Ishbom

Ishbom

By: Shimon-Chipp King MA

Ishbom is a story about a Zurconien from the planet Zurcon and his journey of self-discovery and navigating the paradox of light and dark to gain Nivda; (knowledge, understanding and wisdom). The story explores how expectations, assumptions, attachments, judging others, justifying, blaming, opinions, ideologies, are all part of a dark Cloud that dims the Zurconiens light. For them to gain Nivda, they must go within and acknowledge their attachments to the Cloud and take back their light, which they have forgotten.

Ishbom and his journey is a modifier for navigating the human experience through the paradox of good and evil. It illustrates how to recognize the areas of consciousness that feed the dark side of the human condition and the introspection and self-actualizing it takes to change the paradigm.

I hope to give my readers the tools for navigating their human experience through the deceptions, lies, and illusions that is in the way of discovering their true nature of love, compassion, and selflessness. I would like my readers to see that the truth is found by going within and acknowledging the delusions that are the cause of their suffering.

About the Author

I grew up in Michigan in the 50's and 60's. I was drafted in 1966 into the Army during the Viet Nam war. I didn't want to kill people I didn't know in a war I didn't understand, so I enlisted in the Navy and ended up in the boot camp band playing trumpet. Through Junior High and High School, I taught myself how to play well enough to pass the audition to get into the Naval School of Music. I spent four years as a Navy musician, two years in Viet Nam on aircraft carriers and was discharged in 1970. I attended a Junior College in California majoring in music for two years and then Eastern Michigan University where I earned my minor in music.

After the first year in music school, I decided to drop out and for the next 5 years I got married and worked several odd jobs. My interest and priorities however were focused on philosophy, theology, psychology, and Eastern philosophies. I read books on Buddhism, Zen, Tao along with self-help books. I was driving a delivery truck when I decided to go back to school.

I majored in Special Education at Wayne State University in Detroit. While going to school, I worked as program coordinator in a group home for mentally handicapped adults with severe behavior disorders. I graduated with a Special Education teaching degree in 1978. At Wayne State I was introduced to the developmental stages of Moral Reasoning by Lawrence Kohlberg and Abram Maslow. I became more and more interested in the human condition and the paradox that we all must navigate to evolve into altruistic awareness and enlightenment.

Two years after I graduated, we moved to Colorado Springs where I worked with Emotionally Handicapped adolescence at a treatment center. During that time, I earned my master's degree in Special Education from UCCS.

For the next 37 years, I had four beautiful children. I taught Junior High and High School students with severe emotional disorders in school settings, residential treatment facilities, and detention facilities. I gave classes in continuing education for teachers, administrators, and councilors in behavior management, and strategies for incorporating affective education into the curriculum. I had my own family practice and home bound tutoring practice for 20 years while teaching during the day.

I moved to Hawaii and taught High School for four years, then I moved to Oakland CA and taught in a residential/detention center and earned a Highly Qualified Teacher certificate in Social Science. I retired at 65 and moved to Albuquerque NM. where I presently live.