Transforming our Fear: What the Kabbalah Teaches

As we approach the 2-year anniversary of Covid’s arrival I've been sensing a deepening weariness that many of us are feeling. Just looking around, we see a landscape transformed:

Many of our old ways of life—department stores, big parties, crowded restaurants, concerts and conferences settings— are now ghosts of what they once were. 

These losses are made harsher for many of us by a crumbling sense of faith in our institutions—replaced by a daily swirl of news and revelations about our government leaders, courts, and regulatory agencies—whose job it is to look out for us. And then there are the steadily rising temperatures, both environmentally and socially.

This can be a scary time, so I sought some help from the wisdom of the mystical Hebrew language.

In Hebrew, fear or terror is יראה (Yir’ah).

But those exact same letters (with a shift of vowels) also spell: (Yaira’eh) to be seen.

The Hebrew mystical tradition may be teaching us how to deal with this fearful, edgy time. 

We start with fear and even terror. But when we face into our feelings without turning away, they can take us into an awesome truth: We are not alone.

What if you were being seen and held by a Force greater than you?

The word Yir’ah can also be translated as awe. When we hold steady, fear can morph into awe at the numinous, sacred presence of an Invisible Realm, a Great Mystery, who sees us.

Consider this: What would happen if, in the midst of the many alarming changes we are all going through, you knew you were personally being seen and held in the gaze of wise and loving eyes? What if you knew there was an intelligent, compassionate force seeing you and your situation?

Can you imagine it?

This is one of the most compelling keys of the Ancestral Healing work: When we are willing to transcend the limits of the factual world, to suspend our disbelief and extend our awareness, we find that we are being seen and held, guarded and guided. We discover that there are indeed wise and loving eyes—our ancestors and spiritual allies on the other side— just waiting to help us. 

When we dare to look, the "land’s cape" opens to reveal another realm.

There we can feel less alone, and receive clear-eyed instruction about what tasks are ours to do, what help is ours to contribute to this changing world of ours.

Learn more about my upcoming courses and offerings on ancestral healing here!