly, the name of the parsha captures its theme. But what of exile? Can names serve as a boundary, a protective barrier for the essence embodied in life?

Moshe’s name clues us to his future role. Translated as “He-Who-Pulls-Out,” Moshe’s name recalls the princess’ act of “pulling out the baby from the Nile”. But the verb form in moshe is active, not passive. This foretells that it is Moshe himself who will one day “pull out” Israel from the life-threatening waters of the Sea of Reeds and of slavery itself (Source: Everett Fox translation of The Five Books of Moses, footnotes, page 264).

When G’d calls Moshe to lead his people from bondage to freedom, Moshe realizes the people of Israel will demand to know the name of the one who sent him:

Here, I will come to the Children of Israel
and I will say to them:
The G’d of your fathers has sent me to you,
and they will say to me: What is his name? –
what shall I say to them?

– Exodus 3:13

G’d answers:

EHYEH ASHER EHYEH
I will be-there howsoever I will be-there.
And he said:
Thus shall you say to the Children of Israel:
EHYEH/I-WILL-BE-THERE sends me to you.

– Exodus 3:14

To name something is to describe and define it. Because The Infinite One is indescribable and thus unnameable, names of G’d identify the divine qualities and patterns that express and influence life. For an excellent discussion on the Hebrew Names of G-d, please click on this link to the Chassidic Masters.

From Servitude to Service

As a young prince, Moshe was answerable to Pharaoh. Likewise, his brethren were in servitude with backbreaking labor. From this we see that the demands of pharaoh are external to our essential nature. This influence intends to extract and control, focusing on self-gratification and self-preservation.

Reflection: It gives me pause when I consider how “pharaoh” shows up in my life. For instance, in overindulgence. In fear and limitation. In stinginess… whenever I defer to the demands of the external, transitory nature of appearances over and above the inner wisdom of my heart.

It behoves me to ask myself, in what ways am I in servitude to pharaoh? And, in what ways do I serve G’d? You are invited to participate in the same exploration.

From Exile to Freedom

Armed with the knowledge that Torah happens in the present, it is helpful to consider the parts of ourselves that are in exile. To fulfill our purpose as a living, breathing soul, the first step is to reclaim our essence. Kabbalists say that the combination of letters in your name reveal your destiny.

Are you interested in knowing the meaning of your name? Whether you are Jewish or not, you may find it here: The Hebrew Name.

This week’s practices are chosen to support our journey from galut (exile) to returning to the home of our soul. We will seek to build our capacity to create harmony in daily life — to continue our awakening to the internal worlds, and ultimately, to bring together the outer and inner realms, in the marriage of heaven and earth.

Through breath, light and sound we can be in tune with the Infinite and the rhythms of this life. This beautiful, chaotic, ever changing, all-pervading Life.

Photo by Glenn Sackett

WEEKLY PRACTICES: Finding Our Way Home

With the Soul Manifestation Process, we awaken to the present in the fullness of our being. This gentle, embodied awareness becomes the portal to listen for divine guidance. You are invited to step through this door via 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

Let’s begin with a simple breathing practice, one designed to calm the busyness of the mind. Sit comfortably, with back straight but not stiff. Close your eyes. Relax your arms. Relax your jaw. Relax your tongue. Most of us tend to jut the chin forward. If this is you, bring your chin slightly back and down so that your head is balanced on your neck. With a little practice, you can feel this sweet spot.

Now begin counting your breaths. Inhale on the count of one, exhale two, inhale three, exhale four. Continue until you reach 20 on an exhale. If you notice you have drifted, or if you are inhaling on an even number, or exhaling on an odd number, simply begin again. With practice you will reach 30. If so, repeat the sequence again.

Notice how calm your mind has become.

CONTEMPLATION

In this calm atmosphere, your mind can truly focus. In this stillness, contemplate these words drawn from this week’s parsha and from the Sufi master Hazrat Inayat Khan:

LIGHT

With eyes closed, breathe in and out gently through the nose. Balance your inhale with your exhale. Keep your body still. Breathe gently in and out through the nose. In this refined state, focus on your forehead. Visualize blue light. Breathe in blue light, exhale blue light for 5 breaths.

Now focus on the center of your chest. Visualize green light filling the center of your chest. Breathe in green light, exhale green light for 5 breaths.

When you are ready, open your eyes and breathe fully, deeply. What is your experience of this calming practice?

SOUND

Similar to mantra, to practice Wazifa is to repeat a Name (quality) of G’d. Layers of meaning of the Name, which is encoded in the sound vibration, will be revealed to you through repetition and focus. In this his week’s practice with sound vibration, we will seek to receive divine guidance. Ya Hadi (yaa haa-DEE) is the source of all guidance.

We recite this Name of G’d on the inhale, allowing receptive silence on the exhale:

Inhale: Ya Hadi

Exhale: (silence)

With your eyes closed, turn your head upward toward the Heavens as you say Ya Hadi and turn your head downward toward your heart as you receive in silence. Rhythmically inhale and exhale, softly repeating ya Hadi out loud 33 times. Afterward, feel the effects of the sound vibration on your being. With practice, guidance will come to you.

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

This week, take time to walk in nature. Feel your footsteps on the ground. As the days lengthen, notice the quality of light and muted colors of winter. Feel the beating of your heart. Gather the winter light into your heart. What insight, purpose or intent arises?

For a direct experience of Sufi wisdom and insight, please listen to the podcast with Pir Shabda Kahn: Finding Happiness Through Gratitude

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!

Vayekhi – Genesis 47:28 – 50:26

Dec 27 to Jan 2, 2021 | 18 Tevet 5781

Photograph by Glenn Sackett

Seeds That Bear The Fruit of Being

To briefly recap this week’s parsha Vayechi – “And he lived”

As the end of Yaakov’s days were drawing near, he asks Yosef to swear to him that he will bring his bones out of Egypt and bury him with his fathers in the Cave of Makhpela – a name that means “to multiply”. Then he blesses Yosef’s two sons Menashe and Efrayim as if they were his own:

Yisrael said to Yosef:

I never thought to see your face again,

and here, G’d has let me see your seed as well!

– Gen 48:11

Yaakov crosses his outstretched arms and blesses the younger as the older. Yosef tries to correct his father who refuses and says:

I know, my son, I know –

he too will be a people, he too will be great,

yet his younger brother will be greater than he, and his seed will become a full-measure of nations!

– Gen 48:19

Then in turn, Yaakov blesses each of his sons as the 12 Tribes of Israel. Later, the Book of Genesis ends with the death of Yosef at age 110 in the land of Egypt:

I am dying,

but G’d will take account, yes, account of you,

he will bring you up from this land

to the land about which he swore

to Avraham, to Yitzhak, and to Yaakov.

– Gen 50:24

Like his father before him, Yosef to asks his sons to swear they will bring his bones out of Egypt when G-d’s covenant is fulfilled.

Encoded in the Names

Remember back when Adam named all things? Well, as Kabbalah teaches, the name articulates the essence. In the Book of Genesis, each of the 12 parashot are given a name that identifies the central theme and importance of the narrative. Reading these 12 names in succession reveals a code describing the human story:

• The purpose for the human being’s existence
• The human soul’s transformation from a spiritual into a physical being
• How we develop ourselves and our surroundings
• Fulfillment of our mission in this lifetime

According to the Chasidic masters, the human story encoded in the names of the 12 parashot of Genesis reads like this:

Bereshit – Purpose
Noah – Tranquility
Lekh Lekha – Journey
Vayera – Vision
Chayei Sarah – Invigorate
Toldot – Produce
Vayeitzei – Extend
Vayishlakh – Delegate
Vayeishev – Integrate
Mikeitz – End
Vayigash – Union
Vayechi – Life

These progressive themes seed the ground of our lives today. To recap how far we’ve come, and where we are headed, let’s review each parsha.

Bereshit – Purposeful Creation

Does the world exist simply because it does, arising from the laws of physics and random mutation over time? Or is there a greater purpose, pattern and plan for existence?

The first word in Torah is Bereshit. Literally meaning “at the beginning,” it indicates that G’d created the world to serve a purpose. The Torah is the guidebook that outlines how this purpose is to be fulfilled, with the people of Israel playing a principal role in its realization.

Noah – Tranquility

In the story of Noah we discover this purpose: to transform a chaotic existence into a harmonious world. The name Noah means rest, comfort and tranquility. Sheltering in the ark achieves this purpose on a micro scale with macro consequences.

If the world didn’t exist, there would be no need to find peace. Another meaning for the name Noah is satisfaction. It’s not enough to be peaceful. As human beings we need to feel a sense of purpose to keep from boredom and nihilism.

Why does the world exist? According to Midrash, from Tanya, ch. 36:

G’d desired a dwelling in the lowly realms.

That the material world becomes a place receptive and at home to Presence. And for Tikkun Olam: that this broken, strife-filled world be transformed into a tranquil place at peace with itself and all existence.

Sufi teachings echo this perception. From Hazrat Inayat Khan:

The purpose of life, in short, is that the only Being makes His oneness intelligible to Himself. … Since God is one, He always realizes His oneness through all things; through man He realizes His oneness in its fullness.

– Vol. 1, The Purpose of Life, 13. Being Truth

Thus we see existence is purposeful: the satisfaction of the divine desire for peaceful indwelling on earth. As above, so below. To fulfill this purpose, the human soul awakens in the physical world. And then what?

Lekh Lekha – Journey

This parsha calls each of us to ask ourself, “What is my purpose, and how can I move toward fulfillment in this moment?” Lekh Lekha literally means to go to yourself – to your essence. To journey from a multiplicity of outer forms to an awakened inner experience. G’d is calling us to abandon our ordinary way of thinking and to ascend to a higher spiritual plane.

We depart from rest and comfort to journey into an unknown, alien place. For this is “the land that I will show you” – the arena in which your mission in life will be fulfilled.

Vayera – Vision

The soul does not go alone. It is fortified with eyes and ears able to sense Divine Presence. Vayera begins with the verse:

And He revealed Himself to Avraham.

This vision will be Avraham’s guiding light in his efforts to make this world a dwelling place for G’d.

And today, in our lives, what is being asked of us? Then as now, to hear and see signs of G-d’s grace. 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 are invited to tune our eyes, ears and heart to receive inner guidance.

Chayei Sara – Invigorate

With this vision as our foundation, we bring soul qualities into life. Like Sara, by invigorating ourselves with qualities of love, compassion, patience and joy, we are able to reshape our day-to-day experience. In this way, serving as Tzadik or in Teshuva can be the focus of our life, the object of our will, and the yearning of our heart.

We know why we’re here, and that we have been supplied with the vision and spiritual resources to carry it out. Now it is time to do our work.

Toldot – Produce

The word toldot means progeny and products. Throughout the parsha Toldot, we witness two levels of reality: human and divine. We are confronted with the play between fate and free will, destiny and choice — the same paradox each of us faces in our own lives.

We can follow divine guidance and fulfill our purpose as did Yaakov, the father of the 12 Tribes of Israel. Or we can reject our mission and lose our birthright, as did Esav. The choice is ours. Our mitzvot are the bricks from which the earthly dwelling for G’d is built, the acts which transform the physical into the spiritual.

Vayetzei – Extend

The first word of this parsha and its name, Vayetzei, means “And he left.” Once we are established in our mitzvot, we must step outside of our comfort zone and extend ourselves beyond our closest kin and immediate environment. It was by tolling for Lavan that Yaakov attained the peak of his personal growth, and then extended beyond himself to found the nation of Israel.

Vayishlakh – Delegate

And what do we do when we have extended ourselves to our fullest capacity, and yet, the irreconcilables remain? This parsha tells of Yaakov sending scouts to Esav. The matter is finally resolved when Yaakov wrestles in the night with Esav’s soul and prevails. 

When we arrive at such an impasse, we can evolve even further by teaching and influencing others, who will in turn impact people and places that we ourselves could never reach.

Vayeshev – Integrate

In order to fulfill one’s mission in life, after producing, extending and delegating, the next step is to integrate these gains into the fabric of reality. Depending on our nature, we can uplift the world as the Tzadik, or mend its fabric in Teshuva. 

Miketz – End

Once we have integrated our contributions into the threads of reality, we have reached the fulfillment of our mission. The divine has an dwelling place in our lives; we have contributed to the harmony and wellness of the world.

This completion has three stages: as Genesis continues, deeper dimensions of divine harmony unfold. The first stage is one of receptivity and understanding – establishing the vessel for G’d. This is exemplified when Josef interprets the Pharaoh’s dream and is placed in command. The dream has not yet been fully enacted.

Vayigash – Union

Now the two brothers stand together: Yehuda-the-Repairer approaches Yosef-the-Tzadik. The two become one with the divine reality, uniting heaven and earth. A perfect expression of G‑d’s all-embracing truth.

Vayechi – Life

And now we arrive at this week’s parsha describing the deaths of Yaakov and then Yosef. Similar to Chayei Sara, the parsha’s name means “And he lived.” The Chasidic masters explain that Vayechi signals that Yaakov’s life is an expression of harmony with the divine that is immutable.

From Bereshit to Vayechi, the parsha names chronicle the most basic truths of our existence: that life is purposeful, its purpose being to satisfy the divine desire for a dwelling place on earth; that the soul descends to earth with a vision of G’d that invigorates its character. Productive acts of goodness sanctify our lives. We must extend ourselves outward and reconcile the irreconcilables, and by so doing transform reality. These efforts will bring about a world united with G’d, and that pure and eternal life is the ultimate expression of the divine in man.

Living Your Purpose

This week we will focus on practices designed to attune us to our purpose. What we can do right now to move toward fulfillment in life? We will seek to build our capacity to create harmony in daily life — to continue our awakening to the internal worlds, and ultimately, to bring together the outer and inner realms in the marriage of heaven and earth.

Through breath, light and sound we can be in tune with the Infinite and the rhythms of this life. This beautiful, chaotic, ever changing, all-pervading Life.

Photograph by Glenn Sackett

WEEKLY PRACTICES: Living Your Purpose

With the Soul Manifestation Process, we tap into our inner sense of purpose and explore how we can bring this through in our lives. To awaken to the present in the fullness of our being. This crisp, embodied awareness becomes the portal to listen for divine guidance.  We step through this door using 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

This week we will build on our practice from last week, using breath to express your individual mission in life. Our channels are these 5 qualities of being: Awareness, Personality, Will, Connection, Purpose.

Awareness: Focus on the simplicity of your breath. Simple awareness and gratitude of being alive. Visualize standing tall, confident in your presence on this earth. Your feet are on the ground; your crown opens to the sky. 

Earth Purification Breath: Breathe in and out through the nose, 5 times. Be aware of the solidness of your body, your bones, your hands on your lap, your feet on the ground. Your body connects Heaven and earth. The color is yellow.

Personality: Scan the factors that make you, you. Your personality, likes and dislikes, beliefs and values. Visualize holding a bowl in front of your heart, empty and ready to contain the two rivers of receiving and bestowing. This is the quality of water.

Water Purification Breath: Breathe in through the nose, out through the mouth, 5 times. Be aware of the liquidity of your body, your blood, the water in your tissues and organs. Feel water pouring over your body from head to toes, as if standing under a water fall or in the rain. Let the water dissolve any habits, traits and emotions that no longer serve you. Open to the flow of divine Love. The color is green.

Will: Pour energy into the aspect of you that decides and takes action. Visualize the bowl you are holding in front of your heart filling with light. Light fills the vessel. This is the quality of Fire.

Fire Purification Breath: Breathe in through the mouth, out through the nose, 5 times. Be aware of the heat of your body, your warmth, your digestion. Feel the sun on your skin (either imagined or in the moment). Feel the waves of energy from the pulsing of your heart. Feel your longing for union. Sip heat through the mouth, exhale light through the shoulder blades. Let fire burn away all form that casts shadows in the Light. The color is red.

Connection: Our most important connection, the foundation for our life, is Oneness. Can you allow Divine Grace to bless you? This is the quality of air – all pervading and essential to life.

Air Purification Breath: Breathe in and out through the mouth, 5 times. Be aware of the spaciousness of your body, your breath filling your lungs, the air circulating in your body. Exhale and scatter your molecules as far as you can imagine. Inhale and recollect yourself in a perfect refection. The color is blue.

Purpose: Breathing gently and rhythmically through the nose, rest in the refinement of your breath. Feel the beating of your heart, allowing it to be filled with unifying Love. What clarity of vision arises?

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 gently through the nose. Balance your inhale with your exhale. Keep your body still. Breathe gently in and out through the nose. In this refined state, focus on the right side of your chest. Visualize white light filling the right side of your chest. Breathe in white light, exhale white light for 5 breaths.

Now focus on your physical heart. Visualize red light filling the left side of your chest. Breathe in red light, exhale red light for 5 breaths.

Now focus on the center of your chest. Visualize green light filling the center of your chest. Breathe in green light, exhale green light for 5 breaths.

When you are ready, open your eyes and breathe fully, deeply. What is your experience of this balancing practice?

 SOUND

Similar to mantra, to practice Wazifa is to repeat a Name (quality) of G’d. Layers of 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 again balance and harmonize the vertical and horizontal directions.

The horizontal direction engages us in a polarity that lends us a sense beyond time. Ya Awwal (yaa OW-wal) can be translated “the first,” and ya Akhir (yaa AA-ḳḥir) can be rendered “the last.” This is a mystical paradox. If G’d is infinite, how could G’d be first or last? For an explanation, visit the parsha Vayeshev and scroll to the practice with SOUND.

In the vertical direction, we develop our capacity to touch the hidden and bring it into manifestation. Ya Batin (yaa BAA-ṭin) is the most hidden treasure, the secret of secrets. Ya Zahir (yaa ḌḤAA-hir) means completely present in space, fully materialized, fully visible.

Recite these Names of G’d on the inhale and exhale, turning your head from left to right, then up and down:

Inhale: Ya Awwal (left)

Exhale: Ya Akhir (right)

Inhale: Ya Batin (up)

Exhale: Ya Zahir (down)

Rhythmically inhale and exhale, softly repeating each Name out loud 33 times. Afterward, feel the unifying 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

With the shortest days of the year, be especially aware of the play of light and shadow in nature. Continuing the practice from last week, go outside and locate two trees with their backs to the sun. Standing between the two trees, step between the shadows of their trunks. Know that as you step forward, you are moving through a threshold. While standing in the light, ask yourself, how does the Divine Light work through you here-and-now?

For a direct experience of Sufi wisdom and insight, please listen to the podcast with Pir Shabda Kahn: Finding Happiness Through Gratitude

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!