Light of Kabbalah: Embodying the Wisdom of the Tree of Life
The presenter is a student of wisdom traditions. They give us the gift of the spiritual heritage of humanity with which we can integrate our fragmented.
Our mind is the interface between the body and the unseen spirit. The spirit manifests itself through our mind and body. It lends its consciousness to the mind and energy to the body for only a limited period.
Mind evolves just like bodies do. Mind is meant to respond to all sense stimuli. Different mental faculties are associated with different types of response. Stimuli of immediacy elicit instantaneous reflex responses by the unconscious mind (physiologically, the brain stem). Creaturely life forms are limited to this faculty of the mind.
There are stimuli of deemed urgency that can’t wait; they elicit immediate reactive responses by the subconscious mind (limbic brain). Such responses leave experiential memories called emotions classified as fear; pleasant (likes); unpleasant or pain (dislikes); or helplessness. Animals, except mammals, are limited to the unconscious and subconscious faculties.
Then, there are those stimuli that can wait. They elicit a considered response by the conscious mind (neocortex). Mammals are the only life forms with all three mental faculties. Humans are the most evolved species of mammals.
Life is characterized by a degree of self-awareness of “I” identity which must be protected. Life thus is programmed to survive. If it survives, it must sustain itself. For it to continue, it must procreate. Thus, life has existential needs of survival, sustenance, procreation and identity. They are so essential that nature builds them into our genes as our survival instincts. Working unconsciously and subconsciously with little conscious consideration, they keep our lives occupied in divisive sense gratification and identity conflicts. But, human beings are human beings only because of their conscious mind which can help them to meet their existential needs in health and harmony. Wisdom traditions show us how to navigate the way.
Our presentation explores how the wisdom of the book of Zohar maps this navigation in its Tree of Life.