This is a teaching for you who already know about the Attributes on the Tree of Life, or for you who are interested, and want to know how the Tree manifests in life. I looked at some of the things our new president did during his first day in office, and connected these with the emanations of the Tree of Life. Remember, this was just my point of view at a particular time. As my IKH supervisor says, “the actions you’ve described could be in many different places on the Tree.”
 

Ten Sefirot	Expression of Sefirot	Obama’s Action*
Keter
Chochmah
Binah
Chesed	Loving-kindness	Open house at the presidential mansion
GevurahJustice/Tzedakah Law/Torah	Appropriate boundaries: Restriction and Freedom	A draft executive order that calls for closing Guantanamo within a year, releasing some of the 245 detainees still there and transferring others to different sites for trial.
	Appropriate boundaries, Restriction	A freeze on salaries for White House staff earning $100,000 or more - about 100 people in all.
	Appropriate boundaries, Restriction	Executive order for a tightening of ethics rules governing when administration officials can work on issues on which they previously lobbied governmental agencies, and banning them from lobbying the Obama administration after leaving government service.
	Appropriate boundaries, Transparency	Executive order to loosen the Freedom of Information Act rules, making it harder to keep the workings of government secret.
Tiferet	Truth/Emet	“a clean break from business as usual”
	Compassion/Rachamim	Summoned advisers to begin dealing with the war in Iraq. . . Has promised to withdraw U.S. troops from the unpopular war in Iraq on a 16-month timetable.
Netzach	Devoted to, and seeking, God’s will – publicly	A multi-denominational prayer service at Washington National Cathedral
Hod	Having a rightful place in the material world that is yours, where you are “at home”
Yesod	Prosperity: El Shaddai, Ki Tov	Summoned advisers to begin dealing with the recession
Malchut	David, Melech Tov, Good King (or leader)	“The way to make government responsible is to hold it accountable,” Obama said as he unveiled ethics rules that he portrayed as the fulfillment of a major campaign promise. He said the action was necessary “…to help restore faith in government without which we cannot deliver the changes that we were sent here to make.”
	Peace/blessing sourced by Tiferet	In far-off Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, a judge granted Obama’s request to suspend the war crimes trial of a young Canadian. The judge issued a one-sentence order for the 120-day continuance without so much as a hearing, possibly the beginning of the end for the former administration’s system of trials for alleged terrorists.
	Peace/Shalom	Placed phone calls to Israeli, Palestinian, Egyptian and Jordanian leaders. Obama emphasized that he would work to consolidate the cease-fire between Israel and Hamas in Gaza, said the new White House press secretary, Robert Gibbs. Gibbs said Obama expressed “his commitment to active engagement in pursuit of Arab-Israeli peace from the beginning of his term.”
	Received blessings	“Grant to Barack Obama, president of the United States, and to all in authority your grace and good will. Bless them with your heavenly gifts, give them wisdom and strength to know and to do your will,” prayed the Rev. Andy Stanley, one of numerous clerics from several religions to speak.

* “Obama’s Action” taken from the article written by Jennifer Loven, AP – on January 21, 2009: On Day One, Obama Flexes His Muscle

Rumi says:

Longing is the core of mystery.

Longing itself brings the cure.

The only rule is, Suffer the pain.

 from The Book of Love - Coleman Barks, translator  

First of all, what is this longing that Rumi speaks of?

In the great plan of redemption (Tikkun), the Earth sphere is meant to gradually evolve into a garden of unity, harmony and light.  This is happening through an evolution of consciousness in the Earth’s inhabitants.  We are all entangled in the web of duality: life and death, good and evil.  Generally speaking, the evolution of consciousness is a result of devotion to our inner work that frees us from the web of duality.

The soul’s greatest longing is for God; just as the Psalmist says: “My soul thirsts for God.”  The journey of longing and seeking and following – this journey itself is what gives meaning to life.  We long for ease and healing of the fear, pain and strain of duality; we long for the Beloved, for union with the All.  This longing lives in every one of us, whether we allow ourselves to feel it or not.   

The question becomes: How do we hold this longing?

On the one hand, it is necessary to accept the world as it is, and deal with it on its own terms.  We need to see and fully accept that there is night and day, good and evil, that we must choose this way or that. . . while simultaneously recognizing a new vision gradually evolving through the mist.  When the limitations of life on Earth are being accepted and dealt with honestly, maturely, and constructively, then the inner evolutionary process proceeds organically.  Thus a new state of mind, the unitive state of mind, is automatically and inexorably, if ever so slowly, ushered into the world.

The unitive state of mind can hold duality, so that another third perspective evolves that cherishes both poles.  The movement of the journey – seeking God – is nested together with stillness – dwelling in the Mystery that is present in every moment and every place.  That Mystery is the Divine: a deeper level of truth beyond duality, where all is goodness.  This unity in duality emanates in Kabbalah’s Tree of Life as Tiferet – loving/merciful compassion.

This great goal (holding duality, finding unity) cannot be willed into existence by the ego alone.  However, the ego’s frustration – it’s inability to have only pleasure and no pain – can motivate us to seek God.  Our disappointments can spark a longing for a different, non-dual way of living.  In the longing exists a kernel of true knowing that peace exists, and can be found.  Slowly, and with many interruptions, an inner state evolves in which you want life, not because you fear death, but because you accept death. . . and ultimately you come to know that there is no death.

In this process, we learn to accept the pain of being human.  Buddhists call this the First Noble Truth.  If we defend against pain, we are defending against reality, resisting our humanness.  This creates a tightening or rigidity that prevents healing into oneness.  Healing requires a deep and more than physical relaxation of the entire human system, in order to connect with the ever present Divine healing currents that penetrate all that is.

Perennial wisdom teaches us to be in the world, but not of the world.  This means that we patiently seek to understand where struggle must continue and where it must cease.  The noble human struggle to find the truth is an inevitable preparation for unity, enlightenment.  Struggle can also be the tense and fearful striving that muddies the waters, concealing the peace that flows from the Most Holy.  May we all experience that incomparable peace of no longer fearing pain, and no longer pushing anxiously for pleasure.  May we truly become still and know God in all that is, in the best and worst, in what we want and what we don’t want.   

* * * * *

  Iris Markham is a Kabbalistic Healer, working with Kabbalah and the Tree of Life.  She is also a Pathwork Helper (spiritual counselor) with a philosophical and spiritual foundation drawn from almost forty years of studying Pathwork and other teachings.  She offers private sessions by phone and in person, and is teaching a class on Kabbalah at Crazy Wisdom in March.

www.KabbalahandHealing.com

“As a healer and a helper, I serve Oneness: Adonai Echad.  Therefore, I often work with holding and healing duality, whatever that may mean in the moment.”

This article is partly derived from Pathwork Lecture #253: Continue Your Struggle and Cease All Struggle (www.Pathwork.org).

“Following is a great concept upon which the world stands. . . the essence of the Creation story: All creatures and beings completed a procedure in the Great Heavenly Court known as Elohim, prior to their Creation. . . and then afterward they were created from the attribute of Justice.”

Creation is not a one-time event.  Creation is the eternal unfolding of the will of God.  This means that each and every one of us went through this “procedure” with Elohim, the Creator God whose other name is Justice.  This procedure was like an “interview” with Elohim, wherein it was decided how tall we would be, what our face would look like, how long we’d live, how much money we’d have, and who would govern us. There was informed consent prior to birth.

At the end of our interview, every one of us answered Elohim:  “Even with all that has been told, I remain joyful and optimistic.”  We were created knowing our life plan and desiring it, even though it was forgotten at birth.

“The rationale of this great principle is that no one is obliged or coerced.  All creatures were created with the straight line of Elohim and forthrightness.  There are no curves or deceptions. . . No one can claim: ‘I was not created justly’. . .  No one is cheated or humiliated.”

What does all this mean?

“It’s not fair!” the child complains.  “Life isn’t fair,” the parent responds.  The unfairness of life is true — a limited truth:  the human point of view. In our everyday physical reality, things don’t seem fair; justice does not always prevail.  However, this powerful teaching from the Kabbalah proclaims the presence of divine justice — even here on Earth.

However, we cannot recognize Justice because we don’t always have access to the knowledge and perspective of our higher soul.  The higher soul (called Chayah in Hebrew) is the life essence, the soul level that holds what could be (outside of time).  Here resides the consciousness that sees from lifetime to lifetime and in-between. . . beyond time.  True guidance emanates from Chayah. And this is where our life plan resides.

Our higher soul carries our life plan, the one we negotiated with Elohim. Parents, nationality, religion, life circumstances, talents, and all other details are there in the life plan. Nothing is haphazard or left to chance. There is no coincidence possible; every smallest detail has meaning. My understanding of this teaching is that all events in all the worlds are held in Justice, in Elohim.

In our higher soul, we know the justice of our suffering and of our joy. We can occasionally experience a micro-sliver of this vast Justice and Law that encompasses everything. If we can build our faith in Elohim and His Justice, it will help us in many, many ways.

Elohim saw everything that was created and behold it was very good. (Genesis 1:31)

I am interested in hearing your thoughts and ideas and questions. What do you think about this?