Audio Version Of The Blog – 10.07.12

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Dissemination: From Each According To Ability

Dr. Michael LaitmanQuestion: By our attaining the next level in the convention, the work in the group will become deeper and stronger, but together with that, what will happen to the dissemination for the 99%?

Answer: We need to be involved with dissemination. Those in the group who are of the opinion that they can disseminate need to be involved in it. They can create games, write materials, and be involved in it. This means that people in the group need to divide their commitments, each one needs to execute a certain job in order to serve the 99%. There are people who can go out to the public.

In many cases women are preferred over men: They don’t invite antagonism, don’t cause worry or suspicion, and don’t cause many problems.

I think that all of those who can should be given an opportunity to participate in the dissemination. You shouldn’t force a person who is afraid or if he doesn’t have an inner foundation to go out to the public, if he is not able to place himself correctly. Teaching is nevertheless a talent, and a person must have it. Of course, it’s possible to learn, but also for that one needs some preliminary basis.

Clarify who in the group is really able to deal with dissemination and invest in them. And whoever isn’t, don’t. Don’t force them. They can assist, arrange things, and serve, which is also a big and essential job that isn’t less valuable than other work. You need to seriously relate to those opportunities that you have and not restrain them.
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From “A Virtual Lesson on Fundamentals of Kabbalah” 9/23/12

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Manifesto For A Federal Europe

Dr. Michael LaitmanIn the News (from Euronews): “‘For Europe!’ is a new book, written by two staunch pro-Europeans – Daniel Cohn-Bendit of the Group of Greens-European Free Alliance and Guy Verhofstadt, leader of Liberals in the European Parliament.

“Released in six languages, the book aims to be a manifesto, spelling out the benefits of a united Europe.

“’Actually this is a book which has been written in anger, in fury against the national elites who, according to Daniel and I, are incapable of dealing with the crisis we are in today.

“’We very clearly state that the only way, the only realistic solution, is to create a federal union, a federal Europe,” said Verhofstadt, who is also a former Belgian Prime Minister.

“Both men attempt to make the case that a unified Europe has a better chance in the face of global competition. However, closer political integration would be vital, according to Cohn-Bendit, who spoke to euronews at the book launch in Brussels.

“’We do think that the European model has to be ‘parliamenterized’!

“’We suggest that the Commission has to become the real government of Europe. And we think that there should be two chambers, the Parliament and a Senate. The Senate could, for instance, be formed for by the governments of the member-states or by representatives of the national parliaments. This would be a democratic model,’ he said.”

My Comment: Despite the credibility of the authors, hardly anyone in the EU leadership will hear them. Perhaps after a series of sufferings the current EU leaders will be able to listen…
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Crisis In Advertising: $1 Billion Market

Dr. Michael LaitmanIn the News (from The Financial Times): “Global advertising spending is slowing in response to a eurozone crisis that has cut billions from marketing budgets in the hardest-hit countries and started to affect brands’ confidence in other regions, according to a new forecast. …

“Greece could suffer a 33 per cent drop, with Spain and Portugal each down 12-13 per cent, ZenithOptimedia predicts.”

My Comment: In the future, advertising, the “engine of commerce,” will disappear except for explanations of new products and drugs that will replace the old ones. Since humanity will reach reasonable consumption, the need to advertise will be useless, superfluous goods and services will cease to exist.
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A Sting From The Light

Dr. Michael Laitman with StudentsWe are inside a Force called the Creator (Boreh). Since we don’t attain it yet according to the principle of “come and see” (Boreh), we give it different names according to the current measure of its revelation to a person.

I am in this Force’s field along with everyone else. The question is how can I induce its influence? Indeed, this is man’s entire work: How can I awaken this force so that it can raise me?

We descended from the spiritual height to the “zero level” on purpose, and now it is up to me to ascend back to the same height. In order to do that, I have to awaken the Light that Reforms upon me. There is no other force that can raise me to spirituality. I only have the means that exist on my level. The Creator wakes me from the dream by the first “sting,” and then I have to process what awakened me internally by special means: the group, the study, and the teacher.

So I turn to the Light that awakened me initially. I ask that it will influence me, and I do it consciously and knowingly. The Light only stings me time after time and by that I have to establish my attitude to it: What do I ask from it, what kind of influence do I expect, what do I want to attain, and so on. On the whole I picture to myself how to be in accordance with the One who “stings” me. I have to look for His form, His image and to ask from Him:

– “I want to bestow!”
– “How do you want to become the one who bestows? Is it really the one who bestows? What will your bestowal be like?”
– “Don’t you see? I study, I work in a group and in dissemination, I do all sorts of actions, and based on that I ask.”

If a person doesn’t perform actions directed at unification, there is no basis for his request. These actions make up the infrastructure that he can use to raise MAN, a prayer. I build this infrastructure between me and the friends from which the MAN, “a prayer of the many,” rises. I will never be able to ask for connection by myself. A prayer for connection can only be collective, at least between two people.
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From the 4th part of the Daily Kabbalah Lesson 10/4/12, Writings of Baal HaSulam

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Only The Light Will Defeat The Avid Sinner

Dr. Michael LaitmanQuestion: Where should I start the true demand to bestow? How is it possible to defeat the avid sinner inside me?

Answer: We don’t have a true demand for bestowal, and we cannot have one either unless the Light influences us. When the Light comes, you will be surprised and wonder: Is this the attribute of bestowal? It will be in contrast to everything you have thought.

It is a totally new thing and a person living in our reality has no preparation or premonitions as to what it is like. When a person has this delicate feeling, he begins to act, even unconsciously, in order to get closer to it. He begins to attach all his life, everything that he has been through, to this goal only, to attaining a drop of adhesion with the upper.

For the first time he has an inner inclination for something that is distant and from that moment on he begins to develop.

It is impossible to express this feeling in words, but a person cannot wake up if the upper Light doesn’t wake him. A person who has already tasted it knows what it is about, but as long as you haven’t experienced it yourself, you will not understand.

So it is impossible to ask for true bestowal unless you have attained this attribute. But thanks to this game, we advance when a person fills all the necessary requirements. Not knowing in advance how to do it, an inner awakening takes place, and it is as if a spark of Light is kindled and a person begins to feel that there is something that is different from this world, which is bestowal.

We just have to play the best that we can, everything that is in our power. I am sure that we are approaching this revelation, but everyone should ask himself at what speed.
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From a Talk about Inner Work 9/30/12

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Until One Transforms Into A Human Being

Dr. Michael LaitmanThe method of Kabbalah is meant to change a person until he turns into a human being (Adam), meaning the one who is “similar” (Domeh) to the Creator. Every given moment, day after day one has to work to uplift the importance of this method and persistently keep referring to it. After all, we are perpetually being thrown back from spirituality as if the Creator distances Himself from us.

It seems to us that our states continually change: We get closer to the Creator and then further away from Him. But obviously, it happens only in our sensations. In fact, new informational genes awaken in us, and we have to correct them.

One has 613 desires concerning the Creator. We’re not talking about material desires of this world, but about the desires specifically for the Creator. Only these desires should be corrected until they become similar to the Creator’s attitude to us, that is, are completely directed at bestowal and bringing joy to the Creator.

The Creator’s original thought in the plan of creation was to delight the created beings. A person also has to reach the same state so that his goal becomes to bring contentment to the Creator. Similarity of properties with the Creator elevates a person to the Creator’s level and he merges, unites with Him completely, thus reaching the ultimate goal.

On the way to achieving the goal, there are many stages of advancement. In the first stage, during thousands of  years of human history and by going through numerous reincarnations, man develops his regular earthly desire to enjoy. Reincarnations replace each other because the desire constantly grows and wants more and more as new informational genes (Reshimot) perpetually reveal themselves in it.

It’s not worth paying attention to bodies that live and die, but rather to the informational genes that reveal themselves in the desire to enjoy, thus giving us an illusion that we exist in our body.

In the second developmental stage, an aspiration to reveal the Creator, to find the meaning of life, emerges in a part of the desire, meaning in certain people. The first person who ever received this kind of desire was Adam HaRishon. This is why he is considered the First Man, and many others followed him. Such people are called Kabbalists as they accepted the method of correction that lets them reveal the Creator to the extent of the similarity of their properties to His.

Kabbalists also go through numerous developmental stages and reincarnations, but these reincarnations are quite different because one is in the attainment of the Creator, the governing force that rules nature.

Having received the first awakening towards spirituality, we enter a so called preparatory period. At this stage, we again go through many states, but this time they happen in accordance with the method, to the degree of our understanding of it. Even though the method is available to us in the form of reading materials, it has not been disclosed in our souls yet.

This is how we advance: by building the group and trying to inspire each other. The main work is in enhancing the importance of the method and transforming ourselves. Nothing can be changed in this reality except man himself; a human being is the only one who can be changed.

Besides, we have to clarify what exactly can be changed: only the intention on one’s desire. Desires per se are not changeable; leave them alone. Man has 613 desires that are related to the Creator, and he has to change intentions on these desires from egoistic to bestowal.

In fact, a person doesn’t feel that he has 613 desires, or that they are of an egoistic nature, or that he wants to take advantage of the Creator. For the time being he has no relationship with the Creator whatsoever, no connection with Him. Gradually, the connection with the Creator begins to reveal itself, thus letting us discover our evil inclination. If a person is still immersed in his egoism, he needs correction called the Torah, “a spice to it.” With its help, a person can change his intention by redirecting it from his own sake to the benefit of the upper force, which means that he has fulfilled a commandment.

Thus, according to the order of the desires that reveal in a person, he carries out 613 corrections (613 commandments), until he corrects the entire vessel and receives the entire abundance that the Creator has prepared for him—but with the intention to return it back to the Source. This is how one reaches the goal.
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From the 1st part of the Daily Kabbalah Lesson 9/7/12, Shamati #175

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Escaping The Clamps Of Time

Dr. Michael LaitmanQuestion: How does a Kabbalist who is in the spiritual world feel time?

Answer: Time doesn’t exist for a Kabbalist. Even for an ordinary person time is a conditioned perception. Time is a feeling in the egoistic desire that draws the axis of time from one point in the world of Ein Sof (Infinity).

The more distant you are from the world of Ein Sof, the more distant you are from the zero point of time. The deeper you sink into the desire to receive, the lower you descend down the ladder of the worlds and the more you stretch time. This means that the number of actions you have to perform in order to reach the point of Ein Sof stabilize the concept of time for you.

In your current state, you don’t make such calculations of the number of actions you perform. It is unclear and hidden from you since the vessel and the Light do not operate in you according to your desire. If the process isn’t according to your desire, it is concealed from you.

But the moment you begin to manage it yourself, you will understand what you are doing and then you will manage time. This is why it says: “Israel is above the stars and the constellations,” above the concept of time in its yearning Yashar—El (straight to the Creator).

In the meantime, however, you are not in this state, but under the domination of your ego, and so you don’t determine time, but it is time that determines your fate. So sometimes it seems that the day passes quickly, like one moment and sometimes each moment “lingers” for so long that it is hard to wait for it to end.

This is especially felt during the study. Notice that sometimes during the study of the The Study of the Ten Sefirot you fall asleep at a beginning of a word and wake up at its end and it seems like eternity. You wanted to sleep so much, which means that this time is so dear to you that it is very important for you to disconnect and to nap even for a moment.

The minimal distance that we keep on the road is stretched into a very long one because of our ego and according to how much you enjoy it. It is like Faust said: “Stop, Moment! You are so lovely!’”

In fact, a big strong ego stops time, just as Pharaoh wanted, so that even the corporeal body will be eternal, and so he was embalmed.

So unless we begin to control our desire, time will control us by slowing down or accelerating. In order to rise above time, we have to control our desire to receive. Time, motion, and location are the three parameters by which the desire to receive is revealed to us and by which it controls us.
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From a Talk about Inner Work 9/30/12

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Moving Towards The Bright Future

Dr. Michael LaitmanQuestion: Should we speak about the crisis, about existing problems, and about negative things when we establish the perception of the social system that is scientifically based, or should we speak only about things that positively influence society?

Answer: On the whole, yes. But we assume that society feels the need to move to the other state.

According to the law of development we see that currently there are certain features and negative attributes in the system that do not allow it to go on functioning positively and to provide itself with everything that it needs. It suddenly discovers that what it needs most slips away and so it needs a change.

So there must be a negative factor here. We simply shouldn’t make it three times greater than it is and bring it to extremes, but on the whole it has to be felt in the system as something that summons a new revolutionary approach.

We also notice this in plants and in animals, in the development of every organism. We move from one state to another only when we are forced to do so because the previous state or the current state seem flawed or that it came to an end and cannot continue to fill us with knowledge, food, or with everything that we need.

In any case, the movement can only be by negating the current state and moving on to a better state.

We don’t develop negative states; we don’t live in negativity. There are societies in which people constantly experience their negative states. We don’t pay attention to them.

Our only motion is forward, only toward the positive side. It isn’t an escape from the previous negative state, but highlighting the positive future state and moving toward it.

We want people to understand that something bright, good, pleasant, and warm is waiting for them ahead, and we want to attract them to it.
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From KabTV’s “Integral World: Formula of an Integral Society” 7/1/12

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