How I Learned Qabala

I was always a voracious reader. Throughout most of my childhood, the local library had a limit on the number of books you could check out at any one time, and you had to return them within two weeks. I would always check out the limit and always have them read within three to four days. One of my happiest moments was when the library gave me special permission to check out more books than they normally allowed. On one of these occasions I read a book of short stories and in it was the tale of a group of men. These men used something called the Qabala to create a monster called a golem out of mud to save themselves from the Nazis.

Since that time the Qabala (regardless of its spelling: Kabbalah, Cabala, etc.) has always held a great fascination for me. The word resonated with a part of me in a mysterious and haunting way. I grew up in a time in which metaphysical writings (outside of a traditional religious context) were not readily available. I could always find some on astrology and yoga. Though yoga didn’t appeal to me, I was able to teach myself how to erect an astrological chart while I was in high school, including how to do the necessary math (this was long before computers took all of the tedious labor out of it).

Then I found a bookstore downtown that began to carry esoteric books (as they were called then). They were stuck in the farthest back corner, away from everything "normal." It was a hodge-podge of literature that did not fit any other category. It was here that I always looked for more information on the mystical and psychic realm, especially on that strange thing called Qabala. I would buy any book that had anything resembling it in its title or between its covers.

At that time, most of the information on Qabala was either so vague or esoteric that no average person could understand it or it assumed you already had a working knowledge of it. And there certainly weren't any teachers around. It wouldn't be until my freshman year of college that I began to explore its meaning and experiment with ways of incorporating it into my own meditations and psychic development.

A Life-Changing Dream
It was then that the dream came. This dream would become the key to truly understanding and applying the magic of the Qabala to everyday life. This dream helped me to realize that the most powerful things in the world are often the most simple. Part of this dream became the introductory story found in what would be my very first book, Simplified Magic: A Beginner's Guide to the New Age Qabala, or as it's titled in its newest edition, Simplified Qabala Magic. Through this dream I found that the Qabala did not have to be as complicated as so many have made it.

I would eventually discover in the Qabala a practical system for awakening the qualities necessary to accelerate spiritual growth. I found a system of spiritual and magical unfoldment that is safe and practical. I found a system that enables the exploration of our highest potential and opens new dimensions without overwhelming us in the process.

Whether developing psychic abilities, walking a healing path, exploring spirit dimensions, connecting with totems and Nature, or communicating with angels, the ancient and mystical Qabala is a map that allows us to accomplish these endeavors more safely and more powerfully. It also enables us to face our greatest weaknesses.

Spiritual Studies and the Qabala
The purpose of spiritual studies is not to gain psychic power, but to develop the ability to look beyond limitations, to learn the creative possibilities that exist within limitations, while at the same time transcending them. The purpose of spiritual studies is to help us rediscover the wonder, awe, and power of the divine and to learn how that power reveals and reflects itself within each of us.

The ancient Qabala is a timeless guide that allows us to look into ourselves for our answers—for our magic and our miracles. We find these answers not from books or from teachers—although they serve their purposes—but from the well of truth that lies within. The Qabala teaches us that the spiritual path is not a path that leads up to some divine light into which all of our troubles are dissolved. Rather, it teaches us how to awaken the light within so that we may shine it out from us.