G. ANCILLARY PRACTICES
Meditation, complementary practices, and rituals such as Pesach (Passover) are laboratories for mystical scientists. In the Mystical Qabalah, meditation and remembrance (zakhor) of Names of Power are the foundation for everything else. They purify and strengthen mind and bodies, cultivate focus, allow control over the dream state, and temper the shells so they can channel massive power without shattering or cracking badly. Ancillary practices appropriate for the Central Column might include:
* Chanting the Names of Power in the Sefer HaShmoth
* Intoning powerful verses and root phrases from the Torah and other primary sources
* Observance of Shabat (Sabbath) and Pesach (Passover) from a mystical perspective
* Messiah practices
* Devotional singing (San. bhajan)
* Acts of selfless service
As mentioned earlier, the Sefer HaShmoth is a book of Names
of Power. In the edition published by the Work of the Chariot Trust in the
early 1970’s, each page had one Name written on it. A complete listing
of the Names of Power in the Sefer HaShmoth, including the
Romanized pronunciation, Sinatic letter formula, numerological value, equivalent
English meaning, and a location in Tanakh is included in this
site. The reader is invited to “construct” his/her own Sefer
HaShmoth in the intended format by scribing the Names in Hebrew,
one Name to a page, and binding these pages together. The Sefer HaShmoth
is “read” by successively invoking the name on each page preceded
by YH (pronounced “Yah,” the two-letter form of the Name YHVH)—e.g.
Yah Eshdat, Yah Echad, Yah Ahavah, Yah Qadosh, and so on.
The Marriage of King Messiah and His Sabbath Bride
In the Hebrew tradition, Shabat (Sabbath) is celebrated as the holy
wedding day of the Lord YHVH King Messiah, Most Precious and Enduring, with
His Divine Bride Shekhinah, Queen of the Universe. In the well known
words of Rabbi Yitza’aq LuriaRabbi Luria’s song of the Sabbath has numerous verses, for which this is the refrain. This song is prominently found in
most Jewish prayer books.,
“Lekah Dodee Likraht Kalah Penay Shabat NeQabalah.”
(“Come, my Beloved, to meet the Bride, Face Sabbath to receive.”)
During the “regular days of the week,” Queen Mother Shekhinah wanders the worlds of illusion “in exile.” She is described as dressed in rags, lamenting Her separation from Her Beloved Husband, while nurturing Her children in the Valley of Shadows. But, when Shabat comes, the worlds are filled with the Light and Love of King Messiah, who comes to receive His Bride (Kalah) and transform the children into angels.
“Shekhinah Belimah (Intangible Shekhinah),
Kalah LuhAhavah (Bride of Love),
Kalah LuhTorah (Bride of the Torah),
Malkhah HaShabat (Queen of the Sabbath),
Kavod Leh Yod Heh Vav Heh (Glory of the Lord YHVH).”
Shabat is at once both an individual and macrocosmic event. In each
of us, the Shekhinah wanders in a fallen state (Sefirah Kingdom),
until Shabat comes and our consciousness unites with the One True
Spouse YHVH. Our Tree thereby becomes perfect (Kingdom returns to its position
as the Sefirah Knowledge/First). God is the true spouse. The Lord YHVH is
the Husband, and the Lord YHVH is the Bride. Hence, genuine Qabalists are
sometimes referred to as “Husbands of Shekhinah” or “Brides
of Adonai.” Each individual should therefore meditate upon the
wedding of King Messiah and His Sabbath Bride as something going on in their
own consciousness, and at the same time, in the whole universe. All marriages
allude to this Divine Union. If married, husband should honor wife as the
embodiment of the Shekhinah—he should “meet the Bride.”
And wife should honor husband as the embodiment of the Lord YHVH King Messiah,
as in the refrain of “Come, my Dear One...” Alas, for some, Shabat
never comes and every day is regular. But, as has been said, there is the
secret in Qabalah that there are no regular days, only Shabat! This
is always so for a true Master of the Name. Hence, as one’s yoga advances,
Shabat starts spilling over into the regular days until they disappear.
Practices Related to Messiah
Messiah (Mashiach, pronounced Mah-shee-ach, lit. Savior, Little Prince),
the consciousness of the Lord YHVH incarnate with full power in the Lower
Worlds, is perhaps the ultimate spiritual mystery in Qabalah and in all
mystical traditions. These incarnate appearances have allowed humankind
to directly experience the attributes, actions, and nature of Small Face
as the “All-Pervading Person,” the aggregate of all beings, “eternally
pure, eternally, awake, and eternally free.” These extraordinary beings
are the ultimate sources for the transmission of spiritual teachings, the
verification of yogic experiences, the empowerment of gatekeepers, and the
liberation en masse of souls.
If someone has a natural, burning attraction for a particular form of Messiah,
it would be natural for him or her to focus on that form as their Chosen
Ideal in the context of yogic practice. Devotional yoga that centers upon
a Messiah can employ the same meditation method of mantric repetition combined
with the appropriate visualization explained earlier. In the context of
the Qabalah, all Messiahs are seen as incarnations of the Lord YHVH. Hence,
any Name associated with Messiah can be added to the root mantra, “Ani
Yod Heh Vav Heh” e.g. Ani YHVH Reshith (The First), Ani
YHVH Acharit (The Last), Ani YHVH Mosheh, Ani YHVH Yeshuvah,
Ani YHVH Re’iyah (Shepherd), or Ani YHVH Ahavah (Love).
Since the Torah is said to embody all four “Heads”
of Messiah, one could also use “Ani YHVH Torah”).
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For Reshith, one may
visualize the manifest Alef of Unity filling the universe within the “fence”
of the Vast Face Snake-Devouring-Its-Tail. See diagram. For Acharit,
one can use the image of the letter Tav riding a white horse with a letter
Zayin -handled sword. With Master Mosheh and Master Yeshuvah, use one or
more of the powerful images found in the Torah and Peshitta,
such as Master Mosheh prostrating before the burning bush, or Master Yeshuvah
delivering the Sermon on the Mount. Another root mantra for Master Yeshuvah,
in use among Eastern Orthodox Christians since the second century CE, and
prominent in the Catholic Mass is “Kierie Eleison Christe Eleison”
(“Lord have mercy, Christ have mercy”). The “Our Father”
prayer that Master Yeshuvah instructed his disciples to embrace might also
be incorporated in one’s practices. As a Jew addressing Jews, it is
highly likely that Master Yeshuvah would have spoken such a prayer in Hebrew.
Hence, it might be said as follows:
The Lord’s Prayer (Hebrew version)
Avinu asher bushamayim, qadosh shamekha.
Tavo malkhutekha, ya’ase ratzonekha kebashamayim ken ba’aretz.
Et lechem chukenu ten lanu hayom, vuh-salach lanu al chatainu
Kehfi shesolchim gam anachnu lachotim lanu vuh-al
Tevi’enu lidai nisayon ki im chaltzenu min hara.
Ki lecha hamamlacha haguhvoora vuh-hatifareht
luh-’ohlamai ‘ohlamim. Ah-men.
Finally, there is the practice of looking for Messiah in everyone’s eyes. This practice requires complete faith that Messiah will one day appear for you. Such faith is founded on the wisdom that anything is possible for the Lord of All, and that since the universe is created moment by moment, Messiah can come for any one of us at any time (Barukh HaShem). In the Hindu holy book, the Bhagavad Gita, there is the verse:
“Fix your mind on Me, be devoted to Me,
Adore Me and make obeisance to Me;
Thus uniting yourself to Me and utterly depending upon Me,
You shall come to Me.”
Devotional Singing
Devotional singing and chanting is common to virtually all the world’s
mystical traditions. Hebrew, Arabic, and Sanskrit holy texts are all traditionally
chanted and not simply read. All Sufi orders have sacred dikhrs and
songs. Gregorian chants are balm for the soul. The sacred Hawaiian hulas
are sung. Singing devotional songs and sacred chants with your whole heart
and a focused mind is a unique and wonderful means of uplifting the soul
and bringing “Heaven to Earth.” A good devotional song carries
us above our fears and worldly concerns, and fills us with joy. Some songs
just seem to get deeper and deeper, and when the singing stops, the air
is charged with spiritual energy. Success comes from the intention of one’s
heart and the grace of God, not from the quality of one’s voice.
Walking Meditation
In addition to the practice of seated meditation, many mystical traditions
have some form of walking meditation. This can also be done within the context
of the Mystical Qabalah. While walking, you can repeat a root mantra coordinated
with the pace of your steps. While doing so, you could also visualize your
Chosen Ideal as alive and awake in the hearts of every living being you
see. Over time, this process can change the way one regards and interacts
with people, and help counter tendencies to engagement in judgement. Also,
this process can help heal rifts with those whom we love by elevating the
way we think about them, and invoking their deeper nature to change the
way they feel about us. While walking (or dancing), you could alternately
see everyone (including yourself) as living Yoshers (upright forms
of the Name YHVH), or as living Trees of Life. If you live near the shore
of an ocean or a large body of water, you could walk along and dwell upon
the idea of a Vast Face Ocean of Endless Light. Sitting quietly before it,
you could focus upon the sound and rhythm of the waves. Going to that body
of water on a cloudless full moon night, you could meditate upon the reflection
of the moon in the water. The practices of the Mystical Qabalah are fluid
and flexible, and provide fertile opportunity for us to use our imaginations
in a creative and personally meaningful way.
Selfless Service
Most faiths, and many sects within each faith, often find much to disagree
about. But, all of them teach that helping people is good. Masters and saints
in all mystical traditions encourage selfless service as an important part
of any Small Face spiritual discipline. In Judaism, selfless service is
called performing a mitzvah, a good deed. In India, it is called
seva (pronounced, “save-ah”). In Buddhism, it is called
dana (pronounced, “donna”). Volunteering one’s time
to bring some company and joy to isolated elderly, feeding the hungry and
homeless, visiting and actively listening to people who are confined by
their disabilities or illnesses. All of these, and many other ways of giving
of yourself are humbling, help purify the ego, and provide a poignant reminder
of the impermanence and inevitable suffering of embodied life. Truly, this
type of giving is a gift to the giver. It puts faith into action. It is
an act of living zakhor (remembrance of the Divine). Whatever service
you voluntarily engage in, it is important to remain conscious of the Divine
embodied in the person or people whom you are serving, and to offer the
fruits of your efforts at the feet of the Lord.
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