Integrating Spiritual Awakening

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The Four Rabbinim

One night, four rabbinim were visited by an angel who awakened them and carried them to the Seventh Vault of the Seventh Heaven. There they beheld the sacred Wheel of Ezekiel.

Somewhere in the descent from Pardes, Paradise, to Earth, one Rabbi, having seen such splendour, lost his mind and wandered frothing and foaming until the end of his days.

The second Rabbi was extremely cynical: "Oh I just dreamed Ezekiel's Wheel, that was all. Nothing really happened."

The third Rabbi carried on and on about what he had seen, for he was totally obsessed. He lectured and would not stop with how it was all constructed and what it all meant ... and in this way he went astray and betrayed his faith.

The fourth Rabbi, who was a poet, took a paper in hand and a reed, and sat near the window writing song after song praising the evening dove, his daughter in her cradle, and all the stars in the sky. And he lived his life better than before.

I once read this little paragraph in the book "Women Who Run with Wolves" by American psychoanalyst Clarissa Pinkola Estés and it always stuck with me throughout the years. When you know, you know! It summarises perfectly in which different ways one can respond to spiritual awakening and higher spiritual experiences; how one wakes up to the divine nature of things as well as all its forms of expression, and the story shows the ways one can respond to an awakening awareness.

"There is no need to try and convince others, the experience is integrated properly and is supportive to the quality of one's life."

Different Versions of Integration

The first version of spiritual awakening (or Rabbi example) happens often and can be seen as an initiation gone wrong, where the path is to lose your mind. I write more about this in my article The Difference Between a Spiritual Experience and a Psychosis.

The second version is also one that often happens, perhaps sometimes just as a stage. We fail to integrate the experience, disassociate and deny as this is more comfortable and we need to hold on to our previous version of reality and what's really real.

The third version describes those of us that start to preach and become rigid in that way and therefore lose connection to more growth and deeper experiences. Other perspectives on reality become suddenly perhaps less accepted (as only I know the truth), their experience is defining and their reality is the One Reality, while in truth there are many based on the awareness someone has. There is a certain arrogance, which I'm sure many will recognise as present in the various spiritual scenes.

The fourth one is the path that is the most pleasant to experience and most humble, where true spirituality and devotion is shown and the quality of your life is perhaps the most elevated – for you and your environment. There is no need to try and convince others, the experience is integrated properly and is supportive to the quality of one's life. In this version you channel your experience in your art, work or daily life and accept the mysteries of the universe without using it for the ego.

"These experiences go beyond religion and are universal throughout cultures and people. They are not owned by religion"

Universal Experience

Clarissa writes in her book: "This story was given to me by my aunt, Tirezianany. In a Talmudic version of this story called 'The Four Who Entered Paradise,' the four rabbis enter Pardes, Paradise, to study the heavenly mysteries and three of the four go mad in one way or another when they gaze upon the Shekhinah – the ancient female Deity."

I hope it's clear that the story or my thoughts above are not about religion, as these experiences go beyond this and are universal throughout cultures and people. Religions try and explain higher spiritual experiences and institutionalised these throughout the ages, taking away our sovereignty and placing our experiences outside of the realm of our own private sphere, unattainable except via the religion and its servants.

Satori

Satori (Japanese: 悟り) is a Japanese Buddhist term for 'awakening', 'comprehension; understanding'. There is a  beautiful, famous Zen proverb: "Before satori, you chop wood and carry water; after satori, you chop wood and carry water". This saying emphasises that awakening (satori) is not a dramatic change in one's external life or duties, rather an internal shift in one's perspective and awareness while engaging in those same tasks – after the awakening has been properly integrated. After we go up into the One and come back into the Many, our mundane activities of daily life will continue, yet our understanding of the world and those activities has become transformed. The saying highlights the idea that the fundamental tasks of life remain the same regardless of one's level of spiritual awakening. There is no need to make a big fuss about things and in the end we go back to just being our human, humble selves.

Do you hear the call?

If you’re ready to deepen your intuitive gifts, integrate experiences and connect with your spiritual self, check out my guided meditations, upcoming workshops, or join me for a private healing session. 

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