The Nephesh

It's been more than a month since the last update to this blog, for which I am sorry as the finer details of Kabbalah with Jacbus may have faded. On the other hand, if I had a good relationship with my Nephesh or Instinctual Self, the aspect of the Soul we share with the animals, then I should have total recall.

Nephesh and Ru'ach (Neshamah omitted for the time-being)

Primitive emotions like hate and anger, memory and insticts are all part of the Nephesh. Apparently it remembers absolutely everything but its reasoning is by association. For example if a dog bit you then the reaction to other dogs, even if they want to be your friend (and perhaps make you coffee), would be apprehension and fear. The Nephesh forms a generalisation with a premise at its foundation, a premise that may not necessarily be true. This is deductive reasoning.

The part of us that is aware and conscious is called the Middle Self or Ru'ach. Its reasoning is opposite to that of the Nephesh as its logic moves from specific facts based on observation to a conclusion. This is called inductive reasoning. Not like the Nephesh. Yet, the Nephesh is important as it provides the power needed to act, change our behaviour and bring creativity and fulfillment into our everyday lives. It is the builder of our lives.

I like the story attached to these 2 concepts of Nephesh and Ru'ach: J described a cartoon of a dwarf strutting with self-assurance, holding a rope. That was the first frame of the cartoon. The next frame showed what was at the end of the rope: an enormous rhinoceros obediantly following the dwarf.

Subpersonalities

Some Kabbalists believe that the Nephesh is almost like an independent person inside of us and can behave on its own; if the Nephesh is not in sync with the rest of the psyche it can act in bizzare ways, making the body sick because it has deduced that life may not be worth living. This idea overlaps with what I have learned about subpersonalities or archetypes within the unconscious. Some of these people within us may not see eye to eye, they may be in disagreement or they may lack awareness of the true nature of life.

The distress of these subpersonalities can be projected onto others causing them to act negatively to us.

Noten Kavod

As a result Kabbalists have developed a technique of “leveling the playing field”, a method of giving respect to all things in our world, from objects like a rock to animals and people. It is touching to hear stories of how people have come to J at a shopping centre or restaurant to ask what he did. Some people sense it. He would say that he gave them respect, and always the response is to give respect back.

The Nephesh responds to respect; it is exactly what needs to be practised in the world today, a respect for all life. Experts in communication say that 80% of communication is non-verbal – for example body language and more subtle means like sensing the energy-field of another. This fact makes the practice of Noten Kavod all the more important. If 80% of all communication is non-verbal then it is the most important way in healing and improving our romantic, everyday and working relationships.

With practice, it goes without saying then that Noten Kavod will heal our own Nephesh and subpersonalities.

Friends

Becoming friends with the Nephesh brings the qualities, abilities and resources of the Nephesh into our everyday lives. It is a vital part of healthy living, of being a person in the world and achieving our deepest goals.