Fusion - 3rd class

Rabbi Kaplan's Fusion

Rabbi Arye Kaplan, of blessed memory, in "Innerspace" writes, "The more a person can identify with the true Ani/Ain (literally I/nothingness [the source of the true "I" is explained as being the selfless Divine part of myself]), the more he is in touch with the Divine within himself. Ultimately, this involves drawing the spiritual into the physical dimensions and integrating the higher levels of consciousness into a person's life. One truly resembles G-d after transcending his own selfhood and recognizing that his very essence is somehow one with G-d. He realizes that existence itself is an awesome gift of love and kindness that he must share with others. For just as G-d is imminent in His creation and constantly bringing the world towards its ultimate perfection, man's true purpose is to do the same when he connects his will to G-d's will, and his potential for transforming the world into a heavenly kingdom is unlimited. The essential point in Rabbi Kaplan's words, I believe, is this:

1. I get myself out of the way by infusing my own will with G-d's infinite will, thereby becoming a divine messenger, or channel, in bringing the world to its tikkun.
2. Let us anchor that idea into one word- "fusion."

Now let us contemplate fusion (the idea of contemplation, or hitbonnenut in Hebrew, is the subject of a classic tool and literary work called "Shaar Hitbonnenut" written and explained upon by the early Rebbes of the Chabad movement. They would explain an idea fully in all of its length, breadth and depth and then package it in a way simple enough for a child to understand. Actually what we are doing here is only one part of contemplation- that of expansion of recalling associated ideas). The idea of fusing or infusing my own natural psychological processes with higher, infinite Divine- like processes bring to mind a lot of different Torah and spiritual concepts I've come across.

A Few Associated Fusion Ideas

Let's list a few of these:

1. The mitzvah to walk in the ways of G-d or to resemble G-d:
   This is the way our sages advise us to connect with or cling to G-d ("dvaikus"). Ie, just as He is benevolent, so too I should be benevolent. The idea is expanded upon in the classic work "Tomer Devora" ( a palm tree of Devora) by Rabbi Moshe Cordovero (the Ramak, a 16th century Kabbalist). Notice that here, fusion is more than just resembling. Resembling means that you are still separate, whereas fusion means that Hashem is One with me!


2. Merkava:
   Actually, the purpose of our entire merkava course is "fusion" based. Fuse your own expression of the ten sefirot with the Divine expression as it works through you. Ie, open up your own unique chesed or benevolence abilities by fusing or infinitizing these abilities with the Divine benevolence or else see with the eyes of Hashem ( this idea is the subject of another free form type of an essay that I hope to have for your reading pleasure up on the website as soon as possible. Check the archives or creative communication link maybe).


3. Shabbat:
   This is also essentially a type of a fusion approach. The basic idea is that once I am aligned with the true elevated consciousness state which shabbat encompasses, I then realize that all of my own creative efforts in life, even though it entails what seems to be 100% of my own free will, in truth, is all Hashem working His will through me. I'm the puppet. Hashem is the puppeteer bringing me and His world to our ultimate tikkun (this idea is also the subject of another essay, meditation and cassette tape entitled "Shabbat Meditation." Stay tuned).


4. The Paradise Principle:
   This is an idea based on a principle found in the work "Derech Hashem" (the Ways of Hashem, chapter 1:2:3) by Rav Moshe Chaim Luzzatto. The idea is that wherever you let Hashem into any aspect of reality, that reality is blessed with well-being and paradise. Wherever not, the opposite is true. This idea is sort of my raison d'etre in life and it's the name of our site and our institution. When I infuse my very being with G-d directed functioning, my entire life literally becomes paradise.


5. Core Motivation:
   An idea taken from a book and approach by the name "Core Transformation" which basically delves into the depth of human motivation and unleashes it in day to day living. When my motivation is Hashem's motivation then I truly actualize Rabbi Kaplan's words mentioned above. By the way, my core motivation which I've repeatedly arrived at is that I want to be a messenger for revealing G-dliness wherever it is hiding!! (Perhaps G-d's best hiding place is inside ourselves. My core motivation is to fuse with Him and thereby reveal Him there.)


6. G-d, Torah and Yisrael (the Jewish people) are One:
   This very profound, mystical idea ( brought in the holy zohar, and this is also the subject of a song I wrote- stay tuned) is perhaps the deepest realization of fusion we've discussed so far. When I truly connect to Torah, I truly connect to Hashem and therefore, I truly connect to my deepest self, as it is infused by Hashem!!

The Common Fusion Thread

So far, we've contemplated various angles of fusion. Fusion through resemblance to Hashem. Through living His sefirot. Through allowing Him into my creative free will efforts. Through serving as a channel of revealing His hidden presence whether through connection to my deepest self or through Torah. In all cases. In any normal psychological expression, I allow myself to be infused with Hashem's infinitizing flow. What we still need to understand is the following:

1. How do the previous class themes of emuna, ie. bitachon and the puppet show, fit into fusioning and do they all fit into emuna?
2. How can we practically apply all of this in our lives?

Unifying the Three 'Emuna' Classes

To answer the first question, let's study the following chart:

Can you see the pattern? In our efforts to make emuna more and more real in our lives, we and all that makes up our lives phase out and G-d increasingly phases in. As we'll see momentarily with our application of fusion, this doesn't mean that I give up my free will or individuality. Much to the contrary. But the point is that G-d fills up all areas of our reality. We truly are attempting to see G-d as being all there is, as our greatest Jewish thinkers teach- Ain Od Milvado- there exists nothing else but Hashem!!

Not only do we increasingly phase G-d in, but we also phase in the previous tools of bitachon and the puppet show into fusion. How is that? Simple! The more I am being a messenger or channel of G-dly flow, the more often I am to receiving constant messages from all the manifold "puppets" of Divine Providence that are guiding my life. The more that G-d's presence is real and felt in my life, the more aware and trusting I am of G-d's constant protection and His coming through for me when I am in need!!

A Word of Caution

A word of caution is very much in order at this point. Imagine someone taking our whole idea here in the wrong way and arriving at the following conclusion: "I apologize for robbing this convenience store, officer, but what can I do? I read this amazing new article on the internet called "fusion" and I learned how to let G-d work through me and I heard G-d's voice directing me to rob this store." If you use your imagination a bit you can come up with a few other scenarios similar to this one. The point is that we are moving into a very deep and sensitive area which demands a lot of guidance and caution, and if there is even the slightest suspicion of any damage or wrongdoing against G-d or man, drop it like a lead weight. In fact, it's always a good idea in exploring deeper mystical approaches to always check every move with a mentor or at least a good, responsible friend.

Just remember, the point is to develop trust in Hashem's active, loving participation in your life, often times coming through for you, often times guiding you or teaching you a lesson which is ultimately for your best. This is also certainly Hashem coming through for you, too.