A Covenant Of Mutual Assistance

Dr. Michael LaitmanA person should do whatever he can in order to connect with others and to reach bestowal. As a result of one’s corporeal, egotistic efforts, he feels how reluctant he is to connect, how opposed he is to unity, mutual guarantee, and being as one man with one heart. He finds it useless and only feels repelled by it.

Thus, he discovers the desires that need correction, the desires that the Creator has created in man as “the evil inclination.” After this revelation he begins to see the help he receives from Above, despite his reluctance.

The discovery of the evil inclination comes from Above as part of the correction process. The Creator makes a covenant with a person that He won’t leave him and will help him advance. Even if a person doesn’t want to connect and is repelled by it, he will still be inspired by the previous state in which he made efforts to advance, and this will support him.

Gradually, a person discovers, ever so slightly, what bestowal is, what the power of love is. He begins to understand that his goal is only to discover a need for that. Then he can consciously and unconsciously understand, feel, and cry out asking for the force of correction.

The right request (MAN) is added to the right desire, the demand to leave the present state and move on to a better one. This desire can still be egoistic, which is called “Lo Lishma,” but it is already in line with the right path.

And so gradually, step by step, a person clarifies his desires and intentions. Of course, he is not the one who determines the steps of his development. In fact, they are awakened according to the Reshimot (informational genes) in him. The upper force, the Light, determines the whole process. A person only needs to constantly yearn to advance and to perform even the slightest actions that will advance him in any way towards the goal.

Then he will achieve the desired goal: He will receive the Light that Reforms, will acquire the attribute of bestowal, and will be filled with the Reflected Light that provides the sensation of spiritual life—life in bestowal!
[58793]
From the 1st part of the Daily Kabbalah Lesson 10/26/2011, Writings of Rabash

Related Material:
The Incredible Mastery Of The System Of Governance
Loving Unconditionally
How Can We Check Whether Our Request Is Correct?

Today We’ve Left Egypt

Dr. Michael LaitmanIt is said that everyday a person should see himself as if he has left Egypt, which means that he should search for the evil inclination within him in order to need the Torah, the Light that Reforms. If a person reaches this state, from that moment on he begins to live—gets on the right track.

If he doesn’t feel the need to correct himself, if he doesn’t sense the shattered desire inside him (the ego, Pharaoh, the vessels that were taken from Egypt, from the state in which he discovered his evil inclination with regards to connecting to others), then he has nothing with which to come to Mount Sinai. It’s because you come there only to connect.

If we are ready for that, we receive the Torah, the reforming Light, which realizes our connection. With reference to that it says: “You are all here today….” But if this doesn’t exist, there is no point from which it can all begin.

So first there is the simplest work that we can do in our position. It is this corporeal world that enables us to start working because we can do things in it even without the right intention. This is why I connect with others, although I have no desire for that or I try to achieve different egoistic goals hoping to gain something from it.

This is why we were brought into this corporeal world, and from it we begin to ascend. We try to play the spiritual state more naturally each time and thus draw the Light that Reforms upon ourselves. The spiritual world is in concealment, and if we yearn for it, it’s enough to draw the Light from there.
[58796]
From the 1st part of the Daily Kabbalah Lesson 10/26/2011, Writings of Rabash

Related Material:
The Light Of The Future Levels
The Real Work Is Internal
A Covenant Of Mutual Assistance

The Light Of The Future Levels

Dr. Michael LaitmanIn order to spur us towards more advanced states, these advanced states glow in the distance for us. Something good is glowing for us in the distance. It’s like when you show a child some ice cream from a distance. It makes him feel bad rather than good because we tease him with the ice cream he doesn’t yet have.

It’s the same with us. And hence we begin to strive forward. It seems that our present state is bad, and as we aspire for a better state, we advance.

Each time a higher and more advanced spiritual level is revealed, and we have problems with it. While a child understands that he will feel good if he eats the ice cream, we are not so sure about it because our state is opposite to the spiritual advancement. This is why we experience unpleasant states, a descent. This is why we need additional means of support: the group and the study, to convince ourselves that a better future glows for us in the distance.
[58802]
From the 2nd part of the Daily Kabbalah Lesson 10/26/2011, The Zohar

Related Material:
Freedom Is Voluntary Dependence
The Work Of Our Forefathers And Our Work
The “Layer Cake Of The Soul”

Instruction On How To Build The World Correctly

Dr. Michael Laitman with studentsDuring the reading of The Zohar, we need to begin to feel the kinds of connections and relationships between us that it talks about. Let’s assume that there exists some kind of hidden form of connection between us, unknown and secretive, but there is no doubt that this connection exists. We want to discover it: Who is connected to who, in what way, in what manner, to what dependency, and how can they influence each other?

The Zohar describes all of these forms of connection, and not only ours, but of the entire world. Now, the world is in a state of confusion, and we don’t know how to find the correct connection between us all or how to behave in the correct way in relation to others. The Zohar describes all that. If we knew and understood the entire system, we could easily organize everything that exists in the world.

Thus, on one hand, The Zohar is being revealed, and on the other, problems appear in the world, which we cannot manage. Problems arise in different forms, different areas of human activities in this world. We need to find the connection between them, to understand exactly what The Zohar is speaking about. Then, according to what is revealed to us from The Zohar, we need to build a corresponding reality in this world. This is called to discover the spiritual world between us.

Let’s suppose that the corrupted and shattered state in which we exist is revealed to us today. The Zohar talks about the corrected states, the very advanced ones that are a few degrees ahead of us. However, in any case, if we want to advance to these states, to correct our present situation even a bit, then that is already a prayer.

We want the same relationships that are described in The Zohar to be revealed to us in place of the broken connection that is being discovered now. This is so because that which was broken was the connection between the parts of the collective soul. This is why we want to correct it.
[58805]
From the 2nd part of the Daily Kabbalah Lesson 10/26/2011, The Zohar

Related Material:
The Zohar: A Tale Of Hate and Love
The Entrance Ticket To The Book Of Zohar
The Solution Of The Crisis is The Revelation Of The Light

ARI Research Institute Addresses Decision Makers

ari_institute_150 In the last couple of days our daughter organization ARI Research Institute sent out letters to all decision makers dealing with pressing economic problems of the crisis. The intention of the ARI Institute was to remind that the crisis and its resolution do not root in financial and economic policy but rather in an increasingly stronger interdependence of the entire humanity. We are unable to influence this growing interconnection. The only solution is to educate people, to support this “involuntary” network of connection, to see it as an opportunity for our future prosperity, and to teach the public about integral behavior.

The letter is presented below.

Dear Sirs,

The ramifications of the escalating global financial crisis undermine the economic and social stability, and even question the sustainability of the government in many countries. Many who have lost their jobs and/or their life savings are beginning to lose faith in your ability as leaders to provide them with financial security or even viable solutions for the future. In the midst of global uncertainty, the bonding exemplified by the various protest movements temporarily consoles the dissatisfied. At the same time, it creates a perilous dynamic which unabated will lead to expanding and intensifying unrest.

Moreover, the global interdependence and decades of economic excess has rendered conventional fiscal and monetary solutions ineffective. As a result, the national debt is relentlessly inflating, hampering your ability to continually offer meaningful solutions to the social and economic challenges we face.

In such a reality, unemployment rates will rise drastically, leading to more social unrest and protests, which will in turn present a real threat to the stability of countries, and of the entire international social, economic, and political systems.

To maintain the government’s stability, we believe that unemployment should be treated as an issue that requires immediate and specific attention. We respectively suggest that bold action is now required to stem the cycle of decline in which we find ourselves. To achieve this, we propose that a national emergency mechanism be established, with the following goals:

  • Integrating unemployed people in an ongoing study framework (to be detailed below), which will be regarded as “employment”;
  • Preventing publicly displayed idleness, bitterness, and mass demonstrations and protests;
  • Providing unemployed individuals with tools for rejoining the workforce;
  • Providing scholarships that cover basic needs and a dignified life, subject to participation in the study framework;
  • Repairing the dignity of the unemployed by “upgrading” the social status of the unemployed from that of “outcasts” to that of persons pursuing “enhancement” of their social and professional skills;
  • Enhancing empathy with the state and social cohesion, especially now in times of crisis.

The contents in the study framework[1] for the unemployed will include, among other topics:

  • Personal finance. This will allow for dignified subsistence under the possibilities that the scholarship for the unemployed permits.
  • Learning to live in conditions of uncertainty. This will include maintaining the solidity of the family unit, with a special emphasis on parenthood, enhancing and maintaining mental and emotional soundness, and the development and improvement of social skills.
  • Educating people about the consequences of the tightening connections among individuals, firms, and countries, how they affect people’s basic needs, and our daily reality on the national and international levels. Each person will be expected to realize that in the global era, all of us—ordinary citizens, the wealthy and powerful, and policy makers—are in the same boat.
  • Providing the necessary social skills for a sustainable existence in an interconnected world: social solidarity, consideration of others and of the environment, and balanced and reasonable consumption.

Such a crisis-borne education mechanism will ease people’s minds, thus providing the government with the necessary timeframe for coping with the global challenges, and will secure national and international stability.

As an educational organization that cooperates with organizations at the highest level, we would welcome an opportunity to consult with you and to provide the required tools and expertise to implement our plan.

Sincerely,

The ARI Institute
www.ariresearch.org


[1] All contents will be taught in an engaging manner, through a virtual environment, using games, quizzes, social activities, and so forth.
[58960]

Related Material:
The ARI Institute At ICSSPE’s Conference On Sport
ARI Institute Establishes Contact At The Highest Level Of The UN Headquarters
ARI Strengthens The Connection With UNESCO

Questions About The Need To Act And The Forthcoming Convention

Dr. Michael LaitmanQuestion: At one of your recent lectures you said that we have to act. What do you mean?

Answer: As the world becomes more interconnected and integral, for our well-being in it, our interconnection must assume the same form. Experience shows that we are already lagging behind the interconnected world, and that is why our actions become more and more erroneous. We need to learn the new structure of the world and correspond to it. This is a guarantee of success in life.

Question: Is it possible to prepare teenagers for the convention? They have a good desire to join the Mutual Guarantee (Arvut) movement in the future. Today, it is difficult with these children. I want my second son to be able to participate in the preparation for the convention, not with adults, but with children like him.

Answer: You have to call and solve this matter with the organizers; I am sure that your son will find his place and activity during the preparation for and at the convention.

Question: It is difficult to gather in one place in such large countries like Mexico. How important is it to get together physically in one place at least once a year?

Answer: It is desirable, as much as it is reasonably possible, to gather in groups, and as large as possible.
[59187]

Related Material:
The Group, The Nation, The World
Children Of The World, Unite!
I Am Going To The Convention!

Daily Kabbalah Lesson – 10.31.11

Writings of Rabash “Letter 38”
Download: WMV Video|MP3 Audio

The Book of Zohar – Selected Chapter “Pekudei (Accounts),” “The Palace of the Sapphire Pavement, Yesod,” Item 481, Lesson 20
Download: WMV Video|MP3 Audio

Talmud Eser Sefirot Part 8, “The Eser Sefirot of Olam ha Atzilut,” Item 14, Lesson 6
Download: WMV Video|MP3 Audio

Writings of Baal HaSulam The Love for the Creator and Love for the Created Beings,” “One Mitzvah (Commandment),” Lesson 4
Download: WMV Video|MP3 Audio

Good Environment – 10.31.11

My Good Environment – Dr. Laitman’s Advice for the Week

Unity Is Our Salvation

Dr. Michael LaitmanThe world is standing at the threshold of a dramatic rise in unemployment. Millions will be thrown to the curb without the slightest opportunity to find a job so they could put bread on the table. A new source of income has to be made available to them—integral study.

We must understand that by attracting the Light that reforms, by acting for the sake of common unity, by studying the laws of the new world and the principles of life in it, a person deserves to have the minimum conditions for a respectable existence provided for him. This enables him to become a positive and necessary part of society.

We have already contacted people who make decisions, offering them this path. A person who was laid off cannot be left to his own devices at home or thrown to the whim of fate. This will make him cruel, besides turning him into a bum who will never be able to go back to work. Having no other choice, he will resort to drugs, criminal activity, and so on. If we don’t keep people busy, things will escalate to a social collapse.

In this regard we have to understand that the new activity, studying, will be the correction. It is simply necessary for us to have people sit down at the desk to study. This is not a pittance by any means nor a chance to “kill time,” but a social function that is necessary to all. In essence, the people who are studying will already begin working on society’s rehabilitation, and that is exactly how we will treat them as well.

And those who keep their jobs should also be involved in the study. Maybe they will split their working hours with the people who were laid off, and then everyone will be able to study for half a day. This routine has to be instituted lawfully. After all, we are all a single society and we all want social justice. That means we have to distribute our time justly: Work is divided among everyone, and so is the study, and on average, everyone receives similar salaries.

Life itself is dictating this approach to us. It is impossible to continue chasing the “American dream.” It has already come crashing down and it’s time for us to wake up.

Question: Is this kind of study enough to solve all the problems?

Answer: Yes. After all, it’s not simply a study, but various types of training, as well as a connection to the current events and phenomena, an explanation of the single world and the need for a good interconnection. A person learns to unite with others and starts to understand that by virtue of that, we awaken the forces concealed within us. They are already contained in the integral society and they will bring the necessary order to it. With their help, we will obtain the same qualities as nature and will stop being a faulty, antagonistic appendage in it. We will go from being a cancerous tumor to an integral part, thereby attaining unity and rehabilitation of the whole world.

Unity is our salvation. Only by uniting will we attain results. Today we are discovering the fact that human society is a single whole, and we must consciously go along with this tendency from our own desire. It’s time to understand that there is no other way to go.

Baal HaSulam says that this does not involve anything more than a psychological difficulty. A person is unable to change himself from within: It’s easy to turn this lever, but hard to reach it. However, as soon as he grabs hold of it, the world will change to the opposite with one movement.
[59209]
From the 4th part of the Daily Kabbalah Lesson 10/30/11, “The Love for the Creator and Love for the Created Beings”

Related Material:
ARI Research Institute Addresses Decision Makers
Playing A Game Of Bestowal
Attuning Yourselves To The Convention Wave

Who Is My “Neighbor”?

Dr. Michael LaitmanQuestion: It is written, “Do not do to another what you hate.” Who is “the neighbor”?

Answer: In principle, “the neighbor” is every person in the world. But for us that is too much. For now we do not yet know how to treat our enemies and opponents correctly. This has to be learned separately.

Therefore, for me the “neighbor” is my friend in the group, a person who wants to unite with me to attain the spiritual goal. This is the condition we have to carry out in the group. We might think badly of our friends and look at them critically, but if we nevertheless try to create the right network of interconnection among us in our spiritual work, if we don’t want to hold grudges against others in any of our thoughts, desires, aspirations, or intentions, by that we already extend threads toward each other.

Until then, this network will only bring us troubles and bad sensations. But as soon as we breathe life into it with our attitude, devoid of criticism and mutual blame, we will immediately feel the electricity flowing between us, will feel how the air in the group grows thicker and turns into “jelly,” connecting us all into one whole.

That is exactly the feeling one gets: The air gets denser around us, turning into a liquid and then into a viscous substance, becoming a gradually solidifying “dough” until we see that we are like raisins embedded into our common “pie.”
[59218]
From the 4th part of the Daily Kabbalah Lesson 10/30/11, “The Love for the Creator and Love for the Created Beings”

Related Material:
Know The Desire Of Your Neighbor
What Do We Gain From Love Of Friends?
Unity Is Our Salvation