ONE OF T H E KEY Fersonalities in the devc.lopment of Jewish mysticrsrn,

sometimes wferrcd to as thc father of ecstatic Kxhhalah, was Abraham tlhulaf;a,

horn In Saragossa, Spain, in dae rhirteenth cennlry The year of his blrth was

1240 CE, a symboI~c year in kabhalistic cosmology as we ~vill see.

'The combined tupelllth and thirteenth centuries were arguably the most pro-

I~fic pcriod In the puhlicasion u f kahtalistic teachings. Prior to r h ~ s time, thr Kabbalah was high$. secretrve, and there were stringent rules about who could

learn these mysteries. For lvell over a thousand years, Kabbalah had been almost

entirely an oral tradition exccpt for a handful of ear$ manuscripts, including

thr S+r Yetzsmh ( T ~ P Rook Creatlort), a short, rx-trernrlY esoteric writing that was

composed c o m p l e r r ~ ~ in a code that even t a d a ~ i s difficult to d e c ~ ~ h e r .

Ironrcall!; kabbalistic idea:, first 'organ ro be exprrrssed more openly In the

twelfth century as a react1011 to the highly ratlunal rcachlngs of rhe great Jewish

ph~losopher, Mosrs Maimonides (I 135-1 204). Ma~monides, known more

familiarly as Rambam (Rabbi Moses Ben Maimonj, had extraordinary influ-

ence In his tiine as a writer and as one of the primay judges to whom

communit~ts turned for opinions regarding Jew~sh law. He was fi~lI\.. rersed in

Aristotelian logic and Grcck Having an extra~rclinar~ intellect, he

tended to rationalize many of the mystical aspects of Judaism. In so doing,

he became controvers~al for tsadittonalists. To t h ~ s day, some Orrhoclox Jewrsh

practitioners view h ~ m w ~ t h cons~dciablr s kcpt~cism,

Those who reacted to Rambarn's rationalism placed p a t emphasis on

the mystical aspecrs of the tradition: the nature of God, the creation story.

the exlsrence of angelic and demonlc forces, the secret reasons for the Jew~sh

laws-thtsc and many other subjects were addressed. In thc. rhirteenth century,

this mystical lnovement gained considerable mo~ncntum, which led to the cam-

Filation of the rnosr influential kabbalisric work: the Zohar

The actual datcs of compositian of rhe Zohar are not clearly known, but

rnajor parcs of the manuscript were crrct~lared in the latrer part of the thirrccnth

century. T h e individtial considered to he its most 11 kcly author, Moshr dr Leon,

was born some time close to r h ~ )+ear 1.240 CE, and thus was almost the same

age as Abraham Abtllafia.

This p a r , 1240 CE, is qttite mean~ngful for Jew~sh rnysrics. It happens to

coincide with the Hebrew calendar year 5000, which represents the biblical

measurement from the time of the first, prirnordlal human: Adntn K d m o n While

fi~ndamentalist Jew~sh practitioners believe that Adam and Eve were literally

in the Garden of Eden five thousand years ago, the mystical perspective (the

Kabbalah) 1s that rhcrc. was a dramattc shift in consciousness five thousand years

ago that opened up a new level of awareness for human be~ngs-an awareness

that distinguishes humans from the rest of the antma1 kingdom. Indeed, the fiill

rrcognltion of ~171.5 awareness-the ability to he awnrr of atr~arcness-is one of

the major platraus of the ongoing process of enIightrnmcnt.

Kabbalwrs agrcr with modern scicnic thac the earth 1s billions of years old.

However, wfille science tends to focus on scientific method In fields such as

gcology. anrhsopology, FxIcontolog~~, and so forth to dist~nguish eras of hacar!:

Kabbalists and o t h ~ r mysncs are more intrresrrd in "c~~nsciousness"-11nJerstand-

mg the nature of thr mind ~tself-as a measrrrc to drrermine major d ~ a i i ~ e s in life

on earth. In [his sense, Kabbalah follows evolutionary pnnclples.

Aicordtng LO Kabbalah, humans today represent only one platcau nn an

evolutionary ladder rhnr leads t o w ~ a d Ictpcls o f consciousness rhar wilI rranscend

our airrent level. This potential of higher awareness is an elernentar). br l~ef n f

mystlcd Judaism; ~t IS called the coming of messlanic consciousness, or s1rnPLy

the rncss~ah.

The Hebrew year 50tN rcprrsents entry inrv the sixth miiIenntum in the

Jewish reckoning of crme. From a mystical perspccttve, each chousand years

is Iike a day, and thus the sixth rnilIrnn~urn is represented b!- she sixth day of

creacion In Genesis. IVc sec in rhe Torah thar the sixth day of Genesis ts when

human conscio~lsness came rnro i t s fullness. The implicic direction of con-

sciousness is to transcend this Iewl to reach rhc scvcnrli Jay, rhc Sabbath clay:

when mess~anic conscior~sness will appear.

Sn the Kabbalist sees the thousand years chat begm rn 1249 CE as the final

millennium of transition that Ieads up to a new species in rhc unirerst, one

w ~ t h messtanic consciousners, T h c coming scvcnth milIenniurn w ~ l l begin in

tht- Hrbrew calrndar year 6000, by our ~eckoning, 2240 CE, a httle over two

hundred ).ears from now. According to the kabbalistic model, thrs is a time when

the entire world wtIl cxperientr a shift, and FcoFlr a r i l l r t l ~ t e to each

ocher and to all of creacion m an enrirclr. new way.

Of' rutlrsc, thc challenge bchrt. us i s r l ~ a b i l ~ t ~ ru survive the nrlt couflr of

I i~~ i~~I i cc I ycnrs, Our currenc level of consclousncss may not necessarily be wcIl

%LIITIII fill. C ~ I S V I V ~ of t h e S ~ C C I C S . This is B major season why the indtrlllual quest

flu 111111 1- CIIII~IICC~CJ * ~ ~ t i o n s , each person's impact on the universe of conscltus-

Iic%a+ I X \o Iliipclrt.lnt ~n our t~mc.

1 1 1, IIOL wrpnsing, therefore, rhat Abraham Abulafia, \rho rvas a JceFlt

Ir.l~-nrd K.lbI.aIia, believed rhat h ~ s birth-time signified that he was ro play a

l>owrrii~l, pwphetic role in mol-lng rhc rrrorld toward t h ~ s rnesslanic view. 4 s a

twrliry pn:(..u cdJ, for examplr, lit- t r a v ~ l c d to the land of Israel to seek out thr

I rrrr Ct~r~Car~lrr, wl11ch is a rnaglcal, impassable boundary that tn Tewish ~)T]IOI- og! r1r~1r1~li-A I I I C ten lost trihrs of Israel sornewhri~ out3idc of the HoIv Land,

I'll15 ~iiptc~.rozr\ rirer represents a barricr that moves with enormous force dus-

111g t l i c ' ~ I X A.tvr of rhe week-nothing ran cross ~ t . However, (In the ~ert.ntli

,I.)! (Sll.tl,lr.rt, ~ I I L I S t he name Sambatyon), I.; q u ~ e t and peacrhI. T h c pmbIern

1% 111~11 11 c.l~lnt)t bc crossed on that Jey because In traditional ]udarsm, travel

( C X L - I * ~ ~ i i l i ~ c ~ strict boundaries) is not permirted on the Sabbath day.

/\lrlilaifiai'~ L I ~ ~ I - C t o search for this mythical rrvcr was clearly a p~lgr ima~e.

E.rolu 1111- k 4 i l ~ l ~ . i l ~ ~ r i c prrspectlvc, it was a journey to explo~e tlir metaphorical 17.11 1.1cr5 111.11 1rct.d ttr he encountered co break out of the 11mtrs of ordmar? con-

sclr)tl,Ilv\.\. Aly111.11;,1 C R I I C ~ thcse rnvst~cal barriers "knots" that had to be untied

IO I I [ K - I . I ~ ~ r ~ l r ; ,IWJ~TIICSS. In 111% own descriptton of his prlrnary goal, Ab~rlafia

c.11i1 l i t * 111it-111 w.1, "to I I I I P ~ J E the soul. to mt le the ktrocs which htnd i t . + ' T h ~ s

d l . , ~ 0 1 (111t V I I I ~ k ~ ~ o t ~ 1% connected wlth unraveling rhr ionfuszon and cornplcx-

vry ot tlir w c ) r l ~ t . I'hr\c ionfusions and c ~ r n ~ l e x r r i ~ s are Itke himdles of t~glit

k n t ~ h i n n \I 1 .iiill !)I' rirlrc t h a t was originally simple and strayht.

I ~ , I ~ I I I ~ - ,I kiill~ I 11.~1 111 .i rope. It acts as a dam, blocking and cornpllcac~ng the

smooth flow t 3 1 I U I ~ ; i i ~ r ~ r ~ dcxw~ the line of the rc~pe, In Abubfia; view, when

the knots are untied, the natural flow can he reestablished, and we will auto-

rna t~ca l l~ enter the reaIm of original unity. This is his metaphor of finding and

liberating the ten losr tribes, which represent multiplicity, to return to oneness.

Unfortunately, Abulafia never comFleted his search. When he arrlved m Acre,

a war was being fought at the time in the Middle East between the Mamelukes

and the Tatars. T h ~ s was a llteral barrlcr he could not overcome. H e was forced

to leave We learn from this that the knots keeping us from full llhera-

tton take many forms that are the conditions and circurnstanccs of our lives.

HIS earlv journey in the exploration of mystical secrets was a harbinger

of things to come in Abulafia's life. In h ~ s early thirties, immersed In special

contemplative trchniqurs, hr rxpertencrd intense prc>phct~c v ~ s ~ o n s and began

to refrr to himself by the name of Raael, whlch means "secrets of God." Elis

vlslons were overwhelming; he often described being bllnded and lost. Still, he

pursued his practices and l~ved on an edge that was strange for most traditlorial

Jewish practition~rs; therr w a s roo much echtasy!

Indeed, Abulafia was so unique in his practices, mainstream Judaism mar-

ginalized his work and he remained virtually unknown until rhe rn~ddle of the

twentieth century. While a few scholars of the latter half of the nineteenth and

early part of the twentieth centuries dihcussed Abulxfia in some of t h ~ i r books,

it was not until Gershnm Scholrm$ work +for Trend5 1~ Jewish h$t~t~ristn (113411,

that a new light was cast upon the significance of these elght-hunclred-ye.enr-old

teachings. SchoIem devoted an entire chapter in his book to Abulafia's "theory

of ccstatic knwwledgt." One of Scholeni's students, Moshe Idrl, has contributed

a major scholarly effort, a number of books that focus on Abulafia's

life and h ~ s practices.

This "ecstatic" mystical approach was a that strongly impacted

on the Jew~sh world of the thirteenth century. A number of other individuals

during that cimc, including Maimonides' son, Abraham, described undcsrak-

ing certain ecstatic practices. Abraham. himself, was drawn ro participating In

mind-altering Sufi practices. Some scholars even associate ecsratlc Kabbalah

wirh Moshe de Leon, the Frobable author of the Zohm

\\'e can only imaglne the enthusiasm and fervor shared by these students s f mystlctsm as they engaged in contcmpIatlre practices. Many of their writlngs

have been lost, but the works t h a t survived-along with other dorumcnts from

Jewish authors in thts rime period-are among the mosr influent~al teaching In

rhe encire library of jewish mystical thought.

Abraham Abulafta stands our. from all the ochers in that he develorcd a

specific system of contemplative practice. These are tedmiques designt.d to

access one's own lnncr p d e , called in Hebrew m~brer ptt~lrni, an "inncr mwer,"

who "opens che closed doors."This inner mover 1s our own, personal spiritual

mentor, "who wlU guide us through rhe veils of cnnfusion." Our mentor can be

a human teacher we have already met or about whom we have knowledge, or it

can be an unusual reacher who will appear to us in some form we will recognize

as our practice deepens. Our personal tcacher could show u p mystcriouslv in

a moment of perception observing rhc way a b i d fl~es, how clouds move, rhc

way a sttanger acrs. reflections In a store window, a twinge of feeling when we

experience someone In pain, or innumerable orher signs. Each moment 1s filled

with potential ceachcrs if wr haw the eyes to see and the ears to hear in other

Irvels of reality.

DISSOLVING KNOTS Wow do you untie rhe knots of your souls? Imagine the soul as a ves~el made

of clear glass surrounded by light, bur the glass is encascd in a fabric, woven in

c ~ g l ~ t knoa, char prcvcnrs light from entering (or ex~r~ng).Yo~r will w c latcr thar

this mcraphor is inadcquatc, for. wcrything zq composrd of light--wen thc so-

called itself and the fabric that surrounds ~t-but as a starting point, this

is a usrful tool for beginning meditation practices.

T h e imaginary fabric described above is often referred ro in ~nvsc~cal teach-

ing? as "veils" that separacc us from the full understanding of things. T h c s c

vc11s are mainly cornposed of thc "material" of our carliest iondit lan~ng, b c l ~ r h ,

ideas, prc]udiics, judgments, critiirsms, desires, asp~rat~ons, hopes, and fears. For

most of us, the fabric 15 a thick mar of p~rsonality traits and ego assumptions

that stern a t first t o be almost impen~tsab~e.

Abulafiak mcrhod is to concentrate the mind on somcchrng spcific that will,

by its nature, ci~ssolvc the knots that hold thc fabr~c together. T h e theorv is

simple and direct. It IS based on the FrincipEe that we become whar we immerse

in. If you jump into a pool of wacrr. you get wet all over. IF it 1s a pool of ink,

your skin gcrs dyed. If you spend all of your time rcadlng crrrrent events, your

mind will c ~ n s u n t l ~ rurn to the subject material chat ~t has absorbed. If you

s i t quietly and simply rake notice of your thoughts, you ~ 1 1 soon real~zc that

you have a fascinariq caFabilit!. of observ~ng p u r own m ~ n d ; you can watch

your thoughts, how they arlsc, how they are sustained, and how they inevirably

evaporatr and d~sappear.

If you ionccntrate on and repeat sounds and words that qu~c t rhc mind, you

w~l l cvenruallp enter a transcendent dimens~on of the pure soul. a place of peace-

ful calm~~ess and gcntlc tranqutlity. In this q ~ ~ i e t mud-scate, knots automari-

cally begin to unraurl. Ar some point, slrlall openings appear In thc fabric, and

pmyoints of light cnrcr the This light is so and so penctracing,

yon will ~xprriencr a moment of truth, so t o sFeak. This rnomrntary vision can

p~rmanmrly inflticnce you. In an instanc of realization, !.nu can galn a certain

confidrnce that will arise as a result of your dlrcct cxpericncc. Thdt ir to say,

when only a few knots are looscncd, p u can see some form of light or trurh

that pulls you to it.TIlis an r~c t ion often brcumcs a continual ratpc to cngage in

spiritual practices that can loosen and untie more and rnore knots.

PlbuIafia used the letters of the Hebrew alphabet and names of God as

pr~mary images upon which his concentrasive techniques were founded. Each

Hebrew lctcer has bccn the object of intense study among Kabbal~sts, each has

been che subject of hundreds of chapters. rZ Ietter's intrinsic meaning, the words

rhac srnrt wirh that lcrrer, irs shape, its placement in the alphabet, its numeric

value (for cxamplc, a = 1, b = 2, c = 3, esc.j, the numeric value of words and

entire phrases, where Ln the mouth a letter is pronounced-all these and many

other aspecrs are rxpIored. Bur wc do not have to be kabbalist~c scholars to $01-

low Abulafia's technique, for alrhauph he was learned in all aspeia of Kabbalah,

hr leaned rnore heavily on rntuitlve, inner revelation than or1 intrllrctual exper-

tise. 7nTe wtll work with Ah~lafia'stterhni~ue in the next haprer, but first let US

expcrlence a special chanc chat relies rntircly on our intu~rion.

Abwlafia's Practices

J U DAlSM IS NOT we11 known for i ts contemplative pracrices. T h e primary

focus for students of Judaism is and always has been the stud? of Talmud and

Torah. Most people who have nor undertaken this kind of dedicated studvJ

practLcc arc unaware of its power as a conrernFlarive experience. When one

~rnrnerses in hours of intense Talrnud~c engagement, the experience is often

described as a mind-state that rxernpllfies that of a meditation practitioner:

expansive feelings of well-being, a new Ievel of calmness, a sharpening of one;

sensory experience, and a fresh cIarit? of mind.

Because Talmudic studp is challenging In its requirement for one to he flu-

ent in Hebrew and Aramaic, as well as to be able to engage highly intricate

thought problems that can only be appreciated through the use of l~nique

logic, relatively few individuals are able ro appreciate the results of this kind

resdts: a transformed rnind and an esFanded breadth of inrpllectual sktlls.

Aside from the study of Talmud and Torah, howcver, there arc numrrous

~ o n t e m ~ l a t i v c practices in Judaism. One of rhc most popular Forms is based

upon chanting one of the h~ghcst "names of God" in Hrhrew. the fvtlr

conscrnants of the ancient Hebrew name o f God, the retragrammaton, oftrn

written as r.-h-v-h. These letters can be i h a r ~ ~ e d using the fire primary vorvcls.

I have aIready menrluned Abraham ,4buIafin as one of the fcrv rrrrrters who

wrotr about rhis mcrhcxl in detail, but these trchniques were descr~bcd as early

as the nlnth century It is helievcd that many practices go all the way back to

Tdrnud~c ~irnrs, two thousand years ago, along with othcr sccret transrnis-

slons that rneraphor~cally were assoc~ated wtth t r a v e l q in a mystical charrot

to hlpher realms of awareness.

The prlniiple behind t h s practice is rhat eat11 of us 1s endowed w ~ t h drvine

sparks, and each person is crtated in rhr " ~ r n a ~ e " of God. That is to s a y the

sourcc of crcattvttv that rests within each indrvidual IS den tical to the creative

urgc out of which rhis worId unfolds. In essence. the univ~t-sf as we know ~r

IS characterized by Kabbaiists as a "thought" in the mlnd nf God. Ic follows

that being created in rhc Image of God does not mean chat we rewmblc rhe

appearance of God, which would bc an absurd cunclusion, instead we resemble

the Dlr rne in rhat we have the poww t o create IIPW unir.erscs rhrocigh our own

thoughts 2nd actlons.

Wc exprrlencc this power when we clnseEr mvcstigatc our own minds and

tecognizr the conrlnud i rea t~on o f rhoughr-universes as an ongoing process.

Ilihen wc are deeply engaged in our thoughrs, we become numb to the physical

reality in which we are stand~ng during chase moments. lye seem to Jlsappear

into nus thoughts, and ehrsc ~ n n c r vnrlds beco~ne our realit):

We all knolz~ the story of the sage who awakens from a dream abour a burtrr-

fly wonderrng which i s rhc truth: tvvrrs hc dscarn~ng ahoul a buttci fl!; or is a hur-

rerfly now drearnlng about him? &Zany traditions. and in!.stlcs In general, belleve

rhar our mundane realit:. is norlung hut a dream thar wc Icusraln throughout each

dai. and that we coustnnd,v create new rIrmcncs in t111s dream. For cacll of us.

our rclnttve reality 1s our individual dream.

In addirton, J mystic would say that e ~ c h person 1s a vehicle of d i r~nc expres-

sion. Our accions. words, and thoughts act out dirtne p ro r~dc~~ce , and some

bcl~cw rliac free wiIl aIso a rule ln this process. SO we are not sirnFl,v

mbors, doing ehrner thar are Frcorclaincd, but are h r agents, TO r5 speak, who

individually affecr the way lifr unfolds. I Y h m w e are confused (wh~ch 1s most

of tllr time), wu ionfuse rhings that ~ n f l ~ ~ e n c e the way the world turns. IVhen

we arc clear, the expressrons of our actiot~s are also clear.

Tlic foundation pr~ncrplc of AhuIatia's prairiir. a c c o r d ~ ~ ~ g to Kabbalah, rs

rhar worlds are nsatcd wirh sound5 r'"And God StZTD9 lrt there be

Itght."). Vowels rcprcscnt these soun4s. Five cowels in part~cular arc

considered to bt primary, m-ith tile others as secondary. -4s desrritt.J earIier, the

6vc prlrnary vouds of Judaism arc 011 (as in tow!, Ah [as in pn or nln), Aa 1-35 In

w y j , Ee [as in h p ) , and Uu Cxq in de).

For Abulafia, each knrvcl is assnc~atcd w ~ t h a spcclfic hcad movement, whrch

is graphicall! rrFresented in che aclfoining rlIuscrarion. The movcmcncs are con-

n e c t ~ d with the way vowels are lvritrcn in Hebrew. The sound Oh r ? a dot over a

Irttcr, thus we raise our hcad ~rprr:lid and then rcturn to tenter when intoning this

sound. Thr sound Ah IS ;I line under a letter-wr turn our heads toward the lek

shoulder, pardel to the ground and then return to center tvhen sound~ng chis let-

ter. The sound Aa is represented by two docs on a line pralleI tu the ground, so

we d o the rtvcrsr of the last movern~~~c-wc turn our heads ru rhr right shoulder

Chanrrng rhr ,nunil Oh. b!nrvl! lift i m r r

hrad ,11i~% rlwn reniru to ct-ntcr.

C;hmtrng the sound Ah, slrnvI\- turn \our

III'RCI m Irtt .~nd icnrrn to center.

Chaptine tlrc ruund Aa. do~vlr. turn your 11mJ to tlic right and rrtnrn to cenrer.

;h3 Chmrin~ tht sound Ee. ,I~nvl! hiurr

f f !xwr henJ and return to ccnrcr.

(Jranrmg thr ~clund Uu. looking stta~ghr ahead. ~lo\vlr. lock ! Q I I ~ hcad i L r i+p~nl and karkuard 2nd then rcnlrn t o icnttr.

and thcn rerurra to ccntcr.The \otmJ Ec ir a dur lrndrr a Icrrcr, rI~us rrlc lo~\tcr ollr

heads and rrrur n to cciltcr w h m rnBiiig thc 17.e F O ~ I ~ I ~ . I'lr~dl!; thc L'u ~ c x m d I >

rctlrrscntcd as three Jots on an ~ n ~ l c , dnd ~t 1s rcptcsentcd bl. a dot tn thc mlddlrl

of n i rcrc~t~l Iine. T11c a\st>c~accd hrad murcment 5% f01~vard ~ I J b~ikxvarcl and

thcn rcturnlng rr, ici~tcr. At first thcsc head movcmcnrs arc cmpllas~zcil rvhcn n c

lnronc each rcspect1r.r vowel >ourid. .Iftter a hart rlinc, rI~e niuvemcnrs bccoinr

\*cry S I I L ~ C I E , l ~ i t lvc ;Jw,I;'s hare a srnsr of' cnch Inc>rrrnrnt when Joln? tl-u? practlcc.

TI115 helps us s ~ ~ s t a ~ n thc sequence of soundr. %\111ch bccome farrl~ coinplrcnted

in ad~anccd practlcr,

In Chapter 2, we Ifarlzcd a sFtcm of vorvel sound:. .111d .c~sualizatlons char

arc ashocl,~t~d ~ i t h thr Trcc of Llie, T h e pmccirr oh tlldr trchnqtlc Icads clnr

la a stare t ~ t ba1;tncr dnd Ii.~rmor~y. Abulat;nas sysrem 1% suincrt I ~ n r diffrrcnt. Hi5

sound> represent rou~els, as the! are nrrrrrcn In Hchrcw. svr~~led ivi& spccific

head movements. WhlIc the r~ar l r~r system was calm~ng and settling. Xhulafias

system is morc directcd toward dt.\cloplng c l a r ~ r s and conccntmtlon. HIS metliod Ir casy ro dcscr~be, but takes consiclcrablc practlce and coinrnlrlnenr to

masrcc Yct, ~t offcrs chc practitioner a port.nclal to dc\clo!> cxcraorc~inar~ skrlls

In concenrranon. The dercIoPnlrnt of concci~tratlon is clic founJart011 fbr .dl

adxanc~d bpirr~udI practjcc.

Wllcn the sekctcd ~r>~vcls asc uscd with namcs of God, I T is ns tf one is crc-

anng ncw unir-crses. ,Is mcnt~oned cnrl~cr, rhc mosr rransrmdent GoL{-name is

thc tctragr.~mmnton y-h-v-h. IVhen tach Icrtcr rs Frc>nwnccd, th i s r~mc \\ott!d

rcad jod-br~-\u~-hn. Howcvrr, in the basic prncticc of n d d q the vc>wcl 011, fur

example, to the 51ur consondnrs, rve would dcr i~c ?oh, hot? !<or, bop IYrth thc vo\vel

Ah, it would he 136, Etth, ah, birh

51 ttiilg srlll, clnprying Four mind, rhanring these consollaiit~ an J VDIVC~S wlrh

full focus dnrir?, you arc c~nu la r i i l~ rhc asser~tial crcatiie forcr. B!+ keeping

sharF and unconfused, yr~u are crcnrlng pure universes of unadulteratrd sound

vibrations. You should attempt to practice in that pur i t~ , of heart.

It IS much easler ro ltarn thls prnctlcc by d o ~ n g 1r d~an by rcad- 11Sl'tlN 733 TIWCK 3 $ l $ ~ ~ f . r ' t , i k 3 . t . 1 ~ rhanrs Ing I[. Turn now ro Track 3. (A wrrtcen d c > c r ~ ~ t ~ o n of chc prncrrcc

is included in the Appendix.)

COMBINING DOUBLETS

One o f the f ~ ~ n d a r n t n t ~ ~ l t c c h n ~ ~ u c s taught by Ahulafa is to chant *'doublets."

A Joublrt is rnadc up ot rivowel cornblncd with n cc~nsonant/vowel. Startrng

with thr vowel Oh, a complctr round could look like Oh-Yoh. Oh-Yah.

Oh-'14!, 011-Yee, Oh-You. Oh-Ho. Oh-Ha, Oh-Hey, Oh-He.

Oh-Hu, Oh-Chh. 011-\'ah, Oh-\Gh. Ot1-\4c, 011-Vu. Oh-Ha,

011-Ma, Oh-Hey Oh-Ile, 011-HLI . . . fidlou~ed by another cornFlerc

round lrke t h ~ s but bcFinnlnF with rhr Ah vowel. This round would he followed

bv nnc heginn~ng with the Aa cowel, then one wrth thc Ec and finall! one w t d ~

the Uu.

Notice chat this description may srrm confusing whrn you rcaJ it. The !ngi-

c31 part of che brain wants to "figtlre IK out." But once you actually hrem to

expri-icnce the d~ant lng process on a somatic level, with thc hody, you will see

thar it works much inore easily than logic had suggested.

Begin by tnhdlnF whdc sirnultanc~usl~ internally making the sound of the

vowel. Then, with each exhalauon, you w~l l makc the respective To TRACJ< ' consonant. Always ternernbcr to niovc rhc h a d slishrlr as you makc

A I n u l ~ t ~ d d<~1t.~li.i5

each sound, as this movement will assist !.our abi l~ty to stay with the

correct sequence. Now please turn to Track 4, and ~ O I I w111 soon esperwnce a flow

that will cart! !,uu through the pr~cticr.

ABULAFIA'S PURE SOUND PRACTICE The Oh Swnd la lmaginr that )vu want ro make a pure Oh .sound. Now do it, chancing 01-1 on

a Full exhalation. Notice p u r mind. Each time ic &.ifis, gently come back to the

sounding of Oh. Fee1 where this sound klhrates in p u r body Continue chantq the

011 sound three rimes, comFlrtely covenng the enelre exhatarion with rhc sound.

Ih. Continue makine the Oh sound threc more t u n e s , but as you are sounding

the vowel, slfiwls snif gmr(la ra~sryorrr~fare arid Atad a few ~nct~es , as tf ?nu are look-

ing u p at the twelve on a Iargc clock in front o f you. Return to center a s each

cxhalat~on comer to an end, so you 15,111 be moving your hcdd chrec times, once

o n each exhaiatlon. Now rest for a few rnomenrs.

The Ah Sound 2a. Imagine you want to ~rnake a pure Ah sound. Chanr Ah for a full exhalation.

Each time the mind drifts, gently bring your consciousness back t o the soundrne

of Ah. Notice where rhls sound vibrates in your body. Continue with threc Ah

sounds, completeIy covering the entire exhalation with the sound.

2h. As yuu arc sounding Ah three more times, slowk and niovcqnirr h~d ~ n d face

tmvartl your left shoulder as if looking at nine o'clock on a large clock in frcrnr of

you. Kemrn to cenccr a each exhdarron comes ro m rnd. 50 !nu will tw rnorbinq your

hear three times, once on each exhalarion. Now rcsr qu;etl;r for a few moments.

The Aa Sound 3a. Repeat 22 for the pure Aa sound,

3b. Repeat 2h Ibr the Xa sound, this time ~~r~lvirgyorrr h~lrd torvurrl' t h ~ rght shouldfr

(three o'clock, anL{ rcrurning to center on tach cxhalatlon.

The Ee Sound

4a. RcFcac 2a for the pure Ee so~ind.

4b. Rcptat 2b for the Ee sound. this timr wavrng3vrir hrsd iSlriu~ t~word tht-_floor (six

o'clock~l and returning to center on each exhalation.

The UU Sound

5, Repeat 2 a for the FUrC Crr bound.

5b. Repcat 7h. this tlmc with two movements: First, p~rsh the head gt~rt(t.fiward,

lonkin,~_forwanT, as if moving che head inro the mlddIe of ihe clock. Next, rhr head hnck t~ iitlrcr irt~d rontrnue ptrllzni bark sslYLh i~ebtrrd arltrr Finall!; rcrurn ro center.

Both forward and backward and rhcn rcrr~rning to cenrer arc a11 done on rach

~xhnlatlon while simriltancot~sI~ sounding the Uu. Thus, we hare fivc s o u n d l n ~ rowels and six directions: up, left, nght, down,

forward and back, rrprcsrncing the SIX dtrcctions of space. During this pmctlcc.

we bccornr thr ccntrr of thc creation of a mulr~tude of ~ u r e universcc. in all dit ections. T h ~ b is very pou~erful, deepl! settling, with extraordinar? bencfirs on

the JeveI of purtfication.

REPEATING THE SEQUENCE T h e o~dcl in which the head mot~ons are dcscr~hrd ahovc 1s a scqurnie that rn

Abulafia practlce IS aIwa!.s folIowed: up. Icft, right, down, forward, and backward.

In additinn. there head movemenrs are always as.;ocintcJ with dle ro\vei sounds:

Oh (up;. Ah (left). Aa (right), Ee (down), and Uu (funvad and backward".

Now. add 'the y-h-v-h. dnmg a round o f rowels fbr cach consonant: ?oh,

vah. yay. yce, yu; ho. hah, hey he, hu: vo, vah, vqv, we. ru; and finally repeating

hn. hah, hey, he, hu.

Practrce this scquenrc O F head movrmencs and make the associated so~~nds.

one prr cxhal~tlon, for at least [en minutes, extending cach eshalatlon to corn-

fcjrrabk lengrhs. Llsrrn to thr sound of your own voice, feel the lntcrnal vibra-

tions as the sound ~ h ~ f t s , and allow the mrnd to rest as much as possibIe.

T h e imporcant p r t of this inicinl process is rn crnbod? the sounds and hraJ

movements In a rvay that the sequence heromps natural and a~tromaric. T h e head

movements rhcmselres sl~ould become increas~ngIy subtle, so as not to make

yourwIf dlzt!; hut they shotrld a l r ~ a ~ s be done In some wa!; even ~f only an rnch

or so of rach movement. It will not rake long before you will no t h a w to refer

t o the chart, bur will in facr haw an automattc rngralnrd relacionship with the

sounds a11d head movements.

VOCAL CHANTING AND SILENT CHANTlNG

Practice this process tach day for ar least ~FWY~I ininutrs, bur nil l o l ~ ~ ~ r than

forty-five minutes. you krl comfortable doing this sequence with your eyes

C I O S P ~ . you can dternatr vocaI c h a n c ~ n ~ rvith silent trlrernal chanting rn whtch you

conr i~x~e to hear the sorlnds In your mind but you do not x,ocal~zc them.

ZVhiIc ruial chanting can only be nccomplishcd on cxhdat~nns, Internal slIenc

chanting can easilv be exrcnded ro borh inhalations and rxhalatrons. IYhm

vocalizing. br sure to start the sound Frecisc.ly at the moment you bcpn to

exhale and cn coordinate thr. complcr;on of the sound wrth thc end nC t I ~ c cxI~a-

Iacion. Jl'hcn shifcing tu silrnt chanting, it is st111 important to ~ ~ n c h r u n i z c efir

innrr sound with thr tSxacc moments of beginning and ending cnch inhalation

and rxhalat~on, to [Ire best of your ability. The object is to immerse oneself in

rhc cxprricncc of the breath and its sound.

One way to do srlenr c h ~ n t i n g 1 5 sirnpl! to follow the i.equrnce o f con-

sonanrs cornbined wr th thc regular secluencc of r-owels. There are numcraus

y o s s ~ b ~ l ~ c ~ e s for determining which of many variations you m11 undertake. See

the following charts.

VARlATIONS ON ABULAFIA'S YH-VH BREATH PRACTICE (reddl ng ~ O L I ~ I I ench rohr mr!)

(Notiic thar each column could switch exhalations for inhalations and could be

read froin thr bottam up ~nsread of the top down; thus each column rrprcsents

four F o ~ i b l e variations, giving a total of sixrcen variations. Column A is the

easi~st; Column C is the must J~fficuEt.)

(Keep ;n mind to minimalIy move the head according co the inner ~ o ~ v e l

solmd: Oh (up), Ah (!eft), Aa ( r i~h r ) , Ec (down). Uu T.forwarJ and backward).

I~thale . . . 3

Exhale ... 4

Inhale . . . 5

Eshalc . . b

You

Mo

You

Ho

I-ld

Hev

Vah

Ha

\'a y

\ 'ec

Inhjlc . . . IS

Exhale . . . 10

Inhale . . . I7

Exhale . . . I8

Inhale . . . 19

Eshalc . . . 20

ABULAFIA'S BREATH AND CHANTING PRACTICE WITH DOUBLETS Each doublet is madr up of' an init~al vowel. co br wliispered intcrnaIly on cach

inhalation, followed by a consonant cln the cshalarion.1Jc will give herc only the

easiest form. There are many possible vdrrations that the advanced practit~oncr

will he able to work out on hls or her own. Keep In mind to minimallr move

the head accord~ng to the Inner vowel sound: Oh (up), Ah (Icft!, Aa (nghtj, Er

(down). Uu ,forward and backward;.

Y-H-V-H doublet sequence beginning with the vowel Oh. Instrucc~ons: Read the columns vercicaIly, rllF ro bottom, first all of A, then B, C and D. Inhale the sound O h sllcntly, exhale and vocalizr clze rrs~ective vowel sound

in a quiet whisper. Brcathc normally, d o not rush or intentionally lengthen thr

breach. Ewntualls the entire practice can be accom~lishrd silrncIy When the Oh stquence is completed as shown, continue with the Ah scqucnce on next page.

A R c n Tnhalc O h O h O h O h Exh~lc Yeh Ho Voh Ho

Inhde 011 O h 0 11 0 11 Exhalr Yah Ha \hh Ha

Inhalc Oh Oh Oh Oh

Euhale Yay Hay \[I? Hay

Inhale Oh Oh Oh Oh ExhaIc I t e He \ke He

InhaIe Oh Oh Oh Oh

ExhaIe Yoti Hu \ '11 H u

Y-H-V-H doublet sequence beginning with the vowel Ah.

Inhale

Erhale

InhaIc

EvhaIc

Inhale

Exhalc

Inhale

Exhalc

Inhale

Eahalr

A

Ah

Yoh

Ah Yah

-4 ll

Hay

Ah

He

Ah

Hu

Y-H-V-H doublet sequences beginning with the vowels Aa, Ee and Uu.

Alirr cornplesing t I~c Ah sequence, the practice conrrnues wlth .m Aa seqalcnct.,

simply r u b s t ~ r t ~ r i n ~ Aa as the vowel sound, then an Ee sequence and finally a U u

sequence. The completion o f the Uu sequencr is considered one full round.

Many students practice untd they are ahk to do a full round at the beginning

of each meditation Fcriod.This requires considrrahle concentration and s~gnifi-

candy clerprns one's praccice when a round 1s accumplished without mistakes.

UThen rhe above scquencc 1s mastered, new sequences that are mote challenging

can be developed by che student.