Good Environment – 08.24.11

My Good Environment – Dr. Laitman’s Advice and Principles for the Week

Affairs In Poland

Dr. Michael LaitmanIn the News (From Investors.com): “[Polish] Prime Minister Donald Tusk presented government assessment of the aggravating international financial turbulence in the Sejm on Friday [19 August]. He said his government would continue responsible policies to ensure that public spending is under control, and Poland is perceived as a stable and reliable country.

“It is the task of every responsible government and political party to ‘shield the country against the threat of chaos, nervous reactions and wave of emotions’ because such things harmed local and international economies, Tusk argued. He said that the main problem of countries engulfed by the present crisis was nervous reactions of investors and businessmen as well as waning confidence of citizens in financial institutions, including banks.…

“Poland is well prepared to stave off another wave of international crisis, he repeated. ‘We have currency reserves large enough for the foreseeable future and the Flexible Credit Line (with the IMF) makes it possible to effectively protect the zloty if it becomes necessary,’ Tusk assured.…

“’We are not afraid of (..) a more effective management of the euro zone because we believe that the euro zone is deeply in need of a stronger management,’ Tusk declared.”

My Comment: If the crisis is global, how could it not affect the country in the middle of Europe, how can a country not depend on export and import and on the earnings of Polish workers in other countries? Even leaders still do not understand what the globality of the world entails.
[52326]

Related Material:
Using Bureaucracy To Deal With The Crisis
Globalization Is No Longer A Process, But A Condition
Financial “Monsters” Threaten Democracy

Caring For Each Other

Dr. Michael LaitmanQuestion: Can you briefly describe the concept of mutual guarantee?

Answer: Mutual guarantee is when every person understands that his good depends on the good of the other. It cannot be good for me if it is not good for him. I cannot feed myself, but rather, I feed you and you feed me. This is the only way to live. Otherwise, we will die. Choose: there are no other options.

To this extent, we should feel our interdependence. Food is the most important thing for man, but no one can provide himself even with the necessary things without realizing this condition of mutual unity. Everyone will provide for others and not for himself. Nature will compel us to unite with each other in this way, and no other.

Everything else follows from this feeling. As in a close-knit family, together we take care of our children and support our parents. Would we leave a sick grandfather in trouble? Of course not. The condition of mutual guarantee obliges us to do this, and there is no need to introduce special laws. The main thing is an appropriate atmosphere in society, which is created by the media and the environment that condemn or respect certain relationships between people.

However, today, while the Israeli society has not adopted the principle of mutual guarantee yet, we must firstly help all those who cannot get by on their own. Let’s discuss together how to raise people living below the poverty line. This is our first concern because no one in the family should fall below the lowest bracket.

Let’s “put out the fire” and at the same time, work on public education so that the nation moves in the direction of mutual guarantee, which nature itself demands from us today. The upper world descends upon us and expresses itself in the form of the mutual guarantee.

It will take six months or a year before people begin to realize and internalize what is going on. However, today, mutual consent is already required to help the needy who have no money to feed themselves until the next paycheck. Let’s provide what is necessary for them now, and then discuss the rest.
[52165]
From the 5th part of the Daily Kabbalah Lesson 8/22/11, “Arvut

Related Material:
The New Economic Base
How To Equalize A Boxer And A Nerd
The Simple Law Of Mutual Guarantee

The New World Needs A New Economy

Dr. Michael LaitmanQuestion: Isn’t our message socialist in essence?

Answer: Who cares what it is called? People demand this, regardless of names and labels. The nation of Israel demands social justice, which has to be the same as in the family. The word “socialism” triggers rejection. People have already tried it, yet the question is not about the words, but the essence.

Social justice means a “family” approach where we all consider each other. We have to build an economy consistent with this principle. We have no other alternative. If we want to succeed in the modern world, even regardless of the protests, then we have to rebuild the economy in all countries exactly on this foundation.

We need a new economy, and, meanwhile, leading experts still do not understand this. We see where they have brought us. If the person who was responsible for a family’s overall budget had brought the family to such a crisis, all the money would be taken from him immediately and the fate of the household entrusted to a more competent and knowledgeable person.

However, let us go back to the Israeli wave of protest. People demand social justice, and the economy should be built on this principle. From now on, it should be based on a different attitude. We need formulas of budget allocation that will leave everyone satisfied. But how can we achieve this?

To this end, the nation’s representatives should sit down at the “family” table, put the available resources in the center, and decide together how to divide them so that everyone is satisfied, knowing that this is the only possible solution. After all, we do not have any other savings, and every person should understand that he is treated fairly even if he receives two shekels while another receives twenty.

Of course, to do this, there has to be mass education and a nationwide debate. And besides, there are simple calculations to be made as well: If a person earns less than a certain amount, then he simply cannot provide for himself. If a single mother raising her children on her own receives less than a certain minimum, she cannot cope. Thus, there are priorities that need to be solved at least on a basic level so that people can survive. Then, we will move on to other issues, arranging them in the order of priority.

Moreover, we need this kind of economy in the modern world. Otherwise, the time will come when people show the government the door. Today, this is easy. The games have ended. The system of mutual guarantee is now revealed among people, and they will begin to feel that we are all interconnected.

However, governments are disconnected from reality and do not feel this. They still rely on various commissions and other outdated resources to divert attention. However, the people will not calm down.

That is why we need other specialists. We will explain the principle of social justice to them, and they will build the appropriate economic system. Moreover, they will transform the state to meet the new requirements.

Today, people demand that the state function differently with all of its mechanisms, ministries, and agencies in relation to each person and each part of the country. We want the Land Administration, National Insurance, and other institutions to operate differently, and this requires huge changes. They are not simple, but they are necessary.

We must also understand that new political parties and other political methods won’t help us either. After all, we already know that whoever finds himself in this environment becomes similar to it. Instead, the next government should take the form of a round table. This government will not be there to explain mysterious facts to the people from a high pedestal. This no longer works. The world has entered a new state and gradually, this will become obvious to everyone.
From the 5th part of the Daily Kabbalah Lesson 8/22/11, “Arvut
[52162]

Related Material:
How To Equalize A Boxer And A Nerd
The New Economic Base
Caring For Each Other

Food Riots: Approaching The Edge

Dr. Michael LaitmanIn the News: “What causes riots? That’s not a question you would expect to have a simple answer. But today, Marco Lagi and buddies at the New England Complex Systems Institute in Cambridge, say they’ve found a single factor that seems to trigger riots around the world.

“This single factor is the price of food. Lagi says that when it rises above a certain threshold, social unrest sweeps the planet….

“But what’s interesting about this analysis is that Lagi and co say that high food prices don’t necessarily trigger riots themselves, they simply create the conditions in which social unrest can flourish. ‘These observations are consistent with a hypothesis that high global food prices are a precipitating condition for social unrest,’ say Lagi and co….

“That leads to an obvious thought. If high food prices condition the world for social unrest, then reducing the prices should stabilise the planet.

“Today, the food price index remains above the threshold but the long term trend is still below. But it is rising. Lagi and co say that if the trend continues, the index is likely to cross the threshold in August 2013.

“If their model has the predictive power they suggest, when that happens, the world will become a tinderbox waiting for a match.”

Comment: According to Kabbalah, all the events in the world are caused only by the need to bring humanity to correction, similarity with nature, balance among everyone. This is reflected in the transition to a society of reasonable consumption where everyone consumes to the extent he needs to exist, and not more. In this case, there will be enough resources for everyone.

But reaching this state is possible only under the condition of “mutual guarantee” where “one is for all and all are for one.” Kabbalah explains how to achieve such a connection between everyone in the world. Otherwise, incorrect distribution of food will lead to a world war.
[52329]

Related Material:
How To Equalize A Boxer And A Nerd
Spiritual Compensation As A Guarantee To Success
The Ideological Crisis Of Capitalism

At The Round Table

The “Arvut (Mutual Guarantee)” movement has produced a series of programs under the general title of “The Round Table.” This show provides a place for multilateral discussions, and all the participants express their opinion equally. The discussions are directed by a moderator who raises a wide range of social questions among activists, representatives of public organizations, experts, and people who support various points of view and belong to all social strata.

“The Round Table” began to function a few days ago; however, already it has been attended by Charlie Biton, a social activist, one of the founders of the “Black Panthers”; Dr. Esther Eilam, the founder of the Israeli feminist movement, as well as the movement “Achoti” and one of the leaders of the tent city on Lewinski Street; Dr. Ishak Saporta from the the Recanati Graduate School of Management at Tel-Aviv University; Shira Ohayon, a specialist in education and public activist, one of the leaders of the tent city in the “HaTikva”district; Ilya Marshak , a representative of the Revolutionary Youth Coalition (a Facebook group, connecting 43,000 participants); Eyal Mautner, the coordinator of the movement “Dror Israel”; Professor B. Davidson Arad from the School of Social Work at Tel-Aviv University; Dr. Tamir Leon, an anthropologist; Ron Cobi, a chairman of “The Middle Class Revolution” (a Facebook group, connecting 12,000 participants); Ron Sasson from the forum “Strategy,” and other participants.

The objectives of the “Round Table”:

  • Expand cooperation among various individuals and organizations through civilized dialogue,
  • Focus on social issues and problems,
  • Present different views on the situation in the social sphere,
  • Talk about possible solutions to social problems we face,
  • Encourage partnership and mutual understanding between all those who are active in the field.

In our eyes, the approach is no less and perhaps even more important than the goal itself. We believe that mutual communication and constructive cooperation sometimes plays a greater role than the final decisions. We see our task in supporting the debate in a pleasant, business-like manner so that the participants show respect towards each other and open the “umbrella” of mutual guarantee, like at a family meeting.

During discussions, we encourage consideration and attention to the needs of others so that everyone perceives the problems of others as their own. The idea is to learn to care about each other despite different personal views, positions of various organizations, and problems of individual communities and social strata, as if we are one family.

Program format: Discussions are held from 8:00 until 9:30 P.M. at the round table on Rothschild Boulevard next to the “Mutual Guarantee” movement’s tent. The discussion involves six or seven people who listen to each other and take turns expressing their opinion. The program “The Round Table” is broadcast online on the “Mutual Guarantee” movement website, as well as on its Facebook page (in Hebrew).

Each participant gets enough time to express his or her opinion, present ideas, and respond to the views of other participants. The general public from Rothschild Boulevard and from the Internet are also invited to the discussion. Part of the public response is streamed live. The discussion is filmed by a team of professional cameramen with the support of sound operators and lighting professionals.
[52057]

Related Material:
The New World Needs A New Economy
From Vertical Power To Round Table
Caring For Each Other

Take Care Of The Tycoons, You Just Might Need Them

Dr. Michael LaitmanA person should use his innate capacities given to him by nature to their fullest potential for the benefit of others. But then, from where will one draw his satisfaction? It will come from using themselves to the utmost to serve others.

After all, when I make a profit, I receive a personal gain. I engage my ego to serve myself, selfishly using the qualities and abilities that the Creator gave me, although He could have given them to someone else. So, it turns out that people with means or with advanced capabilities, which the Creator has given them, are causing more damage when using their capacity for personal gain. However, this fact must manifest full force in order for everyone to understand what is going on.

This will be revealed in a state where we’ll see that the integral system must be engaged full force, and all are equal in it. Whatever qualities may have been given to me, I see myself as part of the common mechanism, the part that must diligently do its job to the utmost.

In this way, I am not different from anyone else. If both of us are doing what we are supposed to do, then, in spirituality, we are absolutely equal. There are no differences between us. We were simply born different. Hence, we have a different impact, but its efficiency quotient is the same.

This refers to the effort that each of us is capable of inputting, rather than to the qualitative indicators of the output. We evaluate a person not by the results that appear to our eyes, but only by his specific efforts.

This does not mean forcing people, as was done in Soviet Russia where the government took away businesses from the talented individuals who owned them, and thus destroyed the country. If you kill or exile such people, who will manage the industry and the economy?

So, we definitely must protect the tycoons and provide opportunities for them to open as many businesses as possible. They are the ones who can do it.

We have already seen what happens under socialism. Here is the egoistic desire at work, and it should be handled as sensibly as possible, until a person unilaterally decides that it’s time to become corrected. One way or the other, everything should be grounded on desire.

However, what if people take to the streets and begin making specific demands? The most important key here is to educate the people. Obviously, we have to put the fire out.

Some people actually live in poverty and do need help, but only when the level of our education begins to rise shall we see how things will begin to get better. After all, we ourselves begin to understand that one must give up something for the sake of others.

This won’t be an ideology or an opinion, but a feeling that will permeate us all. Then, we will feel like a nation.

Besides, we will receive the assistance of the upper Light. By the law of equivalence of form, our system will become the garment for the upper Light and we will see enormous fruits of our unification, similar to the fruits seen by the scouts who were the first to make their way into the land of Israel after 40 years of wandering in the desert. We will suddenly discover the energy and the potential that is contained in everything that we are dealing with.

All of this can be achieved only through education. That’s why we need a round table where we discuss issues together and raise the level of interaction and mutual interest among the people. That is all we need. The government, in the wake of our discussion, will take on executive functions.

The round table will be a nationwide debate conducted together with experts who have a critical approach and analysis, but based on common agreement such as in a close-knit family. Then we will succeed. Otherwise, we will fail.
[51997]
From the lesson on 8/19/11, “One Precept”

Related Material:
From Vertical Power To Round Table
On The Intricacies Of Taxes
Common Problems Are Solved At A Common Forum

The New Economic Base

Dr. Michael LaitmanQuestion: How do you propose to solve the social problems in Israel, practically speaking?

Answer: First of all, we have to sit at a round table and begin the discussion, strictly adhering to the principles of the mutual guarantee. This is the only way we will find the answer to the nation’s demand for social justice.

At the round table, the representatives of various sectors would speak about the given social problems. Then, having considered the picture as a whole, we would begin to evaluate our possibilities, making use of the services of experts and specialists in their various fields.

However, they must adhere to the principle of mutual guarantee. Practical solutions in any professional field must always be proposed by the experts who are also connected to each other by the guarantee. This is because they differ in their opinions and evaluations.

The economy is molded from our egoism, which we do not really understand. Besides, the necessity to rise above it intensifies our ignorance. In the end, even the professionals are confused; we see where they have taken us and what they have done.

In any case, it is clear that if, up until today, everything used to be based on the egoistic desire of the person, then, from this point on, we have to build a different economy based on our common desire of bestowal, which is called the “mutual guarantee.” That is why making decisions and implementing them surely must be built on the principle of the guarantee. This is the main distinction of the new approach.
[52169]
From the 5th part of the Daily Kabbalah Lesson 8/22/11, “Arvut

Related Material:
The New World Needs A New Economy
How To Equalize A Boxer And A Nerd
Caring For Each Other

The Media Is A False-Bottomed Case

Dr. Michael LaitmanQuestion: A person watches TV several hours a day on average. Modern programs, movies, and shows literally promote violence and murder. How is it that, on the one hand, we want to propagate the right values in society, while on the other hand, we poison people’s minds with on-screen violence from their very childhood?

My Answer: As you can see, the people are drugged, while the governments are doing their own thing. And the same is true around the world, except for countries with authoritarian governments, such as Iran and Venezuela.

In all places, media as a whole and television in particular know no bounds.

This drugging is no accident, and it will remain until the people display their attitude toward the goal. Only then will they get the strength to solve this problem. The problem is that modern communication channels reveal the evil of our lives and thereby aim us at the goal. So if you begin to simply liquidate the “good-for-nothing” media, how would people discover their evil?

We are dealing with two opposites in one phenomenon. In reality, the Creator uses this evil to direct us toward goodness, but toward true goodness and not the fake idyll of good media, fostering good boys and girls. That is not the purpose. From our end, we must aspire to correction. And our correction lies through love of others as ourselves, and toward love for the Creator. This is the only way to reach our goal. Simply watching the “good” kind of television won’t help us. For more read Baal HaSulam’s article, “Building the Future Society.”
[52307]
From the 5th pat of the Daily Kabbalah Lesson 8/23/11, “Arvut

Related Material:
The Open University Of The Integral World
Who Should Be In Charge Of Mass Media?
An Educational Channel Instead Of Commercials

The Rectifier Of The Path

Dr. Michael LaitmanDepending on a person’s attitude to his ups and downs, on the extent he is able to view them as one state, you can assess how well he uses the environment and how close he has come to the Creator in correcting his desires. At each spiritual degree, we attain that “the Light shines as the darkness” to the degree of that state. And this is possible only through connecting with the external desires, which serve as a reserve where you deposit desires obtained during a descent, or inspiration and revelations that were obtained during an ascent. That is how one alternates the work during ascents and descents by compensating them.

To the extent I “charge” my environment during my ascent, I can now take it back when I fall so that instead of a descent I would remain in some middle state. When I rise, I fill my entire environment with my inspiration and am able to to use it later on. With every step, I strive to “rectify” myself so as to benefit from the ascents and descents: during the descent, I gain new desires, while during the ascent, I get filled with new impressions, Light, revelations, and meanings.

Then I am able to work steadily, like a circuit with a capacitor that is charged and discharged, or an engine where one piston rises and the other falls. We see that in nature there always are two forces at work, and the pressure difference causes the wind and other phenomena. But in man, these two forces must eventually join into one. The ups and downs, gratitude and accusation toward the Creator—it all links together into one whole, into relating to the Creator as the good who does good. That is how a person reveals the spirituality—the property of bestowal clothed in him.

All the properties that one can consider spiritual clothe in him—they are not somewhere else, in some other far-off place, and there are no objects apart from man. If we want to reveal spirituality, we must find it within ourselves, between the various states, which we classify as ascent or descent, reception or bestowal. If we can combine these two forces correctly, then we will discover Him! But we will do so only within ourselves, as a form clothed in matter, the property of bestowal dressed in the receiving force.
[52292]
From the 1st part of the Daily Kabbalah Lesson 8/23/11, Shamati

Related Material:
A Warning In A Whisper
Swept Up From Darkness By A Ray Of Light
Rise Above All Differences