Jewish Meditation Research Paper

Exercising helps the body become stronger and improve one’s physicality. Like exercising, meditation is ways to train the mind to go far beyond what was not previously perceived. Jewish Meditation is a practice in which the mind attempts to access the four levels of consciousness. These four levels of consciousness epitomizes our existence and accessing the divine world helps manifest a connection between each world. Mediation is a process, which allows healing of the body, spirit, and most importantly the mind. In Jewish traditions, the of healing the mind is a way to understand how the essence of god and the faith of practitioners is an essential part of the healing process. Therefore, this paper will outline the meditation process of eating and breathing, which are basic human functions. Eating provided our body with the nutrition and energy that allows our body to get through the day. Although the body possess the benefits of eating, there is also a spiritual and mental component to eating. According to a verse that was presented in Jay Michaelson’s book, the verse states, “to eat, be satisfied, and bless YHVH your God for the good earth” One interpretation of the verse denote that “ the act of eating refers to the body, to be satisfied refers to the heart, the reason for blessing is the mind and "the blessing itself is based on the soul.” Furthermore, the analysis of the verse can also refer to the four world, which is also referred to the level of consciousness. The four levels includes the asiyah, yetzirah, beri’ah, and atzilut . The asiyah is ones sense of reality, which can be associated to the body that is mentioned in the verse. Yetzirah is associated to the heart, while the beri’ah is the mind, and the atzilut is the soul. The reason why the association between the verse and the level of consciousness is so important is due to the fact that in order to access the divine worlds we must expand our consciousness on every level. Eating takes a lot of mindfulness , which allows many “to experience what is happening right now.” In order to understand what is happing in the now, one must mediate by …show more content…
Breathing is not only a functionality that sustain human existing, but it is also used as a tool to relax. In addition, breathing relies on the mind and vise-versa. One way of mediating is to find a relaxing position and allow the body to rest. After, one must pay attention to the rise an fall of the chest when breathing. The essential way of mediating is by breathing into the nose and filling the air into your lung, then emptying the air from the lungs through the mouth. By filling and emptying the air from our lungs, individuals are able to attain “quietness in the mind.” In addition, it is an “affirmation that mindfulness of the body—grounding our attention in the here-and-now facts of our physical existence,” which also relaxation, relief of the negativity. According to Jewish Yoga: Experiencing Flexible, Sacred, and Jewish Bodies, the author stated that “the process of process of repentance and return to one’s self, is achieved through control of the breath. ” In other words, breathing consciously to repent and to be clear of all negativity once someone has return to one’s elf. Through this process, the mind is interdependent of the of the soul and the