“Within every human is Being: total Presence. Absolute consciousness, stillness, silence, and peace can all be used to describe that which Is.” (from the book Patterns of Creation.)
In Biblical Hebrew these teachings are put into story form, where the emerging consciousness is symbolised by the names of people and places.
(Jacob’s ladder by Albert Huthusen)
Jacob – Symbol of the Awakening Soul
In the story of Jacob, the awakening Soul leaves Beer-Sheba (In Hebrew, the seven springs) and journeys to Haran (In Hebrew, a meeting of ways, crossroads, to burn or glow, and to be freeborn).
In Biblical symbolism, to journey is to encounter greater consciousness.
On this journey of inner ascent, Jacob – the awakening Soul – encounters a place of deep stillness. This point within the Soul is described as an upwelling of abiding strength: a place of Brilliance (Light), emanating out of a timeless Presence which the Soul realises as its source and foundation.
The Hebrew text says that, Jacob lays down to die in this established place of HaHoa, the breath of life.
Hoa – one of the Divine Names – means Breath of Life in Hebrew.
(Jacob’s Dream – El sueño de Jacob (1639) by José de Ribera)
Jacob encounters the Inner Presence of Elohim in the exaltation of conscious Presence.
Presence – I AM consciousness – dissolves the personality until there is just enough to function in the world. The personal self is realised as a dream, and becomes transparent so that Presence shines through. This brings to an end all needless suffering and limitation.
To feel the aliveness of the boundless Presence of Life requires no thought.
Breathing deeply with awareness whilst feeling the energy field of the inner body as intensely as you can creates space.
The ego does not like Presence and will complain and try to distract you.
Practicing conscious breathing, is the beginning of freedom from identity with thought forms; the beginning of the end of the small self of the ego.
This reveals Presence – called Hoa and Elohim in the Hebrew text of Jacob’s Ladder – the source, out of which all life forms continually arise.
(A fuller translation of the story of Jacob from the Hebrew is available in the book Patterns of Creation.)
