Isaac Luria And Some Spiritual Benefits Of Reading

[volgadon]

This might be of interest to some. Worlds Without End had a discussion on the psychological (and spiritual) benefits of reading the Book of Mormon somewhat like one would do with a novel. That is, a “casual, straightforward read.” http://www.withoutend.org/not-so-novel-read-book-mormon

There is an early modern precedent for this kind of reading of sacred writings. R. Isaac Luria Ashkenazi (the Ari, or Arizal), a seminal figure in the history of Jewish mysticism, was, in Lawrence Fine’s memorable phrase, “physician of the soul.” The cosmos was held to be mirrored in the human body and soul, so both the heavenly and the earthly affected and influenced each other. Luria prescribed several practices to one of his disciples to prepare him for recieving the Holy Spirit. Among these was a straight-forward reading of the Zohar, at least fifty pages a day. My blog post describes these methods in greater detail, which is always useful for comparison with our own practices. It also, I hope, provides an argument for not neglecting the past when studying the present.

http://calba-savua.blogspot.com/2013/01/isaac-luria-and-spiritual-benefits-of.html

[mfbukowski]

I have often advocated reading the Standard Works once a year which sounds like a terribly daunting task.

If you add up all the pages in the Standard Works and divide by 365 you will find that if you read around 7 (SEVEN!) pages a day, you could read the Standard Works in one year.

Imagine what you would know if you did that for every year of your life. How well would you know the scriptures?

I have found that this kind of compressed study is powerful in revealing the great panorama of the scriptures from beginning to end and indeed brings one closer to the spirit. It almost becomes a year-long vision in which one is taken to the mountain top and shown the end and the beginning in one vast vision.

And doing it annually? Amazing!

Edited January 22, 2013 by mfbukowski

[volgadon]

I have often advocated reading the Standard Works once a year which sounds like a terribly daunting task.

If you add up all the pages in the Standard Works and divide by 365 you will find that if you read around 7 (SEVEN!) pages a day, you could read the Standard Works in one year.

Imagine what you would know if you did that for every year of your life. How well would you know the scriptures?

I have found that this kind of compressed study is powerful in revealing the great panorama of the scriptures from beginning to end and indeed brings one closer to the spirit. It almost becomes a year-long vision in which one is taken to the mountain top and shown the end and the beginning in one vast vision.

And doing it annually? Amazing!

Great idea, I think I'll have a go at it. Seven pages is not counting the indices, right?

[mfbukowski]

Great idea, I think I'll have a go at it. Seven pages is not counting the indices, right?

Right- just the scriptures. I even have been known to the skip the headings- they are just someone's ideas of what is important and I want to determine that for myself!

Edited January 22, 2013 by mfbukowski

[volgadon]

Right- just the scriptures. I even have been known to the skip the headings- they are just someone's ideas of what is important and I want to determine that for myself!

I don't usually read the headings anyway, not unless I need to check quickly if I have the right chapter.

[The Nehor]

The Book of Mormon is not a good novel. Nephi prophesies how it ends before you are through the first 15 chapters and then Mormon steps in with his Words and tells you again how it ends.....ending any suspense that the prophecy might have meant something else. Then there are the long monologues. If the Book of Mormon is a good novel then Atlas Shrugged is a good novel. Of course the Book of Mormon is still a better novel because the monologues are shorter and more interesting and do not boil down to advice on how to be a self-centered jerk.

[CV75]

I have often advocated reading the Standard Works once a year which sounds like a terribly daunting task.

If you add up all the pages in the Standard Works and divide by 365 you will find that if you read around 7 (SEVEN!) pages a day, you could read the Standard Works in one year.

Imagine what you would know if you did that for every year of your life. How well would you know the scriptures?

I have found that this kind of compressed study is powerful in revealing the great panorama of the scriptures from beginning to end and indeed brings one closer to the spirit. It almost becomes a year-long vision in which one is taken to the mountain top and shown the end and the beginning in one vast vision.

And doing it annually? Amazing!

I did this on my mission--rotated 1/2 hour of each a day, so of course the Old Testament was read only twice but the other standard works a dozen times or more.

Now I just read the Book of Mormon daily (so I'm reading it 3 times as year) and the other standard works (cover-to-cover, no study guide for me!) in their Sunday School rotation.

Sometimes I read through a book slowly, and sometimes quickly. Once, under dire circumstances in my mission (a 24-hour military curfew), my companions and I read the Book of Mormon cover-to-cover in one day; 16 hours!

I delve into subjects separately whenever I have a question.

Edited January 22, 2013 by CV75

[CV75]

The cosmos was held to be mirrored in the human body and soul, so both the heavenly and the earthly affected and influenced each other. Luria prescribed several practices to one of his disciples to prepare him for recieving the Holy Spirit.

Great concept--not to get overly weird on this, but my wife has observed (for herself) a certain rhythm in the Book of Mormon itself--almost mathematically formulaic--that exercises and trains the mind and spirit apart from the messages and teachings.

[Tacenda]

This might be of interest to some. Worlds Without End had a discussion on the psychological (and spiritual) benefits of reading the Book of Mormon somewhat like one would do with a novel. That is, a “casual, straightforward read.” http://www.withoutend.org/not-so-novel-read-book-mormon

There is an early modern precedent for this kind of reading of sacred writings. R. Isaac Luria Ashkenazi (the Ari, or Arizal), a seminal figure in the history of Jewish mysticism, was, in Lawrence Fine’s memorable phrase, “physician of the soul.” The cosmos was held to be mirrored in the human body and soul, so both the heavenly and the earthly affected and influenced each other. Luria prescribed several practices to one of his disciples to prepare him for recieving the Holy Spirit. Among these was a straight-forward reading of the Zohar, at least fifty pages a day. My blog post describes these methods in greater detail, which is always useful for comparison with our own practices. It also, I hope, provides an argument for not neglecting the past when studying the present.

http://calba-savua.b...enefits-of.html

I'm a sad example of reading the BoM. My mind wanders and I'll read a page and not know what I just read. I'm hoping to be able to read the copy of the 1830 BoM that I purchased then lost somewhere and found, and now can read. I need to get a testimony of it again, so it's needed. I like that it is in chapters, reading just like a novel!

[volgadon]

The Book of Mormon is not a good novel. Nephi prophesies how it ends before you are through the first 15 chapters and then Mormon steps in with his Words and tells you again how it ends.....ending any suspense that the prophecy might have meant something else. Then there are the long monologues. If the Book of Mormon is a good novel then Atlas Shrugged is a good novel. Of course the Book of Mormon is still a better novel because the monologues are shorter and more interesting and do not boil down to advice on how to be a self-centered jerk.

Well, if you want to compare things to Atlas Shrugged, then even the Fountainhead is a good novel.

[volgadon]

I'm a sad example of reading the BoM. My mind wanders and I'll read a page and not know what I just read. I'm hoping to be able to read the copy of the 1830 BoM that I purchased then lost somewhere and found, and now can read. I need to get a testimony of it again, so it's needed. I like that it is in chapters, reading just like a novel!

Does your mind wander with other kinds of books? If it does, finding the common denominator might be helpful in overcoming the obstacle. I know Im glad once I take the time to know myself better as a reader.

[The Nehor]

Well, if you want to compare things to Atlas Shrugged, then even the Fountainhead is a good novel.

I think "less putrid" would be a more accurate comparison,

[JeremyOrbe-Smith]

Grant Hardy's Reader's Edition of the Book of Mormon is awesome.

I tend to read the scriptures straight through, personally; isolated fragments can be misleading, because context is everything! For the Hebrew scriptures, I really like the Jewish Study Bible.

[Darren10]

I have often advocated reading the Standard Works once a year which sounds like a terribly daunting task.

If you add up all the pages in the Standard Works and divide by 365 you will find that if you read around 7 (SEVEN!) pages a day, you could read the Standard Works in one year.

Imagine what you would know if you did that for every year of your life. How well would you know the scriptures?

I have found that this kind of compressed study is powerful in revealing the great panorama of the scriptures from beginning to end and indeed brings one closer to the spirit. It almost becomes a year-long vision in which one is taken to the mountain top and shown the end and the beginning in one vast vision.

And doing it annually? Amazing!

Most excellent!!!

[volgadon]

I think "less putrid" would be a more accurate comparison,

Aye, very true. We've probably earned the undying wrath of Rand fans with this thread alone.

[Darren10]

This might be of interest to some. Worlds Without End had a discussion on the psychological (and spiritual) benefits of reading the Book of Mormon somewhat like one would do with a novel. That is, a “casual, straightforward read.” http://www.withoutend.org/not-so-novel-read-book-mormon

There is an early modern precedent for this kind of reading of sacred writings. R. Isaac Luria Ashkenazi (the Ari, or Arizal), a seminal figure in the history of Jewish mysticism, was, in Lawrence Fine’s memorable phrase, “physician of the soul.” The cosmos was held to be mirrored in the human body and soul, so both the heavenly and the earthly affected and influenced each other. Luria prescribed several practices to one of his disciples to prepare him for recieving the Holy Spirit. Among these was a straight-forward reading of the Zohar, at least fifty pages a day. My blog post describes these methods in greater detail, which is always useful for comparison with our own practices. It also, I hope, provides an argument for not neglecting the past when studying the present.

http://calba-savua.b...enefits-of.html

Very cool.

[Darren10]

I think "less putrid" would be a more accurate comparison,

Heh!!!

[Darren10]

The Book of Mormon is not a good novel. Nephi prophesies how it ends before you are through the first 15 chapters and then Mormon steps in with his Words and tells you again how it ends.....ending any suspense that the prophecy might have meant something else.

That's funny.

[The Nehor]

Aye, very true. We've probably earned the undying wrath of Rand fans with this thread alone.

Luckily for them Glenn Beck is planning a new libertarian "go galt" utopia. Their hatred matters much less to me then the comedy that is sure to come out of this thrilling new venture.

[Bill “Papa” Lee]

I have often advocated reading the Standard Works once a year which sounds like a terribly daunting task.

If you add up all the pages in the Standard Works and divide by 365 you will find that if you read around 7 (SEVEN!) pages a day, you could read the Standard Works in one year.

Imagine what you would know if you did that for every year of your life. How well would you know the scriptures?

I have found that this kind of compressed study is powerful in revealing the great panorama of the scriptures from beginning to end and indeed brings one closer to the spirit. It almost becomes a year-long vision in which one is taken to the mountain top and shown the end and the beginning in one vast vision.

And doing it annually? Amazing!

I have a few times...

[volgadon]

Great concept--not to get overly weird on this, but my wife has observed (for herself) a certain rhythm in the Book of Mormon itself--almost mathematically formulaic--that exercises and trains the mind and spirit apart from the messages and teachings.

Not as weird as it sounds when you consider that reading was not a private, silent affair, but that books were meant to be read aloud to an audience. Melodies and rhythms in the texts themselves make a lot of sense, a theological voice, to use Jacob Neusner's phrase. I hope you write more about this.

[Calm]

Great concept--not to get overly weird on this, but my wife has observed (for herself) a certain rhythm in the Book of Mormon itself--almost mathematically formulaic--that exercises and trains the mind and spirit apart from the messages and teachings.

Get your wife on here to explain her POV, sounds interesting.

[Calm]

I'm a sad example of reading the BoM. My mind wanders and I'll read a page and not know what I just read. I'm hoping to be able to read the copy of the 1830 BoM that I purchased then lost somewhere and found, and now can read. I need to get a testimony of it again, so it's needed. I like that it is in chapters, reading just like a novel!

I have the same problem, I've read it often enough (which isn't that often, I just have a good memory for text) that my mind jumps ahead and fills in what comes next which causes the unoccupied part to wander. We got the Earliest Text version that has the text in the sound phrases or whatever they are called and I am hoping that will help me avoid the problem. I do read scriptures often, but more on a particular topic I am researching rather than front to back. Edited January 23, 2013 by calmoriah

[CV75]

Not as weird as it sounds when you consider that reading was not a private, silent affair, but that books were meant to be read aloud to an audience. Melodies and rhythms in the texts themselves make a lot of sense, a theological voice, to use Jacob Neusner's phrase. I hope you write more about this.

I always took it to mean that there is a rhythm in the universe that plays out in the Book or Mormon. It is apart from the actual words and language since it is read in so many languages. This rhythm may something that all things have in common as being made by God (“…all things denote there is a God; yea, even the earth, and all things that are upon the face of it, yea, and its motion, yea, and also all the planets which move in their regular form do witness that there is a Supreme Creator.”). Not only the things themselves or what is in them or what makes them tick, but a signature trace or wake from God that is the same in all of them, including pure scripture. So reading it from front-to-back, or in any order from that matter, would reveal this "code." My wife calls it a kind of logic or cause and effect (but she really can't put words to it) that helps her think and see things differently.

Of course, more superficially this pattern might refer to the chiastic structure, which going beyond a literal application, might also provide a subliminal means of training the mind and spirit using a chiastic flow of ideas on many levels (verses, chapters, books, the whole book, etc.). If that's the case, we obviously wouldn't get a full sense or benefit of this until the sealed portion is revealed.

[CV75]

Get your wife on here to explain her POV, sounds interesting.

In deference to her interests, I will at the very least transcribe what she has to say!