The Kabbalah of the Soul: The Transformative Psychology and Practices of Jewish Mysticism »

Leonora Leet received her Ph.D. from Yale University and was Professor of English at St. John's University. Her other books on the Kabbalah are Renewing the Covenant and The Secret Doctrine of the Kabbalah.

Reveals the transformative spiritual work by which the soul can reach ever higher dimensions of consciousness.

• Relates the soul levels of the Zohar to the various paths the soul may travel toward ultimate realization.

• Introduces a new meditative technique called "the Transformative Moment".

Throughout the history of the Jewish esoteric tradition, humankind has been understood to play a pivotal role in the perfection of the cosmos, uniting the finite with the infinite in the perfection of divine personality. Working from an original synthesis of the major kabbalistic traditions of cosmology derived from the Bible, the Zohar, and the school of Isaac Luria, Leonora Leet has erected a new framework for understanding the mechanism of the transformative spiritual work that enables the human soul to reach increasingly higher dimensions of consciousness. This analysis extends the frontiers of Leet's prior works on the Kabbalah to provide a new illumination of human possibilities.

Leet first considers the false temptations of worldly power and pleasure that lead to the fall of the soul and then the means of its redemption. She develops a powerful meditative technique called "the Transformative Moment," whose workings are exemplified by Jacob and Joseph and that allow the individual to progress through all the higher levels of the soul, even possibly to attain the miraculous powers of the legendary spiritual masters. She further correlates the hierarchy of soul levels with Ezekiel's Throne vision to show the various paths the soul may travel toward self-realization: sex, love, power, knowledge, holiness, and unification. The first four paths relate to the four-faced living creatures (Chayot) of Ezekiel's Throne vision--the bull-ox, lion, eagle, and man. The final two paths correlate to the prophet and the envisioned man on the throne he recognizes to be his divine higher self, the knowledge that defines the secret doctrine of the whole of the Jewish mystical tradition culminating in the Kabbalah.

Leonora Leet received her Ph.D. from Yale University and was Professor of English at St. John's University. Her other books on the Kabbalah are Renewing the Covenant and The Secret Doctrine of the Kabbalah.

The Kabbalah of the Soul
The Transformative Psychology and Practices of Jewish Mysticism

Chapter 1. The Scale of the Soul

 Introduction to a New Cosmic Model for Kabbalistic Soul Psychology
 The Tradition of Biblical Cosmology
 The Conflict between Zoharic and Lurianic Cosmology
 A New Model for Kabbalistic Cosmology
 The Music of the Spheres
 The Seventh World and the Secret Doctrine of the Kabbalah 

Chapter 2. The Fourth-World Transformations of Nefesh Consciousness

 A Review of the Cosmic Model
 The Early History of the Soul
 The Structure of the Nefesh Soul
 Temptations of a Fallen Culture
 The Transformative Moment: A Therapeutic Form of Meditation
 The Future Development of the Soul

Chapter 3. The Fifth World of Messianic and Ruach Consciousness

 Introduction
 Traditional Messianic Chronology
 Stages of Ruach Consciousness
 Kabbalistic Texts on Meditation
 The Structure of the Ruach Soul
 The Ruach Soul Model of Transformative Meditation
 The First Level of Ruach Power: Creative Thought
 The Second Level of Ruach Power: The Master of Synchronicity
 The Third Level of Ruach Power: The Master of Transformation
 The Fourth Level of Ruach Power: The Master of Creation

Chapter 4. The Sixth World of Transformative Neshamah Consciousness

 The Transformative Moment of Neshamah Consciousness
 The Patriarchs
 The Tzaddikim
 The Partzufim

Chapter 5. The Six Paths to Divine Knowledge

 The Six Paths to Enlightenment as Grades of the Soul
 The Sexual Path of the Bull
 The Love Path of the Lion
 The Power Path of the Eagle
 The Cognitive Path of Man
 The Holy Path of Enoch
 The Unifying Path of Metatron

Appendix A. The Practice of Transformative Meditation 
Appendix B. The Practice of Transformative Prayer

Notes Bibliography Index