Abulafia's Ecstatic Kabbalah: Spiritual Seed of the Italian Renaissance


Posted January 27, 2016 by PressR

The kabbalist Abraham Abulafia was a major influence on the Italian Renaissance. In a talk at Watkins Books (London, UK) on Thursday,

 
London, UK -  Frank Ra  will be giving an author's talk about his books and Abulafia's Ecstatic Kabbalah, at Watkins Books (19-21 Cecil Court, WC2N 4EZ London, United Kingdom) on Thursday, February 4, at 6.30pm.

Frank Ra will start the evening sharing, in brief, his experience with BioHarmonizing, an approach to well-being and the title of his second book, which became a best-seller in 2013 in the Spiritual category, right after Chopra's "Seven Spiritual Laws of Success". "BioHarmonizing" brings the wisdom of Neale Donald Walsch (Foreword), the presence of Eckhart Tolle (Conclusion) and eight chapters to make it easier for the readers to understand their own life-narratives, values, and real priorities, building on strengths so as to be of service to all.

He will then move into the topic of his upcoming book: Abulafia's Ecstatic Kabbalah. It is a little known fact that the kabbalist Abraham Abulafia, through his 13th century manuscripts which were translated from Hebrew into Latin upon Pico Della Mirandola's request, was a major influence on the Italian Renaissance. He is also credited, by the likes of Umberto Eco, with influencing Dante's theory of language. “Abulafia's Ecstatic Meditations, and his writings, are pearls of wisdom which can help each of us to flourish and be creative” said Frank.

Born in Spain, Abraham Abulafia traveled extensively through the Mediterranean Sea. He studied with Baruch Togarmi in Catalonia. Barcelona and Girona, by the 13th century, were key kabalistic centers, having inherited the tradition which flourished in Languedoc (especially in Narbonne and Lunel) through the transmission of the Sefer Yetzirah and the process of merging different sources into the Sefer HaBahir. Abulafia was aware of Sufi techniques, and likely of tools like the zairja. His contemporary, the famous Catalan author Ramon Llull, used a technique similar to the one developed by Abulafia, substituting individual sounds with concepts. Llull put his techniques in writing well after Abulafia's manuscripts gained wide circulation in the spiritual circles of the time. All these sources together clearly inspired Giordano Bruno's “Art of Memory”. Abulafia's work was dear to many kabbalist who grew Safed into the main center for Kabbalah.

ABOUT FRANK RA

Frank Ra is a best-selling author, and herbalist. Born in a pristine Italian town near the Alps, Frank has traveled extensively, in over 30 countries, studying/working in London, California, Malta, Estonia, Canada, Spain. Frank has been doing coaching and eCommunication since late 1995. He contributes to peer-reviewed Well-Being journals and conferences. Frank graduated in Business, Dharma and Diplomatic/IR studies.

Frank's work has already, received world-wide media coverage, as shown on http://www.amareway.org/about-our-bloggers/media-coverage/ His eBooks have been downloaded over 160,000 times from Amazon eBookstore, and over 310,000 from various online sources.

CONTACT
Frank Ra
+1 2067929887
www.frankra.com
http://www.abrahamabulafia.org/
http://www.amareway.org/
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Issued By Frank Ra
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Categories Health
Last Updated January 27, 2016