Faith, Reason & the Tree of Life

Faith, Knowledge and the Tree of Life

There is little access to the "Tree of Life" without first developing refined analytical abilities through logic and reason. These refined analytical abilities aid the individual in creating "vessels" (/networks) for abstract "understanding" to retain the higher (insight of) "light".

There are three major stages one must enter before obtaining consistent access to the intimate and corrective light of the "Tree of Life".

"Faith Below Reason"

The elementary level of spiritual development is "Faith Below Reason". At this stage one perceives the world within the framework of a stable "tradition". One does not filter these traditions to discover or isolate their essence (what is eternal and selfless from what has been wrapped in perceptions of cultural and individualistic ego and their material /fractured consciousness). Instead the individual follows these "traditions" with a blind faith and yearns to draw closer through blind sacrifice and personal devotion.

When found to be sincere and worthy, the Divine will through "nature" send blows (perceived existential chaos/ discord) to the individual to prompt the awakening of a re-calibrated perception that filters one's intention and "understanding" through a new matrix of "truth" and "reason".

This is akin to a young child who is taught language and concepts. If you teach a young child what "water" is, or what "light" is; the child readily accepts the given tradition of what water and light is, and how they operate. Young children will not demand explanations about how their mind interprets light waves, or what prevents water from turning into vaporous gas etc. Instead the young child readily accepts the given tradition and attempts to sincerely adopt it. In this way, a child accumulates an incredible network of concepts and language to reference the reality of their experiences, but all of these are unquestionably adopted through the cultural "tradition", without personally filtering these explanations through reason (this stage of development is called "Faith Below Reason").

"Faith & Reason"

Once empowered with the tool of reason, the individual is able to begin reintegrating all previous knowledge and perceptions through the filtering matrix of "reason" and "understanding". This process "renews" the knowledge as it is being reacquired through "understanding". This lays the foundation for a reliable infrastructure to build successive deductions for future expanded attainment. In this way the individual begins to taste a level of the (eternal) truth by extracting from previous "traditions", separating their "truth" (/life energy) from their surrounding (/shell of) ego, superstition and superficial perceptions (This stage is called "Faith and Reason").

"Faith Above Reason"

Once the individual has refined and activated his "reason" filter, he is then able to begin comprehending, appreciating and "feeling" higher insight (/light) of the "Tree of Life".

Due to the very fact that the individual has already completely reintegrated his knowledge base, filtering it through a matrix of logic and reason ("knowledge" has thus become "understanding"), the individual is able to further refine these tools of logic and reason to where he is confidently able to apply them within abstract "thought" terrains. Then, the individual is prepared to modify his "intention" (and align his perception) to ascend to the higher knowledge rubric of the "Tree of Life".

The beauty of "Tree of Life" wisdom, is not that it is without reason. In fact, it is a profoundly logical system, with symmetrically elegant teachings. However, because this portal of highly abstract and concentrated insight would never have been discovered through mere reason alone, this stage is called "Faith Above Reason".

"Tree of Life" insight has been imparted to mankind through rare souls that have attained an abundantly loving, yearning and transcendent level of spirit. These unique individuals are able to "merge" their intellects their higher self (yechidah) that are able to impart higher teachings to our material life through the spiritual portal of consciousness (/perception) within the individual.

Hence, it is only after the individual has truly mastered and reintegrated his "thought" through reason, and adopted the disciplines of inverting the ego to altruism, and maintaining a singularly aligned transcendent perception that he will transform his spirit into a truly benevolent and attuned "soul", able to access and attain "higher knowledge" (This stage is called "Faith Above Reason").

Mon, 26 May 2008 / 21st of Iyyar, 5768 - Parshat Bamidbar (Diaspora) /36th day of the Omer

Colorful Teardrops II.; The Fruit Of The Tree Of Knowledge

"Colorful Teardrops" is a term coined to refer to the sparks of light (/realization) that deliver an individual to an enlightened perception. These are  the hard lessons learned through the shattering of false paradigms, the breaking of limited constructs through driven by the  pangs of intense existential suffering.
Colorful Teardrops is a befitting name because tears produced by existential suffering are sacred tears. These tears cleanse a heart into pure intention and shed deliverance. In there flow, a soul bathes in the clarity of increased revelation. The sanctity of this clarity allows one to witness  grace within all things.


Each limited paradigm of reality embraced by an individual is reminiscent of a color or energetic tint. These are the limited sefiot of perception. Being partial to a particulate energetic stream has the effecting of distorting perception and deconstructing the portal to the true reality; the Tree of Life. 

The mystics called the confirmation bias that one operates under while experiencing their reality "constricted consciousness". When you embrace the limited paradigm of a specific energetic expression you hinder a realization of the greater synergy at work through the spirit of the greater totality, the creative gestalt. Examples of such distortions could progress as follows:

•  Someone who is freedom oriented will without a balanced perception pursue freedom at the expense of others. 

•  Someone who is fuelled on by a narrative of victimhood will draw on creative inspiration from endurance that is co-dependant on narratives of conflict and drama.

• Someone partial to viewing reality through creative expressions of restraint and discipline will be unable to properly honour acts and expressions of true kindness.

• Someone who is very results oriented will be unable to properly value potential and the process of creative expression.

These are just a sampling for  how such energetic paradigms distort awareness.

The light of the Creator is a singular united expression. It is a fusion of all the colors  like pure white light. It is a synthesis of all the abstract creative expressions that collaborate upon the canvas of creation. Like white light that is cut into spectrum of color through a divided prism, these all initially projected out from singularity upon abstract teirs to render a canvas for increasingly diverse expression, and thereby, greater authenticity for evolving consciousness. 

Upon this creative canvas, the Creator's will is divided into creative  sectors that jostle for overall prominence. On a micro level this process confounds aligned awareness. A practical example would be if someone tries to view the world through red coloured glasses. Their world become distorted as it would mute or adulterate the vitality of the other colours in the arena of perception. Blue would be seen as purple, yellow as orange, green as brown, pink as red etc. Each limited energetic paradigm that you embrace has the effect of distorting the true reality of the roles of other energetic expressions at play. This limits your ability to grow to realizations that are of an eternal perspective; the Tree of Life. 

The mystics explain that as you go through the discipline of aligning your awareness, you trigger higher states of consciousness that enable you to comment with the united flow of divinity extending from the Creator.

As a harmonized vision is restored, the spiritual adherent attains an uncompromising lens of consciousness and thereby grows increasingly aware of higher synergies and the underlying unity behind all creation. This higher level of heightened awareness is called by the Jewish mystics as "bonding with the Higher Light" or the acquiring of a Greater Soul of awareness to  readily access true reality on an energetic level of foundational architecture. The mystics called this the path of Tree of Life consciousness or the emergence to True Reality.

Higher Light is seen my the mystics as an benevolent expression of the  sum total of all there is. This construct for perceiving the the Creator and creation is a discipline of gradually embracing the "lost sparks of divinity" operating through all diversity. complete and harmonized spectrum of colors.


The lessons gathered through existential suffering, are akin to the light of the balanced totality beckoning the individual's perception forward by breaking through the obfuscation of misaligned constructs. As the spiritual adherent advances their perception is gradually balanced and freed to recognize the Creator on increasingly more intimate levels.

Each time you advance your perception beyond the dominion of distortions from a particular (/energy frequency/ sephira colour) paradigm, your ego  will surface to over-compensate for the new awareness and cause a new mis-calibration. This works as an impediment to  harmonizing perception in balance with the full unity of the Creator. You receive just a glimpse of the underlying unity and the synergies of a heightened state. But it turns into a fleeting instant. As a byproduct of the new influx of realization, you become fixated with the newly introduced color (energy) perception. This results in overcompensating in ways that again restrict overall perception to the unified processes behind creation. 

This compromising again triggers another round of lessons from the greater spirit of benevolent unity underlying all of creation. It seeks to humble awareness so that it may again reunite with spiritual adherent on a level of intimate awareness.

And so existential suffering again arises to rent the ego and rescue awareness from its' previously distorted paradigm. And so these "colourful teardrops" are shed to realign your awareness to  a heightened  perception of the underlying unity behind all things. As you expand to operate from a clear lens of perception (/"espeklaryah m'erah") you release the vast recesses of your soul's intimacy to extend through greater divinity.

The actual healing and correction of a soul consciousness is delivered through the embracing of existential suffering through the underlying intimate yearnings through which it was sent. This is called m'kabel yesurim b'ahavah; the obtaining a truer love through the graduation from existential suffering. As the individual graduates to greater levels of love, they begin to process all of creation with a grace on unconditional terms. This unconditionality extended to self and the rest of creation will equalize the ego's reactivity and drive for personal conquest. This inverts the momentum of ego into a force for expanding to the unbounded intimacy extending through all of creative existence; the heartbeat of the Tree of Life.

Each distortion corrected through lessons of existential suffering is akin to sacred tears produced by breaking free from the dominion of repressed perception. Thus, the spiritual adherent's perception expands to encompass the harmony of the unified totality of the Creator. This is the awareness of the full spectrum of primordial benevolent expression behind all of  creation that the mystics called "Ohr Ha'Ganuz", the hidden light of pre-dating creation.

These "Colorful Teardrops" redeem the dualistic existential lessons of the spirit submerged in Tree of Knowledge. The adherent graduates to simplified and intense benevolent awareness of creation as being driven by the beckoning of the Creator's intimacy.

ⓒbb

Mon, 19 May 2008 / 14th of Iyyar, 5768/ Parshat Bechukotai (Diaspora)/ 29th day of the Omer