Audio Version Of The Blog – 08.16.12

Listen to an Audio Version of the Blog
Download: MP3 Audio
[audio:http://files.kabbalahmedia.info/audio/eng_o_rav_2012-08-16_declamation_blog-rav_full.mp3 title=’16.8.12′]

Kharkov Convention “Uniting To Ascend” – 08.16.12

Kharkov Convention “Uniting to Ascend,” Preliminary Lesson

[media 1]   [media 2]

Don’t Waste Time – Become Included In The Convention Now!

Dr. Michael LaitmanQuestion: The point of the convention is born in the first moment of the convention. But I know for myself that it is not always possible to immediately enter into it; one should definitely go through some intermediate states. How can we shorten this way to grasp this point to become a true source of importance for the friends?

Answer: I think it should already appear during the preparation for the first talk, but not when people sit and listen to my lecture. They must be included into each other before that.

If you are going to be included in the convention after half a day or a day, it doesn’t work. We must make every effort to prepare, so that when you arrive there, you are so to speak “hot,” and immediately join in the general flow, the general excitement; otherwise, we will lose time.

Don’t talk yourself into that, say, coming and getting in the mood in the evening, or maybe tomorrow. You will have no time to recover, and then it’s over. On the contrary, it is necessary to connect at once and stay at a pace that you are always experiencing more and more states.

So, I beg you, do not waste your time.

For what are we doing all this today? Just for you to be more and better prepared, to come to the convention and not to think: “I will tune in later, when I gradually learn everything.” We have no time for this! You have to arrive there fully prepared and become included immediately. I beg you.

The same goes for all of our friends who are connected with us virtually: don’t relax! If you sit in front of the screen, try to “enter” in it with your soul and don’t be distracted no matter what. You have to control yourself twice because there may be no one else next to you: You are alone.

So, prepare in advance everything you need: to drink, eat, and do not disconnect from the lectures and workshops, which are two and a half hours. Do not turn off! Just sit there and that’s all, as if you were sitting in the center of our lecture hall. I hope for your seriousness in understanding the state the world is in, all of us.

This is a very important event not only for us but for the whole world because it depends on how much we go the right way: by accelerating the process and easing it, or the slow and harsh way. Everything now depends on this turning point. This convention, I would say, is something historic.
[85597]
From a Virtual Lesson 8/12/12

Related Material:
Let Us Finally Be Born!
The Convention: Preparation For Universal Unity
The Kharkov Convention: An Invitation To The Discovery Of The Spiritual World

The Unlimited Power Of The Zohar

Dr. Michael LaitmanWe can attain everything we need to attain, as Baal HaSulam says, with the help of The Book of Zohar. A person who understands the power of The Book of Zohar doesn’t leave it for a single moment all his life. This is because The Zohar is such a great and powerful source that is unlimited in its intensity and in its influence on every one, and it is about this book that it says: “thanks to The Book of Zohar the children of Israel came out of exile,” and not by any other means.

So if we feel that we are in exile, (we will have to feel that, and it isn’t simple at all), we have to turn all the unpleasant feelings in our desire to receive, so that they will serve as an example for unpleasant feeling in the desire to bestow, which we haven’t attained yet and which we yearn to attain.

We can do that if we connect all our desires to receive in the group, and by that begin to switch all the yearnings, the anxieties, and the hopes from the desire to receive to the desire to bestow. This is how it happens if we focus them on the group, on the connection between us.

So we have to first clarify where I am, in what state, what is important for me, what I lack, and what my attitude is towards the group and the Creator. I have to bring all the internal states of my vessels, my passions, my goal, anxieties, and hopes into the group. I enter the group with all that, and then they all take on a different tone; it is as if you enter an elite military unit where everything you had before takes a totally new direction. By the incorporation in the group, all your deficiencies and desires turn into a power pool where you accumulate forces; you receive them from the environment and you can act. This is the switch from darkness to Light, as it says: “and the darkness shall illuminate like Light.”

So when we perform such an internal makeover, by connecting among us and being incorporated in each other, we can thus receive the Light that Reforms instead of the Light that previously just opened our vessels, illuminated from a distance, and as a result we felt different negative feelings. Now, however, we rise above the unpleasant feelings to the connection among us. We don’t want to erase the feelings, we don’t close our eyes and ignore them, but we see the way to advance forward. It is good when there are unpleasant feelings, since they spur me to connect with the group. I come to the group with them and want its help not to dismiss them, but to turn them into a power that moves me forward, that brings me closer to “There is none else besides Him” from where all the unpleasant feelings are sent. Then I will be able to be together with everyone in an act of connection and revelation. Thus we will reach the feeling that we are bringing contentment to the Creator.

We have to try to imagine the state that we are bringing Him contentment in our corporeal life, how unlimited this feeling is, how it raises us above the animal level to the human level, to the level of the one who bestows; what unlimited pleasure there is in the act of bestowal compared to receiving. This is because by that a person is in equivalence of form with the Creator, connecting with the source of unlimited energy. So by bestowing upon someone, a person feels that he has transcended matter.

So let’s read The Book of Zohar with the intention that the Light that comes from it can bring us correction instead of the darkness that it makes us feel first.
[85520]
From the 2nd part of the Daily Kabbalah Lesson 8/14/12, The Book of Zohar

Related Material:
Comments On The Book, The Next 100 Years
Better Less But Together
When Fairy Tales Come True

Together We Shall Turn The Night Into Day!

Dr. Michael LaitmanShamati, Article 138, “About Fear that Sometimes Comes upon a Person”: …And if one sees that fear overcomes him, he should say that there is no such thing as chance, but God has given him an opportunity from Above, and he must contemplate and study the end to which one has been sent this fear. It appears that it is so that he will prevail and say, “There is none else besides Him.
But if after all that, the fear has not departed from him, one should take it as an example and say that one’s servitude of the Creator should be in the same measure of the fear, meaning that the fear of God, which is a merit, should be in the same manner of fear that he now has. That is, that the body is impressed by this superficial fear, and exactly in the same way that the body is impressed, the fear of God should be.

When fear comes upon a person, he should understand that it is sent from the Creator so that we will change the animal fear that is felt in our ego to the fear of God. In the fear we should look not at our desire to receive but at our desire to bestow.

A person’s role is to take this example from Above, although he cannot fulfill it by himself and it is later fulfilled by the Light that Reforms. He has to at least to cope with these clarifications. This is why he has to prepare the environment and himself, in order to be ready to receive the problems and the fears that will come.

It all begins from fear, since the desire to receive feels only pleasure or sufferings. The greatest sufferings for it are the fears: from the smallest fears to the greatest threat.

If the desire is opposite from the Light, the Light summons a feeling of darkness in it. Here we should understand that in answer to this egoistic anxiety that we feel now, we have to draw the upper force with the support of the environment, the society, and prayer. We have to summon the Light that Reforms so that it will turn our vessel of receiving into a vessel of bestowal.

Then we will still feel fear, but it will be fear from not knowing when we can bestow, connect, and resemble the Creator when we can adhere to Him, to give Him a chance to reveal Himself to the created beings. Thus we will turn the darkness into Light and the night into day.
[85509]
From the Preparation to the Daily Kabbalah Lesson 8/14/12

Related Material:
Our Fear Of The Future Is Our Helper
Anatomy Of Fear And Love
The Long Path To Fear

Let Us Finally Be Born!

Dr. Michael LaitmanQuestion: What do you consider to be the most important thing? What is your last address to everyone on the eve of the convention?

Answer: I beg you, from this point forward, no matter what you do on the eve of the congress, all the time think that you are doing all of this for the sake of people around the world coming together physically and virtually and reaching unity, equal to the first degree of the upper Light.

It will be much easier after that. This is similar to how a child is born, as birth is the most dangerous, most difficult, most complicated process. And to this day, when a woman gives birth, we do not know what will happen and how. There is something unpredictable in the birth of a person.

It is easier afterward. A child is born, and you start to work with him: to feed, swaddle, take care of him, giving him everything he needs, etc. The most important thing is over.

The same happens here. We have to go through childbirth, and then everything else will go more easily. It is much easier! It is much simpler! It is much clearer! We will have to be both in this world and in the spiritual one—in the world of bestowal in addition to the world of reception. It will be clearer to us what Kabbalists write about. We will start to adapt to what will be in our feelings.

Therefore, let us make every effort to be born in the upper world. And then move on together.
[85591]
From a Virtual Lesson 8/12/12

Related Material:
Don’t Waste Time – Become Included In The Convention Now!
A Prayer About A Successful Birth
Get Included Into The Common Thoughts And Desires!

“Century Of Drought May Be Ahead”

Dr. Michael LaitmanIn the News (from LiveScience): “The new research, published in Nature Geoscience July 29, suggests the western evergreen forests, which cover an area from southern Canada to northern Mexico, took up a lot less carbon from the atmosphere during the drought that lasted from 2000-2004. That’s normal, and expected. The question is what happens after that.

“Christopher Schwalm and his colleagues at Northern Arizona University’s School of Earth Science and Environmental Sustainability think that there is a good chance the drought could be the new normal. If that happens, a big carbon sink will be lost. …

“There’s a lot of uncertainty in those measurements, but even assuming the smallest loss and the highest carbon uptake — which is unlikely — it still means a non-trivial dent in the amount of CO2 removed from the atmosphere.

“A lengthy drought will cause a big dieback of the evergreen forests that are familiar to hikers and skiers, bringing in vegetation that will likely more resemble a desert scrubland. Those kinds of plants take up carbon, but not as well as forests do. …

“If people don’t cut back emissions or mitigate the die-off somehow, the result will probably be an increase in the rate of carbon-dioxide accumulation in the atmosphere, leading to greater warming, Schwalm told LiveScience. …

“The study also looked at the severe the turn-of-the-century drought using the ‘Palmer Drought Severity Index,’ which measures precipitation, runoff and other factors. Taking a five-year average, and using indicators such as tree-ring data, Schwalm found that this most recent drought of 2000-2004 was as bad as any since about the year 1200.

“That doesn’t bode well; there is a real possibility given current trends that this drought could be one of those that lasts decades, or even a century, he said.”

My Comment: The strongest influence on an imbalance of the planet is caused not by emissions of gases, but by our wrong behavior. We have to consume only what is needed for normal life (the economy of reasonable consumption), work as much as it requires (a couple of hours a day) and dedicate the rest of the time to communication/unity and leisure.

Thus, on the animal level (our bodies) we consume like animals, in balance with nature, and at the level of human in us, we unite and become filled with the power of connection, which aims at fulfilling all our desires fully. The balance with nature will lead the whole system of “still-vegetable-animal-human” in balance, as organs of one body.
[85200]

Related Material:
The Climate Becomes Unpredictable
Nature In Crisis
Are We Moving Towards Climate Catastrophe?

A Mysterious “Assent Above One’s Self”

Dr. Michael LaitmanQuestion: During the course of integral education when we begin our practical work, it becomes clear that people don’t understand what it means to “rise above one’s self” or “to unite.” They ask to be shown how it’s done and where can they see an example of such behavior?”

Answer: It’s impossible to see. Maybe it’s possible to draw something abstract so that there’s something to strive towards, but nothing more. Through the training the group develops a common sensation. This is somewhat of an exit from one’s self, from one’s instincts. This exit from one’s self assumes a couple of stages.

One is to “enter” your conversation partner. This is a basic psychological training that is used widely for various purposes. I begin to sense, to study the other person because for some reason it’s something I need to do or it’s of interest to me. Or I may simply want to rise above myself and treat a person with kindness, like relatives treat one another.

However, even when I try to enter another person’s feelings and thoughts, then his heart and mind (his feeling and thoughts) become as though my own. Let’s say that I’m able to obtain closeness to him and his inner environment, but all that I’m doing in reality is substituting my “animal,” my own instincts and rules of conduct for someone else’s, but I don’t actually rise above our general animal level.

We have to imagine something totally different. The exit from one’s self should not be into another person. When I train to sense another person, these sensations shouldn’t ultimately be aimed at sensing all that is within the other person: his subconscious thoughts, instincts, and reflexes. I’m not interested in the “automatic mechanism” that operates within him. Rather I’m interested in each of the friends’ aspiration to ascend above themselves. I try to connect to their aspiration to ascend and reach the next level, which is the human level. I try to be together with them and each one of them tries to do the same in regards to others.

Through this we create a commonality. We create thoughts and desires that are detached from our animal qualities and are aimed at rising above our current level. We wish for our communication to consist of love, understanding, and to be above our world and our life so that each one of us would vanish in this new commonality, in this new picture of a single desire and single mind.

We have to imagine this and to constantly cultivate it in such a way that the sensation of our commonality appears as the heart and mind of the group. This will be of utmost importance to us and our “I” would vanish within this. My desire to ascend would hold the people around me and everything that pertains to my instincts, reflexes, and habits would fade away as something totally useless and nonexistent at the moment. I wouldn’t use them to the point where I would gradually get used to living in this new commonality that I’ve created above my own self.
[85077]
From a “Talk on Integral Education” 2/29/12

Related Material:
A Conscious Birth Of Humanity
The Most Important Thing Is Communication
Mentality Is Irrelevant

All For The Sake Of Unity!

Dr. Michael LaitmanQuestion: How can we keep the feeling of workshops during the breaks, meals, and so on, at the upcoming convention?

Answer: We must prepare such external conditions so that they always keep people in this state. A person comes to the convention in the morning and leaves in the evening. During this time, he must go through many spiritual states and, in the evening, leave not as he came in the morning. He goes to bed and literally turns off.

Tomorrow and the day after tomorrow, it is the same thing; that is, these are three days of very serious work. We must do everything to ensure that the entire convention is held at this pace and in such a sequence that people are constantly moving forward. Even the breaks and meals must influence him in this way, forcing, moving him forward.

A convention is a very serious event. Alcohol is absolutely prohibited. We must rise to a level where it will not be necessary. We have enough adrenaline at the workshops. You will feel that you are all together, in “one skin”; the Creator will clothe into you.

Question: How can I see the world as one creation? How can I see unity above the breaking?

Answer: It should be opened to you not mentally, not in the mind, but manifested in your feelings. The internal connections of the world will be revealed, and you will see this within yourself.

Question: How do I feel the common need, Hissaron?

Answer: This arises out of a total inclusion into each other because all of our left, meaning all kinds of egoistic feelings stem from the mutual inclusion.

Question: What Kli, vessel, would you like to see in front of you?

Answer: One ready to do anything for the sake of unity. Nothing else is needed! With this, we come into accord, in balance with the upper Light. It is manifested in us, and that’s all. The implementation really is not easy, but the principle is very simple: There is a force that will work in you if you give it this opportunity.
[85263]
From a Virtual Lesson 7/29/12

Related Material:
My Spiritual Home
A Spiritual Feeling
A Congress Is A Great Force

Discard The Distorting Glasses

Dr. Michael LaitmanQuestion: Could you give a specific example of a correct family relationship? I do not yet fully understand it.

Answer: For example, the wife thinks that her husband is not supporting her; she feels lonely. However, she needs to treat him and speak with him like she feels his support one hundred percent. Instead of becoming upset that he gives her no support at all, she thanks him for being so helpful and supportive, and how will the husband respond?

At first, he will be shocked because he thought that she was going to start fighting with him. He will think that she is being sarcastic, but this situation is not just turned upside down, here we have an opposite that comes from another opposite, and from another opposite. This is because she sees faults in you, then she applies them to herself, and tells you what she would have actually seen in you if her egoism was not getting in the way.

Question: I do not understand how I can say the opposite from what I feel!

Answer: Please understand that we do not see the world. We only see ourselves! Every person has a filter before their eyes that only allows me to see what is good and what is bad for me.

This is so that I could distance myself from the things that harm me and become closer to the things that are good for me. I see the world very selectively.

I do not know and am not familiar with the real world, which exists outside of me on the other side of my hands that I am using to cover my eyes. I do not understand it and do not know anything about it.

It presents itself to me the way my egoistic desire paints it, but when I begin to perceive this egoistic desire as an enemy and I wish to see the world as good, then I wish to remove these egoistic, distorting glasses, and to do this, I speak well about all the things I see as bad.

This does not mean that I am lying to you because I treat you as a mother treats her child, and I like all of your qualities. This is how I will see you once I remove the egoistic glasses because only a perfect world exists outside of me.

Question: But I am still wearing these distorting, criticizing glasses!

Answer: However, you wish to see beyond them. Rise above your knowledge. Your natural egoism is soldered in these lenses. This is why you only see faults in your partner when you look at her.

If these were regular glasses, you would simply take them off and throw them out, but these lenses are implanted in you, and this is why you must accept everything that is bad as good. Remember, you are looking through distorted glasses.

“Love covers all transgressions.” This means that there will be no crimes left, only love, instead of them. You love everything in your partner. You simply do not notice any faults in her because habit becomes second nature. Try as hard as you can until it becomes a habit!

Let us decide that, from this moment on, we will behave at home as if we were both perfect and there are no contradictions between us, like we really want to do as much good as we can for one another and be like one body, not physically, in bed, but emotionally, internally. You will see all this materialize after a multitude of these kinds of exercises.

However, naturally, here you cannot do it without social pressure from the environment. You never leave this never-ending seminar. You simply exist within it, and then you will suddenly see the nature inside and outside you begin to change. You will see the world to be different, as well as yourself and all your relationships. Everything will change. As it is written, “I saw an opposite world.”

This seems to be a psychological exercise, but there is a lot of depth to it. We need a collective force to influence us and help us begin these exercises. However, there is a very important condition here: The teacher in this group needs to come from the community of Bnei Baruch.
[85259]
From “A New Life” 7/12/12

Related Material:
Fighting For The Record: The Bar Of Family Relations
Married, But Free As A Bird!
Mirror, Mirror On The Wall, Show Me All Truth