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Out Of The Darkness!
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"Kabbalah urges us to be aware that we are always being tested - andthat the tests become more challenging as we move closer to the Light."
~ Michael Berg
This week, The Weekly Beet reports from out of the darkness. Mary Kent sports the Red String, revealing why we all could use a bit of Kabbalistic wisdom in our lives!
 Kabbalah. It's ancient. It's mystical. It's wise. And, it's incredibly useful these days, as many of us go through a period of trials and tribulations brought on by none other than ourselves! Kabbalah has been around for centuries inspiring the creative minds of Shakespeare, Keats, Angelo, Jung, Galileo, and of course the present day creators like Madonna and Brittany. I became fascinated by Kabbalah many years ago, as I knew it contained the answers to many of the screaming questions I had running through my mind like, 'What on Earth I am doing here?' Kabbalah is incredibly mind-blowing and every time I sit down to learn more I am literally taken out of my darkness and into the light! Luckily, in my search to find someone to shed some truth on Kabbalah, I came across Rabbi Yosef Yitzchok Serebryanski, known as Rabbi Yossi to his students. He is a spiritual leader, healer, and guide, whose words so speak truth and wisdom, that he left me many times in total laughter of myself and the silly things we humans do to keep us from receiving all the Creator had in mind for us. Here's a bit of what we chatted about, as I feel Kabbalah may be something that many of us should at the very least allow into our awareness.
MK: What exactly is Kabbalah?
Yosef: The word Kabbalah means receiving. Thus, it can refer to anything that was intended for us by the Creator. In the Jewish context, it refers to the teachings of the secrets of creation, meaning how to create things. Kabbalah helps people understand everything in creation. It is the teachings of the various spiritual worlds, how they work, and the creations that exist among them. Kabbalah allows a person to understand life from a different space.
MK: Where did the teachings come from?
Yosef: According to Jewish tradition when Adam was thrown out of the Garden of Eden, he was depressed and the Angel Ruziel came to comfort him and gave him a book on the spiritual worlds, which explained how these worlds operated. Then, there was a Kabbalistic book attributed to Abraham and Moses also wrote books about Kabbalah. There is also the Zohar, which is the most famous, going back over 2,000 years. Since then there have been many books written on the subject.
MK: And, what exactly is the Zohar
Yosef: A very important spiritual text made up of a group of books that uses the Bible as a base, explaining creation through stories. It contains information on the nature of God, the origins and structure of the universe, the nature of souls, sin, redemption, good and evil, and the relationship between God and man. All of the things we must understand about creation.
MK: Do you have to be Jewish to practice and understand the teachings? I'm not Jewish and I have been drawn to Kabbalah for years. When I was first introduced, though, there seemed to be something mysterious or secretive about it. Can you explain?
Yosef: As far as I am concerned anyone can study something that is written and choose to practice whatever they want. We are all here to connect with the same Creator that created all of us. There is nothing secretive about Kabbalah. Secrets are generally for people with issues. A secret can make certain people feel important. It's rather arrogant to tell intelligent people that they cannot read about something spiritual in a book.
MK: How can we study about Kabbalah if we want to learn more? I know for me I was lead to it, or my soul guided me. The teachings resonate so much with what I believe and have helped me to see things in such a different way.
Yosef: Over the years people ask me what they should read and I usually answer, read whatever you want and if you have questions, I will listen. There are many books on Kabbalah that are good, The author Aryeh Kaplan is good. Chabad Lubavitch, a Chassidic group, has some good books. Actually, one should go into a bookstore or call a Jewish bookstore and see what interests them.
MK: It's usually said when the student is ready, the teacher will appear. How long do people need to study Kabbalah?
Yosef: In learning a subject, where is the end? You can never end. My grandfather once told me, "You don't understand something, unless you know its limitation." It's impossible to put a time frame on something limitless.
MK: Why all the stardom around Kabbalah?
Yosef: Regarding the stardom, I don't know why but from the little I know it is part of people's search for something that society's mindset does not fill, meaning the mystery, the explanation of darkness and light, etc. Kabbalah gives explanation for much of the magic, the witchcraft, and the ancient teachings. You can actually use it to change things in nature that are beyond the realm of most people. You can create a person, a place, or anything. You can move yourself to another place on earth in an instant, you can see and talk with souls, angels and do all the spititual stuff. And, it gives a good explanation for everything here in kabbalistic terminology. It explains the mystery of our relationships, reincarnation, and everything you want to know in creation. So with all this it has attracted a large crowd, as it was something that many people said you cannot learn since its knowledge is dangerous in the wrong hands. Thus, it got picked up and has since become a big business.
MK (laughing): Interesting. Kabbalah really teaches us that the power lies in our own hands. OK wait. Can you teach me how to astral travel? I want to go to another universe.
Yosef: Yes.
MK: How?
Yosef: (laughing) But, the point of existence is for you to remain in the present. The purpose is to live in the present with body and soul and so it is not neccessary for most people to astral travel, but it is a way to help people at times. Everything is happening here and now. When you can do that, all else falls away.
MK: OK. So, this explains alot. I have definitely lived my life for a very long time in the past. It's like my mind was somewhere else, thinking about what I did wrong or why this or that happened then. I definitely was in another time and space. I think when we can see ourselves doing that, then we gain a bit more control and are able to live in the present without our minds in charge.
Yosef: Yes, much of our unhappiness stems in our own faulty thinking. If you can just learn to change your thoughts, then you will be able to move beyond what's deemed good or bad.
MK: OK. So, Kabbalah speaks a lot about the Dark and the Light. Can you explain a bit more on this?
Yosef: Dark and light, good and bad. The world we exist in has balances and imbalances. The Kabbalah mainly talks about all the spiritual issues caused by Adam and Eve, and as a result everything that happens is deemed either holy or unholy. There are different Kabbalah perspectives in creation as well. Christianity is based on this duality as well. While it is all interesting, it also has a limitation. It keeps people fixated on the good and bad, but in order to change all this we must connect with the Creator that is one and beyond definition. We must connect to a place that dark and light are not opposite, to a place where good and evil do not exist. When we are in that space, we can transform the world.
MK: Wow! So, if I choose to move beyond thinking what someone did was good or bad, then I can transform - probably alot faster!
Yosef: Yes, the judgement about a situation or event keeps people stuck. People get caught up in the limitation. They are caught in the blame and in the pain and can never see the entire picture. They do not see that a reaction is a reflection of something inside themselves.
MK: OK. This is something that Kabbalah has helped me with tremendously and that is the concept of being proactive verses being reactive! I have experienced much reactiveness from within myself and with others. I think everyone could stand to understand this concept.
Yosef: Reactiveness is a reflection of something lacking or missing within the self. It is an opportunity to move towards the Light of the Creator. Our initial reaction to something can tell us alot about what needs to be brought to Light within ourselves - meaning our pain, as most reactiveness is an emotional response of stress, anger, jealousy. When we choose to be proactive, we first listen without an agenda to what's coming up and then we ask ourselves, what is it I can do? I can do nothing, I can be patient, I can walk out of the room. There are many things that cause us to be proactive. But in order to help, you must listen! We are all here to help and we all have that ability to share.
MK: How liberating! That gives us so many choices on how to handle stressful situations and extremely difficult people. Just by listening, I can change so much. It's easy to forget how easy this is!
Yosef: But the moment you define something, you limit it. If you want to connect to the Creator, you must go to a place where there is no beginning and no end, to a place where there is no definition. Be in the recognition and the knowing that everything is not what it is. This thing someone did to cause you pain is not what it is, it is something beyond the pain.
MK: OK. So, this leads me to jealousy and the evil eye. Does the Red String really ward off the evil eye? Will u tell us about it?
Yosef: The Red String does not really ward off evil. Yes, there are some evil energies that are pushed away by the color red, since Kabbalisticly it represents a strong form of energy. But, most of it is hype. To ward off evil, you first have to know what evil you are talking about. Then there are many other things that are more practical, but the Red String is just another thing that people do because people say it wards off evil, but it has nothing to do with much of our reality. It is okay if you want to wear it, but I would ask you what is the evil that you are warding off? Did someone tell you or do you know? Being a groupie is not always the best for a person either, as they become dependant on someone or something else and do not fix that which is inside of them.
MK: So, truly if someone is attracting evil into their lives, there is an aspect of themselves that is creating this. That's really crazy to think about. What would you recommend instead of the Red String that people use to help them ward of negativity?
Yosef: Change the way you think! What destroys people is their thoughts. If you change the words you use, it will change your whole aura and your energy. You will be lighter.
MK: Ah, yes, you are what you think! I had to learn this lesson about twenty different times!
Yosef: (laughing) Yes!
MK: OK. One quick word as to why Kabbalah incorporates astrology into its teachings?
Yosef: Kabbalah uses astrology because it is part of creation. The moon and the sun affect us. The universe made of the Earth and the planets each affect us. We are all part of eachother. In ancient times, people worshipped the sun and the moon. They believed power came from these aspects of creation. Truly, astrology is a wonderful tool, but it also has limitations. It does help in correcting aspects of ourselves that need balancing, but when you connect beyond limitations, you will find there is nothing to fix. There is only a desire for rebalancing.
 MK: OK. One last question and something that I am personally fascinated with. What are the 72 names of God? I have these cards and look at them alot. They are incredible!
Yosef: The 72 names of God were originally decoded from letters found in Exodus describing Moses' miraculous parting of the Red Sea. With these names you can fix or change things in your reality. The 72 names are not supposed to be pronounced, as they can harm a person who does not know how to handle the energy properly. So, the only thing to do is to look at them, meditate on them, and feel how they speak to you.
MK: That's pretty great! Click here to receive a meditation on the 72 names of God. Yosef, you are such an incredible Light and I thank you so very much for enlightening us all with your much needed wisdom! I am very grateful to you! Thank you!!
It's time to learn a bit of wisdom. Seek Kabbalah! Don't miss a Beet. Stay tuned for next week.
Mary Kent
PS. Mary Kent is wearing shirt by Paul & Joe and necklace by Hermosa Jewelry! She is holding Out of the Darkness Level One from the Kabbalah Center! Of course, she is also wearing the Red String.
PSS. Missed our last Beet? We were throwing out the
Splenda!
PSSS. Check out Founder and CEO of Global Wonders, Rashmi Shrivastava Turner on Ladies Who Launch.
PPPS. Check out Sarah Jane Designs. We absolutely LOVE the birdnest necklace!
Here's What's UnBEETable:
My Health Tip: "If you want to be completely healthy, you can't forget to address the health of your mind. Listen to the voice within and hear what you're allowing your mind to tell you. If you're not 100% happy, it's likely you're believing a story your mind has created to keep you from moving forward. Remember, you can always choose a new read, as you are in charge of your mind. So, close the story on gloom, doom, and sadness and pick a new one filled with love, happiness, and much adventure."
~ Mary Kent
My Favorite Kabbalah Quotes: "The most important aspect of a person's spiritual progress is a plea for help addressed to the Creator."
~ Talmud, Yomah
"The worst manifestation of egoism is arrogance and conceit."
~ Talmud, Sota
"The lower a person feels, the closer he comes to his true state and to the Creator."
~ Talmud, Sota
My Favorite Book: Mystery of the Mind
My Favorite Movie: Peaceful Warrior
My Favorite Guru: Swami Muktananda
My Favorite Song: Someone Said Goodbye by
Enya
My Favorite Indulgence: Rice Dream's Frozen Mint Cookie! OH MY!! Unbelievable!
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