The Creator – The Teacher

Dr. Michael LaitmanQuestion: I would like you to be with us as long as possible.

Answer: First, when people treat each other nicely, they think that it’s good to be near each other. I don’t know whether this is a better place—to be next to you.

Second, if you talk about me, the teacher stays with his students as long as they need. As soon as this need disappears, there is other work, he is transferred to another place.

So, there is nothing terrible here. You have to think only about how to realize what’s written in the primary sources and that’s all. Whether there is a teacher, no teacher, it doesn’t depend on us. And the most important is what we are doing now. If there are such groups, if women actively help them, support, directing towards the center of the group the desires to reveal the Creator, then everything will be fine.

There is no need for a teacher: The Creator, the Light will teach you. In reality, this is what we are trying to “catch” here—the method of working with the Light.
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From the Vilnius Convention 3/25/2012, Workshop 4

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In Order Not To Forget

Dr. Michael LaitmanQuestion: You are constantly repeating that the only thing that we should do is to work with the Light. But we are as if deaf and instantly forget about this. Why does this happen?

Answer: It is written in all the books about the work with the Light. And we forget because our egoism, our nature, is against this. The only thing that can help us is the environment. But the environment has to think about this, instead of talking, because our words give nothing. If the environment is constantly in this thought, in the search around this, you will not forget.
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From the Vilnius Convention 3/25/2012, Workshop 4

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Psychological Training

Dr. Michael LaitmanWe should try to enact the system that has been offered to us by Kabbalists, the method that possesses the capacity to change the world.

We attempt to implement the Kabbalists’ advice as the only possibility for our beginning to sense our next step, unity, out of this material realm.

At this time, people try to be minimally connected and balanced with integral nature. However, through our unity with others, to the degree of the efforts we apply in order to connect with eternal, global nature and our inspiration to sense it as something tangible between us, we eventually will end up experiencing a genuine sensation of bestowal and love, a warm feeling, a wave that embraces us all.

This force has been concealed from us thus far, but it can appear if we all strive for it. If we possess even a tiny desire to achieve this state that, in fact, already was granted to us, and if we make an effort to unite, we can rest assured that we already possess all the prerequisites that are necessary to achieve unity.

All we must do is to wish to achieve a sensation of unity by utilizing the possibilities that we already have received. Our aspiration should be directed toward viewing and sensing the power that fills the entire universe. Then, we will realize that we are placed inside of the joint Kli (vessel) that is filled with warmth, Light, and bestowal like a fetus in its mother’s womb.
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From the Vilnius Convention 3/23/12, Lesson 1

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The Complex Process Of Spiritual Growth

Dr. Michael LaitmanQuestion: Everyone in my group wants to unite. Everyone tries, makes an effort, but nothing comes from it for anyone. This feeling very much interferes with my concentration, and I don’t know how to deal with it.

Answer: The process isn’t easy. Even in our corporeal world, we don’t grow up simply. Look at how much time passes until a person grows, until he turns into an adult.

On the spiritual path, we need to gather a great many discernments and feelings. All of our feelings are based on disappointments and on attainments.

We simultaneously walk “on two legs,” on the left and right, in minus and in plus. It is only when we attain a certain size, a certain value between the minus and plus, that we exit to the next level.

This means that we need to go through great disappointments and attainments; otherwise, we don’t advance. Thus, the one who advances is only the one who walks the path, who overcomes it. One simply must move forward. The training, the exercises, that you are beginning now, must be organized without stopping.

I am sure that each one of you gradually will begin to feel the appearance of unity, the shared force that is specifically created on the surface of our mutual feelings. This will be revealed. One simply must work constantly on this.

This is the system for the inner development of the additional sensor, of the spiritual sense. It is specifically developed within a group, and only in this way.

We will develop this system even more. We will make it more accurate and more complex. You will get these tasks. You will feel that you are changing.

You know that, when one prepares the dough for bread, one kneads it for a long time. You must “knead” yourselves, until an image of “man” comes forth from your attributes.

This work needs to continue for a few months. As much as we aspire to this more strongly, it will yield results more quickly. However, only in this way will it be realized.

All of this is described in our sources. I am not saying anything new. We simply are beginning the most serious and broadest implementation of this system.

It is very good that today you are either experiencing something or not experiencing something. Don’t forget that, but also, don’t remain there! Simply write it down in your notebook and move forward.

You will see how, gradually, time after time, your state will change. The accumulation of these impressions, in the end, will produce within you intellect and sensation, and will enable the mutual discovery of the next level, the force of the Creator. He will be revealed.

In any case, even if you felt nothing that you had hoped or wanted to attain, you went through some kinds of stages, through some kinds of feelings, and this already is quite a bit. You must value this!

The main thing is not to degrade. All the discernments are positive, and man must undergo them.
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From the Vilnius Convention 3/23/2012, Workshop 1

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Don’t Run Away From The Recognition Of Evil

Dr. Michael LaitmanIf someone points out the smallest defect within me, I begin to hate him to the extent to which I feel how negatively he affects me, gets to me, and invades me. Instantly I distance myself from this person. We instinctively run away from accusations.

What can help me reach such a state where I fully reveal my evil and I am glad that it is becoming revealed within me, and at the same time I feel it as enormous evil, which needs to be cut out of me? Then I achieve the maximum sensation of evil from which I involuntarily cry out to the Creator. What will help me to stay on the path the whole way and not run away from the recognition of evil?
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From the Vilnius Convention 3/24/12, Lesson 4

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Audio Version Of The Blog – 05.03.12

Listen to an Audio Version of the Blog
Download: MP3 Audio

[audio:http://files.kabbalahmedia.info/audio/eng_o_rav_2012-05-03_declamation_blog-rav_full_mus.mp3 title=’3.5.12′]

Speech – Thought – Action

Dr. Michael LaitmanThe correction that we are supposed to build above the animate level in order to reach the speaking level originates not only from our bodies, but also from the human being within us. However, we still implement the correction process though our bodies, since a body is a “tool” for correction.

We relate to each other (both negatively and positively) through speech, thoughts and actions.

“Speech” stands for self-persuasion. It can be referred to inner speech, since a person constantly talks with himself; it can also mean “practical” (outgoing) speech that addresses others and conveys ideas on how and in what direction we all should move.

The necessity to bestow leads us to attainment of mutual love; it is a process that we all have to go through.

“Thoughts” go before speech and actions. First, we have to formulate a thought that stems from our inner calculations that we obtain from within ourselves as well as from our surroundings, society, and teachers.

So, thoughts should be formulated before anything else, and then they have to be transformed into speech. Any kind of oral expression will always remain only “beautiful words” until we enable them with “force” by applying actions.

“Actions” mean devotion of every single hour that is not spent satisfying our animate needs to integral education and upbringing, dissemination and work for the sake of others. Our task is to lead people to at least a decent standard of life, at least above the poverty level, a fair distribution, and where no one feels that they are deprived of their rights.

Thus, our thoughts and speech should be oriented towards building a new balanced society that will allow us to maintain an integral level and stay within the analog system. In our thoughts, we allow our surroundings to influence us; we constantly submit ourselves to a stronger integral environment. After formulating internal thoughts, we implement them though speech, that is, we shape our concepts and informational systems. This is the point where actions come forward. It’s the time when we basically influence others through education, upbringing, and by elevating worldwide living standards so that nobody suffers from hunger and affliction.

This is the essence of our work. This is how we approach balance with nature: the goal that we constantly concentrate on. Stability among us allows us to get into a state of balance with Nature and with its universal laws. As a result, we create a “round” perfect system.

Here, our evolution stops: Our development started at a time when life emerged on the face of Earth, and at this point it reaches its final equilibrium.

It doesn’t mean that everything will be over and the Sun will stop shining. It’s not that we cannot wait several billion more years before it happens. We are talking about the end of correction of a human being: If we achieve balance with nature and reach perfect harmony, we won’t experience any pressure from Nature anymore, and thus our lives will become ideal.

Let’s hope that we approach such a state within our sensations and be able to prepare our children and grandchildren to attain this state. It is within our power.
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From KabTV’s “A New Life” Episode 11, 1/9/12

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Every Action Leaves A Mark

Dr. Michael LaitmanIt’s said: “Every action leaves a mark.” Our advancement happens due to the Returning Light. It impacts us to the degree to which our desires are ready to accept It. Thus, their structure is gradually clarified.

The structure of a desire that is equivalent to the Light is in fact a connection through which we eventually start sensing the Light. It’s a permanent construction that constantly expands. Together it includes four (4) stages of HaVaYaH; that’s why it’s called the “revelation of the Creator’s names.” Numerous combinations of desires denote qualities of the Light. Within our desires we perceive the Light as if we’ve placed a screen before It; that is how we recognize what the Light is.

If we look through the tinted glass, we see that the Light acquires the color of the glass. This is how we get to know that the Light can have various colors. We need special tools to discover a new phenomenon. We also have to use additional remedies that will allow us to determine some qualities that are a part of the phenomenon that was just discovered.

This is what our work is about. The difference between regular scientific research and spiritual practice is that material scientific exploration involves using an external device, whereas in the spiritual search we use ourselves as a tool. We alter ourselves and try to apply the actions of creation to us to the extent of the level we have attained.

We do not develop our old properties, but rather reveal new ones; that’s why our work is called “spiritual.” Our effort should be oriented towards forming new properties that are similar to the Creator’s qualities; this is how we reveal His personality.

In the material realm, we tend to acquire practical knowledge about what’s going on around us and who we are. For that purpose we widen our existing natural characteristics through the development of science and technological progress. This is a basic difference: When we achieve a final stage of development on this plane, we will eventually see that we haven’t gotten anywhere. Moreover, we see that we have reached a dead-end. Our growth led us only to enormous egoism; we managed to reveal our evil nature to the extent that it became unbearable.

We have fallen to the very bottom of jealousy, ambition, hatred, and all sorts of evil conditions that we go through in relation to our neighbors. Previously, we at least had the illusion that we would get kinder and build a better society for everybody. At this time, we see that only fear of punishment stops us from using others selfishly and unsparingly.

The difference is that while working spiritually, we discover new properties, thus we get closer to the Creator; whereas when we work materialistically, we only get to explore the tangible nature of this realm. However, at this material plane, as well as during our elevation from here to the Creator, we still go through the same four stages of HaVaYaH, as it is said “I, HaVaYaH, do not change Myself.” This is why every action of ours brings us closer to the goal.
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From the 1st part of the Daily Kabbalah Lesson 4/22/12, Shamati #190

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Housing Problems Have Caught Up With Europeans

Dr. Michael LaitmanIn the News (from The New York Times): “Europe’s long-running euro crisis may be cooling. But the economic distress it has left in its wake is pushing a rising tide of workers into precarious straits in France and across the European Union. Today, hundreds of thousands of people are living in campgrounds, vehicles and cheap hotel rooms. Millions more are sharing space with relatives, unable to afford the basic costs of living.

“These people are the extreme edge of Europe’s working poor: a growing slice of the population that is slipping through Europe’s long-vaunted social safety net. Many, particularly the young, are trapped in low-paying or temporary jobs that are replacing permanent ones destroyed in Europe’s economic downturn.

“Now, economists, European officials and social watchdog groups are warning that the situation is set to worsen. As European governments respond to the crisis by pushing for deep spending cuts to close budget gaps and greater flexibility in their work forces, ‘the population of working poor will explode,’ said Jean-Paul Fitoussi, an economics professor at L’Institut d’Études Politiques in Paris.

“The trend is most alarming in hard-hit countries like Greece and Spain, but it is rising even in more prosperous nations like France and Germany.

“‘France is a rich country,’ Mr. Fitoussi said. ‘But the working poor are living in the same condition as in the 19th century. They can’t pay for heating, they can’t pay for their children’s clothes, they are sometimes living five people in a nine-square-meter apartment — here in France!’ he exclaimed, speaking of an apartment of about 100 square feet.”

My Comment: Unfortunately, because of the government’s near-sightedness and a lack of political will, the population sufferers, not the government. Integration and union—these are not just words but a state of society! The fathers of the European integration didn’t take this into account. They wished to reach their egoistic goals without making social changes.

Unification must be above all contradictions; otherwise, the “European Union” that never existed in reality will collapse burying the entire developed Europe. Even at the beginning of the creation of the EU, I wrote what was necessary for a union:

Upbringing: How to bring up a person, (Hinuch in Hebrew), when a person is not yet formed, bringing up a child through attitudes, frameworks, and through creating an environment, using exercises until the age of 13. Concurrently, but to the extent of the assimilation of upbringing, learning is added.

Learning: To learn (Lemidah in Hebrew), the assimilation of the past human experience. This brings a person to education.

Education: To educate, to shape the image of the future in a person, that is, his ability to think about the future and move forward.
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Don’t Be Embarrassed. Grow!

Dr. Michael LaitmanQuestion: During the workshop, I constantly felt shame that we were sitting and playing like children. After all we are grown-ups. What can I do with regard to this?

Answer: This game is nature’s most important and mature component. Whoever plays is the one who grows. And the one who doesn’t play, he already is considered as dead because his growth has stopped.

Do you know what the game symbolizes? The game is when I imagine the next level of my advancement and yearn for it. Actually it is a sign of growth.

Exactly the same game is found in vegetative and the conditions of development of the animate. The same element exists in them.

While working on my doctorate in philosophy, I had a question on the theory of games.

In order to grow, the plant needs to create within itself the suitable conditions for that, to develop within itself the forces of growth. Thus it grows.

The same unique principle of the game operates also in spirituality and also in our world, at every level of the worlds. Every one! Thus the game is the most esteemed component of nature.

It is not a football game, but a game of the next level, a game of growth.

This is the most honorable engagement of a person, since in this way he grows.

You pass through a very broad variety of states, of feelings. You need to accumulate all of this within you in order to feel the Upper Light. It is surrounding us, but we can’t “grasp” it. We need all of these feelings, which need to accumulate in us more and more. It will gradually accumulate in you, will assemble into one sensor, one detector, one sense, and then you will discover it.

This is actually the task of the creation of the soul. The soul is like a sensor for feeling the Light. That’s all. On the one hand, under the influence of your yearnings, the attribute of bestowal and love is created in you, and on the other hand, according to your yearnings, the Upper Light operates and bestows on you and promotes you.

Thus there is nothing to be embarrassed of. Grow!
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From the Vilnius Convention 3/23/2012, Workshop 1

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