In the News (from OkoPlanet.ru): “The IMF and World Bank are pessimistic—a new recession is on the doorstep.

“One in ten Americans is on welfare. The White House has spent billions to prevent the banks from bursting. The financial system survived, but deprived of work, people spend less, and the treasury receives less tax. Forecasts are becoming increasingly bleak. The most serious risk is the slowing of economic growth, and it is simply impossible if there are no jobs.

“The European Union will collapse because it is bankrupt. Business minimizes production. Countries are trying to ‘shut down’ from the neighbors, even though the economy is inextricably linked. Everyone tries to survive alone, and financial experts see this as the biggest problem.”

My Comment: There are two problems:

1. They believe that economic growth is an indicator of a good future, that is, they do not see any other way but to sustain the pernicious system of continuous growth. For them, it doesn’t matter where and how much to grow since otherwise, the system will not survive: a bigger market, more growth, buy—throw out—earn—do it again. But the reality imposes a new requirement: the balance of all people, systems, and institutions, in an equal union, to achieve harmony and complete cooperation. It is possible to try it partly and receive evidence that this way, everything will settle down and come to fulfillment, satisfaction.
2. To believe that today one can survive alone means simply to obey one’s blind egoism, which thereby drives us to the grave. It’s not just because it’s impossible to return to the “natural” economy on a national scale, but because nature encircled us with the network of global connection, as a fisherman nets a school of fish, and we cannot escape this network. That is why protectionism, striving to survive on one’s own, is the way to confrontation and a world war.
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Opinion: (Chris Hedges, in the interview on Canadian television): “American democracy is dead and that only ‘a revolution of the people’ can restore the USA to democratic values. Since this is extremely unlikely, America will further degenerate, and end up as a semi-fascist corporate state, probably culminating in a right-wing backlash in the form of Nazi-like purges against Muslims, immigrants, and other minority groups. And, of course, there will be more endless wars on defenceless nations to boost the arms industry and divert attention from the internal rot. Maybe the Americans should learn from the Egyptians rather than vice versa!”

My Comment: If we look at the level of development of the people, then of course, the revolution in their consciousness seems impossible because they have been duped for so many years. But a few months of “global education and upbringing in the Arvut system” can make this possible, and we will get the masses with whom it’s possible to start transforming society, as required by our evolution.
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Shamati #35 “Concerning the Vitality of Kedusha,” (Start with: “Yet, we must always know”)
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The Book of Zohar – Selected Chapter “Beresheet (Genesis),” “Illuminations of Light and Illuminations of Fire,” Item 129, Lesson 34
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“Introduction to the Study of the Ten Sefirot,” Item 34, Lesson 20
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Writings of Baal HaSulam “The Freedom,” “Freedom from the Angel of Death,” Lesson 23
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Question: This weekend we will hold a “quiet Saturday.” What should this silence be?

Answer: This custom of being silent came into the world from none other than Kabbalists. It is used as an exercise in various practices which don’t relate to our path, and generally, in the field of psychology.

When a person wants to understand something new, to focus on something new, he needs solitude. He can run away from everyone to someplace, which would be physical solitude. Or he can find solitude within, where I find a certain space inside and hide there from others’ eyes, although physically I am surrounded by many people. This relates to all levels of a person.

So, we want to carry out a similar exercise, a “silent pledge” where we refrain from speaking. There are special periods when people study the Torah more, delve deeper into the material, observe various fasts. These methods pull a person out of the usual order, the routine, and help him look at the world and himself slightly differently. They allow him to concentrate or focus inside.

“A quiet Saturday” does not mean that no one opens their mouths. But when we do talk, we talk only about the study and what it contains. And we only talk inasmuch as it is necessary. If there is no need, then we think about the same questions instead of talking about them. After all, words lay bare a person’s soul, revealing the innermost secrets of his heart. And therefore, one shouldn’t talk unless it is for the sake of correction.

That is how we will hold this Saturday. All lessons and meals will take place by the regular schedule, and every person will limit himself as much as he can, trying not to speak but only to think.

Concentration in thought, inner focus has a much greater effect in the world than words. After all, thought is a much higher force than speech. This is the highest force in a person, and therefore it is the most effective in the general system of reality. It is precisely the beginning of the chain, “thought, speech, action”.

Therefore, we hope that by cutting conversations down to the minimum, we will rise to a higher level of bestowal.
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From the 4th part of the Daily Kabbalah Lesson 1/11/12, “The Freedom”

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Our evolution to become “human,” to resemble the Creator, takes place because I change my corporeal mind and feelings into upper spiritual ones. I want to resemble the Creator, to use my mind and feeling to resemble the upper force. Thus I make contact with the upper force, receive an external force, and start developing myself.

This is not the way it was on the inanimate, vegetative, and animate levels within a person when I worked only with my mind and heart and nothing but that. But to the extent I yearn for my heart and mind to resemble the upper, I receive forces from Him and I can demand that He change my feelings and mind.

This means that I don’t acquire life experience on this world’s level; I don’t change my desire by using my mind in order to sooner or later gain as the wise do in this world. Actually, I totally change the way I work.

I leave my beastly senses and mind at the level of basic necessity in order to provide me with the basic necessities in life and not more than that, and I start to develop a spiritual mind and feeling inside me. Spirituality means for the benefit of others.

Of course, this is totally different from what I had before and I have to start rising above my old nature. Starting from this decision onwards, I will demand for the upper force to change me.

Before, I didn’t turn to It and didn’t feel anything. But in order to enable me to turn to the upper force, there are people in this world who are in contact with It. They processed and changed their desires, thoughts, and mind, and wrote about the process they underwent thanks to the upper Light.

I read about the process in which the influence of the Light transformed them and I want the same to happen to me. I want to be incorporated in this process, in this action, and to adhere to their story. They tell me about their feelings, about how it works, and about the changes that took place in them. I also want to experience these actions. To the extent that I wish to undergo these changes, I evoke the Light that begins to influence me.

The action of the Light is revealed in the connection with others. Until now I developed my own desire to receive and the mind that helped me use others, but now I have to develop above that in order to connect with others. Only my connection with others will reveal the Light. On the other hand, when the Light is revealed, it will enable me to connect with others.

While reading the book, I only need to acquire a desire so that I will understand and feel that it talks about connection. When the Light is revealed, it is revealed in exactly the same way it is described in the book and will fulfill the connection among us. The book only tells us about this connection and nothing but that.
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From the 2nd part of the Daily Kabbalah Lesson 1/6/12, The Zohar

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Nature is leading us toward a perfect state. Up until this point we have advanced by compulsion. From this point forward, we can advance only by adding our understanding of how we develop.

Now we can sweeten and speed up our development through our environment. Both adults and children develop with the help of their environment. Groups like Alocoholics Anonymous, animal rights activists, or weight loss programs are all based on the society’s influence on a person. We have to do the same.

By developing in a good society we’ll be like good children, and in addition we’ll create a similar framework for our children so that they will be good. Ultimately, humanity has but one concern: creating a good environment.

Any parent would be glad to bring a child into a warm, friendly environment, where kids are being taught to unite. This unity provides them with a sense of confidence and rids them of fear of poverty, suffering, pride, and other problems inherent in human nature. It’s nothing out of the ordinary, simply a good environment that provides a “gentle place” for development.

Such an environment allows a person to open up and to better perceive and take things in because he’s not feeling that he’s constantly on the defensive in a hostile environment. We adults don’t even understand what it means to be in a good environment. Just like a newborn baby in the arms of the mother feels nothing except her embrace. This sensation gives him the strength to develop.

We lack this sensation and that’s why we’re facing a global crisis. In all areas where we previously were successful, we now find ourselves at a dead end.

The crisis can on one hand be a catastrophe and on the other hand a rebirth. The word “crisis” comes from the Greek word “krisis”, and means a new beginning. However, we use it incorrectly. Also, the word “crisis” in Hebrew means a place where new life emerges.

We have to explain to people that they need a good environment in order to be happy. The good environment will simply make our lives happy.

Thanks to the good environment for all of us, “I feel confident, I have friends, the whole world treats me well, and I just want to be good.”  All are taking care of me, and I care about everyone. We live in a world imbued with warmth, confidence, and kindness. It’s all love.
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From KabTV’s “A New Life” No. 2, 12/28/11

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If we want to understand what is written in The Zohar, then we have to reach the similarity of desires, the similarity of properties, between us and the authors of the book. To understand means to grasp, to comprehend, as it said: “And Adam knew Eve, his wife”; that is, knowledge is fusion (Zivug), connection. That’s why, we should be in the same thoughts and desires as the authors of The Zohar; otherwise, we will not understand what is going on.

Even in our world, if I want to understand what a person is talking about, I should rise above myself as much as possible and identify with him. This is called to understand the other person. We have to dress into him.

We need to learn a little about the people who wrote this book: what their desires and intentions were, what they wrote about, what they wanted to convey to us, why they described in that particular style. After all, they live within the text.

Baal HaSulam writes in his article “The Acting Mind,” that looking at the table, I see the carpenter’s skills in it and grasp his mind. Indeed, he used his mind in his work, and studying the table, I connect with the mind of the craftsman who created it. Thus, through a material object, the table, we connect mind to mind. So, we are already connected with each other through the idea that emerged in his mind and mine.

The same thing occurs with The Book of Zohar. Only here, I don’t know about the images and properties they wrote about. But if I want to merge my mind with the authors of The Zohar, cancel myself before them, and understand why and for what they wrote like this, if I treat The Book of Zohar in this way, then I gradually awaken forces in it to the extent of my desire to grasp the mind of those who wrote it. And then, I become connected to them, get closer to them, begin to feel their intention, where they were, what they thought about, why they wrote in that way, and what they saw and felt.

Therefore, reading this book is work: how to connect with its author through his story. And thus, to the extent of my understanding, the story begins to open to me, it becomes clear and not otherwise. That is why when reading The Zohar, we must think about its authors, what their inner states and intentions were when they were writing the book, what they saw and felt, thereby conveying their attainment to us in this form, and how I can reach their mind in order to understand them.
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From the 2^nd part of the Daily Kabbalah Lesson 1/9/12, The Zohar

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It is written that one must begin each day anew. It’s as if yesterday didn’t exist, the count begins at zero. This applies to everything: who I am, what I am, my purpose, my goal, whatever exists and transpires around me. It’s as if I was born anew without any pre-existing knowledge or understanding. Why carry the burden of yesterday with me? Whether I was right or wrong, what’s the difference? After all, that was yesterday, and yesterday must be erased.

But how are we to do that? We do so by reading The Book of Zohar. What’s so special about it? It can grant us the power to do just that. It’s said that this power may be used for good and for evil, and this depends upon the person. The Zohar grants energy, and my “machine” determines how this energy is used, to harm or to benefit me.

We must therefore make a decision: How do we want to use the force that we get from The Book of Zohar? This power can become either the returning Light, a good force, remedy or cure, or the opposite of that, a deadly poison. Everything depends on the person, namely to what it is that he aspires.

When we draw closer to the source of life that has created us, from which all life force is generated, this is what we call “life.” And “death” is when we draw closer to our ego and follow it. Indeed, the ego has been made purposefully opposite to the Creator so that we would have freedom of choice in the middle. Therefore, when reading The Zohar, our primary efforts should be to keep ourselves aimed in the right direction.
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From the 2^nd part of the Daily Kabbalah Lesson 1/9/12, The Zohar

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Question: I was always taught that I needed to sacrifice something for the sake of unity. However, we are speaking about unity above all contradictions. What does this mean?

Answer: In reality you will not be able to concede anything to anyone. Of course you can sacrifice part of your aspirations if you have no other choice. However, concession is an imaginary notion when it comes to ideas. When I am right and he is not, it’s best for him to acknowledge the fact that I am right and join me. But when he is right and I am wrong, it’s of course best if I admit the fact that he is right and join him.

So what’s a concession? How can you relinquish the truth? It can’t be partial or intermediate. Only one of us is right. It’s impossible to reject a certain part here. If one were to relinquish a part of truth and the other one would cede a part of falsehood, this would not be the solution to the problem. This is not about things that can be shared; it’s about our opinions, ideas.

Question: But there is also something called the collective mind. By listening to different opinions in the group, it’s possible to find a better path than yours.

Answer: You have simply figured out that someone else has expressed a more sound opinion. Now you reject your opinion and join his. But this is not a concession. If after having evaluated everything I discover that he is right, I am not conceding, I am changing my opinion for his.

It’s possible to concede when I am convinced that the truth is on my side, but I chose to not follow it. This is not a good path; it never leads to peace. This leads to a question of whether it’s possible to make similar calculations on a global scale. After all, things are leading towards a war.

We say not. Each is right in their own way, but not according to my way. No one is corrected enough to view the entire collection of problems objectively, separately from the beloved self. So let us agree that there is neither absolute truth nor falsehood. Everything depends upon my current egoistic direction. After all, I hate and despise everyone from the beginning, but I love and exalt myself. Therefore it doesn’t make sense to go deep into details. The actual conditions do not allow us to unravel the truth or give in.

Let’s only concede one thing, the actual superficial squabbles, which always bring us wars and problems. Every time, I unite with someone just to kick someone else, this just goes on forever. Things cannot continue this way, and this is why we rise above all differences. Look at the system and you will see: The only way is to unite above the abyss between us.

Partial concessions don’t lead to peace and harmony even in the family. We don’t reject our opinion anyway, and for lack of any other choice, we falsely pretend. But when the egoistic desire grows bigger, it creates an even greater separation between us. And this is why our only possibility is to constantly be caring for love, which will raise us and cover all faults.
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From the 4^th part of the Daily Kabbalah Lesson 1/9/12, “The Freedom”

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