<p>Came across a passage in a book I’m reading that nicely summarizes that experience I had. Some background first: Kabbalistic tradition teaches that the soul has five dimensions or levels, and that three of these five are close enough to the Divine that the are inherently pure, no matter what - there’s no way to make them impure.</p>
<blockquote>The Jewish morning prayers include a sentence that says, "My God, the soul (<em>neshama</em>*) you placed within me, she is pure." One can meditate upon this idea to develop self-esteem and to deepen one's sense of interconnectedness with all beings. It is a simple exercise.
Imagine you have a pure light shining within. If you close your eyes, you can get a hint of this light glowing deep inside your being. Then say to yourself, <em>No matter what I may feel about myself, I know that I have a pure soul.</em> When we contemplate this affirmation for a while, we begin to feel a spark of inner peace.
The next step in this practice is to gently acknowledge that every person we encounter has a pure soul. Every time we see someone, we say quietly to ourselves, <em>There is a pure soul; there is another pure soul.</em> Notice that the person could be sweet and amenable, or could have an abrasive personality. IT does not matter. The soul of every being is pure. If we continue this practice for everyone we meet, including those in whose presence we have negative feelings, the ways we relate to ourselves and to others will be dramatically affected. As simple as it may seem, this exercise opens our hearts.
-- Rabbi David Cooper, <em>God is a Verb</em>, p. 106</blockquote>
<p>The experience I had with ‘feeling enlightened’ was a brief taste of this (<em>neshama</em>) I think, which came without form or practice (such as, say, this meditation), and thus came as rather a surprise to me.</p>
<li><em>Neshama</em> is the middle level of the soul and the ‘lowest’ or ‘closest’ level that remains pure. In order from ‘closest to the self’ to ‘closest to the divine’, the levels of the soul are <em>nefesh</em> or physicality, <em>ruach</em> or emotional awareness, <em>neshama</em> or worthiness of character, <em>chayah</em> or awareness of unity, and <em>yedidah</em> or connection with the Divine. To give the rudest of summaries, one’s soul begins in <em>nefesh</em> and, with maturation, is crowned by <em>ruach</em>. <em>Neshama</em> is experienced or gained through proper application and nurturing of the previous two levels (i.e.: healthy living and conscious action). <em>Chayah</em> is the realm of awareness of unity and enlightenment (not as what I experienced) as merging with God, and <em>yedidah</em> is our ultimate link with <em>Ein Sof</em>. This is an incredibly basic summary, and I’m hardly qualified to give it. I’m a third of the way done with one book on it :o</li>
