In The River of Ecstasy:
The Art & Science of Reunion

This article was published in the October/November 2002 issue of In Touch Magazine, New Zealand.

I woke up in bliss this morning as I have been doing for many years. My bliss began with the study and practice of the ancient mystical traditions of Europe and Arabia. At first it was just a glimmer of the bliss that was to come. Yet even in the beginning, I felt a powerful and definite passion to fully experience life from the unified consciousness of spirit. The taste of ecstasy sustained me, and drove me ever onward in the quest for spiritual life.

As I continued to study, meditate and practice over the years, ecstatic states occurred as natural and spontaneous expressions of merging with higher consciousness. The disciplines of the mystical arts are specifically designed to bring about immense self-transformation, and an experience of oneself as a fully divine being. Kept as secret teachings among various esoteric orders for thousands of years, the ancient mystical traditions of ecstasy are emerging in modern times as mechanisms for powerful change within every level of one's being.

Though described in numerous ways throughout their many years of existence, and with diverse styles of practice and study recommended by the different schools, the attainment of an ecstatic state of consciousness forms a central focus for practitioners ranging from Sufi masters to esoteric scientists. Ecstasy is defined in the mystical teachings as "prophecy, vision, and merging with the divine." The condition of ecstasy brings a profound experience of joy and bliss that strengthens and increases one's personal power and passion for life. The ecstatic traditions teach a philosophy of mysticism that provides specific techniques designed to alter consciousness, and lead to direct knowledge of the Messiah within.

Natural consequences of having experienced such a state of complete fusion between spirit and body include the ability to heal oneself and others; the development of spiritual gifts such as expanded multidimensional perceptions and precognition; knowledge, understanding, and command of the principles and energies of creation; and communication with non-physical beings of consciousness. In advanced practices, one works with various geometrical patterns of spiritual energy to access and increase the life-force energy within the physical body. This level of practice ultimately leads to a conscious and clarified alignment with masculine and feminine creation energies, and the expansion of ecstatic states through sacred relationship.

One master of the mystical arts who first introduced the ecstatic traditions of Arabia in Europe was Rabbi Abraham Abulafia. He was born in Saragossa in 1240 C.E., and taught his disciples the mysteries of ecstasy from the age of thirty until his death in 1291. Known to scholars and mystics as the father of Ecstatic Kabbalah, Abulafia spent his early years studying and practicing the Grecian philosophies, Sephardic Kabbalah, and Sufism. Rabbi Abulafia's life and teachings marked a radical departure from the purposes and techniques of the traditional theosophical Kabbalah of the Jews and Christians of the thirteenth century.

Ecstatic Kabbalah is based upon spiritual science as is theosophical Kabbalah, but the former includes essential expressive arts and mystical experiences that the practitioner must master. Both traditions involve study and discussion of the Sephiroth, the spheres and channels of the Tree of Life. However, in addition to other significant differences, theosophical Kabbalists view the Tree of Life as a symbolic scripture containing teachings about the nature of God that are to be mentally analysed as a field of study. The ecstatic Kabbalist uses the Tree of Life as a map that not only contains the secrets divine being, but also the living energies of creation itself. S/he undertakes special practices that lead to union: the complete identification and fusion with the spiritual essences held within the symbols and patterns of the Tree. Through this process, one's identity shifts from that of the limited human persona to knowledge of oneself as a fully divine being, attaining and integrating all of the powers and potencies that are natural to such a being.

As the teachings of mystical ecstasy spread throughout Europe, many new spiritual schools were founded, and the ecstatic traditions began to expand beyond the limited structures of the dominant religions and their holy orders. These schools operated as independent initiatory organisations, combining the philosophies of the various ecstatic lineages into new and vibrant forms. Because his unique work involved the blending of many religious teachings and practices, Abraham Abulafia was renowned as “a pillar of Christian Kabbalah, as well as one of the two pillars of Jewish Kabbalah”, and his students came from every religion.

Although Rabbi Abulafia taught the discipline of solitude as one of the requirements for the attainment of prophetic ecstasy, some of his disciples lived according to earlier initiatory customs, and resided in communities devoted to the study and mastery of the mystical arts and sciences. As the teachings attracted greater public interest, these initiatory communities shared certain elements of the tradition more openly. Kabbalistic philosophies and practices began to be recognized and studied as the western equivalents to the ancient spiritual and metaphysical traditions of India and Tibet. By the end of the nineteenth century, Kabbalistic philosophy formed the core educational component of many modern mystery schools and fraternities in Europe and North America.

Today, the ancient ecstatic traditions of Arabia are kept vibrant, alive, and ever expanding by disciples of the mystical lineages. These practices offer nothing less than the greatest personal empowerment we can attain in this life and beyond. One who undertakes these disciplines begins a process of removing limitation from every level of being through powerful personal experiences of ecstasy. The techniques are very precise and highly potent in their ability to shift and expand human consciousness because they are grounded in the original science of creation.

 A core element in beginning ecstatic practices is the creation of a state of extremely focused mental concentration. This mental concentration is increased and perfected during the performance of ceremonies, physical movements and ecstatic dance, music, and through the use of specific meditations involving imagery, breath, and chanting. As practice deepens, the physical body begins to receive subtle infusions of increased life-force energy, and the initial mental concentration shifts into a state of free flowing awareness. Crossing the threshold into divine consciousness, one enters into a uniquely personal and holistic experience of bliss during which valuable knowledge is transmitted. This direct experience of ecstasy awakens the inherent wisdom contained within the cellular structure of the physical body.

When the individual practitioner has attained experience and mastery in the essential disciplines, the advanced techniques for couples can be initiated. In the ecstatic tradition, the greatest realization of divine being comes about through the relationship between a man and a woman. The connection and bond between the couple is considered to be the most direct experience of the full manifestation and power of divine creation in physical life. As each person within the couple comes into clarified alignment with the primal essences of male and female energy, a potent blending and fusion of these forces takes place within and through their physical bodies. When relationship is considered and experienced in this way, it becomes a truly sacred dynamic that empowers and honours the male and female and their unique energetic expressions.

The spiritual traditions of ecstasy that originated in ancient Arabia have been nourished and extended over hundreds of years by practitioners in Europe, North America, Australia, and New Zealand. In their modern expressions they form a vibrant and comprehensive system for personal spiritual development that is specific to the psychology and culture of western people. The arts and sciences of mystical ecstasy offer an ageless promise of reunion with our vital essence - the divine love within. Touching the intensity of this exquisite ecstasy, flowing within the river of life itself, we discover who we really are and what we have come here to do.

The Tree of Life is the primary "scripture" used in the mystical traditions of Kabbalah. Kabbalah is a Hebrew word that means, "to receive" or "the reception." There is no book called Kabbalah although many scholars and practitioners have written books about the Tree of Life. The Tree is composed of ten Sephiroth, which means "spheres," and twenty-two pathways connecting the spheres. In the esoteric sciences, the Tree of Life is considered to be a comprehensive representation of the universe, both manifest and unmanifest, and the process whereby all things move in and out of creation. In the mystical arts, the Tree is also interpreted as a glyph of the creation process, but practitioners also use it as a spiritual instrument to bring forth the inherent divine capabilities of the human.

Each sphere of the Tree of Life contains specific spiritual essences that may be brought into manifestation through the use of vibrational formulas. Each pathway serves as a conduit between the specific forces of the spheres it connects, and also represents various states of consciousness that practitioners of the mystical arts attain to in their progression toward divine being. The spheres are numbered from one to ten, and have Hebrew names representing their particular powers. The pathways are associated to the letters of the Hebrew alphabet, which symbolize the stages of the enlightenment process, and the fusion of creation energies in the body, mind, and soul of the practitioner.