We come from the place of shattering, starting with the desire that has no idea of what bestowal, sanctity, spirituality, is. We build this understanding gradually, over time. The words that we use in the beginning and in the end of the path are the same: bestowal and love, but as we advance, we feel more depth, more accurate form in them.

It is as if you take a fruit covered by layers of skin and gradually peel one layer after another. It is only in the very middle, in the core behind dozens of coverings, that we find the fruit. We do the same when we peel shells from words, feeling what exactly each notion means and what is hidden behind them.

When we clarify one word or notion, it sheds light on other words as well. After all, everything is interconnected. Thus, we gradually begin to understand what Kabbalists write about.

We already comprehend these ideas with our mind, but we don’t feel them yet. It awakens in us a very strong desire to attain. As we advance we become “less smart.” If we didn’t strive to reveal spirituality and had no pronounced, burning point in the heart, we would continue our studies by using the power of our minds and would learn the theory pretty well. We even would think that we sense something. We would never go through the state of internal confusion, nor would we feel that there is a confrontation between our feelings and mind. Thus, we would progress in accordance with a stiff, one-way path and would be led solely by our intellect.

However, if our heart and mind act simultaneously and we develop our spiritual vessel, we will always be confused. We would feel that we lose the sharpness of perception and that our brain doesn’t progress as we study, but rather expands proportionately to our sensations.

Mind becomes a consequence of sensations. A person’s mind only works in accordance with the development on his feelings, the spiritual vessel, outlined only by sensations, desire. In other words, we become very primitive as opposed to highly intellectual people who think of complex matters and love to philosophize. We are smart to the extent that our heart can feel. It is called “being wise in the heart” since it is the heart that obligates us to be clever only at the level of the heart and no higher than that.

What’s good about it if we lose the sharpness of mind and become absorbed by our internal experiences, trying to develop only our sensations? By all means, we will do everything that is in our power to develop our hearts. Otherwise, we will stay obscure and incomplete since everything we receive comes from our spiritual vessels, through our sensations. In this world, no one considers a person who is driven solely by his sensations to be intellectual.

In the end, this ambiguity forces us urgently to expand our feelings since we understand only what we feel in the heart. The heart doesn’t feel much, and only in a very egoistic, primitive, one-way, and narrow form.

This explains why we don’t have a choice: We understand that we must open the heart. We experience a huge pressure that is getting stronger due to our jealousy, passion, and ambitions that push us to spiritual revelation in the heart. Our situation is hopeless since the Creator blocks all other forms of our development.

It is as if we lose our sharpness: We no longer hear or feel. There are people who have a very sharp mind and who know a lot about politics, science, about how to make good deals and so on. They turn into straightforward people who are driven solely by their hearts. In our world, it is called an animate level, whereas a human being is someone who is driven by intellect. But this limitation forces a person to open his heart and expand his spiritual vessel at any expense. Otherwise, he feels bad because he has no clue as to what bestowal is.
[102749]
From the 1^st part of the Daily Kabbalah Lesson 2/27/13, Writings of Baal HaSulam

Related Material:
The Heart Understands
How To Perceive The Material: Through The Heart Or Mind?
Worldwide Map of Bnei Baruch

Filed under: Daily Kabbalah Lesson, Inner Work, Kabbalah Study | Add Comment →