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Much has been written about Qabalah (Kabbalah) and it is easy to understand why people may think it’s too confusing or for a chosen few only.  It is also easy to understand the reasoning that with so many other spiritual options to choose from, why the Qabalah should be separated out; what has the Qabalah got that can’t be found elsewhere?

The ancient teachings of the Qabalah (Kabbalah) mapped on the Tree of Life are in essence incredibly simple.  There are many levels but like anything we have to start at the beginning and take things one step at a time.  Who begins driving lessons learning how to drive an HGV lorry?  Who begins medical training operating on the brain?  The idea is absurd and it’s no different for the Qabalah, if we want to find out what Qabalah (Kabbalah) is really all about we need to start with the basics and work our way up.

So what is it all about?  What is the point of it and why would anyone want to study the Qabalah?

First of all let’s begin with what the Qabalah is not.  It is not a religion nor is it a cult.  Cults tend to draw people in and want to keep hold of them.  With the Qabalah (Kabbalah) we go as far as we feel we need to and everyone has to find their own level.

The Qabalah is more a way of life.  It opens up our awareness on all levels and encourages us to look at ourself, our life, the ‘bigger picture’ in a different way.  It highlights where our strengths and weaknesses are and starts to bring out the ‘real’ you. 

It isn’t a religion but it embraces all faiths and beliefs.  It recognises there is value in everything and teaches there are no wrongs or rights just different perspectives.  We don’t have to be in a spiritual ‘gang’ and swear allegiance to only follow that route.  The Qabalistic route is walking the path this is right for us and not concerning ourselves with how others are walking their path or making judgements.  Qabalists judge only themselves in any given situation and remembers at all times there is a bigger picture.

It has been said the Qabalah is too complicated or that people are concerned about getting ‘sucked’ into it.  The Qabalah is very complex – spirituality is a huge topic but it is also beautifully simple and if we start at the beginning then like a jigsaw the pieces start to fall into place and our understanding of it grows – the mental pennies start to drop.

The Qabalistic teachings are mapped out on the Tree of Life.  The Tree of Life is like a road map, it leads us from one area of life into another.  The bottom of the Tree looks at how good we are at surviving and playing this game called life, and the top of the Tree represents everything new and in a pure state of being.

The idea is to identify what our dreams are and successfully bring these desires into manifestation and to bear fruit.  The spiritual journey mapped out on the Tree of Life helps us find ways of leading lives that are more in line with the ‘real’ us.

How many people are not happy?  How many people spend an awful lot of their time just trying to survive?  How many people are in relationships that are not equal or working in jobs that do not bring fulfilment and creative potential remains undiscovered and unused. The Qabalah is simply about tapping into that creative power and leading more fulfilling and happier lives.  The bigger picture is a world full of creative individuals leading more fulfilling and happier lives.  That’s not such a bad thing surely to be ‘sucked’ into.

The Qabalah works very much on a practical level and the teachings start by encouraging us to look at the life we are leading and the private world we have created for ourselves.  The focus is on being grounded as well as spiritually aware.  It looks at healing and the importance of being self-sufficient and learning how to heal self. All aspects of healing are included as well as paying attention to what is going on and recognising help that is available spiritually.  Self-discipline and self motivation are two essential requirements.  Those two qualities are necessary if we want to make positive changes in our life.  If we want to change our life and invite new, fresh things into it then that often means we have to be prepared to ‘do’ something new and different in order to activate the changes.  Life is meant to be about experiencing new things and learning new skills.  Comfort zones are little more than ruts.  Sticking always to what we know (even if we hate it) and feel comfortable with is not progression but more like stagnation.

The aim is to become as the Shepherd and not the Sheep; to be the Master of our own life.

So you can see there is nothing ‘fluffy’ about the Qabalah and there is no need to limit ourselves.  The Qabalah embraces many things including healing, angels and crystals.

Paying attention to the sort of images and attitudes occupying our mind is another very important aspect to the Qabalah.  Our feelings affect the way we think, and the way we think influences the type of experiences we draw towards us.

If it is so easy for us to simply ‘think’ something into manifestation then why do we not have a world full of ‘genies’ making wishes come true? 

Most people without realising it are handing over their power every time they react to something in a negative and unproductive way.

The Qabalah helps us peel back the layers and get to the core of who we are and how we tick.  So many things influence and affect us and unless we get to grips with our weaknesses, then like an Achilles heel, they will continually bring us down and prevent us from tapping into and using the creative power available to us and drawing what we want into our lives.

Astrology and the Tarot also play an important role in the Qabalah.  The Tree of Life is a tool that is used with the Qabalistic teachings. It features ten circles called sephiroth and twenty-two lines called ‘paths’.  Each of those sephiroth aligns with an astrological planet and each of the paths relates to one of the twenty-two major Arcana tarot cards. The ten sephiroth and twenty-two paths make up the thirty-two paths of enlightenment and provide the route we take on our journey of spiritual discovery on the Tree of Life.

For the purpose of studying the Qabalah astrology is used as a means of finding out who we really are.  One of the key phrases within the Qabalah is ‘Know Thyself’. What many people find illuminating with astrology is that it gets them appreciating the way they view themselves may be very different from how others see them.  Astrology highlights the sort of first impression we make on others and where our strengths and weaknesses lie.  Just finding out how we are perceived can be a bit of an eye-opener.  All sorts of hints and tips can be found through studying a birth chart including understanding what sort of communication skills we have bearing in mind that effective communication is as much about listening as imparting information; learning more about moods and what triggers emotional reactions, looking at self-worth and deep feelings etc.  

Tarot is a means of getting answers to our questions.  No tarot reading is set in concrete they are for guidance purposes only.  Our personalities ask the questions and our higher selves answer them through the tarot.  As we explore these two skills so the Qabalah helps us find ways of raising our vibrations so we can connect on a level higher than that of our personality.  The Qabalah helps us appreciate the difference between behaving in a way that doesn’t work for us and finding more effective ways of handling situations / people etc. to achieve the desired outcome.  The tarot also works hand in hand with astrology and the elements – fire, water, earth and air.  The numbers of the cards relate to the Tree of Life and in some tarot packs astrological signs of the zodiac and planets are depicted which again align with astrology. 

The aim is to always make choices and decisions that are right for us.  That is the art behind the Qabalah – raising awareness and operating on a higher level.  It is easy to spot someone who works from a higher level rather than someone who is operating purely from a subjective stance.  We may not be in control of what others say or do but we can be in control over how we behave and what we say.  How many of us are though?  An emotional reaction often catches us unaware.  It is like a habit, we don’t think about biting our nails or twiddling with our hair, we just do it.  Our emotional reactions are governed by the state of our subconscious and further investigation into how we react and respond and what ‘triggers’ us off helps us, through becoming aware, to take control over our emotions and to avoid behaving in ways that are unproductive and even destructive. We also have to be realistic about our expectations bearing in mind that expectation can be the Mother of Disappointment.  How well do we deal with disappointment? The Qabalah helps us to hope rather than expect and to be mindful of the fact that there is a bigger picture and if we want to move forward on our journey through life we might have to accept that what we want may not be on the cards plotted out for our destiny.

So what is destiny all about and what’s the difference between fate and destiny?  Destiny is what we are destined to do this lifetime; fate is what kicks us into touch and prevents us from moving out of line from our destiny.

How frustrating is it to put your heart and soul into something only to continually fail.  Why does this keep happening?  This is one of the biggest challenges we all have to face and the Qabalah helps us to find answers to those questions and understand more about karma, our personal karma and also that of our family.

Everyone has ‘stuff’.  We all have areas of life that challenge us.  It could be related to money and difficulties handling money or earning a living.  It could be linked to relationships and difficulties maintaining harmonious ties with others.  It could be to do with health or work or emotions or anything but the point is we all have ‘stuff’.   If we didn’t have ‘stuff’ then we would be perfect and there would be no need to incarnate.  The purpose of re-incarnation is to give us the opportunity to put right and resolve issues and mistakes of the past.  We are here to learn.  We are all each others teacher and we all play a part in each others karma.  We help set the scene to enable each other the opportunity to enact various scenarios and experience certain things.

We will have times when everything flows wonderfully and we are ‘at one with the universe’ and then there are times when everything falls down and keeps on falling down and it seems we take one step forward only to slide back three.  How well or badly we handle these chains of events determines how often or hard we will be hit with it.  Cycles that we get caught up in, negative habit patterns, these are all things that the Qabalah covers and when we finally realise what we are doing to ourselves this is when we get our proofs that the Qabalah works and why it becomes a way of life because we find better ways of living that works for us.  Past life work and regressions can be useful to help us understand why we find ourselves in the situations we are in, why we have an affinity with certain places and people and why we recognise people without having met them in this lifetime before or feel we know a place we haven’t visited before.

The Qabalah encompasses many different things that can help us in our daily lives.  It is easy to get confused by looking at a picture of the Tree of Life because there is so much information that can be linked to it.  Angels and Archangels, colours, chakras, symbols, perfumes, plants, crystals – these are some of things that the Qabalah includes but if taken one step at a time then it’s easy to see the benefits and its truly exciting to see how everything interacts and works together.

The Qabalah brings awareness and that awareness often opens up choices and possibilities that may never otherwise see the light of day.

Qabalah Workbooks: Malkuth - The Kingdom / Yesod - The Foundation (coming soon)

© Lorraine Morgan The Order of the White Lion

Inspirational Journeys

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