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What is prayer? Why do we pray? What do we say

when we pray? What happens when we pray? This
study is about answering these questions, through
examples in Scripture and ancient texts as well as
my personal interpretation and experience.

I always thought that it is not important to pray
because YHVH knows everything, my needs and
my future, I serve Him and He looks after me so
why bother asking Him things that He already
knows. Then I read in the Gospels that Yshua
spend a lot of time in prayer and surely He is more
connected to the Father than I am and He felt the
need to pray, sometimes throughout the whole night. This put the emphasis on
relationship; you cannot have a relationship with someone unless you communicate
regularly. That made sense and I saw the importance of prayer from a relationships
point of view.

The next battle I struggled with was what to say when I pray. YHVH has everything
and knows everything and I felt the need to tap into His resources asking Him to
provide wisdom to handle situations, favour so that people will interact with me
successfully, provision so that I can live and provide for my family and last of all,
praising YHVH for being Who He is and giving me all I need.

This was a bit of a selfish prayer and I remembered the Scripture that said; seek
first the Kingdom of YHVH and all these things will be added to you Then I
stopped asking things from YHVH and sought His Kingdom, as a matter of fact I only
sought His Kingdom and stopped praying all together. That skewed the balance and I
felt guilty for not praying any more. I studied the Word and had interaction with YHVH
through that as well as short prayers relating to Bible study, asking Him to reveal His
Word to me. All went well except the fact that my personal relationship with Him
turned into a theoretical study of Who He was and what He meant in Scripture. This
was again a one sided approach and I lost balance.

I felt guilty for not having a deep prayer relationship with the Father, the same
relationship Yshua had with the Father when He walked the earth. I knew there was
a gap but I did not know how to fill it. Then I watched a teaching on the Amidah, the
standing prayer, from Rico Cortez and it fascinated me. This opened up a new
dimension in my life and I started to study and pray the Amidah. We will later look at
the detail of the Amidah and why we would consider praying the Amidah, but we will
first look at a why we pray in general and why it is important to YHVH that we pray.


Prayer & Relationship

In order to understand prayer better, we will now look at what a relationship is and
specifically, your relationship with YHVH. What is the definition of a relationship?
According to Websters dictionary:
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RELA'T1ONSH1P, n. The stcte oj bein relcted b lindred, cjjinit or other
cllicnce. The relction contrccted b mcrrice, betueen c husbcnd cnd his
uije's lindred, cnd betueen c uije cnd her husbcnd's lindred, or relction b
blood. The union betueen tuo pcrties, contrccted b compcct, trect or
contrcct.

A relationship can be either through blood
relations or by contract as in marriage or legal
agreement. What is the basis of our
relationship with YHVH? Is it through blood
relations, being born into His Kingdom, or is it
because of a contract or covenant?

It is both; you first come into relationship with
YHVH through a Contract agreement that
YHVH made with Abraham and then you
become born again by receiving YHVHs
Spirit. Thereafter you become part of the Bride
of Messiah and will go through the Marriage ceremony to establish yet another
contractual relationship with YHVH by becoming His Bride and to get married to Him.

Covenant Relationship: Looking at these three types of Relationships with YHVH
shows us three levels of relations we have with Him. The first is based on a Contract
between two parties which is without the emotional side. It is based on conditions
and rules that both parties must obey to establish the Relationship.

Family Relationship: The next type of relationship is more emotional based and is
the relationship as we find between a mother and father and their child. There is a
huge focus on caring for the child and teaching him/her the ways of life from the
parents perspective. The child grows up in the house and learn to walk in the ways of
the Father, obeying the rules and wisdom laid down by the Father of the house.
These rules are the same rules that existed in the initial Contract that established the
first level of the Relationship.

Marriage Relationship: Growing up in the House leads to a mature state where the
young woman/man is ready to go to the next level of relationship with the Creator.
This is where we as children of YHVH becomes the Bride of the Messiah and we
are prepared to enter into a Marriage type relationship with Him. Since the child has
become mature, the rules, guidelines and wisdom has became part of the nature of
the more mature person and he/she is ready to bring children into the world and
teach them the way of their Father.

At which stage of the Relationship with YHVH are you?

Are you still at the Contract stage, checking out the terms and conditions of the
Contract without a personal emotional contact with YHVH? Some people goes
overboard with this relationship and want to measure everybody else on their terms
and conditions with YHVH. People perceive believers like this as legalistic and
judgemental.

Are you in an infant or child relationship with YHVH where you have made
emotional contact with YHVH and learn to grow up in the House making sense of the
house rules to understand its intent? Some people stay in this stage and do not want
to grow up living out a selfish kind of faith that only revolves around them.

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Or are you at the stage where you have matured living in your Fathers house, where
you have mastered the godly nature and express His character which enable you to
have children of your own, teaching them the ways of the Father? This is the place
where we want to be with our relationship with YHVH, where we are true Disciples of
Yshua, bringing in new infants into the Kingdom.

Now that we know what a Relationship is and the different stages of your relationship
with YHVH, we need understand why Prayer is important so that you can grow to a
Mature Relationship with YHVH.

Prayer is generally known as communicating with YHVH, making all your wants and
needs known to Him. That is only one aspect of prayer; it is also about connecting
with YHVH.

Tefillah Prayer

We get two types of prayer, Tefilla prayer and Meditative prayer. Tefilla means to
judge and that is to judge yourself, not others. Tefillah (mans prayer rising up from
the depths of the human condition) is expressed in the following ten different words in
lashon hakodesh:

1. shavah (crying out in pain),
2. tzeakah/zeakah (crying to express inner pain),
3. naakah (crying out from a feeling of being abandoned),
4. rinah (crying from pain; also joyous singing),
5. pegia (strong plea or entreaty arising out of a deep emotional need),
6. btzar (crying out from a constricted state; crying out from fear of impending
danger),
7. kriah (calling out from the heart; calling out to others to acknowledge
Hashem),
8. nefillah (literally falling on ones face and prostrating oneself in order to
express complete submission),
9. pillul (self-evaluation; articulating inner feelings in words),
10. tachanunim (pleading with Hashem for Him to be merciful; not based on ones
own merits but rather on Hashems magnanimity).

Tefillah is the most important word we have for prayer because it includes all the rest.
In addition it shares the same root as the word pallel, meaning to think and judge. It
therefore connotes an inner type of consciousness that is primarily contemplative,
self reflective, and self-evaluating. Tefillah itself is deep and inner. It arises out of the
pain of being human, of feeling alone and abandoned. On the transpersonal level, it
involves a deep sense that something is wrong, that the reality we live in is lacking in
some profound way. This is the beginning of consciousness; it is also the beginning
of prayer, a desire to rectify the lack that is inherent in creation.


Connecting with YHVH

How do we connect with YHVH and why is it important?
Two thirds of the TaNaK is written by Prophets who had
a special connection with YHVH either through divine
revelation, visions and dreams. This can only be attained
if you access the spiritual by not focussing on the
physical.
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How do I do that? Think of it as when you want to talk with someone you need to be
in the same place as they are, especially if you want to hear what they have to say.
You can talk and talk until you are blue in the face if you are in a different location
and you will never get a response from the one you are talking to. In the same way
you need to be in the same place as YHVH to hear His voice and to receive
revelations and answers from Him. Is this Scriptural, can I expect to hear directly
from YHVH? Isnt the Scripture all we need and isnt that the way YHVH
communicates back to us? Yes, in a way He communicates to us through the
Scripture, but He also communicate to us through His Spirit.

Joe z:zS-zp And it shcll be cjterucrd, I uill pour out M Spirit on cll jlesh.
And our sons cnd our dcuhters shcll prophes, our old men shcll drecm
drecms, our oun men shcll see tisions. (zp) And clso I uill pour out M
Spirit on the bondmen cnd on the bonduomcn in those dcs.

All of us who follow Yshua the Messiah are Bondmen and Bondwoman of YHVH.
Some of us experienced dreams before that came from YHVH but not all of us
experiences visions. The problem we have to day is that we live in a very busy world
with a lot of noise that distracts us from focusing on YHVH and hearing His voice.
How can we go into a place of quiet so that we can experience YHVH in such a way
that we can receive directly from Him? We live in a world that consists of two planes;
one Spiritual and one physical.

Prayer is the Hebrew word Tefillah and is an inner type of consciousness that is
deep on the inside of the one who is praying. Prayer thus has nothing to do with
parroting words in a book. Real prayer connects me to my core. It is the most natural
place to be. In tefillah I enter within the holy of holies of my being as opposed to
experiencing myself from the outside looking in. In this sense, the phrase meditative
prayer is a tautology. True prayer can be none other than meditative.
Through tefillah we peel away the extraneous layers of ourself that come between us
and ourself, between us and YHVH. All of us are well familiar with the physical plane,
the one we live in every day, but there is a world above us that is unseen but that is
more real than the physical we live in. the physical world is only a reflection and a
shadow of the reality that exist in the Spiritual.

Heh S:g uho serte the excmple cnd shcdou oj hectenl thins, cs Moses ucs
ucrned oj God uhen he ucs cbout to mcle the tcbernccle. Ior, He scs "See
thct ou mcle cll thins cccordin to the pcttern shoun to ou in the
mountcin."

YHVH exists in the spiritual world because He is Spirit and if we want to worship Him
then we must do so in spirit and in truth. (John 4:23). We know to worship Him in
Truth is to abide by His Word that is the Truth, but how do we worship Him in spirit.
I always thought that it was to have the spirit and to pray in the Spirit which is one of
the Gifts of the Spirit of YHVH. But now understanding the concept of a physical
world and a spiritual world means that we need to worship Him in both.


A Stroke of Insight Revelation of the Right Brain

In December 1996, the Harvard-trained neuroanatomist Jill Bolte Taylor experienced a brain
hemorrhage that triggered a stroke. After more than ten years, in February 2008 Dr. Taylor
publicly recounted the details of her stroke and the amazing insights she gained from it. In her
speech at the Technology, Entertainment, and Design Conference in Monterey, California,
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she starts at the beginning, when she woke up with searing pain behind her left eye. As the
left side of her brain shut down, she began to feel disconnected from her body
and entered an almost euphoric-like state. It took her a while to make sense of the
experience, but as her right arm became paralyzed, it dawned on her that she was having a
stroke.

How many brain scientists have the opportunity to study their own
brain from the inside out? she asked. In the course of four hours, I
watched my brain completely deteriorate in its ability to process
information. On the morning of the hemorrhage, I could not walk, talk,
read, write, or recall any of my life.

Her account of the experience of stroke is vivid, and at one point, she
recalled, she felt as if someone had taken a remote control and hit the
mute button. I was shocked to find myself inside a silent mind.

What is so surprising about Dr. Taylors story is that she experienced a
sort of euphoria as she was left with only right-brain functions. She lost
her sense of self, but she also shed the stress of her life and, as she
puts it, 37 years of emotional baggage. Imagine what it would be like
to be totally disconnected from your brain chatter, she said. I felt a
sense of peacefulness.

In an 18-minute video of her talk, Dr. Taylor explained that the two hemispheres of our
brains are completely separate from one another. A transcript of this talk follows:
For those of you who understand computers, our right hemisphere functions like a
parallel processor, while our left hemisphere functions like a serial processor. The two
hemispheres communicate with one another through the corpus collosum, which is made
up of some 300 million axonal fibers. But other than that, the two hemispheres are
completely separate.

Because they process information differently, the hemispheres think about different things,
care about different things, and, dare I say, they have very different personalities. Our right
hemisphere is all about this present moment. Its all about right here, right now. Our right
hemisphere, it thinks in pictures and it learns kinesthetically through the movement of our
bodies. Information in the form of energy streams in simultaneously through all our sensory
systems. And then it explodes into this enormous collage of what this present moment looks
like, what this present moment smells like and tastes like, what it feels like, and what it
sounds like. I am an energy being connected to the energy all around me through the
consciousness of my right hemisphere.

We are energy beings connected to one another through the consciousness of our right
hemispheres as one human family. And right here, right now, we are all brothers and sisters
on this planet, here to make the world a better place. And in this moment we are perfect. We
are whole. And we are beautiful.

Our left hemisphere is a very different place. Our left hemisphere thinks linearly and
methodically. Our left hemisphere is all about the past, and its all about the future. Our
left hemisphere is designed to take that enormous collage of the present moment, and
start picking out details and more details and more details about those details. It then
categorizes and organizes all that information, associates it with everything in the past
weve ever learned, and projects into the future all our possibilities.

And our left hemisphere thinks in language. Its that ongoing brain chatter that connects
me and my internal world to my external world. Its that little voice that says to me,
Hey, you gotta remember to pick up bananas on your way home, and eat em in the
morning. Its that calculating intelligence that reminds me when I have to do my
laundry. But perhaps most important, its that little voice that says to me, I am. I am.
And as soon as my left hemisphere says to me, I am, I become separate. I become a
single solid individual separate from the energy flow around me and separate from you.
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And this was the portion of my brain that I lost on the morning of my stroke. On the morning of
the stroke, I woke up to a pounding pain behind my left eye. It was the kind of caustic pain
that you get when you bite into ice cream. And it just gripped me and then it released me.
Then it just gripped me and then released me. And it was very unusual for me to experience
any kind of pain, so I thought, Okay, Ill just start my normal routine. So I got up and I
jumped onto my cardio glider, which is a full-body exercise machine. And Im jamming away
on this thing, and Im realizing that my hands looked like primitive claws grasping onto the
bar. I thought, thats very peculiar, and I looked down at my body and I thought, Whoa, Im
a weird-looking thing. And it was as though my consciousness had shifted away from my
normal perception of reality, where Im the person on the machine having the experience, to
some esoteric space where Im witnessing myself having this experience.

And it was all every peculiar and my headache was just getting worse, so I get off the
machine, and Im walking across my living room floor when I realize that everything
inside my body has slowed way down. Every step is very rigid and very deliberate.
Theres no fluidity to my pace, and theres this constriction in my area of perception, so
Im just focused on internal systems. And Im standing in my bathroom getting ready to
step into the shower and I could actually hear the dialog inside my body. I heard a little
voice saying, Okay you muscles, you gotta contract. You muscles, you relax.

Then I lost my balance, and Im propped up against the wall. And I look down at my arm
and I realize that I can no longer define the boundaries of my body. I cant define where
I begin and where I end. Because the atoms and the molecules of my arm blended
with the atoms and molecules of the wall. And all I could detect was this energy.
Energy. And Im asking myself, What is wrong with me? What is going on? And in that
moment, my brain chatter, my left hemisphere brain chatter went totally silent. Just as
if someone took a remote control and pushed the mute button and...total silence.
And at first I was shocked to find myself inside a silent mind. But then I was
immediately captivated by the magnificence of energy around me.
And because I could no longer identify the boundaries of my body, I felt enormous and
expansive. I felt at one with all the energy that was, and it was beautiful there.

Then all of a sudden my left hemisphere comes back online and it says to me, Hey,
weve got a problem. We gotta get some help. So its like, I got a problem, but then I
immediately drift right back out into the consciousness that I affectionately refer to as
Lalaland. But it was beautiful there. Imagine what it would be like to be totally
disconnected from the brain chatter that connects you to the external world.
So here I am in this space, and any stress related to my life, to my job, it was gone. And
I felt lighter in my body. And imagine all the relationships in the external world and the
many stressors related to any of thosethey were gone. I felt a sense of peacefulness.
And imagine what it would feel like to lose 37 years of emotional baggage! I felt
euphoria. Euphoria was beautiful.

And then my left hemisphere comes online and it says, Hey, youve got to pay
attention. Weve got to get help. So Im thinking, Ive got to get help. Ive got to
focus. So I get out of the shower, I mechanically dress, Im walking around my
apartment, and Im thinking, Ive got to get to work. Can I drive?

And in that moment my right arm went totally paralyzed by my side. And I realized, Oh
my gosh, Im having a stroke! And the next thing my brain says to me is Wow, this is so
cool; this is so cool. How many brain scientists have the opportunity to study their
own brain from the inside out?

And then it crosses my mind, But Im a very busy woman. I dont have time for a
stroke! Then it dawned on me, I cant stop the stroke from happening...I have to call
help, I have to call work. I couldnt remember the number at work, but I remembered
that I had a business card in my office with my number on it. So I go into my office and
I pull out a 3-inch stack of business cards. And Im looking at the card on top, and even
though I could see clearly in my minds eye what my business card looked like, I
couldnt tell if this was my card or not, because all I could see were pixels.
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And the pixels of the words blended with the pixels of the background and the pixels of the
symbols, and I just couldnt tell. And I would wait for what I call a wave of clarity. And in
that moment, I would be able to reattach to normal reality and I could tell, Thats not
the card; thats not the card; thats not the card. It took me 45 minutes to get one inch
down that stack of cards.

In the meantime, the hemorrhage is getting bigger in my left hemisphere. I do not
understand numbers, I do not understand the telephone, but its the only plan I have.
So I take the phone pad and I put it right here; I take the business card and I put it
right here, and Im matching the shape of the squiggles on the card to the shape of the
squiggles on the phone pad. But then I would drift back out into Lalaland, and not
remember when I come back if Id already dialed those numbers. So I had to wield my
paralyzed arm like a stump, and cover the numbers as I went along and push them, so
that as I would come back to normal reality Id be able to tell, Yes, Ive already dialed
that number.

Eventually the whole number gets dialed, and Im listening to the phone, and my
colleague picks up the phone and he says to me, Whoo woo woo woo woo. And I think
to myself, Oh my gosh, he sounds like a golden retriever! And so I say to him, clear in
my mind, I say to him, This is Jill. I need help! And what comes out of my voice is
Whoo woo woo woo woo. Im thinking, Oh my gosh, I sound like a golden retriever.
So I didnt know that I couldnt speak or understand language until I tried. But he
recognizes that I need help, and he gets me help.

Eventually Dr. Taylor is picked up in an ambulance and taken to the hospital.
When I awoke later that afternoon, I was shocked to discover that I was still alive. When
I felt my spirit surrender, I said goodbye to my life...Stimulation coming in through my
sensory systems felt like pure pain. Light burned my brain like wildfire and sounds were
so loud and chaotic that I could not pick out a voice from the background noise.
I just wanted to escape. Because I could not identify the position of my body in space, I felt
enormous and expansive, like a genie just liberated from her bottle. And my spirit
soared free like a great whale gliding through a sea of silent euphoria. Harmonic. I
remember thinking theres no way I would ever be able to squeeze the enormousness of
myself back inside this tiny little body.

But I realized, Im still alive! Im still alive and I have found nirvana. And if I have found
Nirvana and Im still alive, then everyone who is alive can find nirvana. I pictured a
world filled with beautiful, peaceful, compassionate, loving people who knew that they
could come to this space at any time. And that they could purposely choose to step to
the right of their left hemispheres and find this peace. And then I realized what a
tremendous gift this experience could be, what a stroke of insight this could be to how
we live our lives. And it motivated me to recovery.

Two and a half weeks after the hemorrhage, the surgeons went in and they removed a
blood clot the size of a golf ball that was pushing on my language centers...It took me
eight years to completely recover.

Dr. Taylor concludes:

So who are we? We are the life force power of the universe, with manual dexterity and
two cognitive minds. And we have the power to choose, moment by moment, who and
how we want to be in the world. Right here, right now, I can step into the consciousness
of my right hemisphere where we are one with the life force power of the universe...At
one with all that is. Or I can choose to step into the consciousness of my left
hemisphere. where I become a single individual, a solid, separate from the flow,
separate from you. I am Dr. Jill Bolte Taylor, intellectual, neuroanatomist. These are the
we inside of me.



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Which would you choose? Which do you choose? And when? I believe that the more time
we spend choosing to run the deep inner-peace circuitry of our right hemispheres, the
more peace we will project into the world and the more peaceful our planet will be. And
I thought that was an idea worth spreading.



Connecting to the Spiritual

How do I connect to the Spiritual world where YHVH is? The other way to ask this
question is how do I disconnect from the physical world in order to experience the
spiritual world? That is already taken care of in the beginning when YHVH made man
in His Image.

YHVH designed us in such a way
that we have the ability to
connect to Him and that is a
function of our brains. Before I
begin to explain, I would like to
remind those who know of the
concept of left vs. right; in
Hebrew thought Right means
spiritual and left means physical.
If we look at our brains we see
that we have a right and left brain
hemisphere that is unique in its
design and function.

The left brain takes care of all
your logical functions, of the past and the future as well as decision making. This part
of the brain defines you as an individual defining the boundaries where you exist,
what you are like and basically defines your personality. This part of the brain has the
voice that is responsible for all the mind chatter that you hear every moment of
your awaken state. The brain functions in the conscious state in the high frequency
range which is defined as Beta state.

The right brain on the other hand
has a total different function
where it operates in a lower
frequency called the Alpha and
Delta states which allows your
creative side to come alive.
This part of the brain connects
all your senses and gather all
the information of your
environment. It does not care
about the past or predict what
will happen in the future, it is
only concerned about the NOW.

Within normal brain function your
right brain collects information about the present and pass it on to the left brain which
sorts it selectively to allow the decision making process. It uses the information,
compares it with the past and make forecasts into the future which allows you to
react on the information based upon your past experience and memory.
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The right brain does not define you and sees you as connected to everything. There
is no time and space is irrelevant which makes you float in a timeless infinitely large
space which is the spiritual. In right-brain mode we dont learn about the world, but
rather live it and sense it directly. We use the traditional five senses to feel, hear,
see, smell, and taste the world, plus an additional sixth sense of intuition to pick up
currents of feeling around us.

Pure right brain has no concept of time. Whatever happens is always now. It is also
always forever, at least until the next thing happens. Unable to step back and
observe and abstract, we are totally immersed in a sea of experiences in which all
things are connected, and everything is possible. The boundaries of inner and outer,
mind and body, self and other, or past, present, and future fade into oblivion. There is
only experience.

Time and space does not exist in the spiritual world and that is where everything is
above or outside of time within an open endless limitless space. That is where YHVH
exists, a place that is not defined that could limit Him and a place outside of time that
would not bind Him. Our right brains are the connecting antenna to experience the
spiritual world and by which we can connect with YHVH without the noises of the
left brain and the physical world entrapped by time and space.


Getting into the Mode of Prayer

Now that we know that we can connect with YHVH
through our right brain functions we need to create the
right circumstances to be able to receive form Him. The
way most Churches do this is through music where they
get quiet in the atmosphere of relaxing worship music. The
music isolates you from the outside noises and helps
you to focus on YHVH and His things listening to the
words. It is similar to Baroque Music that places your mind
in the right Alpha state where your right brain becomes
more active and you left brain chatter stops. This is when
you can quiet down and focus on YHVH and imagine His
presence and connecting to Him.

Your imagination lets you through the initial stages of
focusing your mind on YHVH and if you allow His Spirit He
will start to give you visions and pictures in your mind that
will enhance your experience. The main thing is to get
quiet and start to listen without your left brains
interference. Since your right brain is the creative side
which works with pictures, visualization and imagination,
you will find it easy to tune in on YHVH and His presence
in this focused quiet receptive state.

1Ki 1p:11-1z And He scid, Go jorth cnd stcnd on the mountcin bejore YHVH.
And, behold, YHVH pcssed b, cnd c rect cnd stron uind tore the mountcins,
cnd brole the rocls in pieces bejore YHVH. ut YHVH ucs not in the uind. And
cjter the uind ucs cn ecrthqucle, but YHVH ucs not in the ecrthqucle. (:z)
And cjter the ecrthqucle ucs c jire, but YHVH ucs not in the jire. And cjter the
jire ucs c still, smcll toice.

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It is not YHVH not speaking to us or not giving us visions, it is us who do not
understand the fundamentals of Prayer and mediation in His presence. What is
meditation? Is meditation wrong? According to Websters dictionary we see:

MED'1TATE, t.i. [L. meditor.]

To duell on cn thin in thouht, to contemplcte, to stud, to turn or retolte
cn subject in the mind, cpproprictel but not exclusitel used oj pious
contemplction, or c considerction oj the rect truths oj reliion.

Meditation is to think on something in the mind and to think upon, to let a thought
revolve in your mind over and over again. Meditation is to focus your thoughts on a
thought or picture in your mind and to allow your mind to explore that thought.



Visualization in Prayer

Some may say that visualization is New Age
and you should not use that to enhance your
prayer experience. The issues is not with the
method, it is in the application and what you
use it for that makes it right or wrong. Just like
sex is wrong outside of marriage, so is
visualization wrong focusing on other gods.

YHVH created us in His Wisdom to think in
pictures. We think in pictures, our memory
work in pictures and we connect thoughts and
emotions to pictures to make up our mental
processes. Why should we then not use pictures when we pray? If you have the right
picture in your mind which is about YHVH, then you will be more focused on Him and
less likely be distracted by external or internal noise. Noise can be in the form of
sounds, thoughts, internal mental chatter, memories and fears. We need to quiet
our minds from that so that we can fill our minds with thoughts of YHVH while we
pray.


The next question you may ask is; what pictures can I use to focus and connect with
YHVH. The answer is easy, YHVH already gave us physical pictures of spiritual
things in His Word. He gave us the Leaving Egypt picture, the Tabernacle picture,
the picture of the three patriarchs, the picture of the Lamb, the picture of the
Sacrificial System etc. We will now look at some of these pictures that will help you to
focus while you connect and pray to YHVH.










11
Approaching YHVH using
Visual Patterns

YHVH gave us certain patterns to help us
to understand the Spiritual and how to
approach Him. One of these patterns is
found in the three patriarchs, Abraham,
Isaac and Jacob and another is the
Tabernacle pattern. These are powerful
patterns and pictures you can use to help
you to approach YHVH in your prayers.




Encountering the Abraham, Isaac & Jacob Experiences

In our prayer experience we will look at the three patriarchs whom YHVH used to
reveal Himself through. These three characters have value in knowing the stages of
approaching YHVH and the stages we will go though in our relationship and
connection with Him.

Abraham represents us being far off,
drawing near, coming from the nations
into His Kingdom. Before we enter into
prayer we are far off and needs to
leave our everyday world in order to
enter into His Presence. This initial
picture of Abraham is the first step into
entering into a relationship and
connecting to YHVH.

Entering through Abrahams picture can be compared with entering into the
Tabernacle though the Gate in the Outer Court, where we find the Altar, Laver and
Holy Place.

The purpose of Abraham-Gate picture is to use this as a reminder to be thankful and
grateful towards YHVH for all that He has done for you. We can express our
thankfulness towards YHVH of using Abraham as that stepping stone that helped
humanity to enter into a Covenant relationship with YHVH. Thanking YHVH is one of
the initial steps in approaching Him in prayer and should always be part of opening
our prayer conversation with YHVH.

Isaac represents the second stage we go though in
approaching YHVH in our prayers. This stage is connected with
the first object we see as we enter the Tabernacle; the Brazen
Altar. This is where you present yourself as a living sacrifice
before YHVH where you deal with your past and He deals with
your sin.

The Isaac-Altar picture is where you reflect back on the previous
day, the previous week and even your life. You reflect back and
think about the things you can be proud off but especially the
things you messed up and could have done better.
12
Think back and see yourself re-doing that thing which was bad in a way that is
according to YHVHs Word. Think of things you said that was wrong and how you will
say it next time to avoid sinning against that person and YHVH. You may spend a
couple of minutes on the Altar or even hours, depending on what YHVH wants you to
sort out in your life.

The Altar experience is not the nicest experience but the end will result in happiness
and laughter, just like the meaning of Isaacs name. This experience will prepare you
to move on to the next stage which is the Laver.

The Laver is also part of the Altar experience but this is where you reflect on the
word of YHVH, to line His Word up with your experiences to reaffirm what He expects
of us and what you should do next time. This is where you will be washed and
cleansed by the water of the Word. As with the Priesthood who had to wash
themselves before entering the Holy Place, so will you be cleansed and be ready to
enter into the Presence of YHVH which we will link to the Jacob experience.


Jacob/Yaacov had two experiences with YHVH,
both were on a higher level than Abrahams and
Isaacs experiences. His first experience was where
He had a dream of a ladder extending to heaven
where Angels moved up and down upon.

Cen zS:11-1; And he ccme on c certcin plcce, cnd
stced there cll niht, beccuse the sun hcd set. And
he tool oj the stones oj thct plcce, cnd plcced them
ct his hecd. And he lc doun in thct plcce to sleep.
(:z) And he drecmed. And beholdl A lcdder ucs set
up on the ecrth, cnd the top oj it recched to
Hectenl And beholdl The cnels oj Elohim uere
cscendin cnd descendin on itl (:) And beholdl
YHVH stood cbote it, cnd scid, I cm YHVH, the
Elohim oj Abrchcm our jcther, cnd the Elohim oj Iscccl The lcnd on uhich ou
lie I uill ite to ou cnd to our seed. (:() And our seed shcll be lile the dust
oj the ecrth, cnd ou shcll sprecd cbrocd to the uest, cnd to the ecst, cnd to the
north, cnd to the south. And in ou cnd in our Seed shcll cll the jcmilies oj the
ecrth be blessed. (:) And, behold, I cm uith ou, cnd uill leep ou in eter
plcce uhere ou o, cnd uill brin ou ccin into this lcnd. Ior I uill not lecte
ou until I hcte done thct uhich I hcte spolen oj to ou. (:) And 1ccob
cuclened jrom his sleep. And he scid, Surel YHVH is in
this plcce, cnd I did not lnou. (:;) And he ucs cjrcid,
cnd scid, Hou jecrjul is this plccel This is nothin but the
house oj Elohim, cnd this is the cte oj Hectenl

Yaacov referred to this place as the Gate of Heaven where

he had a very realistic awesome experience with YHVH. In his
sleep Yaacov saw a great ladder. At the top of the ladder he
saw a vision of YHVH on His throne of glory. This was
Yaacovs first prophetic, vertical experience.

Yaacov thus miraculously hit upon the site of the Holy of
Holies of the future Temple and had his first prophetic
experience. Yes, he had received the keys to prophecy. But
now it was actually happening.
13
The heavensthe higher channels of his own consciousnesswere being opened
wide. He was receiving his personal vertical transmission directly from YHVH.
This Yaacov experience is parallel to the picture of the Holy Place and the Holy of
Holies. The Holy Place is the first step into the Presence of YHVH, but from afar, just
like the vision of the Ladder with YHVH in the distance on His throne.

The next experience that Yaacov had was a closer encounter where he met YHVH
face-to-face wrestling with Him. This was where he crossed the Jordan prior to
meeting up again with his brother Esau after 22 years. This experience was where
YHVH changed his name (destiny) from Yaacov to Israel, from a schemer to the
father of the Righteous people of Elohim. This character changing experience can be
compared with the Holy of Holies where you meet YHVH face-to-face.


Yaacovs Ladder

The ladder represents how close or how far we are away from YHVH. The closer we
are to YHVH the more Life we experience and further we are away from death and
separation. The Hebrew word for death actually means separation. People who tend
to live in the past tend to experience fear, grief, apathy, guilt and shame. People who
live in the now tends to experience love, peace, joy and enlighten (revelation).
14
Here is a table that describes these levels and what causes them in more detail:
The level where you are at determines your God view, your brain dominance, your
outlook in life as well as your life experience. The levels in Red are those to grow
out of and to avoid as most as possible and the ideal is to levitate towards the top
levels where you will be more sensitive and open to experience YHVH on a realistic
level.

People who live in their basements in the lower levels tend to be further away form
YHVH and we normally label them as unbelievers or people who do not have their
lives in order. The whole idea of Jacobs Ladder is to ascend through prayer and to
connect with YHVH on a higher level so that you can bring down the life that YHVH
imparted to you so that you may be elevated and changed in the physical as well.


The Five levels of our Soul

In order to connect to YHVH you must change to a better or
higher self and just as we saw in Jacobs Ladder, you must ascend
to a higher level of being in order to make this connection possible. It
is not your small lower self that makes contact with YHVH, it is you
ascending through the 5 stages of your soul that makes this possible.
Your soul consists of 5 different levels excluding the body which is
known as guf. Six is the number of man and there levels make up
the totality of a humans being that is designed for the purpose of
interacting and connecting with YHVH. The 5 levels of the soul are as
follows, from the lowest to the highest level:

1. Nephesh - personality
2. Ruach my spirit connecting with YHVHs Spirit
3. Neshamah elevated spiritual soul
4. Chayah interconnection with others (collective soul)
5. Yechidah interconnection with YHVH (Oneness with Him Echad)
15
These five levels literally constitute a continuum or ladder of consciousness from the
nephesh (physical soul) to the Ruach (YHVH's Spirit & presence) to the nashamah
(spiritual awareness or spiritual soul). These lead to the next two levels which are the
chayah and the yechidah (the highest connection between YHVH with your soul).

These five levels can be described
by circles with the nephesh on the
outside and the yechidah on the
inside. When we discover our soul
and our connection with the higher
levels of our soul, it will be like
peeling an onion, going from one
layer to the other, experiencing a
deeper and deeper connection with
our inner self as well as with YHVH.

We are born in this world with our
nephesh, our fleshly soul which
represents our personality and who
we are as a physical person. When
we discover YHVH we receive His
Ruach which connects us to YHVH
through our nashamah or spiritual
soul. Without YHVH's Ruach we will
be similar to animals following our fleshly instinct (nephesh) but YHVH raised us up
from this state of death (lower form of life or fallen state) with His Ruach, to the
Nashamah soul level. On the Nashamah level we will become aware of Him and our
"higher" self which is connected to the Spiritual realm and we become aware of our
new "spiritual life" which is similar to what Adam and Eve experienced in Eden before
the fall of man.

In terms of the levels of the soul, we could describe this as transcending the
individual levels of soul (neshamah, ruach, and nefesh) and connecting with the
transpersonal level of chayah (the collective soul connection to others) and
yechidah (oneness in YHVH).

These 5 Levels of the Soul is parallel to Yaccovs Ladder as well as entering the
Tabernacle Pattern towards unity with YHVH. You cannot connect with YHVH on a
Nephesh (fleshly) level and you cannot connect to YHVH on a Holy of Holies Level in
the Nashamah. You have to ascend to the next two levels of the soul in order to
reach the higher connection levels with YHVH. This goes hand in hand with Jacobs
Ladder where you will be pulled down to a lover Soul level if you dwell in the red
Negative Levels of Life. Your spiritual elevation and ability to connect on a intimate
deep level with YHVH is related to how you live your live and how you pursue Holy
living. Holiness is not a prerequisite for Salvation, it is the key to live on a higher soul
level and the ability to enter and experience YHVH in the Holy of Holies where you
become One with Him.

These five levels of the soul can be said to parallel the five elements like movement,
breath, sound (singing), visualization and concentration / consciousness focus.
Movement corresponds to nefesh, breath to ruach, sound to neshamah, visualization
to chayah, and concentration of consciousness to yechidah. These are the processes
we will discuss later on in prayer exercises on how to apply and develop each in
order to have a exciting, active fruitful prayer life.

You are Here
16
In a sense, concentration (Yechidah) permeates and thereby elevates all the levels
below it. By consciously using the power of mind to direct and align our movement,
breath and sound, we elevate these from being mere external actions to highly
energized, internal movements of consciousness. Yechidah, the inner movement of
heart, however, is the ultimate goal of connecting to YHVH where only YHVH exists
and nothing else.


Connecting to your Holy of Holies through your higher Soul

The Holy of Holies of the Mikdash (Temple) can thus be seen as the Kings Throne
Room and as Center of the Circle of your Being. In order to get to the Kings Throne
Room, you must enter into the higher self that connects to YHVH. Once there, you
begin to ascend to the top of the Ladder of your Soul. (Jacob s ladder). In one
sense, the Holy of Holies is the top of the Ladder of your Soul. This is true, however,
only in relation to your present level. Your level of life in which you operate will
determine the level of your Soul you connect to and ultimately your connection with
YHVH.

The connection between entering deeply within in order to ascend on high to the top
is hinted at in the root Ayin-Lamed (pronounced ALL) in Hebrew and in Aramaic. In
Hebrew, the root ayin-lamed refers to any upward movement.
For instance, laalot means to rise up, to ascend. lehaalot is a causative verb,
meaning to cause to become elevated, to lift or raise up.

The image of an elevator is a perfect combination of these two
meanings. In order to get to the top story of a tall building, you enter
into the elevator (which occupies a shaft in the building), and ascend.
Similarly, in order to get to the Holy of Holies of your being, you must
enter within the concentric circles of your soul, to the center and core
of your being. Once there, you can then ascend to the uppermost
stories of your being, transcend your small self and merge with the
Greater Self. The center of your being is where you exit from this small
world and merge/emerge into another dimension where you are more
aware of YHVHs existence.

For our purposes, the image of the Ladder is the same as that of a great Tree, a
Mountain, or a many-storied Building. In all of these, you want to ascend to the top.
There you want to open yourself up to the transcendent level of reality that is above
and beyond anything you have experienced in your natural life. The expansiveness
that you want to access there is the expansiveness of the Spiritual Dimension. Then,
you want to stay there, in the state-of-being. This is a state where your physical self
is smaller and your spiritual higher self is bigger. It is not a nullification of your
existence as much as a shedding of the outer levels of your personality that prevent
you from knowing your True Higher Self, and its connection with the Infinite.

This is not a negative experience. On the contrary, it is so joyous that you wont want
to leave. Nevertheless, when the time comes, you must, for when you return from the
Higher Level, you return with more of your Godly Essence, a much stronger sense of
True Existence (as opposed to ego-existence) than ever before. The purpose of
ascending to the top of the Ladder, the Tree, the Mountain, or the Building is to
access the higher levels of your own soul, the upper stratospheres of your own
consciousness. It is at those higher levels that you are connected to YHVH.
17
That is where you interface with the Infinite. You are not infinite, but YHVH is, so that
you partake of His Infiniteness by becoming [no-thing] in His Infiniteness where there
is no-thing between you and Him, you become Echad (One) with Him. This is only
possible through leaving your lower self and elevate the ladder to your higher self.

You now have a mission. After having transcended, you return back down into your
world, and your mission is to be a conduit for the Godly Light. After that, you will want
to go up and come back down, again and again. You will want to go up to get more
light, more preciousness, more revelation of YHVH, to connect to Heaven to the
greatest degree possible, and you will want to bring more and more of that down into
your life and into this dark world.

Many prophets of Israel were compelled from within to leave society, to go out to the
desert, to climb to the top of the mountain, and there to die to his small self, to be
transformed in YHVHs own light. This is what happened to Avraham, Isaac, Yaacov,
Moshe, David, Eliyahu, Yirmiyahu, and others. This was their Core Experience.

The Core Experience is like becoming immersed in a Sea of Infiniteness in the
middle of your own being touching YHVH. It is here that you not only meet YHVH, but
melt into His Oneness as well. So, its not up, up, up (yet), but rather, in in in. And
you want to go as far in as you can (as often as you can; even every other breath)
in order to bring out something awesomely precious.


Chokhmah vs. Bina - Right Brain Wisdom vs Left Brain
Knowledge

The explanation of knowledge, in Hebrew
called binah that is the understanding of one
thing from something dissimilar. It is related to
the word bein meaning between. Thus
(relative to wisdom or chokhmah) binah
implies distance and separation. When you
look at something logically, you have placed
yourself at a distance from it.

Chokhmah, on the other hand, is made up of
the same letters as koach mah (the power of
essence). Chokhmah thus refers to...what
something really is, its essence. Chokhmah is associated with the non-verbal right
hemisphere of the brain, while binah is associated with the verbal hemisphere.
Chokhmah is normally only experienced when it is clothed in binah. One may be able
to experience the workings of the nonverbal areas of the mind, but only when they
are clothed in verbal, descriptive thoughts.

Even deeper: Right brain chokhmah consciousness is the context within which the
left-brain operates. It is the background to all left-brain binah operations. It is not
something that comes and goes. It is the oceanic or cosmic background behind the
isolated level of left brain binah consciousness. Thus, when seen as opposites,
chokhmah is unified and all embracing, while binah is separate, analytical and detail-
oriented. However, when seen as complementary, right-brain chokhmah and left-
brain binah never operate in exclusion from one another. On the contrary, they are
inter-inclusive. Each contains an aspect of the other.

18
On the deepest level, the Torah is all about accessing right-brain chokhmah
consciousness via left-brain binah consciousness, in a world of left-brain binah
consciousness. Certainly it is important to be able to disengage from the left-brain in
order to have a pure right-brain experience, but this is always in order to return to a
left-brain world with more right-brain divine light and wholeness.

The Torah is Chokhmah and so is Prophecy as well as all spiritual things and
concepts. To fully understand YHVH you have to have chokhmah which is a right
brain holistic understanding of His Person and His Purpose. Left brain thinkers who
do not have the Ruach awakening will find it hard to understand and heeds to
undergo the Re-birth process where their Higher Soul is born that can connect and
understand the One Who created all things.


Right Brain Exercise Quiet mind chatter

Try for a moment to stop thinking. You remain completely
conscious, but there are no verbal thoughts in your mind. If you are
an average person, you may be able to maintain such a state for a
few seconds, but immediately your mind begins to verbalize the
experience. You might say to yourself, I am not thinking of
anything. But as soon as you do this, of course, you actually are
thinking of something.

For those few seconds, however, you have experienced nonverbal chokhmah
consciousness. If you work at this exercise, you can gradually learn how to extend
the time in which you are in this state. It is like a heavy pendulum; the longer you
push it back and forth, the further it will swing.

It is in such a state of unified consciousness that we literally enter another dimension
that transcends our limited left-brain conceptions. This is the entry into the inner
landscape where prophetic vision and relationship with the soul become so real
that we are amazed at how blind weve been. This is where the little world we live in
is seen from the perspective and placed in the greater context of eternity.


The Tabernacle and the Name of YHVH

19
Prayer is a means of drawing near and closer to YHVH, how we experience Him in a
way that is life changing so that we can experience Him even more. The first step is
to start the process and allow yourself to enter into the process of drawing near to
Him. If you look at the Tabernacle pattern you will learn that YHVH is in the Holy of
Holies. To get into the Holy of Holies you have to enter three gates; the first gate is
leading into the Outer Court. To enter in you must believe that you are good enough
to enter into YHVHs presence and that He is willing to speak to you face-to-face.
Scripture teaches us that we can enter BOLDLY into the presence of YHVH but that
does not mean that you can push the door open and run into His presence. YOU are
your worst enemy and it is YOU who will keep you out of the presence of YHVH. You
must follow the Tabernacle Pattern of approaching YHVH in order to be prepared
and ready to fully experience Him in a real and awesome way.

YOD: We have already discussed the Brazen Altar that is associated with Isaac
where YHVH deals with you as a Doctor on an operation table. This is where you will
encounter the purging Fire of YHVH were sin is dealt with and the sin offering was
completed by Yshua, the hand of YHVH Who came into this world to shed His Blood
for us. This hand is also known as the Yod, the first letter of the Name of YHVH;
Yod Hey Vav Hey. You do not need to do anything here, YHVH is doing the
work for us, all you have to do is to accept His offer, get on the Altar and let Him deal
with your sin, as discussed in the previous section.

HEY: After you have gone through the YOD experience dealing with the flesh you
may enter in through the Second Gate, the Hey. This Hey is the second letter of
the Name of YHVH and leads to the Holy Place. The Hey is the letter that
represents light or revelation. This is your first step into entering the place of
revelation, revelation of Who YHVH is so that you may draw near to Him. The Hey
means that you actively entering in through that Gate using prayer as the vehicle.
This is the place associated with Jacob where you have a distant revelation of
YHVH the same as Jacob had seeing YHVH at the end of the Ladder that reached to
Heaven. We have not yet discussed what happens inside the Holy Place and will find
out as we discover all the objects inside of the Holy Place.

VAV: The Holy Place
represents the Vav, the
next letter in the Name of
YHVH. The Vav is the
letter that represents man.
This is where the man or
humanity gets confronted
with the spiritual. The Vav
is not passive and this is
where you have to make
effort and spend time with
YHVH in prayer. This is the
place where you need to
get smaller so that you
may not influence the
reality of YHVH through
your understanding and
pre-set-up-ideas.

Inside the Holy Place you will find the Menorah and the Showbread. Just like the
different area in the Tabernacle has got symbolism and meaning, the same is for the
Objects inside the Holy Place, connecting each object to a prayer experience.
20

The Showbread consists of two stacks of 12 cakes of
bread that represents the 12 tribes of Israel.
Remember that Jacob is the associated Patriarch with
the Holy Place and he became Israel that had 12
sons/tribes. The Showbread is placed in two stacks
that represent the Two Houses of Israel as it is
revealed in prophecy. These two Houses consists of a
division of the 12 Tribes and represents the current
division of Israel as it is in the Last Days that forms part
of the Restoration process bringing the whole House of
Israel together again under the Rule of One Shepherd,
Yshua the Messiah.

You may ask now what does it mean for connecting to the 12 Tribes or 2 Houses in
my Jacob prayer experience? The Two Houses consists of two collective groups
named Judah and Israel; Judah represents the Jews and Israel/Ephraim represents
the lost tries that were scattered into the nations that are being gathered back under
the leadership of Yshua. If you are a Gentile who came to faith in Yshua you will
belong to the stack of Showbread that represents Israel/Ephraim. If you are a Jew
then you will be grouped under the collective group Judah.
You may ask, what does this mean for me and how do I apply it in my prayers inside
the Holy Place connected to the Vav of YHVHs Name? The Vav represents man and
the Holy Place is the area that link your prayers to man, praying for your brothers and
sisters in the faith including Judah, which are predominately made up of Jews today.
This is the place where you pray for family members, for fellow believers, for
believers who persecute you, for our Jewish brothers, for our brothers in faith from
other denominations etc. This is what the Vav and the Showbread represent and
what should remind you to pray for other people.

The Menorah represents YHVH Spirit Who is the source of light in the
Holy Place as well as in our lives. The Menorah represents our spiritual
light that sines in this dark world and is fuelled by oil. Oil represents the
anointing of YHVH that He gives His people to enable and empower
them to be the Body of Messiah. There are seven branches on the
Menorah and that represents the seven main Gifts of the Spirit:

Apostles/Evangelists
Shepherds/Teachers
Workers of miracles & healings
Prophecy, words of knowledge & wisdom
Encouragement / helpers / administration
Giving / mercy
Tongues and interpretation

All these Gifts are there to serve and uphold the Body of Messiah within a Fellowship
Group / Church / Assembly of Believers. YHVHs Spirit will work through His Gifts to
reveal His Word and His Character and Will to us through the Anointing placed upon
members of a particular Body or Assembly.

The Menorah is the symbol that prompts you to pray for the Gifts of YHVHs Spirit to
operate in the Group and to uplift the members in your fellowship through prayer
wherever you see a need or gap. We are to support and love one another and prayer
is a powerful means to do just that.
21
This is the time where you also pray YHVHs Will regarding expanding His Kingdom
and were you get guidance and help from His Spirit in the next steps forward.


Golden Altar of Incense is the next object in the Holy Place. This together with the
Vav links us to the Messiah. Why is that? This Altar is a smaller replica of the brazen
Altar and it is fuelled by coals collected from outside. This Altar gives
of a lovely fragrance of the sweetness of YHVHs Salvation. The Vav
also represents a nail that is the symbol that link us to Yshuas
Crucifixion. The Hebrew word for sign is the word oth that is made
up of three letters; Aleph Vav Tav The Aleph Tav is a short
form that represents the Aleph-Bet, the complete Word of YHVH as
well as the Messiah as translated in Revelation as the Alpha and
Omega (Greek). Yshua is the Aleph Tav, the Beginning and the
End, the Complete Word of YHVH as well as the One Who was
impaled for us (with the Vav) which is the SIGHN of our salvation. The
Vav also represents humanity or man and this shows that Yshua, the
Aleph Tav, Who is God, became man and dwelled among us. The
Golden Altar is the Object that connects us to Worshipping the
Messiah, praising Him for the work He has done, praising Him as the
Groom and expressing our love towards Him.

The Golden Altar is placed right in front of the entrance that leads to the Holy of
Holies and you cannot enter the Holy of Holies unless you go through Yshua.
Scripture teaches us that no one can come to the Father except through Yshua that
Messiah and that holds true for our Connection to YHVH through prayer as well.
This is where you offer yourself, your personality, your ideas, your ambitions and
everything you are before YHVH in the form of prayer and mediation.

HEY: This leads you to the next and last letter in the name of YHVH, the Hey which
is the final Gate into the presence of YHVH. This last letter Hey represents the true
revelation of YHVH in His Person. This is where you encounter Him on a personal
level and where you learn to experience Him face to face. It is like where you first
learn about Him, read about Him, see pictures about Him but these are only images
of YHVH, it is not the same as to meet Him in Person. The last Hey is where we all
of us want to enter in, to meet YHVH face to face in person and to experience His
awesome greatness first hand in the higher reality where He exists. This is the Holy
of Holies experience where you will be enlightened by the true essence of YHVHs
Greatness in Person.



Entering the Holy of Holies - Yechidah

We have already discussed the stages of approaching YHVH,
connecting the letters of His Name to certain places within the
Tabernacle. We have progressed from the outside and entered
through the Hey into the Holy Place. As you enter through the
last Hey of YHVHs Name, you enter into the Holy of Holies
where you will find the Ark of the Covenant with two Cherubs
sitting on each side. They have six wings each, two pointing
upwards, two pointing horizontal towards each other and two
pointing forward. Their wings together with the Ark of the Covenant create the
structure of a chair or a throne on which YHVH sits.
22

You have finally reach
the Kings throne room,
the most important thing
to do is to stop and allow
the awareness of the
Kings presence to
penetrate our subjective
consciousness. Stop and
just BE. There is
nowhere to go, nothing
more to do. This is where
we came from. We have
arrived at our true home.
As you experience
YHVHs presence you
can pray and repeat
these words, the same
words the Seraphs say
day in and day out
forever and ever.

Kc-dosh, lc-dosh, l-cdosh, setcot
me-lo lol hc-erets le-tou-dou

Holy, Holy, Holy is of hosts,
the whole earth is filled with His Glory.


Meditating on these words, repeating it in your mind while you focus on YHVH will
help you to experience the Yechidah, inside the Holy of Holies, in His Presence. You
will be filled with new life, wisdom (chochmah) and energy to go back and shine that
which you have received into the dark world.





















23

The Keys to Meditative Prayer

We turn now to speak about the relationship between prophecy
and meditation. In order to attain prophecy, the ancients
meditated. In order to transcend the small i and merge into
the divine oneness, they had to enter deeply within the core of
their own being and connect to the yechidah soul level. How
did they do this, and can we do it too?

Although we speak of attaining higher levels of consciousness,
it must be clear from the start that Holiness and Purity are the
primary requisites. You cannot live a life of sin and bad
relationships with people and expect to increase your sensitivity to listen and hear
YHVHs voice. You must sort out your life first and climb Jacobs Ladder in order to
become more tuned into YHVH and the spiritual realm where He exists. Once this
is understood, any and all techniques we practice in meditative prayer will be in line
and lead to fulfilling YHVHs Will.

Those who want to connect with YHVH on a prophetic level must do so by mastering
a number of specific disciplines. Nullifying or neutralizing physical hindrances will
lead to the drawing down revelation of YHVHs light and achieve a high degree of
attachment in order to amplify spiritual awareness.

I just want to make something clear, this is not the means to become a prophet, to
become a prophet you will need the prophetic Gift of the Spirit. What we discuss here
is only a way to enrich your prayer life and receive personal prophecy or direction
from YHVH. It is personal prophecy not public prophecy.

There are many necessary and proper preparations that the meditator must make in
order to attain his desired goal to strip away physicality from his consciousness. He
must minimize physical desires. For example food; he must train himself to
minimizing his food intake or desire for food. It is all about balance; do you eat to live
or do you live to eat?

When Yshua went into the Wilderness for 40 days to connect to His Father He did
not take in any food. This leads us to think that abstaining from food or fasting will
enhance your spiritual awareness in the act of depriving your fleshly desires. We will
discuss this in depth in a later section.



STEPS FOR MEDITATIVE PRAYER

1. Designate a quiet place. In a world full of distractions, we need a quiet place
where we can allow YHVH to speak to us. The most effective place to pray is
where you are least likely to be disturbed. Put on meditative of worship music
to isolate you from external noises.
2. Give yourself 20-30 minutes. Many people only spend a few minutes each
day in prayer. Very few people actually spend time in meditative prayer. It
takes time to drown out the cares of the world, sit, prayerfully meditate on
YHVH's word, and then allow him to speak to you.
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3. Choose Scripture to prayerfully meditate on. Prayerfully select a passage of
Scripture that means something to you. Let it either focus on the goodness of
YHVH, the promises of YHVH or worshipping YHVH for Who He is.
4. Use Visualization techniques to enhance and focus your prayer experience.
5. Go through the steps approaching YHVH as outlined in the Tabernacle
pattern. Prepare yourself before approaching YHVH.
6. Allow YHVH to speak to you. This is the hardest part. Many people never
hear YHVH speak to them simply because they don't allow Him. We need to
sit and spend quality time listen and hear the voice of YHVH. Samuel was
open to hearing from YHVH (1 Samuel 3). He said, "Speak, for your servant
hears." Are you open to listen? Do you create time to listen?



What I want vs What YHVH wants.


Prayer is driven by motives, needs and where
you are at in your life and this will dictate what
your prayers will be like as well. Prayer is an
expression of your internal struggles and
needs that you want to voice to the Almighty in
order to get some resolution on your issues.
We as humans ultimately strive towards self
fulfilment and peace and prayer is one of the
vehicles to get us to that place.

Looking at prayer or analysing peoples
prayers will tell you much about that person
and where they are at in their lives. Think about this from YHVHs point of view; He
hears all our prayers and through Him listening to us all the time would give Him a
pretty good understanding of where each one of us are physically and spiritually.
YHVH is more interested in your spiritual needs than your physical and will
sometimes not give you what you want because you are only physically minded.
Seek first the Kingdom and then your physical needs will be looked after, these are
the priorities.

Mot o:jj-jq ut seel jirst the lindom oj YHVH cnd His rihteousness, cnd
cll these thins shcll be cdded to ou. (() Therejore do not be cnxious cbout
tomorrou, jor tomorrou shcll be cnxious jor its oun thins. Sujjicient to the
dc is the etil oj it.

What do you really want?

You can easily find out where you are at regarding your needs by simply asking
yourself; what do you want? It is better if you can get your friend or you partner to
ask you the question, what do you want? Your initial answer may be, I want to
provide for my family or I want a house. Ask again; what do you want? You may now
answer; I want to be a good person and influence people on a positive way. Keep on
asking; what do you want and you will see that you will go deeper and higher until
you answer; I want what YHVH wants or I want YHVH, to be with Him. That is the
higher want and will of YHVH, away from our physical focus, reaching higher and
deeper into our spiritual needs that are based on the Will of YHVH. You will end up
wanting what YHVH wants.
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Torah is a revelation of YHVHs will from above. Prayer is our wanting what YHVH
wants from below. Moses first channeled Torah from above. He then turned to YHVH
and prayed for the fulfillment of the very things that YHVH was revealing through him.
In prayer he aligned his will below with YHVHs will above and YHVHs Will/Word
shall not return void.

1so gg:1o-11 Ior cs the rcin comes doun, cnd the snou jrom the hectens, cnd
does not return there, but ucters the ecrth, cnd mcles it brin out cnd bud, cnd
ite seed to the souer cnd brecd to the ecter, (::) so shcll M Word be, uhich
oes out oj M mouth, it shcll not return to Me toid, but it shcll cccomplish
uhct I plecse, cnd it shcll certcinl do uhct I sent it to do.

YHVHs Word is guaranteed to accomplish what He pleases and to prosper in the

thing for which YHVH sent it. It may not accomplish what we please or the purpose
for which we use it. In other words, YHVHs Word accomplishes YHVHs purpose.

Let us take a little closer look at this verse in its context. The passage sharply
distinguishes YHVHs thoughts from mans thoughts and YHVHs purposes (which
He accomplishes) from mans purposes (which may remain unaccomplished).

1so gg:S-p Ior M thouhts cre not our thouhts, nor our ucs M ucs,
scs YHVH. (p) Ior cs the hectens cre hiher thcn the ecrth, so cre M ucs
hiher thcn our ucs, cnd M thouhts thcn our thouhts.

How do I make YHVHs Will/Word my will and want what He wants? How can we
possibly force ourselves to want what someone else wants? Arent we all different?
This might be a good question if we were dealing with anything or anyone besides
YHVH, the unified source of all existence. Because YHVH created us, and because
deep down we are much more connected to Him than we are consciously aware, the
truth is that we really do want what He wants, but only on a deeper level, the
Yechidah level of your soul. More than anything in the whole world, our deepest
desire is YHVHs deepest desire. On that level we are one. On that level, the deepest
level of our souls, we were never severed from Him.


Praying the Word - Laver

The Word of YHVH is associated with water
and in the Tabernacle pattern; the Laver. This
is where we spend time praying the word or
meditate on Scripture as we enter into the Holy
Place and presence of YHVH.

From the time of Adam, all the above-
mentioned righteous men and women prayed.
And what was the content of their prayer?
They took YHVHs Torah, in which He revealed
His will, and they turned it into prayer. They
prayed to Him saying, We want what You
want. That is the fundamental basis of praying YHVHs Word; to seek and ask His
Will to be realized in your life.

First they internalized Torah, allowing its light to shine into their hearts and awaken
their souls, thereby transforming mundane existence into divine mission.
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They prayed to become conduits of its light; to align themselves with the Godly will.
They not only prayed YHVHs Torah back to Him but they became prayer.
Praying YHVHs Word is also the same as meditating on His Word. There are
numerous Biblical references to prayerful meditation, praying the Word:

"This ool oj the Torch shcll not depcrt jrom our mouth, but ou shcll
meditcte on it dc cnd niht" (1oshuc ::8).

"ut his deliht is in the lcu oj YHVH, cnd on his lcu he meditctes dc cnd
niht" (Psclm ::z).

"I uill meditcte on our precepts cnd jix m ees on our ucs" (Psclm ::p::).

"I uill lijt up m hcnds toucrd our commcndments, uhich I lote, cnd I uill
meditcte on our stctutes" (Psclm ::p:(8).

"D hou I lote our lcul It is m meditction cll the dc" (Psclm ::p:p;).

"M ees cre cucle bejore the uctches oj the niht, thct I mc meditcte on
our promise" (Psclm ::p::(8).

"I remember the dcs oj old, I meditcte on cll thct ou hcte done, I ponder the
uorl oj our hcnds" (Psclm :(:).


How to pray the Word

Any of the following ways of praying the Word can be done individually or
corporately:

Read the Word: The easiest way to pray the Word of YHVH, is to simply read it
out loud (proclaiming, confessing, declaring the Word), beginning at Genesis and
ending at Revelation.
Psalms: The early Church placed a huge emphasis on praying the Psalms. The
Psalms contain all the different types of prayer, such as adoration, worship,
praise, humbling before YHVH, supplication, intercession, spiritual warfare and
prophecy. It is through the praying of the Psalms (they prayed it out loud and on
their knees) that the early Church gained faith to reach out to the pagan societies
with the gospel of redemption.
YHVHs promises: The Word of YHVH contains numerous promises about many
situations, circumstances and issues. The reading, meditating and proclaiming of
these Scriptures increases faith, and help us to understand how YHVH wants us
to act in diverse circumstances. It helps us to pray and intercede with wisdom
and knowledge rather than from a perspective of fear and anxiety.
YHVH 's will and commands: By reading the Word, we discover YHVH 's will,
commands and mandates for His people in the World. Build your prayers around
these commands and mandates from Scripture.
Prophecies: The Word of YHVH is full of prophecies that still need to be fulfilled;
prophecies concerning ourselves, our families, our nations and the purposes of
YHVH in the end-times. We need to pray these prophesies for their fulfillment.
Verse by verse: When reading the Word, turn every verse that enters your heart,
into a personal prayer for spiritual growth, physical or emotional healing and allow
your thoughts to think about these life-giving words, rather than dwelling on
problems or worldly issues. Rephrase the Word of YHVH into prayers and pray
His Word back to Him.
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Contemplation: Read the Word silently or out loud with the aim of encountering
YHVH (Meditative prayer). The moment when, by faith, your spirit senses His
presence, allow the Holy Spirit to take you into a deeper reflection or
contemplation on the Person of YHVH. Just linger there in His presence.
Sometimes this prayer without words can have a more profound effect on us and
our world than many prayers we pray from our minds.
Set Prayer or Prayer Seder: You can pray set prayers as found in the Seder or
Prayer Books which contains prayers that are compiled through combining
verses in Scripture under certain topics. The Amidah is a great example of such a
set of prayer that we will discuss in detail later on.



Giluy HaYichud YHVHs Oneness

Your perception of YHVH is critical when you pray, not
having the right mindset can draw you away from a
successful prayer experience. What am I supposed to
think about when I pray? There are as many answers to
this question. As some of the greatest teachers have
taught, tefillah (prayer) is new every day. Still, the
question persists, what are we supposed to think about
when we pray?

We normally think about ourselves when we pray,
putting our needs and wants on the forefront of our thoughts. This is connecting at
the Nephesh level. We pray to get something from YHVH and miss the point in not
making Him the primary focus point in order to connect to Him.

On the highest level all intentions (yechidah level) all thoughts, and all emotions
during prayer are actually rooted in one intention, directed toward one thing. Without
it, the essence is lost. Without this focus or purpose, your prayers will be scattered
just like your daily thoughts are. You have to discipline yourself to keep your focus
and intent in the forefront of your mind in order to pray effectively and purposefully.

What is this one intention? In order to fully grasp it, we must detect the single thread
that strings all our prayers together. We can answer the question based on what
emerges from the common thread of all our prayers: this intention is called; the
revelation of YHVHs blessed oneness. This is what we are supposed to think about
when we pray. This is what you will spontaneously think about when you pray in the
Yechidah level (mature level of your soul).

What is the revelation of YHVHs blessed oneness? First and foremost, it goes back
to the basic Scriptural belief that there is only one Elohim. The Torah says, Shma
Yisrael YHVH Elohenu YHVH echadhear O Israel, YHVHthe Infinite Eternal
Beingis our Elohim; YHVH is One (Deut 6:4).




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Shma Yisrael [hear O Israel Righteous people of Elohim], YHVH [the infinite,
eternal, all-encompassing One in Whom there is no separation or differentiation]
Elokenu [is our Elohim, the Creator and Director of all Who grants us individual
existence because He wants us to know Him in and through the events of our lives];
YHVH [the infinite eternal Being] echad [is ONE, i.e., He is the essence unity and
oneness behind all existence who beckons us to return and re-merge into His
oneness in full conscious relationship].

We understand and believe that He is one and the One behind all of creation. You
must know Who He is in order to effectively communicate with Him through prayer.
That is how we connect to Him and His oneness. Echad means more than there is
no other God, it really means that there is nothing but YHVH, nothing exist without
Him and everything exists within Him. With that knowing can I can connect with Him
and become one with Him through prayer. It is the realization that there is nothing
else but YHVH. You may ask, where does Yshua and His Spirit fit in? YHVHs
Oneness includes His Salvation (Yshua) and His Spirit (Ruach) and He cannot be
Who He is without the fullness of Him as expressed through Yshua and His Spirit.
The idea that anything has a separate existence apart from YHVH is an illusion that
exists only from mans point of view. Our point of view is certainly real to us but is
aligned with the real bigger reality? Our aim is to receive YHVHs light and revelation
of Who He really is and to line our perception of reality up with the true reality that He
is One and there is nothing but Him.

YHVH is not just a Being that exists out there somewhere in His infinite oneness.
No, YHVH is the One and only Source of all existence. How do I connect to His
Oneness? Just like you connect with normal people, you talk to them and they talk
back. You share with them you life and they share theirs with you. We connect in a
similar way to YHVH through prayer but the key is to connect with Him on your
highest level of your soul, knowing Who He is and how He fits into everything and to
make Him the primary focus of your prayer.

YHVHs Oneness places the onus on us. We ourselves have to realize and declare
YHVHs oneness. As implied in the Shema, our single intention must be to establish
a conscious relationship with the Infinite One who made us and gives us life. As we
feel ourselves drawn toward His exalted essence, we are to love Him and feel
embraced by His love to the point that we become merged in His oneness. It is to
give yourself totally to the point where you no longer exist as an entity, where you
exist only in Him. We are then to draw the revelation of His oneness, His light, His
providence into every phase and facet of our lives. This is what Paul meant when he
said ..Messich lites in me. Gcl z:zo cnd .uho cre in Messich. Rom 8::


Appointed Times - Appointments with YHVH &
Prayer

Are there certain times when you will have a better connection or
be more sensitive hearing form YHVH? The festivals we
celebrate, is not a mere historical commemoration of events that
occurred long ago in the distant past. Rather, the miraculous
events with awesome spiritual light and energy that guided those
appointed times are renewed when the festival commemorating
them comes around each year.

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Regarding the entire series of festivals that occur throughout the Hebrew calendar
year, Rabbi Moshe Chayim Luzzatto, 1707-1746) thus wrote:

The level of each festival depends on the quality of the divine influx and the
power of the light that shone on it (when it first occurred)... On each of these
special days, something happened whereby at this time a great tikun
(rectification) was accomplished and a great [spiritual] illumination shone. The
Highest Wisdom decreed that, on every anniversary of these days, a
complement of their original illumination should shine forth, and the results of
its rectification renewed to those who celebrate it. Thus, we are commanded
to observe Pesach with all its rituals to recall the Exodus. At the time of the
Exodus, we experienced an extremely powerful rectification. It is for this
reason that, on the anniversary of this event

During these appointed times it is easier to connect to YHVH than on other normal
days. The reason for this is because YHVH has set aside certain times to specifically
deal with man on a special level and these times are the Sabbaths and the Feast
days. These Appointed Times are Appointments He made with His people where all
His attention is focused on that event on the topic concerning that Festival. The
revelation light shines like rays of light timed to hit the earth on these special days.

If you are not sensitive and aware of these light revealing times, then you will miss
out on the revelation that YHVH wants to share with His people on that day,
progressively revealing details of Himself and His Restoration Plan to those who care
to make time and listen.

This is beautifully explained through the symbolism of the Sabbath which is an
Appointed Time where YHVH meets with His people every week. The timing and
start of the Sabbath is signalled by sunset and you have to have all your preparations
done before the sun goes down. If you are ready and prepared, the you will enter into
a peaceful blessed Sabbath and enjoy the blessings thereof.

If you are not prepared and are late, then you will have an unprepared rushed
Sabbath without the blessing of peace. Similarly we read about the parable of the ten
Virgins, 5 were prepared and ready for the Groom and 5 were foolish without oil in
their lamps. The ones that were labelled foolish were the ones that thought they were
ok but who were not sensitive to the timing of the Grooms appointed time and
missed out. The same goes for not being sensitive of the Appointed Times, including
the Sabbath, you will miss out that special connection that YHVH wants to have with
you, sharing that day with you through a celebration with Himself.

The festivals are not burdensome or legalistic as some may label it, they are
celebrations and appointments with the King
regarding a certain theme in which He wants to
reveal Himself to you in a very special way. All
you have to do is to give your time up and spend
it in time with Him during these Appointed Times.

The major holidays are not only ceremonies of
past events. We do not merely stand still and let
time pass over us, never to return again. Rather,
time is like a spiral, and we travel through it. As
we travel, we return to [or, more precisely, realign
ourselves with] the very same illumination that
shone long ago. Thus, each year, at Pesach,
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Shavuot, Rosh Hashanah, Yom Kippur, Succot, Purim, or Chanukah time, we arrive
at the exact point-in-time that corresponds to the original festival and receive that
same illumination.

The fact that the light of Redemption form Egypt continues to shine every year can
be understood in two complementary ways. It depends on how deep we want to go in
understanding what this light was/is. The first level is basically what Rabbi Moshe
Chayim said above:

The light that shines every year comes from the original Pesach. The
question is: Where did the light come from that shone on the original Pesach?
Rabbi Nachman of Breslov asks this question. He answers that it was
borrowed from the Future 3 Past, present & Future:

What is the essence of the redemption from Egypt? From what place and
time were all the miracles and supernatural wonders that occurred then
taken [borrowed] when Hashem completely changed and overturned the
natural order of the world, nullifying the laws and constants of nature, and
thereby revealing His unmitigated providence over the world? It was all
borrowed from the level called haketz haacharon (the final end-time), that is,
from the light that will be revealed at that time. [For He will then show us that
there was never any such thing as nature.] The so-called laws of nature will
be nullified [and all will see that they were merely a camouflage for Gods
direct and uninterrupted providence]. This ultimate end is none other than the
Great Shabbat [that will culminate the 6,000 years of this-world]. It is Alma
dAtei (the ultimate World-of-the-Future), the complete Sabbath [that will
follow the weekdays of this world]. It is from that ultimate future that Hashem
drew the light of providence, from sof haolam (i.e., from beyond the
boundaries of the world as we know it), from ketz haacharon (the ultimate
end) [in order to overturn the natural order and redeem us from Mitzrayim].

This is a fascinating concept that holds true for us who believe
in the End Times and the Second Coming of Messiah Yshua.
Looking at the spiral clock with the long time arm representing
the Light or revelation shining over all time periods, from the
initial appointed time right through to the final Appointed Time,
shining a progressive revelation over all time periods in lined up
synchronisation with each other. This gives you the ability to find
the initial revelation and even the final revelation of the essence
of that Festival during that particular Appointed Time period.
It is as if all these times are happening in one moment in time,
rotating through the year, becoming available on each Feast or
Sabbath day. This will allow you to gain the Prophetic revelation
from the future on what will happen, as well as the initial
foundational revelation on why YHVH created this appointed
time. Looking over time within this time window reveals the full
picture and intent of YHVHs wisdom and Restoration Plan.








31
Ruach Breath & Holy Spirit Awareness

Dr. Dan Siegel. ... practicing child psychiatrist and
author of several books, including Mindsight:

This section will discuss how a physical part of your
brain is responsible for spiritual qualities and how
the development of this part of the brain is related to
breath (ruach).

The brain consists of different parts and each of
these parts has a different function. The spinal cord
is connected to Brain Stem where you find the
reptilian brain with fight-flight-freeze mechanisms. Heart lung and body function
controls all sit here.

The Limbic area is the next part of the brain that is connected to the brain stem with 5
functions:

1. Motivate behaviour
2. Emotions
3. Evaluation or appraisal (important or not)
4. Distinguish different kinds of memory (factual & autobiography)
5. Attachments to relationships

Outer layer of the brain is the cortex or neo-cortex that make up the majority of your
brain that consists of your left and right brain hemispheres.

The Frontal Lobe (pre-frontal cortex) that is where you think, it consists of sides
that helps you focusing your attention). The middle zone of the frontal lobe is where
you find the moral policies with 9 functions:

1. Body regulation (heartbeat, breathing etc.
2. Relationships and communication
3. Emotional balance
4. Response flexibility (buffer between information coming in and impulse
response resisting temptations )
5. Fear modulation ability to manage fear
6. Insight who am I, where do I want to go personally
7. Empathy
8. Morality moral reasoning who are we? Involving other people.
9. Intuition heart vs. gut feelings to help you make decisions.

The location where this part of the brain connects is right in the location where all the
parts of the brain connect physically it is the center area where all information flow
and this part of the brain coordinates all the brain and minds information.

When all these functions are present, that will cause that person to become kind
towards others. Studies has been done exercising this part of the brain and that
caused the people to become more sensitive in treating other people, showed
kindness towards others, had better self control and showed empathy in their
relationships with other human beings.

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Ruach is also known as Breath or Spirit. YHVHs Holy Spirit or Ruach HaKodesh is
the link to the connection to the Yechidah, Chayah and Neshamah from the Nephesh
soul level. The Lungs that contain the air that we breathe are represented by the
Menorah as we have seen in the previous section. The Menorah is the symbol of
YHVHs Holy Spirit see the connection? YHVH created us with such detail and
meaning that will allow us to learn and understand the Spiritual levels of life that exist
above our normal conscious awareness.

To taste the fruit of higher conscious relationship with YHVH, we need to slow down.
This involves breath-awareness and sound-awareness. It is in such a state of unified
consciousness that we literally enter another dimension that transcends our limited
left-brain conceptions. This is the entry into the inner landscape where prophetic
vision and relationship with the soul become so real that we are amazed at how blind
weve been.


Brain Exercise - Breathing

There is a mind exercise that you can do to help develop all 9 these
pre-mental functions and will physically develop that part of your brain
that will only take 10min of your time every day. By now you can
guess what the exercise involves, breathing. Isnt it fascinating to see
that breath or Ruach has a connection in the physical development of
your brain to enhance your moral, emotional, intuitive and relationship
capabilities?

Close your eyes, and dilate your throat a bit so that you can hear when you breathe
in or out. Focus on the sound and all the aspects of your breathing, the cool air
coming in, the hot air going out of your nostrils, the movement of your chest and
diaphragma. Count to 5 (in your mind) while breathing in, hold it for 5 seconds and
exhale for 5 seconds. Focus on the sound of your breath and eliminate all other
thoughts that might distract you. Stop counting but keep on breathing to the rhythm of
the counting. Listen to your breath and gently remove all thoughts, mind chatter and
things that might distract you. Try to sense the things around you while you breathe
and become quiet on the inside. Do this for 10 minutes every day and you will see a
difference in those 9 aspects mentioned before.


















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Upside Down Tree

In truth, man [each human being, and all
mankind] can be likened to a tree, as it is
written, Ki haadam etz hasadehfor
man is a tree of the field (Deut. 20:19).
The difference is that man is a right-side-
up tree. The roots of a physical tree are in
the ground, whereas mans root is above.
For the neshamah is mans shoresh/root,
and it is in heaven [i.e., in his head which
corresponds to the spiritual dimension]; his
hands are thus like his main branches, and
his feet are the smaller branches that branch off from these. His torso is the trunk of
his tree. Why is this important to understand? The root of a physical tree is below; it
receives its sustenance from the ground below. Mans soul, on the other hand, draws
its life-force from heaven.

Thus as opposed to a physical tree which grows from the bottom up, man, who is
rooted above, grows from the top down, from his heavenly root down into his body in
this world Precisely because man is rooted above, he can ground himself in that
upper root, thereby transferring his main point of reference from this world to the
world above. This grounding above is so important for it strengthens a person in faith
to such an extent that nothing can move him away from knowing that YHVH is in
charge of everything.

We have seen how the entire reality of this world is organized around the principle of
physical matter and spiritual form (mass and energy), body and soul, vessel and
light, external and internal. The soul/light level always governs the existence of the
body/vessel level. While the essence of the soul level remains above, it beams a
projection of itself down below into the body. This projection enters into the body
level, and serves there as its [indwelling] soul. It is then, via that beam of its own light
that it projects, that the body draws its life-force and its existence from above, for as
long as this is decreed.

Now from its position above [but via its projection within the body], the soulwhich is
the essential spiritual form of all that exists belowconstantly works on the body. Not
for a single moment does the soul leave the body without activity [but rather it pushes
and compels it to grow and develop to its full potential]. For the souls job is to rectify
its junior physical counterpart below, so that it may eventually return it to itself above,
and bond with it for all eternity.

We are lights like candles which flames reach towards the
sky. These flames can be moved by wind (ruach) which
can either be from YHVH or from the dark side. When we
connect the Nephesh with the Neshamah through Ruach,
these flames become lights that contains the Ruach
that act as a light beam which cannot be moved or blown
out by external winds (ruach / spirits). Our aim is to help
others to connect to the light source from above so that we
can shine YHVHs light down into this world without the
vulnerability of being a candle light subject to winds of
destruction.

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YHVH wants to hear our Prayers The Power of Prayer

All the tribulations we undergo are meant to
help us break through the superficial view of
reality in which we see YHVH as far away from
us and experience ourselves as eternally
separate from Him. The whole point of praying
is to know ourselves as part of YHVH, and to
know Him as part of us.

We see this in the lives of the matriarchs. In the
Torah we read, Yitzchak pleaded to
YHVH on behalf of his wife [Rivkah], for she
was barren. YHVH granted his plea, and
Rivkah became pregnant (Genesis 25:21).

It would have been proper for the verse to start out by saying that Rivkah was barren,
and then inform us that Yitzchak therefore prayed on her behalf. However, the fact
that we are first informed that Yitzchak prayed comes to teach us what is primary and
what is secondary. That is, the whole reason why YHVH made Rivkah sterile was to
force Yitzchak and her to pray. This is why the verse informs us first about Yitzchaks
prayer the main reason for Rivkahs sterility was to force Yitzchak to pray! This is
what the sages meant when they asked, Why were the matriarchs barren? Because
the Holy One desires the prayers of the tzadikim. From this we learn the great power
of prayer even to the extent that it can change the natural course of history.

Now we can better understand why YHVH constantly places us in difficult situations.
It is so that we will constantly turn to Himso that prayer will be the essence of our
lives. This principle applies to the children of Israel when they arrived at (the Red Sea
and found themselves closed in on all sides. Here, too, YHVH put them in this
impossible situation precisely in order to force them to pray, to connect with Him in a
deeper way than could have been possible without their being in danger.

To show how this works, lets begin by quoting the following verse from the Song of
Songs, O My dove, [when you are caught] in the clefts of the rock, [terrified] in the
cliffs terrace, let Me behold your countenance, let Me hear your voice. For your voice
is sweet and your appearance is pleasant (Song of Songs 2:14):

When Israel saw that they were surrounded on three sidesthe sea on one side, the
Egyptians on one side, and wild beasts on one sidethey raised their eyes
heavenward and cried out to their Father in heaven. This is the meaning of the verse,
As Pharaoh drew close, the children of Israel looked up. They saw the Egyptians
marching at their rear, and the people became very frightened. The children of Israel
began to cry out to YHVH (Exodus 14:10). Again, why did the Holy One place them
in this situation? Because He desired to hear their prayers.

He wanted to hear their voice again. When He saw that they werent interested
in crying out to Him, He sent Pharaoh to pursue them. It is thus written, As Pharaoh
drew close...the children of Israel began to cry out to YHVH (ibid. 14:10). At that
moment, the Holy One said to them, I desired to hear your voice. This is the
meaning of, O My dove, [when you are caught] in the clefts of the rock, [terrified] in
the cliffs terrace, let Me behold your countenance, let Me hear your voice, i.e., let
Me hear that same voice with which you cried out to Me in Mitzrayim.

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YHVH doesnt want us to turn to Him sincerely only when dire circumstances arise.
Whether we praise Him out of gratitude for a new day, for renewed health after an
illness or an injury, for food on our table, for our ability to learn Torah and work and
care for others, or whether we ask for assistance in the routine non-critical areas of
our livesthis is what its all about. Living within a real relationship with our Creator,
we wont need extreme wake-up calls.


The Blessing of Bowing

Have you ever wondered why some
people bow down before YHVH when
they pray? Surely it is about what is
happening on the inside, your thoughts
and communication with YHVH that
counts more than a physical action.




Neh p:o You, eten You, cre YHVH clone. You hcte mcde the hectens, hecten
oj the hectens, uith cll their host, the ecrth, cnd cll thins on it, the secs, cnd cll
in them, cnd You preserte them cll. And the host oj the hectens bous doun
bejore You.

Bowing down to YHVH has three aspects: First, when we bow, we place ourselves in
a position of self-humiliation or nullification in relation to the One above. To humble
yourself is on of the most important aspects in approaching YHVH through prayer.
Why do we pray? It is because we want to receive something from YHVH. It is like
having to have an empty glass in order to receive some more water to drink. If the
glass is already fullif a person is filled with his own sense of importancethere is
no room left to receive. If you are incapable of recognizing your own lacks, there is
no reason for you to approach YHVH to ask Him to fix you in order for you to grow.

We therefore bow down in complete and joyous surrender to YHVH Who is higher
than us. In this way we show that we are aware that our very life depends upon our
connection with Him Who is the source of all existence.

Secondly, by bowing before YHVH, we show that we wish to become like Him, givers
who receive only in order to give. We humble ourselves and lay our own personalities
down before Him so that we can imitate His Person, expressing His Life and actions
through us.

Thirdly, it is a physical action that will help you to focus on what you are busy with. In
the same way you visualize yourself before the King of kings, your bowing action
enrich your prayer experience and ensure that your are present while talking to the
King.







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The Human body and Heavenly connection

Man is created to govern all the worlds above and below him. Every universe is like a
body that is governed by the universe above it which is its soul. The lowest extremity
of the higher universe enters into the lower universe as its soul. The one dimension is
linked to the next higher dimension through the soul of those who govern it. We as
humans are appointed over the earth to govern it and our souls are connected to the
spiritual realm above us from where we receive the authority and ability that enables
us to do so. This applies to all the universes, up to the highest. YHVH Himself is the
soul of all and there are angels that probably link the upper realms to higher realms
to where YHVH is (above all).

Why is it important to have this knowledge of how our physical world is linked to the
spiritual and how the spiritual is governed? It gives us the insight where we fit in and
how structured and powerful and organized YHVH is in governing everything He
created and all that above it. It also give is the knowing of how important it is to pray
so that our souls can connect with the spiritual dimension where YHVH is in order to
receive insight, knowledge and ability to govern the area you are responsible for on
this earth. Without prayer and connection with YHVH, you will be like nephesh, empty
animal like souls that only live inside this world but has now governing power over it.

How are these dimensions connected? We read in Scripture and behold, a ladder
was set to the earth. It is not written standing on the earth, but set to the earth.
We learn from this that its main point of origin was in heaven, like a rope ladder
which is lowered down from above. From there it unfolded and descended until it
reached the earth.

This ladder is none other than mans neshamah (divine soul) which emanates, as it
were, from YHVHs very mouth. From there it devolves like a rope or chain-
ladder and connects with the Ruach (Spirit), then the nefesh (fleshly or
indwelling soul), until its lowest extremity descends into this world in mans
physical body.

Cen z:; He bleu into his nostrils the nishmct chcim (ditine soul-
brecth oj lije)

Concerning this to Jacobs first experience with YHVH, it is written, He
drecmt, cnd behold, c lcdder ucs set to the ecrth... This ladder is none
other than the divine soul-breath of life. The Breath or Ruach that came from
YHVH that gave Adam life also connected him so that he could connect and
dwell with YHVH. Sin came and humanity lost that connection and was
shown to Jacob in his dream that YHVH wants to restore that connection
between Himself and man. The Spirit or Breath connects the Nephesh (physical soul)
to the Neshamah (Spiritual soul) which is then an outstretched ladder that reaches
from heaven down into our physical bodies. This ladder represents your soul that is
extended and connected to the higher Spiritual dimension or level.

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We have already discussed Jacobs Ladder and your state of life that influences
your ability to connect with YHVH. On the lower levels, you get the things that pull
you down into the flesh and carnal living with no sensitivity to receive anything from
YHVH and then you get the higher levels where you are neutral and live a fairly good
life. Ultimately we want to live a Holy life that allows our souls to connect to the
highest level (yechidah) where love, peace, joy and revelation/enlightenment is.

YHVH takes us through the process of connecting to the higher level with the help of
His Spirit and His Anointing. It will not be possible to reach the highest levels where
YHVH is without the help of His Spirit inside of us.

Putting everything together; you are a soul which starts of on a Nephesh (fleshly
animal like) level and can be elevated to the Neshamah, Chayah and Yechidah
which is overlaying your approach towards YHVH going from the Outer Court Gate,
Brazen Altar/Laver, Holy Place up to the Holy of Holies. In support of this you need to
live a holy life that elevates your soul from Sin, Shame, Guilt, Apathy, Grief, Fear
Desire (Lust), Anger, Pride, Courage, Neutrality, Willingness, Acceptance, Reason
(Knowledge/Wisdom), Love, Joy, Peach, Revelation (Enlightenment, Echad One
with YHVH). We move through the stages starting at the separated state, right
through to a unified state with YHVH, which is our ultimate goal and Will of YHVH.

To be Ecahad or One with YHVH is described in Scripture as the marriage between
man and YHVH. Have you ever thought of the Marriage between Yshua and the
Bride in relation of the Shema, becoming One with YHVH? That is exactly what the
Restoration Plan of YHVH is right from the point in time where man was separated
from YHVH in the Garden of Eden. Everything He has done since then, everything
He has Commanded and Written is part of the plan to restore man back to Himself as
was His Plan at Creation.
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We need the Torah, we need Messiah Yshua, we need His Holy Spirit, we need to
live Holy, and we need Prayer and an Intimate relationship with Him in order to
become Ecahd (one) with Him, ultimately through Marriage with the Messiah.

All believers in Messiah just thought that they have to believe that He will marry His
Bride and we have to wait for Him to come. We are also told that we have to have a
relationship with Him but no one told us exactly what to do while we wait and how to
have an intimate relationship with Him until e comes again. The key is Prayer and
Holy living as defined by the Torah as well as the indwelling Spirit of YHVH. This
study, as you noticed, goes to great lengths to detail the
depths and dynamics of Prayer and Connecting with YHVH
of a real spiritual level which enrich your relationship with
Him through a clear line of communication. This is what the
Prophets of old had and what is prophesied for those living
in the Last Days.

The meaning of And behold, YHVHs angels were
ascending and descending upon it means that mans soul
determines the ascent or descent of all forces (positive or
negative) form the spiritual to the physical realm. This
means that is you are a bad person that evil forces will
descend through your soul into the world and realize within
your life. In the same way, if you are a believer, then YHVHs
goodness, love, peace, joy etc. will descent down through
your soul into this world and realize in your life, touching
others.


The Battle between Desire and Will

What you desire will ultimately become
your will. You have different desires which
are connected to the different soul levels.
For example, you will have fleshly desires
when you operate in your Nephesh soul
level and you will desire YHVHs things
when you operate in your Yechidah soul
level. New Agers connect with the spiritual
through their Nephesh level and can
connect with the spiritual and draw down
those things they desire. There are many
meditation methods to day that people use to make things manifest in their lives,
believing and focussing on that what they desire. These things work but there is a
danger lurking because of the fact that people operate in their nephesh Level. Why is
it dangerous? We read in the Book of Numbers that the people craved the meat they
ate in Egypt and YHVH answered their desires by giving them qual that caused their
death at the end of the day.

You should never operate out of a fleshly level connecting to the Spiritual pulling
down your desires into the physical, you should elevate and operate in the higher
soul level where YHVHs Will and desires exist so that whatever you desire will be
100% in line with the Will of your Father in Heaven.

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We must not be ignorant of the Spiritual World and how the Spiritual things work
because YHVHs people are destroyed because of a lack on knowledge. People in
the Church to day use these methods or meditative prayer coveting their fleshly
desires in the name of Prosperity. These spiritual laws exist and anyone can use it
and activate it through proclamation and visualisation faith techniques. You have
probably heard of the claim it and frame it and visualize it to realize it techniques
they really work but from which level of the soul are they activated? Christians,
Buddhists, New Agers, Hindus and various Eastern faiths have success in faith
healings and prosperity manifestations that sell their faith because it works but
they have only activated the mechanisms of the spiritual world and know the formula
without knowing YHVH.

You are in a constant battle between your desires and YHVHs desires that parallel
the battle between your will and YHVHs Will. Seek YHVH and He will open up the
floodgates of heaven with blessings that He can trust you with. Be on the safe side
and seek YHVHs Will first and all the physical things you need and desire will be
added to you. Matt 6:33. Do not be overcome by fleshly desires but overcome your
flesh by elevating your soul with the help of YHVHs Spirit.


Collective Souls

You have a spiritual life just like you have a physical
life, full of dynamics, things to do, responsibilities,
relationships to maintain etc. The spiritual life
however is the Real Life we live and the physical
life is a shadow formed by the light that radiates from
your spiritual life. John said in 1ohn ::z mc ou
prosper cs our soul prospers That means that
your physical life will be in order when your spiritual
life is in order.

How do I manage to get my spiritual life in order? Just like you would your physical
life; you have to identify the weaknesses and gaps in your spiritual life and close
them in order to bring out the fullness thereof. You need to have healthy relationships
in the spiritual life and that means your relationship with YHVH and with man. Why
man, I thought you only have physical relationships with other people. It is more
complex than that; people are spiritual beings and therefore you need to have
healthy spiritual relationships with your fellow man.

You have colleagues at work, neighbours, friends, family and very close friends. In
the same way will you have relationships with people on nepheshh level up to
yechidah level. The yechidah people are the people closest to you and share your
spiritual views and who operate at the same spiritual level as you do.

When you compare your interaction and relationships with people to Jacobs Ladder
then you will notice the different relationships ranging from nephesh to yechidah on
the same ladder ascending from the basic to the highest. As your relationships with
people prosper so will your soul level and intimate relationships with spiritual
connected people prosper. Connecting with yechidah people will elevate your
relationship with YHVH on the yechidah level. The fact of the matter is that you are
not you, but you are us. People will influence how your soul prospers because you
are connected to them on a spiritual level.

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Just like you avoid people in your life that will pull you down, so must you avoid
spiritual people who will drain you through empty arguments due to spiritual
misalignment.

You form a Collective Soul which the Scripture describes as a Body and can be in
the form of husband and wife, your family, your Fellowship or Church etc. Each one
of these are seen as a single Body from YHVHs point of view as He did with Israel,
seeing them as one Body known as His Wife. All the people in that group or Body
have a collective soul which operates on a certain spiritual or soul level. Looking at
Jacobs ladder the group can have a collective life expression that sits at Grief or
Shame or Fear. This will pull the stronger members down when they are together
and cause that Group or Body not to function or connect at a higher level. Their
prayers will be one-dimensional without real depth or prophetic substance. It also
hold true for a famil unit, the average level they live at will be determined by all the
members of that falily and individuals can pull down everybody to operate at a lover
level, not experiencing YHVH on the level they should.

This is why YHVH told Israel to cut off members who continue in their sin because
they compromise the whole Body. YHVH even punished all the members of Israel
when one or a few sinned. That is further conformation that we are seen and treated
as Collective Souls and as single Body units that is made up out of different
members.


Brain Exercise - Feet and Toes

The human foot is one of the body's most complex engineering
marvels. The eight arches in your feet do a remarkable job of evenly
distributing the weight of your body, while 200 ligaments coordinate
40 different muscles that control the 56 bones in your feet one
fourth of all the bones in your body!

An intricate system of blood vessels and nerves connect the feet with the rest of the
body. Your feet are good barometers of the aging process; inflexible toes, cold feet,
and poor circulation are signposts of time.

In the morning, while you're still in bed, slowly begin to move your toes any way
that feels good. Wriggle, scrunch, and stretch. Move all your toes up and down
several times, or work just your big toes. Wiggling your toes activates nerves that
stimulate your brain and internal organs. Do this while you listen to your breathing,
this will stimulate brain activity that will set you up for success for each day.

Do this exercise first thing each morning or after sitting for an extended period of
time. It will help you to wake-up and become alert more quickly. Your whole body
may feel pleasantly energized. Most important, your first steps and those
throughout the day will be safer ones.