Walking the Mystical Path: The Sephirot and a 49-Day Omer Counter toward Inner Balance with Rabbi Matthew Ponak

In this episode, I have (once again!) the great pleasure of speaking with Rabbi Matthew Ponak, Teacher of Jewish mysticism, spiritual counselor, and author of “The Path of the Sephirot: A 49-Day Omer Counter for Spiritual Growth and Inner Balance.”

Rabbi Ponak explains how the Kabbalah is a living tradition that helps us understand the journey between the finite and the Infinite where divine emanations flow and interact and how to reveal and manifest them in our lives.

By following “The Path of the Sephirot,” we are tapping into divine qualities that we then wish to embody in our lives with each week being dedicated to specific sacred attributes starting with lovingkindness, followed by boundaries, beauty and harmony, action, yielding, connection, and receiving. On the final day, the Shavuot, all of them are then integrated within each other and themselves.

We discuss various spiritual practices that can help us not only grow but also find inner balance in the process, including the importance of the Sacred No as a form of setting boundaries for ourselves and for others, the overall combination of the Yes and No energy coupled with a balance of action and yielding. All this deep introspection and concrete action would then lead to tikkun, which means transformation or repair, and how by healing ourselves, we can heal the world as it is all interconnected.

Finally, we talk about the importance, relevance, and symbolism of the Tree of Life in the Bible and how psychoanalysis has interesting and intricate links and ties with Jewish mysticism, whether unconsciously through Sigmund Freud or as part of Jung’s interest and study of the Kabbalah. These spiritual insights and practices have the potential of enriching our lives and help us elevate our own vibes and frequencies and gain inner balance.