Opinion (Adrian Mowat, JPMorgan Chase & Co.’s chief Asian and emerging-market strategist): “China’s economy is already in a so-called ‘hard landing,’ according to Adrian Mowat….

“‘If you look at the Chinese data, you should stop debating about a hard landing…China is in a hard landing. Car sales are down, cement production is down, steel production is down, construction stocks are down. It’s not a debate anymore, it’s a fact.’…

“‘What you can look forward to is to see a pickup in property demand that will clear up the inventory; that doesn’t appear likely,’ Mowat said in an interview after the conference yesterday. ‘I don’t see any evidence of a policy move that will cause the economy to re-accelerate.’”

My Comment: The crisis will affect the entire world and will not subside; instead, its waves will force us to realize the need for internal restructuring, a new attitude towards ourselves, society, and nature, all the way up to full integration. Asia, as the largest and most energetic continent, will feel the crisis more than the EU and the USA.
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Baal HaSulam’s “The Last Generation” begins with a fable about a group of friends who are lost and wandering in the desert, suffering from hunger and thirst. One of them finds a settlement where the best things are and he remembers his unfortunate friends that he has been separated from. He doesn’t know where they are. What does he do? He begins to yell loudly and blow the horn. Maybe his hungry and miserable friends will hear him, and will also come to the settlement and be filled with good things.

It speaks about the special books that we found that explain the laws of nature that can teach the way to our lost generation that is wandering in the desert.

Nowadays, it is being discovered that humanity is really lost and doesn’t have any guide to lead them. There is great danger that because we have lost our way, that out of desperation we could begin terrible wars, as has already happened in the past. Thus, it is so important to understand that there exists both a book and a group of people who are able to lead humanity towards a good goal.

It is interesting that this book doesn’t contain instructions that explain how to strengthen ourselves on this path that we travel from below upward. It doesn’t give any explanation that will help us understand what we should do and what we will receive for each step we take, like an instruction manual for some kind of machine does where we don’t need to think much but just execute orders.

On the contrary, the book is written “from above to below,” from the world of Ein Sof (Infinity) to this world. It describes the upper system, and it isn’t clear what we need this for. Wouldn’t it have been preferable to write about us, about man, about Adam HaRishon and everything that happened to him? But the moment one begins to talk about him, the explanations become vague and are quickly ended.

Where are the clear instructions, where is the agreement for my broken soul: places where it fell to and where I need to search for my broken pieces? How should I collect them and assemble them back together? How should I check that I haven’t made a mistake? Why isn’t there anything written about this?

If we need to bring the world to correction, then why isn’t it possible to go towards it in a logical, deliberate way, where we examine our steps, one by one, according to the clear instructions that are uncovered before me? But instead of describing all the steps from below upward, how to execute them, and how to examine them, it is just the opposite. I am told how the upper worlds descended from above to below.

I want to know how the first man broke, where the broken pieces of my soul are located, how I can see them, collect them, connect them, glue them together, and check if I did it correctly. We have no instructions for this. We don’t know where the material is that we need to work with, meaning, where to find it and what we should do with it.

Why was it done this way? The issue is that we would like to advance in spirituality exactly like in corporeality, with the same tools. I want to examine everything, to understand everything, to read the instructions in the book and execute them. This is possible if I operate on my level and work with both feelings and intellect, with my desires and attributes.

However, if I need to rise to the next level, a completely different approach is needed. To begin with, I need to recognize the evil of my present state and the future good of the next level, meaning its properties and everything that happens in it. This is despite not understanding its good. On the contrary, I discover it is opposite from everything that I have now, against all my attributes and values.

In this way we need to prepare ourselves: to consciously scorn, the present level as compared to the greatness of the next level and to choose its properties instead of ours. We need to reach the recognition of the evil of our desire to receive to the maximum, and to appreciate the attribute of bestowal as much as possible, even though it doesn’t seem that important to me via my present Kelim (desires), in my current perception. I can appreciate it only through the Kelim of the society.

Thus, I need to yearn for the Reforming Light that arrives from the third level. I work towards my next upper level, which for me is called the Creator, and want to receive more Light from the upper level, the level above me. Since there, when Malchut (Kingdom) raises MAN (Mayin Nukvin, female waters) to Zeir Anpin (small face), then it raises it even higher, to Aba ve Ima (AVI, Father and Mother), the source of Light. And we also should work this way.
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From the 1^st part of the Daily Kabbalah Lesson 3/19/12, “The Last Generation”

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All of creation is a desire to receive that seems to be divided into four levels: the inanimate, vegetative, animate, and speaking. We have to connect all of them and to bring them to adhesion with the upper force that created these desires. The adhesion is attained by equivalence of form, by changing the manner in which we use our desire. We can’t change the intention in the desire on the levels of the inanimate, vegetative, or animate because they’re not developed enough. It can only be done on the level of the speaking.

When a person develops, he reaches a state in which he feels that he must correct his matter, his desires. He simply doesn’t see any other way out of the crisis he’s in: the personal crisis, the general crisis, or both of them together, which is a result of the development of the desire. He reaches full recognition of evil and then he understands that it isn’t in his power to change his own nature and that he needs external help, “treatment.”

Among the people there is the group that attains this from the study and that must explain this to the whole world. Without the group, humanity would advance towards the recognition of the evil of its ego without being able to correct it, through terrible suffering.

The hard part is in revealing the upper force and in understanding that only it can help us. We see how hard it is to recognize in difficult situations that all the evil comes from the Creator and that the correction can only come from Him and that “There is none else besides Him”; only He brings us the suffering and only He can bring us the good. We’ll be able to reach the good only if we know Him and ask for His help only for a particular purpose.

This is the long process of learning how to advance; it’s very difficult to reach Him and to pay for it by suffering. Therefore, a group of people was chosen from all of humanity who can wake up and advance towards this attainment of their own will and to look for the answer to the question “What is the point of my life?” when they are not pushed by suffering on the beastly level but on the “human” level. From Adam HaRishon (the first man) such people appeared in the world. They need to pass on the Torah, the “instruction,” the method for correcting the ego, to all of humanity according to the necessity that each of them feels.

This is what has happened throughout history with anyone who thought about the meaning of life; today this epidemic is spreading to all of humanity, and everyone will begin to ask: “What is the meaning of our lives?” Although this question has two sides, the special ones ask, “What is the meaning of my life if I don’t know the purpose of creation and its source? If I don’t attain it, then my life will be worse than death.” The rest of humanity asks about the meaning of life as it sees that it suffers and we are slipping lower and lower. A person always checks himself relative to others, to the previous day, and to what is expected the next day.

So eventually everyone will reach the need to correct their nature. But this is only possible with the help of the upper force, with the help of the Reforming Light called the “Torah.”
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From the 1^st part of the Daily Kabbalah Lesson 3/20/12, Shamati #6

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Question: What is going to happen with art and desire to create in the future integral world?

Answer: The desire to create will of course remain. The desire for aesthetics, for self-expression is one of the basic desires of humanity.

It has all been developing since the times of petroglyphs. However, today we are undergoing a great crisis even in this field because there is nothing we could express ourselves with. How can it be expressed? Through some breakdowns? Our state is dead-end. On our current level, we have nothing left to express.

We have to rise to the next degree. We simply “crawled” from our level to a certain degree, but we are not able to ascend to it. We came to a dead end in all areas of our lives: culture, education, family, economy, finance—everything, even science. We hit this next degree and can’t climb it because we do not see it.

It is especially apparent in art and culture. We have always bore witness to the creation of masterpieces. But today we have mass culture that cannot even be called “culture.” Art is definitely not art any more. Mass culture fills in the TV screens, and we consume it along with fast food. And it is in fact all the same, meaning, everything is on such a level so as to suppress ourselves and make us think less. TV shows? What are they about? Robbery, betrayal, love stories, and cooking.

Unfortunately, in the field of art, we no longer concern ourselves with lofty, valuable interpersonal relationships, with searching for the meaning of life; instead, we present through our mass “art” (be it print or media) only what serves bodily needs: food, sex, and family. Within this entire framework dwell our so-called works of art.

On one hand, it is certainly a pity that such events take place, but on the other, they show us the crisis from which the new state must emerge.

The new art will be completely different. It will be founded on the unity of people. Its role will be to tell us about attainment of the upper world, about a whole new range of sensations that will be revealed in the connection between us. Those will be sensations and relationships of a completely different scale, and from then on, these very sensations and relationships will be expressed through art, and therefore, through our culture.
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From KabTV’s “Fundamentals of the Integral Society” 2/5/12

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Question: Outsiders perceive our methods as slow and therapeutic, and they want the ones that are prompt and surgical. How could we help them feel the effectiveness of our message without waiting for greater calamities?

Answer: Our method is the fastest and most effective. Generally speaking, humanity has never had any method of influencing itself. Up until now, we were governed automatically by the upper force.

And now the upper force provokes us with crises and simultaneously frees up some room for action so we will make a small step forward, our own step, so we will appreciate, grasp what lies ahead of us and wish to do it independently by changing ourselves.

The nature’s upper force has always been changing us, giving rise to our evolution, and now we, ourselves, have to consciously evoke the process of development within us. Hence, today’s evolution that we’re carrying out is the quality evolution because it depends on us. We have never made any individual actions, and now we must perform such action on ourselves, within ourselves, by changing ourselves.

The force that changes us is external; however, we need to put ourselves under its influence. To accomplish that, we must try to unite with each other so that our common desire for unity could become apparent. Then the upper correcting force will influence that desire, and we will unite. That will be our next degree: both social and spiritual.

There is no other way, no other means or method that we could use to do anything. Our method is the only way!

But this method is fast, not slow because here everything depends on us and nothing else. If we gather together, push, and desire, it will immediately happen. There are no restrictions, neither mechanical nor natural; there are no processes that still have to develop or take shape with time. Everything depends on us only, and that is why it’s the most express method.
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From KabTV’s “Fundamentals of the Integral Society” 2/5/12

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Question: What should our approach to consumption be in order to maintain the well-being of our bodies?

Answer: I suffer from a light form of diabetes. I like sweets, sugar, and it’s the cause of my diabetes. In nature there is no sugar, only sweets like fruit and honey. If I didn’t abuse sugar, I wouldn’t have gotten sick.

There are a lot of foods that we produce only for the purpose of filling someone’s bank account, and as a consequence, for filling the hospitals with patients. Humanity must review all of its actions and gradually exclude from consumption all things that contain poison. First we have provide the necessary replacements and then stop the production of harmful things.

Just as we battle smoking, we have to battle everything else that’s harmful to our health. Nature contains a selection of ingredients such as fruits, vegetables, meat, fish, water, and so on. These are the things we should limit ourselves to. If it doesn’t exist in nature, then undoubtedly it’s harmful to your health. We should find the correct use for whatever does exist in nature.

Comment: Today, such a diet will end up being much more expensive then a regular diet.

Answer: I’m not saying that we need to return to being vegetarian, all natural, to pure biology with no genetics. We have no choice in this matter because we won’t be able to sustain all of humanity. However, we need to conduct more research and create the necessary technologies. For example, I have a friend who grows fruits and vegetables in the Arava desert without any chemical pesticides; instead he uses special bacteria that eats pests.

There are different ways to go about it, but most importantly everyone has to be provided with food. Then gradually we’ll move into being ecologically friendly.

The integral education has to cover all aspects of our lives in order to lead us toward correction and development. By doing so we will ensure health as well as a balanced approach toward all types of human activities. This revolution in our consciousness and interrelations will eventually effect technology, economy, agriculture, and all other aspects of our lives.
From KabTV’s “A New Life” Episode 11, 1/9/12

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Question: The course of evolution of human egoism can be studied through the example of the four phases of the development of nature. Should we study other subjects in this evolutional context?

Answer: No, from the point of view of the development of egoism, evolution and history are historical forms that gradually accumulate and change thanks to egoism, and do so suddenly, by a leap. Any kind of social activity, interrelationships, engineering, or technology is replaced within a few years or decades by another kind since one obliges the other.

Social relationships change, and thus the post, telegraph, telephone, notaries, parliamentary interaction, and so on emerge. That is, everything changes on the entire level, on the entire dimension of human interrelationships.

We are not simply studying history, but social, political, economic, public, and technological development, as well as instruments of work and production, and agriculture. It is because agriculture determines migration, which determines demography, which determines something else. All in all, everything is so interconnected!

Also linked to this are the glacial age, the minor glacial age, the period of vegetation, and so on. We connect ecology with it, including the climate. We see that all of this is one, whole system.

Question: Why do we need to feel these phases?

Answer: If one does not know what happened yesterday, tomorrow he cannot think correctly. One must see the entire huge system that has always been moving and has brought us to our state today. Although it continues to move our still, vegetative, and animate states, it leaves to us the fourth level of development as free will, because we must complete it ourselves.

It turns out that one can make some approximations already and see that we will be moving forward. However, if one does not add his personal participation by exercising his free will, interacting with others correctly, and voluntary restructuring himself and society in advance, before receiving blows from behind, then his still, vegetative, and animate components push him forward harshly and summon corresponding actions within him. These may be terrible diseases, earthquakes, upheavals of revolution, and so on.

We do not have a clear view of this process as the necessary empirical material has not yet accumulated. However, we can make an approximation as to what kinds of blows we will be experiencing that will push us from behind, “toward happiness by the stick,” so to speak, if we do not forestall it through our unification, with mutual participation and aspiration toward harmony and unity.

This is why it is very important to study the past.
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From a “Talk on Integral Upbringing” #12, 12/16/11

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Baal HaSulam, “Introduction to the Study of The Ten Sefirot,” Item 115: That such a person, who is still short of one commandment, will regard himself as half unworthy and half worthy. Meaning, one should imagine that the time when he was granted repentance was in the middle of his years….

Thus, in the first half of his years he is unworthy, and in the second half of his years, he is worthy.

Question: If a person wants to complete the whole process in this lifetime, how should he make an effort in the work?

Answer: During the preparation period a person hates everyone. Then the transgressions become mistakes and he connects with everyone. But this isn’t a complete correction yet. He is still in a state of Hafetz Hesed. Eventually, on the next level a person connects until he is in adhesion.

So the whole process is aimed at unity, and a person can reach the greatest unity from the greatest separation.

Every change is called a “reincarnation.” A person can live for 80 years without even starting to change and not go through one reincarnation. A new car, a new apartment—these things have nothing to do with reincarnation. The beastly body lives and dies, and this has nothing to do with reincarnation either.

On the other hand, everyone can end the process in one lifetime. Whether a person will do it is another question. It depends on him—he needs to want to end it. There is nothing else in creation except for the desire. If a person’s individual desire is small, he should find ways to increase it; he should find assistance in the wisdom of Kabbalah and in the Light that’s in it. There are no other options.

Some people come to us once a week, some come only on holidays, some come everyday, others come here in the morning and in the evening, and yet others try to spend the whole day doing what’s important. There are people who spend the whole day here because it is convenient and it feels safe, they feel like an embryo in the womb. Others want to fight their ego. It all depends on a person’s intention and on how he uses the means at his disposal.

Question: What does it mean “the middle years”?

Answer: It is the symbolic age of 40, that is, the stage in which a person ends his correction in Bina. Bina is called a blocked “Mem” (ם), whose numerical value is 40. Only after this level is it possible to move to receiving in order to bestow.
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From the 4th part of the Daily Kabbalah Lesson 3/20/2012, “Introduction to TES”

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Baal HaSulam, “Introduction to The Study of the Ten Sefirot,” Item 116: One who is granted the commandment of love by repentance from love, through it he is rewarded with turning his sins to merits.

Overall, there are four degrees on our way. At the bottom there is the broken desire to receive, meaning the broken AHP. This is called “sins” or “transgressions.” On the next level there is the broken desire to bestow, meaning the broken Galgalta ve Eynaim (GE). This is called “mistakes.”

Above that there is the Machsom (barrier). Above it, there is the corrected desire to bestow, GE. This is the level of Bina, “an incomplete righteous” who performs 612 commandments, which is the state of “Hafetz Hesed (HH)” or Lishma. Finally we reach the level of “one commandment,” 613th commandment—love. This is already the corrected desire to receive.

After crossing the Machsom, the mistakes turn into commandments and the transgressions turn into mistakes. By rising to the level of love, the remaining mistakes turn into commandments in the corrected AHP, and the commandments rise from the third degree to GE.

Thus the “transgressions” are the desires to receive in order to bestow, which were broken and turned into the desires to receive in order to receive, the shattered, corrupt AHP. While the broken GE are “mistakes.”

When we try to picture all that, the main thing is not to exit the framework of the ten Sefirot. If we are going to be confused, then at least it should be within clear boundaries and not in the space of imagination.
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From the 4th part of the Daily Kabbalah Lesson 3/20/2012, “Introduction to TES”

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