universes
An Integral Model of Reality
While it is not possible for human language to completely describe all of reality, a mystical vocabulary can prepare the heart and mind for the whole experience of God’s immanence. Unlike mainstream, Christian theology founded on language, Kabbalistic theosophy is founded on creation and the experience of reality as it is. Mystics and gnostics fathom the scripture and Kabbalah for its reality in creation. They call this the Work of Creation, which contemplates: How did God and the universe come to be knowable? How did humanity ever become aware so as to seek God? To experience the answer for ourselves, we must understand the universes—the olamot—in which we're embedded.
Introducing the Five Olamot
To begin, Kabbalah proposes not one, but five universes or dimensions. They are :
Adam Kadmon: Atzilut: Beriyah: Yetzirah: Asiyah
For each of these five universes, there are respective qualities:
Primordial : Supernal: Spiritual: Astral: Physical
Adam Kadmon: The Primordial Universe:
This universe is an incomprehensible singularity.
Atzilut: The Supernal Universe:
This universe corresponds with the non dual reality of infinite light, the Light Continuum, the “Pleroma,” or “Divine Fullness,” of light. Atzilut manifests as the Names of God and divine personifications.
Beriyah: The Spiritual Universe:
This universe of spiritual light is the inmost manifestation of separation or duality. Beriyah manifests as cosmic forces: archangels, great archons, and arch-demons.
Yetzirah: The Astral Universe:
This universe of astral light is the manifestation of greater separation or duality. Yetzirah manifests as orders of angels, archonic forces, demons, and all manner of divine, admixed, and evil spirits.
Asiyah: The Physical Universe:
This universe of physical light is the outermost manifestation of separation or duality. Asiyah manifests as all physical existence, as well as elemental and celestial spirits, and reaches into the world of spirits in the astral.
Our Creative Process
These universes aren’t far away or conceptually abstract. Anything manifest in this world has moved through an array of inner dimensions in us. We only have to consider the most subtle, silent intention that becomes a formless, intelligible thought. For thoughts to manifest, a kind of imaginary form or image grows upon the thought, making it intelligible to others. The thought we can picture in our mind grows in greater detail as we imagine applying it in the world. Our internal process is a very deep mystery. Anything manifest in this world comes about through the same universes or dimensions by which the Holy One created. By this same mystery, we are co-creating with the Holy One. May we co-create consciously.