Good Environment – 08.28.11

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

Why Do I Envy The Creator?

Dr. Michael LaitmanQuestion: How is it possible to envy the Creator?

Answer: I envy the Creator for being the one who bestows. After all, I learn these qualities from Him, and how else can I learn?

The problem is that for us envy is directly connected to egoism. And if I envy someone, it is like I don’t want him to have something good. This is bad envy.

Good envy is when I wish to become like the one I envy. The problem with our perception is that we don’t see the difference between the qualities themselves, which are not good or bad on their own, and their implementation, which determines everything. We assign our egoistic desire to these qualities from the start because we have gotten used to working in such a way that all qualities, all “9 first Sefirot” clothe onto the egoistic desire, the corrupted Malchut.

However, if we imagine these qualities as clothed onto the corrected Malchut, then envy, lust, and honor will seem beneficial qualities that help us come out of this world and rise higher. Everything depends on whether we use them to reach bestowal.
[52422]
From the 1st part of the Daily Kabbalah Lesson 8/21/2011, Shamati #9

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Do Not Make Yourself An Idol

Dr. Michael LaitmanBaal HaSulam, “One Commandment:” “…by accustoming oneself to serving people, one benefits others and not oneself. Thus, one becomes gradually fit to keep the Mitzvot of the Creator with the required condition—benefiting the Creator and not oneself.”

I do not follow, do not understand, and do not grasp this principle. If I need to work and to unite with humanity, this is clear to me. We are here together; the gap between me and others appeared only due to the breaking, and I feel myself as separate from them. So, I have to overcome, correct this force of the breaking and become united with them.

But what about the Creator? Perhaps He is somewhere outside and I can reach Him through humanity. Or, by uniting with others in the group, I discover that He is inside, among us, and even fills all that space.

Nonetheless, it is difficult for me to pave the way, directing myself at the group for the sake of the Creator. What does this mean? This is a vague requirement. I understand relationships with other people, but how can I build a relationship with somebody in addition to this? Our problem is that we cannot imagine the correct picture, and therefore we remain confused for a long time.

”The Creator” is the quality of absolute, final, perfect bestowal. The unity between me and the group is the vessel for receiving the quality of bestowal. We want to achieve love and oneness between us so the world becomes “round,” global, integral. However, it has to be done for the sake of the Creator, which means, in order for the quality of bestowal to connect to us, to dwell and reign inside of us.

Thus, it is forbidden to ascribe any individuality or image to the Creator. This is “idol worship” or, literally, “foreign work” because it leads us aside, in a completely different direction. The Creator, Boreh, means “come (Bo) and see (Reh). If you enter a group and reach unity, then, by virtue of the friends, you reveal the quality of bestowal, which is called “the Creator.”

That is why it is written: “Israel, the Torah, and the Creator are one” where “Israel” is me with the friends (or humanity) and the Creator. In other words, the friends and I together are called “Malchut” or “Shechina,” and I reveal Zeir Anpin, which becomes expressed inside Malchut, according to the oneness which is achieved in it.

Hence comes the meaning of the formula “to serve people to bring contentment to the Creator.” Under no circumstances should you imagine somebody or something as the final recipient of your efforts. The Creator is neither a person nor a phenomenon, but the property that becomes revealed in us. To draw yourself such a recipient means to be engaged in idolatry, to create an idol. If we always stick to this rule, we will have no problems.

After all, we want to eventually build the system which will embrace all vessels and Lights. This is Malchut of the world of Infinity, where we are in unity and cohesion, where the Light is revealed in the vessel. We came from there, from the First state. In the Second state, we correct our attitude and nothing more, and come to the Third state, becoming conscious of and understanding the world in which we exist from the beginning.

There is no image that exists outside of us, for whose sake we should work and to which we should come. Just schematically, our intentions and calculations are added to this sequence: first we create a vessel, and then, to the extent of its ability to unite, according to the law of equivalence of form, we reveal the Creator in this vessel, according to the principle “come and see.” Thus, we reveal Malchut – the desire, which remains unchanged.
[52696]
From the 2nd part of the Daily Kabbalah Lesson 8/26/11, “One Commandment”

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To Precede Desire With Intention

Dr. Michael LaitmanQuestion: How is it that even in the spiritual world intention and desire don’t merge into a single whole, but remain two separate things?

My Answer: We must always be concerned with the intention. The desire will be revealed in compliance with the intention, but no more. The desire is revealed in accordance with the screen and the Reflected Light.

Indeed, my desire is very big—it is Malchut of the world of Infinity. But my screens can be different: from the smallest to the largest. The size of the screen is split into 125 “portions,” and if I reveal the desire along with them, then I am always in balance in that I have one intention.

Every one of us contains Malchut of Infinity, unbounded with all its Reshimot. Only a restriction is placed on it, and now it gradually reveals itself to us, but only in accordance with the size of the screen, or the intention.

Our behavior must be similar: Our whole work is done in the intentions, which determine the revelation of our desires. If the desires are revealed before the intentions, then we suffer. And conversely, if we care to develop the intentions first, then we walk the good path. In other words, if I cultivate the intention, then I walk the path of the Torah. But if the desire is revealed before the intention, then I develop by the path of suffering.

Our destiny lies between these two opportunities.
[52688]
From the 2nd part of the Daily Kabbalah Lesson 8/26/11, “One Commandment”

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All Requests Come From Below, And All Fulfillment Comes From Above

Dr. Michael LaitmanOur task is to raise up all the sparks left from the breaking. They seem foreign to us now, as though they don’t pertain to us, but we need to choose them, bring them all together, and raise the collection of all souls or sparks to Malchut of the world of Atzilut. We join all of them to ourselves, since “every person is a small world.”

Due to such unification with friends, the world, and all the occurrences and events, we all unite and raise Adam HaRishon, the first man, to a single bestowal for the sake of the Creator, like it was before the sin. And then one great MAN, prayer, is formed, which is the final action of “Zivug Rav Palim UMikabtziel” (universal adhesion) that leads to the final correction.

We just need to collect all our actions, thoughts, and scrutiny for the sake of turning to Him with a prayer. This whole process occurs within us, but we don’t feel it or understand it now. This is our state until we enter the spiritual world and begin to raise MAN consciously, with understanding, feeling these spiritual acts, and making calculations.

In the spiritual world a person already uses the screen and engages in practical Kabbalah, working actively with the desire to receive, the screen, and the sparks. One knows precisely what he elucidates, to what degree he plans to rise, what types of Light affect him, and which forms of desires he puts into force. Talmud Eser Sefirot becomes a real instruction book for him.

We may think that compared to that state, our present state is completely unimportant. However, this is not true at all! In actuality, these preparatory states that go by unconsciously are the most important. It is like a child who grows most rapidly during his earliest stages of life. While he is a baby, certain changes occur in him every day. Then he begins to change from month to month, then year to year, until he stops growing completely.

Much the same way, while we work unconsciously, we go through the greatest stages of changes; we just are unable to recognize them. Therefore, we need to place great importance on our state in spite of anything, understanding the enormous benefit of each thought, action, and word that is directed toward the goal, and in particular, those that are performed for the sake of the studies, unification, and dissemination. Consequently, we will reach a conscious prayer.

A prayer, request, or a desire is our only action. Everything else is done by the Light. And if we wish to reach bestowal so that the “guest” would give to the “Host,” we only need to desire this! How able or unable we are doesn’t matter; the most important thing is for our actions to be directed properly.

Therefore, it is written that a person has no other work except prayer. All the strength and fulfillment come from Above, while all the demands and requests come from below.
[52514]
From the 1st part of the Daily Kabbalah Lesson 8/24/11, “Shamati

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Unity Day – 08.28.11

Unity Day Around the World, Lecture on “Mutual Guarantee, above all”
Download: WMV Video|MP3 Audio

France’s Richest Say: “Please Tax Us!”

Dr. Michael LaitmanIn the News (From BBC News): “Some of France’s wealthiest people have called on the government to tackle its deficit by raising taxes – on the rich.

“Sixteen executives, including Europe’s richest woman, the L’Oreal heiress Liliane Bettencourt, offered in an open letter to pay a ‘special contribution’ in a spirit of ‘solidarity.’

“Later the government is due to announce tighter fiscal measures as it seeks to reassure markets and curb the deficit. They are expected to include a special tax on the super-rich.

“Before the announcement, expected on Wednesday evening, a letter appeared on the website of the French magazine Le Nouvel Observateur.

“It was signed by some of France’s most high-profile chief executives, including Christophe de Margerie of oil firm Total, Frederic Oudea of bank Societe Generale, and Air France’s Jean-Cyril Spinetta.

“They said: ‘We, the presidents and leaders of industry, businessmen and women, bankers and wealthy citizens would like the richest people to have to pay a “special contribution”.’

“They said they had benefited from the French system and that: ‘When the public finances deficit and the prospects of a worsening state debt threaten the future of France and Europe and when the government is asking everybody for solidarity, it seems necessary for us to contribute.’

“They warned, however, that the contribution should not be so severe that it would provoke an exodus of the rich or increased tax avoidance.

“The move follows a call by US billionaire investor Warren Buffett for higher taxes on the American ultra-rich.”

My Comment: This is a commendable step. However, it will not change the general course of the crisis because its cause is in the program from Above, the program of Nature (the Creator), which, according to the plan of creation (Nature), should bring the whole of creation, all its parts, to general balance.

Of all creation, it is a human being who stands out due to his egoism and disregard towards other parts of nature. His egoism has fully ripened, and that is why time has arrived to force him to come to equilibrium within himself, in society, and with the environment.

No action weakening man’s conflict with the environment will help other than temporarily. And even this step of altruistic egoism is necessary in order to see its negative result and wish to hear and to be able to understand (from us) the correct solution.
[52530]

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20 Signs That The World Could Be Headed For An Economic Apocalypse In 2012

Opinion: “If you thought that 2011 was a bad year for the world economy, just wait until you see what happens in 2012. The U.S. and Europe are both dealing with unprecedented debt problems, the financial markets are flailing about wildly, austerity programs are being implemented all over the globe, prices on basics such as food are soaring and a lot of consumers are flat out scared right now.

“Many analysts now fear that a ‘perfect storm’ could be brewing and that we could actually be headed for an economic apocalypse in 2012. Hopefully that will not happen. Hopefully our leaders can keep the global economy from completely falling apart. But right now, things don’t look good. After a period of relative stability, things are starting to become unglued once again. The next major financial panic could literally happen at any time. Sadly, if we do see an economic apocalypse in 2012, it won’t be the wealthy that suffer the most. It will be the poor, the unemployed, the homeless and the hungry that feel the most pain.

“The following are 20 signs that we could be headed for an economic apocalypse in 2012….

[Read more →]

Nobel Laureates, Economists Predict The U.S. And Europe Long-Term Crisis

Opinion: “If politicians don’t get a handle on it soon, the debt crisis will be a game-changer for the whole Western system. The economies of the United States and Europe will face years of stagnation and decline with regard to emerging nations in Asia and Latin America. In fact, the Euro Zone might break apart.

“These are some of the views Die Welt received in answer to questions it put to 17 winners of the Nobel Prize for economics who are gathered this week for the Nobel Laureate Meetings at Lindau….

“Edmund Phelps, a Colombia University professor who won the prize in 2006 for his theory on growth, says that during the past decades the West has lived above its means and in so doing has already consumed part of its future. That means that the United States, but also Europe now face a long period of stagnation….

“Other laureates also see the debt crisis as responsible for the terrible state of the economy. To Eric Maskin, government debt addiction is ruining the Western system and if politicians don’t wake up and act quickly economic turbulence can be expected to go on for years.

“James Mirrlees, who won his Nobel Prize for political economics research, rates the chances that the Western world will be facing a long period of stagnation as ‘very high.’ Myron Scholes agrees, adding that both the United States and Europe are looking at a fate similar to Japan’s lost decade if the present muddling continues….

“In one respect, the laureates feel that a decline of the West is already sealed: regardless of all and any political decisions that may be taken, the dominance of the dollar as the world’s reserve currency will fade. Its leading role will decline progressively over the coming decades.

“The economists see this as inevitable, like the devaluation of the British pound in the 20th century. They unanimously agree that the Chinese yuan will gain in stature….

“To save the Western system and its values, the laureates suggest better coordination among governments. Stronger institutions are needed to achieve results. And McFadden says that the United Nations cannot fulfill the role—in his view, it doesn’t have the support, nor does it enjoy the respect or clout, to do so.”
[52703]

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The White House: Where Is Jerusalem?

In the News (From washingtontimes.com): "…U.S. policy holds that Jerusalem is an entity unto itself. …it insists that the city’s disposition be decided through diplomacy. …

"’…the White House has apparently gone through its website, cleansing any reference to Jerusalem as being in Israel.’”
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