The Course in Jewish healing                       July 2009

A quick tour through The Four Worlds of Jewish Mysticism

The World of Action-Earth

The World of Formation-Water

The World of Creation-Fire

The World of Emanation-Air

Understanding Healing
Healing derives from within, not from others or outside sources. Your physician, your psychotherapist cannot really know what you feel inside; only you know. That is why you must become responsible for your own healing. Health care professionals can only inform and guide you, but you must make the ultimate choices as to how your healing will proceed. You have to work at your own pace, at your own level, rather than having anyone tell you what you should be doing or where you should be. Healing takes place in life, not in a health care professional's office. Your own daily life experiences are your best teachers, only if you pay attention to what each momentary occurrence is trying to tell you.
Psychoneuroimmunology
Jewish healing can assist in the effectiveness of professional medical or psychological treatment. Many doctors today recognize the efficacy of alternative medicine, the combination of holistic therapies combined with standard medical or psychological procedures.
From "A Framework for Jewish Healing" the notion of psychoneuroimmunology, a relatively new field of medicine that claims the mind provides numerous healing benefits for the body, may have become evident. Spirituality begins in the mind through the power of the imagination and from there filters its way deep into the spiritual dimension. Spirit can be compared to the operating system of your computer; it's responsible for running all the software. Like the computer, we too are programmed to function physically, emotionally and mentally; if there are glitches in our software, some of the programs may not run so well.
Stress
One of the principal causes of human software malfunction is stress. A certain amount of stress is beneficial; it keeps us on our toes. But an over abundance causes the "fight or flight" response to kick in and places many bodily functions in overdrive. Chemical changes occur that create imbalances in our psychophysical makeup which lays the groundwork for illness. Jewish healing attempts to bring spirit into our lives to untie the knots that bind us.

Disclaimer: this web site does not presume to offer medical advice or prescribe the use of any technique as treatment for any physical or psychological disorder without the consent of a physician, psychologist or psychotherapist. This site should not be a substitute for proper medical and psychological care. You can use the resources here to complement professional intervention. In the event you use any of the information on this website, the author or webmaster does not assume any responsibility for your actions. The intent of this website is only to offer information of a general nature to help you in your quest for personal growth and healing.

The Four Worlds of Jewish Mysticism
The Zohar, the authoritative text of Jewish mysticism teaches the concept of universes or worlds which contains the fundamentals of Jewish healing. These worlds, which are nothing more than shades of energy that span the boundaries between heaven and earth, have been understood by ancient civilizations since the dawn of mankind. The Jewish worlds were limited to four--other cultures ascribe other numbers--and these correspond to the ancient natural elements of earth, water, fire and air. In Judaism they are the Worlds of Assiah (action), Beriah (formation), Yetsirah (creation) and Atzilut (emanation). These four also relate to the yod, heh, vav, heh; God's ineffable name.
Each session of our healing journey will take us through each of the four worlds. The element of earth relates to the body and its sensations; water pertains to every facet of our emotions and relationships. Fire is the energy of the mind, like those electrical impulses that go whizzing around inside our brain; and air, with its delicate, vaporous characteristics brings to mind our spiritual nature.
Our definition of health assumes that each of the four elements needs to be in balance with one another. Either excess or a deficiency of any one of the four contains the cause of illness. In other words, a disease state is an imbalance of the body/mind continuum, otherwise known as the four worlds.

Our Goal For July 2001 
Opening the self
Opening the self is a process that begins in silence as we spend time observing and exploring our breathing, the sensations and feelings in our bodies, the thoughts and images in our minds. The answer to any of life's problems, whether global as the treath of war, or as personal as coping with the loss of a loved one, begins with such awareness.
Awakening to our life means to dig beneath the layers of pain and find hidden treasures. These treasures are an openness of heart, an ability to feel. We can become unafraid of expressing pain or sadness, or of showing uncertainty. The richness of our lives is the ability to trust ourselves, to share our particular wisdom and insight.
The task of exploration is strenuous; it calls for patience, courage and perseverence. As pioneers of the mind, we go wholeheartedly into the unknown. As we sit and explore who we are, we find that nothing separate, solid or static exists. Who we are is revealed as a changing process of body/mind. In this acknowledgement we become the love, the light, of which the universe is made.

A Journey Through Four Worlds
This month we continue work on the Four Worlds. It is not necessary to start at the beginning; you could start
anywhere that's most comfortable, doing any one or all of the exercises in each World.
When working on any of the Worlds, it is important to try to keep your body as relaxed as possible and
breathe deeply. It could also be helpful to keep your eyes closed. We suggest you print out these pages to
work from. Some people prefer to record the exercises on a tape recorder, so your own voice provides the
necessary guidance. Healing work takes place on all levels concurrently. Remember God is the healer; we are his
partners in the process. It is our own responsibility to do the necessary work.
 

Earth [top of page]                                The World of Assiyah                                                     The Body
This exercise and those to follow in future months are designed to bring renewed awareness to the body. In
the process of growing up we lost much of the sensitivity of our bodies. As infants we relied heavily of
physical sensations, like wet, hungry or uncomfortable. The years of intellectual education has brought our
focus into our minds--we learned to think matters through--while leaving the sensations of the body behind.
The body is our source of spiritual and healing wisdom. Getting in touch with our bodies brings up clues to
what's gone wrong, physically or emotionally. Our emotions, for example, are actually feelings--sensations
we experience somewhere in our bodies. Spiritually our bodies live in the present moment where we are
most capable of encountering God, our source of healing energy.

     - Being aware of your body means having your attention fully in your body so that mind and body
     become united.
     - Being aware of your body quiets your mind and reawakens your senses. As you become more and
     more aware, your self-confidence grows.
     - With greater awareness of the body, you can learn to take more responsibility for your own well
     being.

for July
Exploring sensations
1. Lie down on a rug or firm bed and get comfortable. Begin by taking several slow, deep breaths.
2. Close your eyes. Check yourself for comfort. Become aware of your breathing. Be fully aware of your body.
3. Let your awareness sweep over your body. Does it feel heavy or light, cold or warm? Is there pain, sensation or tension anywhere?
4. Each time you are aware of sensation, bring your full attention to it. Explore it deeply.
5. Bring your attention to your neck and shoulders. Is there any tension there? Direct your breath into any tension area and note the sensation before and after you breathe into it.
6. Bring your attention to your torso. Be aware of any sensations in your chest, your abdomen or pelvis? Direct your breath into any tension area and note the sensation before and after you breathe into it.
7. Bring your attention to your legs and feet. Do you feel anything there? Direct your breath into any tension area and note the sensation before and after you breathe into it.
8. Now, bring your attention to your entire body. Become fully aware of any warmth, cold, tingling, tickling, pain, numbness. Direct your inbreath into any tension area and and breath out any uncomfortable sensations you may have experienced.
9. Notice if there is any difference in your body from when you began this exercise. When you are ready, open your eyes.
Brachah for healing the body: Blessed are You, Lord our God, King of the Universe who heals all flesh and acts wondrously.

Water [top of page]                                             The World of Beriah                                     Emotions
Water is one of the purifying forces in Jewish literature. Notice the Torah passages that relate to purification by water (The Flood, The Parting of the Sea and the ritual of mikveh).  Water element issues relate to relationships, sexuality, reproductive or urinary disorders. If you have concerns in any of these areas, it could be helpful to concentrate your healing efforts in this direction.

Self esteem. Positive self esteem is our deepest psychological need. Self esteem is the experience of being competent to deal with the challenges of life and of being deserving of happiness.  Negative beliefs about yourself  trigger negative feelings. If what you believe about yourself  is in conflict with reality, you are bound to react with painful emotions. Poor self esteem are mind patterns that we have learned in growing up, but it is possible to exchange old, useless ideas with ones that are more in touch with reality. These are a few examples of beliefs that you may have learned from your childhood.
 

How does your belief system injure your self esteem? Make up a similar list of your own beliefs.

Learning more about yourself is an important step in the process of healing. Through deep personal introspection, you can begin to recognize behavior patterns in your life that may be inappropriate which may prevent you from living your life fully. You can discover areas in your life that needs change? It may be helpful to keep a journal of your responses to these questions and those that will appear in future months.

for July
Exploring feelings
1. Find a comfortable sitting position, close your eyes and take a few minutes to sit with your breath. Become aware of what your feeling in the moment.
2. Is there a feeling of joy, of sadness, of anger, of sorrow, of pain, of calm?
3. Watch the feelings and notice where they are located in the body. Is there any tightness or tension connected with any particular feeling?
4. Notice whether the feeling moves from one place to another in your body. Does the feeling change?
5. Take one particular feeling and make a close and careful observation of it. Is there a particular thought or image associated with the feeling? Does the feeling feel contained or do you experience it throughout your body?
6. Accept the feeling without trying to push it away or keep it constant. Keep breathing with the feeling.
7. Simply let the feeling be. Observe it as a process rather than identifying with it.
8. Think "feeling" rather than "this is my feeling" Feel the feeling without any identification or attachment.
9. Simply feeling. Feeling. Feeling.
10. Let the feeling go deeper as if the feeling were a large onion and you are peeling away its layers. What is under layer after layer? After all the layers are peeled away, what's left?
11. When the feeling has released, changed or transformed, sit with your breathing for a while and notice whether there is any difference in your mind or body.
10. If the feeling has not released, changed or transformed, simply know that it is a feeling,  a changing process of the body and the mind. While it may not have changed in these moments, know that it could change sooner or later.
When you are ready open your eyes. Be aware of any differences of feeling in the next few minutes, hours or days that may be connected with having done this exercise.

Review these questions again and note which answers create some negative feeling in your body. The ones that create the sensation are probably the ones that need to be changed. You can make the changes by sitting with the feeling a few minutes, breathing deeply and repeat the difficult questions as often as you feel necessary. In time the negative feelings will subside and the belief will no longer have hold on you.

Brachah for healing the emotions: Blessed are You, Lord our God, King of the Universe who gives strength to the weary.

Fire [top of page]                                 The World of Yetzirah                                                    Thought
Fire is one of the purifying and transforming forces in Jewish literature. Notice the Torah passages that relate to purification by fire (The Sacrifical system and the burnt offerings). Fire element issues relate to power, control, powerlessness, the digestive system... If you have concerns in any of these areas, it could be helpful to concentrate your healing efforts in this direction.
Light is a very effective means to heal physical ailments. Before you begin, there are two preparatory aspects you need to keep in mind. The first is to activate your source of  healing power and the second is to is to determine what your ailment actually feels like. This doesn't have to be a clear mental decision, a vague impression will do fine. Create a relaxed atmosphere for yourself before beginning any visualization whether for relief from mental or physical ailments.

Find your source of healing energy. God is the Jewish source of healing energy, but it's difficult, if not impossible, to visualize an inexpressible, transcendent God. We could however devise a symbolic image to serve our purposes. Images such as a brilliant light, a laser beam, a golden shimmering ball, a fully lit menorah or even a wise old counselor, could work well. It is important as a first step to design an image of healing energy that feels right to you.

for July
Healing Ourselves
We look to God as the source of everything we need: our wisdom, our food, our livelihood and our healing...everything. Being created in the image of God, it is actually ourselves who is responsible for supplying these basic needs, including healing. We must find the tools we need and learn how to utilize them effectively and then we can properly thank the living God for the blessings we have received. The following exercise, like so many of the ones we have already done, is just one of many that you can find from many different sources: books, audio and video tapes, classes, conferences, etc. It is really up to each one of us to research and locate what works best, then we can reclaim the old adage that "all healing is self-healing".

1. Sit or lie down, relax your body as much as possible , and and start to notice the flow of your breath.

2. As you focus on your breathing, notice that thoughts are coming and going like clouds against a blue sky.

3. Become like the sky, open and vast. Thoughts are clouds. You are the sky.

4. Continue focusing on your breathing. When thoughts come into your mind, bring your attention back to your breathing.

5. Know that thought is simply energy. Observe the thoughts coming and going, without judgment.

6. There is no need  to reject negative thoughts or hold on to positive ones. Thoughts are thoughts, moving, changing.

7. You may want to observe a particular thought and notice what other thoughts are connected to it. You may notice that one thought plays over and over in your mind.

8. Bring your attention back to your breath. Breathing and thinking. Breathing and judging. Breathing and planning. Thoughts coming and going.

9. Thoughts are clouds. You are the sky.

Brachah for healing through the mind: Blessed are You, Lord our God, King of the Universe who gives the heart
understanding to distinguish between day and night.

Air [top of page]                            The World of Atzilut                                                    Spirit
1. Faith is the essential requirement to actualize the healing work that you have done so far. At times it is
more meaningful to have faith that your connection to spirit can effect your healing, more than the healing
work itself. It's not often easy, particularly at times at times of unsettling news, to believe in the awesome
healing possibilities of God, but it can start in small ways. We can start with trust, a quality a little more
down-to-earth. Consider some of the ways we put trust in our everyday affairs--depositing money in the
bank or buying food that's fresh from the market. Once you compile such a list, consider what it would take
to put trust in God's healing abilities. Belief in God's fervent desire to bestow good on mankind is probably
the most effective healing tool of all.

2. Another means to invoke the healing powers of the spiritual dimension is to recite healing psalms. The
celebrated Hasidic master, Rabbi Nachman of Breslov (1772-1810) isolated ten particular psalms as
healing psalms. These songs, better known as Tikkun HaKlali, the complete remedy, are considered to
have special power for healing the body, mind and spirit.
The following is the one hundred and fifth psalm, the eighth psalm of the complete remedy. The suggested method to
extract the most value from psalms is to read one daily for a month, and during each successive reading
attempt to find new and personal meaning in the words and the verses.

           Psalm 105 for July
1. Give thanks to Adonai, proclaim His name, make his deeds known among the nations.
2. Sing to Him, compose songs to Him, speak of all His wonders.
3.  Take pride in uttering His holy name, let the heart rejoice of those who seek Adonai.
4. Search for Adonai and His might, seek his presence continually.
5. Remember His wonders that He has performed, His miracles and the laws from His mouth.
6. You, the seed of Abraham His servant, children of Jacob His chosen ones.
7. He is Adonai, our God, the entire earth is governed by his laws.
8. He remembered His covenant forever, the word which He commanded to a thousand generations.
9. Which He made as a treaty with Abraham, and which was his oath to Isaac.
10. And He established it for Jacob as a statute, for Israel as an everlasting covenant.
11. Saying, "To you I will give the Land of Canaan, the portion of your inheritance".
12. When they were only few in number, very few and strangers in it.
13. And they wandered from nation to nation, from one kingdom to another people.
14. He permitted no one to oppress them, and admonished kings for their sake.
15. "Do not touch my anointed ones, and to My prophets do no harm."
16. And He called for a famine upon the land, every supply of bread he broke.
17. He sent before them a man, as a slave was Joseph sold.
18. They afflicted his foot with fetters, an iron chain was laid on his soul.
19. Until the time that His word came to pass, the word of Adonai purified him.
20. The king sent messengers and release him, the ruler of the peoples, and set him free.
21. He appointed him master of his house, and ruler over all his possessions.
22. To endear his soul to his princes, and make his elders wise.
23. And Israel came to Egypt, and Jacob soujourned in the land of Ham.
24. And He made His people exceedingly fruitful, and made them mightier than their adversaries.
25. He turned their heart to hate His people, to conspire against His servants.
26. He sent Moses, His servant, Aaron who He had chosen.
27. They placed among them words of His signs, and wonders in the land of Ham.
28. He sent darkness and made it dark, and they rebelled not against His word.
29. He turned their waters into blood, and killed their fish.
30.The land swarmed with frogs, in the very chambers of their kings.
31. He spoke and hordes of wild beasts came; vermin within all their borders.
32. He gave their rain in the form of hail, flaming fire in their land.
33. And it smote their vine and their fig tree, and broke the trees within their border.
34.He spoke and the locust came, and the beetle without nunber.
35. And it ate up every herb in the land, and it ate up the fruit of their soil.
36. And He smote the first born in their land, the prime of all their strength.
37. And He brought them out with silver and gold, and none among His tribes stumbled.
38. Egypt rejoiced when they departed, for their fear had fallen upon them.
39. He spread out a cloud for a protective shelter, and a fire to give light in the night.
40. And Israel asked and He brought quail, and with bread from heaven He satisfies them.
41. He opened a rock and waters flowed out, and ran through dry places like a river.
42. For He remembered His holy word, to Abraham his servant.
43. And He brought forth His people, with gladness His chosen ones with singing.
44. And He gave them the lands of nations, and the labor of the peoples they inherited.
45. So they might preserve His statutes, and treasure His law, praise God.

3. Take on the Mitzvah of tz'dakah in your life. Tz'dakah is generally taken to mean giving money to charity.
The word actually is translated as righteousness, not charity. It suggests that we give something or be of
service to others, not necessarily money. For your healing welfare, try to find a project where you can give
to others. It might include visiting the sick regularly, visiting the elderly and the shut-ins, teaching a skill to
someone less accomplished than yourself, listening intensely to anyone who has a burdensome story to
tell. There are unlimited possibilities for giving tz'dakah; if you can't find any, than just give money.

Brachah for healing of spirit: My God, the soul you have placed in me is pure. You created it, You fashioned it, You breathed
it into me, You safeguard it within me, and eventually You will take it from me, and restore it to me in Time to Come. As long
as the soul is within me, I gratefully thank you, HASHEM, my God and the God of my forefathers, Master of all works, Lord of
all souls. Blessed are You, Lord our God, who restores souls to the dead.

Remember healing is an on-going process of taking care of yourself. Have patience, courage and fortitude
and you will prevail. You can start the Course in Jewish Healing at any time. If you have not read,
Groundwork for Jewish Healing, or any of the previous issues of this series, we suggest emailing us for a copy before
you begin the work. The back issues contain material which provide background material to this months Journey Through Four Worlds