Issue link: http://digital.copcomm.com/i/687891
E soteric cartographer and sacred geometer David Chaim Smith gives a modern slant to the traditional Kabbalistic directive—to understand and explain the origins and nature of All That Is. In this thorough and exhaustive retelling, the three big stories of Genesis—Creation, Eden and the Fall— unfold anew through Smith's also refreshed and innovative Kabbalistic exercise, accompanied by his own admirable abstract yet naturalistic illustrations. Fundamental to his version is the concept of unity from which the multifarious world of events, mind and consciousness unfolds, and within which it all unfailingly resides. Prevailing versions of both the Old Testament and Kabbalah fall short, he posits, in that their interpretations lose this essential connection. From the very outset, B'reshit—in the beginning—he translates as "becomingness," an eternal, Taoist-fl avored outfl ow from the infi nite oneness and ineffability of Ain-Soph (literally, "no limit"—God prior to self-manifestation) rather than a more rigidly conceived point in time. Every act of conceptualization along the way defi es the very essence of Ain-Soph; every objectivization presupposes a perceiving subject, thereby undermining unity. This debate lies at the heart of Kabbalistic commentary. The author demonstrates esoteric principles of energy expansion and contraction as the days of creation are revealed to be enriched expressions of the unity—branches (sephiroth) of the Tree of Life, the very one whose fruit tempted—that irresistible and addictive urge to fall from oneness and live in the illusion of separate, personal realities. The serpent performs the role of the good guy by the end of this challenging, detailed and illuminating exercise. That may sound like a tidy ending, but this laudable book is not for the lazy or complacent. (Inner Traditions) —Mac Graham The Kabbalistic Mirror of Genesis Commentary on the First Three Chapters BOOKS art & soul H aving interviewed both Timothy Leary and Ram Dass, seen both speak many times, not to mention lived through the tail end of the psychedelic era, I was partic- ularly interested in seeing what I hoped would be a fascinating fi lm. It is that, but it is also quite moving in ways I hadn't antici- pated. Leary describes death as the "greatest adventure of your life," but their deep friendship was clearly a close second. Beautifully edited, Dying to Know weaves together archival footage and stills of the two icons together and individually, with more recent footage of Ram Dass and refl ections by friends and admirers celebrated in their own right, such as Huston Smith, Andrew Weil, Joan Halifax and Ralph Metzner. What emerges is a stunning portrait of two brilliant men—Leary had a Ph.D. from Berkeley, Ram Dass (then Richard Alpert) had one from Stanford—who met in their late 20s when both were teaching at Harvard. Their adventures in psychedelics at a time when LSD and psilocybin were completely legal have been well documented. Both were ultimately asked to leave their teaching positions and veered in very different directions, continuing to dramatically af- fect the cultural landscape but in divergent ways. What surprised me most in the saga was how much Ram Dass initially felt in awe of Leary. Leary was indeed a brilliant thinker, but Ram Dass is by far the more deeply spiritual. It's diffi cult to know if one has a higher IQ than the other, but Ram Dass (in my experience) has a signifi cantly higher EQ. Both have been widely ad- mired, but Ram Dass is also widely beloved. Steve Postel does a fi ne job threading his own musical com- positions amongst well-known sounds from the psychedelic '60s. And psychedelic art, and even an animated short fi lm with- in the fi lm, add visual interest. Ultimately this heartwarming and inspirational fi lm is about LSD and the kind of shifts that can result from its use, including how one approaches death. And on this the two men agree in a clear and touching moment of oneness. Leary promised to "give death a better name or die trying," while Ram Dass assures us that, "If you have identifi ed with your soul when you're alive, death is just another moment." Either way, it's a sure thing for all of us, so we would be wise to give it some thought. And as Leary reportedly repeated like a mantra in his fi nal moments, "Why not?" —Abigail Lewis Produced and Directed by Gay Dillingham - Narrated by Robert Redford Dying to Know FILM By David Chaim Smith 34 wholelifetimes.com