Klippot of Negative Consciousness
Wednesday, January 20, 2016
224. There are five groups in the mixed multitude.
These are the Nefilim (fallen), the Giborim (mighty), the Anakim (giants), the
Refaim (shades) and the Amalekites. Because of them the small Hey fell from its
place, namely from Binah. Balaam and Balak come from the side of Amalek,
because if you remove the letters Am from Balaam and the letters Lak from
Balak, you are left with Babylon. "Therefore is the name of it called
Babylon; because Hashem did there confound the language of all the earth."
(Genesis 11:9) - Zohar
In Kabbalah we are familiar with the basic idea that not all who are incarnate in human form are necessarily human, likewise, that incarnating as a human being we must cultivate our humanity in order to become an authentic human being. The Zohar describes five types of negative people whose fundamental purpose is to distort, pervert, hinder and obstruct the Light-transmission to humanity.
According to the Zohar these are directly connected to Babylon, which is the feminine aspect of the Klippot.
The Zohar goes on to speak of these negative individuals inserting themselves into spiritual traditions, as well as acting from outside the streams of spiritual wisdom, in order to prevent the reception of the Spirit of Truth. Fundamentalism is a good example of this, just as much as are many teachings in the new age movement and pop-occult; hence things that lead people astray from authentic wisdom traditions or that distort spiritual wisdom.
In Kabbalah we are familiar with the basic idea that not all who are incarnate in human form are necessarily human, likewise, that incarnating as a human being we must cultivate our humanity in order to become an authentic human being. The Zohar describes five types of negative people whose fundamental purpose is to distort, pervert, hinder and obstruct the Light-transmission to humanity.
According to the Zohar these are directly connected to Babylon, which is the feminine aspect of the Klippot.
The Zohar goes on to speak of these negative individuals inserting themselves into spiritual traditions, as well as acting from outside the streams of spiritual wisdom, in order to prevent the reception of the Spirit of Truth. Fundamentalism is a good example of this, just as much as are many teachings in the new age movement and pop-occult; hence things that lead people astray from authentic wisdom traditions or that distort spiritual wisdom.
The Zohar requires us to contemplate and meditate upon the
five dominions of klippot; five indicates the source of the klippot among the
Sefirot – Gevurah-Judgment, but also alludes to these dominions of klippot as
an arising of the fundamental elements of consciousness in an impure condition,
as well as the corresponding sense consciousness's arising in impure condition:
hence the play of karmic vision or the vision of ignorance.
Amalekites (Violent Ones) = Impure Spirit-Space
Refaim (Shades) = Impure Air
Giborim (Mighty) = Impure Fire
Nefilim (Fallen) = Impure Water
Anakim (Giants) = Impure Earth.
Impure Spirit-Space: This is the most subtle element of consciousness in which karmic impressions are retained, as well as the potential of all of the elemental forces of consciousness. The impure space element arises on account of cosmic ignorance and the self-grasping it produces; hence, *dualism* subtle and gross. Innately, this is doubt of enlightenment or God, the delusion of separation from the source of our being. So long as an impurity remains in the space element all elements of consciousness will arise in an impure condition, whether gross or subtle impurity.
Impure Air: Is the most subtle of the four elements arising in spirit-space, for it is completely invisible and imperceptible, save for its effects when in motion. It is the source of strange thoughts and beliefs, lack of penetrating insight and discernment, confusion, anxiety and excitement; likewise it is the source of all vain and idle chatter – the tendency to speak about vain and worthless subjects. It also lies behind negative or evil speech, such as flattery, falsehood, slander, gossip, cursing and mockery.
Impure Fire: This is, perhaps, the most dynamic of the elements, having the largest influence in the sphere of the elements. It is the source of arrogance of one person assuming that they are “above” others; likewise it is the source of anger and hate, the greatest sources of evil, and it is the source ill-will seeking to hold dominion over others – it is also the cause of irritability and depression (as anger turned inward).
Impure Water: This is the most mutable element and from it comes desire for pleasure and avoidance of pain – all of the cravings for the various manifestations of greed and lust arise from it. It also causes envy and jealousy, which leads to dishonesty and theft.
Impure Earth: This is the heaviest and densest of the elements and is the cause of apathy, laziness and dullness (another form of depression). It is the source of the feeling of never having enough and of a general lack of intelligence, feeling and force of will, as well as the cause of a primary focus on the most bestial and material aspects of life.
If the dominions of the klippot are said to come from the side of Amalek and Amalek corresponds with Safek (doubt, confusion), then Amalek is the state of a weakened mind when doubts lay siege to the mind, and conflicting thoughts and emotions arise, which in turn give rise to negative speech and actions – negative karma that binds the mind or soul-stream to the gilgulim. Quite naturally, such negativity cuts us off from the Light Realm, and the spirit of the “Other Side” enters.
All of this, of course, begins in the mind, in our thoughts and imagination, as reflected in the traditional correspondence of the verse, “Man’s thoughts are raK rA koL hayoM (only evil all day),” with Amalek. In Hebrew, the final letters of these words from Genesis 6:5 spell “Amalek,” indicating a state of mind bound up in negative thoughts and emotions.
In our unenlightened society and culture there is little understanding of the real power of thought and imagination, or of the speech and actions that flow from it – in fact, there is something of a perverse delight in negative thought and imagination, as the real power of the mind or soul is not comprehended. This is an expression of the power of Amalek – a downward and backward pull against the evolution to the Highest of Life; hence, the collective power of the bestial nature that has been called "Babylon," which is the personification of the misdirected desire-energy of collective humankind.
Thus, we have reason to cultivate the Presence of Awareness and to guard our mind and heart against negativity for the reality of our experience is created by our thoughts and emotions, our imagination, and through our thoughts and emotions we not only link with corresponding spiritual forces and embody their influences, but we also create spiritual forces in the subtle dimensions.
Through contemplation of the Divine and the mysteries of creation, and through worship of the Divine in prayer and meditation, our thoughts and emotions can reach into lofty heights and we can experience higher states of consciousness; riding thoughts and emotions into the peak of mental consciousness, we can even transcend the mental consciousness to enter into Supernal or Messianic Consciousness and experience unification with the Divine. Conversely, becoming bound up in negativity we are confined to lower gradations of consciousness, and we join ourselves to admixed and dark forces, the Dominion of the Klippot – this is the play of the Tree of Knowledge of Good and Evil, the play of dualism in consciousness.
Thus we should never allow ourselves to believe that our thoughts, emotions and imaginations do not matter; for positive thought, emotion and imagination bring blessings into the world and are extremely beneficial to our soul and the world, while negative thought, emotion and imagination is very harmful to ourselves and our world.
This reveals in the most practical terms what is indicated by Nachash and Mashiach sharing the same gematria (358) – it is the power of the mind to generate good or evil, so that the force that binds is the force that liberates, the force of mind (or consciousness).
In this we understand our need for spiritual living and spiritual practice each and every day, for through it we strengthen our faith, we strengthen our mind, and we direct our mind towards the height, towards what is positive, good, luminous and true – we actively cleave to the Divine, shedding the Klippot (husks of negativity or darkness).
This may well be the most useful and productive line of contemplation we can take up on the subject of the five dominions of the klippot, for understanding the cause of various forms of negativity that arise in our experience we may understand the appropriate remedy, facilitating the tikkun, we will know the need for the continuum of the spiritual life and practice that we keep each day and be empowered to take it up.
Amalekites (Violent Ones) = Impure Spirit-Space
Refaim (Shades) = Impure Air
Giborim (Mighty) = Impure Fire
Nefilim (Fallen) = Impure Water
Anakim (Giants) = Impure Earth.
Impure Spirit-Space: This is the most subtle element of consciousness in which karmic impressions are retained, as well as the potential of all of the elemental forces of consciousness. The impure space element arises on account of cosmic ignorance and the self-grasping it produces; hence, *dualism* subtle and gross. Innately, this is doubt of enlightenment or God, the delusion of separation from the source of our being. So long as an impurity remains in the space element all elements of consciousness will arise in an impure condition, whether gross or subtle impurity.
Impure Air: Is the most subtle of the four elements arising in spirit-space, for it is completely invisible and imperceptible, save for its effects when in motion. It is the source of strange thoughts and beliefs, lack of penetrating insight and discernment, confusion, anxiety and excitement; likewise it is the source of all vain and idle chatter – the tendency to speak about vain and worthless subjects. It also lies behind negative or evil speech, such as flattery, falsehood, slander, gossip, cursing and mockery.
Impure Fire: This is, perhaps, the most dynamic of the elements, having the largest influence in the sphere of the elements. It is the source of arrogance of one person assuming that they are “above” others; likewise it is the source of anger and hate, the greatest sources of evil, and it is the source ill-will seeking to hold dominion over others – it is also the cause of irritability and depression (as anger turned inward).
Impure Water: This is the most mutable element and from it comes desire for pleasure and avoidance of pain – all of the cravings for the various manifestations of greed and lust arise from it. It also causes envy and jealousy, which leads to dishonesty and theft.
Impure Earth: This is the heaviest and densest of the elements and is the cause of apathy, laziness and dullness (another form of depression). It is the source of the feeling of never having enough and of a general lack of intelligence, feeling and force of will, as well as the cause of a primary focus on the most bestial and material aspects of life.
If the dominions of the klippot are said to come from the side of Amalek and Amalek corresponds with Safek (doubt, confusion), then Amalek is the state of a weakened mind when doubts lay siege to the mind, and conflicting thoughts and emotions arise, which in turn give rise to negative speech and actions – negative karma that binds the mind or soul-stream to the gilgulim. Quite naturally, such negativity cuts us off from the Light Realm, and the spirit of the “Other Side” enters.
All of this, of course, begins in the mind, in our thoughts and imagination, as reflected in the traditional correspondence of the verse, “Man’s thoughts are raK rA koL hayoM (only evil all day),” with Amalek. In Hebrew, the final letters of these words from Genesis 6:5 spell “Amalek,” indicating a state of mind bound up in negative thoughts and emotions.
In our unenlightened society and culture there is little understanding of the real power of thought and imagination, or of the speech and actions that flow from it – in fact, there is something of a perverse delight in negative thought and imagination, as the real power of the mind or soul is not comprehended. This is an expression of the power of Amalek – a downward and backward pull against the evolution to the Highest of Life; hence, the collective power of the bestial nature that has been called "Babylon," which is the personification of the misdirected desire-energy of collective humankind.
Thus, we have reason to cultivate the Presence of Awareness and to guard our mind and heart against negativity for the reality of our experience is created by our thoughts and emotions, our imagination, and through our thoughts and emotions we not only link with corresponding spiritual forces and embody their influences, but we also create spiritual forces in the subtle dimensions.
Through contemplation of the Divine and the mysteries of creation, and through worship of the Divine in prayer and meditation, our thoughts and emotions can reach into lofty heights and we can experience higher states of consciousness; riding thoughts and emotions into the peak of mental consciousness, we can even transcend the mental consciousness to enter into Supernal or Messianic Consciousness and experience unification with the Divine. Conversely, becoming bound up in negativity we are confined to lower gradations of consciousness, and we join ourselves to admixed and dark forces, the Dominion of the Klippot – this is the play of the Tree of Knowledge of Good and Evil, the play of dualism in consciousness.
Thus we should never allow ourselves to believe that our thoughts, emotions and imaginations do not matter; for positive thought, emotion and imagination bring blessings into the world and are extremely beneficial to our soul and the world, while negative thought, emotion and imagination is very harmful to ourselves and our world.
This reveals in the most practical terms what is indicated by Nachash and Mashiach sharing the same gematria (358) – it is the power of the mind to generate good or evil, so that the force that binds is the force that liberates, the force of mind (or consciousness).
In this we understand our need for spiritual living and spiritual practice each and every day, for through it we strengthen our faith, we strengthen our mind, and we direct our mind towards the height, towards what is positive, good, luminous and true – we actively cleave to the Divine, shedding the Klippot (husks of negativity or darkness).
This may well be the most useful and productive line of contemplation we can take up on the subject of the five dominions of the klippot, for understanding the cause of various forms of negativity that arise in our experience we may understand the appropriate remedy, facilitating the tikkun, we will know the need for the continuum of the spiritual life and practice that we keep each day and be empowered to take it up.
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