The Spiritual Realm

When thinking about our spiritual origin we are naturally led to question 'thought' since what comes to mind must emanate from somewhere, but where? To discover answers we are compelled to journey inward through our conscious to the super conscious and beyond. Many religions and cultures practice highly regarded methods for reaching these inward states of mind. Religions focus almost all attention on the inner sanctum through prayer and meditation and on drawing 'G-d's' energies from the outer sanctum, proposing that the union of inner and outer, higher and lower their goal.

Reviewing numerous sources, it quickly becomes evident that Judaism is the oldest and most comprehensively documented religion, albeit that most of the works are not yet translated from Hebrew. Here more volumes of intricately detailed works are devoted to the inner sanctum of the soul than in all other religions combined. More than 16000 volumes of recognized works deal with every aspect, every detailed analysis of the oral and the written Torah extracting from it derivative teachings and commentaries on the soul.

Jewish religious philosophy presents a departure from the views that mainstream modern society has characterized it to be. At its depths are the pillars that describe G-d's entire plan and mans role in it. In the essential process man receives the gift of life, a soul, mind and body with free will, as tools for navigating life on earth, the lowest spiritual realm, the realm of greatest potential. The soul, assigned to a body at birth, has specific characteristics. Free will (choice) impacts the bodies ability to realize the souls fullest potential, its highest possible state[1]. Our young mind cannot become truly aware of its soul until the age of 20[2]. So, here we have the entity of soul that is prescribed by G-d to the embryo at inception. The soul completes its infusion in the body (through the blood) by being 1) crowned eight[3] days after birth[4] together with its pre-existing[5] attributes of 2) wisdom, 3) understanding, 4) compassion, 5) strength, 6) perfection, 7) eternity, 8) greatness, 9) foundation and 10) kingship. Each of these attributes and their derivative combinations are contained in the soul that you received at birth [see Sefirot link where attribute descriptions vary].

The mind and body cares for the soul, nurtures it and enables it to reach a higher state so that it can be perfected in order to reach its destined place in the scheme of G-d's perfect holy state. Like the flame of a candle that burns its fuel, at times extending, reaching higher, at other times subdued nearing its extinguished state only to be revived and reach higher than ever before. Our soul can be compared to a flame fueled by the decisions of our free will. The soul is a tremendously complex entity, the vital aspect of our essential presence. Like the colors that burn in a flame, it consists of five levels of which the lower three connect with our physical bodies. Here the Nefesh and the Ruach, the animal spirit of the heart (emotions) are embodied within the Neshamah, the divine soul of the mind all of which are assigned to a body. In the higher realms the Chayah (Living Essence) and Yechidah (Unique Essence) connect the soul of the lower world. 

The soul is susceptible to the most sensitive and imperceptible spiritual energies, it is able to communicate, it is alive and it is always responding. Like a ships (the body) navigation system (the soul) provides its captain (the mind) information, which by correctly applied free will, guides it through ocean waters to arrive at its destination. Only the soul enables us to perceive G-d's guidance that we can successfully navigate our conscious world. The soul receives and the soul transmits. Its attachment to our body and brain afford us the opportunity to perceive its inner workings, but only by concentrated focus. A myriad of gateways in the mind and the body enable a conscious connection to the soul, each must be opened by effort in thought, speech and action in order that the body may facilitate the soul to realize its full potential, to flame to its highest peak. Only by the correct application of 'free will', by pursuing a synchronized spiritual and psychological approach, can this occur.

The souls construct parallels the physical attributes of Intellect, Emotion, Thought, Speech and Action, terms with which most of us are more familiar. Everyone can recall an experience after which you ask; why did you do that or why did you think that? Why did you think about buying a dress? Why did you think about eating a cake? Why did you think about buying a car? Why did you think how ridiculous she looked? Why did you think about sex with a person? Why did you help that poor person? Why did you look at that car? Why did you do a double take? Why did you write someone an email? Why do we buy flowers for people? Why do we celebrate? Why do we mourn? Each thought, word and act has a direct bearing on your soul. It is the homing device built into the physical being, the device used to navigate to the place it ultimately wants to be, the device to which our conscious thoughts can better respond by being more sensitive to its indications.

Most times our lack of conscious sensitivity causes us to override the soul's direction because our busy mind does not hear its true sub-conscious state, we are simply unable to 'hear' what the soul is saying. How can we possibly steer ourselves in life if we are unable to tune into the wisdom, purity and guidance of the soul that most of us believe we possess? We cannot! People whose daily lives are bathed in the noise of their material (physical) mental anguish (and that's most of us), are unable to 'see the voices[6]', the guidance, that the soul provides. In this world, on planet earth, we wander around aimlessly, pained by the pretense of our seemingly productive lives, expecting to pass to the next world where we hope the noise will disappear. So long as we do not subdue the noise, the perfected path of our soul will remain concealed from each of us and we will fail to achieve the task G-d set for each of us due to the ineffective application of our 'free will'. Those who cherish the soul's very existence honor its purpose. Those who truly understand it will return it to its Maker in its elevated spiritual state, brought only by the correct application of 'free will'.

[1] Sefer Mamarim תרנ''ט end of second mamar. [2] Zohar - Mishpatim : 3. The old sage (Saba) Verse 76.. [3] The Bahir - Aryeh Kaplan Pg 57 Pt 157 [4] Shulchan Aruch Harav, Orech Chayim, Mahadura Tanina - Likutei Sichos vol.10 pg 45. [5] http://www.truekabbalah.com/deh.php?p=TheKnowledge007 - Speaking and Saying Dibur Amirah [6] Inner Space Ezekiels vision Pg 149