528. Zvi Ish-Shalom

Rabbi Zvi Ish-Shalom, Ph.D., is a professor of wisdom traditions at Naropa University and is the founder of Kedumah, a universal mystical school that teaches a step-by-step approach to spiritual awakening and personal development. Integrating the timeless wisdom of the great mystical traditions with cutting edge knowledge of psychology, science, and the somatic healing arts, Zvi gently points us toward the primordial light of boundless freedom that abides at the heart of our experience. He is the author of the book The Kedumah Experience: The Primordial Torah and teaches retreats, workshops, and inner work groups internationally. Website: kedumah.org Discussion of this interview in the BatGap Community Facebook Group. Summary and transcript of this interview. Interview recorded November 30, 2019 YouTube Video Chapters: 00:00:00 - Introduction to Buddha at the Gas Pump 00:05:02 - Understanding the Vibration of Texts 00:09:32 - Early Religious Experience and Discovery of Mystical Texts 00:15:13 - The Shifting Inner Transformation 00:19:23 - Early Devotional Phase 00:23:54 - Diving into Devotion and Meditation 00:29:59 - Shuckling and Divine Presence 00:34:11 - A Deepening Journey of Annihilation 00:39:24 - Connection with a Divine Presence 00:44:37 - Annihilation of the Self 00:49:31 - The Black Annihilation Fire and the Primordial Point of Light 00:54:04 - The Primordial Starlight 00:59:05 - Experiences of the Kabbalistic teachings 01:03:22 - Anointing with Divine Oil 01:08:03 - The Power of Ritual and Symbolism 01:12:23 - The Colors of Creation and Manifestation 01:17:13 - The Essence of Formlessness 01:22:02 - The Meaning of Torah, Kabbalah, and Kedumah 01:27:00 - Revealing the Kedumah Teachings 01:32:13 - The Five Dimensions of Experience 01:37:34 - Contraction and Concentration in Life 01:42:43 - Integrating the Inside and Outside 01:48:10 - The Culmination of the Spiritual Journey 01:52:44 - Contractions and Radical Awakening 01:57:08 - The Primordial Light of the Sun 02:02:01 - Reincarnation and Karma in Kabbalah and Kedumah 02:06:29 - Simultaneous Lives and Realities 02:10:49 - Worship through Materiality and the Feminine Principle 02:15:52 - The Vastness of Intelligence and the Soulship 02:20:39 - Nondimensional Soulship and the Next Buddha 02:26:06 - Farewell and Blessings