In this extract two Qabalistic Forms are described: Walking
Participation, and Entering Stillness, and some insights
are offered into the way that the Tree of Life works in
meditation, vision, and spiritual enlightenment.
The Body of the Tree
In the last thousand years
or so, there have been many changes in the way in which
the Tree of Life is conceived
and represented,
especially in literature and in the teaching methods
from the 19th century to the present day. One of our
aims, with
these simple but powerful exercises, is to return to
primal Qabalah; the other is to work with the Miracle
Tree in a
way that is utterly contemporary, and so to lay a foundation
for future work. In this book we explore Qabalistic forms
that appropriate for the 21st century, bridging between
past and future. Such aims are not incompatible, for
the Tree of Life is a state of being, and our participation
in that state is based on what we are, rather than what
we think, read, or discuss. I say participation, for
taking
part, being consciously aware, is everything in Qabalah.
Yet, contrary to popular dogma about meditation and spiritual
arts, it is not solely about “higher” consciousness.
Through our practices with the Tree, we do indeed come
into a deeper and altered awareness, but not by bootstrapping
our consciousness, elevating ourselves astrally, or seeking
to escape to higher planes and flee from the mundane.
The
mundane is the most sacred, in all Qabalistic traditions,
for it is the manifest shape and presence of the divine
Being that is the source of all things. How can we flee
this presence? The answer is that we cannot, for to do
so would be to deny our very being. Yet we try to flee
it in
so many ways, day by day: in this flight we reject and
deny ourselves.
One of the most valuable Qabalistic axioms is that the
greatest mystery of spiritual truth is present already,
in the manifest
world. This concept was central to the idea of the Philosophers’ Stone,
the pivotal quest of the medieval alchemists and Qabalists,
which was described as common and omnipresent, yet hidden
from all but the most dedicated seekers after wisdom.
As we are such seekers, here and now, the Stone will
become
apparent to us.
Qabalah is physical
The Tree of Life works through the human body: all Qabalah
is physical. Anyone who denies this has not practiced Qabalah,
as the subtle forces always flow through our entire organism.
We could say that although we use the words physical and
metaphysical in discussion, both aspects of Being are at
one through the body, and are not divided. Only the isolated
and disconnected mind makes such divisions, such dualisms,
for the body knows them not.
This simple truth is extremely helpful for us, for, if we
can grasp it and work with it, it enables us to side-step
much of the accumulated junk of magic and metaphysics, and
so begin to remember our true nature, as participants in
the planet, as beings who embody the Tree of Life. That
is how miracles of transformation begin, though they are,
in truth, our normal state of being. Remember that the way
we live is only habitual, and not necessarily our normal
or our true potential state. TOP
The most powerful way to work with the Miracle Tree
Contrary to much that we have all learned, tried, practiced,
in our spiritual lives, the most powerful way to work spiritually
is while walking around with eyes open. When we do this,
we are consciously participating in the holism of our planet,
moon, and solar system. We do not need to withdraw into
a trance or a vision, though visionary work is often used
in Qabalah, and can be helpful.
Our contemporary spiritual revival, however, places
an unhealthy overemphasis on the vision, the guided
meditation, and the
withdrawn consciousness. Though we are perhaps unwilling
to admit it, this emphasis on inner vision in the
last 30 years is closely connected to our visual
technology, television,
the computer screen, film, video and so forth. The
visual dominates our culture, but it is the
artificial visual in
so many examples, in the very rhythm of daily life.
So the visual has come to dominate much of our
spiritual revival
(in Western modernist cultures), just as it dominates
advertising, entertainment, and media of communication.
In practical work, a simple exercise goes a long
way to prove this truth: you can participate fully
in the Tree
of Life while walking in everyday surroundings
with eyes open. This exercise has been done
by many of
my students
in recent years, with excellent, and often surprising,
results.
Indeed, this walking exercise or form is one of
the most powerful, most advanced forms of Qabalistic
practice,
with
a long history of practice rooted in ancient sources.
We can never outgrow it, now matter how much our
awareness changes through magical or spiritual
arts.
So rather than discuss the concept further, here
is the exercise for you to try. If you do this
once or
twice
a day, while walking somewhere, it will have a
deep transformative effect at all levels of your
being.
You do not need to
focus
on this for long periods of time: “more” is
not necessarily better when you work with the Tree
of Life. A few minutes each day is enough, and
those minutes
will
deepen, strengthen, and clarify, with regular practice.
Walking Participation
TOP 1.While
walking outdoors (anywhere) first prepare yourself, by being
calm and still as you walk. This should not be
a strenuous effort, but a simple acknowledgement
that you are still, and are ready to change
your awareness.
This
moving into stillness is greatly enhanced by
the form called Entering Stillness, which is described
at the
close of this
chapter
. 2.Walking
normally, look towards the horizon. If you do not have a
horizon, as is often so
in the
city,
look to
the distance. Many people walk looking downwards,
and this can be a difficult habit to dissolve
at first. The
traditional
teaching is “let your eyes rest upon the
horizon”.
We do this so seldom, that when we work with
it, it has a powerful effect upon our awareness
and
our vitality.
3.As
you walk, sense your body through your feet,
loins, heart, and head. This is a simple sensory
practice, beginning
with the feet, and moving upwards. It is a matter
of feeling rather than concentrating. Too much
effort will disperse
this subtle feeling, which is really about recovering
an awareness that we have habitually rejected,
rather than
building a new form of awareness through willpower
or repetition.
4. As
you sense the body, make the following connections:
My Feet are in the Earth, my Loins are in the
Moon, my Heart is in the Sun, my Head is in
the Stars. This is the point
at which we focus on the physical and not the
metaphysical. As you participate, think very
simply and directly
that the physical zones of the body (feet, genitals
and hips,
heart and chest, shoulders and head) are literally
and physically connected to the physical earth,
moon, sun and stars. Not
symbolically, not through colors or attributes,
but literally and physically. This connection
is greatly
enhanced by being
aware of the general location of earth, moon,
sun, and stars. Does this seem simplistic? Then
consider,
that while the
earth is always beneath us, and around us to
the Four Directions, the moon, sun, and stars
move
ceaselessly.
There is an entire
cycle of meditation and understanding that springs
from this concept of movement and relationship,
but initially
it is the Walking Participation, and nothing
else.
5.Continue
with the connection and participation, linking
earth, moon, sun, stars through your
body. If you drift
into the symbolic and metaphysical, simply reaffirm
the physical connections to physical earth,
moon, sun, and
stars. A litany, which you recite silently,
can help: “My
feet are in the Earth, my loins (genitals) are
in the Moon, my heart is in the Sun, and my
head is in the Stars”.
6.
After some minutes of this, return to being
calm and still as you walk, letting your eyes
rest upon
the horizon.
If you wish, you can keep a daily journal of what
you experience with this form of physical Qabalah.
Eventually you will
not need the journal, but it is helpful initially
to formulate the experiences that you will have.
You will recognize connections between this form
and others, such as the Rising Light, but
do not strive
to combine them
together in practice. Each form should be
practiced simply, directly, uniquely. Only when
you have
done that, experienced
the transformations that it brings, can you
begin with combinations of forms. Some, such
as Entering
Stillness, which is a major
form (with variants in all spiritual traditions
worldwide), can be used before and after
any other form, as an
opening or closing phase. We will return
to this idea of combining
forms again. Before then, go for a few walks.
Entering
Stillness
This is the classic form, found in various
presentations in every spiritual tradition
worldwide. If you
do nothing else in your life, do this.
You will never “outgrow” this
form, never advance beyond its potential.
This is the first and last form, the
shift of consciousness
within
us that
mirrors the universal creation, whereby
Being comes out of Unbeing, creation
flows out of
the Void.
With repeated
practice it deepens: use this form
before any other, in addition to working
with it in its
own right.
When we try to discuss Entering Stillness,
the words are inadequate. But when
we participate, employ the
form, and
enter into stillness, we all recognize
that state.
It is a form of going home, to the
source of our beginning. By
stilling time, space, and movement,
we come into our full potential.
Sit with eyes closed, free of interruption.
With practice you will be able to enter
stillness with
eyes open,
even while moving.
1. TIME: withdraw your involvement
in time…find
yourself time-free, then time-less SPACE:
draw in your awareness from all directions, releasing
your involvement
with space. Rest
on a simple point of being,
within you MOVEMENT: Cease all outer and inner movement,
but for breathing in and out.
2. Reach within yourself to the
Unbeing out of which your Being comes. The
Stillness that precedes movement,
the Silence
between each Breath. This is the
Void that
is within all things, the source
of all Time, Space, and
Movement.
3. Let yourself Un-Be.
4. Affirm the Four Directions,
Above, Below, and Within. (Begin any meditation or
ceremony now,
or return to
your outer awareness).
During the rest of this book, assume that
all forms begin with Stillness, and
practice accordingly.
In some forms,
described in our later chapters, you
will find Stillness indicated at key moments
in your practice.
Once you
have discovered how to enter Stillness,
through repeated practice,
you will find that this form is invaluable,
not only as itself, but as a component
of your spiritual
work
overall.
The three forms given in this chapter
comprise an entire Qabalah of themselves,
and you
could, if you
so wished,
make them your main practices for some
time, before you begin to explore the
later forms.
The more
practiced you
are at Stillness, then at theRising
Light and Walking Participation forms, the more
effective
the other
Qabalistic forms and
related arts and skills will be for
you. TOP
In our next chapter, we will
begin our exploration of the emanations of the Tree of Life.