Thinking Ahead About The Next G20 Meeting

high1In the News (from Canadian Business Online): German Chancellor Angela Merkel is calling for a new international charter as a way to get out of the global financial crisis. “We want to make sure that in the future there are no gaps in the world regarding financial products, market participants or instruments,” Merkel said. Among the solutions Merkel is pushing is the idea of a global “risk atlas” that would give an overview of where risks might occur, in an effort to swiftly intervene and prevent them from escalating.

My Comment: The crisis can make us unite, or it can make us become isolated from one another. It’s very dangerous for the latter to take place, since this will be opposite to the tendency of our development as humanity!

Related Material:
Laitman.com Post: The G-20 Will Not Resolve the Crisis
Laitman.com Post: World Leaders Have to Start Thinking About All People, Economies and Countries
Laitman.com Post: The Threat of Deglobalization Reminds Us That We Must Learn to Connect In Our “Small Global Village”

Focus On The Upper World, Not On How Much Money You Make

moneyA question I received: I came across an interesting article, “It’s Every Man for Himself,” depicting the scene on Wall Street this year. Is it correct to assume that the heart of Wall Street, the heart of American politics, the heart of American business – with this “every man for himself” attitude – is what you describe as the complete growth of egoism to the critical point? I work on Wall Street, but in a technical capacity. Should I try to change careers, so that I am not subject to this punishment? To be honest, the idea of working as a laborer / road builder / carpenter seems to be more aligned with the principles of Kabbalah than a career on Wall Street.

My Answer: You’re right: Kabbalists always preferred simpler trades because working there lets your mind be free to think about the Upper World, instead of about how much you’re earning. However, if your specialty is technical, it shouldn’t interfere with your spiritual path. In this case it doesn’t matter where you work, as long as you work in a legal organization. My advice for you is to keep your job.

Related Material:
Laitman.com Post: The Intention of Attaining the Creator Does Not Conflict With Career
Laitman.com Post: Kabbalah and Choosing a Profession

Don’t Be Surprised By People’s New Attitudes Of “We” Instead Of “I”

musicHere is a letter I received from my student, Tasha:

I forwarded my article from your blog to my coworkers. Afterward, one of them came to me and asked, “Do you really think it’s possible for people to work without money, just out of the goodness of their hearts?”

I answered, “It will be when we won’t have any other choice: when we’ll have to change our ways or starve to death.” He replied, “And when will that happen?”

It’s really interesting how everything’s changing. A mere six months ago, if you started telling people about the idea of integrating different processes into one, everyone would hear you out politely and then start arguing about who’ll be “calling the shots.” But today – take a look at what’s happening! Everyone’s starting to be friendly and rushing to be the first to be integrated and cooperative. God forbid you get a reputation of being non-compliant or uncooperative – you’ll be the first candidate for dismissal.

You’d think that people would be clinging to what’s theirs with everything they’ve got, without any regard for others, but what’s happening is just the opposite: everyone has discovered that no one will survive without mutual help and support.

So the system seems to be regulating itself, after all?

My Answer: What’s happening is that the desire (feeling) and the thought (information) are flowing inside the system that’s now global, going from those who are aware of the process to everyone else.

Thus, without even realizing it, people are beginning to think in new ways: We instead of I.

Related Material:
Laitman.com Post: A World Without Money

Loneliness Is Unhealthy

the-condition-of-entering-the-upper-world-is-mutual-guaranteeIn the News (from Mail Online): Loneliness is as bad for health as smoking or obesity, experts warn” Feeling lonely can raise blood pressure, stress and the risk of depression. Psychologist John Cacioppo advises the lonely to try making friends, “Lonely people feel a hunger. The key is to realize that the solution lies not in being fed but in cooking for and enjoying a meal with others.”

My Comment: The only way for an organism to be healthy is when there’s a harmonious connection among all of the organism’s “building blocks.” And it’s the same with people: when we connect by means of a mutual guarantee, we reveal the Upper Life, the perception of eternity and perfection that becomes revealed in our connection.

The current crisis is a sign that we’re making the transition from being souls separated by our egoism to becoming unified souls. When we unite, we will reveal the Upper Life inside our unity!

Related Material:
Laitman.com Post: The Source of Happiness
Laitman.com Post: Humanity Is One Integral, Interconnected Organism
Kabbalah Today Article: How to Catch a Case of “Happy”
Baal HaSulam Article: “The Arvut (Mutual Guarantee)”

Soon We Will Realize That Having “The Bare Necessities” Is For The Best

rockIn the News (from The Telegraph):Thousands of French cafes close” There is growing evidence that the French are skipping starters and coffee or simply staying at home to cope with food and fuel price hikes. Restaurant closures have soared by 25 percent from last year. Cafes and bars saw closures shoot up by 56 per cent. “The profession is increasingly working with cheaper products to avoid raising costs,” said Danièle Deleval, vice-president of France’s main restaurant and hotel industry.

My Comment: The crisis will leave people with just “the bare necessities” – whatever they need in order to live. But everyone will realize that this is “for the best.”

In the News (from The New York Times):Laid-Off Foreigners Flee as Dubai Spirals Down” Many of the foreign workers who make up 90 percent of the population here, have been laid off and face the prospect of being forced to leave this Persian Gulf city. That in turn reduces spending, creates housing vacancies and lowers real estate prices, in a downward spiral that has left parts of Dubai — once hailed as the economic superpower of the Middle East — looking like a ghost town.

My Comment: The paradise has been deserted. If the crisis continues, the same will happen in many other places in the world.

Related Material:
Laitman.com Post: As a Result of the Crisis, Only the Necessities Will Remain
Laitman.com Post: The Financial Crisis Makes Us Wiser

How To Go On A Journey To The “World On The Other Side”

out-of-bodyIn the News (from Horizon Research Foundation):What Is An Out of Body Experience?” A group of Swiss doctors carried out a procedure that is often performed on patients with intractable epilepsy. Electrodes were implanted in the brain and used to stimulate different portions of the brain… The patient reported seeing herself ‘lying in bed, from above’ and also ‘floating’ near the ceiling.

The Swiss doctors had been able to induce an out of body-like experience in someone. This seemed to suggest that the reported sensation of leaving the body during a brush with death might simply be an illusion created by abnormal stimulation of a specific area of the right side of the brain called the angular gyrus. The Swiss researchers had concluded that out of body and near death experiences might be influenced by a portion of the brain misfiring under stress.

My Comment: Now anyone can sign up for stimulation of the brain and go on a journey to the “world on the other side”; maybe people can even choose what adventures they’ll go on!

It’s time to say goodbye to Raymond Moody’s theory about the “afterlife,” along with all the other theories by different researchers, as much as we’d like to hold on to our sweet hopes for the future. It’s time to see the truth: when your body dies, you’re left only with whatever part of the “world on the other side” you have revealed during your life in the physical body.

One Kabbalistic text states, “You will see your world while you are still alive!” And if you don’t reveal the Upper World (which can only be done using Kabbalah), then you will die just like an animal. Afterward you’ll receive a new (protein-based) life – another opportunity to reveal the Upper World during your lifetime. Therefore, “If a person did not engage in studying Kabbalah, he will have to return to this world again” (Baal HaSulam, “Introduction to the book Fruits of Wisdom”).

A person is like an animal in every respect, and just like with animals, one’s death is final! There is only one other alternative: to acquire the quality of the Creator, which is love for one’s neighbor. Through this quality, one is able to feel the Upper Life because one comes out of the self and enters others.

None of the religious promises about “life after death” (interpreted differently by every religion) will come true. There is no reward waiting for you “there” for anything you do here. We can attain all of creation and the Creator only “here,” in this lifetime.

Therefore, “Every person has to study Kabbalah. And even if a person has learned all the intricacies of the Torah and exceeds all the righteous people in the world, still, if he did not study Kabbalah, he will have to return to this world again in order to study Kabbalah” (Baal HaSulam, “Introduction to the Book Fruits of Wisdom”).

Related Material:
Laitman.com Post: Why Do We Have to Keep Coming Back Here?
Laitman.com Post: A Conversation About Love
Kabbalah Today Article: To Be or Not to Be?
Lesson on Baal HaSulam Article: “The Introduction to the Book “From the Mouth of a Wise Man”
Lesson on Article: “Attaining the Unity of the Universe”

Studying Together Brings The Greatest Benefit

study-kabbalah-and-spritual-worries-will-outweigh-your-current-onesTwo questions I received on how to draw the Surrounding Light:

Question: During the third part of today’s morning lesson, you said that the most important thing for humanity today is to come to a realization of evil, and this can only be done with the help of the Surrounding Light (Ohr Makif). Can we draw the Surrounding Light only from Talmud Eser Sefirot or also from the modified materials? Let’s say, for a beginner, who doesn’t know anything about Kabbalah, will an entertainment show on Channel 66 or a friendly talk with Rav Laitman’s students on Kabbalistic topics also be a source of the Surrounding Light?

My Answer: Of course. All of our materials, in all their forms, bring forth the Surrounding Light. The result depends on the material (the biggest influence happens during my morning lesson), on your desire and on your connection to us. I receive many responses to our TV channel, and I can see that it causes truly wonderful changes in people!

Question: I am a beginner. What brings more Light: reading books or studying through the Internet?

My Answer: The greatest benefit comes from studying together, especially if you study live, together with us!

Related Material:
Laitman.com Post: The Kabbalah Channel, YES 66, Brings Good Changes
Laitman.com Post: The Surrounding Light’s Influence Depends On Your Aspiration to the Future State (Advanced)
Kabbalah Revealed: “Up the Ladder”
The Path of Kabbalah: “About the Study”

Our World Is A Reverse Mini-Model Of The World Of Infinity

the-rate-of-ones-spritual-development-depends-on-ones-effortsIn the News (from Physorg): “Scientists Model Words as Entangled Quantum States in our Minds” Research has shown that words are stored in our memories not as isolated entities but as part of a network of related words. Researchers have modeled the human mental lexicon as consisting of words that cannot be separated from other words, which may explain why words have many associations, a feature which helps us communicate.

In trying to understand these connections, scientists visualize a map of links among words called the mental lexicon that shows how words in a vocabulary are interconnected through other words. The quantum-based model doesn’t assume that words are separate entities.

A question I received on this news story: But at the same time scientists talk about “memory shelves,” where separate bits of information are stored. So which theory is correct?

My Answer: Any particular part of the universe is similar to the entire universe and is a mini mirror-image of it. The only thing in creation is the World of Infinity, and it is divided into parts that perceive it. These parts are identical to their collective whole, just like in a holographic picture.

Although it’s easier for us to speak in terms of memory cells, whenever we speak about anything, we’re always talking about a mini-model of the only creation – the World of Infinity. The only thing that differentiates the mini-model is its infinitude: it is a finite, fixed desire to love and bestow. This is how the degrees of descent were formed, starting from the World of Infinity and ending down in our world.

In our world, the descent continues. However, it no longer happens in likeness to the quality of love and bestowal, but in different degrees of the desire, “to receive for one’s own sake.”

Related Material:
Laitman.com Post: New Scientific Discovery: The Universe Is a Giant Hologram
Laitman.com Post: Preface to the Science of Kabbalah. Items 6 – 9
Wondrous Wisdom: “Eight Beginning Lessons in Kabbalah – Lesson 5”
Baal HaSulam Article: “Introduction to the Book of Zohar”, Item 2

Junk Literature May Be Disappearing

reading-book1In the News (from The New York Times): The publishing industry struggles with declining sales amid a generally difficult economy.

My Comment: Baal HaSulam writes the following in his article, “Time to Act”:

Prior to the development of the printing industry, there were no false books as there were no irresponsible writers, for the simple reason that an irresponsible person could not be famous. And even if one dared to write such a book, no scribe would copy it, since there was no one to fund the scribe’s expensive labor.

However, ever since book printing became popular, books became cheaper and irresponsible storytellers were able to publish whatever books they please, for money or for glory.

Let’s hope the crisis will cleanse the book market of junk literature.

Related Material:
Laitman.com Post: Why Are There So Many Unneeded Books?

World Leaders Have To Start Thinking About All People, Economies And Countries

all-the-people-in-the-world-are-sick-with-the-same-sicknessIn the News (from The Washington Post):Out of Gaps In Treaties, First Salvos Of Trade War” Leaders worldwide face intense pressure at home in the deepening financial crisis. In the United States, a move to greatly expand Buy American provisions as part of the $819 billion fiscal stimulus package has generated shock waves in other countries. [The Buy American provision can result in] potentially dramatic series of countermeasures by America’s trading partners if it is passed and signed by President Obama.

My Comment: If countries take the route of limitation and separation, they will harm themselves and everyone else, which means they’ll harm themselves either way. The only chance they have of developing positively (instead of through suffering and war) is by taking all people, economies, and countries into consideration.

Related Material:
Laitman.com Post: Countries Are Starting a Global Trade War