Seekers of Unity

Making Sense of the Infinite, En Sof, the God of the Kabbalists. Is Kabbalah Pantheistic? Find our in this instalment of Pantheism and the Metaphysics of Mysticism.  Continuing our series on Jewish Pantheological thought. Looking at the way thinkers within the Jewish tradition thought about the relationship between God and World, in creative, daring and inspiring ways.  In this instalment we’re looking at the thinking of the Kabbalists on this issue, and trying to get a glimpse of just how they go about thinking and unpacking nothing less than what they believe to be the mysteries of the universe, God and the human condition.  

​John Vervaeke lays out a plausible, even persuasive case for Mysticism. Making Mysticism viable for us moderns. Marshaling the latest findings in Cognitive Science and Developmental Psychology in support Higher States of Consciousness and Transformative Mystical Experiences.   What, Why and How? Attempting to provide a Descriptive (what is happening, phenomenologically), Prescriptive (why it should be taken seriously, why such transformations are rationally justifiable) and Functional account (how these states function from a cog-sci perspective, mechanisms at play and the Cognitive Continuum hypothesis) of Transformative Mystical Experiences.

Looking at the Seeds of Jewish Pantheism in the Bible, Philo, and the Rabbis.   We begin by distinguishing between pantheism and panentheism and suggest why those terms may be worthless but necessary. We then briefly quote some key biblical verses that went on to inspire and define the parameters of Jewish theological immanence and pantheologies. We then speak of the clash of culture that occurred under the Greek influence on the Jewish Hellenized community of Alexandria, and one philosopher who typifies that culture clash, Philo of Alexandria, and the seeds he lays to undermine his own transcendent God. We then take a quick tour through some classic Rabbinic explorations of God’s relationship with the world, God as the place of the world and God as the soul of the world. Followed finally by a look at later Rabbinic philosophers, Ibn Ezra and more extensively, Maimonides and his conception of the unity of God, and the world or the human and God, via the act of intellection, the unity of the knower, the known and the knowing.

​ @John Vervaeke  is using the latest findings from cognitive science and psychology to integrate science and spirituality to alleviate the ongoing Meaning Crisis.  Dr. Vervaeke is an award-winning lecturer at the University of Toronto in the departments of psychology, cognitive science and Buddhist psychology, and the creator of Awakening from the Meaning Crisis series, in which he distils years of research and thinking from the cutting edge of cognitive science, psychology, history, philosophy and religion, all geared towards understanding and showing the way out from our current Meaning Crisis, through the cultivation of meaning, wisdom and self-transcendence, which John proposes are intimately tied-up with one another.  John searches for a solution to this crisis by reaching deeply into the past to salvage the wisdom of Socrates, Plato, and Aristotle, Plotinus, Jesus, and the Buddha, just to name a few, and modern figures like Jung, Nietzsche, Heidegger. Combining the best of the past with the best work being done currently by contemporary psychologists, cognitive scientists, philosophers, neuroscientists.  In the series John goes deep into topics like shamanism, altered states of consciousness, mystical and psychedelic experiences. Existentialism. Nihilism. Artificial Intelligence. Neuroenlightenment. Just to give you a little taste.  The series ultimately projects the audacious, promethean goal of “systematically creating psycho-technologies that transform consciousness, cognition, character and culture in a way that religions have [in the past],” which we’ll need “if we're going to address the current meaning crisis.”  Oh, and as a by-product he proposes what may just amount to a comprehensive psychological theory of enlightenment. But John provides no easy answers, instead he helps us get clear about the problem and clear about what a potential solution might look like. So we together, can awaken from the meaning crisis.

The final chapter of Spinoza’s Magnum Opus, the Ethics has been called “impenetrable,” and its central idea of amor dei intelectualis, intellectual love of God, “the central doctrine in Spinoza’s philosophy” has been called “one of the more opaque elements in a work full of opacity.” Many, even those that taken Spinoza very seriously, have dismissed this final chapter as “worthless,” “an unmitigated disaster,” “a concession to the masses,” they said the rigorous philosopher has “gone soft” and “fallen back into his mystical experience” as his clarity waned.  We say nay nay, Spinoza did not go soft, wane, buckle, sway or break at the end. Spinoza’s final chapter - enigmatic religious language and all - is nothing less than the stunning crowing culmination of his life’s work. Spinoza’s great mind glimpsed the secrets of the universe, the rhythm and riddles of Nature and the essence of God. In his final chapter he put pen to paper to pass over what he gleaned, to guide others, for centuries to come, toward a life of love, peace, eudaimonia, salvation and blessedness. All without compromising for a moment on his lucid, rigorous, logical and mathematically form.   When one of history’s greatest minds tells us the secret to salvation, we ought to pay close attention. If we do, and manage to penetrate his words, time may just stop and allow us to see things as he did, sub species aeternitatis, under the aspect of eternity. And the love, bliss, calm and respite that seeps through the paused moments of time will find you waiting.

Baruch Spinoza was undoubtedly one of the greatest philosophical minds of history. But does his philosophy have relevance beyond the halls of academia? Can Spinoza, in all his wisdom, help us in our everyday lives? In this vid we share what might be Spinoza’s most powerful idea, one whose insight, if fully digested, might just be literally life changing. Presenting: Spinoza’s Secret to Living a Blessed Life.

Baruch Spinoza is one of Western philosophy’s most lauded geniuses. But how many know what he actually espoused? In this vid we’ll be exploring Spinoza’s philosophy, beginning with a brief biographical sketch, a word on his legacy and methodology, followed by an introductory overview of the heart of his philosophy, his metaphysics. Exploring the Structure of Realty According to Baruch Spinoza.

Join us for a conversation with Yehudah DovBer Zirkind about Paradigm Shifts in Religion, from Truth to Meaning and Existential approaches to Religion. Yehudah DovBer shares openly and honestly about his religious journey into post-Orthodoxy, from fundamentalism to universalism modernism and post-modernism and reconstructing the shattered pieces in between.

In this convo with a fellow seeker, meditator, author, teacher and activist we explore ‘mysticism today,’ the insights of mysticism within a context of healthy modern scepticism and contemporary life.   We ask what mysticism might have to teach us in 2021? Is mysticism necessarily ethical, loving and unitive? Are all Mystical traditions teaching the same thing? And does Kabbalah still work? We talk about the falls and peaks of comparative mysticism, Buddhism vs Judaism, Meditation in the Jhana Theravadan Buddhist tradition, Getting beyond Monism and his essay, the Repersonalization of God, Post-monistic theological polymorphism and warm bread.  Our guest is Dr. Jay Michaelson, a Lawyer, a Rabbi, a Mediation teacher, and an LGBT rights activist. A columnist for the Daily Beast and editor for Ten Percent Happier. A frequent commentator on NPR, MSNBC, CNN, the Atlantic, Washington Post, the Forward and others. The author of eight books and over three hundred articles on religion, sexuality, law, and contemplative practice. He’s written on Sadness and the Spiritual Path, American Buddhism, God vs Gay, Non-Dual Judaism, Embodied Spirituality, and Postmodern Buddhism. Dr. Michaelson holds a PhD in Jewish Thought, a Law degree from Yale, and nondenominational rabbinic ordination. He has taught at Harvard Divinity School, Yale University, Boston University Law School and the Chicago Theological Seminary. He is the founder of Zeek, the first Jewish online magazine and of two LGBT rights organizations. Dr. Michaelson was listed in the Forward 50 list of the most influential American Jews.

What best accounts for the commonality among the world's mystical traditions? & Is there a shared basic metaphysics of mysticism among the world’s mystical traditions?  Filip Holm of  @Let's Talk Religion  talks religion with  @Seekers of Unity    We get to chatting about perennialism, essentializing, ineffability and language, language and experience, and the quandary of translations.  We talk about: Defining Mysticism, Mystical Experience, Unity as key feature, Dualistic Mysticisms, Duality vs Polarity, Objectivity and Subjectivity, The Real and the Unreal, Ego Death, The Metaphysical Imperative, Unity that unites and transcends religions, Context vs trans-contextual mysticism, The problem of translating mysticism and Filip’s Channel explosion.  Filip started the youtube channel Let's Talk Religion with the aim of increasing religious literacy in the world, by exploring subjects within the field of religion and religious studies from an academic, fair and unbiased perspective, with the firm belief that if religious education is improved and religious literacy in the world increases, there will be more room for discussion, tolerance and understanding.