Question: At this time, what particular part of relationships between men and women is “impaired” by the crisis?

Answer: The crisis hits all levels: inanimate, vegetative, and animate. We are not paying attention to this fact, nor do we investigate it much. Our world outlook is not integral yet. We don’t understand what other spheres of life undergo the crisis except recognizing it in the human society, specifically in the financial and economic spheres.

However, the crisis does involve animals and plants, but in a way that we simply don’t notice. If not for the crisis, then why does a huge number of species vanish? Every day, as reported in the literature, several species become extinct.

Of course, the crisis is mostly noticeable in relationships among people; typically, we feel it through ourselves. Interaction among people is crucial and defining; we stopped understanding each other correctly and became internally detached; therefore, we now are incapable of finding common points of connection when solving any kinds of problems.

We make international plans and domestic policies, but then again we are the ones who break them and run around in circles.

Our growing egoism requires integral solutions, mutual interactions, common comfort, reciprocal involvement, and general connection between us; first, we should unite, and as a result of our unity there will emerge a new idea, a new tool for developing technology, economic, and finances. We don’t do this.

We do not unite, nor do we create new instruments for management that stem from our unity, that’s why there is no management whatsoever. We make new plans in education and upbringing that do not originate from our unity, and that’s why they do not work. We are the ones who create the surroundings that impact us: TV programs, movies, etc. that do not stem from our connection; thus, we tremendously damage the society we live in by splitting it even more and setting wrong values.

At all levels of life, the root of the problem is the human being. Instead of correcting this problem by changing people, we use our conventional methods; that is, we “enforce and encourage” by referring either to police or money; it is called “love and hunger rule the world.” However, this pattern doesn’t work any longer. Our egoism doesn’t react to it.

We could have treated our ego in a different way, as a bear in the circus that gets a spoonful of honey instead of sugar, but it’s not enough for our ego. The “bear” in us refuses to work under these conditions; it needs a totally different approach, a new system of interaction and governance, though we do not realize it yet. That’s why the crisis in fact is a misunderstanding of the system of forces within which we find ourselves.

Of course, the main thing is the family. The fact that the family is practically disappearing sets the example for a new generation; it doesn’t seem too terrible to us yet. “So what… Instead of seven billion people we’ll end up having only two. What’s wrong with it?” However, we don’t understand that it is not a solution to the problem. Unfortunately, people are becoming more and more like “barbarians,” they accept everything that happens around them without much ado.

At some point several centuries ago, we were considered barbarians, but it wasn’t actual barbarity, but rather our developmental stage. Today, we outgrew all possible cultural thresholds and acquired every cultural value, but once again we are turning into barbarians regardless of our values; it’s quite different—it’s degradation. So, at this point integral upbringing is simply indispensable.
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From a “Talk on Integral Upbringing” 7/8/12

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Question: The role of the regular family was always that it supported all kinds of social institutions. How are mutual relationships of the integral family established with the society?

Answer: It depends on what level of the society we are speaking about. If we are talking about the typical integral family, then the purpose is for a completely different social culture, that is, for different levels, evaluations, values, a different education for children, a different relation between couples in their work, etc. It all depends.

We are speaking about a completely different world, about a different humanity. It is really a mutual integral cooperation of everyone with everyone, but it usually happens under sponsorship, under protection, with the approval and soft, sensitive guidance of the media. This is the most important thing. According to the media, it is possible to judge if we are close to this goal or far from it, opposite to it. As of today, we are opposed and completely opposite to integrality. And these opposites need to be revealed as society’s wounds, as poisonous decay, which we need to correct.

The past media will begin to gradually disappear for many reasons: from lack of advertising, lack of participation with them, the development of the Internet that replaced them, etc.

To the extent that the media in its usual form will wither away and look for a new field of work and new activities for themselves, they will need to go through major reconstruction and to be completely different, meaning, to be what will influence the entire system in a positive and effective way.
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From a “Talk on Integral Upbringing” 8/7/12

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Preparation to the Lesson

Writings of Baal HaSulam “Concerning the Vitality of Kedusha“

The Book of Zohar – Selected Excerpts “Beresheet Bet (Genesis 2),” Lesson 152

Talmud Eser Sefirot, Volume 1, Part 3, Chapter 7, Item 3, Lesson 17

Writings of Baal HaSulam “The Nation,” “The Individual and the Nation,” Lesson 3

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From Baal HaSulam’s Letter No. 38: But the most important is the labor, to wish to toil in His work. This is because the ordinary work does not count at all, but only the bits that are beyond the ordinary, which are called “labor.” It is like a person who needs a pound of bread for satiation—his whole meal is not considered a satiating meal, except for the last bit of the pound. That bit, for all its smallness, makes the meal satiating. Similarly, from each work, the Creator draws only the surplus beyond the ordinary, and they will become the Kelim (vessels) for the reception of the Upper Light. You should realize this very well!

We don’t notice that every action of ours is divided into HaVaYaH, into four phases: the entire process, any and every fragment of it, every single movement, even the smallest one.

Eventually, a person gets to realize that he is incapable of anything on his own and that only the upper Light can act and only the Creator is able to perform the action. The Creator reveals Himself and starts acting only to the extent that a person clears the room for Him, for the state that is called “None else besides Him.” If a person doesn’t come to this kind of result, it means that he hasn’t concluded his action.

Our work is to blow away the concealment and allow the space for the King, so that He rules over everything. It happens only at the end of each effort, and by that a person sees that it is the only thing he needs to learn.

Hence, it means that a person hasn’t come to the end of his exertion, nor has he achieved the goal, since he failed to clear the room for the Creator and implore Him to reveal Himself in the point of his utmost exertion, which one tries to resolve on one’s own.

It’s important to develop sensitivity and a “touch” in order to tell whether we have managed to complete our actions each time, that is, whether we have compelled the Creator to reveal Himself to us even more and whether we succeeded to make a little more room for Him—for the property of bestowal that takes over certain qualities of ours.
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From the Preparation to the Daily Kabbalah Lesson 8/1/12

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 Question: How can we transfer the sensation of the new values such as friend, teacher, and group to the 99% of the population?

Answer: When the Light will become revealed, it will give us additional weight, feeling, and importance of each of each of these terms. For the time being I perceive it something abstract.

I will begin to see that these are the components of my soul, the state of my soul, parts of my soul, and that the entire world is one general soul. There is only Malchut and no one exists outside of it. Today we exist in a state of illusion called our world, thinking that we exist outside of the general soul.

The first spiritual state is the minimal sensation of existing together with everyone  in a single system .
[84990]
From a Virtual Lesson 7/29/12

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Question: How can we cease operating through the mind and learn how to feel others?

Answer: We feel our world first and then think about it. We analyze and come to some conclusions because feelings come first, and then the mind analyzes these feelings, creates a picture from them, evaluates them, lays them out, and differentiates between them. So, first of all, we should feel. But we can’t think about what we don’t feel; we can’t realize this in any way or take it into account, etc.

First of all, we need a spiritual, higher feeling, meaning the property of bestowal, in which we see the next dimension. Together with our present dimension, it will complete the picture of the world. This is what we want: What we have today will be revealed to us in the left line, and that which is in the force of bestowal, we’ll try to reveal in our overall integrated system (the right line), and all this has to live within us. And by averaging, constantly connecting them, we’ll move further towards the goal until these two lines, both forces connect.
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From a Virtual Lesson 7/29/12

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Question: If I were to regard my partner as a mirror where you see your faults, then this will keep bringing me back to myself. Thus, instead of developing a connection with my partner, will this exercise then only focus on me?

Answer: But instead of hiding in my own shell, I must rise above all this. Let’s start everything from the beginning, from point zero. I look at my wife and see a number of faults. Now I begin to apply all these faults to myself because it’s written that: “Every person judges to the extent of his own corruption.”

For this reason I get back to myself and say that all these flaws are in me. If I were perfect I would not see any of this. If I loved my wife, I would not see any faults in her! It’s like a mother in relation to her child who does not see anything bad in him. This is the way natural motherly love works, blinding you. And even when the mother notices certain faults in her child, she loves them and considers them to be cute.

In other words, primarily, I begin to understand that all the faults I see in my spouse are in me and the reason I see them is because of my lack of love for her. This is why I must raise myself to a level where I stop seeing faults in her, like a mother and her favorite child. This is called, rising above your egoism.

With the help of my spouse, I have performed certain measurements in me and have evaluated the level that I am at and the height to which I must ascend to rise above myself. It turns out that I have a partner who helps me rise above my nature. Imagine the treasure I have at home; this is a real treasure!

For now I have only risen above my ego by using my partner as a mirror. Now I am moving on. I have risen above myself and I no longer work with my desires and qualities. In this neutral state, I try to feel, examine, and understand desires, qualities, aspirations, and the goals of another person, for example, my spouse’s. I try to accept them as something that matters most to me and live to fulfill them.

I feel that if we were to mutually act this way, from both sides, then our life would be beautiful. The problem is that I am unable to remain in this state. It’s very difficult and requires a lot of effort. I am able to keep it up for a few minutes, but then I drop it and require support. It’s simply impossible to constantly remain in this state, this awful pressure.

It’s very easy to be egoistically thinking about yourself as nature constantly provides us with fuel for this. There’s a constant egoistic engine incessantly spinning in us, working from morning till night and even while we sleep. And this requires enormous strength, inhuman efforts, which I am simply incapable of. So what do I do?

This is the way we reach the next decision. The first decision was to rise above my egoism. The second one is to accept my partner’s egoism instead of my own. Then I see that I am unable to remain in this state and I need an environment and support. The environment serves as the source of power and significance, which essentially is the same thing. In other words, it must provide me with the sensation of the incredible importance of this work above my egoism and for the benefit of my neighbor. It’s able to give this to me. And then, I will feel even freer when taking care of my neighbor than when I was taking care of myself. It’s as if I have nothing to worry about, this is the kind of freedom and peace that I feel.

First of all, all my problems and hardships disappear because I have risen above my nature. I feel like I live in a world full of kindness. I only care for my neighbor, free of worrying about myself, like a bird, soaring in the sky. This is the way I will feel, if others give me energy, importance, and aspiration.
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From a “A New Life” 7/12/12

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Question: Presently, few people are attracted to the wisdom of Kabbalah. Should we expect awakening of new points in the heart as we continue to disseminate?

Answer: I have no precise answer to this question. I don’t want to determine things that were not written by the Kabbalists.

You should understand that some are strong by their quantity, others by their quality. It is said: “You are the few among the nations.” Even in the future there will be not very many people as friends in the groups throughout the world, nor will there be lots of supporters, the broader circles that are not oriented to the wisdom of Kabbalah since they don’t completely feel the same way we do, but who are close to us, who listen to us and follow us.

Our strength is not in numbers, but in the height, in understanding, recognition and connection with Godliness. Through us, as through the zigzag of the lightening, various recommendations, programs, event plans for broad auditoriums will come down from heaven to earth. Then, probably because there is no other choice, or because people will start believing us, or due to some other reasons, they will get used to and accept our message.

As Baal HaSulam said, if there is at least one who can see in the head of the column of blind people, they should follow him with complete confidence that they will eventually reach the goal. I don’t think that there will be serious changes here. We provide lectures, set up roundtables, open campuses; however, we do this not because we want to draw people into our organization. On the contrary, we have to work in “their territory” and transfer a general, common method of correction to them, rather than deliver to them our specifics.

“Screens,” “Lights,” “Vessels,” “Partzufim,” and “Restrictions” are not for them. People need to know about unity, which will ease their material life.

This is our message to the audience. We shouldn’t “inject” Kabbalah and “high matters” into them. We have to speak with people at “eye level,” according to the “pulse of their heart,” about something that worries them, about their “deficiencies” like the upbringing of children and other everyday problems. We should slightly accentuate their desires and show them that there is a tool that will “calm them down”—our methodology.
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From the 4^th part of the Daily Kabbalah Lesson 8/1/12, “Introduction to The Book of Zohar”

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