Audio Version Of The Blog – 04.30.13

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Studies: Depression Spreads Like Infection

Dr. Michael LaitmanIn the News (from Notre Dame News): “According to a new study from the University of Notre Dame, a particular style of thinking that makes people vulnerable to depression actually can be ‘contagious’ to others and increase their symptoms of depression six months later. …

“’Our findings suggest that it may be possible to use an individual’s social environment as part of the intervention process, either as a supplement to existing cognitive interventions or possibly as a stand-alone intervention,’ according to Notre Dame Psychology Professor Gerald Haeffel.

“’Our study demonstrates that cognitive vulnerability has the potential to wax and wane over time depending on the social context, which means that cognitive vulnerability should be thought of as plastic rather than immutable.’”

My Comment: Moreover, it is transmitted like all our other impacts to the environment and then back, from the environment to us, in the form of “viral” waves, influences, that we do not feel. Since we are all connected to the network of universal connection between ourselves as well as to the entire still, vegetative, and animate world, we catch this “virus” and, conversely it catches our emotional state.

This is seen most clearly in the relationship between pets and their owners: Animals are at risk of getting the same illnesses, especially depression. The study confirms again that a person can feel happiness only in a “healthy” society, which means that it depends only on our relationship and mutual desire for happiness.
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Massive Bee Deaths May Lead To World Hunger

Dr. Michael LaitmanIn the News (from MSN Money): “The term ‘colony collapse disorder’ might sound like something out of science fiction, but it’s a growing problem with widespread economic consequences affecting one of the more beneficial insects to mankind: honeybees.

“Whole colonies of honeybees have been dying off for years now, and no one seems exactly sure why. And if you think dead bees don’t affect you, think again. As The New York Times notes, those bees are essential for pollinating much of America’s fruit and vegetable crops.

“‘The Agriculture Department says a quarter of the American diet, from apples to cherries to watermelons to onions, depends on pollination by honeybees,’ says The Times. ‘Fewer bees means smaller harvests and higher food prices.'”

My Comment: This is the way homo sapiens manages his planet! And most importantly, even if we found out about it only today, we still wouldn’t be able to stop this process because no one listens to any arguments…
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A Chain That Delivers Light To The World

Dr. Michael LaitmanWe receive all the spiritual information from Above through a chain of Kabbalists’ souls. The order of these levels does not change. It begins from Adam HaRishon (the First Man), who was the first to discover the upper force. This chain begins from him and descends from the top down like a cone until all of humanity joins it and reveals the Creator.

This is the way the upper Light, the upper wisdom, the Light that Reforms, the raising of prayerMAN, and the response for them, MAD, come from. Everything is transmitted and descends only through this chain since we are connected to one system.

So, we must cleave to the spiritual legacy that the great Kabbalists have left us and to respect them as we respect the Creator—to the same extent and even more. Most important is to reach adhesion with the writers and the books (the writers are the sources of the Light of Hochma, and the books are the means of communication that they have left us).

If a person tries to develop in himself a sensation of the importance and the value of these sources then, naturally, he will become attracted to them and will get closer to them. He will begin to respect these great Kabbalists and will connect to their writings and, with their help he will reach adhesion with the Creator.
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From the 4th part of the Daily Kabbalah Lesson 4/28/13, Shamati #25

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The True Jewish Medicine

Dr. Michael LaitmanQuestion: Throughout the process of human development, various types of medicine have appeared: for example, 3000 years old Chinese medicine—acupuncture, reflexology, herbal medicine, and so forth. Ayurveda is 3500 years old—aromatherapy, yoga, and the Chakra system. The Jewish people have existed more than 5000 years. What is their contribution to the development of health?

Answer: It is the wisdom of Kabbalah. It maintains a person’s balance with nature. And there are no drugs, massages, needles, candles, or fragrances. I’m not belittling anything, but simply saying that they have a secondary mechanical impact, although there is also a psychological significance in this.

It is known that, in Talmudic medicine, all kinds of biological substances are used. But true Jewish medicine in itself is just an inner preparation directed towards the balance of the human being within us, not towards the beast, but specifically the human within us, towards the balance of my ego with nature, its correction. Kabbalah says that every time I discover the ego within me, I must be in an inner movement to balance it, meaning to correct it.

It goes up and down like a buoy on the water, and I am concerned all the time about correcting it. And, in this manner, I reach an ideal, absolute health.

But this involves an entire system of educational work which the ancient Jews conducted through extensive education and upbringing. There was never anyone among them who didn’t know how to read and write or wasn’t familiar with the system of his organism, the system of the world around him, his interaction with society and the surrounding world. All the laws described in the Talmud and in other ancient books were accepted afterwards throughout the world through the Greeks and Romans. All of these are the external manifestations of what was practiced among the Jews.

But I stress again that all of medicine is built on the balance of my egoistic “self” with altruistic nature, which is to say, on the inner correction of my “Self.”

Therefore, “love your neighbor as yourself” is the essential law of physical, spiritual, external, and internal health.
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From KabTV’s “The Medicine of the Future” 4/7/13

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Practical Advice From Personal Experience

Dr. Michael LaitmanIn order not to fall, not to descend in the work, I need to search for deficiencies in it myself even during an ascent. As the sages said: “An old man walks around bent over, always looking at the ground as if he is looking for something and is afraid of losing something in advance.” Further advice about this is to fill our time with the order of the day, to bind oneself to additional commitments: to do dissemination work, translate, write articles, work on texts, work in the kitchen, and so forth.

If a person is constantly involved in some kind of mandatory work, no matter what that work is, it will prevent him from falling because he will be obliged to do something related to spiritual advancement regardless of his state. Otherwise, he will be occupied with this only when he feels an ascent.

Then a descent comes, which he doesn’t feel at first even though he has already begun to descend. It is very easy to descend, and it seems to a person that he is still in ascent. It is the same in corporeal life when you come down a hill, which is always easy. You still feel that you are above, but essentially, you have started to descend. And when you are descending, you no longer have a desire to open a book, read something, hear, or learn. The state of apathy descends upon and dominates you, and then it’s very difficult to come out of it.

Therefore, it’s necessary to come up with a precise schedule that will protect a person for sure. And any other advice is certainly correct but just about impossible to realize practically. This is the law, but in order to keep the law, we must organize a strict daily schedule for ourselves where we commit ourselves to be occupied with spiritual work all of the time. This is what I recommend to you from my experience.
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From the Preparation to the Daily Kabbalah Lesson 4/28/13

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The Principles Of Spiritual Construction

Dr. Michael LaitmanThere are continuous problems along the spiritual path, but we accept them as help along the way, as constructive problems and not destructive ones.

Let’s suppose that I’m building a second floor in my home. This means that I have to carry all the materials to the second floor, which is definitely much more difficult than building the first floor. So, what can we say about the 15th floor or about the 125th floor of the spiritual building?

The higher a person climbs, the more his evil inclination grows, becoming heavier and crueler, as it is written, “He who is greater than his friend, his desire is greater than his.” However, if my aspiration is correct, I see in this heavier load a great benefit for my construction. I see the evil as good since I see that it will lead to positive results.

If I am given ten pounds of gold, for example, will I feel sorry that I have to carry the ten pounds home? However, if I need to carry bricks of cement I will relate to it and value it differently. So, everything depends on the value that I attribute to certain objects, and the value and the appreciation depend on the preliminary preparation.
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From the 4th part of the Daily Kabbalah Lesson 4/25/13, “The Mutual Guarantee”

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Egypt Has Fulfilled Its Role – It Is Time To Come Out Of It

Dr. Michael LaitmanBaal HaSulam, “The Arvut (Mutual Guarantee)”: Only when they came out of Egypt and became a complete nation, only then was there a possibility to guarantee everyone’s needs without any care and concern. … as long as the individual is troubled with concerns for himself, he is unfit to even begin to keep the commandment, “Love thy friend as thyself.”

Thus, we begin to understand the meaning of the “Egyptian exile.” After all, the fulfillment of the conditions of mutual guarantee starts from the receiving of the Torah, according to the amount of the Light that Reforms that we draw. Until then, the children of Israel were not able to accept these conditions but were in the of system of establishing mutual guarantee.

On the whole, having come out of Babylon and set off on this path, we are constantly establishing the mutual guarantee relationship between us. First, our egoistic desire is still weak and we really feel that we are one family. But later, different conflicts begin; then, the hate builds up between us and we find ourselves in Egypt, that is, in different egoistic accounts. Here, “Pharaoh” becomes revealed to us and we gradually discover that there is no mutual guarantee between us.

Eventually, we reach the exact polar opposite of bestowal of the level of Bina. Instead of mutual guarantee, the force of bestowal, we acquire the force of receiving. This is the last phase before the exodus from Egypt. We discover all the evil among us in the group—and there is nothing else for us to do in Egypt.

Now, we need the Torah, the method of correction. Eventually, after the parting of the Red Sea, we receive it before the mountain of our hatred, Mt. Sinai (“Sinah” means “hatred” in Hebrew).
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From the 4th part of the Daily Kabbalah Lesson 4/25/13, Writings of Baal HaSulam “The Mutual Guarantee”

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To Be Born Beyond The Machsom

Dr. Michael LaitmanQuestion: Can we expect to cross the Machsom at the New Jersey convention May 10th – 12th?

Answer: If you know exactly what it means to cross the Machsom and you want to do it, then you will surely succeed. To cross the Machsom means to enter into the group and to be born into the spiritual world.

In order to be born, the point in the heart, the drop of spiritual semen, has to be moved upward and turned into a “white drop,” the embryo of your soul that belongs to the Light. Through it you will feel spirituality and in it you will feel self-annulment: first, in regard to the group; next, in regard to the attribute of bestowal; and then, in regard to the Creator. This will be the first feeling of the spiritual world: self-annulment.

Then, from this drop of spiritual semen, the embryo will begin to develop and more and more ego will be added to one’s self-annulment, which you will correct and turn into a matter for connection to the group. Then you will build your vessel, meaning the spiritual body, and will continue to move your entire ego to the other side, beyond the Machsom.
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From the 1st part of the Daily Kabbalah Lesson 4/23/13, Writings of Rabash

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Daily Kabbalah Lesson – 04.30.13

Preparation to the Lesson

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Writings of Rabash Shlavei HaSulam,” Article 12

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The Book of Zohar, Introduction “The Rose,” Item 2, Lesson 2 

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Writings of Baal HaSulam The Mutual Guarantee,” Lesson 5

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