Abulafia Cooper Messianic Consciousness

8/9/2019 Abulafia Cooper Messianic Consciousness

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O N OF T H E KEY Fersonalities in the devc.lopment of Jewish mysticrsrn,sometimes wferrcd toas thc father o f ecstaticKxhhalah,w s Abraham t lhulaf;a ,

h o rn In Saragossa, Spa in, indae rhir teenth cennlry T h e year of his blrthw s

1240CE, a s y m b o I ~ cear in kabhalistic co sm olo gy as we ~ vi ll ee.'The combined tupelllthand thirteenth centuries werearguably the most pro-

I~f ic criod In the puhlicasionu f kahtalistic teachings. Priorto r h ~ sime thr

Kabbalah w s high$. secretrve,and there were stringent rules about who could

learn these mysteries. For lvellover a thousand years, Kabbalahhad been almost

entirely an oral traditionex pt for a handful of ear$ ma nuscripts, includingt h r S+r etzsmh T ~ Pook Creatlort),a short rx-trernrlYesoteric writingthat was

composed c o m p l e r r ~ ~n a code thateven t a d a ~s d ifficult t o d e c ~ ~ h e r.

Ironrcall ; ka bbali stic idea:, firs torgan ro be exprrrssed more openly In thetwelfth centuryas a react1011 t othe highlyratlunal rcachlngs o f rhe great Jewish


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ph~losopher,Mosrs Maimonides I 135-1 204 . M a ~ m o n i d e s ,known morefamiliarly as Ram bam Rabbi Moses en Maimonj, had extraordinary influ-

ence In his tiine as writer ands

one of the primay judgesto

whomco m m un i t~ ts urned for opinions regarding Jew ~shaw. He was fi~lI\..ersed inAristotelian logic and Grcck Ha v i ng a n e x t r a ~ r c l i n a r ~ntellect, he

tended to rat ional ize many of the mystical aspects of Judaism. In so doing,

he became controvers~al or tsadi ttonalists. T o t h ~ say, some Orrhoclox Jewrsh

practitioners view h ~ m ~ t h o ns ~d cia blr k cp t~ cis m,

Those who reacted to Rambarn s r ationa lism placed p a t e mpha sis on

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

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

laws-thtsc and many o th er subjects wereaddressed I n thc rhirteenth century,

this mystical lnovement gained considerable mo~ncntum, hich ledto the c a m -

Filation of the rnosr influential kabbalisric work: the Zohar

The actual d t c s of composi t ian of rhe ohar are not clearly known, but

rnajor parcs of the man uscriptwere crrct~laredn the latrer part of the thirrccnth

century. T h e individtial considered tohe its most kcly author, M osh r dr Leon,was born some time close tor h ~+ear 1.240 CE, and thus was almost thesameage as Abraham Abtllafia.

T h is p a r , 1240 CE s qtt ite m ean ~n gful or Jew ~sh nysrics. I t happens to

coincide with the Hebrew calendar year 5000 which represents the biblicalmeasurement from the timeof the first, prirnordlal hum an: dntn K d m o n Whi lefi~ndamentalist ew~sh ractit ioners believethat Adam and Eve were literallyin the Garden of Eden five thous nd years ago, the mystical perspective the

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

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

that distinguishes humans fro m the rest o f the antma1 kingdom. Indeed, the fii ll


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rrcognlt ion of ~171 .5awareness-the ability to he awnrr of atr~arcness-is oneof

the major pl tr us of the ongoing process o f enIightrnmcnt.

Kabbalwrs agrcr with m o d e r n scicnic thac th earth 1s billions of years old.However, wfille science tends to focus on scientific method In fields such s

gcology. anrhsopology, FxIcontolog~~,nd so forth to dis t~nguish ras of hacar :

Kabbalists and o t h ~ r y sncs aremore intrresrrd in "c~~nsciousness"-11nJerstand-

mg the nature of thr mind ~tself-as a measrrrc t drrermine major d ~ i i ~ e sn life

on earth. In [his sense,Kabbalah follows e volutionary pnnclples.Aicordtng LO Kabbalah, humans today represent only one platcaun n an

evolutionary ladder r h n r leads t o w ~ d ctpcls o f consciou sness rharwil rranscend

our ai rr en t level. T hi s potentialof higher awareness is an elernentar).b r l ~ e f f

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

the rncss~ah.

T h e Hebrew year 5 tN 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 rn i l I rnn~urns represented b - she sixth day of

creacion In Genesis. IVc sec in rhe Torah thar the sixth d y of Genesis ts whenhuman conscio~lsnesscame rnro i t s fullness. T h e implicic direction of con

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

when me ss~an ic onscior~snesswill appear.n th 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 unirers t , onew ~ t h messtanic consciousners, T h c coming scvcnth milIenniurn w ~ l l egin in

tht- Hrbrew calrndar year 6000 by our ~ e c k o n i n g , 240 CE, a htt le over t w ohun dre d ).ears from now. According to the kabbalisticmodel, thrs is a time when

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

ocher and to all of creacion m a n enrirclr. new way


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Of' r u t l r s c , thc challenge bc hr t . us i s r l ~b i l ~ t ~u survive the n r l t couf l r of

I i ~ ~ i ~ ~ I i c c Icnrs, O u r currenc level of consclousncss may n o t necessarily be wcIl

LIITIIIi l l . C ~ I S V I V ~f t h e S ~ C C I C S .This is B major season why the i n d t r l l l u a l questflu 111111 - C I I I I ~ I I C C ~ C J~ ~ t i o n s ,ach p e r so n 's i m p a c t on th e universe of conscltus-I i c % a + X o I l i ipc l r t . lnt ~n o u r t~ m c .

1 1 1, IIOL wrpnsing, therefore, rhat Abraham A b u l a f i a , \rho rvas a J c e F l t

Ir.l~-nrd K.lbI .aI ia , elieved rhat h ~ s i r t h - t i m e signified t h a t he was ro play al > o w r r i i ~ l , wphetic role in mol-lng rhc rrrorld toward t h ~ sn e s s l a n i c view. s a

t w r l i r y pn: ..ucdJ, for examplr lit- t r a v ~ l c d o the land of Israel t o seek out t h rI rrrr Ct~r~Car~lrr,l11ch s a rnaglcal, impassable boundary that tn Tewish ~ T ] I O I -og r1 r~1r1~l i -A II ten lost trihrs of Israel so rn ew hr i~ ut3idcof the HoIv Land,

I 'l l1 5 ~ i i p t c ~ . r o z r \ i rer represents a barricr t h a t moves with enormous force dus-111g t l i c ~ I X A.tvr o f rhe week-nothing ran c ross ~ t . owever, In the ~ e r t . n t l i

,I.) (Sll .t l , lr.rt , ~ I I L I St h e name Sambatyon), I ; q u ~ e tnd peacrhI . T h c pmbIern1 111~11 11 c . l ~ l n t t c crossed on that Jey because In traditional ]udarsm t r ave l

( C X L - I * ~ i i l i ~ c ~tri t boundaries) is n o t permirted on the Sabbath day./ \ l r l i l a i f i a i ' ~ I ~ ~ I Co search f o r this m y t h i c a l rrvcr was clearly a p ~ l g r i m a ~ e .

E.rolu 1111- k 4 i l ~ l ~ . i l ~ ~ r i crrspectlvc, i t was a journey to ex p lo ~e lir metaphorical17.11 1.1cr511.11 1rct.d ttr he encountered co break outof the 11mtrso f o r dmar ? con-sclr)tl,Ilv\.\. Aly111.11;,1 R I I ~hcse rnvst~cal arriers knots tha t had to be unt ied

IO I I [ K I . I ~ ~~ l r ; IWJ~TIICSS. In 111 own descriptton of his p r l r n a r y goal Ab~rlafiac.11i1 i t * 111it-111 .1, t o I I I I P ~ J Et h e sou l. t o m t l e the ktrocs which htnd i t . + ' T h ~ s

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

vry ot t l i r w c r l ~ t .I hr \c ionfus ions and c ~ r n ~ l e x r r i ~ sre Itke himdles o f t~gl i t

k n t ~ h n n \I 1 . i i i l l )I' rirlrc t h a t was originally simple and strayht.I ~ , I ~ I I I ~ -I k i i l l ~ 11.~1 111 i rope. It acts as a dam, blockingand cornpllcac~ng h e

smoo th f l o wt 3 1 I U I ~ ; i i ~ r ~ r ~cx w ~he line of the rc~pe n Abubfia; view, when


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the knots are untied, the natural flow can he reestablished,and we will auto-r n a t ~ c a l l ~nter the reaIm o f original unity. T hi s is his meta phor o f finding an d

liberating the ten losrtribes, which represent multiplicity, to return to oneness.

Unfortunately, Abulafia never comFleted h is search. W h e nhe arrlved m Acre,

a war w s being fought at the time in the Middleast between the Mamelukes

a n d t he Tatars. T h ~ ss a llteral barrlcr he c ould no t overcome. H e was forced

to leave We learn from this that the kn ots keeping us fro m full llhera-

tton take many forms that are theconditionsand circurnstanccsof our lives.HIS earlv journey in the explorationof mystical secrets w s a harbinger

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

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

to refrr t o himselfby the name of Raael, whlch means "secrets of God." Elisvlslons were overwhelming; he often described being bllnded and lost. Still,he

pursu ed his practices an d l ~ v e d n an edge that was strange for mo st traditlorial

Jewish p ract i t ion ~rs; herrw s roo much echtasy

Indeed, Abulafia wasso unique in his practices, mainstreamJudaism mar-

ginalized his work and he remained virtually unknown unti l rhe rn ~d d le f thetwentieth century. While a few scholars ofthe latter half of the nineteenth and

early partof the twentieth centuries dihcussedbulxfia in some of t h ~ i rooks,i t w s not until Gershnm Scholrm$work +for Trend5 ~ ewish h t~t~ristn113411,tha t a new light was cast upon thesignificanceof these elght-hunclred-ye.enr-oldteachings. SchoIem devoted an entire chapter in his book to Abulafia's "theory

of ccstatic knwwledgt." Oneof Scholeni's s tude nts,Moshe Idrl, has contributeda m ajor scholarly effort, a number of books thatfocus o n Abulafia's

life andh ~ sractices

T h i s "ecstatic"mystical approach was a tha t strongly impactedon the Jew~ shworld of the thirteenth century.A number of other individuals


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during tha t 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 Kabbalahwirh Moshe d e Leon, the Frobable author o f the ohm

\\ e can only imaglne the enthusiasm and fervor shared by these students s fmystlctsm as they engaged in contcmpIatlre practices. Many of their writlngshave been lost, but the works t h a t survived-along with oth er do rum cn ts fro m

Jewish authors in thts rime period-are am on g the mosr in f luen t~a le a c h ing In

rhe encire librar y of jewish mystical thought.

Abraham Abulafta stands our. from all t h e ochers in tha t he develorcd a

specific system of contemplative practice. T he se re tedmiques designt.d t

access one's own lnncr p d e called in Hebrew m~ re r t t~ l rn i an inncr mwer,

w h o opens che closed doors. This inner mover 1s our own, personal spiritual

mentor, who wlU guide us through rhe veils o f cnnfusion. O u r m en tor can be

a human teacher we have already me t 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 ina moment of perception observing rhc way a b i d f l~es , ow clouds move, rhc

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

experience som eon e In pain, or innumerable orher signs. Each moment 1s filled

with potential ceachcrs if w h w the eyes t o see and the ears to hear in otherIrvels of reality.

DISSOLVING KNOTS

Wo w do you untie rhe knots of your souls? Imagine the soul as a v e s ~ e lmade

of clear glass surrounded by light,bur the glass is encascd in a fabric, woven inc ~ g l ~ tn o a , char prcvcnrs light from e nter ing (o r e x~r ~ng ) . Yo ~rill w c latcr thar


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this mcraphor is inadcquatc, for. wcrythingzq composrd o f l igh t - -wen thc so

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

i s a usrful tool for beginning medit tion practices.T h e imaginary fabric describedabove is often referred ro i n ~ nvsc ~ c a leach-

ing? as veils that separacc us from the full understanding o f things. h c s c

vc11s are mainly cornpose dof t h c "materia l" of our carliest io n di t la n~ n g,c l ~ r h ,

ideas, prc]udiics, judgments, crit iirsms, desires, a sp ~ ra t~ on s,opes, and fears. For

most of us, the fabric 1 5 a thick mar of p~ rson al i ty ra it s and ego assumptionsthat stern a t f i rst to be a lm ost i m p e n~ t sa b~ e .

Abulafiak mcrhod is to concentrate the m ind o n somcchrng spcific that will

by its nature, c i~sso lvc he knots that hold t h c fa br ~ c ogether. T h e theorv is

sim ple and direct. I t IS based on the FrincipEe that we become whar we immerse

in. If you jump into a pool of wacrr. you get wet a l l over. IF i t 1s a pool of ink,your sk n gcrs dyed. If you spend all of your time rcadlng crrrrent events, your

mind will c ~ n s u n t l ~u r n t o th subject material chat ~t has absorbed. If yous i t quietly and simp ly rake notice of your thoughts, you ~ oon rea l~z c ha t

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

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

ev por tr and d~sappear.

If you ionccntrate o n and repeat sounds and words th at q u ~ c thc min d, you

w ~ ll venruallp entera t ranscendent d im ens ~o nf the pure soul. a place of peace-

fu l c a l m ~ ~ e s snd g ntl tranqutlity. In th is q ~ ~ i e tud-scate, knots automari-cally begin to unraurl. Ar some point, slrlall openings appear In t h c fabric, andpmyoin t s of light cnrcr the This light is so and s penctracing,

yon wi l l ~xpr r i enc r momentof t ru th , s t o sFeak. T hi s rnom rntary visionc n

p ~ r m a n m r l ynflticnce you. In an instanc of realization, .nu can galn a certain

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


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when only a f w knots are looscncd, p u can see som e form of light or trurh

that pulls you to it.TIlis a n r ~ c t i o n ften rcumcs 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 mages upon which his concentrasive techniques were founded. Each

He bre w lctcer has bccn the object of intense study among Kabbal~sts ,ach has

been che subject of hundreds of chapters. r Ietter s intrinsic m eaning, 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 kab balis t~c cholars to 01-

low Abulafia s techn ique,for alrhauph he was learned inl l

a s p e i a of Kabbalah,hr leaned rnore heavily on rntuitlve inner revelation than or1 intrllrctual exper-tise 7nTewtll work with Ah ~la f i a s t t e rh n i~u en t h e next h a p re r, but first let US

expcrlence a special chanc chat relies rntircly on our in tu~r ion .


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A b w l a f ia s ract ices

J D lSM IS OT we k n o wn for i t s contemplative pracrices.T h e primary

focus for students of Judaism is and always has been t h e 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. W h e n on e

~rnrnerses n hours of intense Talrnud~c ngagement the experience is often

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

expansive feelings of well-beinga new Ievel of calmness a sharpening of onesensory experience and a fresh cIarit? of mind.

Because Talmudic s tudp is challenging In its requirement for one to heflu

ent in Hebrew a n d Aramaic as w ll as to be able to engage highly intricate

thought problems that can only be appreciated through the use of l ~ n i q u e

logic relatively few individuals are able ro appreciate theresults o f this k ind


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re sd t s : a transformed rnind and a n esFand ed breadth of inrpllectual sktlls.

Aside from the s tudy of Talmud and Torah, howcver there arc numrrous~ o n t e m ~ l a t i v cractices in Judaism. O n e o f rhc m o s t p o p u la r Forms is based

upon chan t ing one of t h e h ~ g h c s t names of God in Hrhrew. the fvtlr

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

written as r.-h-v-h. T h e s e letters can be i h a r ~ ~ e dsing the fire pr imary vorvcls.

I have aIready menrluned Abraham 4buIafin as o n e o f the fcrv rrrrrters w h owr tr abou t rhis mcrhcxl in detail, but these t rchniques were d e s c r ~ b c ds early

as the n ln th c e n tu ry I t is helievcd that many practices go all the way back to

T d r n u d ~ c i r n rs , wo thousand years ago, along with othcr sccret transrnis-

slons that rne raphor~ca l ly ere a s s o c ~ a te dwtth t r a v e l q in a mystical charrot

t o hlpher realms of awareness.

T h e prlniiple behind t h s practice is rhat eat11 of us s endowed w ~ t hrvinesparks, and each person is crtated in r h r ~ r n a ~ e f G od . T h a t is to s y the

sourcc of crcattvttv that rests within each indrvidual IS den tic l t o t h e creativeurgc out of which rhis worId unfolds. n essence. t he univ~t-sfas we know ~r

IS ch r cterized by Kabbaiists as a thought in the mlnd n f God. Ic follows

t h a t being cre t ed in rhc Image o f God does not mean chat we rewmblc rhe

appearance of God, which would bc an absurd cunclusion, instead we resemblethe Dlr rne in rhat we have the p o w w o create IIPW unir.erscs rhrocigh our own

thoughts nd actlons.

W c exprrlencc this power when we clnseEr mvcstigatc our o w n minds a n d

tecognizr the conr lnud i r e a t ~ o no f rhoughr-universes as an ongoing process.I l ihen w c are deeply engaged in our thoughrs, we become numb t o the physical

reality in which we are stand~ng uring ch se moments. lye seem to J lsappear

into nus thoughts , an d ehrsc ~ n n c r nr lds beco~ne u r realit :


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W e all knolz~ he story of he sage who awakens from a dream abour a burtrr-

f ly wonderrng which s rhc truth: tvvrrs hc dsca rn~ng houl a buttci f ; or is a hur-

rerfly now drearnlng ab out him ? Zany traditions. and in .stlcs In general, belleve

rhar our mundane realit:. is norlung hu t a dream thar wc Icusraln throughout eachdai and that we coustnnd,v create new rIrmcncs in t111s dream. For cacll of us.

o u r rclnttve reality 1s o u r individual dream.In addirton, J mystic would say that e ~ c herson 1s a vehicle of d i r ~ n c xpres-

sion. O u r accions. words, and t hou g h t s a c t ou t d i r t ne p r o r ~ dc ~ ~ c e ,nd some

b c l ~ c w liac free wiIl aIso a rule ln this process. SO we are not sirnFl,v

mbors , do ing ehrner thar are Frcorclaincd, but are r gents, T O r5 speak, w h o

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

of tllr time), wu i on fu s e rhings th at ~ n f l ~ ~ e n c ehe way the world turns. IVhen

we arc clear, th e expressrons of o u r ac tio t~ s re also clear.Tlic foundation pr~ncrp lcof AhuIatia s p r a i r i i r . a c c o r d ~ ~ ~ go Kabbalah, rs

rhar worlds are nsatcd wirh sound5 r'"And G o d StZTD9 rt there be

Itght."). Vowels rcprcscnt these soun4s. Five cowels in par t~cular rc

considered to b t primary m-ith tile others as secondary. -4s de srri t t .J earIier, the

v c prlrnary vouds of Judaism arc 11 as in tow , Ah [as in pn o r nln , Aa 1 35 Inw y j Ee [as in h p , and Uu xq n de .

For Abulafia, each knrvcl is assnc~atcdw ~ t h spcclfic hcad movement, whrch

is graphicall rrFresented in che aclfoining rlIuscrarion. T h e movcmcncs are con-

n e c t ~ d ith th way vowels are lvritrcn n Hebrew. The sound Oh r a do t over a

Irttcr t h u s we raise our hcad ~rprr:lid and then rcturn to tenter when intoning this

sound. T h r sound Ah I S I line under a letter-wr tu rn our heads toward the lekshoulder, pa rd e l to theground and then return to center tvhen sound~ng his let-

ter. T h e sound Aa is represented by two docs on a l ine pralleI u the ground, so

we d o the r t vc rs r of the last movern~~~c-w c urn our heads ru rhr right shoulder


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Chanrrng rhr nunil Oh. b nrvl lift m r rhrad ,11i~ lwn reniru t ct-ntcr.

C;hmtrng the sound Ah, slrnvI\ turn \ourIII RCIm Irtt . ~ n dcnrrn t center.

C h a p t i n e tlrc ruund A a do~vlr. urn yourmJ t t l i c right nd rrtnrn t cenrer

;hCh m r i n ~ ht sound Ee. , I~nv l hiurr

f f xwr henJ and return t ccnrcr.

(J ranrmg thr ~clundUu. looking stta~ghrahead.~lo\vlr.o k I I ~ cad r i+p~nl ndkarkuard n d then r c n l r n t o icnt tr.


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sharF and unconfused , y ~u re crcnrlng pure universes of unadulteratrd sound

vibrations. You sho uld a ttem pt t practice in t ha t p u r i t ~ ,f heart.

It IS much easler ro l ta rn thls prnctlcc by d o ~ n gr d ~ n y rcad-11S l ' t lN 7 T I W C K

l ~ ~ f . r ' t , i3 t 1 ~ rhanrs Ing I[. Turn now ro Track 3. (A wrrtcen d c > c r ~ ~ t ~ o nf chc prncrrccis included in the Appendix.)

COMBINING DOUBLETS

O n e o f the f ~ ~ n d a r n t n t ~ ~ lc c h n ~ ~ u c saught by Ahula fa is to chant *'doublets."A Joublr t is rnadc u p o t 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 u t bcFinn lnFwith rhr Ah vowel. Th is round would he followedbv nnc h e g i n n ~ n gwith the Aa cowel, then one wrth thc Ec and finall one w t d ~

the Uu

No tice chat this description may srrm confusing whrn you rcaJ it. T h e ngi-

c31 part of che brain wants to "figtlre IK out." But once you actually hrem toexpri- icnce the d ~ a n tl n g rocess on a somatic level, with thc hody, you will see

thar i t works much inore easily than logic had suggested.

Begin by tnhdlnF whdc s i rn u l ta nc ~ us l~nternally making the sound of the

vowel Then, with each exhalauon, you w ~ l lmakc the respective

To TRACJ< onsonant. Always ternernbcr to niovc rhc h a d slishrlr as you makcI n u l ~ t ~ d


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ABULAFIA'S PURE SOUND PRACTICEThe h S w n dl lmaginr th t vu want ro make a pure Oh .sound. Now do it, chancing 01 1 na Full exhalation. Notice p u r mind. Each time i .ifis, gently come back to the

sounding of Oh. Fee1 where this sound klhrates in p u r body Continue c h a n t q the

11 ound three rimes com lrtely covenng the enelre exhatarion with rhc sound.

Ih. Continue makine the Oh so und threc more t u n e s but as you are soundingthe vowel, sl iwls s n i gmr la r ~sryorrr~f rerid tad a f e w ~ n c t ~ e ss tf ? n u are look-

ing u p t the twelve on Iargc clock in front of you. Return to center a s eachcxhalat~on omer to an end, so you 15 111be moving your hcdd chrec times, once

o n each exhaiatlon. N o w rest for a f e w rnomenrs.

The Ah ound2a Imagine you want to ~rnake pure Ah sound. Chanr Ah for a full exhalation.

Each t ime t h e mind drifts, gently bring y o u r consciousness back t o the soundrneof Ah. Notice where rhls sound vibrates in your body. Continue with threc Ahsounds, completeIy covering the entire exhalation with th sound.

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

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

you Kemrn to cenccr a ach exhdarron comes ro m rnd. 50 nu will w rnorbinqyour

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


16/21


17/21

REPEATING THE SEQUENCET h e o ~ d c l n which the head mot~onsre dcscr~hrd hovc 1s a s cq u rn i e that rn

Abulafia practlceS

aIwa .s folIowed: up. Icft, right down, forward,nd

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

Oh (up;. Ah (left). Aa (right), Ee (d o wn ) , a n d Uu funvad and backward .

Now. add 'the y-h-v-h. dnmg a r o u n d o f rowels fbr cach consonan t : ?oh

vah. yay yce, yu; ho. hah, h e y he, hu: vo, vah, v q v w e . ru and f inally repeating

hn. hah, hey, he, hu.

Practrce this scquenrc O head movrmencs and make the associated s o ~ ~ n d s

one prr c x h a l ~ t l on , or a t least [en minutes extending cach eshalatlon to co rn -

fcjrr bk lengrhs. Llsrrn t o thr sound of your own voice, feel the lntcrnal vibra-

t ions as the s o u n d ~ h ~ f t s ,nd allow the mrnd torest

as m uc h as possibIe.T h e imporcant p r t of th is inicinl process is rn crnbod? the sounds and hraJ

mov em en ts In a rvay that t he sequence heromps natural and a~trom aric .h e head

movements rhcmselres s l~ouldecome increas~ngIy ubtle, so as not to make

yourwIf dlzt ; hu t they shotrld a l r ~ a ~ se done In some wa ; even ~fonly a n rnchor so of rach movement. It will not rake long before you will n o t h a w to refer

t o t h e chart, bur will in facr haw an autom attc rngralnrd relacionship with the

sounds a11dhead movements.

VOCALCHANTING

AND SILENT C H A N T l N GPractice this process t ach d y for ar least ~ F W Y ~ Ininutrs bur nil l o l ~ ~ ~ rhanforty-five minutes. you krl co mfo r tab le doing this sequence with your eyesC I O S P ~you can d te rn a t r vocaI c h a n c ~ n ~vith silent trlrernal chan t ing rn whtch you

c o n r i ~ x ~ eo hear the sorlnds In your mind but you do not x,ocal~zchem.

ZVhiIc ruial chanting can only be nccomplishcd o n c x h d a t ~ n n s ,nternal slIencchanting can easilv be exrcnded ro borh inhalations and rxhalatrons. IYhm


18/21

vocalizing. br sure to s tar t t h e sound Frecisc.ly a t t h e mome n t you bcpn t o

exhale and cn coordinate thr. complcr;onof the sound wrth thc end n t I ~ c xI~a-

Iacion. Jl'h cn shifcing tu si l rnt chanting, it is st111 mportant t o ~ ~ n c h r u n i z cfirinn r r sound with thr t xacc moments o f beginning and ending cnch inhalation

and rxha la t~on ,o [Ire best of your ability.T h e obje ct is t o immerse oneself n

rhc cxprricncc of the breath and its sound

One way to do srlenr c h ~ n t i n g 5 sirnpl to fo l low 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 sor determining which of m an y variations you m undertake. Seethe following charts.

VARlATIONS ON ABULAFIA S YH-VHBREATH PRACTICE reddl n ~ O L ~ n h ro r mr )

Notiic thar each c o l u m n could switch exhalations for inhalations and could be

read froin t h r b o t t a m up ~ n s r e d f the top down; thus each column rrprcsentsfour F o ~ i b l e ariations, giving a total of sixrcen variations. Column A is th

e a s i~s t ;Column C is the must J~fficuEt.)(Keep n min d to minimalIy move the head according o the inner ~ o ~ v e l

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


19/21

I ~ t h a l e

xhale . . .

Inhale

shalc b

You

o

You

Ho

I l d

H e vVahHa

\a y\ ec

Inhjlc I S

Exhale 10

Inhale I

Exhale I8


20/21

ABULAFIA S BREATH AND C H A N T I N G

PRACTICE WITH DOUBLETS

Each doublet is m a d r up of a n in it ~ al owel. co br wliispered intcrnaIly o n cachinhalation, followed by a consonant cln the csha larion.1 Jc will give herc only theeasiest form. T h e r e are many possible vdrrations that the advanced pract i t~oncrwill he able t o work ou t o n hls or her own. KeepIn mind to minimallr move

the head a c c o r d ~ n go the Inner vowel sound : Oh (up), Ah (Icft , a ( n g h t j , Er(dow n). U u ,forward and backward;.

Y H V H doublet sequence beginning with the vowel Oh

Instrucc~ons:Read the columns vercicaIly,rllF ro botto m , first all o f A, then B

and D Inhale the sound O h sllcntly, exhaleand vocalizr clze rrs~ectiveowel soundin a quiet whisper. Brcathc normally, d o not rush or intentionally lengthen thr

breach. Ewntualls the entire practice can be accom~lishrdilrncIy When the Ohstquence is completed as shown, contin ue with t h e Ah scqucnce on next page.

c nTnhalc O h O h O h O h

E x h ~ l c Yeh Ho Voh Ho

Inhde 11 O h 11 11

Exhalr Yah a \hh Ha

Inhalc Oh Oh Oh Oh

Euhale Yay Hay \ ay

Inhale Oh Oh Oh Oh

ExhaIc I t e e ke HeInhaIe Oh Oh Oh Oh

ExhaIe oti u 11 H u


21/21

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

Inhale

Erhale

InhaIc

EvhaIc

InhaleExhalc

Inhale

Exhalc

InhaleEahalr

A

Ah

Yoh

Ah

Yah

4

Hay

Ahe

AhHu

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

cornplesing t I ~ cAh sequence the practice conrrnues wlth.m

Aa seqalcnct.simply r u b s t ~ r t ~ r i n ~a as the vow l sound hen n e sequence and finally a U u

sequence. T h e completion o f the Uu sequencr is considered one full round.Many students practice u n t d they are ah k to do a full round a t the beginning

of each meditation Fcriod.Th is requires considrrahle concentrat ion ands~gnif i -

candy clerprns one s praccice when a round s accumplished wi th o u t mistakes

UThen rhe above scquencc s mastered new sequences that are mote challengingcan be developed by che student .

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