E117 - Marc Gafni: Decoding The Kabbalah Tree Of Life: Realize Your Unique Self & Unleash Eros

This week we explore the depths of Kabbalah, unique self, and Eros with renowned philosopher Marc Gafni. He begins by defining the foundational concepts of Kabbalah, setting the stage for an exploration of the interplay between masculine and feminine energies that shape our reality. He introduces the profound symbol of the Tree of Life and its relevance to personal mastery. As he describes each piece of the 11 stories in the Tree of Life, the discussion unfolds to encompass the realms of imagination, understanding, and the balance between love and boundaries, highlighting the beauty of contradictions and the coexistence of joy amidst life's challenges. He then describes the concept of unique self, an understanding of self that transcends the misconceptions of both Western and Eastern traditions. As the episode progresses, we delve into how Eros can serve as a portal to deepening intimacy, and ultimately heal our disconnected world. André's Book Recommendations: https://www.knowthyself.one/books ___________ 0:00 Intro 1:40 Defining Kabbalah: A Mathematics of Cosmic Intimacy 9:57 Masculine and Feminine Energy in the Universe 20:50 Introducing The Tree of Life 22:19 Keter: The Profound Power of Silence 30:43 Chochmah & Binah: Ideas, Imagination & Understanding 32:49 Chesed & Gevurah: Outrageous Love & Boundaries 35:31 Tiferet: Laughter & Beauty that Holds All Contradictions 38:51 True Meaning of Beauty & Laughter 49:16 Netzach & Hod: Forever & Surrender 51:50 Yesod & Malchut: That Which Receives & Becomes 52:11 Practical Applications of This Wisdom 1:01:56 Finding Light in the Broken Heart 1:07:28 Every Place You’ve Been, You’ve Needed to Be 1:09:21 Who Are You? Defining Separate Self vs True Self 1:19:02 The East & West Both Got This Wrong: The Emergence of Unique Self 1:29:46 Infinity Desires Finitude: What True Love Is 1:37:28 Qualities of Unique Self: Looking Beyond Nondual Thinking 1:44:54 Your Risk to Bring Your Gift into the World 1:53:40 Framework for Defining & Unlocking Your Purpose 1:55:54 Shadow-work: Your Pathway to Purpose 2:08:23 Your Unique Obligation 2:15:51 Eros: Desire as a Portal to Deepening 2:30:08 Earth’s Problematic Intimacy Disorder 2:40:27 Human Love: From Soulmate to Whole-mate 2:56:38 Conclusion ___________ Dr. Marc Gafni has been described as a world philosopher — a kind of galaxy heart brain — integrating wisdom from across multiple disciplines into what he has called a New Story of Value in response to the meta-crisis. Gafni’s doctorate is from Oxford University with a masters degree from Bar Ilan University. He holds an orthodox rabbinic certification from the Chief Rabbinate in Israel and non-denominational rabbinic ordination. He is the author of forty books, of which only the first twelve have been published, including the award-winning Your Unique Self: The Radical Path to Personal Enlightenment. Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/marcgafni/ YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/c/MarcGafni First Principles and First Values (book): https://www.amazon.com/First-Principles-Values-Propositions-Cosmoerotic/dp/B0CS85WYVX A Return to Eros: the Radical Experience of Being Fully Alive (book): https://www.amazon.com/Return-Eros-Radical-Experience-Being/dp/1944648186 Your Unique Self: the Radical Path to Personal Enlightenment (book): https://www.amazon.com/Your-Unique-Self-Personal-Enlightenment/dp/1467522775/ ___________ Know Thyself Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/knowthyself/ Website: https://www.knowthyself.one Clips Channel: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCJ4wglCWTJeWQC0exBalgKg Listen to all episodes on Audio: Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/4FSiemtvZrWesGtO2MqTZ4?si=d389c8dee8fa4026 Apple: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/know-thyself/id1633725927 André Duqum Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/andreduqum/