About Ayeka

“Where are you?”
“Ayeka” is a Hebrew word that means “where are you?” Why have I chosen to name my healing practice after this question? What is its significance for our healing and spiritual journey?

This is the first question that appears in the Book of Genesis, Gen. 3:9, when God appears to be searching for Adam, but wouldn’t the Source of Life already know the answer? Or, is “Ayeka” a question that is asked, not for the Creator’s benefit, but for our own to help guide us into relationship with whatever is arising in the moment in our experience — to help us “turn our face to God” as the mystics would say?

Kabbalah teaches that the theme of the universe is relationship. One way that we can gain insights into our relationship with ourselves, others, and the world is by bringing our attention to “where we are” in any given moment. Kabbalah gives us a framework for exploring the question “Ayeka” through its paradigm of the four universes: the universe of Assiyah (the physical world), the universe of Yetzerah (the psychological world), the more unified spiritual universe of Briah, and the most essential and integrated universe of Atzilut.

Physical

In the universe of Assiyah, we respond to the question “Ayeka” by bringing our awareness to our physical bodies. For those of us who work in an office or spend a lot of our time on our computers and phones, we may spend little time focusing attention on our physical bodies and its sensations. Developing this ability is revealing and healing.

Psychological

As we further consider the question “where are you?”, we meet our inner psychological world (the universe of Yetzerah) and consider such questions as where are we in relationship to the thoughts and feelings that we are having. Are we aware of them and how they may be influencing how we experience life? Are we resisting or attaching to a particular thought or feeling, and are we aware of how that resistance or attachment is a cause of suffering in our lives?

At this level of inquiry, we may also explore how we have been shaped by our early history and how this history impacts our current relationships – with our spouse or partner, parents, children, siblings, friends, and even strangers. As we deepen our exploration, we may become aware of a connection between a previously unconscious feeling or belief and a particular physical symptom or illness, an addiction, depression, anxiety, or co-dependent relationship, and with this awareness bring healing to these areas of our lives.

Spiritual

As we experience the higher and more unified spiritual universe of Briah, we discover that we can allow more spaciousness in relationship to our physical, psychological and spiritual experiences and we develop a greater ability to be with what is present and arising. We begin to see through the illusion of our belief that we are separate-only beings and to experience the opposites and diversity that exist in this world as dualistic expressions of an underlying unity.

We may also begin to explore where we are in relationship to the Higher or the Divine – or whatever name we use to describe God or the One. We may begin to ask such questions as do we feel that any part of our life is unintegrated or separate from Wholeness and, if so, how is that affecting our experience of life? Do we feel connected and aligned with our higher purpose and, if not, what is in the way and how do we make that connection?

In the deeply integrated and unified Kabbalistic universe of Atzilut, we experience a state of surrender and grace which is reflected in the way that we live our life. The integrated quality of this universe is conveyed in Mahatma Ghandi’s statement: “My life is my message”.

“Here I am”

How we answer “Ayeka” in any moment will tell us exactly where we are in relationship with Reality and that is, I believe, the intent of the question and what we need to consider in order to help us live a conscious and awakened life.

Hee-Nay-Nee

We let the question bring our awareness to exactly where we are in the present moment, a place where we can say Hee-Nay-Nee — or “Here I am” — with whatever is present in our lives, our joys and our sorrows, our clarity and our confusion, our separateness and our Wholeness. It is in that moment that healing occurs and spirituality deepens, and we gain the freedom that comes with a greater ability to be with life as it is. It is in the spirit of the all-encompassing nature of this question that I have chosen “Ayeka” as the name for my healing center.

Wherever you are on your healing and spiritual journey, the Ayeka Healing Circle is a place where you can begin or deepen your exploration and move into greater awareness, integration, healing and wholeness.

Where are you?