This is my kind of weirdness - staying subscribed. Thank you for declaring who you are/not and what you're about. A society that has forgotten its connection to the spiritual world and the power of ritual purification practices to send possessive spirits on their way will destroy itself. I appreciate your mission!
I really appreciate you, Nathalie. Your encouragement means so much. I'm glad we've been able to connect here and look forward to learning more from you about narcissism and whatever other topics you choose to explore.
I wonder if we have a different understanding of Jewish mysticism. I've by no means made a careful study, but as far as I've ever understood it, Paul's description of God as He "in whom we live and move and have our being," and Rabbi Nachman's call for us to orient every moment of our lives as a sacrament in which we speak and act in surrender to the Divine Will (recognizing the "Divine spark" in ourselves and in all) captures the essence of it."
The first people I turned to after awakening to this recognition of God in all were ministers, rabbis and priests. If I had met one who had any idea what I was talking about, I might have felt that conventional religion was a place for fostering this kind of life. As it turned out, the integral yoga community of Sri Aurobindo appeared to me - and still does 50 years later - as the most powerful means of fostering this way of living.
I'll be interested in hearing what you find helpful about conventional religion that helps you to open to and align yourself with the Divine will.
The living one in particular who has had the biggest impact is @Douglas Rushkoff. His approach to Judaism as laid out in his book Nothing Sacred and his Testament comic series has been foundational to my approach, though I go in very different directions.
Have you engaged with Maimonides yet? His approach underlies Rushkoff’s and underlies mine.
I think we just have radically different views and can gently respect that. Maimonidies seems like a nice ethical thinker but I haven't seen anything of his that speaks to a yearning for union with the Beloved ("Beloved" is the Sufi term for God). And yes, I'm familiar with Rushkoff and haven't found it to be at all "spiritual" in the sense I'm talking about (union with god, surrender to the Divine, recognizing, as Sri Aurobindo puts it, 'the Divine is in all, all is in the Divine and the Divine is all."
But I assume, having written the above, that you would disagree with much of it. Which is fine!
I really appreciate your encouragement. The working title for my book is “Thou Art Enoch” and it is sort of written in the style of a choose-your-own-adventure book minus the jumping from page to page.
I agree with some of your points and disagree with others.
My biggest point of disagreement is your assertion that the evil in the world is due to spirits and demons. While I agree that spiritual influence is more common than most people in "developed" societies now tend to believe, I feel that blaming such beings for the world's suffering takes away too much human agency and responsibility, rendering us bit players in our own story. Maybe that's a reflection of my own ego, but I think if someone is going to claim "God/the devil made me do it," there better be some pretty strong evidence presented.
On the responsibility side, I also feel that blaming demons and spirits can too easily encourage a sense of learned helplessness. This can lead all too easily to charismatic strongmen leading movements that end up being parasitic upon their own followers at best, actively dangerous to those around them at worst.
I need to get back to work, so I'll end here, but I look forward to seeing what else you have to say. "Last Temptation" is also one of my favorite movies for how it encourages people to question and discover instead of promoting the usual dogma.
Hi Greg, thanks for reading and sharing your thoughts. I’m not so much blaming spirits for fueling the evil in the world so much as reporting what I’ve come to understand. This is the way it works according to the many mystical experiences I’ve had encountering various “entities” that exist in realms intersecting with our own but beyond the full comprehension of normal consciousness. This stuff really cannot yet be proven at an objective, scientific level. To determine if such spirits do exist then the individual has to go out and have the subjective experience themselves. Sort of how one needs to hop in the ocean to know how it feels or eat a strawberry to know how it tastes.
I understand that these sorts of discussions about the supernatural are pretty difficult for a lot of people so no worries if this strain of my weirdness is too much. 👍
This is my kind of weirdness - staying subscribed. Thank you for declaring who you are/not and what you're about. A society that has forgotten its connection to the spiritual world and the power of ritual purification practices to send possessive spirits on their way will destroy itself. I appreciate your mission!
I really appreciate you, Nathalie. Your encouragement means so much. I'm glad we've been able to connect here and look forward to learning more from you about narcissism and whatever other topics you choose to explore.
I wonder if we have a different understanding of Jewish mysticism. I've by no means made a careful study, but as far as I've ever understood it, Paul's description of God as He "in whom we live and move and have our being," and Rabbi Nachman's call for us to orient every moment of our lives as a sacrament in which we speak and act in surrender to the Divine Will (recognizing the "Divine spark" in ourselves and in all) captures the essence of it."
The first people I turned to after awakening to this recognition of God in all were ministers, rabbis and priests. If I had met one who had any idea what I was talking about, I might have felt that conventional religion was a place for fostering this kind of life. As it turned out, the integral yoga community of Sri Aurobindo appeared to me - and still does 50 years later - as the most powerful means of fostering this way of living.
I'll be interested in hearing what you find helpful about conventional religion that helps you to open to and align yourself with the Divine will.
How much have you studied The Guide of the Perplexed?
Maimonides was not really a mystic but his methods and ideas are important and foundational for my approach. So just giving you the context.
Thank you very much for your kindness. Here is a collection of the thinkers who have most shaped my journey. https://open.substack.com/pub/godofthedesert/p/the-40-counterculture-writers-who?r=14q4c&utm_medium=ios
The living one in particular who has had the biggest impact is @Douglas Rushkoff. His approach to Judaism as laid out in his book Nothing Sacred and his Testament comic series has been foundational to my approach, though I go in very different directions.
Have you engaged with Maimonides yet? His approach underlies Rushkoff’s and underlies mine.
This piece of mine too might be relevant to your interests for better understanding my approach. https://open.substack.com/pub/godofthedesert/p/the-10-worst-ways-to-misinterpret?r=14q4c&utm_medium=ios
I am sort of in the middle ground space between Judaism and Christianity. The prophetic books are where I’ve been hanging mostly the last few years.
It's been decades since I read Maimonides. I preferred E F Schumacher's "Guide for the perplexed, actually:>))
Hi David:
I think we just have radically different views and can gently respect that. Maimonidies seems like a nice ethical thinker but I haven't seen anything of his that speaks to a yearning for union with the Beloved ("Beloved" is the Sufi term for God). And yes, I'm familiar with Rushkoff and haven't found it to be at all "spiritual" in the sense I'm talking about (union with god, surrender to the Divine, recognizing, as Sri Aurobindo puts it, 'the Divine is in all, all is in the Divine and the Divine is all."
But I assume, having written the above, that you would disagree with much of it. Which is fine!
I might not agree with everything you say or think, but I'm intrigued.
Thanks. Any questions?
like a thousand... but not really any other than I'll continue to read your posts and think about what you're writing.
I appreciate that a lot. If there’s ever anything you’d like me to write about then feel free to reach out.
Keep being you! Cannot wait for your Book of Enoch novel.
I really appreciate your encouragement. The working title for my book is “Thou Art Enoch” and it is sort of written in the style of a choose-your-own-adventure book minus the jumping from page to page.
Groovy
Now I'm kind of wondering what would have happened if you had ever met my cousin Tzaddik, of blessed memory.
What was he like?
Literal shaman and peace organizer. Deeply peace-loving, deeply troubled, ended up taking his own life about a year ago.
Very sorry to hear. I can certainly relate on that last point too.
Wow! That's amazing and so happy for you!
Keep up all your amazing work
I agree with some of your points and disagree with others.
My biggest point of disagreement is your assertion that the evil in the world is due to spirits and demons. While I agree that spiritual influence is more common than most people in "developed" societies now tend to believe, I feel that blaming such beings for the world's suffering takes away too much human agency and responsibility, rendering us bit players in our own story. Maybe that's a reflection of my own ego, but I think if someone is going to claim "God/the devil made me do it," there better be some pretty strong evidence presented.
On the responsibility side, I also feel that blaming demons and spirits can too easily encourage a sense of learned helplessness. This can lead all too easily to charismatic strongmen leading movements that end up being parasitic upon their own followers at best, actively dangerous to those around them at worst.
I need to get back to work, so I'll end here, but I look forward to seeing what else you have to say. "Last Temptation" is also one of my favorite movies for how it encourages people to question and discover instead of promoting the usual dogma.
Hi Greg, thanks for reading and sharing your thoughts. I’m not so much blaming spirits for fueling the evil in the world so much as reporting what I’ve come to understand. This is the way it works according to the many mystical experiences I’ve had encountering various “entities” that exist in realms intersecting with our own but beyond the full comprehension of normal consciousness. This stuff really cannot yet be proven at an objective, scientific level. To determine if such spirits do exist then the individual has to go out and have the subjective experience themselves. Sort of how one needs to hop in the ocean to know how it feels or eat a strawberry to know how it tastes.
This piece here further explains my views and experiences here: https://open.substack.com/pub/godofthedesert/p/the-absurd-way-i-accidentally-cured?r=14q4c&utm_medium=ios
I understand that these sorts of discussions about the supernatural are pretty difficult for a lot of people so no worries if this strain of my weirdness is too much. 👍
This seems very odd
Guilty as charged.