THE SPIRAL TO JACOB’S LADDER:
LIFE LESSONS
By
JOSEPHINE JOY MAESTAS
A thesis submitted in partial fulfillment
of the requirements for the degree of
MASTER OF METAPHYSICAL SCIENCE, M.Msc.
On behalf of
the Department of Graduate Studies of
the University of Metaphysics
This thesis has been accepted by
___________________________________
Thesis Advisor
___________________________________
IMM President, Dean
August 12, 2019
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Table of Contents
Introduction…………………………………………………1
Review of Literature…….……………………………..…...5
Discussion…………………………………………...…..….16
Conclusion…………………………………………….....…21
Works Cited………………………………………..…….…23
Appendix………………………………………..…….…....24
Introduction
My spiritual journey started young at about age 5 or 6. My Grandfather, who lived with
us used to read to me from a book about Jesus. The picture showed Jesus knocking at the door of
a house, and through the window, you could see people inside partying. This book was put out
by the Christian Scientists. He was a Sunday school teacher and lived and practiced their beliefs.
These teachings and watching him practice them gave me a firm foundation to accept the
metaphysical view of the Universal God Mind.
I progressed from Christian Science into what some would say is the mainstream
Christianity, all the different denominations and into being a practicing Buddhist at the age of 16,
doing astrology charts at the age of 17 and into tarot sometime after that. I was not so much
searching as wanting to learn all there was to learn about God and his Universe, how did all this
relate as to me it had to be related. So many of the teachings were similar, and yet people did not
seem to recognize this fact. A lot of the bible stories were similar with some variations. Jacob’s
ladder being one of these. What I didn’t realize at the time was, I was being led into a metaphysical
view of all of this.
When I was working in Human Resources at one time many years ago, a co-worker of
mine was very sensitive and very intuitive. She told me on more than one occasion that she saw a
ladder by me with beings going up and down. She saw this so often I began asking, “Are they
there?” when I would see her, and the answer was always yes. Having a Christian background all
I could relate this to was Jacob’s ladder and how he saw the Angels going up and down from
heaven to earth and earth to heaven.
Genesis 29:10-12 (AMP) says it this way, “And Jacob left Beersheba and went toward
Haran, and he came to a certain place and stayed there overnight because the sun was set. Taking
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one of the stones of the place, he put it under his head and lay down there to sleep. And he
dreamed that there was a ladder set up on the earth, and the top of it reached to heaven, and the
angels of God were ascending and descending on it!” I dare not compare myself to Jacob, so I let
it rest.
I moved on to other jobs and places but never forgot the vision she had. Why me? I
wondered if I was a portal or just at a different vibration. I started searching, knowing I had some
mystical abilities from adolescence and wanting to develop them. I started taking one class after
another, as I think a lot of us do. I took classes on reading Tarot and Oracle cards, reading realms,
Fairyology, Certified Angel Card Reader, Archangel Life Coaching, and Crystal Healing. All
this led me to get a master’s degree in Ministry from a Universalist Seminary.
Not being satisfied, I kept searching. I knew there was more that could help connect all
that was in my mind. One of the classes I took at that seminary was in metaphysics. This class
opened up a whole different way of looking at things and directed me to get my Bachelor’s in
metaphysical science from the University of Metaphysics.
Now things were starting to drop into line, or should I say I was starting to see and hear
the connection of the Universal Mind with what was happening in and around me?
This knowledge brought me back to the vision my friend had of the ladder. I started
questioning. Was it a ladder or staircase that Jacob saw? Some pictures show a wide ladder. My
inner voice kept relating to me that it was bigger than that, and there was a spiral effect to it with
beings going from top to bottom, while at the same time others going back up. It was starting to
make sense. Did she see it so I would take this metaphysical journey and share it with others? Is
it still there around me? I have found I have a very close connection with Angels and Ascended
Masters, so maybe they use my energy as a portal to this earthly plane to connect with others.
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Taking a metaphysical look at this caused me to dive right in and find out all I could
about spirals, ladders, the metaphysical view of Jacob’s vision, and how we can look at it in a
metaphysically light. When you start to look at things metaphysically, you are getting in touch
with the God Mind that was there all along inside you, quietly waiting. You might picture this as
a sleeping mind that awakens slowly to a new though and those “ah-ha!” moments where it just
all clicks in. There is a peace that comes over a person when they know they have unlocked a
door and can now enter into an understanding of something that seemed to be hidden away from
them for a long time. There is also an excitement in the unknown about the journey ahead.
Discovering how this works together with our higher consciousness in meditation was not
just a bonus––it was necessary to understand how the Universal Mind wanted me to understand
what had happened and is still happening today. You can read all the books in the world, but
until you take time to meditate on what you have read, learned, or heard, you have not touched
upon what the true knowledge or meaning is.
I learned about meditation as a teenager when I dove into being a Buddhist. Meditation,
prayer time, or quiet time, however you refer to it is a basic technique in talking with God to get
a true understanding on how to interpret what you have read or heard even. Some teachers can
teach you every day, but they are only repeating what they have been taught by someone else or
read somewhere. When you are in a state of meditation, you are in connection with the Universal
Mind that is the final authority of all written and handed down to us that is considered sacred
knowledge. Through communion time with our Divine mind, we learn how this knowledge is
within us and given to us through the Divine. It is there, just waiting to be reawakened within us.
During Meditation, we can weigh the truth against what man wrote and how God wants us to
interpret it. Many times man thought he was carrying out the Divines plan when he was setting
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down his own addenda. During this ongoing journey, I researched books by White Eagle, Dr.
Masters, and Eckhart Tolle to name just a few.
Becoming aware of other realms of reality and having a full belief in the spiritual helped
with the understanding of how Jacob’s ladder is a spiral and a metaphysical look at life cycles.
In this paper, I will prove that through a metaphysical look at Jacob’s spiral ladder we
will get an understanding of our past and present life cycles and how meditation with our Higher
Consciousness can stop the spiral affecting us and our world around us.
I will prove this conclusion by quoting from different books I have read and what I have
learned through the connection with my Universal God Mind. I will inform you on how you can
stop the spiral that keeps repeating in some of our lives. We will look at how the ladder relates to
our life cycles and goals past, present, and future. I will explain what we can learn from being in
touch with the Higher Consciousness through meditation. And finally, I will explain how we can
change from having the negative effects of the spiral to having a positive effect on us and the
world around us.
When the founding Biblical fathers first started teaching about Genesis 28:10-12 the
emphasis has been on that fact that it was a dream he had, and that God gave him the land on
which he was on and in rare instances that God would always be with him. Not much attention
had been given to what the actual vision he had was or why he had it.
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Review of Literature
White Eagle starts his teaching in his book Walking with the Angels with this wisdom
“The starting point for all investigation into the unknown must be from one humble and simple
truth: the Christ light within yourself” (11). This teaching comes from a very personal
spiritual/metaphysical place for us all. He uses a form of meditation he calls God Breath, “God
breathing enables us both to strengthen and sensitize the etheric connection, so as to feel the
presence of the angels in the ether” (34). This God Breath which is a form of deep breathing
with the emphasis on knowing God is in everything and therefore we are breathing in Gods
breath, and this illustrates how with this practice we become one with the Universal God Mind
and with this practice we can experience knowing the Angels (34-35).
He teaches that we can walk with them since we share the same DNA. “You can trace
our DNA in these spiral galactic ethers to all the planets and Angelic beings everywhere”
(White Eagle 11). The fact that we share this DNA is one reason humans can see Angels. He
stresses when one awakens to a higher awareness, it opens the door to see what they are doing.
He goes on to say, “We must realize that we are related to every manifestation of God, both
upon the earth and in the heavens. Whatever lies in the heavens above, what seems infinitely
removed, is actually also within us” (11).
White Eagle goes over how by looking within (with meditation), we can see heaven
while we are in our physical body, and only by raising our vibration can we ascend to being
one with our Angelic friends that are invisible (13). This would imply we are using astral
projection to travel to heaven.
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He explains how the “As Above” is what we can see during meditation and the “As
Below” is us here on the physical plane, making meditation a number 1 priority for anyone who
wants to see heaven or get the understanding of the Universal Mind and being in touch with
Angels (16 & 21). He combines the meditation and our vision during meditation as the way to
see into heaven.
White Eagle also teaches how if we find ourselves in a bad situation, we can turn it into
a positive situation bringing peace to ourselves, and with the power and light of affirmations
and positive prayers or quiet meditation, we can turn the situation into forwarding progress,
keeping our life on track for moving ahead. His point here is to understand that through meditation
and an awareness of the Universal God Mind, we see the vision that keeps us progressing as
humans towards the Christ Consciousness that moves us forward. Again emphasizing that by
looking at what we would see as a bad situation and using the power of light and positive
affirmations, we can turn the situation around and keep on a positive track (75).
He makes the point that by trying to put everything in a box, you will miss the point of
the actual universal meaning (91).
While searching for books on Jacob’s ladder, I came across an e-book by Hedi
Enghelberg. In his book, Jacob's Ladder on route from Beersheba to Jerusalem, From Luz to
Haran Decoding Jacob's Dream, he talks about how Jacob was a shy personality, educated, and
a holy man, and how in Genesis 32, it says Jacob was always accompanied by angels and how
one encounter changed him physically. He was given a new name. Mr. Enghelberg did extensive
research in Europe and visited many museums getting the history of the various paintings on
Jacob’s dream (Ch. Introduction).
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He talks about how the ladder was propped against the clouds and angels of all sorts
were going up and down with God at the top communicating with the angels and possibly
giving them messages, receiving messages, and there were some conversations between the
angels that were going up and the ones going down (Enghelberg loc. 264).
This author believes from his journey and reviewing various works of art on the subject
that more angels were ascending then descending (loc. 372). He also concluded that since none
of them carried anything all communication was verbal (loc. 372). His view was that life is not
linear, and that we have ups and downs (loc. 394).
Enghelberg compares the souls ascending to reincarnation (loc. 402). Some of the
paintings he researched showed Angels carrying or helping people up and down, illustrating the
one-on-one encounter Angels have with humans, and he feels if God decides on reincarnation
the Angels carry or help the soul back down (loc. 440).
Using the historical painting, sculptures, and printing in books dating back to the 7th
Century, Enghelberg concludes this shows God uses angels to give and bring messages to man.
His journeys led him to pictures printed in the original Lutheran Bible from 1534; a painting by
Jose De Ribera in the Museo Del Prado, Madrid 1639; a painting by William Blake in the
British Museum, London 1805; and the front of the Bath Abby of Angels climbing a ladder
built in the 7th Century. (Resources and Biography loc. 490) Note: This e-book did not have
numbered chapters in it.)
Reading the writings of Dr. Masters always gives me much to contemplate. He teaches
how with the use of daily affirmations you can put into perspective the need for daily awareness
to be connected to the Christ Consciousness and daily rescue from our mortal existence in our
inner spiritual being of light that we are (Spiritual Mind Power Affirmations 20). His book takes
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the daily devotion to a new level and makes plain how this will elevate us to being one with the
Universal Mind to stop any downward spiral we might be going through (20). He reaffirms how
with affirmations and meditations we can become one presence with the Universal Consciousness
so that Christ Mindedness will shine from within us (24).
Dr. Masters is good at making connections with how Karma in our past lives can affect
us in this life and has a direct bearing on the longevity of our life cycle (Spiritual Mind Power
Affirmations 85). Throughout this book, he mentions using Meditation as a means of releasing
any negative energy or karma from ourselves to allow for the positive and Christ Consciousness
to flow within us (3, 19, 25, 111).
Using affirmations to turn this around, Dr. Masters said to us this, “I bless and release
any so-called failure of the past from all levels of my mind and simply regard it as a learning
experience” (Spiritual Mind Power Affirmations 67).
He also mentions how our natal chart will tell us the karma we have entered this life
with and what we need to work with God on to turn it into positive karma, thus stopping the
cycle from the past (Mystical Insights 114). Dr. Masters says that when we are in a state of
mystical meditation, we open our minds to many stargates into other worlds. These can be in
our past where we can see our other lives lived (Mystical Insights 128).
Following in that line of thought, in the Ministers/Bachelor's Degree Study Curriculum,
Dr. Masters explains how with a positive transcendent attitude, we can stop the negative situations
that may come up in our life and redirect our energy to being positive and recognizing the God
Mind in all situations (1:36). A great emphasis is placed on leading a spiritual life, and that is
defined as being in constant contact with the Universal God Mind (Ministers/Bachelor's 4:2).
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Whether through affirmations, or as Dr. Masters explained about meditation in the
Ministers/Bachelor’s Curriculum, there is more than one way to close off your senses, so you’re
thinking from the world around you and connecting with the Universal God Mind. We may
share the same DNA, but we don’t all reach awareness by the same path. This connection of
daily meditation is what will lead you on the upward movement of your spiritual accession
(Ministers/Bachelor's 2:18). He always maintains that meditation is and should be a daily
practice for one's soul to truly be one with the Universal God Mind (Ministers/Bachelor's 4:3).
We as humans put many limits on what we understand about time, space, and awakening.
In his book Mystical Insights, Dr. Masters explains how with meditation, we can understand
how our creator explains how time and space are all part of the illusion, and we are as much in
all times as we are in the present time. He then references this to the fact there is no destination
we are going that we need to reference with time and space (127). We are part of the oneness of
the All; therefore, we have never left, and we are not on a journey to return because we are
there now (Mystical Insights 126).
This use of meditation he referrers to as a “Mystical awareness removes the veils of
what seems to be and so we can see what really is. The truth comes to the forefront when it
comes to the mind’s perception of time and space” (Mystical Insights 123). Dr. Masters speaks
about how much humans put limits on their awareness of what we understand as time and
space, but once we open ourselves to what our creator defines as time and space, we become
part of the illusion, and we are as much time as we are space. We are in the present time (123-
124).
Dr. Masters says in this same book on Mystical Insights, that what we look at as low
points in our life is a learning curve (31). He also gave many examples of how to move forward
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in our lives and not let past lives or lessons keep us for moving forward on our life’s journey.
“Being in a state of cooperative consciousness with the Universe or God brings about improve-
ments in one’s life, according to Universal Will or God’s Will” (Mystical Insight 3). Dr. Masters
speaks of in this same book that when we are in a state of mystical meditation, we open our
minds to portals to different worlds and past lifetimes (128).
Later in Mystical Insights, when speaking of people having visions of angels or higher
beings, Dr. Masters says, “Today’s visions––tomorrows realities” (170).
He also draws a comparison of Christ’s resurrection and being free from daily worldly
concerns with daily affirmations in his book, Spiritual Mind Power Affirmations. How they put
into perspective the awareness we need daily to connect to the Christ Consciousness, so we can
be daily resurrected from this mortal existence into the spiritual being of light that we are (20).
Referencing how Jacob described what he saw shows limited awareness of his spiritual
consciousness. In Mystical Insights, Dr. Masters says, “Most people having visions of higher
beings will see them as some higher order of life, something to be looked up to. This is the
response of the personal ego and its limited awareness” (169).
Eckhart Tolle’s book, A New Earth––Awakening to Your Life’s Purpose had an interest-
ing look at how when Jesus spoke of the “Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs will be the
kingdom of heaven” (Matthew 5:3 qtd. in Tolle 43). His interpretation of what that means is not
carrying the preconceived ideas that can take over your life; so, you have no true idea of who
you are but only who you have been told you are. He then goes on to say the kingdom of heaven
spoken of is the joy you find when you let go of the ideas of others; i.e., ego (43).
When he discusses the fact that when we let go of ego, or what we identify with is taken
away, then who are we (Tolle 56)? The loss of things that we feel make us who we are? This
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hitting rock bottom, as some say, is when we can, then, identify with our true consciousness
that is also called the “Peace of God” (57). This discussion moves into how when we make the
connection with our Divine consciousness, we are open to the goodness that is around us. The
reference to the Peace of God is a good example of how meditation can change our life cycle.
We yield the outside world and turn inward to connect with our Universal God-Self, and we put
ourselves in the here and now (Tolle 58).
Tolle goes on to mention the “pain-body,” which is the emotional and outside
influences we experience, is the source of our unhappiness, and how this unhappiness is usually
us overreacting to something, which sends us into a downward spiral in our emotions and
behavior (148-149). He speaks on how recognizing this pain-body is the key to awakening our
consciousness and stopping this behavior, which is often repeated over and over again in our
lives (180-183).
Carmen and Alexandra Harra co-wrote an article I found by doing a Google search (see
Appendix). This article was on Karma and how it affects our lives in the present from things
done or left undone in past lives. They offer five reasons Karma can affect you in this life
(n.p.).
The fact that “Karma has no expiration date” is number one. Summarizing the other
reasons as follows:
• There is no coincidence in your life––including people.
• Circumstances will follow you again and again.
• Down through the line, you may switch genders, as do the people around you.
• Repeats are a reason to look at the same situation differently (n.p.).
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When we are awake enough to recognize we are experiencing karma from a past life,
that is when we go within to find out why. Why do we repeat this same situation over and over?
How do we change the outcome? Sometimes we confront the situation from a male perspective,
and then next time it may be from a female perspective with the same people who are also in
different roles (Harra n.p.).
Recognizing our past lives and how to work through them can “lighten our energetic
load.”
The final book I read was written by Rabbi Yaakov Hillel, called Ascending Jacob’s
Ladder. I figured who better to have a view on this than someone who teaches the Old Testament.
Rabbi Yaakov compares the climbing of the ladder to learning about the teaching in the Torah,
the first five books of the old testament (19). He relates a story of when he left his parents’
home to be on his own, and Hashem (is a title used in Judaism to refer to God) showed him in a
dream a ladder that stood on earth and went up into the “higher worlds.” He relates this to
ascension by education, and if you serve Hashem and you don’t know you’re on a ladder, you
can’t step up.” He says that “not admitting where we are––which includes realizing which areas
need improvement––is our greatest mistake” (20).
As part of the awakening he learned from Rav. Hai Gaon, he mentions this has to do
with recognizing when we have damaging behavior to correct it by making a mental decision to
move forward away from that behavior. When we do this, we will be on a “higher spiritual
level” or have moved up a rung on the ladder (qtd. in Hillel 22).
I found within the pages of this book metaphysical truths, which were a surprise to me.
Rav. Yaakov Hillel recounts how “Hashem is the source of light, and that evil is an illusion.”
Everything relates to a spiritual aspect in life, when we reach up for spiritual understanding, our
13
mental and physical will be affected by this knowledge (30-31). More of the metaphysical
teachings was how it’s our life purpose to bring light into the world (89). He even mentioned as
believers in a Universal Creator who is part of our every move, nothing is a coincidence; there
is no chance happening (Hillel 99). If we are in tune with our Creator every moment we will
see how every single thing is part of the Universal design from everyone we meet to every
place we go (111).
His teaching about when people face difficulty (Hillel 107) is related to Dr. Masters
teaching on this, as we must use it to learn from our difficulty in order to move up to a higher
spiritual level (Spiritual Mind Power Affirmations 25).
I was a bit surprised to find how Rav. Hillel believed in reincarnation when he stated:
"The soul can descend to earth more than once" (Hillel 108). This belief came from the story of
Job. Job lost it all, home, wife, children, and was on the verge of losing his faith; he was very
depressed. His friends came to him and explained it was nothing he did in this life but probably
something from a previous life. As he understood about paying back old debts, he turned his
thinking around and was able to cope to where everything he had lost was restored to him (108).
When we are active in our seeking and learning of the spiritual world around us, the
Angels then act as our messengers, taking or requests and deeds up to God and bringing his
blessing back down to us (Hillel 38). He goes over how these actions are what it means to be
created in God’s image and that it is a spiritual image, not a physical one (39).
The Jewish people have a day called Rosh Hashana, where they reflect on the past year
and ask forgiveness for all the wrong they have done. They are taught that what they do not
only affects this physical world but affects the spiritual world, as well (Hillel 40).
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This book is a wealth of information! In the Christian teaching we hear in Ephesians
6:12, we fight not against flesh and blood but principalities, against powers, against the rulers
of the darkness of this world, against spiritual wickedness in high places. This book talks about
how the battleground is within our heart (qtd. in Hillel 45). He concludes that the more good
that goes in, the more the worse than good will be pushed out (Hillel 51).
There were so many jewels in his book, such as when he spoke of a life mission we
have, and when we fulfill it we grow closer to the Universal Mind (Hillel 55).
Getting back to Jacob, he reaffirms what was in some of my other readings, how Jacob
always talked with Angels as he sent them ahead to meet with his brother and give him a
message about his twenty-two-year absence for not talking with him and confirming that this
dream was not his first encounter (Hillel 77).
Rabbi Yaakov Hillel quotes Rabbi Hayyim Volozhin as saying "Jacob dreamt of a
ladder firmly planted on earth, but whose head reaches the heavens." He interprets this to be
compared to our soul that is on earth in our body, and the rest of our soul reaches up to the
highest level of heaven (qtd. in Hillel 221).
The final reference to Jacob was how when he ran away from home he had no worldly
experience. When he met up with Lavan, that’s when he learned about business and not just
being a sheepherder but selling and married life. He ended up with four wife’s that were all
daughters of Lavan. What God showed him with the ladder, starting on earth, was that there is
no short cut to ascension. Jacob thought he knew it all when he left home, he was a devout
student of the Talmud (the body of Jewish civil and ceremonial law) and kept all the laws
therein. Rabbi Yaakov Hillel said God taught Jacob that our body is the bottom rung and
connected to the earth, to get to the top you go through life lessons, one rung at a time. He
15
recounted when Jacob woke up, and he said, "God is truly in this place, and I did not know it."
Rabbi Yaakov Hillel translates this to Jacob knew he made a mistake, and now he was awakened
to the fact that God is everywhere, and he could serve him anywhere in whatever he did (258-
259).
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Discussion
A wise man by the name of Sir Edward Jagen once told me, “When you think you know,
you don’t.” That has been the case with all the research for this paper. I thought I knew the
direction I would take, and then found out I was going down the wrong Highway. With a few U-
turns and side roads, the knowing finally started coming together. White Eagle says, “The
starting point for all investigation into the unknown must be from one humble and simple truth––
the Christ light within yourself” (11). Even though I started and re-started a few times, read and
re-read many books, and would put all the work aside now and then so I could absorb and
meditate on what I was learning and re-learning, the adventure has been more than worth it.
Now, this metaphysical journey is ready for passengers.
Let’s look at Jacob’s vision of the ladder reaching from earth to heaven. Metaphysically
speaking a ladder is a symbol of either forward or stagnant movement (Metaphysical Bible
Dictionary 314). Although sometimes we may take a step back. We should be progressing in our
awareness, moving up, or we can get stuck where we are not moving at all. Jacob never went up
or down the ladder, he saw. He referenced a ladder as that is how the common people could
relate to how someone could go up and down. They knew ladders, they built ladders, and they
build staircases. Jacob was around people who worked with their hands, so a ladder was an easy
reference for them to understand.
Jacob had a very religious and traditional upbringing, and he would have prayed several
times a day, giving thanks, and making requests. Genesis 32 in the Bible, says Jacob was always
accompanied by Angels, so he was no stranger to who and what and Angel was.
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The ladder he saw in his vision had multiple Angels going up and down at the same time.
Dr. Masters says, “Most people having a vision of higher beings will see them as some higher
order of life, something to be looked up to. This is the response of the personal ego and its
limited awareness (Mystical Insights 169).” Was Jacob full of ego? Very possibly, since he had
gone through a lot with stealing his brother's birthright, leaving home, then working for years to
marry one woman, and then ended up marrying all her sisters before he was allowed to marry his
first choice. Eckart Tolle believes you are personally only who you have been told that you are.
Jacob had been told he was the younger brother who would get nothing of an inheritance.
However, his higher consciousness told him he was a communicator with God’s angels who
were with him all the time. He knew he was destined for greater things.
The Angels Jacob saw were showing him that they are not just messengers but helpers.
Hedi Enghelberg from his research showed that the Angels were helping people up and down the
ladder, our constant companions on our earthly journey, helping us from this earthly trial back up
to our Father to be one with the Universal Father God, once again, when we reach the top. For
Jacob, angels were one step away from God.
Mr. Enghelberg and Rabbi Hillel make the points that the ladder was firmly planted on
the earth, and the top of the ladder was propped against the clouds with God waiting there. There
is no metaphysical meaning to the simple cloud except that the painters and translators felt a
ladder had to be propped up by something.
Dr. Masters says, “Mystical awareness removed the veils of what seems to be and what
really is. And, the truth comes to the forefront when it comes to the mind’s perception of time
and space” (Mystical Insights 123). The truth of the ladder is it was held in place by faith, and
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this was not a concern for Jacob as to the how the ladder was held up. It was just a part of his
vision that anyone he told could relate too.
Why are Angels going up and down? Why were some helping people up and down but
none of them carried any books or papers with them? So any messages had to be verbal, or what
in metaphysical terms would be the God connection within us. Rabbi Hillel quoted Rabbi
Volozhin as saying “Jacob dreamt of a ladder firmly planted on the earth” (qtd. in Hillel 221). I
believe this reference to it being “firmly planted” is noteworthy. We have to start with a good
foundation with anything we do.
To do this paper, I had to start with the basics of learning about meditation and studying
what metaphysics is. Being firmly planted means there is no wavering, and it will not tip over.
We need to start each day with a good foundation of prayer or meditation and affirmations.
White Eagle affirms that any situation can be turned into a positive situation with
affirmations and quiet meditation allowing us to make forward progress as does Dr. Masters
when he says, “today’s visions––tomorrows realities” (Mystical Insights 170).
So how does this vision relate to our higher consciousness meditation? By connecting
with our Higher Consciousness, Christ Consciousness, or Universal God Mind, we would have
an understanding of Angel's. White Eagle points out that God breathing or recognizing God in
each breath we take can sensitize us to the connection of the presence of Angels in the ether.
Dr. Masters reiterates that with daily meditation, we allow for the positive flow of the
Christ Consciousness to come in. Eckart Tolle backs this up by explaining how if we do not
awaken our consciousness, we cannot stop negative behavior. To recognize patterns of behavior
Carmen and Alexandra Harra also use the word awake and it does not mean the awake after a
19
nap; although, you can use it metaphorically to mean you are being awakened from a slumber to
one of higher consciousness.
To be awakened or recognizing our Higher Consciousness, we must spend time with the
one who can awaken us. The Angels were always with Jacob, as previously stated in Genesis 23.
So, the Angels were the one's awakening Jacob to see how much of his life was an up and down
battle, and the ladder was the steps to take to reach the final goal of being with God.
Rabbi Hillel relates ascension by the education of studying the Torah. He says, “If you
don’t know you're on a ladder, you can’t step up” (20). If we don’t take time to look at our
journey, we will not see the patterns we keep repeating, whether good or bad.
Each step up the ladder is from a lesson learned. If we keep making the same mistake,
some will relate this to Karma. We are experiencing something we have done in a past life and
are trying to do it differently this time to have a better outcome.
When we can awaken to where we are, yes I am on the second rung; so to get up to the
third rung, I need to make this or that improvement, we have made this connection to where we
are. Then, we can look around to see why we are there and have we’ve been there before. Are we
repeating the same behavior that keeps us from moving up?
Dr. Masters, Carmen, and Alexandra Harra go over how Karma, or things left undone
from past lives, will affect us in this present life. I love how Carmen states, “Karma has no
expiration date” (n.p.). Our choices will follow us, and once we reach the top of the ladder, we
may find we are helped back down to redo or re-enter this life once again. I would say most
awakened beings have experienced this redo of situations in life.
Rabbi Hillel relates the Angels helping people down the ladder to the fact that the soul
can be sent back more than once. It is only with having a transcendent attitude that we can
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recognize this behavior and the steps, or in this case the step up, to a positive or awakened
salutation.
The fact that the ladder was on earth shows we all start at the bottom, and we can only
spiritually move up one step at a time. Affirmations and meditations help us know where we are
on the ladder. The connection of meditation to our Universal God Mind will show us what we
need to correct to move to the next level. Our affirmations are the messages the angels carried up
the ladder to the Universal God. The affirmations are released into the universe with that simple
act.
Jacob’s actions brought him to the place he was now. He was sleeping on the ground with
a rock for a pillow, having a vision of angels going up and coming down. With the spiritual
knowledge, he had learned he could understand that this was a reflection of spiritual progression
and how it can be a spiral of patterns, repeating themselves with the people coming back down to
try again and not repeat the same outcome from the lessons that were being taught. One of the
lessons Jacob had learned was he had to work for seven years to get his wife, and when he had
done that he had been given the wrong wife from whom he wanted. He repeated this four times.
He would take a step up, and then when he found out it was not who he thought it was, he took a
step back down to try again. Jacob kept doing as he had been instructed, and each time he would
learn a little more about being under someone else’s control.
Was Karma affecting him? How could it now, he deceived his father, betrayed his
brother, and abandoned his mother to save his skin. God showed him that you could come up to
heaven, but you could be sent back also. His circumstances followed him, again and again,
making his life into a spiral of events.
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The daily awareness we have of our God Mind within us is what will help us with the
moving up and not being sent back.
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Conclusion
From this look at Jacob’s vision, we can understand how we must be devoted daily to
meditation and using affirmations for a deeper connection with our Christ Consciousness.
Having a firm foundation in our understanding of this metaphysical vision is how we will stop
negative behavior from repeating or spiraling around us and affecting us and our environment
around us. As above, so below. As on earth as it is in heaven.
With our positive affirmations, God knows we understand where we are on the ladder.
It’s this daily practice of the Oneness with the Universal Mind, we are made aware of where we
are and how to move up a rung––one rung at a time. It’s this awareness that keeps us from
repeating life cycles or being sent down again. When we seem to repeat a lesson in life, like
attracting the same personality of person each time, we are stuck on a rung, and the only way to
move forward is to be aware of the pattern by using daily affirmations and meditation to break
the cycle. We have to heal ourselves before we can heal others.
One of the paintings that Mr. Enghelberg reviewed showed people falling off. When we
get stuck in a pattern of behavior, and we are not listening to our messengers or angels, we can
fall off and have to start at the very bottom again. How many times have we heard I hit rock
bottom and then I saw the light?
When Jacob awoke, he knew he had been wrong in this thinking. He thought he was
doing what was right, but Jacob did not believe that God would work it all out. He was putting
his attention on what someone else was telling him when all along he could have recognized God
was in every place, and he could serve him anywhere.
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His vision makes clear that with our daily devotion we will have messengers who are
there to give us the information we need to make choices that will keep us moving up to a higher
spiritual level where we can communicate directly with the God Mind that is within us and all
around us. But, until we get to that level, he has messengers who will bring our affirmations to
him. This vision also shows when we get to the top, we may have made it, but we may not have
learned what we needed to learn ,so we will be helped back down to try again. This is where
karma can make a difference in how we progress up, down, or are standing still. When we can
look at past lives and see the karma in them, we can make a different choice in this life that will
move us along, and when we move up, we affect all those around us. Our positive attitude will
overflow to those around us, and since what is affected on earth as affected in heaven, it will
affect the world.
Without meditation, we cannot release the negative cycles in our lives, as we would not
have a chance to look at it from the God Mind and know how to turn it into a learning moment
and then into something positive, which might be for us to just not do that thing again. When we
meditate and affirm with positive intent, we are one with the Universal God Mind, we can bring
around positive change in our life. We can be the light for whomever we come into contact with,
and if can turn up their light even a little, they will touch someone, and it will spread worldwide.
For more information on a metaphysical view of the Bible, a look at Kabbalah is worth
looking into.
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Works Cited
Eagle, White. Walking with the Angels, New Lands, Hampshire: The White Eagle Publishing
Trust, 2000. Print
Enghelberg, Hedi, Jacob’s Ladder on route from Beersheba to Jerusalem, From Luz to Haran
Decoding Jacob’s Dream, www.engplubishing.com e-book, Fort Lauderdale, Florida – USA
ASIN: BOOZBBZK6W Web
Google search for articles on past lives affecting present life on 6/1719, people also ask – Does
past life affect present life? See screenshot in the appendix. – Web
Harra, Carmen – Article from https://mindbodygreen.com/articles/ 5 Ways Karma From Your
Past lives Affects You Today – Category Spirituality – Web
Hillel, Rabbi Yaakov, Ascending Jacob’s Ladder, Mesorah Publications, Ltd. Brooklyn, N.Y.
and Ahavat Shalom Publications, Jerusalem, 2007. Print
Masters, Dr. Paul Leon, Spiritual Mind Power Affirmations, Sedona, Arizona: University of
Sedona Publishing, 2018. Print
---, Mystical Insights – Knowing the Unknown, Sedona, Arizona: University of Sedona
Publishing, 2016. Print
---, Ministers/Bachelor’s Degree Curriculum, vols. 1-2 Burbank, CA: Burbank Printing, 2016.
PDF file
Metaphysical Bible Dictionary, Unity Village, MO, Print
Tolle, Eckhart, A New Earth – Awakening to Your Life’s Purpose, New York, New York, Plume
Publishing, 2006. Print
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Appendix
Article by Carmen Harra; 5 Ways Karma From Your Past lives Affects You Today
Karma is the memory of our souls, which means it’s often long-standing, even stemming from
prior lives. Indeed, the course of our current life is mostly predetermined by earlier lifetimes:
what we didn’t finish then we come back to finish now.
What we didn’t “make right” in our last life will persistently present itself in this one, like an
uninvited guest who won’t leave. Unpleasant situations are the consequence of lingering karma,
which can always be reversed and resolved. Acknowledge these five properties of past-life
karma that still affect you, in order to erase the energy carried over from former lifetimes.
Without even knowing it, you may be experiencing karma that originated several lifetimes ago.
1. Karma has no expiration date.
Karma is the luggage your soul carries on its trip from life-to-life. Unfortunately, unlike luggage
at the airport, this particular baggage never gets lost, which means you’re stuck with it until you
open it up and sort through its ancient contents. Without even knowing it, you may be
experiencing karma that originated several lifetimes ago. But when you do dig through your
karmic suitcase, then finally, you can confront your outstanding karma and lighten your
energetic load.
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2. No person in your life — from your mother to your spouse to your mailman — is a
coincidence.
Everyone is placed into your life strategically for a reason. While you have the free will to walk
away from or remain with a certain person, karma overpowers free will.
This means that the course of karmic relationships will play out as planned despite your best
efforts. Acknowledge the role of each person in your life: Why are they there? What have they
come to teach you and vice versa? What is the karma you’re meant to experience with this
person? The sooner you acknowledge the truth of the karma you share with someone (whether
it’s good or bad), the sooner you can settle it.
3. What you have done, you become.
Thanks to the media, we often think of karma as “what goes around comes around.” But the
reality of karma is more expansive than just being “punished” for our bad deeds — there exists
positive karma, just as much as negative karma. If you stole, others will steal from you in the
following lives. If you nourished, you will be nourished. Your actions throughout your various
lifetimes become the circumstances of your being.
4. Roles often reverse.
One of the most fascinating facts about karma is that it often causes us to reincarnate in a
reversed manner. This means that your parent may have actually been your child in a former life.
Then, before reincarnating in this lifetime, the souls agreed to take on the opposite act. Souls
switch genders, too. Positions shift throughout lifetimes based on karmic need; whatever
dynamic is needed to repair or heal karma will be manifested through changing roles in our cycle
of lives on earth. The people you know now may have had a very different impact on your
previous lives!
5. Karma repeats to produce new results.
There’s a greater reason that karma repeats itself, and it’s not to cause you pain; it’s to teach you
to take different actions for different results. If you’re attracting the same type of partners into
your life over and over again, it’s time to stop and inspect your choices: Why do similar people
keep coming in? What should you be doing differently?
This calls for honest introspection and evaluation of your own faults and weaknesses, which is
admittedly hard to do. Don’t be afraid to look within. Recognize what must be changed inside of
you so as to change what’s outside of you. Then, you can modify your behavior to end karmic
patterns and progress in your potential.
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Past-life karma is resoundingly present in your current life. Muster up the courage to open your
karmic suitcase and rid yourself of its wanted contents today; this act alone will change your
destiny for lifetimes to come.
This post was co-written by Alexandra Harra.