Tag: 365 Names Of God

2011’s Big Project, continued in 2018 and beyond.

365 Names: “The Eternal”

THE ETERNAL is one of the many, many translations for יהוה‎ – a mostly untranslatable Hebrew divine moniker or “theonym” (which term I just now learned – thank you, Wikipedia!) connected with a form of the cognate “to be.” It appears in the Torah (Exodus 3:15) right after another theonym, אֶֽהְיֶ֖ה אֲשֶׁ֣ר אֶֽהְיֶ֑ה (“Ehyeh Asher Ehyeh,” or “I Will Be What I Will Be”) in Ex. 3:14, where Moses asks G?d what Name to tell the enslaved Jews who will question his authority to speak on G?d’s behalf. “The Eternal” takes the “to be” ball and runs with it, in the sense/concept of G?d existing forever and ever, outside of spacetime, infinite and unknowable. (We could get all mystical and Qabalistic at this point, nattering on about lofty Ain Sof (transcendence) v. folksy Shekhina (immanence), but let’s save that for another time – no pun intended.)

This is one of my favorite Names for that-which-some-people-call-God: some are creative, others traditional, each unique. If you want to see your favorite here, but haven’t, send it along with the subject line “365 Names” and let us know whether or not you want to be credited.

365 Names of God: “The One Who Spoke and the World Came Into Being”

THE ONE WHO SPOKE AND THE WORLD CAME INTO BEING expresses a pretty profound metaphor, at least to those students of the Torah unbothered by anthropomorphism. Think about the many possible ways to spin a creation myth: divine entities dreaming everything into existence; a landscape composed of a giant dragon’s hero-dismembered parts; a war of cosmic proportions between co-creators; divine entities populating their fresh new world with grateful worshippers just for amusement. But the Torah’s version is sublimely, psychologically subtle: it posits that our reality is created by words. And really – isn’t it?

Once upon a time, in 2011 in fact, The Metaphorager aspired to daily feature a year’s worth of different names for that-which-some-people-call-God: some creative, others traditional, each unique. For reasons, instead we’re going to occasionally post one until we run out of what we’ve collected so far. If you want to see your favorite here, but haven’t, pass it this way with the subject line “365 Names” and let us know whether or not you want to be credited.

365 Names: “Friend”

FRIEND, AT LEAST AS A Divine Name, is inspired by the Breslov Chasidic tradition. Its founder, Rebbe Nachman, once said (quoting from memory) “It is good to pour out your heart to God as if you were speaking to a good friend.” This exercise is central to Breslover practice, but for mystics — defined as any who approach G?d as an Experience rather than as a Being — this can pose something of a challenge: Who exactly am I speaking with, anyway? On one level, that doesn’t matter; the actual doing of it, even by agnostics, can be both focusing and grounding. Try it and see!

Once upon a time, The Metaphorager aspired to feature daily a year’s worth of different names for that-which-some-people-call-God: some creative, others traditional, each unique. For reasons, instead we’re just going to occasionally post them until we run out of the considerably fewer we’ve collected so far. If you want to see your favorite here, but haven’t, send it along with the subject line “365 Names” and let us know whether or not you want to be credited.

365 Names: The Encounterable

THE ENCOUNTERABLE IS A NAME I invented about three minutes ago (as of this writing: 2112.12 @ 2150), but is meant to express one understanding of the Consciousness inherent in the universe. As written elsewhere, I do not “believe” in a God* that can be prayed to or beseeched, but rather One that can be experienced, either through unexpected spontaneity or by creating a patterned context for such an experience (through disciplined and deep meditation or contemplation, say). “Belief” doesn’t quite enter into the equation; no words can fully express the encounter’s undeniable and all-unifying immediacy. As Maimonides likes to say, “Those who know, know.” Continue reading “365 Names: The Encounterable”

Why We Divine

When we stand in awe, our lips do not demand speech, knowing that if we spoke, we would deprave ourselves. In such moments talk is an abomination. All we want is to pause, to be still, that the moment may last. … The meaning of the things we revere is overwhelming, and beyond the grasp of our understanding.”
— Rabbi Abraham Joshua Heschel

365 Names: “Der Aibishter”

DER AIBISHTER IS FROM THE Yiddish word meaning “uppermost” or “the highest one.” It’s a good Name for at least two reasons: 1) you can never have too much Yiddish, and b) it’s a nice descriptor of the nondualist perspective. For me at least, “God” is not Something to believe in or pray to, but rather to experience: “choiceless awareness,” “wordless consciousness,” “oceanic unity,” call It what you will. (Or better yet — don’t.) Continue reading “365 Names: “Der Aibishter””

365 Names: “Ain Sof”

AIN SOF is the Name given by Jewish mystics to G?d’s most transcendent (read: non-immediate) aspect. Meaning, literally, “without end,” it falls short of describing the Indescribable by admitting with honesty that it can’t be done. “There is no way to praise G?d in a manner that is suitable, ” says Rabbi Nachman of Breslov. “But a little is also good.”

Once upon a time, in 2011 in fact, The Metaphorager aspired each day to feature a different name for that-which-passes-for-God. Some were creative, others traditional, each unique; so we’re going to attempt that project again (though not every day) until we run out of the names we’ve collected so far. If you want to see your favorite here, but haven’t, send it along with the subject line “365 Names” and let us know whether or not you want to be credited.

365 Names: God-Who-Sees

GOD-WHO-SEES is, in spite of titling a music video, also a fairly accurate descriptor of the non-dual mindstate: “All is seen, but No-thing is seen,” as one seeker-after-the-Divine put it. The Hebrew version, “El Roi” (lit.: “G?d Who sees me“) comes from Genesis 16:13; it’s what Abraham’s concubine Hagar said during her first Divine encounter — after Abraham’s wife Sarah kicks Hagar out of the family tent, and before she gives birth to Abraham’s son Ishmael. Per that, it’s also a nice reminder that just because we may feel far from the Mystery, the Mystery is not far from us. Something to keep in mind as these strange, strange days continue their origami-like unfolding.

Continue reading “365 Names: God-Who-Sees”

365 Names: The Nameless One

THE NAMELESS ONE was invented by me (unless I unrememberingly wheelered it from somewhere) to express, ironically, that the whole “365 Names of God” project (and similar efforts) is doomed to fail. As Lao-tze said more than a thousand years ago, “The Tao that can be told is not the eternal Tao.” By this I think he means that to name something is to limit it; and that-which-some-call-God cannot be limited. TWSCG is bigger than thought, bigger than speech, bigger than any experience. Does that mean we should stop thinking or speaking about It? Emphatically not! Because with every G?dward motion, we come a bit closer in our understanding — despite that we’ll never arrive. Here’s to the voyage. And the voyagers!

Continue reading “365 Names: The Nameless One”

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