AboutRobert Waxman Expertise Any questions relating to ancient or modern Kabbalah, or Jewish mysticism. Also, any questions relating to comparisons between Kabbalah and other religions or philosophies. Questions about spirituality including cosmology, numerology (gematria), hidden meanings of the Bible, what happens after death, the purpose of life, the eternal validity of the soul, the importance of the inner voice and parallels with modern science.
Experience Author of "Kabbalah Simply Stated" published by Paragon House. The book is distributed in 12 countries. Author of "The Seven Fundamental Propositions of Kabbalah" and "The Power of AWE!". Studied Kabbalah with Rabbi Azriel Abraham of Jerusalem from 1985 -1998. I've been teaching Kabbalah since 1999 as a series entitled, "Kabbalah According To The Scholars" (Scholem, Kaplan & Tisby). Thousands have attended my classes over the years. I have (4) on-going classes in Sarasota, FL and many private students by phone. Many guest speaking presentations are given throughout the year. At my last speaking engagement in Greenacres, FL at Temple Beth Tikvah, over 650 people attended. Please see my current biography at: www.kabalist.com
Organizations President of The Kabbalah Education Network.
Publications (3) Books, many original articles that can be found on the internet (ezine, netterweb, searchwarp, etc.) "Beyond Madonna - Kabbalah according to the Great Scholars" and "Beyond The Da Vinci Code", see: www.robertwaxman.org for more articles.
Education/Credentials Graduate of American University in Philosophy and Psychology. Graduate work at Columbia University. Currently pursuing PhD in Philosophy of Religion. Graduate of The School of Practical Philosophy in NYC and certified by The American Seminar Leader's Association. Host of the Kabbalah WebRing on the internet.
Awards and Honors Many certificates of appreciation from various organizations where I've given presentations.
Past/Present clients Longboat Key Education Center, The Open Center, Unity of Sarasota, Center For Positive Living, (5) Jewish Community Centers in South Florida, many synogogues, churches, interfaith groups and religious/philosophical organizations.
Expert: Robert Waxman Date: 7/5/2007 Subject: Ref: consciousness
Question QUESTION: Hello Mr. Waxman
I was wondering how do you explain consciousness and why do different people have different degrees of consciousness or awareness.
How does consciousness work?
Regards,
S. Mahabir
Pembroke Pines, Fl. 33084
ANSWER: To: S. Mahabir
Thank you for your question concerning the nature of consciousness.
The scientific community believes that electrical impulses of the body travel to the brain to activate consciousness. Science stresses that these impulses are initiated from the outside world and they minimize the importance of the inner nature.
Kabbalah teaches that you have an inner essence called consciousness that connects you to the external world. Through your inner nature, you can connect with the natural inner beauty of all things.
Kabbalah says that your individual spark of consciousness comes from the One Divine Source (The No-Thing Without End / Ain Soph), which is pure unconditioned, bare, subjective consciousness of an abstract nature (that no being can possibly comprehend). For example, God said to Moses, "You cannot see my face and stay alive; you can only see my back".
Since Ain Soph is infinite;, and since we all have finite minds; our conditioned consciousness cannot comprehend where it comes from. However, we can experience the merging of our individual consciousness with Ain Soph through meditation (kavvanah). This type of meditation began in the 2nd Century CE by a group known as "The Merkabah Mystics". They meditated on the archetype of Ezekiel's Chariot (The Merkabah), to transcend our physical reality and move to higher levels (or worlds) through meditation. If they could reach the highest level, The World Of Aziluth (emanation), they would experience a merging with The Godhead. This merging, is the definition of the word, "mysticism"' - "to commune or experience oneness with God."
So, even though our intellect cannot lead us to any logical explanation about the nature of consciousness, we can all experience it. The story of Job, as interpreted by Maimonides, explains that Job had worshipped God, prayed to God and sacrificed for God - but, until the end of the story - he had never experienced God ("Formerly I had heard you with my ears, But now I have seen you with my eyes.")
Now, for the second part of your question about, "why do some individuals seem to have different degrees of consciousness?".
In terms of our basic consciousness, there are no differences among human beings. Pythagoras called the essence of consciousness - "the monad" - which corresponds to Yechidah-Chiyah (unity & life essence) in Kabbalah. However, different levels of spiritual consciousness come from a third component called "Neshamah", or the higher mind principle. As an example, consider the metaphor of a battery. The charge (spark) within the battery and the nickel cadmium that holds the charge, would be analogous to the seat of consciousness. Once this battery is inserted into a computer, it allows the device to animate itself and perform various functions. The metaphor stops at this point, because even though a battery may be an example for how consciousness works - it does not include the divine nature of the higher mind which allows consciousness to blossom into "self-consciousness" ("I am that I am" - "I think therefore I am" etc.). This is where "different levels" of advancement comes in. Since we have 'free will', reason and moral responsibility - we are able to make our own decisions, form our own thoughts and express our own creativity. So, with self-consciousness having the ability of higher mind, different people are at different levels of spirituality, intuitiveness and imagination.
Awareness comes from the higher mind as it experiences its own existence. By living a selfless, generous, compassionate, truthful, loving, non-judgmental, open-minded, enthusiastic & cheerful life, you will climb the rungs of Jacob's Ladder and move toward self-realization (the highest levels of spiritual awareness). In Kabbalah, this type of individual is known as a Tzaddik. When the majority of people on this planet decide to live like a Tzaddik, then "world consciousness" will rise to the next level of collective consciousness, and a new golden age will begin.
I hope this information is helpful to you, and I wish you all the best....Bob Waxman
---------- FOLLOW-UP ----------
QUESTION: Thanks for your answer. I was wondering what it is like to exerperience the highest levels of spiritual awareness and how does it differ from world consciousness. I believe the term cosmic consciousness can be used to describe this state.
Got another tough question:
Why does nature operate on the principle that when we live a life that is selfless, compassionate, truthful, loving etc.... and all of the qualities you specified in the last paragraph do we achieve higher levels of spiritual awareness - why does nature operate in this way.
Terms like "world consciousness" and "cosmic consciousness" are subjective and are interpreted according to the belief system of the individual. Dion Fortune wrote a book entitled, "Cosmic Consciousness" that goes beyond world consciousness, and discusses realms (or dimensions) that are similar to those used by physicists when speaking of Super-String Theory and M-Theory. So, the term "cosmic consciousness" may be used for the cosmos and everything in it (including dark matter, anti-matter, black holes & the 11th dimension). Again, these are subjective labels.
The goal of living a selfless, virtuous, love-filled life has been taught by almost every ancient and modern religion. "The Egyptian Book of The Dead" speaks of the after-death state where a person's heart is compared to the weight of a feather. "The Tibetan Book Of The Dead" also teaches "the lightness of being" by expending aggregates that are causes of undesirable effects.
Moses, Jesus, Mohammed, Loa-Tzu, Buddha, Krishna, Confucius, Socrates, Zoroaster, Hermes etc., all taught the value of living a life filled with higher spiritual principles. Plato speaks of the "soiling" of the soul and the goal of "purification" in "The Apology", "The Phaedo" & "Timeaus". When reviewing the teachings of these illuminated minds, there is a universal pattern that emerges in reference to the human condition and its quest to manifest higher levels of spirituality. Also, it appears that the intuitive mind tends to naturally move in this direction and advanced intuition usually correlates with a desire to pursue higher levels of spiritual awareness.
In terms of "Nature", and why it may - or may not - work this way - this is a personal belief that each individual must decide for themselves. If one belies that the Universe is nihilistic, then there is no basis for living according to universal spiritual principles. However, if one believes that the Universe has purpose, meaning, goodness, love, truth etc. as an integral part of it's continuous becoming, then the Hermetic phrase, "as above, so below" is the best evidence as to why Nature does work this way (by The Law of Correspondence & Analogy).
Thank you for your questions and I wish you the all the best in your spiritual pursuits.....Bob Waxman
