Audio Version Of The Blog – 12.29.11

Listen to an Audio Version of the Blog
Download: MP3 Audio
[audio:http://files.kabbalahmedia.info/audio/eng_o_rav_2011-12-29_declamation_blog-rav_full.mp3]

The Whole World On My Shoulders

Dr. Michael LaitmanQuestion: How can I feel that the whole world is on my shoulders?

Answer: We cannot attain what we dream of without a vessel or desire. In our world we can receive things even without having a very big desire, meaning by virtue of actions that we can make even without having a desire.

But in spirituality there are no means like in our world because there, the desire itself is the action. Therefore, we can shift to spirituality only on the condition that our actions will constantly become more advanced and evoke a growth of our desires.

It’s a known fact that if a person has to put efforts into something, such as take care of his child or pet, or do something just to earn money, then he gradually starts to value what he invested himself into. Then his thoughts and desires will be focused on this. This way, we can raise our desires and thoughts by virtue of actions which don’t even have the right intention at first, and train ourselves to have new thoughts and desires.

These special opportunities are provided by our world, our state, where besides the desire and the thought, there are also material actions that we can make due to indirect material reasons: for the sake of money, respect, knowledge, and power, and thus we can develop new desires through them.

This way, actions influence thoughts to such an extent that I can feel as if the whole world really is on my shoulders!

If I have to attain a perfect desire, then I have to experience fear and worry for the whole world. This is already called elevation in bestowal. That’s because I am not worried about this this world due to the fact that my well-being depends on it, but I want to attain the quality of bestowal and bestow to the Creator with it.

We can achieve this by virtue of actions, by continually putting in our efforts through our friends and together with them—into the big world. This work opens up our desire to be connected to the world because we invest ourselves in it. I begin to better understand and feel these external desires, and this gives me new forces and aspirations. That is how action governs desire.

And when I receive new desires, I only have to increase them, and that is already easier. I can do it with the help of friends, the environment.
[64674]
From the 1st part of the Daily Kabbalah Lesson 12/29/11, Shamati

Related Material:
Do Everything That’s In Your Power And You Will Hear!
Responsible For The World
When Everyone Is Responsible For Everyone Else

Farewell To Egoism

Dr. Michael LaitmanIf a person is brought up in the spirit of mutual guarantee and togetherness, he treats others like they are his own family, like an integral part of himself. Nowadays our world is called an integral system of interaction.

An integral system is a mutually dependent structure. How do we depend on our children? We cannot abide without them; we are instinctively tied to them through care and love. If we hurt them, we’ll eventually harm ourselves since we are concerned about them anyway.

I begin to feel the same way towards all the people of the world. A genuine picture of a complete egoistic interdependence emerges in front of my eyes; a lack of care towards others harms me by hitting me back in a negative way.

We still exist in accordance with egoistic laws that were established in the past when we were selfishly connected: You give to me – I give to you, steal more, gain more at the expense of others, use somebody for your own sake….

Today, the system of egoistic relations comes to an end; a totally new, altruistic, inter-dependent, global, integral system comes to life. If we want to succeed in this world, we have to match this system. But since we still fall short of this new system, we feel our current state to be a crisis. But this crisis is not in the sense we are accustomed to understanding it. “Crisis” is a Greek word that means new birth; that is, crisis is the solution, not the problem.

We have to realize that we are transitioning from one state to another. The sooner we recognize this fact and start acting in unison with the laws of evolution instead of resisting them, the easier and more pleasurable our transition through the changes will be.

We have to become one family. We have to treat others like our own children, parents, our beloved, or adored pets…we have to treat everybody like something that belongs to us. Nature leads us in this direction irrespective of our desires.

It is a sensual cognitive process. We have to create an environment that will explicitly demonstrate this to everybody and thus alter us.

To the extent we manage to change, it will change our family, social, political and industrial relations.  The connection among us will adjust to match our new developmental level.
[61212]

Related Material:
The Power Of Environment
In Unison With The Universal Mind
Common “Flock” Of Humanity

Origin Of Love

Dr. Michael LaitmanThe Creator created desire with the help of the Light. Light impacts the desire and delivers His qualities to it in a way that everything that is good in the Light becomes negative in desire. Good portrays itself as lack, need, demand, and emptiness; whereas inside the Light, the same things manifest themselves as a desire to bestow.

In other words, things that in the Light are as abundance and salience turn into the opposite, a concavity, in the  desire.

Both parts are similar to each other and at the same time they have a contrary nature: Everything there is in the Creator’s desire to bestow exists in the creation in the shape of the desire to receive.

The goal of the creation is to transform the sensation of emptiness (the desire to receive) into similarity with the Creator.

How can this be achieved? If we simply fill desire it won’t become similar to the Creator (the Light); rather, fulfillment will downgrade desire since it becomes even more opposite to the Light because it actively receives. The Light is perfect; it constantly bestows, therefore, a plain fulfillment of the creation won’t solve the problem.

How can we make the desire to receive similar to the desire to bestow if we don’t employ the Creator’s mode of action, bestowal? All the Creator does is bestow and fulfill the creation; the creation is incapable of interacting with the Light in any other way except receiving from It.

The problem is to establish the right connection between them—not between the two actions but rather between the essence of the Creator and the essence of the creation.

This means that we have to compare them with each other, not from the point of view of their actions, but rather, from the angle of their attitude towards each other; it doesn’t matter that one is constantly receiving from the other, whereas the other is permanently bestowing. They complete each other, and as a result of this fulfillment, they sense internal connection between themselves; it is irrelevant who is the giving party and who is on the receiving end. This is similar to a mother and child: she gives him everything she can, but in return she gets back even more since she is connected with the child through love.

This is where a sensation of love happens and comes from. If we choose to consider these two compelling actions that happen between the Creator and the creation as indispensable, we have to build a superstructure above them.

How do we make them connect through these two actions and become similar with each other? How can we unite the goal, the essence of the Creator, with the essence of the creation?

Originally, the Creator desires to fulfill his creation and provide it with everything. He is filled with the property of love. That’s the reason why changes do not apply to the Creator whatsoever.

The Creator originated the creation, the universe, the worlds, and all conditions for our existence and activities. On His behalf there is only one thing—constant emanation of Light, positive energy, love, and absolute kindness.

The creation needs to change its attitude towards the world, towards itself, and at the end—towards the Creator because everything there is in this world, in me and around me—comes from the Creator. I have to change myself in a way that I start loving everything that is done by Him in this world and in all of nature. If I switch my attitude from hatred, greediness, and taking advantage of others, to bestowal and love, then through my new attitude towards the Creator’s actions, I will come to love Him.

At this point, I will be able to get for His sake everything that He emanates. So, it turns out to work this way: He fulfills me and gives me a chance to get pleased, whereas I receive from Him and give Him an opportunity to get delighted because I am “using” His love.

When we are close with our loved ones we receive from them, at the same time we do them a favor by allowing them to love us. The same pattern repeats: By receiving from the Creator, we express our love to Him because we are so close. At this point, it doesn’t matter who is the giver and who is a recipient as in the example with the mother and her child.

The main thing is that with the help of these actions they complete each other and bring each other delight.
From the Fundamentals of Kabbalah Lesson 11/6/11

Related Material:
From Opposites To Perfection
The Tastiest Creator!
Attaining The Wisdom Of Creation

A Knowledge Kit For The Society Of The Future

Dr. Michael LaitmanQuestion: We need a very specific method of upbringing. You have said that one of its parts is education. What should this knowledge kit include?

Answer: These are classes where people acquire knowledge about psychology, physiology, and social science, where a person learns about human society.

The most important chapter is the development of the human society over the course of history as the consequence of the development of egoism in every individual in general.

Next is the psychology of human behavior: a person’s interaction with himself, his family, and children, interaction between spouses, parenting, the education of children and interactions in society: how separate individuals form a society.

All of this must be presented in a form that is clear and accessible to the entire population.

We must speak about both the current society and the society of the future, which is where nature is leading us. The difference between them gives us the feeling of discomfort we are now experiencing. This is why we need to reveal the essence of both societies.

And then the person will see what else he needs to do in his life. In this way we will help the person advance towards the realization of the goal: the way he needs to change the society by changing himself and the social connections.

This way, instead of advancing through revolutions, we sort of obligate people to advance through the creation of a comfortable, integrated, and well-intentioned lines of communication, by creating new relationships between them. And this will influence everything else.

We must launch absolutely all the means of mass media, so they would work for this idea because this is the only way for us to prevent revolutions and even world wars.

Following are the topics of educational programs that must be included in the course of the future society: the realistic way to transition to it, the qualities that exist in it, and what it means to exist in it. Let us play “the future society” like children do, and this game will gradually shape us.

Imagine that you receive a certain amount of resources—your minimum livelihood, your apartment, maybe a family or maybe you are alone. This is currently allotted to you, based on what the society can provide for you, and at the same time you must take part in a certain social work, etc.

What do we get? How can we build this kind of society? Do we think in the right way from society’s integrated perspective? Can we force people? No, we cannot. What about education?

Here we must approach making of new decisions very seriously. A person will understand that when he behaves the right way, he receives encouragement from the society, from his inner state, and vice versa.

There are very serious, enormous egoistic layers, which we must correct in us and literally elevate man above us, above our egoism, so he would begin to understand that an integrated society only works when we connect our egoism between us with the quality of bestowal.

Every one of us sort of represents a tiny wheel, a cogwheel, and the connection between these cogwheels happens inside the desire to bestow, to connect, to be in harmony with others—then they lock into a single system. But if we do not wish to connect them, they will connect in a harsh way: They will rub, screech, and literally spark from all this rubbing.

People must be shown all this in practice. We will gain experience through our study as we try to feel it and realize it through practical activities. We will see why certain things come out in life and other things do not. Our level of sensitivity towards our own egoistic evil rises. And then we will begin to see it even in small manifestations and understand why I fail to achieve certain things that I want. It is because I use my egoism more than it should be used.

We will no longer be blind kittens moving by force, instead we will start trying to participate in this movement independently and consciously.
[63999]
Talk on Integral Education 12/11/2011

Related Material:
A Course On Harmonious Education
The Key To The Healthy People, Family, And Society
Everyone Needs Integral Upbringing

The Psychology Of Altruism

Dr. Michael LaitmanQuestion: How can we avoid the danger of our egoism and turn the clarification of it into psychology?

Answer: There is nothing bad about psychology! In fact, Kabbalah is an internal spiritual psychology. Psychology of this world is egoistic by nature; it investigates the human ego.

But there is another type of psychology that concentrates on studying those who strive to develop properties of bestowal within them, those who learn how to work in bestowal and see reality through this quality rather than through the property of receiving. This kind of psychology is called the wisdom of Kabbalah. That’s the only difference between these two types of psychology.

Psychology of this world studies behavioral laws of the desire to be fulfilled for one’s own sake. The wisdom of Kabbalah explores behavioral laws of the desire to be fulfilled for the sake of bestowal.

Spiritual psychology leads us to self-study. The tools that allow us to achieve love of the Creator are as follows: our desire to be pleased, our intellect and heart, the group, the goal of creation, our connection with the group, and the mutual guarantee between us. According to the goal that was set by us, we study Kabbalah rather than plain psychology.

It can appear to be psychology, but in fact, it is a revision of ourselves. The material we study are our senses and the desire to be pleased. This is a subject of psychology, since its goal is to teach us how to feel better.

Other sciences such as physics and chemistry pursue other, more abstract goals. Actually, we develop them only to start feeling better. We are unable to make the slightest movement in this world that pursues an alternate goal.
[64050]
From the 3rd part of the Daily Kabbalah Lesson 12/15/11, “Study of the Ten Sefirot

Related Material:
The Psychology Of The Spiritual World
Transition From Material Psychology To The Spiritual
A Transparent World

A Leap Into The Future

Dr. Michael LaitmanBaal Hasulam, “The Freedom”: “It can be compared to a sick man who does not wish to obey the doctor’s orders before he understands by himself how that advice would cure him, and therefore begins to study medicine. He could die of his illness before he learns medicine.

Suppose I live at the end of the world in a hut in some remote village, and there are a couple of other families like me. We spend our time hunting and collecting fruit and we don’t know anything except this kind of life.

But suddenly civilized people from some developed country come to us with all kinds of instruments and tools. For me they are like wizards who came down from the sky.

The question is: Do I have to go through the entire process the way they did, or can I acquire the wisdom, reason, and feeling from them in addition to their technologically advanced products and thereby leap over centuries in my development? Is that possible?

Of course, I can learn how to use their tools. You don’t need brains for that. But we are talking about an inner development that is both emotional and cognitive: Can I try to bridge the gap between us and leap over the centuries that their country and their people have gone through?

Well, it’s possible with the help of the connection among us. Not the apparent external connection, but the true internal connection. Thus we can really pass on to one another our mind and feeling. There is no need for everyone to go through all the levels that others have passed. We don’t start from scratch, but we depend on society and on what we can acquire from it.

This is our salvation. This is how we shorten the way and hasten the development. Instead of learning from troubles, we learn from other people and acquire wisdom. Although in our world we don’t always pass on to one another a positive potential. People who are more connected to nature are actually more developed: They are more delicate, more sensitive, and closer to spirituality compared to the “civilized” world.

But the main thing is the same: We receive the reason and feeling from those we join. This is true even on this world’s corporeal level. Thus every leap in our communication, in the connection between us, is also reflected in the inner mutual cooperation. As a result, humanity develops much faster; this was revealed most prominently in the 20th century with its massive growth after ages of relatively “slow” years. All this is a result of the wires of mutual connection that have been woven among people, through which the feeling and reason are transmitted.

Accordingly, we too, by our connection to the right group, can acquire the mind and feeling of the friends and thus complete what we didn’t go through by ourselves. Actually, it makes no difference who is “small” and who is “big” among us. I acquire from them what I could never have reached by myself. I am just a point in the force field of the general system, and I acquire the whole integral system from them. If I don’t connect to them, then there is nowhere I can feel this new dimension.

So, if in our world connecting with others is beneficial to some extent, then in spirituality, it is crucial: Only thanks to it do I acquire the spiritual vessel.
[64429]
From the 4th part of the Daily Kabbalah Lesson 12/27/11, Baal HaSulam, “The Freedom”

Related Material:
Let’s Attack Pharaoh All Together
The Heart In Which We All Melt
Thou Shalt Not Steal (a Commandment)

A Law Of General Integral Literacy

Dr. Michael LaitmanQuestion: What will be the source of living for a person that comes to the course on integral education? How can a person provide for his family if he’s only working three hours a day? Also, how can an adult be convinced that he once again needs to be educated?

Answer: A law on integral education and work needs to be mandated, and such a law will soon be enacted and enforced. About 80% of all people will be jobless and they will need to be fed or else they will devour the remaining 20%.

For this reason, we must organize our lives in a way that will provide all the necessities for everyone; otherwise, we’ll start devouring one another. However, we secure every one’s existence under the condition that they accept the framework of working to the extent that is necessary and obligatory education.

The government will mandate this education or people could be stimulated by receiving an additional allowance for studying. All of people’s free time will now have to be filled with learning.

We can take excerpts from Baal HaSulam’s articles on history, human development, personal and social structure, and free will and make separate courses within the general integral education course. Also we can reinforce them with information from the experts on each specific subject.

The first book can serve as an introduction and provide a general overview of the course. It is as if we are talking to person on the street and giving him a detailed explanation of a new world-view. This book has to be very comprehensive, detailed, and repetitive.

Subsequent books will be study guides on specific subjects and will include material for practical implementation.
From a “Talk on Lessons About the New World”

Related Material:
Reaching Agreement Above All Contradictions
A Course On Harmonious Education
The Key To The Healthy People, Family, And Society

A Connection Though The Common Path

Dr. Michael LaitmanThere is a real wall between us: the creature on one side, the Creator on another. So how do you figure to go through this wall? How can this be done when there is absolute bestowal on the other side, and absolute reception on our side, and there is no connection at all between them?! There simply cannot be a connection, as if there were a “plus” on one side, and a “minus” on the other, and these two vertexes can never meet.

This is why the breaking took place, which is followed by pieces of the creature entering the Creator and the pieces of the Creator entering the creature. These actions serve as a preparation. Now there are qualities of the creature inside the Creator (AHP), and qualities of the Creator inside the creature (a spark, Reshimo), and they can have a certain connection between them.

The surrounding Light exists in the AHP, which has risen from within all desires because of the breaking. And the creature has information about the broken desires, the Reshimo. So there is a so-called “surrounding” connection. This still pertains to the preparation.

And now the creature raises a prayer (MAN) and receives an answer (MAD) from the Creator. We have a mutual need in one another! After the breaking, the upper suffers because the lower suffers. And the lower has a spark, which once belonged to the upper. And with these corrupt memories, referred to as egoistic, Lo Lishma, we can establish a connection with the Creator as if from afar, from the past.

The breaking, which happened some time ago, creates a connection today—even though it happened in the past, this past connects us! This connection through the breaking is referred to as the surrounding Light or MAD from the perspective of the upper, and a prayer or MAN from the perspective of the lower.
[64504]
From the 2nd part of the Daily Kabbalah Lesson 12/27/11, “Study of the Ten Sefirot

Related Material:
Getting Closer To The Center of Bestowal
You Will Get More Than You Asked For!
Awaken The Frozen Earth

Where Are You Real Men?

Dr. Michael LaitmanQuestion: You said that during the preparation period, a man becomes a man and a woman—a woman. What does it mean to be a grown man? What does it look like?

Answer: I see very few real men in our society. Women are more natural and close to nature, but not to integral nature.

And they both do not have enough understanding of psychology, the technique of decision making in integral society, rising above oneself, self-control. I do not mean the kind of self-control when you suppress yourself, but self control when in the name of unity, in the name of the ultimate goal, you attach yourself to others.

These are very important practical lessons. I think they will take a long time. These theoretical lessons are simple, although the basic theory is also studied together with practice.

We will talk about how to divide our courses, into what form, what parts, how long to teach classes, what their process is, their curriculum, and where one course ends and the other begins or if they will be concurrent.

In principle, we have been working on this system for a long time, and naturally, will elaborate more as wide circles of society will be joining it. But here, we must give a person a very broad education.
From a “Talk on Integral Education”
[64582]

Related Material:
The Key To The Healthy People, Family, And Society
A Course On Harmonious Education
A Person’s Age Is Not An Obstacle In Studying