9. Yesod

The title of our talk for this morning, The Mystical Foundations of Life.

Now, the mystical foundation of life, which we're going to attempt to discuss this morning, related to the ninth Sephirah, Yesod, which means foundation. Foundation this is the area in which we're going to have to try to see to tempt some understanding together where the corrections are made when we learn how to really work at correcting because foundation amongst other things is kabbalistically said to hold the patterns of consciousness. Now what does that mean? That to which our psychologists refer to when they say subconsciousness or the unconscious or the subliminal mind even that which is referred to as the anima mundi all of this actually are the aspects that the Qabalists refer to when they refer to yes-ed, the foundation.

Now remember, what it is saying in essence then is that the subconsciousness or the unconscious, and that includes the collective unconscious, this is the pattern.

This holds the patterns for all that happens. That means your subconsciousness your unconscious your portion of or and experience in and through anima the anima mundi is what holds the patterns for your life, your manifestation, your beingness. And what are these patterns?

These patterns are the thinkings, the feelings and the doings that you are habitually expressing. Pressing remember the affirmation that we make in the pattern on the trestle board when we say for the ninth aspect of the tree of life which is yes it when we say in thought in word indeed I rest my life from day to day upon the sure foundation of eternal being well it's saying far more than we know of course bear in mind that the declarations of the pattern are the positive declarations there it's more like instruction as to what we should be thinking feeling doing uh it really holds the the full instruction for the ageless wisdom in a very condensed form it is true but it holds it and what it is saying therefore and in in a positive way, when we come to understand it helps us to recognize what we have been doing with the same power in negative ways. In other words, it is saying basically that only as we correct our ideas and thoughts and feelings and thought and word and deed and our doings remember only as we correct them habitually will we become aware of the fact that the foundation of our life is eternal being and we're being told to practice just that so we notice that the key 14 assigned to the holy guardian angel to temperance but also remember to the testing and trying the consciousness of testing probation trial this is the flow that comes down from the central ego of all humanity that which means the self-consciousness the capacity to be self-conscious the actual central ego that belongs to each one of us it is through this path through this process of testing out the patterns that manifestation takes place so that everything and remember habitual patterns a pattern has to do with that which is a habit so the habit mind is another way of putting areas of subconsciousness but remember there's more than just the idea of patterns, there's function this is the sphere of the activity of the moment yes it is which means the whole function the action the activities that are taking place in relation to our patterns and remember when we mentioned patterns we also pointed out the animal Monday which if you want another term for it you and call the soul of the world now you think about that for a minute the patterns for manifestation are held in the soul of the world remember when we say that yes it is assigned to the vital soul soul to the animal soul to the automatic soul we give them all three terms to help you try to understand that we're talking and which man shares with all living you remember eve was the mother of all living man shares this with all living not just with all living human beings but was all living that means everything that is livingness is part of the animal mundi that is the world soul everything that is living is an expression of patterns held in that area or sphere of activity therefore therefore everything that we experience as living or see as living is really an expression of that now but in order to help us see this even a little more clearly let's together analyze the ideas involved in the divine name of power given to this function the divine name of power given to the function in yeses the habit is shaddai el chai now shaddai el chai what does that mean shaddai means almighty that's one of its most important meanings almighty you can think of it as strength in other words the most the strongest of the strong what would be the most the strongest that can be it would be the most almighty because might isn't that strength power so the absolute the strength the power the almighty and ale should die is the one then ale means god that's one of the words for god so we're talking about all mightiness almighty strength the absolute the the the strongest of the strong because almighty it's like when you're saying omniscient it's all science when you're saying all Shaddai you're really talking about infinite strength it has the same connotation because to God is given the idea of the infinite power the infinite strength and then high is one of the words that is assigned to wisdom hookman the divine father and that means life plain life so when we talk about the mystical foundation of life you see we're talking about the livingness of the Divine Father in conjunction with in complete interacting unity with the Divine Mother but in yes it we have that miracle or or as it is taught by Qabalah, the entire projection of the physical universe is the result of the fact that, yes, it is said to be the reproductive organs of Adam-Kabban, which means the grand man, or we can, again, we can call it the cosmic self.

And within that area of activity, one of the aspects that's involved and the Qabalists call it the secret the secret, one of the terms they use is so Yod in other words it's the secret of Yod and Yod is the Hebrew letter for the hermit which you see the father there and it is also the element that is within every single Hebrew letter that Hebrew letter is part of every one of the 22 Hebrew letters so that that's and that is the seed it is the cosmic seed that is within everything that lives this is another way of putting it which makes the higher self the father of all but the father you can't be a father without a mother and so that seed has to enter the womb and the womb is the cosmic mother well yes it or subconsciousness or automatic consciousness or anima mundi or that which holds the patterns of either the single or all or collectively this is said to be the sphere of activity of the union the reproductive energies of the divine mother divine father this This is its sphere of activity.

Its actual union is in the supernal triad, as a triune aspect there.

But its sphere of activity, then, is in that area.

And certainly, I think all of us will agree that it is rather extraordinary how creatures everywhere in the world know exactly what to do they're driven in the most extraordinary miraculous ways in the manner in which they woo and attain union in order for new forms of livingness to appear and what is it that appears in and through the forms. After all, a rock is a form.

And, of course, Kabbalistically, this is also livingness. But when we talk about the vital soul, we're talking about the level of evolution where livingness is able to reproduce itself.

It has attained that level of consciousness. It can reproduce itself. And it reproduces itself in what manner? After its own image. So that you notice a fly doesn't give birth to a worm and where is the image it is in the vital soul it is in that which is non-physical the physical is the result you've often heard us say the physical is the result it is the effect so the mystical foundation has to do with the pattern in the consciousness that is non-physical it is the astral it is the astral holdings of these patterns which project now it does it in more than one way if it does it via birth by giving birth to any living creature you notice what we how we call this vital soul the yes portion as well as calling it the animal soul as well as calling it the automatic soul we're trying in every way to indicate that this automatic consciousness and what why do we say automatic because whatever is received into subconsciousness which is like received into the womb that's why subconsciousness is always called feminine basically this is what it grows and it grows the image that is within it whatever our modern science calls or whatever pictures it takes it's taking pictures of just little portions of things that aren't the the essence the essence of the image in an image hasn't got a physical place it becomes gradually manifest it manifests out the images the in a sense like the electromagnetic pattern around which are the substance or atoms form they're attracted it inexorably attracts a certain the most subtle kinds of matter to itself and by aggregation and finally comes to the point where it has copied the image pattern and then is ready for birth but it is the image and always it is the image of what it is so that's why uh you know the memory and incidentally memory is also called part of subconsciousness and remember the sphere of the activity of the moon assigned to the principles of subconsciousness we even have that aspect that's involved so within the entire the soul of the world we have what you might call the patterns of all living also the patterns that have to do with everything that has been thought and felt by all people because man made in the image and likeness of god is also one who forms patterns that in us which gives itself up to the automatic consciousness level has to go through through certain pains, sufferings, in order to finally arrive at a point where we're going to work at gaining control of those portions of this subconsciousness or automatic consciousness, those portions of the anima mundi, which it is our destiny to rule.

And that's why, when it says in the Bible, God gave man dominion, remember, when we think of yes-ed as being the animal soul also which we share with all creatures it has to do with our gaining control of all those drives within ourselves gaining control so that we direct them consciously all these drives instead of being the prey to these drives because we are more than animal consciousness we are but little lower of the as in the angels at this point with a capacity to become even vastly and infinitely more got made in the image and likeness of God do we you know my favorite little term for that we are godless certainly therefore not even gods in the making because you see our images are already so powerful and you surely don't doubt it all who are spiritual aspirants have looked back upon their lives and have seen with sometimes with horror sometimes with astonishment sometimes with mixtures haven't we seen how the patterns we have held habitually remember the habit pattern mind how these patterns have manifested inexorably in our lifestyle and our life patterns and our whole beingness so we can see that dominion over all of the creatures of the animal soul has to do with gaining control or becoming self-conscious or more self-conscious in relation to this subconscious strata of our being.

And remember, real, true self-consciousness is assigned to Tiphareth.

It's assigned to the sphere of the activity of the sun. It's assigned to that which we call beauty. It's assigned to that which we call Adam, generic humanity. That's the yellow sephirah that is the true self-consciousness everything below is personality that belongs to self-consciousness including its subconscious sphere is vital soul sphere so the mystical foundation of life involves so much more than we even remotely can recognize what is being said in essence just by the title alone is the fact that all living everything that is has as its foundation that which is non-material or it has as its foundation the divine name of power should die ail shall which I remind you means the complete absolute almighty god which is livingness so your livingness is all the is of with from through and every other word you want to find that involves should die ale high as is the livingness of all the livingness of all and what is livingness livingness is not just livingness in and through a physical form but we are made aware of livingness in and through the form and just looking at any and all forms looking at any kind of form whatever the vehicle that may be what we have to do is to learn to consciously until it becomes automatic and subconsciously to consciously train this portion of our subconsciousness to see every living thing that is as being an expression of Shaddai El Hai being an expression of the almighty God which is livingness livingness which is above and beyond form livingness which is the divine father remember hi is the divine father livingness which is that which is the result of the divine father mother combination and growth so that wherever we see life we are really experiencing a mystical mystical mystery and we usually know it not because we are taken in by what we mentioned before we are permitting ourselves to be taken in by the illusion and then we walk in delusion walking in delusion inexorably forces us to walk in pain walking in enlightenment inexorably as us walk in light and life and joy you don't have to become an aspect of this mystical foundation you are livingness incarnate this fantastic and inexorably unbeatable power isn't something you have to get it's yours you've been succeeding with it you've been making patterns with it you've been so utterly fantastically extraordinary in the perfection of your manifestations of misery and tears, frustration and disappointments, you have never failed.

Your patterns have always been absolutely sure.

But the only difference between those who walk in a greater fulfillment and those who don't are that some have been using this power unconsciously that's why we have to consciously work with it to change it in accordance to our heart's desire consciously then we have to start working on bringing more and more recognition into our hearts and souls that the mystical foundation for our lives and all lives resides inside each living expression and that means that the entire power of the world soul is there you know the entire power is there for us to utilize it's It's right there. The intensity of our determination, the intensity of our aspiration will determine the degree of the result.

And no matter how miserable, no matter how low, no matter how depraved any human being has become or is, the truth of the matter is the lowest of the low can become as sublime and more than an angel if an intensity of desire to do so comes and is there intensely aspiring enough because that power can make them determined to walk with those ten affirmations and not permit a moment to go by where they don't keep gently and lovingly correct and correct and correct the negative thought the negative self-interpretation so you have no right to tear yourself down and when you suffer the consequences you've built your patterns that bring you the sorrow which is beautiful that is the correction of the universe taking place the mystical foundation Foundations of livingness are there at all times.

That which brings you tears has been the greatest lovingness towards you, which even though you, in a sense, have brought on yourself, it's the principles of the divine, because you are the divine. And you are being prepared to have an infinitely more fulfilled life.

And really, it is easy. In other words, ask yourself the question, do I want to walk in light and fulfillment?

Now who's going to say I don't well subconsciously you don't of course you're going to keep with the other patterns you are being trained right now to help bring about the brotherhood of man which already is it exists on the inner you are being trained to do this by first becoming a brother to yourself in other words you bring yourself into harmony if you're not in harmony with yourself how are you going to be in harmony with your fellow man so you are being trained to do this and the mystical foundation of life is what is receiving the messages fortunately for us we're not just dependent on only what we do with our own little self that is the personality because remember your real self-consciousness is the sphere of the activity of the sun your real self has the power of the sun multiplied by infinity your real inner self is always working to pour this gold into you into the patterns the real patterns of what you are to be being poured now by you the divinity and the I am that I am of the cosmic self is within you all of this is there you're not dependent on your personality as a matter of fact your personality is being built changed and transmuted by that above you are that beauty you are that livingness you are that glory and your destiny is the absolute and complete heaven on earth that is going to be because already it already is in that infinite inner which we share now forever more