The Presence of God, Part
III
The Presence of God in Chockmah creates new destinies and new paths of life. It lays the foundations for new civilizations. It makes all things new by the power of its voice.
As I enter the Presence, I find it to be very dynamic and powerful. All the previous sephira are present--there is for Malkuth, “Let us build something that endures;” For Yesod, “Let us insure that every need is satisfied and provided for;” In Hod; “Let us present the full truth.” In Netzach, “Let us attain oneness;” In Tipareth, “Let us fully reflect the light;” In Gevurah, “Let us overcome every obstruction and obstacle;” In Chesed, “Let us be generous and offer every form of wealth;” And in Binah, “Let us attain enlightenment.” And so naturally as we come to Chockmah we say, “Let us originate a new way of life and found a new civilization.”
The Presence in Chockmah is very masculine. It has a huge, limitless amount of energy that it seeks to transmit by planting a seed, a new beginning, a new form or purpose in space and time. This seed or purpose then unfolds so that the world can be transformed.
To comprehend this fully, you must come to grips with these components: you have to grasp the amount of power that is present, for without this creative power this Presence is not known. You have to understand the world as it is from an enlightened state of mind, that is, free from bias, fear, and attachment. You also have to be willing to lay hold of the world and take possession of it, for if anything, Chockmah entails sovereignty--it knows the inner core essence of everything that exists and assumes full responsibility for insuring its fulfillment.
And then it searches for and finds those places and moments where it can transmit and bestow its inner essence--who and what it is, “I Am that I Am”-- so that there is a face to face encounter and full conscious recognition of each other. This is the kind of relationship that is true with friends and that is true with lovers. It is also possible in a relationship with God.
With Chockmah, there is a great deal of energy that is focused on the future. Consider building a house. You begin with a purpose you wish to fulfill--for example, to have a house and a home.
You have to acquire the land, that is, you take possession of the resources that are required for you to lay a foundation in a specific location. You then have an architect design what you want. Next you proceed according to laws and ordinances of your location hiring and overseeing workmen during each step in the process of building.
You insure that you have the best materials and that the workers are and remain skilled and committed. You deal with unexpected problems as they arise. You follow through and in the end you are ready to move in.
Now your purpose can be fulfilled of living in the house. Your purpose has required all this prior work before it could be accomplished. You have had to foresee, envision, plan, and design what you want. This takes will, power, oversight, and the acquisition of many resources.
This is Chockmah. It constantly surveys the future and carefully considers what can be accomplished if the right foundations are laid and the plans are carefully designed. It takes possession of the world and transforms it. It takes possession of the opportunities your life presents and fulfills them. It lays hold of the destinies that are available to groups, organizations, nations, societies, cultures, and civilizations and insures that they are accomplished.
Entering God’s Presence in Chockmah, you begin training as an engineer, workman, architect, and builder in the divine workshop. You study the future the way an archeologist or a historian studies the past. You explore the future the way an explorer prepares for and then journeys to the North Pole or as a well-prepared climber assails the peak of Mt. Everest. You investigate the future the way a scientist researches and seeks the cure for a disease--by running countless experiments, by testing and observing, by theorizing, and then proceeding to acquire the knowledge that this purpose requires.
There is also a divine level of strength that is present. The Presence conveys this to you and in turn you are able to transmit this strength to others. This strength derives from having the Presence of God within you. Though out of fashion and inappropriate for our age, this is the image of a highly qualified, wise, effective, and powerful king. He knows the purpose behind and the responsibility assigned to each person.
He knows how to get the most out of others. He knows how to fulfill his purposes. When he wills something, he knows how to insure that his will is accomplished fully and according to the time frame he has designated. We do not encounter this level of divine majesty very often in human history. It is rarely reflected in the actions of a human being. But it is definitely available for all of us to study, to learn from, and to eventually embody through working with the Presence in Chockmah.
Being within this Presence is like having a small taste or a slight vibration of infinite power within you. You can feel the strength. But you also can feel that there is no end to it. You can develop it or draw upon it without ever exhausting it or encountering a boundary or stop sign.
With this vibration within you, you are always ready to get on with the business of life. You are always ready to move forward and accomplish things of value. There is no doubt, regret, or hesitation. You take responsible for the world as it is around you even as you are creating something new never before seen or imagined.
You stand in the present even as you embody the gate, the means, and the fulfillment of what the future holds in store. This is a fabulous level of creativity and way of revealing and bringing new things into the world. Yet there is power and wisdom present that watches over and insures the full manifestation of your creative endeavor.
I notice, however, that many individuals have an astral, mental, spiritual, or some form of karmic block that prevents them from working with Chockmah. This sephiroth has an element of duality in it. You stand back from God and say, “Here is what I perceive Your desires to be. Here are my desires. These two overlap in certain ways. Let us, therefore, proceed to work together in accomplishing what is of benefit to so many others.”
This spiritual stance requires a willingness to negotiate in order to get the job done. It requires a willingness to seize divine opportunities in order to attain to a destiny. Many individuals wish to accomplish their purposes on their own. They want to prove themselves. They want to demonstrate that they can overcome karma and fate and this is satisfying enough for them. They take for granted the way the world is--its limitations, it resources, and its possibilities--and then proceed to act within it rather than to change its fundamental nature.
On the other hand, some individuals are ready to seize hold of the possibilities that Chockmah presents, but their karma prevents them from doing so. They are unwilling to pay the price through rigorous training or to eliminate what is unnecessary in their lives in order to work hand in hand with the divine. Presented with a fabulous opportunity to play a part in unfolding human destiny, they turn away from it because it is inconvenient, uncomfortable, or confronts them with their insecurities.
They are unable or unwilling to view their own personalities, needs, desires, and limitations as part of the negotiation process, as part of the material that is subject to becoming transformed. They do not wish to change or let go of the past in order to embrace the new. With Chockmah, you put everything on the line. You negotiate everything. Everything is subject to change and transformation.
An individual who works with Chockmah may say to others, “Don’t tell me about the past. Don’t tell me about what others have prophesized or what has been predicted by mystics, psychics, and magicians prior to this time when they say, ‘This is what shall be, will be, or has to be.’”
Instead they say, “I have God, the Creator, on the line. We are discussing new plans never before envisioned by mankind. And God has just told me that all religions and all prophecies must be reinterpreted, altered, or pushed aside when a new purpose is born on earth.” This is the attitude of Moses toward the Pharaoh. And this is the attitude of Christ toward the law given by God to Moses. These individuals were involved in original negotiations and mediations that brought forth new purposes to be fulfilled. Chockmah is God actively, without hesitation and without being bound by the past, creating and recreating the manifested universe.
In Kether: The Presence is within everything, a part of everything, and it is the source from which all things arise. It creates visions, dreams, intimations, and prophecies of what can be that reveal the depths of life and of the mysteries of the heart. All of the sephira are contained and interwoven as one here just as all of the sephira are manifested in some concrete, physical, and distinct manner in Malkuth.
This aspect of the Presence of God produces a sense of oneness with all things. In meditation as I enter the Presence, I notice I feel one with each individual thing in the universe. I also feel one with everything that does not yet exist but which will one day come to be. And I feel one with everything that has been and that no longer exists. Another way to say this is that all of space and time and everything that manifests--the entire unfolding of the universe from beginning to end--exist all at once in this present moment.
This state of completion, however, is not static. The universe is creative in essence and it is its nature to recreate itself continuously, to give birth to itself again and again.
This oneness I am attempting to describe is a state of consciousness. Consciousness always has a vibration and a field of energy. It always has qualities though sometimes these are difficult to describe.
As I have mentioned, the vibration of this energy field is that it is everywhere in space and time and it encompasses the entire universe. It is penetrating and also containing. And it has qualities. It is aware of history and purpose. It perceives the forces that govern the transformation of all things.
To enter the Presence of God in Kether is to unite with this energy field. You sense that extending outward from your body is this vibration that is everywhere in space and time. And you sense also that your mind is being illuminated by the hidden and deepest purposes that are unfolding and that govern the manifestation of each individual thing, person, planet, race, evolution, etc.
This oneness is nurturing. It strives to offer satisfaction and fulfillment. And it produces the circumstances and opportunities of life under which these things can occur.
It is also empowering. It offers its own essence, vibration, inspiration, and powers to those who enter it and become a part of it. In this sense, it is a joining, a great celebration of love to enter it and become one with it. It is also a prayerful contemplation and benevolent emanation--it watches over and monitors the universe and offers inspiration and guidance to those who seek completion, wholeness, and the opportunity to serve and assist others.
This Presence is the clearest embodiment of the abstract and impersonal aspect of God that is called Divine Providence. Within it is the union of all the higher spirits that guide and inspire the unfolding of the universe.
Meditation. It is important not to go too quickly into the abstract, universal, or cosmic levels, which some religions do, because doing so easily loses the presence of the physical and astral planes. The physical world of dense material objects and astral world of feelings and desires are equally a part of the encompassing concern of Kether.
Kether is not stupid, fanatical, or blind. It takes the world exactly as it is and slowly, gradually, leads it toward perfection. It is completely void of that religious and spiritual arrogance that wants to point to one thing or another thing and say, “This part of life is not a part of divine purpose. It is less in importance than these other parts which we have designated as sacred in accordance with our traditions.”
For Kether, the whole earth is full of God’s glory. Everything is sacred. There is an inner, infinite light that shines from everything that exists.
A nice beginning meditation that is analogous to Kether is to do what this oneness does--it is a prayerful contemplation and benevolent emanation. To acquire this sense, begin by imagining everyone you care about. Recall these individuals and review their life experience, needs, desires, hopes, and dreams. In a prayerful, relaxed, and contemplative manner, imagine that you are one with them and also that the vibration of your consciousness inspires them, vitalizes them, protects them, and offers them opportunities to become satisfied and fulfilled in every imaginable way. By making such a simple, straight-forward meditation a part of your schedule, you approach the Presence of God in Kether.
Four Planes
If we break Kether down into its application on the four planes, it might be described in this way.
Akashic. This is Divine Providence, the union of all spiritual beings and spiritual purposes unfolding the universe.
Mental. This is cosmic wisdom that comprehends the entire universe.
Astral. This is the feeling sense of being one with everything in the universe.
Physical. For want of a better image, this is the spheric, Quabbalstic magician and alchemist. The one who embodies Kether on the physical plane is master of perfect immortality and has complete control over the four elements, the cosmic language, and the spirits of the planetary spheres. This is the akashic level in physical form and manifestation.
Wrath of God in the Last Three Sephira
This aspect of God’s Presence deals with individuals as well as societies who abuse their power and conscience in a severe manner. The Binah aspect of the Wrath of God undoes all that an individual works to accomplish. It takes things apart so that nothing endures. It gets an individual finally to ask the questions, “What am I doing wrong? How am I responsible for my situation?”
There is a wrath of God aspect to this Presence also in Chockmah since Chockmah relates to seeing and preparing for the future. If an individual, group, or nation is causing great harm to others, this aspect of God takes away their ability to see what is going to happen. They are unable then to plan for how to preserve their power or to defend themselves.
Their eyes are closed, their ears are stopped up, and their hearts are hardened--in the sense that they no longer feel they need to adapt to changing circumstances. They stand by the decisions they have made in the past and this takes them to the edge of an abyss.
After suffering loss and destruction, this aspect gets an individual to ask the question, “If I am ever given the chance, how shall I begin again in a way that is always fair and responsible?” In other words, “What do I have to do or change in myself so that such loss and destruction never occur again?”
The Kether component to the Wrath of God aspect excludes individuals temporarily from the circle of life. They are taken out of action, their lives put on hold. They are unable to function. This aspect leads an individual not to ask a question but to make this commitment, namely, “I am forever committed to protecting, nurturing, and fulfilling life in every form and way in which it appears.” They are willing to do this because, having suffered exile from life, they finally realize how incredible precious life is.
I mention these aspects of the Presence because they describe the functioning of karma. Often karma acts naturally through the influence of the four elements present in an individual’s conscience or by virtue of the balancing effects of the four elements on an incarnating individual.
Sometimes Divine Providence takes a more active role or higher spirits, at their own discretion and inspiration, watch over and intervene to help assist, guide, or limit an individual or an entire evolution. But we see some individuals regularly interfering with others as they abuse their spiritual powers. They zap others, curse them, charm them, enchant them, and throw all manner of malice and ill will around as if magic were something to use to keep yourself from being bored or to gain a shot of adrenaline or amphetamine for a severely depressed and insecure ego.
But at some point in the evolution of an individual or civilization, it is necessary actively to watch over and to insure that karma is worked out in a fair and just manner. Divine Providence expects that all of us will eventually make changes in the karma of ourselves, our groups, our nations, our world, and the larger universe. This is part of being creative. As I mentioned in regard to Chockmah, your own needs, desires, and limitations are part of the negotiation process and the material to be transformed.
Consequently, an individual can fully understand the purpose of evil, malice, and the abuse of power. And you quite actively and effectively know how to limit those expressions without interfering in the right of individuals to make their own choices and decisions. I mention the wrath of God aspect because, as in Buddhism’s concept and application of “wrathful compassion,” these are things we can also embody within ourselves. An individual would do so in order to guide, to inspire, and insure that our world is not destroyed due to negligence, ignorance, or spiritual impotence.