This Site
This blog begins with a focus on the book, Crossing the Boundary – Jewish Leaders of Other Spiritual Paths. It has pages devoted to each of the 14 spiritual teachers interviewed for the book, with short passages from their chapters and information about their work. (See People of the Book). It also has information about me, Alan Levin, as author and for Michael Green, the artist of the book cover
You are invited to explore the many pages and share or respond to any of it. I welcome suggestions and comments. The book itself is looking for a publisher and my plan is to have it available by March 2015.
When I began work on Crossing the Boundary over 10 years ago, I struggled with how to present the many themes involved in my interviews in a cohesive way. I wanted to explore the issue of Jewish tribalism, the role of tribalism itself, the life stories of the spiritual teachers I interviewed, what it means to choose an alternate spiritual path from your ancestors, and a host of questions about living a spiritual life. Indeed, I was advised by a number of friends to limit the intentions of this one book, which I tried to do.
This blog seeks to open the gates to a wider range of discussions than the book, to the many meanings that “crossing the boundary” implies. Some of the issues are touched on in the book interviews and I plan to pursue them more thoroughly, and some questions go beyond what is raised in the book. They relate to both Jewish themes and universal human concerns. Among them are:
What is Jewish identity? Does it imply a way of life or a system of values?
What is the relationship of Jewish identity to Israel/Palestine?
How is Jewish tribal identity similar to or different from that of other tribal people?
Are we moving into a post-tribal world?
Is there an emerging inter-spiritual path?
What is the role of psychedelics in crossing boundaries and spiritual discovery?
When we step outside the dominant paradigm of reality, how can we be effective agents for social change?
What is the relationship of the monotheistic religions to indigenous spirituality?