Audio Version Of The Blog – 11.11.11

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Israel Arvut Convention – 11.11.11

Arvut Convention, Lesson 1
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Arvut Convention, Lesson 2
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Arvut Convention, Lesson 3
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Stress Is As Contagious As A Cold

Dr. Michael LaitmanIn the News (from The Daily Mail): “Professor Elaine Hatfield, a psychologist from the University of Hawaii, discovered that stress can be as contagious as a cold, and that ‘passive’ or second-hand stress and anxiety can quickly spread around the workplace.

“‘People seem to be capable of mimicking others’ facial, vocal, and postural expressions with stunning rapidity,’ Hatfield said.

“‘As a consequence, they are able to feel themselves into those other emotional lives to a surprising extent.’

“So while men and tougher types might be resistant to workplace stress, more it is notably women who suffer.

“Women are more at risk because they tend to be more in tune to other people’s feelings, Prof. Hatfield adds.

“With stress a bigger issue than ever in the workplace – the UK’s Chartered Institute of Personnel and Development recently dubbed it ‘the Black Death of the 21st Century – there is a very real risk of ‘second-hand’ or ‘passive’ stress becoming a potential danger to Britain’s workers.”

My Comment: As integrality and interdependence of our world becomes more apparent, our mutual influence on each other will manifest more and more, up to the common mood, health, luck, and so on.
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A Portrait Of America In Decline

Dr. Michael LaitmanIn the News (from Global Research): “A series of reports over the past ten days—on poverty, wages, income inequality and social mobility—have painted a portrait of America starkly at odds with the official mythology of the United States as the land of unlimited economic opportunity, the country with the world’s highest standard of living.

“Even agencies controlled by political representatives of the financial aristocracy are compelled to admit that the conditions of life for the vast majority of the American people are disastrous.

“These figures demonstrate that America is a country of mounting social disparities, in which those who labor and produce all the wealth have less and less to show for it, while those who collect the profits of this labor, while playing a parasitic, destructive, and thoroughly reactionary role, see their wealth accumulate to astonishing levels.

“Two reports frame the dramatic social polarization in America, not so much between the rich and the poor, as between the rich and the entire rest of society.

“While the income of this layer [the richest 1 percent of US households] nearly tripled, the income of the middle 60 percent of the population rose only 40 percent over 28 years, and the income of the poorest 20 percent rose by only 18 percent.

“Geographical mobility in America has fallen to the lowest level reported since 1948, one reflection of the loss of opportunity particularly for the young. People cannot sell their homes or buy new ones, and the majority of young college graduates are being compelled to move back in with their parents because they cannot find work that pays enough to set up on their own.

“What these figures demonstrate is both a profound social crisis, and an immense historical transformation. The United States has gone from leading the world in most social indices, including working-class living standards, to a new status as the leader, at least among the industrialized countries, in condemning the majority of its population to conditions of deprivation and misery.

“The decline of American capitalism is shown in the decay of its once powerful industrial base, the crumbling of roads, bridges and other social infrastructure, and the closing of schools, libraries, hospitals and other public services. It is no wonder that more than 80 percent of the American people, according to most recent polls, feel that the country is on the wrong track.

“The overriding political necessity is for the working class to grasp the source of the social and economic decline. It is capitalism that has failed in the United States, and on a world scale.”

My Comment: The solution to the problem is to create a new state, financial, and industrial leadership that understands the essence of the changes taking place in humanity.
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The Fears Of The EU Leaders

Dr. Michael LaitmanOpinion: (Vasily Koltashov, Head of the Economic research center, Institute of Globalization and Social Movement, from vz.ru): Cutting one country’s debt will become a form of debt pressure on other European countries.

“The attempts of the Greek government to save at the expense of the citizens caused a strong protest. But this hasn’t made the authorities look for a compromise. Under the impression of these heavy social protests, the EU made the decision to write off the debt because they were afraid of the development of a sociopolitical crisis in Greece.

“The writing off of the Greek debt will take place not as a sign of a new course, but to keep the stability of other debts and of the whole system of financial capital.”

My Comment: The stupid penguin cowardly hides blubber in the rocks… (“The Song of the Stormy Petrel” by M.Gorky)
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The Results Of G20

Opinion (Michael Khazin, an economist, from odnako.org): “The result was so insignificant that I don’t really know what to write. First of all, no specific measures to save Greece were announced; the scandalous referendum that might have led to Greek exit from the eurozone was cancelled.

“Actually, the fact that the media devoted more time to this cancellation than to the summit is very significant. How Greece can pay even the reduced debt is still a question. After debt relief, the debt level will still be same as in the beginning of the Greece “rescue” operation.

“The media reported that at the summit meeting, which lasted two days, the countries devoted more time to the issue of stimulating economic growth on a global scale, rather than specific problems. But from the summit conclusions it is not obvious how to keep aggregate demand from falling and whether it can be done at all.

“How can one talk about stimulating the economy without formulating the reason for this stimulation, what the effect of the stimulation will be, what the cost of this stimulation is, and finally, when this will be complete? But these issues are a complete mystery for those who follow the world’s political leaders.

“The host of the summit, Sarkozy, announced an increase in the IMF resources to assist with the debt crisis. But the amount of money needed to address all the issues was not specified. And here we are talking about trillions per year, which are non-existent, and thus there is nothing to rejoice in yet. But since the representatives of G20 did not discuss this topic, there is no one to argue with.

“Another significant statement was made by Obama who said that he was able to negotiate yuan flexibility with China. Whether it is good or bad is the question because China is usually not inclined to compromise, and such concession could mean that China’s economy might not be doing too well, and yuan may start depreciating.

“It is important to note that in addition to Greece, the summit also discussed the issue of Italian public debt, which exceeded 120 percent of its GDP, and the fact that the situation in Italy is quickly slipping to the one of Greece. Actually, I do not really know what else to write.

“The crisis is developing quietly, aggregate demand is falling, the risks in the financial sector are growing, unemployment is rising, and social unrest is escalating. And G20 behaves as if everything is quiet and calm, and only some minor blots on the general background of the global economy require little effort to correct them.

“The spectacle is rather pathetic and sad. It is not interesting to discuss it. I have repeatedly written that these guys cannot be reformed: Not only they do not want, they cannot do anything; they have no control levers, even the language that can describe the current problems. Science does not know what to do with them. But while they are in power, we will see nothing but demagoguery. And the crisis will continue.”
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A Game Of A Higher State: Everyone Plays Off-Key At First

Dr. Michael LaitmanBaal HaSulam, “Matan Torah (The Giving of the Torah)”: There are two types of relationships: with the Creator and man. And both are destined to lead to the goal: adhesion. A person acting altruistically does not feel any difference in his action between love for his neighbor and love for the Creator since everything outside of his body seems to be unreal in his perception.

So, I exist in an imaginary reality surrounded by other people on planet Earth, in the Universe. Why do I imagine reality to be this specific way? Why am I made to perceive it in this specific form? This is because the falsehood of this “image” absolutely corresponds to the way I deform actual reality. The greater the lie, the further I am from the truth.

And then, being in the current state, I acquire a desire to reveal the essence of life, to understand the reason for living and the meaning of my existence. I want to rise above falsehood and see the truth behind it. If so, one day, my reality will need to change.

How do we achieve it? We want to imagine the true state with the desire that has awakened in us. One cannot manage without the advice of Kabbalists here. We are not able to do anything on our own without their help in evaluating our direction. After all, we are submerged in darkness and confusion, and we do not have even a bit of truth, but a spark of newborn desire. However, this new urge represents only a point, not a vector that could have showed us the path. For this reason, we must turn to the corresponding means in order to head in the right direction.

If I imagine the entire world as myself, as a unified whole, it is a proper image. However, I am not able to form this attitude within me on my own. I am not able to imagine that other people, forces, and phenomena of the still, vegetative, and animate nature are parts of my desire because in my perception, they are depicted as something isolated, separate, and sometimes distanced, opposite, and hateful to me.

For this reason, the method that leads to the truth is the group where I must work. Even though I see my friends as absolutely different and opposite, together, we strive toward a corrected, true state. Together, we must work to make the correction and truth into one.

This is where the need comes from for a proper attitude toward the ultimate, true state called the “Creator” or the group. I will attain the truth only on condition that instead of interacting with the so far imaginary Creator, I interact with a real group, and together, we imagine ourselves to be on the highest degree.

We can handle this work. We advance toward a common, true state through becoming closer to the desires of our friends where we can unite. Then our external actions of becoming closer will bring us to an inner closeness of a single desire.

Our world is a projection of spiritual forces. We perceive them as physical images and create conditions for the unification of our desires, which merge into one by uniting with common efforts on our common path into a single system. We can really begin with nothing, with corporeal, physical actions, even false ones, but productive. One can manage initially without the intention on a low degree. The first chord may be off-key, but it still counts. This is why no one can say that he was not given the reins to take himself to correction.

This way, the relationship between people is more important than the relationship with the Creator. On one hand, I have a small group that wishes to reveal the message, the method of correction. On the other, I have the vast humanity, subconsciously waiting for unity.

In the end, humanity must receive this method from us in a prepared form with strictly described relationship parameters. However, before the crisis and helplessness manifests the real need for unity between people, there is no reason to reveal the method. This is why Kabbalah is concealed.
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From the 4th part of the Daily Kabbalah Lesson 11/9/2011, “Matan Torah (The Giving of the Torah)”

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Weekly Torah Portion – 11.11.11

The Book of Zohar, Weekly Torah Portion “Vaira,” Selected Excerpts
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Don’t Miss The Moment

Dr. Michael LaitmanQuestion: People don’t understand how strongly they are influenced by the environment. They think that they operate on their own. How can we explain the role of the environment to them?

Answer: According to conventional wisdom, “evil” is simply when we harm one another. So let’s be good to one another and unite, not for the Creator, not selflessly, but so that we will all feel good.

In today’s global world we need a good universal connection. People who have nothing to do with Kabbalah speak about it, including military leaders, pragmatic politicians, scientists, and other experts. They all admit that the present situation leaves us no other choice. In order to have a future, we must unite.

But our egoism doesn’t let us unite. In order to rise above it, we have to introduce a new comprehensive upbringing and teach the laws of the integral world. The facts have caused experts to change their minds, and we will have to change the public’s mind in the same way.

I have to work for the benefit of society, not out of altruism, but because I am part of it. That’s the way it is.

This way it will be accepted by everyone. It all depends on how we present it, on our explanations, which have to be based on unquestionable facts. Instead of single shots, it has to be “massive bombing” with quotations from the articles and sayings of outstanding people who unanimously confirm that it is really so. Eventually we will simply open the stage door for them, and they will play their role and do all the work.

We will have to collect data and the opinions of recognized experts and make their voices sound louder. There are plenty of such materials today, we just need to prepare them and bring them to the general public; the sooner the better.

Even the Chinese are starting to talk about connection because they are discovering their own crisis, which is even worse than the crisis in Europe. Everything changes quickly and unexpectedly. You turn an apple that seems red and delicious and suddenly you see that on the other side it is completely rotten. This is a global, not a private problem.

The summit meetings end with zero results. The leaders are not only helpless, but also unable to say anything. Actually, nobody expects them to say anything meaningful anymore. The summit meetings have become a formal routine, and their decisions are accepted with great fatalism.

The world is in despair, and it is in this period of transition, as long as the despair hasn’t spilled over and turned into uprisings and wars, that we should help the world understand the problem and its solution. This is the best time for dissemination. If we miss this moment, the rotten side of the apple will be revealed with all its bitterness.
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From the 4th part of the Daily Kabbalah Lesson 11/8/2011, “Matan Torah (The Giving of the Torah”

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What Should We Prefer: Theory Or Practice?

Dr. Michael LaitmanQuestion: What is the best way to connect to the technical study of Kabbalah? What is more important, the intention or the effort to understand?

Answer: The technical study of Kabbalah without its practical application does nothing. You will never be able to memorize anything. Even if you memorize some details, it will not help you in any way, it will not fill you, nor will it elevate you. Only spiritual work can elevate one upward.

We study the entire system of the Universe only so that we can attempt to understand it in some way and determine what is important for us. For us it is important to draw the upper Light, to become filled with the Light of Hassadim (Wisdom), and to rise from the worlds of BYA to the world of Atzilut. This can be done if we unite. As we unite, we rise to ZON of the world of Atzilut where we find ourselves under the influence of the reforming Light.

We need this system only for the purpose of convincing ourselves to do the necessary actions together. Then the correction will take place, and as a result, every one of us will see and sense himself inside of this whole system. He will see it for real and will be able to freely navigate within it. This system is the connection between us. However, if we don’t try to connect with one another, we will not reveal it because the worlds are something that exists between us.

In other words, when we aspire to one another in similarity of properties, in mutual guarantee, we reveal the worlds and the Light within the worlds. The general Light which becomes revealed is the Creator.
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From the Sunday Virtual Lesson Series 10/30/2011

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