ONE OF T H E KEY Fersonalities in the devc.

lopment of Jewish mysticrsrn,

sometimes wferrcd to as thc father of ecstatic Kxhhalah, was Abraham tlhulaf;a,
horn In Saragossa, Spain, in dae rhirteenth cennlry The year o f his blrth was

1240 CE, a symboI~cyear in kabhalistic cosmology as we ~villsee.

'The combined tupelllth and thirteenth centuries were arguably the most proI~ficpcriod In the puhlicasion u f kahtalistic teachings. Prior to r h ~ stime, thr
Kabbalah was high$. secretrve, and there were stringent rules about who could
learn these mysteries. For lvell over a thousand years, Kabbalah had been almost
entirely an oral tradition exccpt for a handful of ear$ manuscripts, including
thr S+r Yetzsmh ( T ~Rook
P

Creatlort), a short, rx-trernrlYesoteric writing that was

composed c o m p l e r r ~in~ a code that even t a d a ~i s difficult to d e c ~ ~ h e r .

Ironrcall!; kabbalistic idea:, first 'organ ro be exprrrssed more openly In the
twelfth century as a react1011 t o the highly ratlunal rcachlngs o f rhe great Jewish

ph~losopher, Mosrs Maimonides (I 135-1 204). Ma~monides, known more

familiarly as Rambam (Rabbi Moses Ben Maimonj, had extraordinary influence In his tiine as a

writer and as one of the primay judges to whom

communit~tsturned for opinions regarding Jew~shlaw. He was fi~lI\..rersed in

Aristotelian logic and Grcck

Having an extra~rclinar~
intellect, he

tended t o rationalize many of the mystical aspects o f Judaism. In so doing,

he became controvers~alfor tsadittonalists. T o t h ~ sday, some Orrhoclox Jewrsh
practitioners view h ~ m
w ~ t hcons~dciablrs kcpt~cism,
Those who reacted to Rambarn's rationalism placed p a t emphasis on

the mystical aspecrs of the tradition: the nature of God, the creation story.
the exlsrence of angelic and demonlc forces, the secret reasons for the Jew~sh
laws-thtsc
and many other subjects were addressed. In thc. rhirteenth century,
this mystical lnovement gained considerable mo~ncntum,which led to the camFilation o f the rnosr influential kabbalisric work: the Zohar
T h e actual datcs o f compositian of rhe Zohar are not clearly known, but
rnajor parcs o f the manuscript were crrct~laredin the latrer part of the thirrccnth
century. T h e individtial considered to he its most 11kcly author, Moshr dr Leon,
was born some time close to r h )+ear
~ 1.240 CE, and thus was almost the same

age as Abraham Abtllafia.

This p a r , 1240 CE,is qttite mean~ngfulfor Jew~shrnysrics. It happens to
coincide with the Hebrew calendar year 5000, which represents the biblical
measurement from the time of the first, prirnordlal human: Adntn K d m o n While
fi~ndamentalistJew~shpractitioners believe that Adam and Eve were literally

in the Garden o f Eden five thousand years ago, the mystical perspective (the
Kabbalah)

1s

that rhcrc. was a dramattc shift in consciousness five thousand years

ago that opened up a new level of awareness for human be~ngs-an

awareness

that distinguishes humans from the rest o f the antma1 kingdom. Indeed, the fiill

rrcognltion of

~171.5

awareness-the ability to he awnrr of atr~arcness-is one of

the major platraus of the ongoing process o f enIightrnmcnt.

Kabbalwrs agrcr with modern scicnic thac the earth

1s

billions of years old.

However, wfille science tends to focus on scientific method In fields such as

gcology. anrhsopology, FxIcontolog~~,

and so forth to dist~nguisheras of hacar!:
Kabbalists and o t h ~mysncs
r
are more intrresrrd in "c~~nsciousness"-11nJerstand-

mg the nature of thr mind ~tself-as a measrrrc to drrermine major d ~ a i i ~ in

e s life
on earth. In [his sense, Kabbalah follows evolutionary pnnclples.
Aicordtng LO Kabbalah, humans today represent only one platcau nn an
evolutionary ladder rhnr leads t o w ~ a dIctpcls o f consciousness rhar wilI rranscend
our airrent level. This potential of higher awareness is an elernentar). brl~efn f
mystlcd Judaism;

~t IS

called the coming of messlanic consciousness, or s1rnPLy

the rncss~ah.

The Hebrew year 50tN rcprrsents entry inrv the

sixth miiIenntum in the

Jewish reckoning of crme. From a mystical perspccttve, each chousand years

is Iike a day, and thus the sixth rnilIrnn~urnis represented b!- she sixth day of
creacion In Genesis. IVc sec in rhe Torah thar the sixth day of Genesis

ts

when

human conscio~lsnesscame rnro i t s fullness. The implicic direction of con-

sciousness is to transcend this Iewl to reach rhc scvcnrli Jay, rhc Sabbath clay:
when mess~anicconscior~snesswill appear.

Sn the Kabbalist sees the thousand years chat begm rn 1249 CE as the final
millennium of transition that Ieads up to a new species in rhc unirerst, one
w ~ t hmesstanic consciousners, T h c coming scvcnth milIenniurn w ~ l lbegin in

tht- Hrbrew calrndar year 6000, by our ~eckoning,2240 CE, a httle over two
hundred ).ears from now. According to the kabbalistic model, thrs is a time when

the entire world wtIl cxperientr a

shift, and FcoFlr a r i l l r t l ~ t eto each

ocher and to all of creacion m an enrirclr. new way.

Of' rutlrsc, thc challenge bchrt. us is r l a~b i l ~ ru

t ~ survive the n r l t couflr of
I i ~ ~ i ~ ~ Iycnrs,
iccI

O u r currenc level of consclousncss may

not

necessarily be wcIl

%LIITIII
fill. C ~ I S V I Vof
~ t h e S ~ C C I C S This
.
is B major season why the indtrlllual quest
flu 1111111- CIIII~IICC~CJ
* ~ ~ t i o each
n s , person's impact on the universe o f conscltusIic%a+
IX

11

~n our t ~ m c .

\o Iliipclrt.lnt

1,

IIOL

wrpnsing, therefore, rhat Abraham

Abulafia,

\rho rvas a JceFlt

believed rhat h ~ sbirth-time signified that he was ro play a

l>owrrii~l,
pwphetic role in mol-lng rhc rrrorld toward t h ~ srnesslanic view. 4 s a
twrliry pn:(..u cdJ, for examplr, lit- t r a v ~ l c dto the land of Israel t o seek out t h r
I rrrr Ct~r~Car~lrr,
wl11ch is a rnaglcal, impassable boundary that tn Tewish ~)T]IOIog! r1r~1r1~li-A
IIIC ten lost trihrs of Israel sornewhri~out3idc of the HoIv Land,
Ir.l~-nrdK.lbI.aIia,

I'll15 ~iiptc~.rozr\
rirer
111g t l i c ' ~ I X A.tvr

,I.)!

(Sll.tl,lr.rt,

represents a barricr

o f rhe week-nothing

that

moves with enormous force dus-

ran cross ~ t However,

.
(In the

~ert.ntli

~IILIS

t h e name Sambatyon), I.; q u ~ e and

t
peacrhI. T h c pmbIern
bc crossed on that Jey because In traditional ]udarsm, travel

1% 111~11 11 c . l ~ l n t ) t

boundaries) is n o t permirted on the Sabbath day.

/\lrlilaifiai'~
L I ~ ~ I - tC o search for this mythical rrvcr was clearly a p ~ l g r i m a ~ e .
E.rolu 1111- k 4 i l ~ l ~ . i l prrspectlvc,
~~ric
it was a journey to explo~etlir metaphorical
1.1cr5111.11 1rct.d ttr he encountered co break out of the 11mtrso f ordmar? con-

( C X L - I * ~~

i i l i strict
~ c ~

17.11

sclr)tl,Ilv\.\. Aly111.11;,1

C R I I C ~ thcse rnvst~calbarriers

"knots" that had to be untied

I I [ K - I . I ~ r~ ~ l r ;,IWJ~TIICSS. In 111% own descriptton of his prlrnary goal, Ab~rlafia

c.11i1l i t * 111it-111
w.1, "to IIIIP~JE
the soul. to m t l e the ktrocs which htnd i t . + ' T h ~ s
d l . , ~0 1 (111tV I I I k~ ~ ~ 1%oconnected
t ~
wlth unraveling rhr ionfuszon and cornplcxvry ot tlir w c ) r l ~ t . I'hr\c ionfusions and c ~ r n ~ l e x r r are
i ~ sItke himdles o f t~glit
IO

k n t ~ hi n

n \I

1 .iiill

!)I' rirlrc t h a t was originally simple and strayht.

I ~ , I ~ I ,II kiill~
I ~ - I 11.~1111 .i rope. It acts as a dam, blocking and cornpllcac~ngthe
smooth flow t 3 1 I U I ~ ; i i ~ r ~dcxw~
r ~ the line o f the rc~pe,In Abubfia; view, when

the knots are untied, the natural flow can he reestablished, and we will autor n a t ~ c a l enter
l ~ the reaIm o f original unity. This is his metaphor o f finding and
liberating the ten losr tribes, which represent multiplicity, to return to oneness.
Unfortunately, Abulafia never comFleted his search. W h e n he arrlved m Acre,
a war was being fought at the time in the Middle East between the Mamelukes
and the Tatars. T h ~ was
s a llteral barrlcr he could not overcome. H e was forced
to leave

We learn from this that the knots keeping us from full llhera-

tton take many forms that are the conditions and circurnstanccs of our lives.

HISearlv journey in the exploration of mystical secrets

was a harbinger

of things to come in Abulafia's life. In h ~ searly thirties, immersed In special

s began
contemplative trchniqurs, hr rxpertencrd intense prc>phct~cv ~ s ~ o nand
to refrr to himself by the name of Raael, whlch means "secrets o f God." Elis
vlslons were overwhelming; he often described being bllnded and lost. Still, he
pursued his practices and l~vedon an edge that was strange for most traditlorial
Jewish practition~rs;therr w a s roo much echtasy!
Indeed, Abulafia was so unique in his practices, mainstream Judaism marginalized his work and he remained virtually unknown until rhe rn~ddleo f the
twentieth century. While a few scholars of the latter half of the nineteenth and
r
early part of the twentieth centuries dihcussed Abulxfia in some of t h ~ i books,
it was not until Gershnm Scholrm$ work +for Trend5 1~ Jewish h$t~t~ristn(113411,

that a new light was cast upon the

significance o f these elght-hunclred-ye.enr-old

teachings. SchoIem devoted an entire chapter in his book to Abulafia's "theory

of ccstatic knwwledgt." One of Scholeni's students, Moshe Idrl, has contributed

a major scholarly effort,

a number of books that focus on Abulafia's

life and h ~ practices.

s
This "ecstatic" mystical approach was a

that strongly impacted

on the Jew~shworld of the thirteenth century. A number o f other individuals

during that cimc, including Maimonides' son, Abraham, described undcsrak-

ing certain ecstatic practices. Abraham. himself, was drawn ro participating In

mind-altering Sufi practices. Some scholars even associate ecsratlc Kabbalah
wirh Moshe de Leon, the Frobable author of the Zohm
\\'e can only imaglne the enthusiasm and fervor shared by these students s f
mystlctsm as they engaged in contcmpIatlre practices. Many of their writlngs
have been lost, but the works t h a t survived-along
Jewish authors in thts rime period-are

with other dorumcnts from

among the mosr influent~alteaching In

rhe encire library of jewish mystical thought.

Abraham Abulafta stands our. from all the ochers in that he develorcd a
specific system of contemplative practice. These are tedmiques designt.d to
access

one's own lnncr p d e , called in Hebrew m~brerptt~lrni, an "inncr mwer,"

who "opens che closed doors."This inner mover 1s our own, personal spiritual
mentor, "who wlU guide us through rhe veils o f cnnfusion." Our mentor can be
a human teacher we have already met or about whom we have knowledge, or it

can be an unusual reacher who will appear to us in some form we will recognize
as our practice deepens. Our personal tcacher could show u p mystcriouslv in

a moment of perception observing rhc way a b i d fl~es,how clouds move, rhc

way a sttanger acrs. reflections In a store window, a twinge of feeling when we

experience someone In pain, or innumerable orher signs. Each moment 1s filled

with potential ceachcrs

if wr

haw the

eyes t o see and the ears to hear in other

Irvels of reality.

DISSOLVING KNOTS
W o w do you untie rhe knots of your souls? Imagine the soul as a ves~elmade
of clear glass surrounded by light, bur the glass is encascd in a fabric, woven in
c ~ g lknoa,
~t
char prcvcnrs light from entering (or ex~r~ng).Yo~r
will w c latcr thar

this mcraphor is inadcquatc, for. wcrything

called

zq

composrd o f light--wen thc so-

itself and the fabric that surrounds ~t-but

is a usrful tool for beginning

as a starting point, this

meditation practices.

teachT h e imaginary fabric described above is often referred ro in ~nvsc~cal

ing? as "veils" that separacc us from the full understanding of

things. T h c s c

vc11sare mainly cornposed of thc "material" of our carliest ionditlan~ng,b c l ~ r h ,

ideas, prc]udiics, judgments, critiirsms, desires, asp~rat~ons,
hopes, and fears. For
most of us, the fabric

15 a

thick mar of p~rsonalitytraits and ego assumptions

that stern a t first t o be almost impen~tsab~e.

Abulafiak mcrhod is to concentrate the mind on somcchrng spcific that will,

by its nature, ci~ssolvcthe knots that hold thc fabr~ctogether. T h e theorv is

based on the FrincipEe that we become whar we immerse

in. If you jump into a pool of wacrr. you get wet all over. IF it 1s a pool of ink,
your skin gcrs dyed. If you spend all of your time rcadlng crrrrent events, your
mind will c ~ n s u n t rurn
l ~ t o the subject material chat ~t has absorbed. If you
s i t quietly and simply rake notice of your thoughts, you ~ 1 soon
1 real~zcthat
you have a fascinariq caFabilit!. of observ~ngp u r own m ~ n d you
;
can watch
your thoughts, how they arlsc, how they are sustained, and how they inevirably
evaporatr and d~sappear.
If you ionccntrate on and repeat sounds and words that q u ~ c trhc mind, you
w ~ l cvenruallp
l
enter a transcendent dimens~onof the pure soul. a place of peaceful calm~~ess
and gcntlc tranqutlity. In this q ~ ~ i mud-scate,
et
knots automarically begin to unraurl. Ar some point, slrlall openings appear In thc fabric, and
pmyoints of light cnrcr the
This light is so
and so penctracing,
yon will ~xprriencra moment of truth, so t o sFeak. This rnomrntary vision can
p ~ r m a n m r l yinflticnce you. In an instanc of realization, !.nu can galn a certain
confidrnce that will arise as a result of your dlrcct cxpericncc. Thdt ir to say,

simple and direct. It

IS

when only a few knots are looscncd, p u can see some form of light or trurh

that pulls you to it.TIlis a n r ~ c t i o noften brcumcs a continual ratpc to cngage in

spiritual practices that can loosen and untie more and rnore knots.
PlbuIafia used the letters of the Hebrew alphabet and names of God as
pr~maryimages upon which his concentrasive techniques were founded. Each
Hebrew lctcer has bccn the object of intense study among Kabbal~sts,each has
been che subject of hundreds of chapters. rZ Ietter's intrinsic meaning, the words

rhac srnrt wirh that lcrrer, irs shape, its placement in the alphabet, its numeric
value (for cxamplc, a = 1, b = 2, c = 3, esc.j, the numeric value of words and
entire phrases, where Ln the mouth a letter is pronounced-all
these and many
other aspecrs are rxpIored. Bur wc do not have to be kabbalist~cscholars to $01low Abulafia's technique, for alrhauph he was learned in all aspeia of Kabbalah,
hr leaned rnore heavily on rntuitlve, inner revelation than or1 intrllrctual expertise. 7nTewtll work with Ah~lafia'stterhni~ue
in the next haprer, but first let US
expcrlence a special chanc chat relies rntircly on our intu~rion.

Abwlafia's Practices

J UDAlSM IS NOT we11 known for its contemplative pracrices. T h e primary

focus for students of Judaism is and always has been the stud? of Talmud and
Torah. Most people who have nor undertaken this kind of dedicated studvJ
practLcc arc unaware of its power as a conrernFlarive experience. When one
~rnrnersesin hours of intense Talrnud~cengagement, the experience is often
described as a mind-state that rxernpllfies that of a meditation practitioner:
expansive feelings of

well-being, a new Ievel of calmness, a sharpening of

one;

sensory experience, and a fresh cIarit? of mind.

Because Talmudic studp is challenging In its requirement for one to he flu-

highly intricate
thought problems that can only be appreciated through the use of l~nique

ent in Hebrew and Aramaic, as well as to be able to engage

logic, relatively few individuals are able ro appreciate the results o f this kind

resdts: a transformed rnind and an esFanded breadth of inrpllectual sktlls.

Aside from the study of Talmud and Torah, howcver, there arc numrrous
~ o n t e m ~ l a t i vpractices
c
in Judaism. O n e of rhc most popular Forms is based

upon chanting one of the h~ghcst "names of God" in Hrhrew. the fvtlr
conscrnants of the ancient Hebrew name o f God, the retragrammaton, oftrn

written as r.-h-v-h. These letters can be i h a r ~ ~ eusing

d
the fire primary vorvcls.

I have aIready menrluned Abraham ,4buIafin as one o f the

wrotr

fcrv rrrrrters who

about rhis mcrhcxl in detail, but these trchniques were descr~bcdas early

as the nlnth century It is helievcd that many practices go all the way back to

Tdrnud~c~irnrs,two thousand years ago, along with othcr

sccret transrnis-

slons that rneraphor~callywere assoc~atedwtth t r a v e l q in a mystical charrot

hlpher realms of awareness.

The prlniiple behind t h s practice is rhat eat11 of us 1s endowed w ~ t hdrvine
sparks, and each person is crtated in rhr " ~ r n a ~ eof" God. T h a t is to s a y the
sourcc of crcattvttv that rests within each indrvidual IS den tical to the creative
urgc out of which rhis worId unfolds. In essence. the univ~t-sfas we know ~r
IS characterized by Kabbaiists as a "thought" in the mlnd nf God. Ic follows
that being created in rhc Image o f God does not mean chat we rewmblc rhe
appearance of God, which would bc an absurd cunclusion, instead we resemble
the Dlr rne in rhat we have the p o w w t o create IIPW unir.erscs rhrocigh our own
thoughts 2nd actlons.
Wc exprrlencc this power when we clnseEr mvcstigatc our own minds and
tecognizr the conrlnud i r e a t ~ o no f rhoughr-universes as an ongoing process.
Ilihen wc are deeply engaged in our thoughrs, we become numb to the physical
reality in which we are stand~ngduring chase moments. lye seem to Jlsappear
to

into nus thoughts, and ehrsc ~ n n c rvnrlds beco~neo u r realit):

We all knolz~the story of the sage who awakens from a dream abour a burtrr-

fly wonderrng which is rhc truth:

tvvrrs hc dscarn~ngahoul

a buttci fl!; or is a hur-

rerfly now drearnlng about him? &Zany traditions. and in!.stlcs In general, belleve
rhar our mundane realit:. is norlung hut a dream thar wc Icusraln throughout each
dai.

and that we coustnnd,v create new rIrmcncs in t111sdream. For cacll of us.

our rclnttve reality

1s

our individual dream.

In addirton, J mystic would say that e ~ c hperson 1s a vehicle of d i r ~ n cexpression. O u r accions. words, and thoughts act out dirtne p r o r ~ d c ~ ~ cand
e , some
a rule ln this process. SO we are not sirnFl,v
bcl~cwrliac free wiIl aIso
mbors, doing ehrner thar are Frcorclaincd, but are

h r agents, T O r5 speak, who

individually affecr the way lifr unfolds. I Y h m

are confused (wh~ch1s most

of tllr time),

wu

we

ionfuse rhings that ~ n f l ~ ~ e nthe

c e way the world turns. IVhen

we arc clear, the expressrons of our actiot~sare also clear.

Tlic foundation pr~ncrplcof AhuIatia's prairiir. a c c o r d ~ ~to~ gKabbalah, rs

sound5 r'"And God StZTD9lrt there be
rhar worlds are nsatcd wirh
Itght."). Vowels rcprcscnt these
soun4s. Five cowels in part~culararc
considered to bt primary, m-ith tile others as secondary. -4s desrritt.J earIier, the
6vc prlrnary vouds of Judaism arc 011 (as in tow!, Ah [as in pn o r nln), Aa 1-35 In
w y j , Ee [as in h p ) , and Uu Cxq in de).
For Abulafia, each knrvcl is assnc~atcdw ~ t ha spcclfic hcad movement, whrch
is graphicall! rrFresented in che aclfoining rlIuscrarion. T h e movcmcncs are con-

n e c t ~ dwith the way vowels are lvritrcn in Hebrew. The sound Oh r? a dot over a

~rprr:lid and then rcturn to tenter when intoning this

sound. Thr sound Ah IS ;I line under a letter-wr
turn our heads toward the lek
Irttcr, thus we raise our hcad

shoulder, pardel to the ground and then return to center tvhen sound~ngchis letter. T h e sound Aa is represented by two docs on a line pralleI tu the ground, so
we d o the rtvcrsr

of the last movern~~~c-wcturn our heads ru rhr right shoulder

Chanrrng rhr ,nunil Oh. b!nrvl!

hrad ,11i~%
rlwn reniru to ct-ntcr.

lift i m r r

C;hmtrng the sound Ah, slrnvI\- turn \our

m Irtt .~ndicnrrn to center.

III'RCI

Chaptine tlrc ruund Aa. do~vlr.turn your

11mJto tlic right and rrtnrn to cenrer.

;h3
Chmrin~tht sound Ee.

,I~nvl!

hiurr

!xwr henJ and return to ccnrcr.

(Jranrmg thr ~clundUu. looking stta~ghr

ahead. ~lo\vlr.lock !Q I I ~hcad i L r i+p~nl
and
karkuard 2nd then rcnlrn t o icnttr.

and thcn rerurra to ccntcr.The \otmJ Ec ir a dur lrndrr a Icrrcr, rI~usrrlc lo~\tcrollr
heads and rrrur n to cciltcr w h m rnBiiig thc 17.e F
rctlrrscntcd as three

Jots

I'lr~dl!; thc L'u ~ c x m dI >

O ~ I ~ I ~ .

on an ~ n ~ ldnd
c , ~t 1s rcptcsentcd bl. a dot tn thc mlddlrl

of n ircrc~t~l
Iine. T11c a\st>c~accdhrad murcment

5%

f01~vard~ I b~ikxvarcl
J
and

thcn rcturnlng rr, ici~tcr.At first thcsc head movcmcnrs arc cmpllas~zcilrvhcn n c
lnronc each rcspect1r.r vowel >ourid. .Iftter a hart rlinc, rI~eniuvemcnrs bccoinr
\*cry SIIL~CIE, l ~ ilvc
t
TI115

helps

;Jw,I;'s

hare a srnsr of' cnch Inc>rrrnrnt when Joln? tl-u? practlcc.

us s ~ ~ s t athc
~ nsequence of soundr. %\111ch
bccome farrl~ coinplrcnted

in ad~anccdpractlcr,

In Chapter 2, we Ifarlzcd a sFtcm of vorvel sound:.

.111d

.c~sualizatlonschar

arc ashocl,~t~d
~ i t thr
h Trcc of Llie, T h e pmccirr oh tlldr trchnqtlc Icads clnr
la

a stare

t ~ ba1;tncr
t
dnd

Ii.~rmor~y.
Abulat;nas sysrem

1% suincrt

I ~ n diffrrcnt.
r
Hi5

sound> represent rou~els,as the! are nrrrrrcn In Hchrcw. s v r ~ ~ l eivi&

d
spccific
head movements. WhlIc the r ~ a r l r ~system
r
was calm~ngand settling. Xhulafias
system is morc directcd toward dt.\cloplng c l a r ~ r s and conccntmtlon.

HIS

casy ro dcscr~be,but takes consiclcrablc practlce and coinrnlrlnenr to

masrcc Yct, ~t offcrs chc practitioner a port.nclal to dc\clo!> cxcraorc~inar~
skrlls
In concenrranon. T h e dercIoPnlrnt of concci~tratlonis clic founJart011 fbr .dl
adxanc~dbpirr~udIpractjcc.
Wllcn the sekctcd ~r>~vcls
asc uscd with namcs of God, I T is ns tf one is crcanng ncw unir-crses. ,Is mcnt~onedcnrl~cr,rhc mosr rransrmdent GoL{-name is
thc tctragr.~mmntony-h-v-h. IVhen tach Icrtcr rs Frc>nwnccd,t h i s r~mc\\ott!d
rcad jod-br~-\u~-hn.
Howcvrr, in the basic prncticc of n d d q the vc>wcl 011, fur
example, to the 51ur consondnrs, rve would d c r i ~ c?oh, hot? !<or, bop IYrth thc vo\vel
Ah, it would he 136, Etth, ah, birh
51ttiilg srlll, clnprying Four mind, rhanring these consollaiit~an J VDIVC~S wlrh
full focus
dnrir?, you arc c ~ n u l a r i irhc
l ~ asser~tialcrcatiie forcr. B!+ keeping
metliod

Ir

sharF and unconfused, yr~uare crcnrlng pure universes of unadulteratrd sound

, heart.
vibrations. You should attempt to practice in that p u r i t ~of
11Sl'tlN 7 3 3 TIWCK 3
$l$~~f.r't,i

k 3 . t . 1 ~

rhanrs

by d o ~ n g1r d ~ a nby rcadIng I[. Turn now ro Track 3. (A wrrtcen d c > c r ~ ~ t of

~ ochc
n prncrrcc
is included in the Appendix.)
It

IS

much easler ro ltarn thls prnctlcc

COMBINING DOUBLETS
O n e o f the f ~ ~ n d a r n t nttc~c~hln ~ ~ u ctaught
s
by Ahulafa is to chant *'doublets."

A Joublrt is rnadc u p
with thr vowel Oh, a
Oh-'14!, 011-Yee,
Oh-Hu, Oh-Chh.

o t rivowel cornblncd with n cc~nsonant/vowel. Startrng

complctr round could look like Oh-Yoh.
Oh-You.

Oh-Ho.

Oh-Ha,

Oh-Hey,

Oh-Yah.

Oh-He.

Oh-\Gh.
Ot1-\4c, 011-Vu.
Oh-Ha,
Oh-Hey
Oh-Ile,
011-HLI .. . fidlou~edby another cornFlerc
011-Ma,
round lrke t h ~ sbut bcFinnlnF with rhr Ah vowel. This round would he followed
011-\'ah,

bv nnc heginn~ngwith the Aa cowel, then one wrth thc Ec and finall! one w t d ~
the

Uu.

Notice chat this description may srrm confusing whrn you rcaJ it. T h e
c31 part of che brain wants to "figtlre

IK out."

!ngi-

But once you actually hrem to

expri-icnce the d ~ a n t l n gprocess on a somatic level, with thc hody, you will see
thar it works much inore easily than logic had suggested.
internally making the sound of the
Begin by tnhdlnF whdc sirnultanc~usl~

'

To TRACJ<
A I n u l ~ t ~d<~1t.~li.i5
d

w~llmakc the respective

consonant. Always ternernbcr to niovc rhc h a d slishrlr as you makc
vowel. Then, with each exhalauon, you

each sound, as this movement will assist !.our abil~tyto stay with the
correct sequence. Now please turn to Track 4, and
that will cart! !,uu through the pr~cticr.

w111soon esperwnce a flow

~OII

ABULAFIA'S PURE SOUND PRACTICE

The Oh Swnd
la lmaginr that )vu want ro make a pure Oh .sound. Now do it, chancing 01-1
on
a Full exhalation. Notice p u r mind. Each time ic &.ifis, gently come back to the
sounding of Oh. Fee1 where this sound klhrates in p u r body Continue c h a n t q the

011
sound three rimes, comFlrtely covenng the enelre exhatarion with rhc sound.
Ih. Continue makine the Oh sound threc more

tunes,

but as you are sounding

the vowel, slfiwls snif gmr(la ra~sryorrr~fare

arid Atad a few ~ n c t ~ eas
s , tf ?nu are look-

ing u p

at

the twelve on a Iargc clock in front o f you. Return to center a s each

cxhalat~oncomer to an end, so you 15,111 be moving your hcdd chrec times, once
o n each exhaiatlon. N o w rest

for a few rnomenrs.

The Ah Sound
2a. Imagine you want to ~rnakea pure Ah sound. Chanr Ah for a full exhalation.
Each time the mind drifts, gently bring your consciousness back t o the soundrne
of Ah. Notice where rhls sound vibrates in your body. Continue with threc Ah
sounds, completeIy covering the entire exhalation with the sound.
niovcqnirr h~d~ n dface
2h. As yuu arc sounding Ah three more times, slowk and
tmvartl your left shoulder as if looking at nine o'clock on a large clock in frcrnr of
you. Kemrn to cenccr a each exhdarron comes ro m rnd. 50 !nu will tw rnorbinq your
hear three times, once on each exhalarion. Now rcsr qu;etl;r for a few moments.

The Aa Sound
3a. Repeat 22 for the pure A a sound,

3b. Repeat 2h Ibr the Xa sound, this time ~~r~lvirgyorrr

h~lrdtorvurrl' t h ~
rght shouldfr
(three o'clock, anL{ rcrurning to center on tach cxhalatlon.

The Ee Sound
4a. RcFcac 2a for the pure Ee so~ind.

4b.Rcptat 2b for the Ee sound. this timr

wavrng3vrir hrsd iSlriu~t~wordtht-_floor(six

o'clock~land returning to center on each exhalation.

The UU Sound
5, Repeat 2a for the

FUrC

Crr

bound.

5b. Repcat 7h. this tlmc with two movements: First, p~rshthe head gt~rt(t.fiward,

if moving che head inro the mlddIe of ihe clock. Next,

rhr
sslYLh i~ebtrrdarltrr Finall!; rcrurn ro center.
Both forward and backward and rhcn rcrr~rningto cenrer arc a11 done o n rach
~xhnlatlonwhile simriltancot~sI~
sounding the Uu.
Thus, we hare fivc s o u n d l n ~rowels and six directions: up, left, nght, down,
forward and back, rrprcsrncing the SIX dtrcctions of space. During this pmctlcc.
we bccornr thr ccntrr of thc creation of a mulr~tudeof ~ u r euniverscc. in all
dit ections. T h ~ bis very pou~erful,deepl! settling, with extraordinar? bencfirs on
lonkin,~_forwanT,as

head hnck t~ iitlrcr irt~drontrnue ptrllzni bark

the JeveI of purtfication.

REPEATING THE SEQUENCE

T h e o ~ d c lin which the head m o t ~ o n sare dcscr~hrdahovc 1s a scqurnie that rn
Abulafia practlce IS aIwa!.s folIowed: up. Icft, right, down, forward, and backward.
In additinn. there head movemenrs are always as.;ocintcJ with dle ro\vei sounds:

Oh (up;. Ah (left). Aa (right), Ee (down), a n d Uu (funvad and backward".

Now. add 'the y-h-v-h. dnmg a round o f rowels fbr cach consonant: ?oh,
vah. yay. yce, yu; ho. hah, hey he, hu: vo, vah, vqv, we. ru; and finally repeating
hn. hah, hey, he, hu.
Practrce this scquenrc O F head movrmencs and make the associated s o ~ ~ n d s .
one prr cxhal~tlon,for at least [en minutes, extending cach eshalatlon to cornfcjrrabk lengrhs. Llsrrn to thr sound of your own voice, feel the lntcrnal vibrations as the sound ~ h ~ f tand
s , allow the mrnd to rest as much as possibIe.
T h e imporcant p r t of this inicinl process is rn crnbod? the sounds and hraJ
movements In a rvay that the sequence heromps natural and a~tromaric.T h e head
movements rhcmselres sl~ouldbecome increas~ngIysubtle, so as not to make
yourwIf dlzt!; hut they shotrld a l r ~ a be
~ s done In some wa!; even ~f only an rnch
or so of rach movement. It will not rake long before you will n o t h a w to refer
t o the chart, bur will in facr haw an automattc rngralnrd relacionship with the
sounds a11dhead movements.

VOCAL CHANTING AND SILENT CHANTlNG

Practice this process tach day for ar least
forty-five minutes.

you

~FWY~I
ininutrs, bur

nil l o l ~ than
~ ~ r

krl comfortable doing this sequence with your eyes

C I O S P ~ . you can dternatr vocaI c h a n c ~ nrvith

~ silent trlrernal chanting rn whtch you
c o n r i ~ x ~toe hear the sorlnds In your mind but you do not x,ocal~zcthem.
ZVhiIc ruial chanting can only be nccomplishcd o n cxhdat~nns,Internal slIenc
chanting can easilv be exrcnded ro borh inhalations and rxhalatrons. IYhm

vocalizing. br sure to start the sound Frecisc.ly at the moment you bcpn t o
exhale and cn coordinate thr. complcr;on of the sound wrth thc end nC t I ~ ccxI~aIacion. Jl'hcn shifcing tu silrnt chanting, it is st111important to ~ ~ n c h r u n i zefir
c
innrr sound with thr tSxacc moments o f beginning and ending cnch inhalation

and rxhalat~on,to [Ire best of your ability. The object is to immerse oneself in
rhc cxprricncc of the breath and its sound.
One way to do srlenr c h ~ n t i n g1 5 sirnpl! to follow the i.equrnce o f consonanrs cornbined wr th thc regular secluencc of r-owels. There are numcraus
y o s s ~ b ~ l ~for
c ~ edetermining
s
which of many variations you m11 undertake. See

the following charts.

VARlATIONS ON ABULAFIA'S YH-VH

BREATH PRACTICE (reddl ng ~ O L I ~ Iench
I
rohr mr!)
(Notiic thar each column could switch exhalations for inhalations and could be
read froin thr bottam up ~ n s r e a dof the top down; thus each column rrprcsents
four F o ~ i b l evariations, giving a total of sixrcen variations. Column A is the
easi~st;Column C is the must J~fficuEt.)
(Keep ;n mind to minimalIy move the head according co the inner ~ o ~ v e l

solmd: Oh (up), Ah (!eft), Aa ( r i ~ h r ) Ec

, (down). Uu T.forwarJand backward).

...

I~thale. .

Exhale

Inhale . . . 5

You

You

Eshalc . .

Mo

Ho

I-ld

Vah

Hev

Ha

\'a

\ 'ec

Inhjlc ..

IS

Exhale . .. 10

Inhale .. . I 7
Exhale .. . I8

. . 19
Eshalc ... 20
Inhale

ABULAFIA'S BREATH AND CHANTING

PRACTICE WITH DOUBLETS
Each doublet is madr up of' an init~alvowel. co br wliispered intcrnaIly on cach
inhalation, followed by a consonant cln the cshalarion.1Jc will give herc only the
easiest

form. There are many

possible vdrrations

that the advanced practit~oncr

will he able to work out on hls o r her own. Keep

In

mind to minimallr move

the head accord~ngto the Inner vowel sound: Oh (up), Ah (Icft!, Aa (nghtj, Er
(down). U u ,forward and backward;.

Y-H-V-H doublet sequence beginning with the vowel Oh.

Instrucc~ons:Read the columns vercicaIly, rllF ro bottom, first all o f A, then B, C
and D. Inhale the sound O h sllcntly, exhale and vocalizr clze rrs~ectivevowel sound
in a quiet whisper. Brcathc normally, d o not rush o r intentionally lengthen thr
breach. Ewntualls the entire practice can be accom~lishrdsilrncIy When the Oh
stquence is completed as shown, continue with the Ah scqucnce on next page.
A

Tnhalc

Oh

Oh

Exh~lc

Yeh

Ho

Oh
Voh

Oh
Ho

Inhde

Oh

Exhalr

011
Yah

Ha

011
\hh

011
Ha

Inhalc

Oh

Oh

Oh

Oh

Euhale

Yay

Hay

\[I?

Hay

Inhale
ExhaIc

Oh

Oh

Oh

Oh

Ite

He

\ke

He

InhaIe

Oh

Oh

Oh

Oh

ExhaIe

Yoti

Hu

\ '11

Hu

Y-H-V-H doublet sequence beginning with the vowel Ah.

A
Inhale

Ah

Erhale

Yoh

InhaIc

Ah
Yah

EvhaIc
Inhale

-4ll

Exhalc

Hay

Inhale

Ah

Exhalc

He

Inhale

Ah

Eahalr

Hu

Y-H-V-H doublet sequences beginning with the vowels Aa, Ee and Uu.
Alirr cornplesing t I ~ cAh sequence, the practice conrrnues wlth .m Aa seqalcnct.,
simply r u b s t ~ r t ~ r Aa
i n ~as the vowel sound,then an Ee sequence and finally a U u
sequence. The completion o f the Uu sequencr is considered one full round.
Many students practice untd they are ahk to do a full round at the beginning
of each meditation Fcriod.This requires considrrahle concentration and s~gnificandy clerprns one's praccice when a round 1s accumplished without mistakes.
UThenrhe above scquencc 1s mastered, new sequences that are mote challenging
can be developed by che student.