Meaning of the Tree of Life

by Joshua Tilghman on March 12, 2013

The tree of life. It is arguably one of the
most popular symbols in the Bible. Its
too ba that so many people rea
!enesis, isco"er the tree of life, an
thin# its literal. To o so robs the min
of this ancient symbols true beauty an
essence$
%ometimes calle the cosmic or world
tree, the tree of life i not originate &ith
the authors of !enesis. 'or thousans
of years it has been use in sacre literature to escribe mans connection &ith the
i"ine. (lthough ifferent cultures ha"e #no&n this tree by ifferent names, the
essence of this trees significance is essentially the same) it represents both i"ine
an natural man, the spiritual an natural &orl. (n *ust as the tree of life
symbolically spans all the &orls of e+istence, so oes man.
I #no& the abo"e souns super spiritual, so &hat oes it really mean for all of us
o&n here on earth, %imply put, the tree of life is about the e"olution of sub*ecti"e
consciousness from the lo&er planes to the higher planes-the &orl of physical
matter to the &orl of energetic spirit. (n consciousness is the center of it all$
.onsier the Buha. /e &as enlightene uner the great Bodhi tree. Is it really *ust
a coincience that 0in gaine supernatural abilities 1enlightenment2 uner the
branches of Yggdrasil, the mythological tree of the ancient %canina"ians, /o&
about the fact that ancient Mayan #ings, incluing 3a#al 4otan, &ere portraye on
stone monuments &ith the world tree emerging from their hearess 1more
enlightenment imagery2,
I apologi5e in a"ance to the funamentalist that belie"es the concept behin the
tree of life is uni6ue to Biblical literature, but I ont thin# all this imagery is
coinciental. In fact, &e can easily connect enlightenment &ith the Biblical tree of life.
.onsier the scripture from 7e"elations8
To him that overcometh [achieves enlightenment] will I give to eat of the tree of
life, which is in the midst of the Paradise of God (ev! "#$%!
The se"en seals being opene throughout the course of the Boo# of 7e"elations
correspons to the opening of the se"en cha#ras, the cause of enlightenment, an
eating from the tree of life is symbolic of the fruit one gains after tra"ersing the many
planes of consciousness.
They #ey to unerstaning the abo"e statement must inclue a #no&lege of both
the tree of life an the tree of #no&lege of goo an e"il.
9ets re"ie& the scripture from genesis that references both trees. :n"eiling it &ill
re"eal some hea"y esoteric #no&lege.
&nd o't of the gro'nd made the ()* God to grow ever+ tree that is ,leasant to
the sight, and good for food- the tree of life also in the midst of the garden, and the
tree of .nowledge of good and evil (Genesis "#/%!
;hy o you thin# the !enesis author implies that both trees are in the midst of the
garen, It is because together they represent ifferent aspects of 0<= tree$ The
world tree is comprise of both the tree of life an the tree of #no&lege of goo an
e"il.
In the realm of uality you cannot ha"e one tree &ithout the other. The e+perience of
man inclues both trees, from limite ini"iual consciousness to the liberation
gaine through cosmic consciousness. ;hen consciousness 1spirit2 incarnate on
the physical plane, man began li"ing out his e+istence among harship an pain.
This is part of the gro&ing process, an there is going to be some &ouns to lic#. But
to he &ho o"ercomes by continuing to gro& consciously &ill be gi"en to eat of the
tree of life.
The key is in the fruit!
;ithin the e+perience of uality lies consciousness e"olution an mo"ing up the tree
of life to parta#e of its fruit. (gain, &e can pro"e all this &ith scripture. 7e"ie&
!enesis 28> again. !o sai the trees in the garen &ere for foo. This has nothing
to o &ith physical foo. Its a about spiritual foo. 9ets compare the fruit of each
tree from !as#ells *ictionar+ of 0cri,t're and m+th.
Fruit of the tree of life: 0+m1olic of the higher emotions and fac'lties of the
1'ddhic [2hrist] nat're laid ', for the so'l when ,erfected!
In 7e"elations Jesus states that the tree of life on either sie of the ri"er bears
t&el"e fruits that pro"ie healing. ;hat causes us to e+press the higher emotions
an mental faculties of the .hrist, It is through the ac6uisition of &isom, &hich
brings healing.
0he [wisdom] is a tree of life to them that la+ hold ',on her (Prover1s 3#45%!
/o& oes anyone gain &isom, It starts &ith obeience to !o on the physical
plane. It ens &hen one truly learns the lessons 1on the soul le"el2 that e+perience in
uality pro"ies.
<o& consier the other sie of this coin8
Fruit of the tree of knowledge of good and evil: & s+m1ol of the e6,erience
ac7'ired thro'gh the activities of the lower nat're and the develo,ment of the moral
nat're!
/o& oes the Bible e+plain ho& man ac6uire e+perience an learne to e"elop
the moral nature, By being #ic#e out of the garen 1spiritual e+istence2 to li"e life
among ?thorns@ an ?thistles@ 1uality2. This is the fruit of the #no&lege of the tree of
goo an e"il$
Other cool ways to look at the tree of life
%ometimes the tree of life is in"erte in Aabbalah. The in"erte tree of life has its
roots firmly establishe in hea"en 1spiritual planes2 an the rest of the tree emanates
into the physical &orl. 9i#e&ise, man originate in the =en, a spiritual plane, an
ene up in the physical &orl, earth. The in"erte tree epicts this process. <o& it
is up to us to climb bac# up the spiritual &orls. I li#e to picture the in"erte tree as
the tree of life an the rightBsie up tree as the tree of #no&lege of goo an e"il. It
ma#es sense for me to picture the t&o in this &ay because remember that the true
world tree contains both the tree of life an the tree of #no&lege of goo an e"il.
3icturing one tree as in"erte an the other rightBsie up helps me to get a clear
picture for the functions of both trees.
Closing thoughts
The tree of life then is the ultimate motif of the
e"olution of consciousness. Its branches reach into
hea"en, the spiritual planes. The trun# resies on the
material plane, an the roots gro& into the earth, or
uner&orl, &hich represents many subconscious
aspects of our soul.
The consciousness of man then can be li#ene unto a
tree itself. The ultimate goal is to become complete
an &hole, &hich is the true meaning of Biblical
perfection. This is accomplishe through follo&ing an
unerstaning the eeper esoteric meanings of !os commans.
&nd he shall 1e li.e a tree ,lanted 1+ the rivers of water, that 1ringeth forth his fr'it
in his season- his leaf Ctrue iealsD shall not wither- and whatsoever he does shall
,ros,er (Psalm 4#3%!
7eturning to the tree of life is to gain enlightenment. It is guare by .herubim
because &e must go through the planes of e+istence an experience uality in
orer to raise consciousness before &e can gain access. Its that simple.
="ery ay that you &a#e up, consier it your ay to e+perience something that
brings you one step closer to again gaining access to the tree of life, or
enlightenment$ (n its all Biblical$ I especially &ant .hristians &ho are 6uestioning
orthoo+ interpretation to #no& this, so Ill say it again. Its all Biblical$ Eont fret the
fact that the Bible is truly a boo# &ith eastern concepts &o"en throughout. Eoing so
only limits the truths pro"ie through this great boo#. It certainly isnt of isolation.
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life.htmlHi+552g%M"mI.:D
The Kaalistic Tree of Life and the
Tree in the !ook of "evelations
Co#pared
by Joshua Tilghman on (pril 20, 2013
="en though a casual reaing on the tree of life in
7e"elations might con*ure up a mystical tree shroue
&ith magical lea"es an fruit, its really a symbol for
consciousness. ;e can ra& this truth out by
comparing certain "erses from 7e"elations &ith the
o"erall theme of the Aabbalistic tree of life.
The Aabbalistic tree of life is comprise of three pillars.
(ll three pillars are interconnecte, but it is the mile
pillar that &ill become the most rele"ant to our
iscussion. The mile pillar of the Aabbalistic tree
carries the same concept as the tree of life mentione in
7e"elations8 ultimately flo&s of consciousness. ;ell
stuy the Aabbalistic tree of life in etail first. Then &ell
ta#e a careful loo# at some scriptures from 7e"elations.
$ reak%down of the Kaalistic tree of life
The left pillar on the Aabbalistic tree is calle Judgment. The right pillar is calle
Mercy. %ince balance is neee bet&een *ugment an mercy, the mile pillar is
calle Mildness.
Eont &orry, &ere going to come to unerstan &hat Judgment, Mercy an
Mildness actually mean for the human e+perience in a moment. But first I *ust &ant
to get a fe& Aabbalistic terms out on the table. Ill brea# them o&n for you in an
easy to unerstan picture in a bit.
The most important thing for you to #no& right no& is that e"erything &e are about to
iscuss in the left, right, an mile pillars are ifferent manifestations of energy. The
energies in the left an right pillars coalesce to form the mile pillar. This energy is
mental an emotional energy. These mentalBemotional energies are calle sephiroth.
There are ten sephiroth on the Aabbalistic tree of life. Three sephiroth comprise the
left pillar, four the mile, an three the right.
The left pillar of Judgment is mae up of the sephiroth of8
:nerstaning
%e"erity of *ugment
!lory
To .abbalist, the abo"e are consiere feminine F negati"e.
The right pillar of Mercy is mae up of the sephiroth of8
;isom
9o"e F mercy
4ictory
To .abbalist, the abo"e are consiere masculine F positi"e.
Eiametric energies 1positi"e an negati"e2 are responsible for manifesting all
aspects of the conscious e+perience &e term life. ;hen these energies commingle,
the conscious e+perience unfols. This is &hat creation is. This energy is e+presse
an felt through your thoughts an emotions. These energies, along &ith the
collecti"e consciousness of all souls, help shape the physical &orl at the bottom of
the Aabbalistic tree of life. In this &ay it is similar to the la& of attraction &hich states
that our thoughts an emotions create our reality. This entire process &ill be
e+plaine better through the mile pillar of Mildness.
The #iddle pillar
9ogically, the Aabbalistic tree of life &ill
ha"e a mile pillar &hich ser"es as the
center an balance of the masculine an
feminine energies that birth creation an
the conscious e+perience. 0"erall,
consier the mile pillar as the
manifestation of consciousness.
The mile pillar of Mildness is mae up
of the sephiroth of8
.ro&n 1source2
Eaat 1union of feminine
unerstaning an masculine
&isom2 J Eaat is not truly a
sephira, but it is important to
mention for reasons iscusse in a
moment.
Beauty 1union of feminine se"erity
of *ugment an masculine lo"e F
mercy2
'ounation 1union of feminine glory an masculine "ictory2
Aingom 1manifeste physical &orl2
The top of the mile pillar, 2rown or 8ether, can be consiere !o, %ource, the
higher self, or the primorial point. 3sychic energy manifests from this aspect of the
self an permeates to the lo&er mental, emotional, an physical planes. The
consciousness of .ro&n is a superBconsciousness that can ne"er be confine or
completely e+presse &ithin the confines of the human brain. ="en the total
energies of 9nderstanding an :isdom, the top t&o sephiroth of the left an right
pillar, are too much for the physical brain. /o&e"er, spar#s of this energy can be
e+presse through consciousness in the physical realm. ;e &ill spea# about
accessing these spar#s in a moment.
(ccoring to 7abbi ;olf in Practical 8a11alah# & g'ide to ;ewish :isdom and
<ver+da+ (ife, the energies of the top left an right pillars, :isdom an
9nderstanding, can be compare to the creati"e right brain an the analytical left
brain. Masculine &isom is all #no&ing, but feminine unerstaning brings tangibility
an irection to &isom. Together these energies coalesce in the mile pillar of
consciousness to e+press Eaat. Eaat then, is the union of :isdom an
9nderstanding an constitutes .nowing. To really .now something, there must be a
mental an emotional response. In other &ors, &hen the energies of :isdom an
9nderstanding fuse, it sets the stage for emotion. This leas us to the other sephira
on the right an left pillars. But before &e go there, you can thin# of :isdom,
9nderstanding, an *a=at as that &hich ta#es place on the mental plane. (s 7abbi
;olf &oul e+plain it, it is unemboie thought. /o&e"er, spar#s of this mental
energy is e+presse through the physical brain. The more balance a person is, the
more this mental energy can be manifeste in the physical &orl.
The ne+t sephira on the mile pillar is Bea't+. Just as this sephira of Bea't+ sits in
the center of the Aabbalistic tree of life, so oes the heart of man, an the sephira of
Beauty is closely associate &ith the heart because it represents the i"ine union of
se"erity of *ugment &ith lo"e an mercy, the mile energies on the left an right
pillars. True mercy is essentially higher or cosmic lo"e. But it must be balance an
restraine by *ugment. (s &e all #no&, unconitional mercy &oul manifest itself as
a nightmare on the physical realm if it &ere not balance by *ugment. In fact, an
unbalance manifestation of either of these energies is angerous to the ini"iual
an humanity as a &hole. Bea't+ then, is the proper balance of the t&o. It is an
internal emotion.
The ne+t sephira on the mile pillar is #no&n as >o'ndation. It is the i"ine union of
"ictory an glory, our purely emotional nature an our intellect. <either one coul
truly e+ist &ithout the other. =motionally, "ictory is the instinctual passions an
esires of the group soul. It is part of the subconscious, &hich e+presses itself &hen
combine &ith glory, or the intellect of man. The i"ine union of our purely emotional
nature an the intellect is the fo'ndation of the physical boy an &orl.
The last sephira on the mile pillar is 8ingdom. This is the physical &orl &here the
soul fins its e+pression through consciousness &ithin the bounaries of linear time
an space. It is a conglomeration of all the other sephiroth &e ha"e iscusse. It is
more restricti"e than the upper &orls, ho&e"er it also pro"ies for a uni6ue
opportunity for the freeom of choice an conscious e+pression. It is the final house
for all the souls uni6ue conscious flo&s, an the opportunity affors us the gift of
isco"ering ne& territory an &ays for the soul to e+press itself.
The true aim of practicing Aabbalah an using the tree of life as a tool for personal
e"elopment is to ta#e the higher consciousness of the upper &orls an bring it
o&n the &orl of 8ingdom, &here it is e+presse through man. In other &ors, it is
a means to bring hea"en to earth an !o to man.
The tree of life in the !ook of "evelations
;e may no& &rap this post up by comparing &hat &e"e learne to some important
"erses from the Boo# of 7e"elations. %ince &e"e tal#e so much about pillars, lets
start &ith a statement by Jesus in 7e"elations 38128
?im that overcometh will I make a pillar in the tem,le of m+ God, and he shall no
more go o't
By o"ercoming, Jesus simply means transcening 1not escaping2 the limitations in
the &orl of uality an materialism. ;ithout a shift in consciousness-(postle 3aul
refers to is as the rene&ing of your min-you cannot become this pillar. There &ill
be no true freeom an peace in your life, an you, as an ini"iual, &ont be free to
e+press the higher soul. If &e are honest &ith oursel"es, most of us ha"e serious
attachments in this &orl of uality. These attachments are simply imbalance
perspecti"es. These imbalance perspecti"es manifest in the form of relationships or
the esire for unnecessary materialistic gain. But by releasing consciousness from
these attachments through the proper balance of the sephiroth, you become free to
pursue &ho you are meant to be in a healthy an balance manner. 3erfect balance
an e6uilibrium is the #ey to becoming the pillar in the temple of !o that Jesus
spea#s of.
;e shoul ne"er thin# of cosmic energies of goo or e"il, but rather negati"e or
positi"e. Eepening on ho& balance the energies are &ithin you &ill etermine
either a negati"e or positi"e conscious e+perience.
In 7e"elations 28K Jesus also states8
To him that overcometh will I give to eat of the tree of life, which is in the midst of
the ,aradise of God (evelations "#$%!
(s you can see, the tree of life in 7e"elations is centere in the paradise of &od'
The paraise of !o is perfect peace an e6uilibrium of all the cosmic energies that
ma#e up the upper an lo&er &orls. It is a similar concept to the mile pillar of
Mildness in the Aabbalistic tree of life.
9ets loo# at t&o more "erses from the last chapter in the Boo# of 7e"elations8
&nd he showed me a pure river of water of life, clear as cr+stal, ,roceeding o't of
the throne of God and of the (am1! In the midst of the street of it, and on either
side of the river, was there the tree of life, which 1are twelve manner of fr'its, and
+ielded her fr'it ever+ month# and the leaves of the tree were for the healing of the
nations (evelations ""#"%!
The ri"er spo#en of abo"e is the ri"er of consciousness 1flo& of consciousness2 from
the higher &orls to the physical &orl. .
!as#ells Eictionary of %cripture an Myth efines ri"ers as such8
7i"er8 ( symbol of the Ei"ine 9ife forthBpouring from abo"e, an passing o&n&ars
through e"ery planeL@
The throne of &od symboli5es Crown at the top of the mile pillar in the
Aabbalistic tree of life.
This also e+plains &hy the =5e#iel temple has a ri"er of healing &aters that flo& from
unerneath the altar an bring healing to e"erything as it flo&s out&ar. This healing
is the balance of cosmic energies &ithin our soul, &hich fins its final e+pression on
the 8ingdom or physical plane.
Kundalini (oga )ractice and !elief
Just as the Aabbalistic tree of life has three pillars, the #unalini yoga system has
three main channels that contain the flo& of prana 1subtle psychic energies2 an
ascent of #unalini in the boy. %ushumna is the central channel that runs from the
base cha#ra to the cro&n cha#ra. It can be compare to the mile pillar of the tree
of life, an it also represents a higher conscious e+perience &hen the energies in the
left an right channels are balance. The left channel is #no&n as Ia. It is feminine
an is consiere negati"e in polarity. 3ingala is #no&n as the right channel. It is
masculine an is consiere to be positi"e in polarity. These channels are also
compare to ri"ers, containing the same imagery as &e get form the Boo# of
7e"elations.
In my ne+t post &e &ill be iscussing ho& the Boo# of 7e"elations is a spiritual
*ourney to&ars higher consciousness. It &ill also incorporate information on
#unalini an cha#ras. This is a busy time of the year for me so it may ta#e me a
&hile to get the ne+t fe& post out. Mour patience is appreciate.
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