Merkabah
Merkabah, also spelled Merkaba, is the divine light vehicle allegedly used by ascended masters to connect with and reach those in tune with the higher realms. "Mer" means Light. "Ka" means Spirit. "Ba" means Body. Mer-Ka-Ba means the spirit/body surrounded by counter-rotating fields of light, (wheels within wheels), spirals of energy as in DNA, which transports spirit/body from one dimension to another.
Consciousness
Chariot of the Gods (See below)
Other examples can be found in Phoenician, Assyrian, Indian, Asian, Middle Eastern, and medieval art. A Flower of Life pattern can be constructed with a pen, compass and paper, by creating multiple series of interlinking circles. In some renditions, the rosette on the unofficial flag of Padania is a partial version of the flower of life pattern. The Flower of Life pattern contains the basis of Metatron's Cube. From this pattern, all five of the Platonic solids can be derived.
In his books, researcher and physicist Drunvalo Melchizedek describes this figure as a "Star Tetrahedron", since it can be viewed as a three dimensional Star of David. By imagining two superimposed "Star Tetrahedrons" as counterrotating, along with specific "prana" breathing techniques, certain eye movements and mudras, it is taught that one can activate a non-visible 'saucer' shaped energy field around the human body that is anchored at the base of the spine.
Depending on the height of the person doing the exercise, this field is about 55 feet across. Once activated, this 'saucer' shaped field is capable of carrying ones consciousness directly to higher dimensions.
There are 17+1 breaths, where the first six are for balancing the polarity, the next seven for proper pranic flow through the entire body. The further breaths are for shifting the consciousness from 3rd to 4th dimension and finally the last three breaths is for re-creating the rotating Merkabah within and around the body. The last breath is not taught. Once each day, enter into this meditation, until the time comes when you are a conscious breather, remembering with each breath your intimate connection with God.
FIRST BREATH: Inhale
HEART: Open your heart and feel love for all life. If you cannot do this, you must at least open to this love as much as is possible for you. This is the most important instruction of all.
MIND: Become aware of the male tetrahedron (the apex facing up to the sun, the point facing to the front for male, the point to the back for females) filled with the brilliant white light surrounding your body. Visualize it the best you can. If you cannot visualize it, sense or feel it surrounding you.
BODY: At the same moment of inhalation, place your hands in the mudra of your thumb and first finger touching. Remember, lightly touch your fingers, and do not allow your fingers to touch each other or any other object. Keep your palms facing up.
BREATH: At this same moment, with empty lungs, begin to breath in a complete yogic manner. Breath through your nostrils only, except at certain places which will be described. Simply put, breath from your stomach first, then your diaphragm, and finally your chest. Do this in one movement, not three parts. The exhale is completed either by holding the chest firm and relaxing the stomach, slowly releasing the air, or by holding the stomach firm and relaxing the chest. The most important aspect is that this breathing must be rhythmic. Begin by using seven seconds in and seven seconds out, but as you get familiar with this meditation, find your own rhythm. The following instructions for a complete Yogic Breath are from "the Hindu-Yogi Science of Breath" by Yogi Ramacharake. Perhaps this description will be helpful.
Breathing through the nostrils, inhale steadily, first filling the lower part of the lungs, which is accomplished by bringing into play the diaphragm, which descending exerts a gentle pressure on the abdominal organs, pushing forward the front walls of the abdomen. Then fill the middle part of the lungs, pushing out the lower ribs, breastbone and chest. Then fill the higher portion of the lungs, protruding the upper chest, thus lifting the chest, including the upper six or even pairs of ribs.
At first reading it may appear that this breath consists of three distinct movements. This, however, is not the correct idea. The inhalation is continuous, the entire chest cavity from the lowered diaphragm to the highest point of the chest in the region of the collar bone, being expanded with a uniform movement. Avoid a jerky series of inhalations, and strive to attain a steady continuous action. Practice will soon overcome the tendency to divide the inhalation into three movements, and will result in a uniform continuous breath. You will be able to complete the inhalation in a few seconds after a little practice.
Exhale quite slowly, holding the chest in a firm position, and drawing the abdomen in a little and lifting it upward as the air leaves the lungs. When the air is entirely exhaled, relax the chest and abdomen. A little practice will render this part of the exercise easy, and the movement once acquired will be afterward performed almost automatically.
FIRST BREATH: Exhale
HEART: Love
MIND: Become aware of the female tetrahedron, (apex pointing to the earth, point facing to the back for males, point facing to the front for females), also filled with the brilliant white light
BODY: Keep the same mudra.
BREATH: Do NOT hesitate at the top of the inhalation to begin the exhalation. Exhale quite slowly, approximately seven seconds, in the Yogic manner. When the air is out of the lungs, without forcing, relax the chest and abdomen and HOLD the breath. When you feel pressure to breathe again, after about five seconds or so, then do the following:
MIND: Be aware of the flat equilateral triangle at the top of the female tetrahedron located in the horizontal plane that passes through your chest at the sternum. In a flash, and with a pulse like energy, send that triangular plane down through the female tetrahedron. It gets smaller as it goes down and pushes out the tip or apex of the tetrahedron all the negative energy of the mudra or electrical circuit, a light will shoot out of the apex toward the center of the Earth. The Mind exercise is performed along with the following BODY movements.
BODY: Move your eyes slightly toward each other, or, in other words, slightly cross your eyes. Now bring them up to the top of their sockets, or in other words, look up. Also, this looking up motion should not be extreme. You will feel a tingling feeling between your eyes in the area of your third eye . You can now look down to the lowest point you can, as fast as you can. You should feel an electrical sensation move down your spine. The MIND and BODY must coordinate the above mental exercis e with the eye movements. The eyes look down from their up position at the same time the mind sees the triangular horizontal plane of the female tetrahedron move down to the apex of the female tetrahedron. This combined exercise will clean out the negative thoughts and feelings that have entered into your electrical system. Specifically, it will clean out the part of your electrical system that is associated with the particular mudra you are using. Immediately upon pulsing the energy down your spine, you change mudras to the next one and begin the entire cycle over again. The next five breaths are a repeat of the first breath with the following mudra changes:
Second breath mudra: Thumb and second finger together
Third breath mudra: Thumb and third finger together
Fourth breath mudra: Thumb and little finger together
Fifth breath mudra: Thumb and first finger together (same as first breath)
Sixth breath mudra: Thumb and second finger together (same as second breath)
The first part, the first six breaths, the balancing of the polarities, and the cleansing of your electrical system is now complete. You are now ready for the next part, the next seven breaths.
Here an entirely new breathing pattern begins. You do not need to visualize the star tetrahedron at this time. Only the tube that runs through the star, from the apex of the male tetrahedron above your head to the apex of the female tetrahedron below your feet, needs to be seen and worked with. This extends one hand length above your head and one hand length below your feet. The diameter of YOUR tube will be the size of the hole formed by YOUR thumb and forefinger touching.
BREATH NUMBER SEVEN: Inhale
HEART: Love. There is another refinement here that can be used after you have perfected this meditation.
MIND: Visualize or sense the tube running through your body. The instant you begin the seventh inhale, see the brilliant white light of the prana moving down the tube from the top and up the tube from the bottom at the same time. This movement is almost instantaneous. The point where these two light beams meet within your body is controlled by the mind and is a vast science known throughout the universe. In this teaching however, we will only be shown what is necessary , that which will take you from third to fourth dimensional awareness. In this case you will direct the two beams of prana to meet at your navel, or more correct, within your body at navel level, inside the tube. The moment the two beams of prana meet, which is just as the inhale begins, a sphere of white light or prana is formed at the meeting point about the size of a grapefruit centered on the tube. It all happens in an instant. As you continue to take the inhale of the seventh breath, the sphere of prana begins to concentrate and grow slowly.
BODY: For the next seven breaths use the same mudra for both inhale and exhale, the thumb, first and second touching together palms up.
BREATH: Deep rhythmic Yogic breathing, seven seconds in and seven seconds out. There is no holding of the breath from now on. The flow of prana from the two poles will not stop or change in any way when you go from inhale to exhale. It will be a continuous flow that will not stop for a long as you breath in this manner, even after death.
SEVENTH BREATH: Exhale
MIND: The prana sphere centered at the navel continues to grow. By the time of the full exhale, the prana sphere will be approximately eight or nine inches in diameter.
BREATH: Do not force the air out of your lungs. When your lungs are empty naturally, immediately begin the next breath.
EIGHTH BREATH: Inhale
HEART: Love.
MIND: The prana sphere continues to concentrate life force energy and grow in size
EIGHT BREATH: Exhale
MIND: The prana sphere continues to grow in size and will reach maximum size at the end of this breath. This maximum size is different for each person. If you put your longest finger in the center of your navel, the line on your wrist defining your hand will show you the radius of the maximum size of this sphere for YOU. This sphere of prana cannot grow larger.
NINTH BREATH: Inhale
MIND: The prana sphere cannot grow larger, so what happens is the prana begins to concentrate within the sphere. The visual appearance is that the sphere grows BRIGHTER.
BREATH: Sphere grows brighter and brighter as you inhale.
NINTH BREATH: Exhale
BREATH: As you exhale, the sphere continues to grow brighter and brighter.
TENTH BREATH: Inhale
MIND: About half way through this inhale, as the sphere continues to brighter, the prana sphere reaches critical mass. The sphere ignites into a sun, a brilliant blinding ball of white light. You are now ready for the next step.
TENTH BREATH: Exhale
MIND: At the moment of exhale, the small sphere two hand lengths in diameter bulges to expand. In one second, combined with the breath talked about below, the sphere expands quickly out to the sphere of Leonardo, out at your finger tips of your extended arms. Your body is now completely enclosed within a huge sphere of brilliant white light. You have returned to the ancient form of spherical breathing. However, at this point, this sphere is not stable. You MUST breath three more times to keep the sphere stable.
BREATH: At the moment of exhale, make a small hole with your lips and blow out your air with pressure. As you feel the sphere begin to bulge, all within the first second of this exhale, let all of your air out rapidly. The sphere will expand at that moment.
ELEVENTH, TWELFTH and THIRTEENTH BREATH: Inhale and Exhale
MIND: Relax and just feel the flow of the prana flowing from the two poles and meeting at the navel and then expanding out to the large sphere
BREATH: Breath rhythmically and deeply. At the end of the thirteenth breath you have stabilized the large sphere and are ready for the important 14th breath.
THE FOURTEENTH BREATH
HEART: Love
MIND: On the inhale of the 14th breath, at the very beginning of the breath, move the point where the two beams of prana meet from the navel to the sternum, the fourth dimensional chakra. The entire large sphere, along with the original sphere, which is also still contained within the large sphere, moves up to the new meeting point within the tube. Though this is very easy to do, it is an extremely powerful movement. Breathing from this new point within the tube will inevitably change your awareness from third to fourth dimensional consciousness, or from earth consciousness to Christ consciousness.
BODY: This mudra will be used for the rest of the meditation. Place the left palm on top of the right palm for males and the right palm on top of the left palm for females. It is a mudra that relaxes.
BREATH: Rhythmic breath and deep. However, if you continue to breathe from your Christ center without moving on to the MER-KA-BA, which is what is recommended until you have made contact with your Higher Self, then shift to a shallow breath. In other words, breath rhythmically but in a comfortable manner where your attention is more on the flow of energy moving up and down the tube meeting at the sternum and expanding out to the large sphere. Just feel the flow. Use your feminine side to just be. At this point don't think, just breath, feel and be. Feel your connection to All Life through the Christ Breath. Remember your intimate connection with God.
The Mer-Ka-Ba, The Vehicle Of Ascension
The Last Three Breaths
You are asked not to attempt this FOURTH PART until you have made contact with your Higher Self, AND your Higher Self has given you permission to proceed. This part is to be taken seriously. The energies that will come into and around your body and spirit are of tremendous power. If you are not ready, you could hurt yourself. If your Higher Self gives you permission to enter into the MER-KA-BA, then don t fear, for you will be ready.
FIFTEENTH BREATH: Inhale:
HEART: Love
MIND: Be aware of the whole star tetrahedron. Realize that there are three whole star tetrahedrons superimposed over each other. One is the body itself, and is locked in place and never, except under certain conditions, moves. It is placed around the body according to maleness or femaleness. The second whole star tetrahedron is male in nature, it is electrical, is literally the human mind and rotates counter-clockwise relative to your body looking out, or to put it another way, it rotates toward your left side. The third whole star tetrahedron is female in nature, is magnetic, is literally the human emotional body and rotates clockwise relative to your body looking out, or to put it another way, it rotates toward your right side.
To be clear, we are not telling you to rotate the male tetrahedron one way and the female the other way. When we say rotate the whole star tetrahedron, we mean the whole thing.
On the inhale of the fifteenth breath, as you are inhaling, you will say to yourself, in your head, the code words, EQUAL SPEED. This will tell your mind that you want the two rotatable whole star tetrahedrons to begin spinning in opposite directions at equal speeds at the time of the exhale. Meaning that for every complete rotation of the mind tetrahedrons, there will be a complete rotation of the emotional tetrahedrons.
BODY: Continue the mudra of the folded hands from now on.
BREATH: Breath Yogic and rhythmically an deeply again, but only for the next three breaths, after that return to the shallow breathing.
FIFTEENTH BREATH: Exhale
MIND: The two sets of tetrahedrons take off spinning. In an instant, they will be moving at exactly one third the speed of light at their outer tips. You probably will not be able to see this because of their tremendous speed, but you can feel it. What you have just done is to start the MOTOR of the MER-KA-BA. You will not go anywhere, or have an experience. It is just like starting the motor of a car, but having the transmission in neutral.
BREATH: Make a small hole with your lips just like you did for breath Number Ten. Blow out in the same manner, and as you do, feel the two sets of tetrahedrons take off spinning.
SIXTEENTH BREATH: Inhale
MIND: As you let out the breathe, the two sets of tetrahedrons take off from their one third speed of light setting to two third speed of light in an instant. As they approach two thirds speed of light speed a phenomena takes place. A disk about 55 feet in diameter forms around the body at the level of the base of the spine. And the sphere of energy that is centered around the two sets of tetrahedrons forms with the disk to create a shape that looks like a FLYING SAUCER around the body. This energy matrix is called the MER-KA-BA. However, it is not stable. If you see or sense the MER-KA-BA around you at this point, you will know it to be unstable. It will be slowly wobbling. Therefore Breath Number Seventeen is necessary.
BREATH: Same as breath 16, make a small hole in your lips, and blow out with pressure. It is at this point that the speeds increases. As you feel the speed increasing, let out all your breath with force. This action will cause the higher speed to be fully obtained and the MER-KA-BA to be formed.
SEVENTEENTH BREATH: Inhale
HEART: Remember, unconditional love for all life must be felt through out all of this meditation or no results will be realized.
MIND: As you breathe in, say to yourself, in your head, the code NINE TENTHS THE SPEED OF LIGHT. This code will tell your mind to increase the speed of the MER-KA-BA to nine tenths the speed of light which will stabilize the rotating field of energy. It will also do something else. This third dimensional universe that we live in is tuned to 9/10 the speed of light. Every electron in your body is rotating around every atom in your body at 9/10 the speed of light. This is the reason this particular speed is selected.
BREATH: Breathe rhythmically and in a Yogic manner.
SEVENTEENTH BREATH: Exhale
MIND: The speed increases to 9/10 the speed of light and stabilizes the MER-KA-BA.
BREATH: Same as breath 15 and 16, make a small hole in your lips, and blow out with pressure. As you feel the speed take off, let all your breath out with force. You are now in your stable and Third dimensionally tuned MER-KA-BA. With the help of your Higher Self, you will understand what this really means.
EIGHTEENTH BREATH:
This very special breath will not be taught here. You must receive it from Your Higher Self. It is the breath that will take you through the speed of light into the fourth dimension. You will disappear from this world and reappear in another one that will be your new home for awhile. This is not the end, but the beginning of an ever expanding consciousness returning you HOME to your FATHER.
Merkaba
Ezekiel, Sumerian Gods, UFO Connections
Wheels Within Wheels
Jewish biblical commentaries emphasize that the imagery of the Merkaba is not meant to be taken literally; rather the chariot and its accompanying angels are analogies for the various ways that God reveals Himself in this world.
Maimonides in his 13 principles of faith emphazies that God is not limited to any particular form, as this prophesy might seem to imply.
Chassidic philosophy and Kaballah explain at length what each aspect of this vision represents in this world, and how they in no way imply that God is made up of these forms. The danger of understanding these passages as literal descriptions of God's image likely accounts for the opposition among Torah scholars towards learning this topic without the proper initiation. Jews customarily read the Biblical passages concerning the Merkaba in their synagogues every year on the holiday of Shavuot.
The Talmudic interdictions concerning merkabah speculation are numerous and widely held. Discussions concerning the merkabah were limited to only the most worthy sages, and admonitory legends are preserved about the dangers of overzealous speculation concerning the merkabah. The sages Rabbi Yochanan Ben Zakkai (d. ca. 80 CE) and later, Rabbi Akiva (d. 135) were deeply involved in merkabah speculation. Rabbi Akiva and his contemporary Rabbi Ishmael ben Elisha are most often the protagonists of later merkabah ascent literature.
Beyond the rabbinic community, Jewish apocalyptists also engaged in visionary speculations concerning the divine realm and the divine creatures which are remarkably similar to the rabbinic material. A small number of texts unearthed at Qumran indicate that the Dead Sea community also engaged in merkabah speculation. Recently uncovered Jewish mystical texts also evidence a deep affinity with the rabbinic merkabah homilies. Recently, considerable scholarly attention has been paid to the use of merkabah themes in early Jewish-Christian circles.
The merkabah homilies eventually consisted of detailed descriptions of multiple layered heavens (usually seven in number), often guarded over by angels, and encircled by flames and lightning. The highest heaven contains seven palaces (hekhalot), and in the innermost palace resides a supreme divine image (God's Glory or an angelic image) seated on a throne, surrounded by awesome hosts who sing God's praise.
When these images were combined with an actual mystical experiential motif of individual ascent (paradoxically called "descent" in most texts) and union is not precisely known. By inference, contemporary historians of Jewish mysticism usually date this development to the third century CE. Again, there is a significant dispute amongst historians over whether these ascent and unitive themes were the result of some "foreign," usually Gnostic, influence, or a natural progression of religious dynamics within rabbinic Judaism.
The bodies of the "Chayot" are like that of a human being, but each of them had four faces, corresponding to the four directions the chariot can go (north, east south and west). The faces are that of a man, a lion, an ox (later changed to a child or cherub) and an eagle. Since there are four angels and each has four faces, there are a total of 16 faces. Each Chayot angel also has four wings.
Two of these wings spread across the length of the chariot and connected with the wings of the angel on the other side.
This created a sort of 'box' of wings that formed the perimeter of the chariot. With the remaining two wings, each angel covered its own body.
Below, but not attached to the feet of the "Chayot" angels are other angels that are shaped like wheels. These wheel angels, which are described as "a wheel inside of a wheel", are called "Ophannim" - wheels, cycles or ways).
These wheels are not directly under the chariot, but are nearby and along its perimeter much like the wheels of a car. The angel with the face of the man is always on the east side and looks up at the "Likeness of a Man" that drives the chariot. The "Likeness of a Man" sits on a throne made of saphire.
The Bible later makes mention of a third type of angel found in the Merkaba called "Seraphim" (lit. burning) angels. These angels appear like flashes of fire continuously ascending and decending.
These "Seraphim" angels functioned somewhat like pistons in that they powered the movement of the chariot. In the hierarchy of these angels, "Seraphim" are the highest, that is, closest to God, followed by the "Chayot", which are followed by the "Ophannim".
The chariot is in a constant state of motion, and the energy behind this movement runs according to this heirarchy. The movement of the "Ofanim" is controlled by the "Chayot" while the movement of the "Chayot" is controlled by the "Serafim". The movement of all the angels of the chariot are controlled by the "Likeness of a Man" on the Throne.
The four Chayot angels represent the basic archetypes that God used to create the current nature of the world. Ofannim, which means ways, are the ways these archetypes combine to create actual entities that exist in the world. For instance, in the basic elements of the world, the lion represents fire, the ox earth, the eagle wind, and the man water.
However, in practice, everything in the world is some combination of all four, and the particular combination of each element that exist in each thing are its particular Ofannim or ways. In another example, the four Chayot represent spring, summer, winter and fall. These four types of weather are the archetypal forms. The Ofannim would be the combination of weather that exists on a particular day, which may be a winter-like day within the summer or a summer like day within the winter or whatever.
The Man on the throne represents God, who is controlling everything that goes on in the world, and how all of the archetypes He set up should interact.
The Man on the throne, however, can only drive when the four angels connect their wings.
This means that God will not be revealed to us by us looking at all four elements (for instance) as separate and independent entities. However, when one looks at the way that earth, wind, fire and water (for instance) which all oppose each other are able to work together and coexist in complete harmony in the world, this shows that there is really a higher power (God) telling these elements how to act.
This very lesson carries over to explain how the four basic groups of animals and the four basic archetypal philosophies and personalities reveal a higher, godly source when one is able to read between the lines and see how these opposing forces can and do interact in harmony. A person should strive to be like a Merkaba, that is to say, he should realize all the different qualities, talents and inclinations he has (his angels).
They may seem to contradict, but when one directs his life to a higher goal such as doing God's will (the man on the chair driving the chariot) he will see how they all can work together and even complement eachother.
Ultimately, we should strive to realize how all of the forces in the world, though they may seem to conflict can unite when one knows how to use them all to fulfill a higher purpose, namely to serve God.
They are: 1) Hekhalot Zutartey ("The Lesser Palaces"), which details an ascent of Rabbi Akiva; 2) Hekhalot Rabbati ("The Greater Palaces"), which details an ascent of Rabbi Ishmael; 3) Ma`aseh Merkabah ("Account of the Chariot"), a collection of hymns recited by the "descenders" and heard during their ascent; and 4) Sepher Hekhalot ("Book of Palaces," also known as 3 Enoch), which recounts an ascent and divine transformation of the biblical figure Enoch into the archanel Metatron, as related by Rabbi Ishmael.
A fifth work provides a detailed description of the Creator as seen by the "descenders" at the climax of their ascent.
This work, preserved in various forms, is called Shi`ur Qomah ("Measurement of the Body"), and is rooted in a mystical exegesis of the Song of Songs, a book reputedly venerated by Rabbi Akiva.
The literal message of the work was repulsive to those who maintained God's incorporeality; Maimonides (d. 1204) wrote that the book should be erased and all mention of its existence deleted.While throughout the era of merkabah mysticism the problem of creation was not of paramount importance, the treatise Sefer Yetzirah ("Book of Creation") represents an attempt at cosmogony from within a merkabah milieu.
This text was probably composed during the seventh century CE, and evidences influence of Neoplatonism, Pythagoreanism, and Stoicism.
It features a linguistic theory of creation in which God creates the universe by combining the 22 letters of the Hebrew alphabet, along with emanations represented by the ten numerals, or sefirot.
Merkabah Wikipedia
Source: http://www.crystalinks.com/merkaba.html