THE KABBALISTIC AFTERLIFE

Introduction

The mystery of the afterlife has fascinated and terrified the human race for thousands of years. Ancient cultures and their religions have all tried to explain what happens when we cross over to the other side. Ancient peoples like the Egyptians, Greeks, Babylonians, Chinese, Tibetans, and others have believed in different versions of what happens to the soul and body after death. Today’s religions have various ideas on what happens to us after death, these theories are a mixture of the ancient and the New Age. But most belief systems, whether ancient or New Age, believe that death is not the end of life. Common theories of the afterlife are reincarnation, resurrection, the spiritual realms of Heaven and Hell, transmigration, and ghost and poltergeist activity. Each coming with its own assumption on what the soul and sometimes the body must go through to experience life on earth. Like all cultures Jews have questioned for thousands of years what happens when earthly life burns out.

The Kabbalistic Soul

The afterlife is a mystery, but the faith in it and its many forms is very real to those who believe. Jews throughout history have had many thoughts of what the soul and body are. Some viewed the body and soul in a more physical scientific way, believing that the soul and body were one, not separate entities. When a person died the life energy burned out and the body decomposed. Others believed that the afterlife was there but could not be explained and should not be talked about that the experience of the physical world was important because it was here and it was now.

Jewish Kabbalistic mystics and philosophers were more open to theorizing on what happens when we cross over to the other mysterious side. Kabbalistic Judaism embraces the belief in the soul’s existence after death. Kabbalists have various viewpoints of what happens to the soul and body; including reincarnation, resurrection, the spiritual realms of Heaven and Hell, transmigration, and ghost and poltergeist activity. In Judaism and Kabbalah the soul and body are separate entities, having important roles in the spiritual experience. Rabbi Gershon Winkler explains this in his book The Soul of The Matter: “Judaism does not view the relationship of the soul and the body as a union of conflict but rather as a union of cooperativeness. The body cannot function without the soul, nor can the soul fulfill itself without the body… The role of the body is to facilitate the journey and fulfillment of the soul in this life, and the role of the soul is to overcome the glaring distractions of this life so that they do not distort its purpose and reality. ” (Page 6).  This prospective recognizes that the earthly realm is as important as the spirit world. To hold too tightly to the spiritual world is to disconnect from the physical world, which is where we learn and grow through our relationships and experiences. The spiritual world should not be forgotten either, but it will take care of its self, life here on earth will not. To be alive, means you should live it, experience it, care for it, and learn from it.

In the Kabbalistic tradition the soul is viewed as having five parts, the article, The Five Levels of Soul states:“…Yechidah (unique essence), Chaya (living essence), HaNeshama (the higher soul), Ruach (spirit), and Nefesh (lower soul)…” each with its own role in our spiritual growth and experience. This can be defined like the departments in a university or can be seen as different leveled classes that have prerequisites, having their own role in educating a student. These parts are to insure that a soul completes its learning and fulfillment here on earth. These levels allow for both spiritual and physical experience and for the soul to learn and grow over time, which in most cases, cannot be just one physical lifetime. Not all Kabbalists believe in the soul having five separate parts; seeing it as one energy force.

The physical body or bodies that the soul uses over time are as important and holy as the spirit inside. This is why the body must be respected and honored, without purposely being harmed or changed. In most cases Jews do not get tattoos, brands, or piercing that change the body’s look for decorations. It would be like vandalizing your own home. At death the body must not be disturbed, embalming is against Jewish law because it does not allow for natural decomposition. If this process is effected it could tie the soul to the body, not allowing it to go on or cross over, changing its path or destiny.

The Kabbalistic Afterlife

A Jewish Kabbalist may believe in one form of the afterlife or several, always viewing it as transition to something more to learn. Death is not to be feared, it is seen as part of the life map that everyone is traveling. Rabbi Winkler states that the Talumd teaches: “When one is born, he is designated for death. When one dies, he is designated for life” (Page 16). The various ideas and imagery of death and the afterlife in Kabbalah come from Jewish beliefs and share other cultures’ traditions explaining the afterlife.

Reincarnation is the belief in multiple lifetimes, with different bodies but the same soul. The memories and for the most part personality is not completely the same, though the person that has been reincarnated may have past life memories and talents that cannot be explained. In Kabbalah the five parts of the soul do not have to reincarnate together, because each level may became perfected before the other. Gershon Winkler states: “This is analogous to the removal of part of a flame with a second candle. The spark captivated from the original flame assumes an independent identity all its own, without lacking any element of the constitution of the original flame, and without diminishing the size or power of the original. King Solomon thus referred to the soul as a Divine Flame” (Pages 18-19). The belief is that the perfected part of the soul is returned to God and the unperfected part of the soul does not lose anything, going on to learn and be perfected through more lifetimes until completion. In the case of Kabbalists who believe the soul is one energy force, the soul will return to the Divine in its complete form after it has been perfected.

Resurrection is best known for the belief that both the same body and soul stay together in death-sleep. That when the Messianic era comes, that all these souls and bodies, will arise and become alive again, and will be reunited with their families and friends to live in peace. Various Jewish sects believe that this literally means that you only live twice with the same body and soul. Jewish Kabbalist, who except reincarnation believe in two different theories on the concept of resurrection. Some believe in the idea of multiple resurrections that since our souls are like a flame from a candle, we can arise in more than one body. Kabbalists that see the soul as one entity believe when the Messianic era comes the very first body you were born in, will be the body you will arise in and that your other previous bodies will remain decomposed.

Transmigration is the belief of souls being reincarnated in non-human forms, like animals (chayyah), plants (tzomeach), and even rocks (domem). Kabbalah explains this as both an opportunity for farther learning for the soul (especially a young soul), or a punishment for not learning while in human form. The idea of animals having new or baby souls has been mentioned in some interpretations of Kabbalah and other mystical traditions. The concept is that souls go through levels of learning, starting out as rocks, plants, animals, humans, and finally returning to the Divine.

Heaven and Hell are spiritual places, in Judaism and Kabbalah they have no form that can be explained in physical terms. Heaven for the Jewish Kabbalist is being reunited with the Source of its energy (God), after completely its work. The soul has graduated and now is at peace its final reward. Hell is the idea of being separated from God for some reason, this separation or Hell, is usually from commenting a sin that is so horrendous, that God cannot forgive you for it without distancing Herself/Himself for a time period, usually lasting one year. This is like a parent giving you a timeout, then releasing you to do better. Purgatory is seen as being a place or by wandering the earth as a ghost. Some Kabbalists believe that there are some sins like mass murder and genocide, that God just cannot forgive and annihilates the soul that was responsible for these sins, so they cannot be repeated in the future through another incarnation.

Sins are not the only reason a soul may become a wandering ghost (or dybbuk). The soul of a person sometimes becomes trapped or confused, they may have died before their time or have other issues pulling them to the physical state, this can cause ghost and poltergeist activity and even possession. The trapped soul feels something is undone or has something unresolved or something unfinished in this lifetime, holding them in the earthy realm. Other souls may have wasted their time on earth, not finishing a lifetime’s duty and objective. Soul possession can happen when a lost soul is seeking any means to get a body to house its self in, especially in the case of a premature death. A soul can attach its self to a person, animal, object, or place; these possessions can be both harmless and destructive. If it becomes destructive an exorcism may have to be performed. Kabbalistic exorcism is not like Catholic exorcism, which deals with demonic possession. Demonic possession is not mentioned as Kabbalistic tradition or worry.

Conclusion

So what happens to us after death? This question can only be answered by those who have died. Paranormal experiences with the dead can by open to interpretation and cannot be held as proof or disproof of the afterlife. We as human beings should have faith in something that is above are explanations, this keeps life a mystery and interesting. But we also should remember how truly precious and important life here on earth is, our bodies are our shelters, but earth is our home. The physical realm is now, the spiritual realm is later, and it can wait.

Bibliography:

Shamanitic Judaism, http://home.earthlink.net/~ecorebbe/index.html

The Five Levels of Soul, http://www.kosmic-kabbalah.com/five-levels-soul     

Winkler, Gershon, The Soul of The Matter, 1982 and 1992, The Judaica Press. INC.

THE ARCHANGEL HANIEL

I found this beautiful artwork of the Archangel Haniel on the web a few years back and used it as my Facebook profile picture on and off. Haniel is my favorite Archangel  because there is so many cool stories that people have written about this angel.

The Archangel Haniel “meaning the joy of God" appears as strong deep green, turquoise, or blue white light and is viewed to be primarily feminine energy, though angels have no true gender. When taking on a human form Haniel usually is described as appearing as a beautiful woman, sometimes carrying a light source or a rose. Haniel will also appear as a handsome man on certain occasions. Though, I like to imagine her in the female form myself. 

In Judaism, Haniel is one of the chief angels that reign over the classes of angels called the principalities (that watch over all the nations of the world) and the virtues (that inspire people to create great art and generate great scientific discoveries.) In Kabbalah she is in charge of “Netzach” (victory) on the Tree of Life. Haniel is also called the “Angel of Joy” because being around her brings people deep happiness and a re-connection to God. 

Other spellings and names the Archangel Haniel is known by are Hanael, Haneal, Hamael, Aniel, Anafiel, Anaphiel, Omoel, Onoel, and Simiel. 

Images Links:                      

Image 1: https://despertardeespiritu.blogspot.com/2013/10/senora-vessa-andromeda-informacion-para.html

Image 2: https://godsarchangels.wordpress.com/2013/06/02/archangel-anael-haniel/      

MY IMMORTAL (2003) “MY REVIEW”

My Immortal (2003)

Written By Ben Moody, Amy Lee, and David Hodges Performed By Evanescence

Album: Fallen  

 

“My Immortal” is a soft rock song that tells the story of love gone wrong. Where the love had seemed real for both people in the beginning, but now this love affair should end without any question. It is already gone, but those involved will not let it crawl away and die; let it be buried to rest in their memories, even though one lover is shouldering all the pain. Hemorrhaging in their silence, submitting to its terrible burden and the other lover is consuming all the love like a famished vampire, sucking the relationship to death and tainting it with their poisonous behavior. It still lives, resurrected by both lovers and their obsession with each other and this twisted love, which is decomposing and disintegrating from within. One person has finally awaken to the fact that it has always been a one sided romance, where they have given all, emotionally and physically, and the other person has given nothing, only pain and grief. What should have been a relationship of two equals has always been controlled by one, and carried by the other. It is lust not love, a masochistic asylum built for two. One person is awakening to the fact that they are alone in this love, and have always been alone, that their lover is cold and unfeeling. This does not automatically mean this person is going to finally put this love to sleep and let themselves free from its unearthly grip and mind control. They keep coming back for more and more, like a heroin addict getting sicker and sicker. Finding only grief and loneliness, which is the only thing offered by this relationship of unequals. “But though you’re still with me I’ve been alone all along” (My Immortal 2003 ). This realization may just be too late for this lonely lover.

“My Immortal” is a dark love song, full of obsession and an almost madness. It vision seems to speak of an ancient and destructive love, a reincarnation gone wrong. This is a good theme song for a vampire or reincarnation movie. Where love is both wanted to the point of self-destruction and not wanted because of self-realization. The beautiful piano playing seems to make it even sadder and darker, funeral like, playing a tune of both longing and withdraw. The lyrics have a deeper, more resonating style, putting a Gothic tragedy in picture. Of love lost but never ending, where deep pain is the only emotion that can be expressed by either lover; the one who is burdened by the relationship and the one who is the enslaver, with almost magical powers. It is one of my favorite songs. 

MOONDANCE WRITTEN BY VAN MORRISON IN (1970), SUNG BY MICHAEL BUBLE` IN (2003) “MY REVIEW”

The song “Moondance” was written in 1970 by Irish rock, jazz and soul musician Van Morrison. This song is very romantic and playful; it never loses its classical styling or whimsical feeling whatever musical genre it is played in. The lyrics are artistic in their form and quite beautiful, flowing with the melody. 

Canadian jazz crooner Michael Buble` sings “Moondance” in a jazzy swing sound, with a Frank Sinatra styled voicing. When you hear him sing this song it puts you back in the 1930s and 1940s, even if you are not old enough to remember the 1930s or 1940s. Buble` brings out a class and romanticism in music that has been lost since the early nineties, when music started to be just modern noise, with singers and songwriters who could not sing with emotions and had little to no talent for writing music or the art of creating lyrics and their stories. Michael Buble`, like Josh Groban, has brought back some sanity to the art form of singing and performing with the ability to choose or create good material. No crazy empty foolish noise, no Britany Spears here, musical intelligence is back.

I loved this song as a kid, and still do; it puts me in mind of Fred Astaire and Ginger Rogers, dancing across a moonlit dance floor, though it was long after their time. It has a flow that you want to dance to with someone you love. Just bring your fancy dance shoes and tuxedo and your lady fair. It is also a good song to listen to on a summer’s evening, walking in the moonlight, maybe with someone special.

TRUMP IS DROWNING LIBERTY

Trump has drowned Lady Liberty in the swamp and we are next. He is destroying our rights one policy at a time and our country may not ever be the same again. Our freedoms are being destroyed and he is using our Constitution as his own personal toilet paper, flushing it away each and every day. 

Powerful image from Artist Rich Lee Draws! Both on Facebbook and Twitter: https://www.facebook.com/richleedraws/photos/pb.73024800998.-2207520000.1486521218./10154813480855999/?type=3&theater

MY THOUGHTS ON TRUMP (2017)

MY HAPPY NEW YEAR 2017 VIDEO (THOUGHTS ON TRUMP)

I was hoping 2017 would be brighter than dark grim reaper 2016, it wasn't.

QUOTE FROM INA MAY GASKIN

THOUGHTS ON DR. GAIL DINES SPEECH PRESENTATION “HOW PORN HAS HIJACKED OUR SEXUALITY”

Media Culture on Womanhood

Sadly most parents or mentors will not follow this but some of the simplest solutions to helping girls and young women are explaining to them that the media images of femininity are not real, woman in these images are airbrushed to the point of losing the real person the pictures were taken of and that these models and actresses also have been forced into unhealthy dieting, exercise programs, and plastic surgeries to try to save the computer airbrush people some time. Give your daughters or those you are mentoring a healthy viewpoint of womanhood; do not force these unhealthy ideologies on them by trying to make them fit the media culture and if their peers are pressuring them to follow these unhealthy ideas, explain to them that their friends are following a wrong and sometimes dangerous ideology of womanhood. Teach girls also that they are all individuals that they have the right not to follow this path of image cloning and they should be themselves.  Girls and young woman cannot be isolated and protected from these outside images because they are everywhere, but a strong development of self-worth from loving families or mentors can go a long way towards a girl that will grow up into a woman that has her own self-worth and that will not be a victim of the commercialization of womanhood. This change of socializing girls and young women into strong confident individuals that know their own self-worth will slowly change the media culture and overtime the corporate world also because they will not be making money on the old image of womanhood as an object and clone image.

Rape Culture

Dr. Gail Dines confrontational reaction to the flasher shows that self-confidence and the sense of empowerment can do a lot to make the world a more equal and just safer place for women. Though, it will never stop the more violent predators, it can deter many actions by predators that are victimizing their victims in more of the ways bullies go after their victims for shock value, by using women’s socialize timidness that can be used against them.   Give girls and young women in your life the sense that they are equal to men and have (or at least should have, in a lot places we do not sadly) the right not to be available to boys and men as sexual objects and here only to please them. Teach girls that they have the right to say no and that their body is their own not someone else’s to abuse and control. Teach your sons that girls and women are not just objects to be used and abuse and thrown away. Teach them to respect women just like they are taught to respect their fellow boys and men. Teach them that the old saying “No means Yes” is a misogynistic concept and that “No Really means No” not some of the time but all the time, not the other way around.  Yes, this would not be a quick solution and sadly a lot of parents and mentors will never do this because they are blinded by rape culture themselves but at least it would be a start to the solution of rape culture. 

Sexuality and Porn

First the sexualization of children has to be stopped this is a sexual assault on little girls plain and simple and creating a new type of pedophile and child molester  that is fetishizing over girls dressed as adult women. You have these child beauty pageants for very young little girls and dressing them not only as adult women but dressing them in makeup and clothing that are sexualized. If other countries can try and ban child beauty pageants, the United States could too. You also have advertisers using younger and younger girls in sexualized ads that are also promoting pedophilic behavior. The solution here is to find ways to legislate policies and laws protecting child actors and models that are employed by these companies. Also, boycott the hell out of those companies that persist on sexualizing children.

Porn has changed drastically over just a decade or so. There used to be what was called soft-core porn that had some human connection, betraying sexual acts in a more realistic way, with eye contact and emotional acting not the brutality that now is the main staple of the porn industry that has been taken over by what is called “gonzo porn” which tries to put the viewer into the scene and the violence. The problem here is this gonzo porn is extremely violent, celebrating rape culture and the brutalization of women. Gonzo porn has taken the place of the so-called “boring porn” that is more like being a voyeur watching two people having sex, to participating in raping and brutalizing another human being. Today, we have the online world that exposes children to many things including this type of porn and it does affect their sexuality and views on what sexuality, sex, and sexual relationships are in the real world.  Boys get expose to these violent sexual acts that have nothing to do with real loving sexual relationships that people have in the real world not the porn world. This gives them a very wrong, unrealistic, and dangerous idea of what “real sex” is compared to the rape depiction and brutalization of the porn actresses in these films. It also gives them the ideology that women are just things to abuse, use and treat like trash. Sadly, many parents will only punish their sons for catching them watching these completely disturbing sexual acts betraying rape, instead of using it as a teachable moment and explaining to them that this is not how real life sexuality, sex, and sexual relationships work that you do not sexually brutalize another human being and if you do you belong in prison. It is also a teachable moment on how women are not objects for men to use and abuse. Then if they find out that a child has become addicted to watching this type of porn, they ignore it without getting them  help before it is too late, which they need to do. The addiction to this porn does not excuse violent predators that take the fantasy that this porn gives them to the real world. If you commit violence against another human being, you are not excused just because the last porn film you watched gave you the idea on brutalizing someone.

The gonzo porn industry is sadly not going to go away soon, they hide behind free speech. But maybe boys, its future viewers, can be taught that this is not “real sex” it is “real sexual brutalization” in the form of sexual acts to entertain a sick mind. That they should not be treating women like this. Taking away the porn industry’s future customers is one way of putting them out of business. Another way is to find these women that are forced into working for the porn industry because of financial need and help them find better options to get them better and safer employment and if they have drug addictions get them help for that to, do not demonize them for being victims of the porn industry. But the best fix is to not become a customer of this type of porn in the first place and if you are a fan and addict to it, get some help, please.

                                                                                                           

KLAMATH FALLS OREGON AND STUKEL MOUNTAIN (1-4 Photographs)

These photographs are of Klamath Falls, Oregon (in Southern Oregon) in summertime, with Mount Stukel in the distance.

HORSE MOUNTAIN IN WINTER

 Horse Mountain is in Modoc County in Northern California, near Tulelake and Newell, California.  

AUTUMN LEAVES TURNING 1-2 (2011)

The turning autumn leaves under blue sky in Merrill, Oregon (Southern Oregon) in 2011. A day after this the trees were topped, sadly.

KLAMATH LAKE (8 Photographs)

The Klamath Lake in the summertime; taken from the Oregon Institute of Technology’s grounds and surrounding area.

CASTLE ROCK OVER FARMLAND

Castle Rock in Modoc County in Northern California, near Newell and Tulelake, California.

AMERICAN FLAG UNDER BLUE SKY

The American Flag under summer blue sky at Merrill, Oregon in very Southern Oregon.

THE SANFORD CHILDREN’S CLINIC 1-4

 A modern day castle, the Sanford Children’s Clinic is located in Klamath Falls, Oregon. It is just a cool looking building that was created for children to feel at ease during illness.

BUTTERFLY BUILDING 1-2

I call it the Butterfly Building because it looks like a butterfly to me but it’s the Klamath Basin Radiology Associates Building, located in Klamath Falls, Oregon. 

WINTERTIME TREES IN KLAMATH FALLS, OREGON PARKING LOT 1-6 (2014)

Winter Trees in late wintertime in 2014 in a Klamath Falls, Oregon parking lot.

PLEASE DON’T TALK ABOUT MURDER WHILE I’M EATING (MY REVIEW ANALYSIS)

Please Don’t Talk About Murder While I’m Eating By Ben Harper

Album: Both Sides of the Gun (2006)

What I believe Ben Harper was talking about was the media, especially the news and the religious right media. There seems to be a hunger for destruction that has nothing to do with Hollywood and basic fictional violence, which everyone knows is all special effects, makeup, and stunt people.

You cannot turn on the news without some horrific news report that is usually sensationalized, where the same bloody bodies and wreckage, are shown over and over again in a nauseating spin; with the newsman or newswoman almost smiling, thanking fate for the ability to report the gruesome facts. “You’re the first one to get there…And always the last one to leave…You’re the first one to chuckle…But the last one to grieve.” (Please Don’t Talk About Murder While I’m Eating). It is the old saying “If It Bleeds, It Leads”.

On the other hand you have televangelists talking about Armageddon, scary people with horrifying stories that would even make Stephen King hide under his bed. These guys almost foam at the mouth from the excitement of watching human suffering, saying it was a curse from God, because maybe the victims worshiped differently or had a different religious belief system. “You walk into the temple…You call it a church…I tried to keep things simple…But you always need the works.”(Please Don’t Talk About Murder While I’m Eating).

SKY LAKES MEDICAL CENTER Photographs 1-3

Sky Lakes Medical Center (was Merle West Medical Center) in Klamath Falls, Oregon in Southern Oregon. I was born in this hospital when it was called Merle West Medical Center, it looked much different then.

What the hospital looked like before all the additions. 

Link To Photograph and Article: https://oregontechsfstatic.azureedge.net/sitefinity-production/docs/default-source/geoheat-center-documents/quarterly-bulletin/vol-24/art4a083ee4362a663989f6fff0000ea57bb.pdf?sfvrsn=3d258d60_4

PRODUCER STEPHEN J. CANNELL (FEBRUARY 5, 1941 – SEPTEMBER 30, 2010) TELEVISION SHOWS FOR THE ADVENTUROUS IN THE 1970S AND 1980S

I loved this man’s television shows and still do. The 1980s would have been completely boring without him and his story telling, and these television shows made up most of my childhood and teenage years and were all my favorites. I loved all the best friend stories, gun fights, barroom brawls, car chases, and other crazy stunts (he kept all the stunt people busy in Hollywood throughout his career as a television writer and producer).

Just a few shows he created or co-created and/or produced:

I always looked up to Mr Cannell because having some dyslexic traits in reading and writing but

mostly numbers and math, myself. He gave me hope and someone to look up to and he also gave me

the gift of wanting to write, which helped me gain writing skills, I still suck at math, though.

Mr. Cannell you are missed, TV isn't the same without you.