School of the Soul

There are 5 dimensions to the human soul (i.e. Yechidah, Chayah, Neshamah, Ruach and Nefesh). Our material existence is called Nefesh and is the biological physiology which we self-identify with on our linear space-time experience. Therein is embedded the senses of “self” of the ego which is called Nefesh Bahamit (Animal Soul). It is the meat-body of the Nefesh that the Higher Soul called Neshamah utilizes for its own distinctive purpose of self-actualization by undergoing experiential existence in the physical world. However, the Neshamah (Higher Soul) is not “directly” connected to the lower self- the Nefesh. The connection between the two (higher and lower selves) is through an interface called the Ruach (Spirit). The Ruach (Spirit) is the personification of the Neshamah which becomes produced by the association with the lower body (Nefesh). It is the Ruach that becomes the individuation of our own distinctive personality and that which transcends the physicality of the Nefesh and represents the particular of the Neshamah’s (Higher Soul’s) development in each particular incarnation.  How does the Ruach develop and come to attach the Higher Self of transcendence to the lower self of experiential immanence? The Ruach is the conscious Spirit (containing the sechel of the Neshamah and the middot of the experiential) which exists in scientific terms as a compound waveform structure that is made of pieces of electromagnetic wave energy, which are photons of Light. The Ruach is the emergent Consciousness phenomenon that arises when electromagnetic wave energies are built into that particular kind of compound waveform structure. That structure of electromagnetic energy is consciousness.

The energetic structure that is consciousness is generated by patterns of neuron firings in our brain. That conscious “thing” (Ruach), that is made of electromagnetic wave energy is the individual human Spirit. The Ruach which is made of electromagnetic energy is contrasted to our Nefesh (Physical body) which is comprised of atomic matter. The electromagnetic wave energy (Spirit) is embodied within the atomic matter (Body) creating a human being which is a conscious biological intelligence.

Our Ruach (Spirit) and our Nefesh (Body) are made of two different kinds of “stuff”: energy and matter. They are causally related to and causally interact with each other, but our physical body (Nefesh) and our electromagnetic essence (Ruach) are nonetheless two separate “things,” not one blended “thing.”

There is no “additional” thing within us called a “Soul.” The concept of the soul is a pre-scientific attempt to understand the relationship between a human consciousness and the human body. The soul is usually conceived as some form of blend of body and spirit, whereas the Kabbalists and research from modern Neuro-physics give credence to the concept that our conscious being is derived from immaterial electromagnetic wave energy and our body/brain is made of physical atomic matter and energy.

Our body is an exquisitely sensitive sensory receptor and transmission system that provides finely nuanced electrical information to our consciousness, information about the body itself and its interactions with physical and social reality. This kind of "felt" sensory body information corresponds to emotional aspect (middot) of our Spirit (Ruach).

Sensory perception is how the Ruach (and subsequently the higher Neshamah) experiences the sense of self-being in the physical world. Felt-body information is our conscious connection to the physical reality that we are in as embodied Spirits.

Let me try and break this down another way: The Universe is composed of one single state of energy called electromagnetic background energy. This energy is Light that emanated from the Singularity at the beginning of existence. As the Singularity expanded the Light filled the void and subsequently after the gestation of matter and the physical existence that electromagnetic energy was the un-perceived Light which exists from one edge of the universe to the other. In other words the Universe is completely filled with this Light. This Light utilized the mechanism of the biological matter of our bodies through the pathways and firings of our own neural pathways to create consciousness in what would be otherwise dead matter. The enlivening of the physical bodies creates a new form of consciousness that identifies as a “self-awareness” and this sense of self is the “I” that comprises each of us and our personalities.

INTRODUCTION

There is an inner פְּנִימִי and an outer side חִיצוֹנִי to everything; and the quality of the superficial mind which causes it to fail in the attainment of Truth is its willingness to rest content with the externality of things only. So long as this is the case it is impossible for a man to grasp the means and importance of his own relationship with all things, and it is this relationship which constitutes all that is signified by the word “Truth.” When a man fixes his attention only upon the superficial it is impossible for him to make any progress in knowledge, for he blinds himself to reality by failing to understand all that he sees as the outside of things can result only from a germinal principle hidden deep within the inner-most-center of its being.

What then is this “germinal principle” which is at the inner-most-center of all things? It is Life. But not life as we recognize it in particular forms of manifestation; it is something more interior and concentrated than that. It is that “unity of the spirit” which is unity simply because it has not passed into diversity. This unity is called yachad יָחַד and designates oneness or aloneness and is the root word from whence we derive the term yechidah יחידה which is the fifth level and most interior aspect of our soul- the part of our essence which is most united with the Infinite. At yechidah we are alone in the sense that we are all-ness or Oneness wherein our soul is joined to the one soul-root from whence the whole of humanity originates. It is the closest to the Singularity of the Creator and in Kabbalah is associated with the Sefirah of Keter. It is the conception of Life as the sum total of all its undistributed powers, being as yet none of these in particular, but all of them in potentiality. It is Pure Living Spirit – the Life of God.

אֲנִי-אָמַרְתִּי, אֱלֹהִים אַתֶּם; וּבְנֵי עֶלְיוֹן כֻּלְּכֶם

“I said: You are gods and all of you sons of the Most High” (Psalm 82:6)

The greatest truth is the truth which is most obscured from the masses. It is obscured because there are those in places of authority and power who have buried the truth so deep those who seek for it are met with scorn and ridicule. However, there have always been those brave souls who in every generation questioned the status quo and dared to dream of a greater purpose than what they have come to expect within their lives. Tired of the drudgery of life, the menial tasks of purposelessness and the consistent experience of the lack of fulfillment and unhappiness these souls intuitively know that there is more to life. The sense of lack in life is common to all man and is expressed by Kohelet son of David: הֲבֵל הֲבָלִים אָמַר קֹהֶלֶת, הֲבֵל הֲבָלִים הַכֹּל הָבֶל Vanity of vanities, says Kohelet; vanity of vanities, all is vanity (Ecclesiastes 1:2). It is this sense of purposelessness which is darkness around the heart and mind of man which keeps humanity from walking in the truth of purpose with full knowledge of who they are. This is what Psalm 82:5 describes: לֹא יָדְעוּ, וְלֹא יָבִינוּ-- בַּחֲשֵׁכָה יִתְהַלָּכויִמּוֹטוּ, כָּל-מוֹסְדֵי אָרֶץּ   They know not, neither do they understand; they go about in darkness; all the foundations of the earth are moved. Why does humanity walk in darkness and what do we not understand? The answer is in the next verse: אֲנִי-אָמַרְתִּי, אֱלֹהִים אַתֶּם; וּבְנֵי עֶלְיוֹן כֻּלְּכֶם  I said: You are gods and all of you sons of the Most High.

Truth in an objective sense is in identifying ourselves with God, the spirit of opulence. We must be opulent in our thoughts in order to conform our minds to the nature of God. This is not to say that we should become dependent upon any form of external opulence but instead enter into the spirit of it. All life is spirit and throughout the universe Life ultimately consists of circulation, whether it is in the form of blood circulating through our physical body or thought circulating through our mental faculties; and circulation means a continuous flowing around, and the spirit of opulence is no exception to this universal aspect of life.

The whole of existence is an inflow and outflow as it originates within the primal Consciousness of the Creator and is expressed as the creation and then the creation experiences the process of life and contributes its experience to the Creator. This is the mysterious dynamic of existence and the purpose of the whole. When once this principle becomes clear to us we begin to look upon ourselves, not as miser’s chests to be kept locked for our own benefit, but as centers of distribution, the greater is the corresponding inflow into that center. To live without self-realization and an understanding of purpose is to choke the outlet of flow from the Creator and subsequently this perceptual state restricts the beneficence of the experience of life for the creation. The proper understanding of spiritual principles slackens the flow within one’s perceptual awareness and a free flow can be obtained only by keeping our perception open, therefore we wisely direct our attention more to giving than receiving for the self.

If you have realized the spirit of opulence all forms of good cannot help but flow into your life and because you truly understand the spirit of opulence you will neither feel you should shun this form of goodness, nor will you attribute to it a value that does not belong to it; but you will co-ordinate it with your other more interior forms of good so as to make it the material instrument in smoothing the way for their more perfect expression.

This principle does not believe in narcissism or the acquisition to the detriment of others rather it believes in the generous feeling which is the intuitive recognition of the great law of circulation and to enter into this spirit is to make yourself one with the creative principle at the center of life itself.

The generation of souls is a great mystery, and ultimately it is a mystery that cannot be spoken or comprehended in mental consciousness; we can hint at it, and we can circle it, and we can share some truths regarding the arising of souls, and their process of development and evolution, but the essence of the mystery cannot be explained. We can, however, experience this mystery and acquire knowledge of this mystery through direct spiritual and mystical experience, or rather, through the experience of expanded states of consciousness; expanded states of mental and vital consciousness can acquire some insights, but it is in the experience of expanded states of consciousness beyond mental consciousness that deeper knowledge and understanding arises. The awareness of how we emanate from the True Light, and how we are created, formed and made, is an innate part of self-knowledge, as is a deeper awareness of our soul’s journey or evolution through countless incarnations; the very nature of seeking knowledge of God, and conscious union with God, brings knowledge of our origin, or our beginning, as it were, for in this process we recognize that we are an emanation of God, or an emanation of God’s presence and power, and we become aware of how we have individuated, and the deep connection we have as individuals with the universal, and with the Divine.

At the outset it must be said that there is an aspect of the soul that is not “born,” that is without beginning, that is primordial, eternal, unborn; this is yechidah, our unique essence or divine spark, and this is formed of the Light of the Infinite (Or Ain Sof), and is inseparable from the Light of the Infinite. God and Godhead indwell this inmost part of the soul, and it is so radiant and holy, even angels cannot enter it, but only God.

This is the truth of the inmost part of our soul, but it is also true that before a soul individuates and awakens it abides in an unconscious union; there is a potential that is not actualized and realized. Before souls arise, if such may be said, they exist in a primordial unconscious union, and because it is unconscious it may rightly be called a state of primordial ignorance. As souls arise, and individuate, they do so from this ignorance, and arising in this ignorance there is an illusion of separation, an appearance of “self” and “other” separate and apart from one another, and self-grasping and self-will arises, and the play of desire and fear in self-grasping.

All living spirits and souls, all sentient beings, emerge from this primordial ignorance, and as such, this ignorance pervades all living spirits and souls; this pervasive ignorance is called cosmic, or universal ignorance, and its manifestation within each individual spirit or soul is called fundamental ignorance.

The reality of our experience, on every level, is a radiant display of our soul, consciousness or mind, individual and collective, and the arising of our countless incarnations, countless rounds of birth, life, aging, illness and death, and afterlife experiences of heavens, hells and various in betweens, is all the radiant display of the soul, consciousness or mind bound up in this ignorance, this illusion of separation and self-cherishing. As much as we may speak of God, Elohim, as the Creator, as emanations of God, we are all co-creators of this matrix of creation, the reality of our experience, in life and the afterlife states.

We may contemplate God, the Divine, as the One Being-Consciousness-Force, and we may contemplate souls, sentient beings, as emanations, creations, formations and actions of this One Being-Consciousness-Force; the very nature of this Being-Consciousness-Force is emptiness (Ain), and yet, it’s nature is to self-generate, to emanate, create, form and make, and its nature is aware, intelligent. This is the nature of the Divine, or Enlightened Being, or the One Being-Consciousness-Force, and so as emanations of this Holy One it is our nature as well. Therefore, souls arise and individuate because it is the nature of their source, God, and it is their very own nature – hence, the potential for endless self-generation, whether asleep, unconscious, or awake, conscious.

In that all arises from Ain, this emptiness, voidness or no-thingness, at one and the same time, it is fullness; this no-thingness is everythingness!

In the arising of the created matrix of creation, and all beings, it is as though the Holy One is asleep and dreaming, and so the emanations of the Holy One are asleep and dreaming, unaware that they are asleep and dreaming, unaware that they are inseparable from the reality arising and from their source. There is an aspect of the soul within which God indwells that does not sleep and does not dream, and yet, there is this play of sleep and dream arising from ignorance, unconsciousness, forgetfulness. In some way, though, for the greater awakening of souls, or the actualization and realization of the greater potential of souls, there is a need for this arising in “sleep and dream,” and through it souls develop and evolve, awaken and become realized (enlightened). Considering dreams, without the arising of dreams there could be no awakening in dream, or lucid dream, and there could be no transformation of dreams, or conscious dissolution and cessation of dreams, or a conscious awakening from dream to the Real, God.

This play of “sleep and dream,” or unconscious arising, leads to full awakening, but in the midst souls become bound up in various realities, of heavens, hells and all manner of realities in between, and there is much sorrow and suffering until souls awaken and bring the cause of sorrow and suffering to an end.

We may say, it is the nature of the mind, consciousness or soul, to dream, to arise, and to awaken – therefore souls arise in dream and eventually awaken; how they awaken is that underlying, all in a great mystery, there is this enlightened or divine nature all the while, the One-Who-Never-Sleeps.

The Divine is within us, our very essence and nature is Divine, all the while, but we must awaken, and we must recognize and realize our innate union with the Divine; hence, our labor for actual Self-realization.

In this journey of souls, in this development and evolution of souls, in effect, it is true, there are “younger” and “older” souls, or souls of various gradations of evolution, awakening; it is also true that souls pass through many different incarnations before becoming incarnate as human beings, and that from the first incarnation as a human being souls pass through many different incarnations in the process of becoming fully and truly human. Likewise it is true that the present human condition is a transitional state of being, and it is possible, and is destined, that we become more than human. All souls that appear in human incarnation, as yet, are not necessarily human, and among the present humankind there are many different gradations of evolution, awakening, and likewise, among souls that appear in human incarnation there are those that are more than human, that are awakened, realized, or are divine and supernal. In a manner of speaking, from within the present humanity there is a new humanity emerging, or a “species of being” that is “more than human.”

The very nature of the Fiery Intelligence (Consciousness-Force) within and behind creation, the universe, or reality, is an ascent and evolution of forms of life that are more refined, more intelligent and self-aware; this is true on a material level, and it is true on a psychic and spiritual level, or metaphysical level as well. In a manner of speaking, it is an evolution, awakening, to the Highest of Life, but the nature of that “height” is infinite, without end (Ain Sof).

If we were to encounter a realized individual instead of one who has come to an end, they would be one who has come to a new beginning, or to a radical acceleration in evolution, the expansion of consciousness and intelligence; hence, the nature of this self-realization or enlightenment is very different than our mental conceptions of it at the outset, or our concepts in the ignorance.

If we look into the beginning of our soul, in truth we will find no beginning, but then, recognizing that there is no beginning, we will realize there is no end.

In this post let’s take a look at the levels of the soul from the Zohar (Note: my commentary is in bold font):

“Observe that when the Holy One, blessed be He, created Adam, He gathered his earthly matter from the four corners of the world and fashioned him therefrom on the site of the Temple here below and drew to him a soul of life out of the Temple on high.”

The physical form of Adam is constructed from "earthly matter" that is gathered from "the four corners of the world". In terms of the Tree of Life diagram this refers to the gathering together (into one conformation) of the twelve Simple letter pathways that are attached to the four 'directional' (or "corner") sefirot: Chesed, Gevurah, Netzah, and Hod. These twelve pathways are then bound together in the sefirah Malchut forming thereby the 'body' of Adam.

The sefirah Malchut is "the site of the Temple here below" referred to in the Zohar extract.

A "soul of life" is given to Adam by the Holy One. It is drawn from "the Temple on high" which is a reference to the sefirah Binah.

According to (my understanding of) the Zohar, 'souls' are given to us by Binah as we enter into each incarnation upon the Earth.

“Now the soul is a compound of three grades, and hence it has three names, to wit, nefesh (vital principle), ruah (spirit), and neshamah (soul proper). Nefesh is the lowest of the three, ruah is a grade higher, whilst neshamah is the highest of all and dominates the others.”

On the Middle Pillar of the Tree of Life we have Malchut (at the very bottom) representing the physical body. Then above Malchut is Yesod basically representing the Nefesh (or 'vital principle'). Then above Yesod is Tiferet symbolizing the Ruach (or 'spirit'). Then above Tiferet is the sefirah Da'at representing the Neshamah (or 'soul proper'). This later is closely bound to the sefirah Binah (i.e. the Source of all souls).

“These three grades are harmoniously combined in those men who have the good fortune to render service to their Master. For at first man possesses nefesh, which is a holy preparative for a higher stage. After he has achieved purity in the grade of nefesh he becomes fit to be crowned by the holy grade that rests upon it, namely ruah. When he has thus attained to the indwelling of nefesh and ruah, and qualified himself for the worship of his Master in the requisite manner, the neshamah, the holy superior grade that dominates all the others, takes up its abode with him and crowns him, so that he becomes complete and perfected on all sides; he becomes worthy of the world to come and is beloved of the Holy One, blessed be He; of him Scripture says: "To cause my beloved ones to inherit substance" (Prov. VIII, 21), the "beloved ones" being those who have attained to the holy neshamah.' ... “

The Zohar delineates three basic spiritual conditions for Adam...

    1.) Nephesh- Involves the growth and development of the human personality as it learns to master the physical conditions in which it finds itself.
    2.) Ruach- Involves some detachment of the mind (Hod) and desire body (Netzah) from the realm of matter, and the development of 'soul-consciousness'.
    3.) Neshamah- The sefirah Da'at 'crowns' the lower grades and provides the Tzaddik with the means whereby he (or she) is able to perform the "worship of his Master in the requisite manner". The sefirah Da'at gives the Tzaddik access to the higher divine sefirot wherefrom he receives the 'blessings' he must then re-distribute to the inhabitants of Earth. The sefirah Da'at makes the Tzaddik "complete and perfected on all sides" meaning that he has brought Malchut into harmony with Binah via the perfecting of his own consciousness. This is achieved by building a bridge between Malchut and Binah--one that is constructed of the twelve Simple letter archetypes from Malchut through the consciousness of the Tzaddik to Binah.

The "substance" that is inherited (from the Holy One) by the Tzaddik is Yesh, (yud-shin), where 'yud' signifies the sefirah Chokmah, and 'shin' symbolizes the sefirah Binah.

... Observe that nefesh, ruah, and neshamah are an ascending series of grades. The lowest of them, nefesh, has its source in the perennial celestial stream, but it cannot exist permanently save with the help of ruah, which abides between fire and water. Ruah, in its turn, is sustained by neshamah, that higher grade above it, which is thus the source of both nefesh and ruah. When ruah receives its sustenance from neshamah, then nefesh receives it in turn through ruah, so that the three form a unity.'”

The Nefesh is impermanent (by itself) because it is formed of the matter of the lower 'physical' planes. The Ruach is associated with the Air element which exists between Fire and Water.

[ Zohar Vayigash, 205b-206a.]