In this Age of Aquarius we are all on a journey towards expanded awareness. We are all on this path, whether our conscious rational mind has agreed to it or not. Slowly, but surely, the clouds of illusion are becoming thinner and less imposing. For at the end of our journey, at last there is only the true basic reality: Light.
The language of Kabbalah gives the tools needed to provide the quantum effects that prayer was originally intended to produce. Of all human activity there is nothing so innate to man as prayer. It is one of the few activities of man that has no counterpart in the animal world, for only man is destined to rule over the entire universe and all that is contained within it.
As with everything in the coded text of the Bible, this central message is hidden. Witness Adam’s first assigned task in the Garden of Eden:
And out of the ground the Lord formed every beast of the field and every fowl of the air; and brought them unto Adam to see what he would call them; and whatsoever Adam called every living creature that was the name thereof.
This exercise was designed to do far more than keep Adam occupied and insulate him from ennui. Of all the fears that bedevil mankind, none is so terrifying as fear of the unknown; what is unknown can neither be avoided nor controlled. By naming the creatures of a newly formed world, Adam became the master of his environment. According to the Zohar, Adam was the first and only human at the time of Creation with the ability to control the vast universe. However, he was not the last of his line to wield the power of a name.
The Zohar abounds with references to the goal of man achieving mastery of his destiny. As portrayed by the Zohar, man is a spiritual entity whose fate is determined by his thoughts and actions. Rather than presenting a rigid need for adherence to dogmatic doctrine, Kabbalah places prayer in the context of spiritual experience.
The Book of Genesis declares that man was created on the sixth day of the Creation process. Why, asks, the Zohar, was the creation of man saved for last? Because he is the culmination of all that preceded. More than a mere participant in the cosmic scheme, man, according to the Zohar, was given the role of determiner of universal and galactic activity.
The Zohar reveals the dynamic interplay and interconnectedness between our universe and ourselves:
For there is not a member in the human body that does not have its counterpart in the world as a whole. For a man’s body consists of members and parts of various ranks, all acting and reacting upon each other so as to form one organism, so too does the world at large consist of a hierarchy of created things, which when they properly act and react upon each other form one organic body.
The preceding Zohar passage stresses the intimate connection between the celestial kingdom and our mundane realm. As seen by the Zohar, the human body is a reflection of the vast cosmos. Human organs and limbs mirror the dynamics of a universal dance that is ever present.
The Zohar predicts that all inhabitants of planet Earth will one day come to grips with the profound mysteries of our cosmos and the many problems confronting mankind. No longer will individuals be forced to bow to the wisdom of experts, scientists and authorities who live in a rarefied intellectual atmosphere, beyond the reach of the mainstream of humanity. In that time, which has now become known as the Age of Aquarius, the individual will again seize control of his sense of wonder and inquisitiveness, and thus armed, regain a thorough knowledge of the exact nature of the universe and of each person’s place in it.
Prayer, or the language of Kabbalah, is a “Jacob’s ladder” connecting and combining Earth and the celestial realms. Most people are initially surprised to discover the significant role prayer plays in the Biblical text. For the most part, prayer or meditation is used nowadays to beseech the assistance and support of the Lightforce when one is troubled, or to express thanksgiving when the Lightforce responds and fulfills our needs.
From a kabbalistic point of view, however, prayer, as it is expounded in the Biblical text, has a completely different and even opposite role. Instead of concentrating on the literal meaning of the prayers, the kabbalist dwells in the realm of the Divine forces, and when reciting the words, directs his mind to the Lightforce that governs and motivates every living force.
The doctrine of kavanah, which is the meditation that accompanies the words of prayer, is primary, whereas the words themselves are considered secondary in importance. The kabbalist considers the words as the body or channel for the more important phase of kavanot, which I liken to the soul of prayer.
Bahya Ibn Paquda remarks that prayer without concentration, or kavanot, is like a body without a soul, or a husk without a kernel. The word kavanah stems from the word kivune, direction, indicating that the mind must take a direction when reciting prayers. As for the word prayer, the Hebrew word most commonly used for it is tefillah, the root of which means trivial, or secondary.
These etymological resonances fit perfectly with the kabbalistic conception of prayer as being a means of control that gives one the opportunity to become the master of one’s destiny. Prayer, then, is the communication system by which man fulfills the original intent and purpose of his existence as described in Genesis, as previously mentioned.
The spiritual essence of the Hebrew Alphabet or Aleph-Bet emanates from the highest realms of the Sefirot, the energy packets of the Lightforce of the Creator. The Aleph-Bet and the words that are formed from it are permeated with the spirit of the Creator, and thus sealed with the Impression of His Signature, which is Truth.
To whom is the Creator close? The question is posed in the Zohar regarding the words, “The Lord is near to those who call upon Him.” The answer is: “To those who call upon Me in Truth.” The Zohar asks, “Is there anyone who would call falsely?” Rav Abba said, “Yes. It is the one who calls (prays) and knows not whom he calls.”
The Zohar raises and answers yet another question: “What is the meaning of the word emet (truth)? The answer is: “It is the seal and connection to the Lightforce.” Truth then, embodies the Lightforce of the Creator. Truth is not relative, nor is it the opinion that carries the most weight. And Truth is not merely an aspect of our morality code, insofar as it demands that we always tell the truth.
Truth is an idea, notion or activity containing the fundamental reality of the Lightforce. This is the essential thing we must understand when we pray. To “call upon Him in Truth” refers to our ability to transcend the illusional-rational realm of existence and connect with the Infinite.
Thus, the symbol of Jacob’s ladder represents prayer as a ladder by which mankind may link the celestial and terrestrial spheres, with the Angels being the intermediaries as it were; carrying messages from one to the other. Unfortunately, states the Zohar, “most people who pray in their house of worship walk out empty.” Their prayers are recited in a robotic state of consciousness, devoid of any conscious meditative state of kavanot. Truth is then absent, despite the recitation of each and every word of the prayer.
“Prayer should be offered with proper kavanah on the words uttered in the Lord’s presence.” Rav Eliezer said, “He that makes his prayer a fixed task, his prayer is not a prayer.” Rav Shimon ben Nethaniel said: “When you pray, make not your prayer a fixed form. A person who has just returned from a journey and is consequently unable to concentrate (kavanah) properly, should not pray until three days have elapsed.”
What seems to emerge from the preceding Talmudic passages is that the words by and within themselves do not serve the essential purpose of prayer. When the proper meditation for any particular prayer is not made, the words of prayer fall short of the target. According to the Zohar, kavanah, the directed-meditation system, is a significant and integral element for spiritual growth.
They said further that all depends on the kind of speech, action and kavanah to which a man habituates himself, for he draws to himself here below from on high that side to which he habitually cleaves. I found also in the same book the rites and ceremonies pertaining to the functions of the planets and signs of the constellations, and the directions for concentrating the thought upon them so as to draw them nearer to the worshipper. The same principle applies to him who seeks to be attached to the sacred spirit on high. For it is by his fervor and devotion (kavanah) that he can draw to himself that spirit on high.
What emerges from the preceding Zohar passage is that prayer is something more than merely a method or device by which we express our gratitude to the Creator for the beneficence that He sheds upon us. Prayer is man’s participation in the quantum dynamics of the cosmos, in which our fragmented universe is once again to be restored to its original unity.
In another section of the Zohar, we find that the recitation of the words themselves is not to be considered as fulfilling or accomplishing the objective of prayer, as is clearly stated in the following excerpt:
Prayer is made up of both action (teffilin, tallit, standing, sitting and other prerequisites) and speech, and when the action is faulty, speech does not find a spot to rest in; such prayer is not prayer, and the man offering it is defective in the upper world and the lower.
This is not the only Zohar passage that clearly indicates the power and importance of prayer and teaches that prayer is anything but a matter of obedience, a form of request for assistance, or an expression of thanksgiving.
Indeed, prayer is anything but a robotic instrument for alleviating the hearts of the saddened and the conscience of the evil doer. Our very lives and environment depend on this very powerful instrument, because it allows us to achieve control over our destinies. The hostile environment, the threatening cosmos, the natural enemies of our physical body, the degenerative process of aging – all represent the trials and tribulations that each of us faces every day.
Life, as humanly experienced, is a picture of chaos and suffering, from the first day that we breathe life into our physical system. For many, the struggle may begin in our mother’s womb. No matter when it starts, the bottom line reads like a broken record: chaos, misfortune, and more of the same tomorrow. Somehow, despite our reverence and belief in prayer, nothing has really changed.
It therefore should come as no surprise that most of Earth’s inhabitants no longer include prayer as part of their daily routine. The time-honored ritual of prayer has not retained its magic spell in most religions. And yet, prayer with kavanah, as practiced by the Kabbalah Centres all over the globe, has drawn tens of thousands to its practice, despite their inability to understand the meanings of the words used, or, for that matter, even to be capable of reading the words. For the majority of its adherents, scanning has more than sufficed for them to experience the effect of prayer. No doubt, the added ingredient of kavanah changed the feeling from that of robotic-obedience to one of connection with the Lightforce.
Another example provided by the Zohar, which shows the true, astonishing extent of the significance of prayer, is the lengthy discourse on the “prayers ascending on high.”
Rav Yossi further discoursed on the verse: And he said unto me, “Thou art my servant, Israel, in whom I will be glorified.” Observe that in prayer by which a person must pray to the Lightforce, there is an outer, bodily connection with the Lightforce and an inner, spiritual connection, which is the essential true totality of prayer.
The body possesses twelve members that participate in the outer, bodily connection with the Lightforce (namely; two hands, two feet, each of which contain three segments making a total of twelve parts).
Then there are the twelve internal members which are considered the spiritual aspect of the body, (namely: the brain, heart, liver, mouth, tongue, five wings of the lung, and two kidneys) whose act of connection with the Lightforce is of benefit to the spirit. For this is the internal and precious worship of the Lightforce, as expounded among the mysteries taught by Rav Shimon, and as belonging to the mysteries of supernal wisdom known to the Companions, praiseworthy is their portion.
Prayer belongs to and is connected with the spirit. Deep mysteries are attached to it. For mankind does not know that a person’s prayer splits and penetrates the ethereal spaces, pierces the firmament, opens openings and ascends on high.
At the moment of daybreak, when the light becomes separated from darkness, a proclamation goes forth throughout all the firmaments, stating: Prepare yourself, you guardians at the doors, you sentinels of the Palace – each one to his post!
For the day-attendants are not the same as the night-attendants, the two groups replacing each other with the succession of day and night.
This secret is alluded to in the passage, “the greater light (sun) to rule by day . . . and the lesser light to rule by night” indicating the day-attendants and the night attendants . . . Each one, following the proclamation, is assigned his suitable place.
The Shechinah [the quantum, collective consciousness of the entire universe] then descends and Israel enters the place of prayer to offer praise to their Master in song and hymn. It behooves, then, every man, after equipping himself with the emblems of the outer, bodily connection (such as the fringes and phylacteries), to unify his heart and internal being for the act of worship and to say his prayers with devotion.
The angelic attendants all await the proper prayer to ascend to the ethereal realm. And if it is fitly uttered, all the chieftains kiss that utterance of prayer and carry it aloft into the supernal firmament where other chieftains await it. Then the letters of the Divine Name that abide in the ethereal space soar upwards.
That Divine Name is formed of twelve letters and is the one by which Elijah the Prophet literally flew to the ethereal regions until he reached heaven. The letters, then, of the Name fly upwards with the prayer-utterance, in company with the chief who holds the keys of the ether and all the other chiefs, until heaven is reached. Happy is the portion of the man who knows the proper way in which to structure his prayer.
The power and significant consequences connected to and resulting from prayer as presented by this Zohar passage are something we might expect to read in some science fiction novel or to appear on some movie screen as a first-rate outer-space film. Prayer as described in this Zohar passage does not seem to resemble or reflect the concept of prayer that conventional religion proposes or postulates to its congregants.
The notion that prayer, when properly directed, can provide mankind with the opportunity to fly in space will most certainly be dismissed, if not rejected outright, by most religious leaders. However, considering the uselessness and futility of conventional prayer, our civilization can ill afford to reject the significance of kavanah.
And yet, for years, the majority of worshippers with well-meaning intentions have realized that something is amiss. The result is empty places of worship, because for the most part those same worshippers have become disillusioned and consider prayer an exercise in futility.
Most well-intentioned members of congregations are completely ignorant of the fact that kavanah is the mainstay of prayer. To attribute the drama of so-called miracles to the Lightforce of the Creator rather than to man’s consciousness is a devastating corruption of belief. How often have we asked: Where was the Light when I needed Him most? How does the Light choose his victims or survivors? Who determines which people shall be the lucky or unlucky ones? The Light?
The answers to these questions, states the Zohar very emphatically, are found in examining human activities, and this is where using the knowledge of Kabbalah comes into play. With the proper kavanot and the use of the 72 Names of God, Moses became the master of our corporeal, material realm. Armed with the awesome power of the Kabbalah, Moses and the Israelites were able to overcome the obstacle presented by the Red Sea.
We may believe that the events we encounter originate with the Lightforce of the Creator. Nothing could be further from the truth. The all-embracing unified whole, the Lightforce, has become shrouded in mystery as regards its essential meaning. Consequently, service, worship, and devotion have become menacing demonstrations of violence, mistrust, conflicts in which each side believes itself right and the other wrong, and even murder, all for the sake of, and in the name of, God. Of course, one’s participation in all this depends upon which suit of clothes or belief one might be clinging to at a particular time or age.
These distortions, unfortunately, considering they are even stronger than the poor social or political reasoning that leads to violence, emerged concurrently with the establishment of varied religions and their offshoots – and there are so many. That is not to say that religion should not, or does not, exercise an important function in the development of human character.
However, somewhere something went wrong. Along the way we began to assume the duties of “God’s policemen.” We developed ideas about what might be beneficial to our fellow man. (And from this intellectual arena, the notion of improving our neighbor or environment would move to the battlefield.) If we failed to influence or convince others of our intent to enhance their lot, then we believed a more convincing approach to achieve the noble objective was to speak in the name of the Lightforce.
Failing in that attempt, we began waging war in the name of justice, or the Light, without ever considering that it might never have been the Lightforce’s intent to introduce suffering, pain, and chaos as a solution to our problems. Examining the attributes of the Lightforce of the Creator should have sufficed to bring us to the conclusion that murder, no matter whether in the name of justice or in the name of the Lord, never could or would be sanctioned by the Creator.
The idea that the Lightforce favors some over others raises the question of whether the Light is partial and prejudicial. The Light is neither of these. The Light does not punish the infidels nor does He reward the faithful. The notion of reward and punishment, that the Light rewards obedience and punishes the disobedient, is not contained in the teachings of Kabbalah. It is, rather, the thoughts and actions of mankind that result in the good and bad consequences which we think of as rewards and punishments.
Due to Bread of Shame, the Lightforce underwent His own restriction. The restraint dictated that mankind must be provided with sufficient free will to achieve the purpose of Creation, namely the removal of Bread of Shame. The Light does not interfere with this process. Consequently, the fulfillment of the effect of human activity was left to the Light. So, depending on our behavior, the Light carries out the results of our activity. However, at the same time, the Light knew at the outset that man would find the path leading to his objective strewn with obstacles and a maze of difficulties. He therefore provided the system of prayer, by which mankind may overcome the impediments found along the journey of life.
Aware of our natural tendency towards robotic consciousness, in which state the Satan has the power to convince man he has self-control while he is behaving robotically, the idea of kavanah was established. Kavanah, and only kavanah, states the Zohar, moves man from a robotic state of consciousness to one of mind control.
One of the simplest examples of how little control we are able to exercise over the mind is found in the attempt to still the mind. Take a mere fifteen seconds of your time to relax and let the mind be still. I have found only a handful of people who can accomplish such a seemingly trivial feat and do not have thoughts flood the mind during the period they seek to still it. This is the work of Satan, who floods us with thoughts to frustrate our period of silence. But kavanah is our answer.
Satan plays many tricks on us. He may bring us to a point of success, good health, and exceptional relationships. He will have us believe we have accomplished these wonderful things on our own, independent of any outside assistance or influence. Then, at a precise moment, when he believes he has ensnared us, all hell breaks loose. Suddenly, we find ourselves helpless, hopeless and without any notion of which direction to turn. Our mind seems to go blank. Satan even brings us to the point where we do not manage to form the idea, “If my ingenuity brought me to this point, how come the creative mind I supposedly possess does not serve me now or in this particular dilemma?”
Satan is an excellent anesthesiologist. He has put mankind to sleep, although our egocentricity – another agent of the Opponent – finds this difficult to come to grips with. So many decisions are required each day, and I am the one making them. Doesn’t this indicate that our brain, or mind, exercises control over our activities?
But, if we are asleep – the inference being that we are acting robotically – then those decisions or conclusions come about regardless of our conscious intervention. How many times have we taken long trips on superhighways and, after many hours of driving, realize that the past one or two hundred miles have gone by without our notice?
We can drive an automobile and yet permit our minds to wander elsewhere. This is equally true for persons who have been doing their daily prayers for years. They may be aware of the opening prayer, then, unexpectedly, they find themselves at the final prayer completely unaware of what transpired in between.
The purpose of kavanah and consequently of prayer itself, is to achieve an elevated state of consciousness and additionally direct the mind toward that with which the mind must unite and merge.
Elevating our consciousness simply means moving from our usual state of robotic consciousness to one in which we take affirmative action, take our mind by the hand, and with our own initiative, advise and command.
I am fully prepared for the probability of uncomplimentary responses to what has just been stated. We are all under the influence of the Opponent, who breeds his chaos and misfortune by imposing upon us feelings of complacency and self-contentment, albeit only temporarily. The moment he understands that we have arrived at a self-assured state of mind, that we feel the comfort of knowing that we are in control, he removes the rug from under us. The world comes tumbling down.
Our brain – so it seems – for some indeterminable reason, no longer serves us well. Problems appear insurmountable, threatening impending chaos, and we find ourselves at a loss in coping with them. What happened? What brought about the shift from being, for example, a successful entrepreneur to facing bankruptcy and helplessness without any sign of hope on the horizon?
For a while, Satan retains his mastery over our minds and provides us with an infinite array of reasons as to why it happened to “me.” Our mind reflects upon and rationalizes the predicament we now find ourselves in, whether it is our finances, a relationship, or a state of health that now seems to be in a chaotic condition for which we can find no solution. Once he has brought us to our knees, the Opponent has no further need to continue his game, his purpose of manifesting chaos, and continues on to the next victim.
Behind this unfortunate scenario, declares the Zohar, lies the state of robotic consciousness known by the code name, Satan, the Opponent. However, states the Zohar, were mankind involved in kavanah, the system and exercise of directing and utilizing our mind, then the state of robotic consciousness would shift to an elevated state of awareness. We then would no longer experience feelings of disappointment or abandonment.
The Opponent creates an atmosphere of materialism, exposing us constantly to the illusionary reality to which most human beings become addicted: a physical world that appears to be without consciousness and might be compared to a body without a soul. Yet, we cannot have one without the other.
However, under no circumstances are we to consider the physical corporeal reality as our guiding force through the journey of life. The body is either dead or asleep when our consciousness becomes incapable of maneuvering our ship, the material physical body, to forge ahead towards the objective of fulfillment.
Without an active or determined consciousness, our ship, or soul transporter, flounders like an ocean liner on the high seas of storm and turmoil. Prayer with kavanah serves as an activator and triggers our consciousness, the captain of our ship, to direct and navigate our lives with certainty through the murky waters of daily existence.
This kabbalistic concept of praying to the Lightforce is a far cry from the conventional interpretation of prayer. Theologians claim prayer is significant because it provides the healing relaxation effects that come from regular prayer and meditation. Those who turn for solace to excesses of alcohol and drugs are encouraged to rely on communion with the higher power of the Lightforce.
Prayers conducted in most houses of worship usually rely on rote repetition. This can, and often does, become a way of avoiding communion with the Lightforce even while praying with the Name of the Lord. Thus prayer, by and within itself, can lead one to complacency. One thinks an action of communion has taken place and a spiritual experience is expected, when in reality, an illusionary connection has been established.
Others pray at moments of crisis – economic distress, a member of the family is sick or death approaches. But those who pray only at such moments usually only experience greater difficulty if the miracle is not forthcoming. Then we have those who strike a bargain with the Lightforce, promising to be generous in giving charity if the request is fulfilled. Needless to say, we seldom hear of miracles taking place in proportion to the number of such requests made.
Of course, prayer does not necessarily take the form of requests. There are those who simply seek the comfort of knowing that the Lightforce is at their side. Or, they feel comfortable with a companion with whom they can communicate in full confidence or from whom they sense a feeling of compassion.
However, as mentioned previously, our desire to have communion with the Lightforce requires much more than “desire.” The connection with the Lightforce is the essential ingredient. The current intense interest in prayer is phenomenal. A recent edition of Books in Print lists thousands of titles on prayer, indicating a renewed intimacy with the Creator is being sought. Many have found that praying might even have saved their life, or decreased the symptoms of stress to such an extent that they have experienced physiological rejuvenation.
Thus, we can conclude that there are disagreements as to what prayer really is. More significantly, what is the objective in prayer and what are we to expect as a result of our prayers?
Some meditative techniques claim that the practice of their meditation is imaging. One induces an image in the mind’s eye and contains it there. Here the image is fixed in the mind as if it were engraved. One should be able to hold it in the mind as long as one desires.
The difficulty, proponents of this technique claim, is achieving control over our thought process. When reading an interesting and stimulating article, close your eyes and most probably there will appear lights and images flashing before your eyes. These lights or images will come and go with no direction by the conscious mind. One image streams into another, like lakes into rivers. It is impossible to concentrate on these images, because the moment we try to inject our conscious mind they disappear.
Therefore, one of the goals of the imaging meditation I am discussing is to achieve control over the subconscious mind. It is hoped that with sufficient practice we will gain a high degree of mastery over our destiny. Supposedly by claiming control over the subconscious, as well as the conscious mind, this process will lead to the ultimate state of “master of our destiny and captain of our ship.”
The most serious mistake made by practitioners of this meditation is to think that by gaining control of the unconscious we then gain control of the conscious mind. The assumption is that once the subconscious becomes accessible to the conscious mind, we then control the entire thought process.
The problem with this conclusion is that we cannot theorize about the conscious or subconscious mind when so little is known of either. There are innumerable theories about the subconscious, and a full and extensive discussion of this matter has been provided in my book The Power of You. However, what seems so strikingly clear from a kabbalistic perspective is that meditation or prayer does not imply controlled thinking. Even the experienced practitioner of meditation will never achieve within the thought process, conscious or subconscious, the ability to think when he wants to think, or to think what he wants to think.
Meditation by and within itself cannot bring control over ourselves or help us achieve self-mastery as regards the three basic components of a happy and joyous life, namely health, wealth, and relationships. If we are to enjoy these areas of life, we require a connection with and control by the quantum effect of the Lightforce.
In the new, emerging understanding of quantum physics, we realize that one person in China can affect every part of the globe. Today, for instance, with the world shrinking in every way, world economic conditions inevitably must affect all aspects of finance. If the world suffers from material or psychological chaos, every inhabitant on planet earth must be affected to a greater or lesser degree.
When we consider the notion of “control,” the individual meditator must consider the possibility of an onrushing tide of disaster. Natural disasters or a complete breakdown of governments must, of necessity, affect many. While the meditator may react in a calmer state of consciousness, nevertheless, can he control the environment when all around is crumbling? He must still rely on those two familiar words, “lucky” or “unlucky.” If he is a victim, then he has been “unlucky.” If he is counted among the survivors, then he has been “lucky.”
Lucky and unlucky have no part in, nor are they connected with, the idea of control. When we address the idea of control, then the individual must be certain that while all around is crumbling, he will manage to survive.
Consequently, in Kabbalah the goal of Kavanah meditation is to regain total control over our lives. This can only be achieved by connection to the Tree of Life Reality. Within the Tree of Life Reality the Lightforce is in total control. Just what does this mean?
Kavanah means “intention” or “direction.” Both prayer and meditation need to be done with Kavanah. The intention in both prayer and meditation is to let the ever-present Light be in our awareness. The direction is toward the limitless realm beyond the ego. Although the words of prayer are secondary, they are not redundant. Just as the soul needs the body to express itself in physical existence, so does the consciousness need the Hebrew words and letters.
When the Lightforce reigns supreme there is no room for chaos and disorder. The seeds or roots of all the varied flaws found in our journey through life originate within the Tree of Knowledge Reality; where good and evil exist side by side. When communion with the Lightforce is established, the degree of chaos and disorder in our lives will be decreased in direct proportion to the extent of our connection.
The ultimate goal of Kavanah meditation is a total devekut, or attachment to the Lightforce. At the Tree of Life level of reality, quantum control pervades the entire universe for those achieving a total communion with the Lightforce and, thus, taking a quantum leap into the Tree of Life reality.
The Kabbalah Centre has already made an impact on the consciousness of millions of people. The new and radical approach to prayer at the Centres that I have described here will certainly meet with resistance, as do all ideas that appear to conflict with existing norms. The reluctance to change, even to listen, has provided a powerful testimony to mankind’s dismal record as regards dominion over the environment and daily living.
The sooner we begin to recognize the need for change in a fast-changing society, the sooner the dawn of a new world will appear. Kabbalistic tools, once hidden, now are revealed to the layman. Concepts such as control over our destiny, removal of serious medical impairments, restoration of limbs and organs, and even public discussions of immortality are being aired.
The past 2,000 years of lack of control have left an indelible mark upon the consciousness of the human race. The human mind possesses a force sufficient to influence and even alter material essence. The Kabbalah tells us that we rule both the terrestrial and the celestial realms.
The world’s needless battlefields and the world’s uncounted cemeteries attest to the loss of this glorious concept and to the consequent corruption of our existence, but in our day, the opportunity to permanently end human suffering has never been greater. The Age of Aquarius will bring with it the dawn of a new age, an age in which all evil is abolished, all good is manifest, and all things are possible. And make no mistake, it will be here sooner than you know.
(The article originally appeared in Kabbalah Magazine, Vol. 2, Issue 6, Sept./Oct. 1997)
