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Our awakening to the Creator usually starts when a certain grievance towards Him arises in us. Only rarely do we turn to the Creator with gratitude, and more often we do so with complaints and grievances.

Such grievances awaken in a person repeatedly. But if he nevertheless remains in a group and continues to study, drawing the Light to himself, then he begins to realize that all the problems, suffering, hardening of the heart, shame—all are situations that the Creator arranges for him in life, and the most unpleasant ones especially are designed to show him that everything comes from the Creator.

And secondly, he needs to understand that he shouldn’t ask for all these problems to be fixed since then he would be turning to the Creator from his egoism. But a person must turn to the Creator above all of these problems, agreeing with Him, rejoicing, and seeing in all of these actions, which evoke in him various unpleasant reactions, the Creator’s kindness and mercy that accompany him throughout his entire life. He needs to ask for correction of his attitude to the Creator.

He needs to try to correct himself above all of these unpleasant sensations, perceiving them as obstacles above which he can rise if he desires to perceive them as kind help in attaining the property of bestowal. And then, all of these unpleasant situations, pain, shame, and confusions will appear to him as the opposite, as help and mercy from the Creator who sends them so that a person would accept them as good, and above them will ask for his correction.

And in completing this stage, a person asks for the possibility to be ready for anything that comes from the Creator, blessing in advance for all the bad as for the good. This means to accept the Creator’s direct and indirect governance, as it is written: “Thou hast hemmed me in behind and before.”

So our work consists not in asking the unpleasant sensations, situations, influences, and disturbances to be removed and solved. Instead, we need to be prepared to see the Creator’s hand in all of these actions, especially sent so that above them, we would build our correct attitude and form vessels of bestowal. And do it to such an extent that these problems and disturbances will not only stop bothering us, but we will see in them a special mercy and benevolence.

Then we will not ask the Creator to solve our problems, and instead we will correct our properties ourselves, because we will see the benefit of these problems. And instead of all kinds of evil, we will see only good in the same places.
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From the 1^st part of the Daily Kabbalah Lesson 8/23/12, Writings of Baal HaSulam

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Question: There is group work and there is dissemination. What should be the internal clarification so that there will be no diversion to one side or another, so that there will be a harmonious integration inside me?

Answer: A harmonious integration is when you feel that nothing matters, that the external world, the group, the Creator, and you are all the same. Only then will there be a harmonious integration, at the end of correction. In the meantime, you will always have the problem of what to deal with. We have to judge according to the circumstances.

Of course, the main thing is the group and the state it is in, since if I don’t have that I have nothing to disseminate with and nothing to turn to the Creator with. I cannot turn to Him by myself.

So the group and its connection are primary. Then comes the attitude, that is, I am with the group as a collective revelation, the clarification of the Creator as the One who creates, corrects, and fills us.

Then, when you already begin to perceive this model, you can turn to the world, since it is better to turn to the Creator when you tie it to the whole world.
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From the Kharkov Convention “Uniting to Ascend” 8/18/12, Lesson 4

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Throughout the seminar, each group, each circle, must find a question that he would like to ask. Discuss it among yourselves, come to the state when this is really a very important question for you, the most important one, which you all agree to clarify from the bottom of your heart, and that is exactly the question you want to ask.

Do not yield to your friends now, like we usually do it, saying: “They are great, they are big, they know better; I bow before what I hear from them.” Here, it is the opposite: “No, I believe that my opinion is more important.” I want to captivate them with my opinion instead of our common work. So in no way can there be any concessions here, but on the contrary, the realization of the brightest prayer, its peak: what we should really ask! And it should be of the feelings and of the mind. It must combine everything that we really need in it.

“Chew it thoroughly,” analyze what you will ask for. Do as in a fairy tale: You are given one wish, once you will say it, it will be implemented!

Afterward, we will try to hear and possibly unite all of these desires. We will write them out, connect them all together, try to find what is the most common among them, and that will actually already be a collective prayer.

Most importantly, express yourself concisely, coherently, clearly, so that it will just break the heart!

First of all, we need to warm the hearts up so that they all become soft, melt, and unite into one. Then it will be possible to come to the collective agreement about what is important for us.
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From the Kharkov Convention “Uniting to Ascend” 8/17/12, Workshop 3

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Baal HaSulam, Letter #32: In order for a prayer to be complete, a person must come to feel that closeness to the Creator is his lawful right and necessity, as if for an organ that is separated from the body. Because then he will be able to pour out the indignation of his heart before the Creator.

But at the same time, he must praise and thank the Creator for the closeness allowed to him, as if it is a high favor that he receives undeservedly. Because then, he will be able to feel a true gratitude to the Creator who chose him to serve Him out of all the people who stand before Him.

This is big and difficult work, composed of two such opposites that must always be combined in our heart. The second condition, which requires one to feel oneself as insignificant and distant from the Creator, while the Creator’s help as undeserved mercy, is much more difficult than the first. In most cases, a person stumbles precisely on this.

A person, who rises above the still, vegetative, and animate levels is someone who includes two forces in himself: reception and bestowal. These two forces he needs to multiply to the full measure determined in the thought of creation, to Malchut of the World of Infinity. Therefore, he must constantly work on increasing in himself the forces of reception and bestowal.

Without the force of reception, he won’t be able to reveal the Creator, while without the force of bestowal, he won’t be able to come closer to Him, that is, to adhere to Him. Both of these forces need to intertwine and support each other, and a screen binds them together in the middle line.

Work with these two forces is called prayer and gratitude. In prayer, a person must feel close to the Creator, asking and penetrating straight into the Creator’s heart. He needs to imagine himself inside the Creator, because one normally makes requests of someone who is close to him.

However, in gratitude, a person needs to feel himself as low and small, and the Creator as high and distant. Only then a person can be truly grateful for the fact that the Creator chose him specifically.

It turns out that you need to feel the Creator sometimes close, and sometimes distant, working with both of these directions in full force. And it is a lot more difficult to work on the second condition.
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From the Preparation to the Daily Kabbalah Lesson 8/21/2012

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