Audio Version Of The Blog – 10.14.12

Listen to an Audio Version of the Blog
Download: MP3 Audio
[audio:http://files.kabbalahmedia.info/audio/eng_o_rav_2012-10-14_declamation_blog-rav_full.mp3 title=’14.10.12′]

Fundamentals of Kabbalah – 10.14.12

A Virtual Lesson on Fundamentals of Kabbalah “Convention in Novisbirsk 2012”

[media 1]  

A Simple Work On The Main Thing

Dr. Michael LaitmanWe do not have to correct our current desires on the levels of the still, vegetative, and animate nature directly. As Baal HaSulam says, they accompany the ascent of the level of the speaking and are corrected with it.

Question: What do we have to do now, during the preparation period when the level of the speaking has not been revealed to us yet?

Answer: The work during the preparation period is very simple—a connection to the greatness of the goal. This is called “Israel, the Creator, and the Torah are one.” I connect with the friends and together we work on the recognition of the greatness of the goal. In order to do that, we need the study, dissemination, and everything that we do in general, and that’s it. What’s important is to connect in order to attain what we believe to be the upper goal and that’s all.

What is more, the goal is not external to us, but within the connection between us. So we are constantly working on the quality of the connection so that it will be as pure as possible.

During this process we discover many facets of our ego, but only in spirituality will we truly know it. It isn’t by chance that Rabbi Shimon’s students feel hatred towards one another, the kind of hatred that doesn’t exist here. I don’t think about how I can harm or kill the friend all day, but actually, it is on these kind of thoughts my ego “fixates,” and I cannot get them out of my head.

Now, however, I encounter minor interruptions: I don’t want to keep in contact with the friends, I don’t love them, I don’t want to connect with them, I don’t get the importance of the unity in the group. It seems that I can still wait: “Tomorrow everything may work out and we will connect and will remember the greatness of the goal…” This is our current ego.

Question: What do we mean by the term “connection” when it comes to the general public?

Answer: For them it is only one thing: If we connect nicely with one another, we will get rid of the crisis and return to the good and comfortable life we had. There is no other choice, since nature itself obligates us to do so.

As Baal HaSulam says, we are one family, so we simply must be connected.
[90102]
From the 3rd part of the Daily Kabbalah Lesson 10/12/12, Shamati #3

Related Material:
Shifting The State Around
The Connection Between Us Consisting Of Ten Sefirot
Unity With Filling

The Final Game Before Entering The Spiritual World

Dr. Michael LaitmanQuestion: During our acting workshop, I still have the feeling that this is not serious. It is clear to my ego that it is all a game. How can I really be incorporated in this game?

Answer: Look for the answer yourself and try to examine and to understand yourself better. Don’t expect any tips from me; the answer will come only as a result of your efforts. Thus you will gradually begin to know what needs to be clarified by your actions. With every action you take, you will become wiser, as it is said: “There is none wiser than the experienced.”

Eventually the light-headedness will turn into a serious attitude. Later you will realize that it isn’t a game, but actual training.

Let’s say I’m training for an important marathon, intending to participate in the Olympic games. In the meantime we hold pre-Olympic competitions in our country. These are not the real games but only pre-Olympic games. However, if I don’t go through these games, I will not go anywhere! If I don’t achieve good results in these games, I will not be able to participate in the Olympics.

This is not accurate, but it is still an example of what we are doing now. For us, however, the game and the performance are the same thing! When we come closer to the actual fulfillment, we will suddenly see that what we thought to be a simple game was all real.

With this game, we draw the Light that Reforms. This is called from Lo Lishma (not for Her name) we reach Lishma (for Her name). The meaning of Lo Lishma is that I don’t deserve the Light, but still it comes to me thanks to my participation in the game. This participation is not only my actual actions, but the fact that I feel that it is a serious means.

My actions draw the Light, and I do everything in my power, seriously, so that the Light will impress me. Otherwise it will not function.

Question: So I have to fight against what stops me from being seriously incorporated in this game?

Answer: This is your real evil inclination, which confuses you: “Never mind, don’t try, it is only a game.” This is where the real snake hides—see how cunningly it operates.

I sincerely wish you victory in this game!
[90045]
From the 3rd part of the Daily Kabbalah Lesson 10/11/12, The Study of the Ten Sefirot

Related Material:
Do You Want To Be Dressed In Bestowal? Try It On!
Don’t Be Ashamed To Play
How Much Does My Correction Cost?

How To Approach The Light

Dr. Michael LaitmanQuestion: Should we decide what we want while reading The Zohar, or should we try to find out what we really want?

Answer: A person asks about one thing and thinks about something else and wants another thing. The Light that is focused on the vessels evokes something totally different in him, which is different from his thoughts, from his question, and from his desire.

All that is required of us is only the awakening. If we can awaken ourselves correctly, then everything will work as it should. The right awakening comes down to one thing—have I tried to be with everyone, which means to be in a vessel, in my true desire, now while reading a passage in The Book of Zohar; not in myself, in my desire and only from there to think and to ask, but to be incorporated in my external vessel, not feeling any need for that or any taste in it, and to ask for connection with the friends by rising above my need and my taste? Did I do that or nor? If I did, then my efforts are correct and I begin to receive different positive and negative spiritual results.

But if my efforts were aimed at understanding and at feeling what is in The Book, these are efforts in my egoistic vessel and so accordingly the results I get are in a totally wrong direction. That’s what happens until I evoke enough Light upon myself, since I am still somehow connected to others and this Light somehow guides me in the right direction.

We should understand that our actions here have to be very accurate. On the part of the Light everything is simple: If you are in a vessel upon which it shines, then you are in contact with it and it works with you, and if you aren’t, then it doesn’t. You have to be in front of the attribute of bestowal, which is the Light. You cannot be connected to the attribute of bestowal at all if you stay inside your “self.” To the extent that you exit yourself towards others, you approach the Light.
[90025]
From the 2nd part of the Daily Kabbalah Lesson 10/11/12, The Book of Zohar

Related Material:
Not In Words But In Deed…
The World Of Ein Sof (Infinity) In A Child’s Perception
On The Wave Of The Book Of Zohar

Not In Words But In Deed…

Dr. Michael LaitmanQuestion: If I sincerely answer the question “What do I want?” then the answer that comes up in my heart is “to feel good.” I try to change this desire through the mind and say that I want to bring contentment to the Creator, but in the next lesson my real desire is once again to feel good. How can I exit this feeling? How can I reach the true spiritual desire?

Answer: If a person remembers that he has to say: “I want to bring contentment to the Creator” since otherwise he will not succeed, it will not help. The Creator does not enjoy it if I’m just saying that I want to bring Him contentment.

I can only bring contentment to the Creator by actions and not by empty words, by the act of connection. Thus I bring contentment to the Creator by revealing Him. I can only reveal Him in our collective vessel in which we are all united. But in order to connect with others, I have to exit myself and to try to connect with them. By that I bring the Creator contentment, because then He can be revealed.

This whole system of mutual bestowal can be revealed and this is called the revelation of the Creator to the created being. This is called bringing contentment to the Creator. I don’t do it by words, but by actions, by giving Him a place to be revealed.
[90023]
From the 2nd part of the Daily Kabbalah Lesson 10/11/12, The Book of Zohar

Related Material:
A Simple Law Of Revelation
Help The Light Appear
Down The Trajectory Of Light

“Dollar Hegemony In The Empire Of The Damned”

Dr. Michael LaitmanOpinion (Colin Todhunter, Global Research): “Many commentators and economists wonder if the US is able to turn its ailing economy around. The reality is that it is bankrupt. However, as long as the dollar remains the world currency, the US can continue to pay its bills by simply printing more money. But once the world no longer accepts the dollar as world reserve currency, the US will no longer be able to continue to pay its way or to fund its wars by relying on what would then be a relatively valueless paper currency.

“And the US realizes this. Today, more than 60 per cent of all foreign currency reserves in the world are in US dollars, and the US will attempt to prevent countries moving off the dollar by any means possible. …

“With each passing year and each new conflict, the US has been drawing closer and closer to direct confrontation with Russia and China, particularly as it enters their backyards in Asia and as China continues to emerge as a serious global power. …

“Over the past few years, China and other emerging powers such as Russia have been making agreements to move away from the US dollar in international trade. …

“Russia and China have been using their own national currencies when trading with each other for more than a year. …

“The US economy appears to be in terminal decline. The only way to prop it up is by lop-sided trade agreements or by waging war to secure additional markets and resources and to ensure the dollar remains the world reserve currency. Humankind is currently facing a number of serious problems. But, arguably, an empire in decline armed to the teeth with both conventional and nuclear weapons and trapped in a cycle of endless war in what must surely be a futile attempt to stave off ruin is the most serious issue of all.”

My Comment: There is only one way for the US and the whole world: Support and compel Israel to disseminate as soon as possible the method of building a new society. No matter how improbable and contemptuous it may seem, this is the salvation of the world from all the current risks and threats. On the contrary, the US is headed to excluding Israel from the list of the countries of the world, and this will bring them to their own ruin because precisely from Israel the dissemination of Kabbalah spreads, the study of a new humanity and the revelation of the Creator to the world. And all the current problems are calls to move the world into a new state.
[89865]

Related Material:
The Israeli Palestinian Deadlock
Edward Topol: Save Israel!

Peace Is When The Strong Have Heard The Weak

Dr. Michael Laitman

In the News (from MIT News): “To help promote peace in the Middle East, many organizations have established ‘peace camps’ or similar conflict-resolution programs that bring Israelis and Palestinians together to foster greater understanding of the opposing group.

“One common feature of such programs is the opportunity for members of each group to share stories about their lives with members of the other group. Now, a new study from MIT neuroscientists shows that the benefits from this exchange are much greater when members of the less empowered group share their stories with the traditionally dominant group than when the reverse occurs

“The finding, published online in the Journal of Experimental Social Psychology, supports the idea that for the disempowered group, the biggest barrier to reconciliation is the belief that their concerns are being ignored, says Rebecca Saxe, senior author of the study. …

“Each participant was assigned to write about the difficulties of life in their society, or to read and summarize such an essay written by a member of the opposing group. All interactions took place through video and text-based chat. Each participant was paired with someone who, unbeknownst to the subject, was actually a research assistant.

“In a questionnaire given before and after the interaction, attitudes toward the opposing group improved most among members of the disempowered group who told their own stories, and among members of the dominant group who read others’ stories.

“When members of the less powerful group simply wrote their stories without having anyone from the opposing group read them, this did not boost their attitudes towards the other group — reinforcing the importance of being heard.

”For the dominant group, the researchers believe that hearing the opposing group’s stories is beneficial because members of the group in power often fear being blamed for the conflict. Therefore, listening gives ‘an opportunity for them to act virtuously and morally and to show that they’re actually good people,’ Saxe says.

My Comment: Only dialogue in the form of a roundtable (sadna) will help bring people together and then connect them, up to the point of complete inclusion of everyone in the world, and thus achieve full integration, and in it the feeling of entering the next dimension, our next state, intended by evolution.
[89862]

Related Material:
At The Round Table
Neutralizing The Threat
A Nation’s Fate Is Determined At The Roundtable

How To Protect Yourself From Unnecessary Problems

Dr. Michael LaitmanQuestion: While studying the integral principles, a person gets a good sense of community, and then he returns to the outside world where he is forced to interact with dozens of people. He needs to go to clinics, school, etc. There he encounters a completely different picture, where everything is built on making more money and giving nothing in return. How can he work with this terrible system?

Answer: Frankly, I don’t know what to say because I am not in any system at all. I am, in general, isolated from the world and only know about the world from what is said by hearsay: the Internet, television, radio, and newspapers; I am connected with many people and get a lot of information from all these sources, but I have no personal contact with these organizations.

I understand that life is very difficult, that it exhausts a person, wears down his health and nerves. Perhaps we should still try to respond to everything in a good way. I think that at least then you can protect yourself from unnecessary problems.

You do not swear and pretend that you are a fool; you are just a normal serious person who understands life a bit, does not attack another person’s views, but treats people with deliberate respect, addresses them with dignity, perhaps even as a teacher to his students. I think this should create a different atmosphere.
[89920]
From KabTV’s “Building a Social Environment” 9/24/12

Related Material:
Honor And Dignity
Integral Upbringing -Talk 5
“Respect Matters More Than Money”

Can Internal Efforts Be Measured?

Dr. Michael LaitmanQuestion: What criteria can help a person to control his wholeness and integrality?

Answer: The criteria are very simple and clear: for a human being to rise above his egoism and to relate to all members of society according to the principle of “love thy neighbor as thyself.”

Question: This criterion cannot be measured. What does it mean, “to rise” or “love”?..

Answer: This criterion can be measured indirectly. We can never measure our internal efforts that are oriented towards overcoming egoism, nor can we calculate to which extent we are able to include the desires of the other into ours and then try to fulfill them by using resources and aspirations of our own.

So far, it’s not under our control. We don’t penetrate into the essence of nature (the still, vegetative, animate, not to mention the speaking level) deep enough in order to sense the internal forces that govern us. We are speaking here about measuring man’s inner world.

There are some people who manage to rise above their egoism and thus can measure and accurately define both their egoistic and altruistic desires, the forces that act within these desires, the possibilities of transition, and the ways and methods that help them make all sorts of movements within their qualities. However, it’s available only to those who have gained control over themselves and their properties.

It can only be measured by somebody who has discovered the spiritual structure (one’s sensory world) and is able to easily move inside it. When this structure is revealed to him and all these qualities are already sorted, then he clearly sees correlations among them. He can measure his egoism. He comprehends the power and capacity of his personal properties, feelings, and so on, which are not that numerous after all. For him, they are not a secret anymore.
[89516]
From KabTV Program “Integral World: Formula of an Integral Society” 7/1/12

Related Material:
Moving Towards The Bright Future
The Immune System Of The Integral Society
Finding The Force That Evokes Love