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Click here to
download a pdf version of our distance learning kabbalah brochure (includes
application form)
Click here to download
a pdf version of our distance learning psychosynthesis brochure (includes
application form)
Kabbalah:
Kabbalah is a way of understanding all aspects of ourselves and is a rewarding
guide for personal and spiritual development.
Based on a map of consciousness called the Tree of Life, Kabbalah, or Qabalah
(an alternative spelling), is relevant to modern everyday life, offering
greater freedom and fulfillment through including the experience of both
our spirit and shadow sides.
Want to know more about Kabbalah, Qabalah and the
Tree of Life?
What is the difference between Kabbalah
and Qabalah?
Is non-Jewish Kabbalah authentic
or not?
What group courses do you offer?
What books can I read about Kabbalah?
Do you have any articles I can read
about Kabbalistic topics?
What does Kabbalah say about sex
and parenting?
Is Kabbalah a kind of therapy?
What is the link between Kabbalah
and Christianity?
What are energy bodies and how
does Kabbalah describe them?
What does Kabbalah say mediumistic
or channeled material?
What links do you have to Kabbalah,
Qabalah and related topics?
Want to know more
about Psychosynthesis?
Psychosynthesis brings together the two traditions of psychology and mysticism.
Psychology is then infused with a sense of soul and meaning, whilst the
mystery traditions benefit from the grounding and reflective qualities of
psychology.
Psychosynthesis is a practical system which is not about the application
of techniques, but learning to live with a vision that comes from deep within
oneself.
What is Psychosynthesis?
(a longer answer)
What group based courses do you offer?
What books can I read about Psychosynthesis?
Do you have any articles I can read
about Psychosynthesis topics?
Can I have Psychosynthesis counselling
or therapy?
Do you have links to other Psychosynthesis
sites?
Anything we haven't covered, please let us know
Available Now!
Psychosynthesis:
The Elements and Beyond
everything ypu need
to understand and use
the visions and technques
of psychosynthesis
Divination works on the principle that everything is connected to everything
else. Through investigating one thing we can glean information about something
else. Divination takes a divination tool ‚ the tarot cards, stones, sticks,
patterns in tealeaves, and so on ‚ and relates the information revealed
through its use to the life of the querant (the person for whom the divination
is done.) The idea that pictures on cards or patterns of stones, for instance,
might reveal information about someoneís life is strange to the Newtonian
linear world view that has so influenced Western science for centuries.
That world view is changing, however, as ideas from the New Science become
popularised. Many people world-wide have heard of the notion that a butterfly
beating its wings in, for instance, Hanoi could cause a hurricane in, say,
Ontario, even if they donít fully understand why. That is the nature of
modern Quantum theories, we do not nor cannot understand what happens with
our linear thought, not even the scientists who make up the theories can
do that, but the theories describe things that do happen. As Fritzjof Kapra
says in his book ëThe Tao of Physicsí: ëParticles are not isolated grains
of matter, but are probability patterns, interconnections in an inseparable
cosmic web.í This statement forms the basis of the theory of how divination
works, it is just usually described in more esoteric language.
To be able to understand the message received through divination, the diviner
has to change her or his consciousness in some way. Following a particular
practice, usually shamanic in some way, the diviner receives messages from
spirits from another world. Such messages are interpreted by the diviner
in a way that helps the querant deal more effectively with their future
life. Sometimes this information takes the form of fore-knowledge and prediction,
but usually it is more ambiguous and unspecific ‚ warnings, suggestions,
images, portents, possibilities and so on. In divinatory systems such as
the tarot, a dialogue between the diviner and the querant often adds more
information, fleshing out the message from the tarot thus enabling the revelations
to be more specifically applied. In other systems of divination, such as
from oracles, the messages are usually more ambiguous and open to a wide
variety of interpretations. Sometimes they are non verbal messages, definitely
aimed at affecting the unconscious mind of the querant. Part of the individual
seekerís work is then to use this knowledge to guide them in their subsequent
life events.
There are many practices undertaken by diviners to put them in the right
state to receive inspiration. Most if not all aim in some way to still and
empty the mind of the practitioner. Through ëturning off the inner dialogueí
we open ourselves to other realms of being and understanding from whence
we can return with the new divinatory knowledge. Whilst we all innately
have this ability, some people are more skilled at achieving this stillness
and openness. Everyone can undertake a divination, however, because the
work is not about having psychic abilities per se, but more about being
able to put oneís own concerns and interests aside for a few brief moments
and concentrate on another personís life journey. Whilst sometimes it is
difficult to do this, even the most basic counselling course shows how easily
people not only can but are willing to listen to others.
Once we are in this position, of being attendant to another, we do not need
to develop psychic abilities. Such powers emerge as and when appropriate.
The second major skill for a diviner, after being able to still the mind,
is not to be attached to psychic powers but to let them come and go as needed.
When individuals become attached to psychic powers it can lead to all kinds
of delusion, glamour, and dishonesty. There is an old joke about a psychic
who says, ëI see nothingí but such honesty is a refreshing aspect of a true
psychic. There is nothing wrong with developing psychic abilities, or in
making oneself a suitable receptacle for psychic powers if they come. The
point is, however, that we become good diviners not through developing powers
but through developing ourselves. We are then ready when such powers emerge,
which they will do, using an effective divination tool such as the tarot.
For divination to work we need what I call the ëthree ëpísí ‚ provision,
preparation and procedure. Provision is simply having the time and space
in which to do a divination and the required tools, in this case a pack
of tarot cards. Provisions might also include a candle, incense, a cloth
to lay the cards on and so on, all of which can help focus the energy of
the diviner. This is where preparation comes in, for to be effective the
tarot reader has to:
- be centred
- be tuned in to her or his intuition
- be not attached to the results of the divination
- have no personal preference for how the cards unfold
- honour all living beings, and trust her or his inner sense of what is
right or wrong
- be willing to trust in their ability to be a diviner.
Before laying the cards out, the diviner simply holds the cards, using her
or his senses to ëfeelí what might be present, to get a sense of the energies
waiting to emerge. This might sound very mystical and difficult but really
it is just a matter of being quiet and focussing your attention. After the
diviner has held the cards, and taken a moment to centre her or himself,
the cards are then handed to the querant. The querant then shuffles or in
some way mixes the cards up, all the while focussing on the here and now
moment, and any specific questions being asked. He or she then places the
cards down in the pre-arranged pattern (if necessary with the help of the
diviner.) The diviner then turns over the cards and begins the interpretation.
Once the cards are laid out, the most important thing for the diviner is
to simply just see what is there without expectation or judgement. Not to
get caught up in trying to finds answers or meaning, just looking for what
is obvious and clear, without complication. It is important to get a sense
of the cards and what they depict ‚ for instance, looking at the posture
and gesture of any figures on the card can reveal much, as can which cards
appear to be in or out of relationship with other cards.
The basic procedure of divination can be summarised in five words:
- look
- feel
- ask
- listen
- trust
When the cards are not being used they should be kept in a safe place that
you treat as sacred ‚ that simply means, not to use the cards for other
purposes, but to treat them with respect. One way to do this is through
using your will and imagination and keeping the cards in a temple of the
tarot. You create this temple through a visualisation. Then whenever you
pick up the cards, you imagine you are taking them up from the altar in
the temple of the tarot. Similarly, whenever you finish using the cards
you place them in imagination, back into their sacred space in the temple.
(If you want to know more about divination specifically using the Tarot,
read the article: Tarot and
the Journey of life)
Will Parfitt is a UKCP registered psychotherapist and an experienced
and innovative group leader. Trained in Psychosynthesis, he has more than
thirty years experience of working with psychospiritual development, and
he travels internationally to run courses on a variety of subjects including
kabbalah and psychosynthesis. Will is author of several books
including 'Kabbalah for Life' and 'Psychosynthesis: the Elements and Beyond'.
© Will Parfitt 2006 (v7.1)