Oneness and Interconnectedness underlie both Science of Mind and Kabbalah
With origins in Judaism, Kabbalah has been around for more than 2,000 years, and it is always evolving. Like Science of Mind, Kabbalah is based in practical application. It brings together different philosophies and principles rather than prescribing a single belief system.
In its original use, the word Kabbalah means parallel. āWe study the parallels between the seen and unseen reality,ā Sanders says. āHow we experience the flow of energy and how we understand who we are through the ability to see parallels is central to Kabbalah. We see those parallels by recognizing what shows up personally, in our communities and nations, and on our planet. What shows up is a reflection, a mirror of our awareness or lack of it.ā
The saying āobjects in the mirror are closer than they appearā is transformed from a side-view mirror on your car to a meditation on parallelism. āThe things and events, the people and animals and the emotions and thoughts that populate our lives and reflect our choices show up as guides for our spiritual and psychological growth.
āIf you ever want to know what you can work on,ā continues Sanders, ālook around; more than the world is our oyster, it is our mirror.ā
Focusing on Projection
The Baal Shem Tov, a master of Kabbalah and the founder of
the Hasidic movement in the 18th century, proposed that when we experience a negativity in someone else we must also look inward to see how that negative trait is mirrored in us. This is another example of how Kabbalah makes use of parallels to instill in us the necessary learning of our own growth.
Sanders explains that this teaching finds resonance in Sigmund Freudās theory of projection and in later psychology as projective identification. āThere is not necessarily a one-to-one correspondence,ā cautions Sanders. āIf you are annoyed or disapproving of a trait of say, anger, in someone, this does not automatically mean you are an angry person. If you are bothered by the person with that trait, it is a mirror for you to reflect on what is being stimulated by that person that has you reactive.ā
He points out that it is useful to see that this teaching also relates to seeing good in others ā that, too, is a mirror to reflect on. The mirror then can be calling to us to realize our full potential. Take generosity, for example. When we recognize the generous or compassionate qualities of others, do we see in the mirror our own full potential for compassion and generosity?
Focusing on Interconnectedness
āThere are things that science may not be able to ever explain,ā Sanders says. āThe mystery is that there is mystery. Quantum entanglement in physics ā that an atom in one distant location is moving in tandem with its āsisterā particle (known as āsparticlesā) ā can be observed in human relationships when an identical twin feels that something is going on with her twin sister at a long distance. These sister twins are like the sister particles, entangled through a mechanism as mysterious as the atomic sparticles.
Kabbalah calls this a soul connection. These examples from science and relationships help us to have awareness of interconnectedness beyond the physical to the unseen reality. This brings meaning and purpose to life when we begin to see the billions of events as moving in paths of synchronicity and inspire us to be entangled to live into Einsteinās proclamation that all of life is miraculous.
Examining the Intersection of Science and Belief
Allen Afterman, author of āKabbalah and Consciousness,ā writes, āHuman beings subconsciously know what science is seeking to articulate.ā
Sanders elaborates on this by describing a particularly important idea from Isaac Luria, a 16th-century master Kabbalist who lived in Safed, Israel, a center of Kabbalah teaching and learning then and now.
āLuria had the innovative idea,ā he says, āthat God had to step away, that God folded God into God to create a space for all that would exist. Luriaās concept was that the first act of creation was God contracting to allow for a space ā an opening for creation.ā
What follows in Luriaās cosmology is the introduction of light energy into the vacated space and his description of this light being so intense that it engendered a massive implosion and emanated the physical reality. Sanders explains, āScience caught up with Luriaās vision in the concept of the Big Bang theory, which also describes
an initial unity and then a fragmentation. What is of importance for
Kabbalah about this initial unity is that our human task, once we came along in the process of evolution, is to reconnect the fragmented pieces into their wholeness. This process is called tikkun olam ā the repair of the world.ā
Viewing the Soul as Eternal
Science of Mind and Kabbalah each recognize that the soul is manifesting as a part of being. āWhile you may believe each of us has a soul within us,ā Sanders says, āKabbalah sees soul as different dimensions of awareness which we are in. We are in it, rather than it being in us.ā
He explains that while there are different levels of awareness, the ultimate is self-transcendent awareness. āConsciousness, just like energy, is neither created nor destroyed, but rather it changes form, it continues.ā In the tradition of Kabbalah, if a person has not fulfilled the mission of whatever manifestation was intended for them, then that soul they āparticipated inā will come back in another form, with the memory of the prior life. This understanding is similar to the Bud- dhist teaching of reincarnation. While the soul is eternal, the focus of life is now. Sanders jokes, āReturn library books, pay off your debts, make amends and love fully, otherwise your soul connection will still be carrying your ābooksā from one incarnation to the next.ā
Teaching From Metaphor
The word Kabbalah, in addition to meaning āparallel,ā also means āmetaphor.ā Sanders teaches from story, from metaphor. He believes that what we need to learn we can best learn when we understand the concrete as manifesting a story.
A student of his reported that every morning she got on a scale to weigh herself. She is not overweight and, indeed, is not overly concerned about her weight; her mother, though, has always harped on her about her weight and that made her feel uncomfortable about her appearance. When asked, āWhose scale are you getting on?ā she blushed with the recognition that she had taken the scale from her parental home. She was literally weighing herself on her motherās scale.
This led to many other insights about the scale of others, whether family or society, that she had chosen to be weighed on. It was a freeing moment when she returned the scale and stopped measuring herself by the opinions of others.
Sanders tells another story about an old box of cassette tapes he found in his basement, a set of tapes that had been given to him many years previously.
The tapes were a series of talks by the Buddhist teacher Thich Nhat Hanh entitled āThe Present Moment.ā
āWhen I found the tapes, I thought, well I should just get rid of them because I donāt even have a cassette player anymore.ā
He remembered that he did have a tape deck in his car, so the next time he was driving, he popped in the first tape and heard Hanhās distinctive voice saying, āYou may be driving in your car. Breathe in and find peace, breathe out and smile.ā A moment later, with Sanders stopped at a red light, Hanh continued, āYou may be stopped at a red light. You may get irritated, as you perceive this to be an obstacle, but by being present, this becomes a bell of mindfulness and the red light becomes a friend.ā
In line with Kabbalahās take on the significance of the past and future for the present moment, Sanders treasures this story on how the past comes into the present moment. āI had held onto these cassette tapes for a long time, and I had the choice,ā he explains, āto either bring it into the present or move on.ā
He continues, āIn that moment I am driving, Hanh is speaking to me as if addressing his teaching just to me. I was connected to the past and the present and then took that teaching with me into the future. In Kabbalah, the now is not separate from the past or the future but brings them together in the present moment. While our past does not limit or define us, it is highly relevant. If Iām reflecting on the past, then it is, along with all that is occurring now, my present moment.
āA story about āold tapesā and the immediacy of their lesson illustrates the power of story and metaphor. Red lights, like scales, led to the deeper significance of the story and inspired spiritual practice. The concrete experience holds the story then becomes a bell of mindfulness and your friend.ā
Dr. David Sanders has taught Kabbalah in Denver since 1989. He also has more than 30 years of experience as a psychologist and holds a doctorate from Hahnemann University in Philadelphia. He and his wife, Rita, are parents to five children, including two sets of twins.
For class details, visit KabbalahExperience.com.
Science of Mind FEBRUARY 2017 ScienceOfMind.com
2 Comments
barbara colleran · June 15, 2021 at 1:18 pm
as a life long learner I am very impressed by your presentations and instructors
Melanie Gruenwald · June 15, 2021 at 1:23 pm
thank you!