Introduction and AMA

[Ziran]

Hello,

It's been almost a year since I joined this forum.   Now that I've had some time to get accustomed to the site and the community, I'd like to take this opportunity to introduce myself and field any questions that others may have currently or in the future about me, my background, my aspirations, reasons for joining this forum, etc...

To begin, my given name is Daniel.  I was born in Ohio a little over 50 years ago.  I took the name "Ziran" because I'm fond of nature, spontaneity, and Daoist philosophy.  I was raised in a conservative Jewish household.  Both parents are Jewish.  My mother's lineage traces back to the tribe of Levi.  Like many conservative Jews, I was Bar-Mitzva'd but wasn't taught anything substantive about the religion or its mystical dimension until after I was married with kids and connected with a ultra-orthodox community.  For the past 20 years I've been learning and practicing with several different Rabbis, within that ultra-orthodox tradition.  In 2024, I rec'd an ordination and permission to teach.  My title is Shl'iach.  It means:  "emissary".  The ordination came from Rabbi Simon Jacobson on the 10th of Iyar ( early May ).  In private, the young Rabbis call me "Rav", "Master", due to my mastery of esoteric topics, both in and out of the Jewish paradigms.  My mandate comes from the 7th Lubavitcher Rebbe, Rabbi Menachem Mendel Schneerson ( OBM ): "... you must always try to grant the soul freedom... ".  After ordination, I took a student.  We're learning the book of Psalms, among other things, for the purpose of "saying them like King David would have said them."  I'm currently working towards a PHD and Rabbinic ordination.  I want to use the credentials to publish books translating and annotating ancient texts from the original Hebrew, Aramaic, and Greek. 

Prior to ordination, I studied Electrical Engineering but never finished my degree. Most recently, I was an operations manager for a dental office in the Pacific NW, in America.  Prior to that I was an interagency government contractor.  My specialty was data-mining, penetration testing, and employee training.  I was on "red" team.  Most people knew me as the technical writer; a social butterfly; the on-boarding specialist for new hires.  Behind closed doors, I "trained the trainer" on social engineering, virus, malware, and other exploits that we discovered thru the pen-testing and security bulletins.  I was US based, never deployed overseas, but I worked with some amazing folks.  I left that fun job when my second child was born and my wife had finished her schooling and was ready to open the dental practice. 

Currently, I'm in the middle of a divorce.  it's extremely ugly.  There's a lot of money involved.  The kids, my parents, her parents, have taken my wife's side; because, it's easy to demonize me.  At the end of the marriage, I lost my temper regularly.  The kids saw me at my worst.  I let my wife provoke me.  I don't blame them for canceling me from their lives.  It was my sense of duty which compromised my judgement.  Had I left my wife years ago, in spite of the promises I had made, when I first realized it wasn't going to work, things wouldn't have become so heated, and maybe-maybe, I would still be on speaking terms with the family.  Gratefully the kids are grown, 18 and 22.  So I don't think there will be any lasting trauma from the divorce.  It's a serious struggle for me, though.  I met my wife when  we were in high-school.  We hooked up immediately and were together for almost 30 years.  Our lives were completely, tightly, woven together.  I was, and am, extremely attached to her and the kids.  Though, that attachment is fading as I reconcile the differences between how I imagined my future would be compared to how it is unfolding now. 

I greatly appreciate this community and Leo's videos in regard to reimagining my life's story and realizing with clarity the difference between temporal experiences and eternal truths.  Online, I try to embody one of my favorite cartoon TV shows of my youth, Disney's Gummi Bears.  I take great pleasure in bouncing-boldy ,helping others, whenever a problem presents itself. 

Now that I've shared details about me and my life, if there are any respectful comments and/or questions, I'll be pleased to read them and reply.

Best wishes sincerely, and thank you for reading this,

Ziran

Edited 7 hours ago by Ziran

[Hojo]

Why the number 7 in Hebrew called shiva.

I watched a video on jews and hindu and Greek and it said they were all worshipping the same God of destruction. Basically Greek copy jew jew copy hindus.

Also do you think Christianity is a puppet religion of the jews?

They hold their savior hostage as a jew so they must worship jews as well. They also convince them to say that jews are god 'chosen people'.

Edited 5 hours ago by Hojo

[Sincerity]

Nice to meet you. I moved your topic to Personal Development for higher reach.

What is your understanding of God/Reality? What are you?

[OBEler]

@Ziran Welcome! I am in a similar breakup situation too. Look for peter ralston: ending unneccessary suffering topic.

[Ziran]

27 minutes ago, Hojo said:

Why the number 7 in Hebrew called shiva.

The word is a union of several energetic principles represented by the letters which spell the word. It is constructed from the letters Shin+Vet+Ayin ( see link below ).  The Shin represents fire.  The Vet is a conjunction.  It means "within".  The Vet is energetically active.  It's "inflating".  In small measure, it's the force one would use to blow up a balloon **within** another balloon.  Then, the last letter, Ayin, is an empty vessel.  All three ideas combined: the fire is destroying the "inflating-energy" and putting this into a vessel. The result is an energetic principle conveyed with the word articulated "Sh'vah" which is ceasing because the metaphorical "balloon" is finished being inflated.  

https://www.sefaria.org/Klein_Dictionary%2C_שֶֽׁבַע.1?lang=bi&with=all&lang2=en

The first occurrence of the Hebrew word, "שביעי" sh'vi'i, is in the creation story.  It's in reference to "ceasing" due to satisfaction, aka "resting" on the seventh day.

ויכל אלהים ביום השביעי מלאכתו אשר "עשה" וישבת ביום השביעי מכל־מלאכתו אשר עשה׃
And on the seventh day God's work was He had "made"; and He rested on the seventh day from all His work which He had made.

54 minutes ago, Hojo said:

I watched a video on jews and hindu and Greek and it said they were all worshipping the same God of destruction. Basically Greek copy jew jew copy hindus.

FWIW, whether or not Lord Shiva is well described as a God of destruction is hotly debated among Hindu.

Yes, we Jews are highly impressionable.  We adopt and adapt, often to our detriment. Sadly, too often, without gratitude or recognition.

57 minutes ago, Hojo said:

Also do you think Christianity is a puppet religion of the jews?

Not at all.  However, gratefully, Christians on the whole have gained new found respect for Jewish principles and practices starting in the early 70s.

1 hour ago, Hojo said:

They hold their savior hostage as a jew so they must worship jews as well. They also convince them to say that jews are god 'chosen people'.

It's a mixed bag.  Many love us, many hate us.

[Hojo]

28 minutes ago, Ziran said:

The word is a union of several energetic principles represented by the letters which spell the word. It is constructed from the letters Shin+Vet+Ayin ( see link below ).  The Shin represents fire.  The Vet is a conjunction.  It means "within".  The Vet is energetically active.  It's "inflating".  In small measure, it's the force one would use to blow up a balloon **within** another balloon.  Then, the last letter, Ayin, is an empty vessel.  All three ideas combined: the fire is destroying the "inflating-energy" and putting this into a vessel. The result is an energetic principle conveyed with the word articulated "Sh'vah" which is ceasing because the metaphorical "balloon" is finished being inflated.  

 

Interesting Could it be a representation of kundalini? Ie the energy in your body expands very fast and your balloon pops. Like the  balloon literally blows up.

 

If you kundalini your reality bubble 'blows up' or pops open and you can see the underlying field of reality 'the void of nothing'is behind everything.

When this happen you see your destruction and God.

Edited 4 hours ago by Hojo

[Ziran]

1 hour ago, Sincerity said:

Nice to meet you. I moved your topic to Personal Development for higher reach.

Likewise.  Thank you.

1 hour ago, Sincerity said:

What is your understanding of God/Reality? What are you?

Reality is a collection of relationships super-imposed on one another. 

Existence is a collection of stable, contrasting relationships in the form of a nearly infinite nested chain, like many different sets of Russian dolls, all possessed within other Russian dolls, in a blossoming fractal pattern.  Or perhaps like a forever developing taxonomy chart.  Or like an endlessly branching series of choose-your-own-adventure-books.

I am one of those "Russian dolls", a collection of stable, contrasting relationships, which is both possessing its own collection, and is a possession of many others.  My specific configuration of contrasting-stable-relationships, the ones I possess, are a confluence.  They're flowing.  They're active, energetically in the form of aversions, affinities, talents, and flaws.  And. within me, there's also a "pulse" which traces its origin far beyond my apprehension.  This pulse is unique among other forms because it desires "better" in contrast to "more".  This pulse within me is benevolent. 

These five, the collection of stable-contrasting aversions, affinities, talents, flaws, and the benevolent-pulse are gathered, within a mystery, the source of life, something-from-nothing.  "Curiosity" is coupling within an inherent recognition of "truth".  It's two becoming four, the origin of the human "heart", in contrast to animals.  ( "Heart" is in quotes because it's the metaphorical heart, the seat of emotion.  Not the physical heart, the source of blood-flowing. )

"God", imo, is a vague term.  In my faith community, we're taught that there is a "being", a "who", an agent who is beyond all conceptions, completely ineffable such that even the word "ineffable" does not apply.  The only reason we are able to speak about this "God" is because we're taught that this "being", this agent desires to be known, here-and-now, within the material realm, from the absolute bottom, to the absolute top and beyond.  The logic behind this becomes a tautology and a matter of faith, however, there are ways to convince oneself.  I admit, it may be naive, but, I feel these teachings, don't contradict what's taught here on this website.  From my point of view, reconciling the Jewish construct with Non-Dual teachings is little more than a matter of intention.    

[Ziran]

1 hour ago, OBEler said:

@Ziran Welcome! I am in a similar breakup situation too. Look for peter ralston: ending unneccessary suffering topic.

Thank you.  I'll do that.

[Ziran]

46 minutes ago, Hojo said:

Interesting Could it be a representation of kundalini? Ie the energy in your body expands very fast and your balloon pops. Like the  balloon literally blows up.

 

If you kundalini your reality bubble 'blows up' or pops open and you can see the underlying field of reality 'the void of nothing'is behind everything.

When this happen you see your destruction and God.

I see that as a different energy.  From the kunadlini perspective, the 7 is alchemical.  7 is the "key stone", metaphorically, the child born to support them all.  Imagine:  2 parents on the side of the groom + 2 more parents on the side of the bride.  Then include, lifted up, the bride and the groom.  Then include, lifted up again, the child from their communion.  The child is the fruit, the awakening, of the individual.

[Hojo]

1 hour ago, Ziran said:

Likewise.  Thank you.

Reality is a collection of relationships super-imposed on one another. 

Existence is a collection of stable, contrasting relationships in the form of a nearly infinite nested chain, like many different sets of Russian dolls, all possessed within other Russian dolls, in a blossoming fractal pattern.  Or perhaps like a forever developing taxonomy chart.  Or like an endlessly branching series of choose-your-own-adventure-books.

I am one of those "Russian dolls", a collection of stable, contrasting relationships, which is both possessing its own collection, and is a possession of many others.  My specific configuration of contrasting-stable-relationships, the ones I possess, are a confluence.  They're flowing.  They're active, energetically in the form of aversions, affinities, talents, and flaws.  And. within me, there's also a "pulse" which traces its origin far beyond my apprehension.  This pulse is unique among other forms because it desires "better" in contrast to "more".  This pulse within me is benevolent. 

These five, the collection of stable-contrasting aversions, affinities, talents, flaws, and the benevolent-pulse are gathered, within a mystery, the source of life, something-from-nothing.  "Curiosity" is coupling within an inherent recognition of "truth".  It's two becoming four, the origin of the human "heart", in contrast to animals.  ( "Heart" is in quotes because it's the metaphorical heart, the seat of emotion.  Not the physical heart, the source of blood-flowing. )

"God", imo, is a vague term.  In my faith community, we're taught that there is a "being", a "who", an agent who is beyond all conceptions, completely ineffable such that even the word "ineffable" does not apply.  The only reason we are able to speak about this "God" is because we're taught that this "being", this agent desires to be known, here-and-now, within the material realm, from the absolute bottom, to the absolute top and beyond.  The logic behind this becomes a tautology and a matter of faith, however, there are ways to convince oneself.  I admit, it may be naive, but, I feel these teachings, don't contradict what's taught here on this website.  From my point of view, reconciling the Jewish construct with Non-Dual teachings is little more than a matter of intention.    

I like to think of it like a family lineage graph. At the beggining of this graph there is a heart beating. This is where we all start on the graph and then this graph branches out to breathing we all breathe. When you breath and I breathe this breath is linked to the same being. Then this branches out into infinite strings of eating drinking identities positions of body, anything a living being can do. When you stop breathing the long line of strings on the graph collapses back to the main link. 

If I was a squirrel and I die and take my last breathe I will merge with it and realize that the thing that is breathing when I am a squirrel, and the thing that is breathing when I am a human is the exact same being breathing.

Edited 2 hours ago by Hojo

[aurum]

@Ziran

What does your spiritual practice look like, if you have one?

Do you have experience with altered states of consciousness?

What wisdom do you find uniquely present in Judaism?