Friday, January 31, 2014

Class...Beyond Kabbalah



The following is an announcement by Rabbi Joel David Bakst about a new class scheduled from his classroom, City of Luz......Recommended, if...see my Amazon review of his new book, Beyond Kabbalah...


 Current Class Schedule for Wednesday Night:
 NEW CLASS
Beginning Feb 5, Wed 9 to 11 PM EST
Set Sail on a Cutting Edge Journey
Beyond Kabbalah
The Teachings That Cannot Be Taught
City of Luz is proud to present Beyond Kabbalah. This weekly on-line class presents all-level students of traditional Jewish Kabbalah with comprehensive, hands-on applications of the maps, models and methods found within the workbook Beyond Kabbalah - The Teachings That Cannot Be Taught. Through the study of the concepts and thought experiments explored in the book Beyond Kabbalah, the serious seeker can learn to experience life through the eyes of Torah based Kabbalah and experience a world filled with higher consciousness, deep spiritual experience and answers to conventionally unanswerable questions. Explore the secret of “What did Moses know that God did not know?” and learn how to “See your world in your lifetime.” Other topics covered in the weekly coursework include: Where does our present reality come from, and where is it going?, Space, Time & Beyond, Torah Cosmology, Mosaic Consciousness, and much more!
This class provides a life-changing introduction and overview into the ancient, yet futuristic wisdom of Jewish esoteric thinking, the ultimate key to personal and global transformation.
Class discussions correspond to weekly readings. Students must have the workbook Beyond Kabbalah-The Teachings That Cannot Be Taught.To view and purchase the workbook click here:  http://www.amazon.com/

A portion of each Wednesday session will be devoted to the weekly Torah reading or to the current festival being observed.

Wednesday, January 29, 2014

The Gaze


The Gaze

An exchange of
a gaze
a pause in time
to gain in-sight 
a slow glimpse of 
each the other's
singular light..
Sensing the light
splitting and offering
identity and worth..
Departing now
both carrying one
holy gaze
into their own
nearby time...



wake me in time to look in your eyes
before we trapeze through our day
to savor the breath of connection
to merge into our reflection
to know who it is that we are in this moment
before we meet again changed

(by KMae on "Hello Poetry" website)



“In South Africa, a journalist friend of mine met an old Indian chief whom he would have loved to interview. The chief agreed, on the condition that they could have some time together beforehand.  The journalist presumed that they would meet and just have a normal conversation.  Instead, the chief took him aside and looked directly into his eyes in silence for a long time.  Initially, this terrified my friend; he felt his life was totally exposed to the gaze and silence of this stranger.  After a while, the journalist began to deepen his own gaze.  Each continued this silent gazing for more than two hours.  After this time, it seemed as if they had known each other all of their lives.  There was no longer any need for the interview.  In a certain sense, to gaze into the face of another is to gaze into the depth and entirety of his life.”
Anam Cara by John O’Donohue

Sunday, January 26, 2014

Non-dual science


Non-dual science

It is now in our time
That we find assurance
Of a dimension 
Quieting long history's
Externality proclaim..
Modern sciences are question
Question of dimensions 
Unseen and unknown
Whispering of One..
Our receptors now tuned 
Finding deep penetration
Resonance not explained..
Conversations express knowing
Knowing with confidence
Absorbing raw challenge..
What's more to say..!

Polarity in Play...!!





Saturday, January 25, 2014

Light breathing



Light breathing

Vitality
A breath of air
in one cycle
inhale cleans
as exhale soils..
rising and falling
oxygen creates..
An alchemical shift:
Air to light
Light and color
now fulfill  our 
 breathing anew..
Imagining
the branching light
filling lungs
reaching each cell
bathing a Self
in healing light...

Thursday, January 23, 2014

Strangers


Strangers

are new creations
which in our 
landscapes appear..
A new attention
on our walks..
Surprises declare:
see my difference
from dreary
familiarity..
Yet that familiar
lodged in memory
were once strangers
in our midst
declaring... 


“Your beloved and your friends were once strangers. Somehow at a particular time, they came from the distance toward your life. Their arrival seemed so accidental and contingent. Now your life is unimaginable without them. Similarly, your identity and vision are composed of a certain constellation of ideas and feelings that surfaced from the depths of the distance within you. To lose these now would be to lose yourself.” 
― John O'DonohueAnam Cara: A Book of Celtic Wisdom

Collateral damage


Collateral damage

An expressive phrase
causes concern
Indictment rises from
this battle term..
Yet other forms
connectedness brings..
Medicines cast their
side effects wide..
A butterfly's wing
in far Australia
in Texas arrives
as tornado terror..
It seems that
our living space
fills our lives
passing many sides
of collateral damage...

Innerscape


Innerscape

With inner neglect
Our outer remains
Flat and gray..
Imagination
Creates inner form
Dimensional connections
Moving inner surfaces..
New lenses
Exciting the outer
With inner joy...

Monday, January 20, 2014

Looking from



Looking from

From our
awareness
let us choose
the vantage of
our looking..
Most looking in
work moments
finds the many
definite lines
and cautions
demanding our
alertness..

But in moments
of respite
might we elevate
our vantage
finding those lines
at an edge
of a purer
space..
This revolving
advances our
Self into more
healthy realms...

Friday, January 17, 2014

Her Seashore


Her Seashore

A window frames
a brushy scene
but she asks:
does the sea reside
on the other side..
On quiet evenings
waves of healing
she hears them
breaking 
on her Shore..

Rehabilitation
this her lot..
Remembered pain
the surgeon's stitches
a promised gain..
New movement
she is told
gifts transport
to her sea
again..

Yet for her
for this while
another transport
to her Sea..
Midst her life
of quiet prayer
By her window
her Seashore
She is there…

for Sister Barbara

Words


Words

Uttered names for
nature's variations..
Imagination
bridges and speaks
from deep silence..
Echoing particles 
landscape and sky
city and shore..
In our saying
Words are formed
each points higher
and points lower
these energy poles..
Which for eons
 patient waiting
nature listened 
longed to hear...

A Blessing of Solitude



A Blessing of Solitude

by John O’Donohue

May you recognize in your life the presence, power and light of your soul.

May you realize that you are never alone,
that your soul in its brightness and belonging connects you
intimately with the rhythm of the universe.

May you have respect for your own individuality and difference.

May you realize that the shape of your soul is unique,
that you have a special destiny here,
that behind the facade of your life there is something
beautiful, good, and eternal happening.

May you learn to see yourself with the same delight, pride,
and expectation with which God sees you in every moment.

Thursday, January 16, 2014

Waking


Waking

to participate..
Waking as the
Divine would awaken
Finding the inner
And the outer..
Allowing the light
of each to
Create the other..
Our unique
participation:
In this moment
The universe is
Created anew...

Saturday, January 11, 2014

Mirroring


Mirroring

The dark coatings
of our lives
serve as does
black paint
found on glass..
A mirror formed
seen on rising
facing our day..
As our mirror
convenes both
dark and light
Our greater Eye
convenes the same..
Now we see
our dark coatings
form the Mirror
for our Eye
to see...

Stretch...John O'Donohue


A Celtic Pilgrimage

Pillar Stretch Program
Monday,  January 20, 2014
MacKenzie Place
(corner of Fillmore and Union,
Colorado Springs, CO)
4:00 to 6:00 PM

“A pilgrim travels differently,” observes O'Donohue. “Always in a pilgrimage, there is a change of mind and a change of heart.” With mischievous humor, keen awareness, and a poet's gift for the truth, O'Donohue invites you to see the landscape of Ireland through his eyes—as a living source of wisdom, beauty, and transformative spiritual power. 
Please forward if you wish..!

Arts, Crafts, Hobbies


Arts, Crafts, Hobbies
in Retirement

(Philosophical Cafe, Jan 14, 2014)

Discussion questions:

1.  How important..?
2. What meanings..?
3.  When did you start..?
4.  Relationship to happiness..?
5.  Relationship to community..?
6.  A learning process..?
7.  Spiritual enrichment for you..?
8.  Role of mindfulness..?

If you wish, please bring samples
for "show and tell…!!"

Thursday, January 9, 2014

Incarnation





Incarnation

Such simplicity
midst clouds of
dispute and claim..
Despite all that
this solitary word
the Name for
many and one..
Each unique 
arrival..
Never before 
never again..
Containing
the fire..
Projected
Reflecting
Planted in
this garden
of time...

Tuesday, January 7, 2014

Crying out


Crying out

There are many
forms of prayer
of meditation
wishing to reach
 and stimulate
the Divine..
The warnings:
of a Plan
of false humility
of slippery ego's
hidden goals..
Yet it seems
when our filtering 
is complete
only this remains:
intention Centering
in the pain
yours and theirs..
And then simply
Crying out…!

With a question:
Who is Crying…?

(Isaiah 58: 1-12)

Sunday, January 5, 2014

Atoms and Poetry



Atoms and Poetry

Oh that strange
minuscule Atom..
Atom has posed
with planets spinning
with electrons jumping
with self-contradicting
waves and photons..
These secret poses
Over a century
Reveal and conceal
An amazing truth..

Atom smiles slyly 
such confusion here..
Yet now and then
A scientist is startled
By a mirror reflection
A poet Behold..
Self-knowing arrives: 
My name is Atom
and long enough
have I posed…!


When it comes to atoms, language can be used
only as in poetry. The poet, too, is not nearly so 
concerned with describing facts as with creating images.

Saturday, January 4, 2014

Complementarity


Complementarity

This word from
Years ago science
Speaks of relations
As our reality..
Science said then
Place and motion
Exclude each other
Yet they're joined
In dancing union..
Moving close in
Each is the other..

So we might
Serve our delight
In snowy times
As today..
Making a list
An endless list
So it seems
Of many dancers
Finding a sweet spot
In that most
 delicious footing:
 Complementarity…



Friday, January 3, 2014

On the Border


On the Border

This border between
 local and non-local..
Pause on this edge
experience the 
precarious footing..
The local force of security
opposes the non-local pull
of the unknown..
But for now know
this border with its
freedom and tension..
Feel the dimensional
push and pull
expanding a place
a stomach place
ever so slightly 
and then growing..
A place of light
heaven and earth
teasing each other
on this most pleasant
Border...

Thursday, January 2, 2014

Beyond Kabbalah…and my Amazon review…



CITY OF LUZ IS PROUD TO ANNOUNCE A NEW PUBLICATION
Beyond Kabbalah - The Teaching That Cannot Be Taught
Preparing for the Messianic Era and Beyond
An introduction, orientation & illustrated training manual to
higher consciousness using the universal, ancient Kabbalah language of the future.
Beyond Kabbalah - The Teaching That Cannot Be Taught, the latest book by Rabbi Joel David Bakst, is a methodological workbook for both the beginner and advanced student of Torah based Kabbalah.  Designed for a universal audience interested in esoteric Judaism, this manual provides the serious seeker with instructions on how to retrain your mind to think and experience higher consciousness like a Kabbalist. Topics include discussion on the messianic role of the earthly "Seven Wisdoms" and how to utilize the "New Sciences" such as fractal geometry, dimensionality and holography to enter the inner world of advanced Kabbalah.  Also included is a comprehensive exploration of the Dance of the Hasadim and Gevurot; the masculine and feminine energies that make up the core nucleus of Torah based Kabbalah.   
Beyond Kabbalah challenges all-level students of Jewish mysticism to set sail on a cutting edge voyage into the ancient, yet futuristic wisdom of the Kabbalah and a world filled with higher dimensional vision, deep spiritual experience and thought experiments that will forever change your life.

                                      Now Available on Amazon.com for $25.00
(If your total purchase is $35.00 or more you will receive free shipping).
I welcome you to post your personal review of the book(s) on Amazon.
A regular Luz Newsletter will soon be going out. If you do not wish to receive it simply email back, “No thank you”.

 My review of Beyond Kabbalah for Amazon

I will start my review at the end, in the Glossary, where Rabbi Bakst
writes that Kabbalah is not Jewish mysticism.  He says that Kabbalah relates to the
Torah (Bible) as the soul to the body.  This relationship is the key, I believe, to the
title of this "workbook," Beyond Kabbalah.. This end is looped into the beginning! 

The soul/body polarity is the model which is used to lead a dedicated student beyond
religion and secular studies into a highly fulfilling program of self-growth.  The polarity
model (named Hasadim/Gevurot in the text) comes in seven guises, Seven Natural
Sciences, which provide new and powerful lenses through which the scriptures reveal
their deeper meanings. As far as I know, Rabbi Bakst's portrayal of the special interface 
between modern sciences and scripture (Science and Kabbalah) is unique, even in a 
growing field of those  studying the relationship between science and spirituality. 
This interface, which he traces back to the revelation at Mt. Sinai, provides the seeker 
with vessels and internal energies for a deeper understanding of the meaning of 
"consciousness," and for grasping of his or her own personal identity.

However, the growth resulting from a study of Beyond Kabbalah is not without price.
It requires effort preceded by what Rabbi Bakst calls "a preexisting desire simmering deep
within your being." Otherwise he states, "This book is not for you."  I am hopeful that
his warning will only add stimulation to that learner who will be very substantially 
rewarded for engaging Beyond Kabbalah.

I am not Jewish.  Yet, I appreciate that the application of Beyond Kabbalah extends to
a wide variety of persons who are "willing to be challenged, stimulated, and pushed up
to your very edge and then beyond."  I have been especially delighted by the Universal
(Body of Adam) nature of these methodologies and teachings, and have found that patience
will indeed bring reward.  I am a member of a Christian congregation, and have found
many opportunities for using my Beyond Kabbalah experience  for clarification and new
insights, benefiting, I believe, a number of people. I have learned that these community
activities can be simply "fractal iterations"of root teachings which retain the Oneness and
Source (Formula) recognition of Kabbalah and the Bible. 

Beyond Kabbalah is a lengthy book, some 418 pages.  At first glance it may seem over-
whelming. However, Rabbi Bakst's organization of the book is based on entry points
through Four Doors:  Mission, Maps, Methods, and Models. An entering student will
probably find one of these doors as his or her preferred entrance, however 
all four doors will be needed for entry into the gestalt, the Mind of Moses. Importantly, 
the internet allows a student to consider live or recorded classes, which are available at 
www.cityofluz.com, to gain the advantage of Rabbi Bakst's personal teaching.

I have been a beneficiary of Rabbi's Bakst's teachings, and have observed his preparation
of this important workbook, or training manual.  I can easily apply the 5-star rating, and 
looping back to the beginning, reminding of the cautions and extraordinariness of this
this Messianic volume


Postscript Questions:  Do you "no longer find fulfillment in the external things that your eyes
beheld in the days of your youth…" and have a wish to "see your world in your lifetime?"
Are you curious..?   You may be the one..!




Wednesday, January 1, 2014

Beginnings


Beginnings

You already Know..
That is the secret
But this teaching
Is not taught..
At each birth
A unity is known
Which in youth
Is soon forgotten..
Immersed we are in 
Life's binding details..

Learning is stunted
If teacher does not
Hasten attention
Find and remind
That today's lesson
Its ebb and flow
Is a branching
Of special worth
Only when placed
Upon secret Root
 Beginnings...