Kabbalistic Healing - A Path To An Awakened Soul author: Jason Shulman Inner Traditions 2004 ISBN #159477015-8 Jason Shulman is an internationally known spiritual teacher and modern Kabbalist, founder of "A Society Of Souls", a faculty member of the New York Open Center, the Esalen Institute and the Omega Institute. His path is dedicated to the awakening of the human spirit through the work of Integrated Kabbalistic Healing. His voice is gentle and humble, very much bringing to mind another Jason - Jason C. Lotterhand ("Thursday Night Tarot", New Page Books, 1969). Both books make use of the tool of "questioning", in that they present some of the literal questions that their students have asked them, along with their responses. Both gentlemen also indicate that they view the questions as part of their path of personal growth - that they gain as much from their students as they give to them. Shulman starts out by defining the Kabbalah as a Jewish mystical path, and as the "central fire of our being". We study the Kabbalah to bring ourselves closer to ourselves, closer to others, and closer to the Divine. We also study the Kabbalah so that we may learn to love and honor life. Shulman's hope is that this will be a transformative book - that the reader will take the information to heart, make use of it in their life and t herby undergo a personal transformation. The manner in which he suggests doing this is: * Relax - Let go of the ego. * Perservere - Recognize that with each reading, a new/deeper understanding will arise. * Let it take you where your soul wants to go. - Use the moments of silence and quiet while thinking to grow. * Question everything!- Allow the book to challenge you, and allow yourself to challenge the book. * Read portions aloud. - In this manner, your bring the true oral tradition into play. * Remember that you have friends in high places. - Know that if you ask with your heart, your heart will be answered. The biggest thing that Kabbalistic Healing does is ask the reader to experience life on all levels, and to participate in the world in a new way. The manner in which this is done is by examining the four Kabbalistic worlds: Assiyah (the universe of making or action); Yetzirah (the universe of internal feelings and formation); Briah (the universe of creation); and Atzilut (the universe of healing and return, the most integrated of all universes). How we view life from each of these worlds, how we move between the worlds, and how the worlds interact are the core of this book. Throughout the book Shulman not only gives us information, but he incorporates personal stories as examples, and makes use of questions that his students have asked him. The end result is a wonderful coming together of how we can "live" the Kabbalah on a day to day basis. Shulman also refers to the school that he founded, "A Society Of Souls", dedicated to the study of Integrated Kabbalistic Healing. Part of what he talks about here is work that is being done with DNA studies and the linguistic properties of a non-coded portion of the DNA molecule. Each section of this part of the DNA molecule reflects the whole section (unlike the coded portion of the DNA molecule, where a break in the chain indicates a problem with the section the coding refers to). What this amounts to is that in healing, the healer does not stand apart from the patient. The healing is not being brought to the patient, it is being brought out of the patient, where it already exists! I highly recommend this book to anyone wishing to experience a transformation in their life. One caution - be ready to do the work! © November 2004 Bonnie Cehovet Personal Lifestyle Reading - I offer a Personal Lifestyle Reading using Tarot that looks at past, present and future influences in your life, at the energies that are currently available to help you along your path, and at those energies that are appearing as challanges. My goal is to offer you insight into your decision making process, as well as tools that you can use to both better understand your path and make conscious, choice centered decisions. Home Personal Empowerment links Personal Empowerment articles View My Guestbook Sign My Guestbook Graphics by Art for the web