THOU has seen, O Israel,
How, for the sake of creation,
The One Life that I am
Seemeth to divide itself,
Becoming two.
Of these two, I have made known to thee
My superior nature, the Crown of Primal Will
Wherein I have my supreme abode.
Hearken now,
While I expound the mystery of mine inferior nature,
Which standeth in the Tree of Life
As the Sephirah of Wisdom.
Forget not that these two,
Though they be named superior and inferior,
Are in truth of equal rank.
As it is written: “That which is below is as that which is above,
And that which is above is as that which is below.”
Be thou not led astray by their false doctrine
Who ascribe to the inferior nature
Somewhat less of power and worth
Than inhereth in the superior.
The two are as the pans of a balance.
Each hath its own peculiar quality.
Each hath its appointed sphere of operation.
One cometh not before the other,
But together they exist
From everlasting to everlasting.
Mine inferior nature is the universal substance,
The divine mirror
Wherein I, who dwell at the heart of all things,
Am reflected to myself.
To the uninstructed, therefore,
Who mistake the reflection for that which is reflected,
My secondary nature seemeth to be more interior
Than the Primal Will.
This error may be likened to the illusion which ariseth
When one seeth a room reflected in a glass,
And thinketh he seeth the room itself.
For though what presenteth itself in the mirror of
Wisdom is internal,
The medium of reflection hath its place in the without,
In the realm of secondary and created things.
As the substance whence all forms arise,
The vehicle of my divine essence,
Mine inferior nature is to the superior
As is passive to active,
As woman to man,
As Eve to Adam.
Yet to every Light of Emanation
Proceeding from it on the Tree of Life
Doth this same Wisdom stand as Root and Source.
Hence in the Scripture is Wisdom spoken of as a woman,
As when it is said, “Wisdom hath builded her a house”;
But elsewhere to this same Wisdom
The wise assign the title AB, the Father.
Never is the heavenly Wisdom known as Mother,
For She is the virgin substance of all things,
Whose purity naught can defile.
Remember now that I myself am the pure KNOWING
Whence all manifestation ariseth.
Recall to mind that my superior nature is the Primal Will, the Eternal Watcher,
Under whose regard the stream of creation floweth.
The substance of the stream is the inferior nature,
Wherein I see innumerable images of myself.
These be all things and creatures, great and small.
Whatever existeth
Is as a ripple on the surface of the stream,
But all are of the one substance.
Thus all share in the peculiar quality
Of the stream itself,
Which is the mirror of myself to myself,
The root of all remembrance.
Creation is the record of mine ever-changing manifestation.
All things bear the imprint of the history of the universe.
Nothing of mine activity escapeth this record.
In it do men share, because they, too,
Are parts of the stream of mine inferior nature.
Thus are they partakers in my perfect recollection,
Which is the source of all memories,
And the root of all the wisdom of mankind.
All wisdom, therefore,
Is summed up in knowledge of me.
To gain this is the aim of all research,
Of all works, of all devotion.
From knowledge of me cometh the lesser knowledge
Of the things which I have brought forth.
Of no avail is this lesser knowledge
Unless it be founded upon the knowledge
Of my superior and inferior natures.
Hence it is written:
“Remember now thy creator in the days of thy youth,
And thy days shall be long.”
To keep me in vivid remembrance is to unite thyself
To the subtle principle of Life Eternal.
Mine inferior nature is the bond of union
Between myself and all created beings.
Hence it is likened to GIMEL, the camel,
Which bringeth a man safe
Through desert wastes from city to city.
Again it is likened to GIMEL
Because the camel beareth rich and costly merchandise.
And again, for that the camel betokeneth
Travel and communication,
Being thus a symbol of change,
And of the flux and mingling of ideas
Borne upon the stream of memory.
Happy is he who bestrideth
This camel of mine inferior nature
Which bringeth them who learn the secret of its mastery
Unto me, their Lord.
A task most difficult and laborious
Is the conquest of the power of recollection.
Strength and courage and patience must they have
Who would gain this victory;
But these shall be as kings and princes in this world,
And even as gods in the world to come.
~ Paul Foster Case The Book of Tokens Meditation on Gimel
