Karmic Knowledge

According to Leonard Nimoy, the Vulcan blessing “Live Long and Prosper,” made famous by Mr. Spock on the original Star Trek series, was inspired by the traditional hand gesture of the Kohanim during the Priestly Blessing.

The text of the blessing is as follows:

May the Lord bless you and guard you
May the Lord shine His countenance toward you and be gracious to you
May the Lord lift up His countenance toward you and give you peace

Nimoy describes the process leading to his inspiration on this video. He states that the gesture is said to represent the Hebrew letter Shin, and may have its origins in Kabbalistic teachings. (Thanks to both Michael Rivero and DesertPeace for posts bringing this to my attention.)

On the Tree of Life, Shin is associated with the 31st Path. The Sefer Yetzirah, or Book of Creation, tells us:

The Thirty-first path is named The Continuous Intelligence. Why is it called this? Because it directs the path of sun and moon according to their laws of nature, each one in its proper orbit.

Shin is associated with peace and serenity as well as the natural changes in the yearly cycle. Its number is 300 which, in the system of Gematria, is also the value of the phrase “The Spirit of God.”

In essence, the Vulcan greeting affirms that, while time marches on, the universe maintains its natural rhythms, bestowing peace and order for the inhabitants of the planet.

That is, until the inhabitants of the planet act in ways that are disharmonious with the divine spirit in nature, i.e. polluting on a grand scale, starting wars, etc.

Perhaps, in this time of chaos and uncertainty, we should adopt the greeting of the Vulcans to remind ourselves and each other that we all contain a bit of the divine spark of the Spirit of God.

My wish for you as we begin 2008 is, Live Long and Prosper.

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