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Qabalah, The Tree of Life
—Excerpts—
The Miracle Tree (Demystifying Qabalah) by R J Stewart published February
2003, New Page Books
(The following text and two Qabalistic Forms are extracts from The Miracle Tree by R J Stewart, published February 2003 by New Page Books, Career Press, New Jersey, USA. Text illustrations are by Jacquelyn Archer. All text and illustrations are copyright © 2003)
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 acknowledgment 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 timeless 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 the Rising Light and Walking Participation forms, the more effective the other Qabalistic forms and related arts and skills will be for you. In our next chapter, we will begin our exploration of the emanations of the Tree of Life.