The importance of studying Kabalah is so that we can to learn to think dynamically, metaphorically and symbolically. We need to learn how to think, not what to think and this is only possible by changing our way of thinking. The purpose of changing our way of thinking is so that we can also change our way of feeling and acting (this is related to the Three Brains). This is how Kabalah plays such an important role in our personal transformation.
[see the lecture “The need to Change our way of Thinking“]
As mentioned in the lecture “Imagination, Inspiration, Intuition”, in order to progress in the work upon ourselves, we have to learn to interpret the language of the superior worlds, the language of nature and the language of the ego. It is for this reason that we can call the Kabalah the Language of Symbolism. When we learn how to think symbolically, then we can interpret (and in some cases translate) the information we receive from dreams or astral experiences, from meditation and from daily life.
[see the lecture “Imagination, Inspiration, Intuition“]
The highest form of thinking is ‘not thinking’, but in order to arrive at this point we need to find the causes of all our thinking.
Why are we thinking? Because we do not know. (If we knew, we would not need to think, we would just know.)
Why do we not know? Because we do not want to know or we have not made efforts to know.
To know, in the Gnostic sense, is done through direct personal experience. This experience is dependent upon an awareness which allows us to receive the available information. And all of this relies upon what we call Consciousness.
What is Consciousness? Consciousness is a very particular king of grasping of inner knowledge which is totally independent of mental activity.
Therefore Consciousness is not thinking and since the highest form of thinking is not thinking, then this must be related to Consciousness.
We must learn to replace our “subjective and limited thinking” with Consciousness (internally knowing) and this becomes our “new way of thinking”. All of this requires that we have an understanding of Gnostic Psychology (also called Esoteric or Revolutionary Psychology) and that we have as our goal: Union with the Absolute, the Divine (God, Allah, Brahma, Dao/Tao, Zen, etc.)
We came from the Absolute and we must return to the Absolute. If we want to return to it, we need to understand the process of how we came from it. This is why we study the Ray of Creation in Descent (classes 1-4 of the Introduction to Gnostic Kabalah series) and the Ray of Creation in Ascent (classes 6-9 of the Introduction to Gnostic Kabalah series). And this is why we study the Act of Creation itself, which is described in the Bible in Genesis Ch. 1 and in John Ch. 1 (Compare the first 4 verses of the first chapter of both books).
The Hermetic Axiom “As Above, so Below” reminds us why understanding the creation of the Universe and the Cosmos is so important to understanding the ‘Second Birth’ of Christianity or the Alchemical Birth of Esotericism. Therefore, we recommend studying the ‘Creation Stories’ of all Religions and Mystical Traditions so that we can arrive at the synthesis of Creation.
– = Read the FIRST PART of Introduction to Gnostic Kabalah = –