I’ve studied Kabbalah for years now and oftentimes when I refer to this ancient wisdom school, I hear this question. It appears that more folks would like to know just what Kabbalah is, why it’s effective in dealing with every kind of life disorder I’ve ever seen and where this wisdom tradition comes from.

With that said, I’m taking this opportunity to go deeper into Kabbalah than I’ve ever done before from a teaching perspective, though I’ve written lightly about Kabbalah in my books and shared some of the profound stories this tradition offers.

I’ll do this in a question and answer format, which I think would be most helpful.

Also, I’ll provide lots of resources, including the books I’ve read and the programs I’ve listened to on CD, so that you can go on your very own Kabbalah exploration. This article is intended to bring  you greater awareness  about a powerful tool that can transform your entire world. Let’s get started! I’m excited, are you?

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What is Kabbalah?

Kabbalah has been referred to by Yehuda Berg as Technology for the Soul; it is a way of life, or a way of looking at the world from a completely spiritual perspective, which has transforming power and cuts right to the core of all questions, problems and issues because Kabbalah goes to the source of questions, problems and issues, rather than dealing with symptoms. It is a method of revelation and discovery.

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Is Kabbalah a religion?

No. While Kabbalah is a spiritual path, a way of looking at the world from a spiritual perspective, it is not a religion. And though it is somewhat associated with Judaism, (I call it the mystical side of Judaism) you can enjoy the teachings, tradition and practice of Kabbalah and still practice your religion, whatever that might be. Kabbalah does not conflict with religion, it enhances your unique spiritual walk.

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Where did Kabbalah come from?

From the Hebrew scriptures of the Holy Bible.

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Is there a holy book for Kabbalah? Is so, what is it?

Yes. Kabbalists have a holy book which is called the Zohar. It consists of 23 books, and, according to Yehuda Berg, it is

“a commentary on biblical and spiritual matters in the form of conversations among spiritual masters…In truth, the Zohar is nothing less than a powerful tool for achieving the most important purposes of our lives. It was given to all humankind by the Creator to bring us protection, to connect us with the Creator’s Light, and ultimately to fulfill our birthright of true spiritual transformation.”

This is a brief and most accurate description of the Zohar.

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Where did the Zohar come from?

Rabbi Shimon bar Yohai is the scribe who, as a giant among Kabbalists, over a 13-year period buried himself in the ground each day up to his neck and, using Kabbalistic meditation techniques, reached high levels of consciousness. It is said, that because of his steadfast discipline and faith over many years, he was chosen, ordained and anointed to scribe the Zohar, which is the greatest Kabbalistic text of all time.

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What makes the Zohar such a great text?

There are several reasons.

First, the Zohar was written early in the 2nd century, and at the time, it was wildly out of step with the scientific notions of the day. Back then, folks still thought the earth was flat. The Zohar proclaimed that the earth was spherical. It even spoke of a Big-Bang like explosion which began our universe. It refers to the universe as existing in 10 dimensions. It speaks of parallel universes and even black holes.

Additionally, the Zohar was considered a book of secrets for centuries. Only Jewish males over the age of 40 had access to its teachings. It was a secret teaching from a secret book because of its immense power.

Also, the Zohar is considered to be magical in its life-energizing and life sustaining properties. It is thought that just having the physical books in one’s possession brings about peace, protection, fulfillment, healing and all sorts of spiritual, physical, emotional and mental blessings. The Zohar is highly charged energetically.

The Zohar also has the ability to enlighten minds and hearts just by its presence. It has immense transforming power for our world and for each of us as individual God beings in the cosmos.

Because humankind may not have been ready for the evolutionary leap the Zohar heralds and facilitates, the books (and the Light they emanate) were hidden away for centuries, which is the period in human history we refer to as the Dark Ages. It was found in the 13th century by the Spanish Kabbalist Moses Deleon after being concealed for 1200 years.

Some believe the Zohar to be the original Holy Grail. The symbology of the Holy Grail–the chalice, the Tree of Life, the sword, the stone–is present in the Zohar.

Thankfully, a handful of modern day Kabbalists worked tirelessly to translate the Zohar into English and spread its teachings throughout the world. Now, the concepts of Kabbalah and the contents of the Zohar are simplified and widely taught. A leading educational center for the teachings of Kabbalah is The Kabbalah Centre, located in New York City, with branches worldwide. Now anyone with a desire, hunger and thirst for spiritual understanding can study Kabbalah.

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What are some of the teachings/concepts of Kabbalah?

I’ll talk about some of my very favorite Kabbalah concepts, though this ancient wisdom system is far too complex and compelling to be summed up in a few short paragraphs. I’ll do my best.

1. Kabbalah teaches that the physical senses only perceive 1% of reality, whereas the other 99% percent of reality exists in the spiritual realm and cannot be perceived through the five senses. In fact, our five senses actually act as a barrier to perceiving the 99% Endless World, or the world of Light, where the Creator resides and exercises dominion.

2. The 1% world, which is the physical universe, is ruled by the ego, the human mind as it relates to the five senses.

3. Humans are 99% spiritual beings and 1% physical beings.

4. Whatever our desires are, whether for a new car, a new home, or anything else on the physical plane, we will not be satisfied with obtaining the thing. The actual object has no real relevance to us, as 99% spiritual beings. What we really desire is the energy of the thing, which is its essence in the 99% world. In other words, you’re not buying that brand new Mercedes Benz for more money than a little bit because you love the object. You’re buying that vehicle because of the way its energy makes you feel. Feelings, thought, emotion and any other non-physical, non-local energy is of the 99% Endless World. This non-local energy, according to Kabbalah is called Light. We want the Light in the object, or the Light we think the object will bring us, not just the object itself.

We know (on a Soul level) as 99% spiritual beings, that there is no joy or fulfillment in objects. There is only the joy and fulfillment of what we think the object can do for us, or how it will make us feel, or how we will operate better in the world because we have that object.

No one wants money for money’s sake. You want money because of the Light you think you’ll receive from having money, in the form of freedom to do what you like, generosity in gifting to those you care about, enjoying the experience of taking trips all over the world with no concern for how much anything costs.

Look closely at all your desires. None of them are about what you think they’re about. All of them are about bringing more Light–more of the energy of the Creator–into your physical world.

That’s all humans really want, more Light.

5. We are fulfilled to the maximum when we bring Light into our world by being proactive in how we think, act, speak and treat others. Kabbalah is about becoming more proactive in your everyday experience and less reactive. What does that mean?

It means that you are conscious about how you do what you do, and you know the affect you have on others when you do what you do. And, you are proactively seeking to bring more of the Light of the Creator into this physical world, not just for yourself, but for the whole human race and the entire planet.

That’s a tall order.

And it can be done, with practice, discipline, focus and a commitment to living consciously.

It’s a beautiful walk if you’re up for taking it.

6. All conditions in your world stem from a seed: the seed of thought. Everything, and I mean everything in your physical world reality right now, your car, your house, your paycheck, your income, your bank statements, your clothes, your friends, and EVERYTHING else in your physical world all stems from one source: your thoughts. Your thoughts are the seed you plant into consciousness that brings forth a harvest.

If you don’t like the harvest you’ve created, there’s good news: you can change your seeds, re-plant and harvest another crop, anytime you want.

7. Succumbing to the reactive nature of the ego blocks the Light from entering our physical world and invites chaos in. When chaos comes in (because we have been reactive rather than proactive), it hits us where we are the weakest. If you already have relationship drama, and conflict (also known as ‘conflama’) the chaos will come into your relationship, though you may have  originially invited the chaos in by being rude to a store clerk.

Conversely, when we are proactively living well, gifting to others for the sake of giving (and not to get anything in return), when we’re practicing the mandate to love our brother/sister as ourselves and when we consciously commit to creating a reality that is loving, not only for ourselves, but for the whole world, we invite Light into our world.

The beautiful thing about the Light entering our physical experience is that it comes in where we need it most, not where we think we want it.

It’s all a very beautifully designed and intelligent system of spirituality. Kabbalah is truly a Technology for the Soul.

Though there is much more to Kabbalah than I could ever reasonably write about here in one post, this is the essence of why I love this ancient wisdom tradition so much. It has helped me make spiritual sense of every aspect of my world, even when my world seems to make no logical, human sense.

Kabbalah is a magical, mystical look into the 99% Endless World, the world of Spirit.

Kabbalah is a way of looking at the world that’s proactive and calls each of us to our very best nature. After all, we are Godlings, 99% spirit beings.

I pray this article supports you in creating a more well rounded and fuller spiritual life for yourself, and a better world for all of us.

Happy exploration and discovery!

Valerie Love

P.S. — If you do decide to explore Kabbalah more, here are books I’ve read and which have proven to be transformational for me, and which I highly recommend. Enjoy!

Tags: ancient wisdom, conscious living, discovery, explore, Fulfillment, Kabbalah, mysticism, revelation