Merkavah Mysticism

[Beth]

Dear David,

While we are on the subject of linguistics (I am restricted to Hebrew and Aramaic I'm afraid), one of the meanings of the root yud-reysh-dalet is “humbling” (viz Genesis 27:40).

Well.....No...that is incorrect.....  
 
The word that you are referring to in Genesis 27:40 (that I assume in your text has been translated as "humbled"??) is actually ol (aiyn-lamed) the word for "yoke" which is related to the root of "to ascend" which I mentioned above.  

Perhaps “laredet” in this sense means to annihilate the ego (“bitul haYesh”).

Perhaps you are referring to a different verse than Gen 27:40?  The word laredet (assuming--lamed-yod-reish-dalet is the root) could be "descend" with lamed serving as the preposition "to" or "toward" as in "to descend" or "toward descension."  

Now if the spelling is actually LRDT (lamed-reish-dalet-tav) then you have a very different word and its meaning would be "toward submission" from the root RDD "to subdue" which actually matches better with "humbling" than does "to descend."

Maybe because you misquoted your verse I have given you unnecessary info, but just in case you hold that everything happens for a reason, then there is a reason for this as well.

The Ba’al Shem Tov was renowned for his “trips” to heaven and “bitul haYesh” forms a major part of the Chassidic mystical path.

While I have certainly read many of the tales of the Baal Shem Tov--gotta love him!--I have not studied his work, or Hasidism in any academic sense.  My main focus has been on the ancient traditions of Greece, Judaism and Christianity, and that has been more than enough to keep me busy for years now (and will probably continue to do so for many more to come!)  
 

Perhaps the tradition is not so lost after all? Perhaps the world of the Merkavah Mystics is not so far away as we may think?

  I never said it was far away, I only caution you not to jump to premature conclusions (e.g., cut down those shoots too soon!) and moreover, whatever it is that you seek may not be quite what you expect to find!

Peace,
Beth

[David Clapper]

Peace Beth,

I am not working from a translation, I am reading the Hebrew (Israeli Hebrew is my mother tongue, but I was educated in a Yeshiva) and the word I am referring to is “tareed” which is the future tense of the infinitive “Laredet”. I’m sure you are aware that ‘yud’ is a so-called weak letter which drops away in some forms . This sentence (Genesis 27:40) has been interpreted in many ways. I will use a Rashi-derived translation here as my starting point:

By your sword you shall live, but your brother you shall serve; yet it shall be that when you will be aggrieved (tareed), you may remove his yoke from upon your neck.

Rashi bases his translation on a similar verse in Psalms, namely Psalms 55:3, “Areed b’seechee”. There is a cognate root Reysh-Vav-Dalet which also denotes complaint, and according to Ibn-Ezra this may have also have prompted Rashi to opt for this interpretation (at least according to the Tur). Commentators such as Rashbah and Sforno agree with Rashi’s interpretation of suffering. Ibn Ezra himself translates “tareed” as deriving from the root Reysh-Dalet-Vav, to rule (viz I Kings 5:4). Radak and Ralbag agree with him. In all these cases, the idea is that this verse implies that Esau will be able to remove the yoke when Israel sins.

In the traditional Jewish view, Esau (Esau) is the progenitor of Edom (Rome), the (Jewish) archetype of world domination through violence. This context is my context (I grew up in a religious Jewish family).  To sidetrack briefly, according to the Zohar, the channel of God’s “goodness” to this world is disrupted when man sins because this distorts the sefirot. By doing mitzvot(good deeds=cleaving to God) man corrects the blemishes (tikkun) which allow more of the goodness to reach this world. Genesis 27:40 can be thus read to mean that when man sins, violence prevails. Violence can be seen as belonging to our “animal” nature, cleaving to God as belonging to our spiritual nature. In this world, the intention is that both are equal partners in carrying out God’s will (for without the body, the spirit has no “tool” with which to act). However, the animal must submit to the spiritual.

With this as context, I would like to translate the word “tareed” as “humbled” with the idea that Esau’s strength of sword and his world-conquest are for the ultimate purpose of his final submission to Jacob in acknowledgment that the sword is the servant of the spirit. Esau’s greatest hope is “ca’asher tareed”, when you humble yourself to Jacob by submitting yourself to his ideals, then you will no longer be subservient to him.

By the way, this sentence can also be interpreted in a prophetic sense, referring to the reign of Jehoram when Edom revolted, throwing off the yoke that had been placed on them by King David.

I think that a purely linguistic approach to the biblical texts (and the Heichalot literature) can be very misleading (if not futile) if you don’t have a general context in which to orient your analysis. I do not believe the modern orthodox/Chassidic Jewish context is so far removed from the Heichalot mystics as to make attempts to interpret the texts through experience futile. An early Christian context, or Gnostic or even Hermetic context is also fine, as long as it's a context. I don't think a secular context counts though. Others may of course differ in their opinion. That’s OK   . It seems to me that you are too focused on the language per se (if I am wrong and you do have a context within which you are translating, please forgive me for thinking this). In addition to my regular work, I also do translations (from Dutch to English). Even with secular texts, which are very modern i.e. less far-removed in time, understanding the context is essential to translating accurately. It’s one of the reasons computers still cannot translate properly.

And as to not finding what I expect, who knows? I'm not even sure I know what I am expecting!

Peace,

David

[Eol007]

Facinating....

Would any one disagree on making this tread a sticky one?

Cheers,


Stephen

[David Clapper]

No objections Stephen,

Regards,

David

[Beth]

Dear David,

You first wrote:

one of the meanings of the root yud-reysh-dalet is “humbling” (viz Genesis 27:40). Perhaps “laredet” in this sense means to annihilate the ego (“bitul haYesh”).

When I questioned you on this you wrote:

the word I am referring to is “tareed” which is the future tense of the infinitive “Laredet”.

Thanks for clarifying the usage. By your presentation I assumed you were quoting Gen 27:40 as containing the word laredet.

I’m sure you are aware that ‘yud’ is a so-called weak letter which drops away in some forms

Yes, and that yod and vav are both interchangeable…

Rashi bases his translation on a similar verse in Psalms, namely Psalms 55:3, “Areed b’seechee”. There is a cognate root Reysh-Vav-Dalet which also denotes complaint, and according to Ibn-Ezra this may have also have prompted Rashi to opt for this interpretation (at least according to the Tur). Commentators such as Rashbah and Sforno agree with Rashi’s interpretation of suffering. Ibn Ezra himself translates “tareed” as deriving from the root Reysh-Dalet-Vav, to rule (viz I Kings 5:4). Radak and Ralbag agree with him. In all these cases, the idea is that this verse implies that Esau will be able to remove the yoke when Israel sins.

I am not sure what point you are making here, for if the root is indeed RDD, as I suggested, then both tareed and laradet, as well as areed, would all find their root meaning in “to subdue” “to beat down.”  And yes, the verb yared “to descend” is certainly a related verb, which in the big scheme of things works into an esoteric context that by descending to earth through physical incarnation we are, by the very nature of the physical world, subdued from our true spiritual selves.  This was also my point when I suggest that:

it is by living in a world of iniquity that we must learn to revere God.

which was one of the ways that the ideas of descending and ascension could be translated.  And this fits nicely with your own view that:  

Violence can be seen as belonging to our “animal” nature, cleaving to God as belonging to our spiritual nature. In this world, the intention is that both are equal partners in carrying out God’s will (for without the body, the spirit has no “tool” with which to act). However, the animal must submit to the spiritual.

You then wrote:

With this as context, I would like to translate the word “tareed” as “humbled”

That’s fine, but I am still confused with your then connecting this to “bitul haYesh” which I assume you are reading as “to cease to do.”  Maybe you are assuming that I know of a particular context that you are working from?  If you are trying to make these connections just through Gen 27:40 or even with a second in Psalms 55:3, I don’t see the direct connection with “bitul haYesh.”  Do you see my confusion in the point you are trying to make?  I do not doubt that there is one David; I am just not sure how you are getting there.  And further, what does this have to do with the current context of this thread where we were discussing taking symbols literally by expecting to encounter the same literal things on the astral plane that the MM mystics did?

By the way, this sentence can also be interpreted in a prophetic sense, referring to the reign of Jehoram when Edom revolted, throwing off the yoke that had been placed on them by King David.

I am not sure what you point is here either...

I think that a purely linguistic approach to the biblical texts (and the Heichalot literature) can be very misleading (if not futile) if you don’t have a general context in which to orient your analysis.

Well, you are showing a very strict dependence upon the language of the bible to make your points, as am I.  There are many different layers of meaning to be found in the biblical texts, and the surface level is just one of these.  There is a virtual treasury of deeper meanings to be found when all of the possible meanings of these roots are investigated.  I am certainly not questioning Rashi or Ibn-Ezra, et al, but I would like to point out that I am actually following the methodology established by them in their own exegetical use of pure linguistics.

I do not believe the modern orthodox/Chassidic Jewish context is so far removed from the Heichalot mystics as to make attempts to interpret the texts through experience futile.

I never said that Chassidic Judaism was that far removed from Merkabah Mysticism.  I even admitted that I know very little about Chassidism.  I am only cautioning you that by taking the experiences as shown in the Heichalot literature literally – symbol for symbol – that you may be seeking something that is not yours to see.  As a result you may inadvertently cut yourself off from the potential uniqueness of your own experience--which you can then interpret through associating the symbols that you find with those of the ancient texts.  I guess that until you have experienced the astral this is probably an assumption that many people make, and perhaps I am all wet, but in my experience, the astral has not proven to be something that is dependably static or literally predictable.  

I don't think a secular context counts though.

I am not seeking a secular context, but even if I were, why would it not count? Throughout the centuries Judaism has continually reinterpreted their texts to bring them into step and tune with the current world reality.

It seems to me that you are too focused on the language per se (if I am wrong and you do have a context within which you are translating, please forgive me for thinking this).

Since I assume you are Jewish (Chassidic even?) and as well studied as it appears that you are, how can you not know and even embrace the importance of language to everything we experience--whether here on earth or on the astral???  This belief comes straight from the heart of Judaism as well as all of the shades of Jewish mysticism that I am aware of.  The vast canon of Jewish literature that we have today has only been made possible through a dedication and strict focus on the way language is used, whether it be expounding the scripture or in exercising the techniques of Abulafian Mysticism.  

Merkabah Mysticism was a language-based tradition—and highly esoteric at that. Do you honestly think that these mystics would have left us these writings to just pick up and read in order to repeat their experiences?  Do you think that they would have made it that easy?  If that were the case, then why did so many of the ancient mystics fail in their endeavor?--They were being trained and prepared by the best of the best, who had first hand access to the real methodology and the intended context of the Masters before them. Which leads to the question--why did only a precious few of these mystics succeed?

understanding the context is essential to translating accurately.

I could not agree more!  That is why I caution that a literal reading of the surface level might not be the mystical/astral context that you might assume it to be.

And as to not finding what I expect, who knows? I'm not even sure I know what I am expecting!

I am glad you have come to that conclusion!

Peace,
Beth

[David Clapper]

Hi Beth,

First, the reason I gave the linguistic analysis was that you said "humbling" was not a correct translation of laReDet! I was merely trying to show that I had not pulled the meaning of "humbling" out of thin air.

Second, I would think that the connection between humility and "bitul haYesh" (annihilation of the ego) is fairly obvious. I explained what I meant by bitul haYesh the first time I used it. It is a common term in Jewish mysticism, both modern and ancient.

Third, Jewish mystics have indulged in language-based mysticism yes, but this has been within the context of a given, accepted  philosophical structure. If you have read Abulafia's commentries on Maimonedes' "Guide for the Perplexed", you would see that even this most "wayward" of Jewish mystics did not indulge in hermeneutics just for the joy of indulging, letting his linguistic fantasy lead him where it will. Exegesis without an underlying philosophical structure is like a road without a map.

Fourth, I didn't even intend this thread to go into the discussion of how literally one can take symbols. As I have pointed out several times, what I am interested in is hearing if anyone has had experience with Merkavah symbolism. I have studied a lot yes, and it is because of this that I want some down to earth  experience. Either my own or someone else's. In that sense, thank you once again for sharing your experiential data with me.

Fifth, I did not mean to imply that you are secular. I have no idea what your background is. It was a general comment

Sixth, I don't agree that this is a world of iniquity (that's my Jewish background speaking again). That is a Gnostic idea (and perhaps a clue to where you are coming from?). In my view, good and evil co-exist in this world (and, from a Kabbalistic point of view, that is the reason this world was created). When God created the world, he said that it was good. I still believe that to be true.

Seventh, and last, if you are going to take every message of mine apart point by point (Virgo sun or ascendant?) I am going to lose interest I'm afraid. I enjoy a general exchange of ideas, in which all parties are allowed to brainstorm, but I don't like being forced onto the defensive/offensive at every twist and turn, and this discussion is going that way. Could we please return to the discussion of matters such as the meaning of LaReDet, which is germane to this thread?

To continue in the line of Whitt's questioning, what for example, might be the meaning of the water Rabbi Akiva refers to?

Kind regards,

David

[Beth]

Dear David,

First, the reason I gave the linguistic analysis was that you said "humbling" was not a correct translation of laReDet! I was merely trying to show that I had not pulled the meaning of "humbling" out of thin air.

No, I just pointed out that laredet was not used in Gen 27:40.  I was just trying to figure out where your usage of laredet came from.  You clarified that with tareed.

Second, I would think that the connection between humility and "bitul haYesh" (annihilation of the ego) is fairly obvious. I explained what I meant by bitul haYesh the first time I used it. It is a common term in Jewish mysticism, both modern and ancient.

Hmmm…I have never encountered that…but I have not read all the numerous commentaries that are available from within the tradition.

Third, Jewish mystics have indulged in language-based mysticism yes, but this has been within the context of a given, accepted philosophical structure. If you have read Abulafia's commentries on Maimonedes' "Guide for the Perplexed", you would see that even this most "wayward" of Jewish mystics did not indulge in hermeneutics just for the joy of indulging, letting his linguistic fantasy lead him where it will. Exegesis without an underlying philosophical structure is like a road without a map.

“Indulged in language based mysticism”?  Isn’t that what entering the pardes is all about? Exegeses and philosophical structures would be impossible without language—and it is directly due to the malleable nature of Semitic language that such a variety of interpretations and systems are made possible—which have then been mystically expounded upon.  “Linguistic fantasy”??? …I will pass over this in silence…

Fourth, I didn't even intend this thread to go into the discussion of how literally one can take symbols. As I have pointed out several times, what I am interested in is hearing if anyone has had experience with Merkavah symbolism. I have studied a lot yes, and it is because of this that I want some down to earth  experience. Either my own or someone else's. In that sense, thank you once again for sharing your experiential data with me

.

In my experience, symbolism is crucial to understanding that which is encountered in the astral realm—and understanding the archetypal nature of symbolism is a necessary precursor.  I just thought you were seeking information, and that was one of the things that I had to offer.

Fifth, I did not mean to imply that you are secular. I have no idea what your background is. It was a general comment

And I only wanted to point out that secular contexts do count, for as I said, throughout the centuries, Judaism has continually reinterpreted their texts to bring them into step and tune with the current world reality.  That has kept Judaism much more updated and secular than, for example Christianity has.

Sixth, I don't agree that this is a world of iniquity (that's my Jewish background speaking again). That is a Gnostic idea (and perhaps a clue to where you are coming from?). In my view, good and evil co-exist in this world (and, from a Kabbalistic point of view, that is the reason this world was created). When God created the world, he said that it was good. I still believe that to be true.

I was only suggesting that this was one of the ways that the ideas of descending and ascension could be translated.  But doesn’t Scholem make a very good argument for Jewish Gnosticism being the precursor to Christian Gnosticism? Once again, my offering this as a possible meaning does not provide any clue as to where I am coming from in my own personal view.  

Seventh, and last, if you are going to take every message of mine apart point by point (Virgo sun or ascendant?) I am going to lose interest I'm afraid. I enjoy a general exchange of ideas, but I don't like being forced onto the defensive/offensive at every twist and turn, and this discussion is going that way.

Isn’t a point by point exegesis what midrash is all about?  This kind of analysis is very important in the correct communication of ideas—and is not used often enough in my opinion.  Too many times people talk past one another without a definition of terms or a clarification of context. This can be very frustrating for everyone involved.  And no—I am not a Virgo.

Granted, I am academically trained and this is where my insistence upon clarity comes from, but for what it is worth, I know how you feel…I can easily remember how defensive I used to become when my professors and peers insisted upon correct usage and clarity of thought when critiquing my papers.  This is especially necessary in the fields of religion and metaphysics where symbols and abstract ideas are the rule rather than the exception.  So, my current need for this has grown out of learning what I consider to be the proper way to communicate—and without it, I too will loose interest.  

Even though the Pulse is not a formal educational setting, it is still a forum where people want to learn and share knowledge, and most especially when it comes to seeking information about the astral realm, which is teeming with abstract concepts, that striving for clarity is—in my opinion—all the more important.  The rules, as far as I am aware, are far from being fast and hard.
 

Could we please return to the discussion of matters such as the meaning of LaReDet, which is germane to this thread?

Very well.  You wrote:

Perhaps “laredet” in this sense means to annihilate the ego (“bitul haYesh”).

The act of humility would seem to be necessary if one were striving to annihilate the ego.  And even though I am not familiar with this phrase being used as such, I can see where bitul hayesh – “ceasing to do” – could imply such annihilation (however difficult a complete and total annihilation would be.)  

To continue in the line of Whitt's questioning, what for example, might be the meaning of the water Rabbi Akiva refers to?

If you are referring to, "Don't say 'Water Water!'" My thoughts right off the cuff would be--to be very careful before you jump to conclusions—because reality is not always what it appears to be.  

Any other response I would offer you David, would be a linguistic one.  Let me know if you want my further input.  Until then, I will leave this thread to you…

Peace,
Beth

[David Clapper]

Dear Beth,

I am not your student, I am not defending a dissertation and yes, linguistic analysis without context is indulgence.

I would like to offer this translation of the mishna "Eyn Dorshin" (for analysis). This is the mishnah, in whose gemara the story of the four rabbis appears. The mishnah provides the context for the story. It will be found in tractate "Chagigah" of the Talmud, page 11b. [There is a good English/Hebrew edition available from www.artscroll.com]

"The [subject of] forbidden relations may not be expounded in the presence of three, nor the work of creation in the presence of two, nor [the work of] the chariot in the presence of one, unless he is a sage and understands of his own knowledge. Whoever speculates upon four things. Pity him! It is as though he had not come into the world. These are: what is above, what is beneath, what before, what after. And whoever takes no heed of the honour of his Maker, it would have been more merciful if he had not come to this world."

In the gemarah of this mishnah, we find the story of the four rabbis a few pages later (page 14b).

"Our rabbis taught: four men entered the "Garden", namely Ben Azzai and Ben Zoma, Acher and Rabbi Akiba. Rabbi Akiba said to them "When you arrive at the stones of pure marble, do not say "Water, Water! For it is written he that speaks falsehood shall not be established before my eyes Ben Azzai cast a look and died. Of him scripture says precious in the sight of the Lord is the death of his saints Ben Zoma looked and went insane. Scripture says of him, Have you found honey? Eat as much as you need, lest you become filled with it and vomit Acher cut the shoots. Rabbi Akiba departed unhurt."

The gemarah then goes on to give examples of Ben Zoma's madness, discusses what happened to Acher ("The other", the nickname for Rabbi Elisha Ben Avuya, who became an apostate), and explains why Rabbi Akiba came back unhurt. Interestingly enough, Ben Azzai's case is not really touched upon. By the way the text in italics are quotes from, in order, from Psalms 101:7, Psalms 116:15 and Proverbs 25:16.

I offer these two quotes for discussion (brainstorming / linguistic analysis whatever), by you, me and anyone else who cares to join in.

Kind regards,

David

[Beth]

Dear David,

I offer these two quotes for discussion (brainstorming / linguistic analysis whatever), by you, me and anyone else who cares to join in.

Why don't you start the discussion?

Peace,
Beth

p.s.  Everyone is my teacher...for right or wrong, for good or bad, for righteousness or arrogance, for wisdom or stupidity.  I am a student of life; every day I learn new things that I had never considered before and new examples of old things that I thought I had exhausted the need to experience...

[redcatherine]

I was wondering if anyone had already tried these out, or is interested in trying to follow the route traced out in the Heichalot texts....

yes there are those that have tried this
through the ages
and contemporarily
all humanity is invited to this path
which transcends ages and religions
it is open to all and exclusive to none
most of this text you cite  is to be taken literally
not symbolically  in this particular case

we are they the ones that seek
us all of us
all of humanity
we seek  to try to recall the path to reunite with our higher self and with the God within each of us and return home while in the body so as to bring the conscious to a state that we can learn to work in love light and peace on earth and not just in spirit after this body's death

it is a noble pursuit and you can do this David
do not let anyone on earth deafen your ears
or blind you to the sights of the angels surrounding you

They are ready to lead you to the glory God wants each of us to find in his love .

Until others are ready to receive the message themselves
they are not ready to perceive it and they will argue that you should not bother.

Who will you listen to ?
Your hungry soul or to those who have never seen an angel and have never have flown to a spiritual realm

Listen to the truth of your own .

You are right .

 Seven chambers of light perceived = the seven realms of heaven
 
Shmu''el, stands at the windows of the lower firmament ;listening =
the window on the edge of the universe is a spiritual realm a gate .
We have been there it exists we have met this angel too

they (the seekers )

call to each other and talk to each other
 = we see each other in these realms and talk to each other as we travel in ascension groups

ascend from the rivers of fire with each others permission,
=we help each other hand over hand to ascend together

Make themselves like light and like the most radiant lightning.
=We are taught to make our spirit more and more light less and less negative and ego bound and physically heavy

ascend by a ladder of fire,
=the kundalini and the tree of life

reach the armies of the seventh heaven, the pure chashmal(?),  
(reach )the wheels of the chariot,
stand in awe and reverence,  fear and humility,
cover their faces with their wings ..not to look upon the form of God
stand in classes of thousands upon thousands,...
before the throne of the  the holy creatures
=we and many of humanity now and in the past have gone there and other places with angels with the loving help of angels to learn

prepare and sanctify themselves, with each one of the million crowns of [different] types of light on their heads,
dressed in garments of light,
faces wrapped in lightning,
wrap themselves more because the chariot is in front of them,
=the chariot is the spiritual vehicle we are born with that we develop with the help of God to ascend spiritually it can be clairvoyantly witnessed and it is quite beautiful to behold

the throne of glory is above their heads,
the Shechinah is high above them,
=the female aspect of the Godhead comes to greet us very early on this path

 the rivers of fire are passing between them.
purify themselves with light seventy times,
 all of them stand in purity ... with [one] voice, one speech, one knowledge, and one melody.
direct the four legs of the throne,
=to get there we need to understand the four spiritual elements

each leg corresponding to another,
each wheel corresponding to another,
each creature corresponding to another
=the four animals of the sphinx

each cherub corresponding to another,
and each melody corresponding to another. T
raise the chariot with the sound of songs and praises.
=we raise it with prayer of thanksgiving and  adoration to God


if the dissenters pull you down write to me privately
by each one we teach we go forward ourselves and learn from the one who has also gone before us

If you would like to develop your merkava and go to see the angels and learn in the palaces on spiritual realms you can it is not a myth this is part of God's glory

it is sad to read others persuading you to turn back

go forward and upward with all of your might and all of your heart
the arms of the angels reach out to you even now

God Bless You and Keep You and Yours [/size]

[redcatherine]

he saw Metatron standing next to the Holy One

We  have met him .He is a loving powerful being that appears to all that assemble in the Golden Chamber of Melchizedek which is connected to the ethereal Great Pyramid and to  Shamballah .

I must admit, taking due heed of all the warnings,

David ,
a proverb  I follow is to
have faith not fear
Fear is False Evidence Assumed as Real -when you walk in light and love God will send his legions of angels to your side to protect you there is nothing to be warned about  in their loving presence .

I would dearly love to hear the Bat Kol and to see the halls of marble.

Then Go ! Hasten . Gather your peers and begin your own journey to the spiritual palaces . They do exist . You can go alone surely but it is harder still and going together is so much fun .

I was merely interested if anyone else had tried this path out.

Yes the places referenced to in the text you cite do exist and I  have been there with my mates  .In our ascension group 9 of us meet 3 times a week for 90 minutes a session  . Our group consists of  ordinary human beings both male and female aged 16 to 78. It took us 7 years to form a working group of mystics .  We have been in this group since November of 2003 .

We found that the prerequisite skills we needed our peers to have before joining us were ; OBE , clairvoyance and clairaudience . We don't have to be born with these skills . All of humanity can develop these skills .

We also needed the help of spirit to balance our circle so that we were finely tuned to different colour energies . So some people that worked well with us were sifted out by what seemed like circumstance at the time . We could not use two indigo energy people for example when we lacked any yellow ones . But some of us learned to be the vibration that was needed through fine tuning . We also learned to shift to a different vibration to allow a new member to take that one we left . Thus we now have one each of red orange yellow green teal blue indigo violet and lavender . We also found that the placement of each member of the group in the circle was important to balance the energies so we sit across from our opposites. Red sits across from green . Yellow across from Blue like on a colour wheel .

We travel together following the teacher that comes to us confirming each other and our mutual experiences . We speak concurrently in a telepathic method and with our physcial mouths while we project our consciousness in a form called bilocation .

We have traveled in a group spiritual vehicle that is called the merkabah by the teachers that present it to us . We learn to develop our energy bodies to travel beside each other without a group merkaba too .

I will not entertain further debate upon its naming or upon linguistics or interpretation of texts .But I would love to write and read  about real practical experiences and journeys .

Our  group  begins with low light in a comfortable room with armchairs arranged in a circle so that the energy flows to the hub across and throughout . We stand to begin holding  hands right palm up left palm down eyes closed heads bowed . One leads in prayers . We all say Amen aloud and touch the table in the centre like a form of respect to the place the teacher comes . We take turns opening and closing in prayer . We work as peers during the session giving off what we see and hear and confirming what others say and interpreting what is presented symbolically too .

My own guides and my spiritual teachers teach us to pray to further develop our merkaba in this style  :

Lord , we are gathered here together to take one more step forward on the spiritual path . With a ring of gold around this circle and white light on every window mirror and door we stand perfectly protected. We thank the teachers and the angels we see before us now and thank those that will come to us this evening . We humbly invoke the presence of Archangel Metatron to manifest for us a group merkabah so that we might travel together ( enter the preferred destination ie The Golden Chamber of Melchiezedek or Shamballah or the Ashram of Serapis Bey etc or merely wait for the angels to steer you ) . Thank you Metatron for your assistance and thank you for covering our group merkaba with your platinum net of protection .  We acknowledge the presence of Archangel Michael and lovingly thank him for his protection and guidance this evening. So help us God . Amen .

 Dr. Stone has a longer method that does work .I will point you to a link if you like . It is a helpful starting point and I lovingly refer to it as the old mumbo jumbo .

Metatron and Michael help us to manifest the group merkabah . We are all born with a smaller undeveloped simple one that is monochromatic . As we progress it becomes multicoloured and stellated .

We learn to travel through a vortex or fissure that angels form and open for us . We also learn to  form it ourselves . We learn to travel to higher vibration planes as we progress . Ascension  is an eternal  process rather than a destination .

We see and hear spiritual teachers such as Enoch or Shekinah and we see and hear angels . We interpret the lessons together as we travel.   We have made over 114 journeys thus far in this method.

We know of another local group that is far beyond us and 2 others we created that are coming along where we have already gone . The path is similar but the journey is unique to each group .

We have read about other groups and we have seen 2 other groups in the spiritual realms that are going up with us . One is a group of 7 live people from England . We can hear their leader who is called David .

Another is a group of ordinary spirit from the USA that died in the 1970s and 1980s They are seen by us along the way since they are also on the same level .

There are many more groups that have gone further than we have both ancient ones  and contemporary ones . As we travel we get evidence of those that have gone before us .

There are predictable guideposts to realms  . This is much more than the human archetype or a metaphor . The spiritual places do exist . You can go there and see what others have seen and will see .

If we can you can . All of us are called few of listen and most of those give up . Look to those around you that encourage and uplift you .Follow your own wisdom and discernment .

Some contemporary authors have written about their own mystical experiences with the merkabah  ; James Hurak , Dr. Joshua David Stone , and the large volumes of works by the deceased Alice Bailey

David . please look to my other posts I have written on this subject  as near and dear to my heart as it is .Or ask me in private or on another thread . If I cannot answer your questions I will put it to my peers or my teachers . I will try to help you learn and I have learned much from your posts already . I would love to learn more from you too .


God Bless and Keep You and Yours

[David Clapper]

Clair, your writing was great to read! I am going to print it out and mull over it for a while. I'll get back to you on that. Thanks for the support! It's great to know that others are walking my path. I hope to learn from you (all), and if anyone learns anything from what I have to add, I can only be grateful for that.

Peace be with you!

David

[indigo_lucas]

My first post. I am from Belgium.
If you like to know more about Merkaba, you can use this link:  http://www.merkaba.org/

Lucas