Quotes fro "ADAM and the Kabbalistic Tree" by Z'ev ben Shimon Halevi.

"According to the Zohar, the soul is sent down from the upper regions into the asiyyatic World to perform a task both for the universe and itself. If it does not accomplish this, it is returned several times until it does. [...] a person only really exists in the present, living at various levels between Heaven or Hell, according to (the) state of responsibility to (one)self." p.246 section 'The Soul -- Sleeping Princess' chapter 29. 'The Sleeping Beauty'

‎"We can move into a new area, another dimension unknown in ordinary circumstance. Suddenly everything takes on significance as we begin to suspect that our outer world is a reflection of our inner state." p. 243 'Sleeping Princess'

"Unfortunately the natural (hu)man does not wish to know (one)self because it would mean giving up so many illusions created in Yesod, partly by (one's) environment and partly by the identity (one's) ego has assumed." p.242 'The Soul'

‎"it is worth mentioning one particular collective archetype, that of the Devil.
	[...] there is a realm of Demons, the Kellippot or the World of Shells. Here is a situation in which a Tree is out of balance, or, worse, without a central column. In the first case a Tree may be overactive, or over-passive, creating frenzy on one side and grinding resistance on the other. Both situations can be seen in countries of war or under extreme repression. A civil war contains both malfunctions, and events seen during such awful periods can only be described as demonic. On the personal level the phenomenon of madness, at either end of the scale, demonstrates very clearly the idea of being possessed. Indeed it follows well the notion that if one of the sefirot is unchecked by the others, and is operating directly through Yesod it can blast the ego and project directly out." p.235 chapter 28 'The Collective Unconscious'


‎"Paradise is the home of the soul." p. 242 'The Soul'

(Hu)man, as against animals and plants, possesses a part that is not is not earthbound. (S)he can actually escape, whereas flora and fauna are confined to the planet, being continuously cycled between the two poles of life and death in Nature's circus. Nearly all traditions talk of this possibility, be it in terms of being born again or escape from the Wheel of Life. (Hu)man, therefore, has within (oneself) the ability to detach (one)self from the level of pleasure and pain. (S)he can leave the world of toil, be released from the curse of Adam and return to Paradise. This can be accomplished by the awakening of the Soul, the cultivation of its consciousness and the realization of its proper place in the Universe." p. 247 'The Soul -- Sleeping Princess'

My Comments:

alpha and the omega, first and last letters of Greek alphabet, which was translated from Hebrew aleph (ox) and tav (an x, a cross, meaning a mark), which means ox moving towards a mark (a mark was placed at the edge of the field to help keep the raws straight), [at] means plowshares, moving to be with, you (there, as an opposite of i am here).

Demon means intelligence in Greek, like a virus, smart but working to use the host system as a parasite in order to benefit an external, alien interests and not the soul's sole owner. naturally, like in a case of annual flu, these spiritual viruses, aka demons, are there to test the integrity and good quality of a soul, a dirty Job's trials in biblical terms.

in Kabbalistic terms it is quiet simple, the soul's sole journey is based on the virtuous i am that i am in deeds, words, and thoughts, where the opposites are in symbiosis as the universe, macro and micro, all together as whole.

the real...m of demons, on the opposite, is an arena of the collective unconsciousness circus based on US vs THEM dynamics of plurality where duality is conflicting and competing for the basic vegetable/animal survival.

it is mostly either too young and not knowing enough or too old and knowing way too much of the wrong stuff.

i see life as a necessity not something to desire. obviously we are here for some grand reason... and the less we know about it the better we can feel about ourselves being here in the lowest of all possible worlds. welcome to paradise indeed.

btw, i am a fan of Joseph Campbell, i love his books about mythology and symbolism; "The Hero with a Thousand Faces", "The Power of Myth", etc. great stuff.