Podcast Summary
Personal experiences shaping faith: People's faith and beliefs can be influenced by their upbringing, personal experiences, and environments. A tragic event or unexplained experience can lead to questioning and evolving beliefs.
Faith and belief in a higher power can be shaped by various experiences and upbringings. The speaker grew up believing in God with a confused understanding of the Holy Ghost, and prayed every night for the safety of loved ones. However, a tragic event led her to question her faith and she mostly stopped praying. Later, she had an unexplained experience that left her with new questions about the world and faith. The speaker's interviewee, who grew up Orthodox Jewish in Los Angeles, also had a strong religious upbringing but with more permeability to outside influences. These experiences highlight how perceptions of faith can evolve and be shaped by personal experiences and environments.
Religion and cultural norms: Religion encompasses both laws and cultural norms, and the ability to question rules and access religious texts can lead to a deeper, more intentional connection.
Religion, including orthodox Judaism, encompasses both the law and cultural norms. While following the law may not be an issue, cultural expectations might be. The speaker shared their experience of moving between different worlds, such as attending punk shows while keeping religious practices. They felt a sense of integration rather than paradox, and their ability to question rules and access religious texts gave them the freedom to make their own choices. The speaker grew up with a distant relationship with God due to the overwhelming number of rules and rituals, but college and personal growth led to a deeper, more intentional connection.
Religious exploration and intellectual curiosity: The speaker's experiences with religion have been marked by intellectual curiosity and exploration, involving updating beliefs, questioning practices, and reconciling social and intellectual identities
The speaker's experiences with religion, specifically Judaism, have been characterized by intellectual curiosity and exploration, even as they questioned the spiritual fulfillment and meaning behind the practices. The Talmud, with its debates and intellectual stimulation, is an analogy for the speaker's approach to religion. In college, the speaker was exposed to new perspectives and ideas, broadening their intellectual horizons while continuing to practice their faith. The speaker's journey involved updating their conception of God and reassessing which practices resonated with their evolving beliefs. The speaker also related to the challenge of reconciling social and intellectual identities. Despite leaving some orthodox communities for social reasons, the speaker continues to identify as observant Jewish while maintaining a progressive and intellectual worldview. The concept of "second naivete" offers a framework for understanding this process, where one grapples with the realization that religion is constructed, but still finds value in it.
Unconventional career paths: Personal experiences and feeling like an outsider can lead to unique perspectives and unconventional career paths. An ADHD diagnosis and inability to fit in conventional boxes propelled Zvika Krieger to create his own path as Facebook's first head of ethics, drawing on his spiritual background to influence moral reasoning and guide others.
Personal experiences and feeling like an outsider can lead to unexpected and unconventional career paths. Zvika Krieger's journey from journalist to rabbi, with detours through the Middle East, the State Department, and Silicon Valley, illustrates this idea. His ADHD diagnosis and his inability to fit in conventional boxes propelled him to create his own path. In his role as Facebook's first head of ethics, he applied his unique perspective to help the tech giant navigate ethical dilemmas. Although his faith was not explicitly involved in his job, his spiritual background influenced his approach to moral reasoning and guiding others. Despite the challenges and the snickers, Zvika's unconventional path has led him to a fulfilling career as a rabbi, where he continues to help people navigate their own moral dilemmas.
Jewish spirituality and mindfulness: Svyka combines traditional Jewish practices with mindfulness, meditation, and embodiment to create a unique spiritual experience, emphasizing authenticity, embracing uncertainty, and exploring personal spiritual paths.
Svyka, a spiritual leader, shares his journey of combining traditional Jewish practices with mindfulness, meditation, and embodiment to create a unique spiritual experience. He draws inspiration from DIY scenes and his personal struggles with ADHD, leading him to explore embodiment practices like dancing and meditation. Svyka also emphasizes the importance of embracing uncertainty and not knowing, rather than seeking answers, and being authentic as a spiritual leader. He challenges the notion that traditional religious practices are the only authentic ones, and encourages people to explore their own spiritual paths, even if they deviate from the norm.
Torah as a source of wisdom: The Torah, regardless of belief in its divine origin, provides valuable insights from people who lived through challenging times, offering wisdom and context to help individuals navigate their lives.
The Torah, or religious texts in general, serve as a source of meaning and wisdom for individuals navigating their lives, even if they don't believe in the divine origin of these texts. The speaker found herself drawn to these texts during challenging times, not because of faith, but because they offered insights from people who lived through harder times. The God depicted in these texts may be unappealing, but the speaker sees it as a human creation, a useful starting point for exploring deeper spiritual questions. The Torah's enduring value lies in its ability to provide wisdom and context that can help individuals make sense of their lives.
Experiencing God: Experiencing God is about recognizing interconnectedness and finding belonging, not constant thinking, through various practices like dance, nature, or meditation.
Experiencing God is about recognizing the interconnectedness of all things and finding a sense of belonging within that oneness. It's not about spending every waking moment thinking about God, but rather dropping in and out of moments of deep awareness and connection. This concept, called de vekut in Jewish tradition, can be compared to mindfulness. God is seen as the sum total of all that is, was, and will be. The experience of God can be intellectual, emotional, or physical, and it can be found in various ways, such as through dance, nature, or meditation. Even if someone doesn't believe in God, they can still benefit from practices that foster a sense of interconnectedness and belonging.
Exploring larger questions of existence: Engaging with deeper questions about existence and practicing prayer, whether expressing desires or practicing gratitude, can bring meaning and resilience to our lives.
Engaging with deeper questions about the nature of existence and practicing a form of prayer, whether it be expressing desires or practicing gratitude, can bring meaning and resilience to our lives. It's not about having specific beliefs or following a particular spiritual tradition, but rather about being curious and open to exploring the larger questions that give our lives context. As the speaker noted, it can be easy to get stuck focusing only on the small day-to-day concerns, but wrestling with larger questions can provide a sense of refuge and perspective. Whether you believe in a higher power or not, the act of prayer and surrender can be a powerful tool for finding peace and meaning in your life.