The Birth Of The State Of “Adam”

Dr. Michael LaitmanThe state of an integral society is not characterized by everyone’s individuality, but precisely by whatever appears between us, above us, as if outside of us. At the same time we ascend above our beastly level to the next one called “Man” or “Adam” in Hebrew.

It is not for nothing that Adam is described in ancient sources as a single collective image from which we allegedly arose, having divided internally after his fall from virtue (the origin of egoism) that tore this image into a multitude of parts. Every particle is each one of us.

And now, in spite of this egoism that exists between us as a dividing, repelling force, we need to rise above it. We do so not by destroying it but on the contrary, by using it for an ascent because without a mutual repelling force between us, we won’t have a stimulus to overcome it precisely through an ascent above it. And by ascending above this force we unite.

In other words, even though the force of our egoistic separation seems to cause harm, in reality it is to our benefit. It involuntarily elevates us above ourselves, above our beastly level—the egoistic path of development that in our time is coming to an end. We call it beastly because it develops in us instinctively, just like all the previous stages of development, which we underwent in the process of evolution.

Now a next phase of humanity’s development is emerging, a conscious one where we reveal in ourselves the collective image of “Adam,” which we need to assemble, rising above egoism, connecting among ourselves, overlaying upon one another into one single mechanism, and completing each other. Egoism will help us in that, and we must have a correct attitude towards it.

We can observe this picture from an example of a correct family, where two serious grownup people with a high level of awareness understand both the differences between them and the possibility of creating a common field of mutual overlay with each other. The overlay of one circle over the other, their common intersection, the shared segment between them, is what we call a family. The ideal scenario is when both circles overlay on one another completely.

However, we don’t simply overlay each other on an animate level, but rise spiritually to a state of “Adam,” towards an emergence of a certain third element between us, the result of our efforts. The overlay of one circle on another doesn’t mean that one suppresses the other or that both disappear. A certain third, middle, element arises, composed of the two others, from their aspiration to be together in spite of egoism, which is against that.

This is a complex state. We need to outline and describe it, and to attempt to bring a person into it emotionally.

The integral upbringing means the creation of this third state within a person. It is buried deep inside us in its embryonic form, but we need to consciously extract it from ourselves and to rise to that level.

In the course of our evolution we developed from inanimate nature towards the vegetative and animate levels of nature. In our day, a human is no different from an animal with the exception that we developed science, technology, and culture.

But here we are talking about a completely different level of attainment, sensation, and penetration of nature: the birthing of a state of “Adam,” which never existed in us before. Each of us carries only a fragment of the common state towards which we need to arrive by gathering all these fragments into one.
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From a “Talk on Integral Education” #6, 12/14/11

Related Material:
Contact On An Emotional Level
The Particulars Of An Integral Reality
The Theory Of Internal Contact Between People

Contact On An Emotional Level

Dr. Michael LaitmanQuestion: The aim of the psychological portion of the integral upbringing course is to teach people to communicate with each other, to hear one another, and to develop a meaningful and deep contact between themselves. How can this be done?

Answer: We need to understand what interpersonal contacts are.

They say that it’s not a family if there are no children. What do people live for? Suppose today a couple likes each other physically, they are satisfied with each other physiologically, they are comfortable together. Comfortable for now….  A child is somewhat of a middle ground, something common that binds them together.

When a person tries to establish contact with someone else, he or she should clearly see what they have in common with each other, what mutually ties them together. It isn’t just some junction, but a common emotional, physiological, physical, social, and cultural realm where they don’t simply touch but as if overlay over one another.

Each individual represents a “circle,” and the extent to which he or she can overlap with the “circle” of another person defines their ability to establish a deep and multidimensional contact.

First and foremost, we need to understand that in our time, contact between two people is such that their individual circles don’t touch each other because their egoism has grown to its ultimate state, and whatever my circle encompasses doesn’t fit into any other circles. I feel so exceptional—a personality, an egoist—that I cannot perceive another as an individual who has their own interests and needs. To me, another person is just an object of consumption. If that interests me, I enter into contact with him, but I don’t treat him like a person, an individual with his own inner world and circle of interests, but interact with him as a consumer with a source of pleasure, and nothing more.

And this is how we communicate with each other. It’s convenient this way: Everyone has their cell phone, computer, and email. We hide behind them and thereby mask our absolute separation from each other.

We see how different communities gradually disappear, and we are hiding behind our monitors, seemingly socializing, while in the meantime inventing new standards of rules and behavior for ourselves. But all of this happens virtually, without adjoining emotionally with any other circles. We invent a new language, hiding behind some other forms, other shells, present ourselves online completely differently from the way we actually are, use emoticons instead of our own face, or sign in with different names. In other words, people are playing without revealing themselves under any circumstances. And egoism goes along with this, it feels good and comfortable.

Our main task is to reveal whether people have something in common, and not just two people, but everyone. It’s because we’re talking about an integral society towards which nature is pushing us, either through suffering or by our voluntary realization and drive towards this bright state of humanity. That is why having revealed what all of us share in common, we will then be able to make contact on an emotional level; we will not conceal ourselves from each other but on the contrary, will try to open ourselves up.

Each will reveal their inner “I” and place it above the external one, above this image, above their first and last name, above their occupation and all kinds of external habits, customs, language, and everything else. One’s emotional world will rise above their usual physical state given to them by nature. This is what we need to develop in a person.

For that we need to show people that by unifying between ourselves, by superimposing our individual circles on one another, by bonding with each other into a single mechanism, we will not turn into robots or become vulnerable, like in the famous Russian saying, “Open your soul so that someone could spit into it.” We are doing it so that in our unified integral movement, when we are like a single unified analog mechanism, we will reach a special goal and give birth to something new, just like a couple that unites in order to bear offspring.

Except here we are all giving birth together, creating a completely new state in humanity, where we won’t have to hide, fear, or strive to snatch away from each other so as to raise ourselves. On the contrary, our ascent will be mutual, precisely through this common “offspring” of ours that we will nurse and cherish, constantly raise and develop.
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From a “Talk on Integral Education” #6, 12/14/11

Related Material:
The Birth Of The State Of “Adam”
The Particulars Of An Integral Reality
The Theory Of Internal Contact Between People

Daily Kabbalah Lesson – 02.01.12

Preparation to the Lesson
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Writings of Rabash, Dargot HaSulam, “The Virtue of the Little”
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The Book of Zohar – Selected Chapter “Beresheet (Genesis),” “Let Us Make Man,” (Start with: “It was said above”), Item 183, Lesson 51
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Talmud Eser Sefirot, Part 6, Item 23, Lesson 14
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Introduction to the Study of Ten Sefirot,” Item 74, Lesson 34
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