The Gateway To The Divine

One of the earliest recorded dreams occurs in the Hebrew Bible known as the Old Testament.  The story begins when Jacob, a Patriarch, leaves the home of his parents and travels to find a bride (Genesis 28: 10 –19).  As the sun sets Jacob drifts off to sleep.  A very ordinary event most people can relate to.  What happens next is anything but ordinary.  In his dream Jacob sees a ladder that stretches from Earth to Heaven.  On the humungous ladder messengers, commonly called angels, are going up and down.  All night long Jacob witnesses the messengers ascending and descending the Heavenly ladder. 

Unraveling the Dreams Meaning   

For Jacob the sun is setting on his childish and youthful ways.  No longer will he ask for guidance from his Father or Mother. As a universal message the dream represents that every individual is provided the daily opportunity to end old behaviors and start new attitudes with every setting of the sun. The ladder Jacob sees shows the interconnection between Earth and Heaven not only goes up, but comes down, too.  This metaphor demonstrates each day Jacob (and every person for that matter) makes decisions to aspire to Heaven through right actions and motives or to stay below on Earth. 

God’s Promise

Something amazing happens during Jacob’s dream; he hears the voice of God. God interrupts, “Remember, I am with you: I will protect you wherever you go and bring you back to this land.  I will not leave you until I have done what I have promised you.”   (Gen. 28:15)

Jacob announces, “Surely the Lord is present in this place, and I did not know it!”   God is present in the life of each and every person.  God makes this same promise to everyone on a daily basis as we step out of bed.   God declares, “ I am here! I am here! I want to protect you.  I want to help you reach your goals.  Recognize me and know I am here.”

This parable of Jacob’s ladder advises to pay attention to your dreams.  Amazing opportunities are available to our souls during our nightly dreams.  In our dreams our soul has the capacity to transverse two universes, to travel up the ladder to heaven and back down to Earth.  

The Soul Enters the Divine Realm

There are two additional extraordinary transcendent levels of the soul. The Chayah, the Hebrew term for “living” is the name of the fourth level. Through zealous faith and belief, the highly evolved chayah soul perceives the Divine Presence.  The chayah soul recognizes the Divine Spirit living in every person, animal, plant, and object in existence. No longer is the chayah soul ego-based or interested in its own desires and needs, but understands its distinct personal life mission and the necessity to perform “tikkum olam” to help repair the world.  This person commitment lies in helping to perform charity to help lift up the sick, the homeless, and the uneducated.  In the immortal words of the Vulcan Spock, “the good of the many out weigh the needs of the one.”  This core belief forms the basis for all decision each and every day. 

Yechidah, the highest soul level means “singular” or “one” in Hebrew.  The yechidah soul is united or one with God. Every thought, action, and word is fused with the Divine’s purpose and intentions for the universe. Needless to say very few ever achieve this level of soul development and if they do only maintain this awareness for a brief period.  According to the Kabalah, when all the people on earth reach this level of Divine awareness the Messiah will finally arrive. 

What does this mean to me?

At the lower levels of the soul, the nefesh and ruah are focused on physical pleasures and emotional satisfaction.  When a person struggles to make ends meet, pay their bills, and lacks any friendships or strong love bonds this will interfere with further spiritual development. The individual’s biological needs control their waking thoughts, motivations, and actions. 

But when the bodily needs are satisfied the soul awakens to unlimited possibilities. Though many people chose to ignore the little whispering and nudging, for others the soul evolves to the neshamah level.  Once achieved spiritual and moral beliefs begin to guide decision-making. These three levels of the soul intertwine to form a unique personality encapsulated in a physical body. 

At this point of spiritual development, the soul crosses the chasm between the human plane into the divine realm.  Here the soul begins to perceive the divine mysteries of God and the universe.  Many people at this point who lack a spiritual guide become unnerved and uneasy by the experience.  Lacking any place to share their ideas they may retreat to a lower level where they feel safe.