Question: How can I connect with the world if the whole world thinks only about itself?

Answer: That does not matter. It just seems to you that the world thinks about itself. In reality, it does not think about itself, but it is you who perceives the world in this way.

When you become corrected and connect everyone to yourself, you will suddenly find out that there are no “others.” Your flawed egoism made the whole world appear broken into parts and made it seem like you need to correct them, while in fact, you were correcting yourself.
[51682]
From the virtual lesson on 8/14/11

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Editorial in the News: “Europe and the euro find themselves on the edge of the precipice, warned former European Commission President Jacques Delors.

“In an interview with Swiss Le Tamps, Delors says that the Franco-German meeting has not brought any real solutions for a way out of the crisis in the euro area.

“‘Let’s open our eyes – the euro and Europe are on the edge of the precipice. In order to avoid a collapse, there is a simple way out – the EU member states should either agree on closer economic cooperation or endow more power to the EU. The second variant has been already rejected by the majority of the 27 member states and thus only the first variant is possible,’ Delors commented further.

“According to him, the rejection of closer economic cooperation is equal to break-up of the European community.”

My Comment: Several years ago I wrote on this blog that the EU countries have to embrace only total unification because an incomplete connection between them will lead to their disintegration, if not to war.
[51846]

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In the News, Sweden: “Swedish police say unrest erupted overnight in Goteborg, the country’s second largest city, as several officers were attacked by youths hurling rocks and Molotov cocktails.”

Spain: “Pope Benedict XVI is in the Spanish capital, Madrid, to celebrate World Youth Day (WYD), a Catholic festival bringing together young pilgrims from around the world…. More than 100 groups opposed to the Pope’s visit protested…. Protesters walked into the old city centre, shouting: ‘Nothing for the Pope from my taxes….’ Spain is going through its worst economic crisis in decades, with its 21% unemployment rate [and the youth unemployment rate at 43%], the highest in the EU.”

United Kingdom: “U.K. judges have been handing down tough sentences in the wake of last’s week protests—including two four-year terms for Facebook posts. … Figures published today by the Justice Ministry show 1,277 suspects had appeared in the dock by noon Tuesday in connection with the riots. Overwhelmingly the suspects were male, and 21 percent were under 18.”

“Le Monde,” France: “Tunisia, Egypt, Libya, Syria, Italy, Greece, Spain, Britain, Israel, and the list of countries with rebellious youth continues to grow. Instead of sports events and music festivals, the unifying element now is unemployment, disorder, fears of today, and worries about tomorrow.

My Comment: Governments can no longer rule over people, who feel capable of governing themselves because the world has switched from the individual, egoistic connection (where governance was done by a vertical line) to the mutual interconnection (where governance is done by a roundtable).
[51801]

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Editorial in the News (by Paolo Raimondi, economist and editorialist, Italian economic daily ItaliaOggi): “The main problem of the current crisis is the idea that finances are able to create real values. Finances play a role in the credit system, providing the transformation of scientific discoveries into new technologies. The next crisis will be a terrible combination of the financial and monetary crises.”

Comment: The next crisis will be that of a society which disagrees with the current socio-economic ties and opposes the new, altruistic connections, the evolutionary development that nature obliges us to undergo.
[50480]

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Question: It is written that inner work has to become a habit. But on the other hand, one has to leave one’s world and all of his previous habits, and enter an unknown place, the way the Creator sends Abraham off, or like crossing “the Red Sea.” How can I break through to this new path, because I feel that if I remain the way I am, I will stay in the same place?

Answer: This is a very wise observation. Habit is good for attaining the current level. But in order to rise above it, one must leave his land, the way Abraham did.
Leaving an old habit means wishing to acquire a new one. But we are always acquiring a new habit, a new nature, a new degree.

If I want to learn something, then I take an example from a specialist. To him, this science has become habitual, but for me—it hasn’t. He has a habitual understanding, attaining, and behavior, whereas I do not. But I want to become the same as he. That is why I have to leave behind my habits, which I acquired in the past and which I have on the current level. Once I finish mastering this level, I cleave to something higher.

However, when I do this in spirituality, I have to look at the inner behavior of the upper one, rather than the outer behavior. I won’t see anything by looking at the externality. I must somehow discern what I have to cleave to inside of him, what quality I have to reveal in him, how to use him in order to rise to his level and learn from him.

I have to demand for him to elevate me because I am held back by my old habits like by brakes. On one hand, they support me on my level, but on the other hand, they cling to me and don’t let me rise higher.

I have to receive a special force against these bonds, against the habits, which will pull me out. These habits are like the earth’s gravity, like a weight that does not allow me to tear away from the ground. If I weigh 100 pounds, then I need a force greater than this weight in order to elevate me. It has to be at least 101 pounds. Otherwise I won’t go up.

And the same thing happens in spirituality. I have to ask the upper one to apply a greater force to me than my current habits and force. These are very simple mechanics.

How can I ask Him to cancel my entire previous nature, which I have gotten so used to!? We are like little children who are so attached to their old blanket or pillow that they cling to it and don’t agree to let go of it for anything. That is why I need an environment to enable me to leave behind my dear habits and acquire something new, something higher!

It’s as if you are hearing an inner voice telling you, “Go forth from your land”—this is an awakening coming from Above. This is what the Creator says to Abraham. We are buried inside of our habits and are unable to even think about leaving them. Inside of my habits, I feel confident and better than ever. If a person feels any aspiration to leave his habits, this is coming to him from Above.
From the 1st part of the Daily Kabbalah Lesson 8/19/11, Shamati

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Editorial in the News (by Siim Kallas, Vice-President of the European Commission): “Neither the declaration of any country’s insolvency nor its exit from the Eurozone are reasonable measures. If you try to break this vicious cycle by having one of the countries declare itself insolvent, then the other countries, which gave it loans, will be pushed to the verge of bankruptcy. What will happen then?”

Comment: It is impossible for anyone to break their ties with the others. But when the ties are egoistic, whoever goes down takes the rest with him and uses their demise purposefully to save himself.

Therefore, the only alternative is to rise above egoistic, protectionist solutions and begin to act only on the basis of common, global, integral, total dependence and mutual guarantee. There is no other solution. Egoism itself is pushing us to change it.
[51633]

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Changes are now required on the part of man. He must change himself internally, rather than changing anything outside of him. The systems that we built, economy, society, and education, were developed according to our growing egoism. But now it is time to stop because we have begun to develop internally in a way that does not accord with our growing egoism, but with the correct form of our ego, the form of bestowal, mutual connection.

Today, the world is revealing the spiritual form. It’s a miracle to see how humanity is acquiring the form of bestowal—total interconnection.

In the beginning, we became separated from each other. There was a breaking on the scale of the universal system, and as a result, no one was connected. But now the system has started to close and we are becoming more and more tightly connected with one another. This is called “the integral world.”

We are revealing the system that is showing us the corrected world. However, it is showing it to us from the outside, while we have to adjust ourselves to it on the inside.

In essence, this is the Creator, the Light being revealed to us! If we bring ourselves into harmony with this connection and universal globalization, and if our desires acquire the corrected form, then the Light will be revealed inside them.

We should try to understand that the old methods are no longer effective and there is nothing we can do with them. This must be acknowledged as a fact. Nothing will help unless we think about connection. There is no other way for us to correct this world.

We will not have any instruments to use in the economic system. Even in the army, the hero that wins does not do so by his own force. Nothing will work in our world besides the power of connection! The more we unite, the sooner we will succeed, and everything will work out in the world and in society, from the inside out.

We have reached the actual implementation of the method of correction, and we cannot escape it. Time obliges us to this.
[51579]
From the 5th part of the Daily Kabbalah Lesson 8/16/11, “The Nation”

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Editorial in the News (by Klaus Schwab, Founder and Executive Chairman of the World Economic Forum in Davos): “We live in a new reality where globalization is no longer a process but a condition.”

By Igor Agamirzian, expert on the new economy, Chief Executive Officer of the Russian Venture Company: “For the first time in history, humanity is living in a new historical reality. New technology has taken communication beyond physical location.

“The development of social networks is radically restructuring the organization of society and creating communities beyond geographical location. We still do not realize what is happening, but we will see these changes in the coming years.

“In the era of industrial development, the mid-twentieth century, the order of the economy came from large businesses, whereas today it is coming from the needs of the individual. The entire modern economy is driven by demand and is becoming community-oriented. This leads to the globalization of technological business and science because people’s needs do not depend on their countries of residence.

“The globalization process is ordered by the population of the planet.”
[50478]

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Question: My question is that there are people I know who are religious, and they complain about their lives. They pray for things to change, and when it doesn’t change, they blame others around them.

All of this is coming from their egoism. I’ve tried explaining this to them without mentioning Kabbalah at all, but they don’t get it. It’s frustrating for me to watch them make the same mistakes over and over again. But it seems like even if I try to help, it only gets through a little and then they are back to the same old complaints about their lives and problems.

How can I actually help them? I used to get defensive because they would blame me for their problems and started fights with me. How do you approach egoistic people without getting into arguments or making them think you are judging them?

Answer: Only development and a strong public opinion will gradually change them. They will be the last to reach correction. For the time being, leave them be. Correction must start with the lightest part of egoism.

Question: Our job is to reveal the evil inclination. However, what if we reveal it, but cannot get rid of it ? How can we correct evil inclinations like stealing or cheating ?

Answer: To the extent that you find the evil inside yourself, you have the power to correct it!
[48617]

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The Book of Zohar, Weekly Torah Portion “Ekev,” Selected Excerpts
Download: WMV Video|MP3 Audio

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