Beshara Online Seminar Kabbalah: The Mystic in the Marketplace Sunday 30th January @ 15:00 – 16:30 GMT
The seminar will be led by Kurt Browne & Joanna Lapage-Browne
Seminar Description
Kabbalah, meaning ‘receive’, is a living tradition concerning life – its Source, purpose, and its Divine plan.
At its heart is Jacob’s Ladder, the extended form of the Tree of Life illustrating the relationship between the four levels within existence – physical, psychological, spiritual, and divine. In its classical and contemporary form, the Tradition is relevant to all humanity, providing a path to Self-realisation.
In this online seminar, we will give a brief introduction to the Tradition and aim to show how the teaching is made real in the marketplace of life; providing perspective and hope for ourselves and our world.
A Live Workshop in North London with Jonathon Clark
14:30 – 17:30 GMT – 9th January, 2022
The astrological chart drawn for the moment of a significant event is an excellent tool for contemplating the wonders of the heavenly bodies and their resonance with the Kabbalistic Tree of Life.
Jonathon Clark has been a student of astrology and Kabbalah for more than 30 years. Full details are available from his website www.jonathonclark.com
The first workshop of the year will look at the body and the Way of Action, its relationship to the Tree of Life and the psyche (the Yetziratic Tree). In the morning session, physical exercises and meditations will be practiced to investigate the body and its relationship to the Four Elements of Earth, Water, Air and Fire. In the afternoon session, we will continue to work with and unify these more within us so that we can deepen our experience of the Four Worlds and hence receive more of the influx of the upper worlds.
Kabbalah and our Heart – 23rd July
In this workshop, we will look at the Kabbalistic tradition and our Heart. With the Tree of Compassion, we work on our experience of Energy and Structure, its connection to the Way of Devotion, the development of Compassion and their relationship to the Tree of Life. Different exercises and meditations will be used to research this path developing the experience of the flow of grace from above and how it comes out in the world.
Kabbalah and our Mind and Vision – 10th December
In this workshop, we will look at the Kabbalistic tradition of our Mind and our Vision. We will study the Tree of Awareness and with different meditations, the relationship between the psyche (the Yetziratic Tree) and the Spirit (the Beriatic Tree) will be investigated. The Way of Contemplation and the training of the focus of the mind provide a clear method to connect to and experience the upper worlds.
We will also study the experience of our Vision externally and internally. Firstly, exercises will be taught to help understand how the perception of our environment is intimately entwined with our Fate (the condition we came into this world with). Then guided internal meditations help us to develop our internal vision bringing us more into contact with the upper worlds. With practice, we can stabilise these experiences gradually harmonising both the internal and external vision. This in turn can help develop our vision of our potential Destiny.
Teacher: The workshops will be with Andy Henry, who has been teaching Kabbalah since 2005. He has studied Kabbalah with the late Z’ev Ben Shimon Halevi and other teachers since 1995. He is a well-established teacher and healer in the Eastern Traditions, running healing clinics and teaching groups in England, Spain, and Portugal since 1990. The workshop will be in English with Spanish translation.
Venue: Online via Zoom
Time: Morning session: 10:30–12:00 (UK time) The morning session will be open from 10:00. Please aim to join the session before 10:15 so that Andy can begin on time.
Afternoon session: 14:00-15:30 (UK time) The afternoon session will be open from 13:45. Please aim to join then so that Andy can begin on time.
Donation: The workshop is offered free to support those financially impacted by the pandemic. However, if you would like to make a donation, it would be greatly appreciated.
Booking: Please book your place with Amyas on taijiwuxigonglondon1@gmail.com
Please note: all admin-related queries should go to Amyas at taijiwuxigonglondon1@gmail.com. For queries about the study, experiences or practice, please email Andy at taijiwuxigong@hotmail.com.
An Introduction to the Esoteric Basis of Wordsworth’s Poetry with Peter Brennan
…Them the enduring and the transient both Serve to exalt. They build up greatest things From least suggestions, ever on the watch, Willing to work and to be wrought upon. They need not extraordinary calls To rouse them: in a world of life they live, By sensible impressions not enthralled, But quickened, roused, and made thereby more fit To hold communion with the invisible world… Hence sovereignty within and peace at will, Emotion which best foresight need not fear, Most worthy then of trust when most intense; Hence cheerfulness in every act of life; Hence truth in moral judgments and delight That fails not in the external universe. THE PRELUDE (1805) Book XIII, 97 – 119
Saturday 22 and Sunday 23 January 15:30 – 18:00 GMT via Zoom (Waiting room will open at 15:00 GMT)
Cost: £55.Please use the PayPal link at the bottom of the page, or send funds to PayPal using Peter’s email address: brennos@hotmail.com
Handouts: The course handout will be emailed to you early in the New Year, or subsequently as soon as you join the course,
Zoom Platform: The Zoom link will be sent out several hours in advance of the first session.
Following his Paradise Lost for Kabbalistsin January 2021, Peter Brennan now offers an exploration of the work of one of the great Romantic poets who wrote in the aftermath of that epic.
Wordsworth revolutionised the ways in which poetry illuminates the relationship of the individual to the divine. His insights into the purposes and potential of incarnation are at the very heart of his poetic project.
Starting with a consideration of the Intimations of Immortality Ode, we shall reflect on a number of crucial passages from his innovatory psychological epic, The Prelude, in which the truth of spiritual understanding is challenged by ‘man’s unhappiness and guilt’ and by the increasingly powerful materialistic tendencies of his age. Wordsworth’s reassertion of faith in the transcendent reality of life is one of the most exhilarating achievements of English poetry – speaking with compelling eloquence to the contradictions, complexities, and antagonisms of our own time. The course concludes with Coleridge’s last major poem in which he pays tribute to his friend for revealing ‘the foundations and the building up/Of a Human Spirit.’
No previous knowledge is required. What can seem daunting, quickly becomes accessible and enjoyable once it is read aloud and clarified.
Peter Brennan has studied Kabbalah in Warren Kenton’s school for over 20 years. He was for many years Head of English at The Latymer School in north London and has subsequently taught over 60 courses at City Lit College in central London. Peter especially enjoys disclosing the esoteric basis of English poetry, from Chaucer, Spenser, and Shakespeare to the present day, and intends the Wordsworth course to be the first in a sequence illuminating the esoteric underpinnings of Romantic poetry.
Peter Brennan’s teaching shows literature to be an engagement with the most serious questions of moral, emotional, and spiritual life. His vast and detailed knowledge of texts allows him to challenge his students, and himself, to find new orientations in life through reading, study, and discussion. His teaching can help people, and it continues to help me, to make meaning out of literature and of life. – Dr. Tom Jones, Senior Lecturer and Director of Research in English, University of St Andrews
IN THE EARLY ‘80s, a small group of companions decided to read Z’ev ben Shimon Halevi’s (Warren Kenton) book, Adam and the Kabbalistic Tree. We met every Tuesday evening around 8:00 pm in our home at Greencroft Gardens to read a chapter of this book, paragraph by paragraph, sharing comments, or observations, or gleaned insights. Sometimes the conversations were so rich we would cover one or two pages. On many occasions Warren would join us and sit on the sofa, listening to us reading his book. At times, when we came upon more complex passages, and we couldn’t work it out, we were able to say, “Warren what do you mean by this?” He would then explain. Over the years we also read A Kabbalistic Universe under his watchful eye.
In this manner, Joanna and I would like to invite you to join us in reading Warren’s last book, Kabbalistic Contemplations. We will ask you to read two contemplations before each session so we can discuss and share our observations as we proceed, allowing the pace of the session to be dictated by the dynamic of the conversation and insights.
OUR FREE ONLINE SESSIONS will commence in January 2022, for a period of ten, fortnightly sessions (dates below) in the first instance, after which time we will decide, as a group, if we wish to continue. Please note these sessions will not be recorded.
KABBALISTIC CONTEMPLATIONS Themes for Consideration Author: Z’ev ben Shimon Halevi
Contemplation is a working method for expanding the mind and deepening one’s understanding of Existence. Kabbalistic diagrams set out a metaphysical framework. As well as considering the macrocosmic aspects of the universe, we focus on the crucial role of humanity in terms of religion, psychology, astrology, and schools of the soul. Each topic is a basis for further contemplation in both individual and group work.
Due to the Covid uncertainty, there will not be a public memorial event (21st September 2021) this year. However, this book and a new videowill commemorate Warren as well as the written and oral aspects of his teaching. The book contains many of Warren’s favourite themes from a cosmic to a human scale.
The book is now available through a global distribution network: please order from your local book store, from Amazon, or directly from the Kabbalah Society website’s bookshop. Please click here.
This year is the 50th anniversary of Warren writing his first Kabbalah book, The Tree of Life, and the beginning of his first Kabbalah group in 1971. This is a good time to reflect on his legacy.
Group meetings offer a sacred space within which we learn about the Toledano tradition and share ideas and experiences with companions. Time for meditation allows for devotional practice and space within which to raise consciousness through guided imagery journeys.
Wednesday Group: Weekly meetings over three terms during October – July. Newcomers should first contact Joanna or Kurt by telephone or email.
Monthly Saturday Group: Meetings take the format of two-morning sessions. Newcomers should first contact Joanna or Kurt by telephone or email.
Monday Meditations: Newcomers should first contact Joanna or Kurt by telephone or email.
Please go here for all group meetings held over three terms, commencing October 2021.
An online Saturday workshop on Kabbalah and our Mind and our Vision with Andy Henry
In this workshop, we will look at the Kabbalistic tradition of our Mind and our Vision. We will study the Tree of Awareness, and with different meditations, the relationship between the psyche (the Yetziratic Tree) and the Spirit (the Beriatic Tree) will be investigated. The Way of Contemplation, and the training of the focus of the mind, provide a clear method to connect to and experience the upper worlds. We will also study the experience of our Vision externally and internally.
Teacher: Andy has been teaching Kabbalah since 2005. He has studied Kabbalah with Z’ev Ben Shimon Halevi and other spiritual teachers since 1995. He is a well-established teacher and healer in the Eastern Traditions, running healing clinics and teaching groups in England, Spain, and Portugal since 1990. The workshop will be in English with Spanish translation.
For further information please see PDF here. Thank you.
THE WAY OF KABBALAH Facilitators: Kurt Browne and Joanna Lapage-Browne Residential: Hawkwood College, Stroud, Gloucestershire, England
The course is suitable for both newcomers and those who have been in the School for many years. Just come along – with a receptive, discerning heart and mind and humour.
In 2015, Warren asked us if we would carry on with running summer school and handed it over to us.
Our intention continues to be, to pass on the teaching of the Toledano Tradition that has been so clearly reformulated by Warren, using the Tree of Life and Jacob’s Ladder as our guides.
During the four days, contemplation, slide lectures, guided imagery, meditation and ritual will assist us in bringing the principles to life through experience and reflection. The afternoon break will allow time for solitude, conversation, local trips, or walks in the beautiful grounds and woods.
Format: the pattern for each day
Breakfast – 8.30 am Session 1 – 9.30 am – 11.00 am Coffee – 11.00 am – 11.30 am Session 2 – 11.30 am – 12.45 pm Lunch – 1.00 pm Afternoon free Tea – 4.00 pm Session 3 – 4.30 pm – 6.00 pm Supper – 6.30 pm Session 4 – 8.00 pm – 9.15 pm
Books: Kabbalah Society books will be available to purchase during the course.
Kurt Browne and Joanna Lapage-Browne: Kurt and Joanna have studied in the Toledano Tradition School of the Soul, founded by Z’ev ben Shimon Halevi – Warren Kenton (1933-2020), since the early 1970s. They live and work in London and have a son, two daughters, and seven grandchildren. They run Kabbalah groups together and have led courses on the tradition for over 30 years in Europe, Africa, the USA, Mexico, and Japan.
Hawkwood College: An old English mansion with exceptional views overlooking the countryside, surrounded by woodland and fields. Even the distant mountains of Wales can be seen from there. While the course is intense, it is also a holiday in good company. Here, enduring friendships are forged between people from many lands. This is a characteristic of the Kabbalah Society’s School of the Soul.
Hawkwood College – Struggling to survive the Pandemic
As with many arts and educational charities, Hawkwood is struggling to survive the pandemic. It is under considerable financial pressure and its future is constantly under threat which is testing its resilience. The impact of COVID-19 has been significant and Hawkwood relies heavily on the income generated through its courses and events. Understandably, this situation has had an impact on the summer school course fees this year. However, more than ever, Hawkwood needs our help and has been a ‘home’ for the summer school for over 30 years, we wish to support them through these challenging times in whatever way we can.
Bet El Trust Bursary Award
While we understand the Summer School course fees may be out of reach for some during these difficult times, the Bet El Trust can now offer financial help in particular circumstances, as specified in our Trust Deed to “making grants and awarding bursaries”, its two broad purposes being
“i. the propagation of kabbalistic knowledge through the advancement of the education of the public in such knowledge, and the conduct of research into that said knowledge, and the dissemination to the public of the useful results of that research; and
ii. the relief of aged, sick and poor people especially those who are, or have been, students of kabbalistic knowledge.”
For further details please contact a Trustee on 07726 330339
Hawkwood College: An old English mansion with exceptional views overlooking the countryside, surrounded by woodland and fields. Even the distant mountains of Wales can be seen from there. While the course is intense, it is also a holiday in good company. Here, enduring friendships are forged between people from many lands. This is a characteristic of the Kabbalah Society’s School of the Soul.