The deeper workings of reality are hidden from us by our perception of a three dimensional world. The truth is secreted behind six seals in the six directions as mentioned in Chapter 1, Verse 13. Nevertheless, the process of creation from nothing, yesh m'ayin, procedes as follows. The One gives the illusion of splitting into three, two opposites and a mediating principle. These three are represented by the letters Aleph, Mem, and Shin. Mem is expansion and mercy, and is associated with water since giving water to the thirsty is an act of mercy. Mayim is the Hebrew word for water. Shin, which is shaped like flames arising from a burning coal, is contraction and justice, and is associated with the fire of judgement. Eish (ending with Shin) is the Hebrew word for fire. Aleph corresponds to air and mediates between the two principles of expansion and contraction. It is air that carries moisture from the ocean to the sky and then back down again as rain. The Hebrew word for air is Avir (beginning with Aleph). Also, air reminds us of wind (Ruach) which in turn also means "spirit" in Hebrew. Thus, we arrive at the understanding that it is our spirit of life which is able to simultaneously be aware of opposing principles and mediate between them.
The three fathers are the letters Yud-Vav-Hey, also mentioned in Chapter 1, Verse 13. These are the letters that are used to form the most sacred name of our Heavenly Father (Yud-Hey-Vav-Hey). We often think of God (and hence, these letters) as masculine because in Kabbalah the masculine prinicple represents the expansive or giving principle. This association is made because in sexual relations the male is the giver and the female is the receiver. Hence, in our chronology of creation, we have that the unknowable Oneness seems to split into three in order to give birth to a finite universe. Within the context of this universe, a creative principle is perceived, and this creative principle is the Life of All the Worlds. We also see within this triad of the three fathers the opposition of heaven above (Yud), earth below (Hey), and man (Vav) connecting the two. When the letters of the Name (Yud-Hey-Vav-Hey) become One, however, then is the Creator revealed within the creation. A metaphor for this process is to see the one Name rather than the individual letters, to see the forest instead of just the trees.