Question: Is the perception of reality a social phenomenon on the level of “person-person”, or can we include the perception of nature here, the still, vegetative, and animate?

Answer: No. First of all, we are concerned only with the human society, about the contact between us.

Naturally, the rest of the parts of nature connect to this process. We automatically include the lower stages in ourselves. There are no problems with this, only if we can correctly connect with the person.

Furthermore, it is necessary to understand that if I depend on the environment, then how do I form it for myself? This is the next course, which considers how I build the surrounding society for myself that would transform me into a particular form. In what company, under which influence should I be in order to obtain my next desirable state, my form, to become a correct element of the integral interaction.

Here, I must think this over: “What am I missing? What, specifically, does my nature consist of? What is my desirable state? In what way does the environment influence me? Which qualities of mine does it influence? Possibly, I have qualities inside of me, which it cannot exert influence on, while it influences some of them selectively. Possibly, in this situation, I have to develop myself further, having placed myself under the influence of the environment. How do I control all of this?”

Meaning that from this course, I must find out who I am and what the environment is. I must go through a large number of clarifications, including the practical ones.

After the end of this course, the practical work begins: How do I constantly change myself towards the desired direction with the help of changing the environment?

Question: All of this is related to ontology, to knowledge?

Answer: All of this interflows between each other.
[64805]
From a “Talk on Integral Education” 12/12/11

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Question: How can I awaken myself from hibernation and not wait for the awakening to come by itself? After all, you said after the convention that we have to make sure our friends don’t fall?

Answer: If we look at ourselves and at the states we go through objectively, from the side, we’ll acquire experience for all the future “generations,” meaning future states. Then we’ll know that after an ascent there is a descent, and satiation is followed by the fog and the dullness of senses.

It’s okay, this way you will learn the process. You will get to know it gradually, in a balanced way. The wisdom of Kabbalah is self-attainment, nothing more. Indeed, there is no one besides me. The more I know myself from within, the more I will reveal the Creator who created me.

There is no humanity, this world, or upper worlds.… Allow me to know myself and the states I experience! This is a hazy state, but it’s all right. And before that there was some other state, and it is great too. Meanwhile, we immediately want to shade, correct, turn, and break it, but what for?

First of all, we have to perform a clarification. The Light that clarifies comes separately, and so does the Light that reforms, and you cannot instantly reject it by saying that you don’t want this state. First you should examine what you are rejecting!

If you still are at the state of the convention, try not to fall out of it. But if you nevertheless fell, look how you are falling. By examining this state you will later know how to use it in a right way.

If I don’t experience these states, don’t know their pros and cons, why and where they come from, how will I know myself? Have I ever said that I should wipe off the state before examining it? To overcome a descent and to accelerate time means to end the clarification rapidly, to allow the correction, meaning the ascent, come straight away.

Still, this is another type of ascent. We know that Malchut of the upper one transforms into Keter of the lower one. It means that what I regarded as the ascent in the previous state becomes a descent currently, in my present state.

I have to rise qualitatively, by conscious decision and deep analysis so that my previous ascent would now be regarded as a descent. What I used to see as bestowal, after the clarification proves to be reception! Earlier it was for me Keter, but now I see that this is Malchut.

Yet, I will not be able to do that if I don’t perform a clear analysis of my ascent and descent, the haze. I analyze how I satiated myself, how tired I became, and how unwilling I am to do anything, and I do it like a scientist who is observing and testing his dog or experimental rabbit.

I have a precise scientific method, and the only thing I have to know is what it means to me “to bestow” and “to receive,” who I and my society are—and the Creator above. I use my feeling and reason as measuring devices, working with them to reveal every state.

To be in the middle line, I analyze: What comes from the side of reception and what from the side of bestowal, what comes from me and what from the environment, as well as where all these factors are in relation to the goal. Our measuring device is the three lines.
[63305]
From the 3rd part of the Daily Kabbalah Lesson 12/15/2011, TES

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Each time I connect more strongly with the friends, I actually connect not to corporeal people, not to the friends I see before me, but with their internal desire. The Creator inserted this desire into them and prepared it for us on the ladder of spiritual degrees so that we will always have the means to ascend.

If I connect to my friends, I can rise with their help. When I connect to them again, I rise again. The first state is me at my present level, and in order to rise from it, I need to have a greater desire. Also, I need to draw the Light to this desire so that it will correct me. There are two important factors on my way: the group that increases my desire, and the Light that corrects this desire. Thus I rise to the next level.

The first preliminary condition is “make yourself a Rav (a teacher),” meaning to raise the goal in my eyes. Without the greatness of the goal I cannot start working with the friends.

But in order to increase the goal, I also need the friends. By myself, I cannot exalt the goal and want to attain bestowal and equivalence to the general force of bestowal that governs all of creation. In order to do that I must be impressed by the environment. Thus the environment is a preliminary requirement.

Then, I have to receive a greater desire from them in order to attain that goal since the fact that the goal is important doesn’t necessarily mean that I would yearn for it. I envy the friends who yearn for this goal, and I take this desire from them. Then I have to work on my connection with them, “to buy them,” by investing my powers in them so that I can the draw the Light that reforms through them.

Thus, all the work, on every level, is possible only within the group! It is only with the help of our powerful connection that we can go through all these levels and attain the goal. From the beginning to the end, what determines the interaction between the environment and me is my work in the group.

Therefore, the condition “make yourself a teacher and buy yourself a friend” is essential for all our actions at every level until the actual end of correction. All our work is around that, all of our internal, personal, and social life, and our study and dissemination is devoted to that. It is all meant only in order to reinforce the environment and its effect on me, to bring me closer to the environment so that I can invest more in it.

So when we assemble without being on the spiritual levels where there is no distance between us, when we connect, see, and feel each other with our ordinary senses, we have to try to be impressed by the desires of the friends, by their stature, great efforts, seriousness, and devotion to the cause.

The higher we perceive these attributes, the greater the opportunity we will have to connect and to demand the upper Light to correct our connection and become revealed in it in the form of the Inner Light.
[62252]
From the 1st part of the Daily Kabbalah Lesson 12/1/2011, Writings of Rabash

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Rabash, Letter No. 9, Article “But Man Will Sell His Roof”: If I really wish to love my neighbor, I need a group.

Love for one’s neighbor allows man to develop a spiritual quality where he seems to “exit himself.” All of our current actions and perceptions are built on our absorbing everything. We only perceive what enters our senses, and we do not perceive the enormous universe that remains outside of their limits. We do not even know what it is like.

This is why there is another possibility for existence besides this short and flawed life that we perceive in the quality to receive. This existence is in the bestowing organs of perception, not the absorbing ones.

When we acquire the quality to bestow, we enter an area that exists outside of us, and we begin to exist in it. We only need our physical body to overcome this potential barrier and come out of the quality to receive into the quality to bestow.

For this reason, I need a group, which was created for me to see how every friend makes an effort. Making mutual efforts helps every one of us. The environment influences man, inspires, guides, and pushes him forward. This gives the strength to overcome the potential barrier between our world and the so-called “other” world that can be experienced in the quality of bestowal.

Due to this, my small force of love, when I come out of myself and enter the state of bestowal, grows, and I will be able to work in the name of others much more than on my own.

A group is made up of certain people. And of course, someone wished to create this specific group.

In other words, people gather together who are inclined to strive to come out of themselves. They feel that they must understand why they exist, to understand the meaning of life and the secret of creation. This pushes them to unite. To be more precise, they are not being pushed by their own desires, but by being in a single field: the field of the quality to bestow, the upper Light that exists outside of us and attracts these special desires.

And he must have chosen these people because they are ready for the task. We instinctively search for a group, feel certain special qualities of people, their actions and thoughts, and we advance this way.

We move in this world just like an electric charge in an electric or magnetic field toward a point of maximum correspondence to the environment. Even though we think that we move autonomously, we are driven by this specific force that pushes us forward toward the place where we can receive answers to all the questions that interest us, in other words, where we can acquire fulfillment to our biggest, inner, and secret desire.

This is why every one of us has a spark of exiting himself, a spark of love for his neighbor. Truthfully, it is still egoistic and manifests in our desire to come out of ourselves in order to consume that other world. For now, we are still moving in his exact key.

But then an interesting change of intention will happen. We will begin to change under the influence of this field, this Light. We will begin to feel that the quality to bestow is actually divine and special. Once we possess this quality, we will really come out into the most unlimited field of existence.

This spark, on its own, is unable to ignite the flame of love to shine in every one of us. It is necessary for these sparks to unify for this. Then, in our unity, when we develop the power of bestowal, the power of unity, these sparks merge into one big spark from which the Light appears. The perception of the Light appears in us to the extent of our similarity to the one common spark, our common desire to bestow.
[62489]
From the Sunday Virtual Lesson Series 11/27/2011

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The creature must have a long journey in order to achieve its purpose and rise to the level of the Creator, the Light, and become equal to Him in its essence and height. Initially, the desire develops according to the four phases of the Direct Light, revealing how opposite it is to the Creator. It goes through the First Restriction (Tzimtzum Aleph) and acquires the screen (Masach), beginning to build the system of concealment in the relationship between itself and the Light.

They are connected to the extent of the ability of the desire to enjoy to become like the Light, and they are concealed to the extent of the lack of its ability to do it. This is called the condition of balance, the correspondence of the form of the Light and the desire. This serves as the foundation for the building of the ladder of degrees. At its very height, the vessel, the desire, is absolutely one-hundred percent similar to the Light. The further we descend down this ladder from the very topmost state, the stronger the concealment becomes.

At the top, there is zero concealment and one-hundred percent desire. At the bottom, there is zero desire and one-hundred percent concealment. If you pick a point along the path from above downward, it will be partially revealed and partially concealed. A certain part of the Light becomes revealed, and the rest remains concealed. This is how the spiritual degrees and the worlds are formed, namely Adam Kadmon, Atzilut, Beria, Yetzira, and Assiya.

Everything is built on the basis of correspondence, that is, to the degree of similarity between the desire and the Light. In this way, the ladder descends to the level of our world where the desire completely separates from the Light in order to become independent.

We seem to live a life that is completely independent from the Light because we do not know anything about it. This is exactly why we can begin to rise from this independent point that is separate from the Light and bring ourselves to the state of correspondence with it: We can change ourselves and become more like it. This is what it means to rise up the rungs of the ladder all the way to full correspondence. This is called the final correction (Gmar Tikkun).

The universe is made in such a way that at first, the system of concealment is built, from Above downward. As we rise from below upward, we need to use this concealment to discover ourselves as similar to the Light. The law of correspondence of qualities always remains. After all, the reason that the Creator created the creature was to please it, that is, to bring the creature to a state of absolute correspondence with Him and adhesion.

We must realize our similarity to the Creator in every state, on every degree. To do this, one first needs to value it: to wish to become like the Light and make this appear incredibly important to him. The quality of the Light, the quality of bestowal, must become the most honorable and elevated quality in our eyes. We must strive to correspond with it to the extent of all our strengths and abilities, as much as we can.

Accepting this condition and becoming like the Light, bestowal, as much as possible is called “make yourself a Rav” (important, big). This means that this quality of bestowal must become bigger (Rav) than all my egoistic qualities.
[62246]
From the 1st part of the Daily Kabbalah Lesson 12/1/2011, Writings of Rabash

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Question: I have a few acquaintances who live exactly as you described. These are middle-aged people who have created this cocoon for themselves. Are you trying to say that they will not be able to calmly live in their homes due to inner worries and concerns?

Answer: It’s not only an inner worry, but an external one as well. We are coming to a point when the world is freeing itself from excess production, and more than half of the working people today are simply no longer needed as workers. They will find themselves in a state of complete emptiness because they are used to being slaves.

Practically the entire population of our planet lives this way. At six in the morning a person leaves his house, takes his child with him if he has one, drops him off at the kindergarten on the way, heads to work, returns from work, picks up his child, and also swings by the supermarket. In the evening spouses have half an hour to bathe their child, tuck him into bed, eat some kind of pre-cooked meal, and that’s it—the day ends here, and tomorrow it’s the same story all over again.

We are moving towards a state where a lot of people are beginning to have more free time, and the sensation of being lost is growing because they no longer find themselves within a familiar framework, but as if outside any framework altogether. That is a lot worse! This internal sense of freedom is worse than slavery!

And if a person isn’t given an opportunity to obtain gratification from some other source, isn’t given a sensation of boundaries, a framework like at a job, a sensation of some kind of responsibility and servitude that he is used to, then we are going to have enormous problems.

We must understand that in the future it will only take a person two or three hours a day for all his necessities: working, attending to oneself and others, and so on. All the remaining time, at least 20 hours a day, he will be left to his own devices.

To avoid bringing this system out of its equilibrium, sociologists, psychologists, political scientists, all of us need to carefully think through the framework that humanity must acquire in order to feel needed, happy, and completely fulfilled with the inner feelings that gives one a sense of life, and even beyond that.

It isn’t easy when there are no responsibilities, no pressure from above, no need to work hard in order to earn more, to show-off in front of the neighbors, and so on. We are coming to a completely different relationship towards ourselves, society, and life, which comes down to a new upbringing, a new perception of life. This isn’t a simple system at all. But it has to stem from that final outcome that we wish to achieve, and first and foremost from the terms created by nature.

Nature will force us to give up excessive production. The middle class will be essentially eliminated. Those remaining will be the elites who make all the decisions, with a very small number of officials, a huge mass of unemployed, and  10% of the world’s working population engaged in production and servicing of everyone else. These 10% will actually be necessary, but there will simply be no need for all the rest.

In reality, humanity is created in such a way that 90% of its population must be engaged in activities of a completely different nature: in self-improvement, in creating a correct connection between themselves. They are the ones who will create that integral, global, self-contained, and balanced environment that will bring the entire society into equilibrium with nature. Only then will we have a right to exist.

If we leave, let’s say, only those 10% who work in production, the purpose of creation will not be achieved. The purpose of creation is to bring all parts, all levels of nature: the still, vegetative, animate, and human to the attainment of complete harmony among them. Only then will this system achieve a final state of equilibrium.
[63844]
Talk on Integral Upbringing 12/11/2011

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Question: Many agree with the uniqueness of the Creator, with determinism, with an existence of a script, yet they still attempt to “read” their fate through esotericism, fortune-tellers, and so on. They don’t want to use it, but to adapt to it….

Answer: The thing is that on the basis of all these investigations they don’t feel a need to ask a question about the underlying cause. In general, we have long left behind the exalted science associated with the perception of reality, the philosophy of worldview. Today’s Nobel Prizes are awarded for discoveries that are purely technical, practical, and profitable. In this way, science too is in a state of crisis: For decades now, it hasn’t revealed any fundamental principles laid down in nature.

People have other needs; they are not drawn to exalted matters. Previously, a researcher would strive to get to the very essence of things, to discover the why, not the how. He wasn’t satisfied with a formula describing a newly-observed phenomenon, but sought its logic, its pattern: Where does it spring from? Where is it flowing? And then he would get to the exalted factor: What is the reason that it is created in this particular way? Why is nature arranged specifically thus? We should always ask this question, but unfortunately there is no demand for it today.

Question: That is the reason why they don’t hear us. How do we change that?

Answer: You can’t change that. If people merely seek to add more convenience and comfort to their lives, then they don’t care about the rest. In the grand scheme of things, who cares about science these days? Today, a good scientist is someone who can provide us with superior strength and weapons. We are not drawn at all to understanding the inner essence of things. Such is the outcome of the general crisis, and thus there isn’t yet anybody to turn to.

These days, however, people are starting to feel bad due to this very crisis. No kind of science will help them anymore. In anticipation of a collapse, a person will have to find out who is knocking him down and why. There is no other choice; it will be necessary to discover that because there is nowhere left to run. Formerly some loopholes could be found: “Let’s secure our life, build a sturdier house with heating and air conditioning, let’s ensure that food supplies don’t depend on weather conditions, let’s extract the earth’s treasures from its depths….” We fled from misfortunes with the aid of technology.

In their time, Aristotle and Plato warned against this. They didn’t want to reveal scientific knowledge to the masses because they knew that in such event people would start to use science for personal gain. Why reveal a path that in a few millennia will bring them to a dead end? Better they sense right away that they are in trouble and rush towards the purpose of creation.

The ancient Greek philosophers knew about the science of Kabbalah, so it is no coincidence that they were against the disclosure of scientific knowledge. After all, humanity uses it only to sweeten their sorrows, which are deliberately sent by the Creator so as to bring us towards the purpose of creation. We flaunt and take pride in our achievements while in truth, we’re merely engaged in a never-ending race, which brought us to this crisis all the same. And yet, it was possible to overcome this even two thousand years ago.

Only today, nearing the conclusion of their race, are people finally asking the questions: “Where do these misfortunes come from? What do they mean? When will they end? What should we do?” A person is incapable of simply tolerating suffering—he will have to embark on a search. Today the dead end is already evident, and now, because of the hopelessness, humanity must identify the cause of its misfortunes.

Those in power, however, don’t want to reveal the whole truth about what is taking place. If that were to happen, those endowed with wealth and power would have to share and to reorganize the human society according to the principle of mutual guarantee. This topic is still taboo, no one speaks about it, and therefore, there is no solution to the crisis.

But sooner or later the suffering will melt the ice, and these problems will have to be confronted. And then in seeking out the causes of its misfortunes and ways to salvation, humanity will come to the revelation of the Creator. We are doing this artificially, by gathering in a group and building the necessary conditions according to the Kabbalistic methodology. We too are pressured by misfortunes, but we add our own efforts on top of them in order that they advance us on the way towards the goal. In this manner we are using the positive force, which gives us acceleration, while the rest are accelerated with prods and kicks from behind.
[64066]
From the 4^th part of the Daily Kabbalah Lesson 12/22/11, Baal HaSulam, “The Freedom”

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Writings of Rabash, Igrot, “Letter 48”
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The Book of Zohar – Selected Chapter “Beresheet (Genesis),” “Let the Earth Put Forth Grass,” Item 91, Lesson 24
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“Introduction to the Study of the Ten Sefirot,” Item 17, Lesson 11
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Writings of Baal HaSulam “The Freedom,” “Two Forces in the Will to Receive: Attracting Force and Rejecting Force,” Lesson 14
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