Transmission Of Thoughts

Dr. Michael LaitmanQuestion: It is known that thoughts can be transmitted over distance. According to scientific research, if 10% of people out of the collective whole think or feel a certain way, then this will spread like a virus to the rest.

Answer: This is in regard to egoistic thoughts. Naturally, it can be made so that people will begin to sense whatever it is that you discuss and think about in your circles, even if they don’t know or hear anything about it. They simply begin to hear.

This is usually what happens with all thoughts—people begin to have a hunch. What we discuss now, they will begin to hear a few months later through different media sources or from people on the street.

This happens due to the fact that we exist in a single system. However, this doesn’t mean people will become interested in what they hear. They will come to it gradually, actively advancing forward. A very long period of their development still needs to take place, and this is actually what we are seeing.

Transmission of thoughts in the world, even if it stems from various egoistic motives, is a natural process that in reality, always has had its place.
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From KabTV’s “The Wisdom of the Crowd” 5/6/13

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Audio Version Of The Blog – 05.17.13

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Prayer As A Systematic Action

Dr. Michael LaitmanQuestion: Whenever we speak about asking something from the Creator, it seems like an attempt to escape reality. After all, I don’t see the Creator and I don’t know who He is. If creation is managed by fixed laws, then how can I ask anything from them?

Answer: A request is not just words. When you ask for something, you discover a deficiency, a demand. This deficiency is a force, a “minus,” a negative that draws fulfillment. With this, you turn to the “plus,” to the positive, and draw it, activating the force.

Let go of the corporal picture of the bodies, trees, animals… Erase it, and, behind it, you will discover a void with two forces, a positive one and a negative one. Then, you will be able to activate the negative force intentionally as you choose selectively, and through that you necessarily will activate the positive force that is opposite to it.

You were given a chance to control your negative force. Other people wander in this void having no freewill and no understanding, just like particles that are influenced by different forces. Although you are a particle too, you were given the opportunity to focus your charge in a certain direction. This means that you operate a desire or a prayer, or, in other words, a deficiency or a request.

Although the words confuse us, we must remember that it is about forces. Therefore, it says that everything is attained by the force of prayer. We already know what a prayer is: It is the work in the heart that arranges the desires and directs them so that they can change the current map of forces.

I can change all the forces through my desire that is directed in a certain way. It is great work, real work in the field of forces. There is nothing but that. All the other “attires” are fictitious.

So, the wisdom of Kabbalah tells you that you are a force, a desire, and how you can focus yourself and be an active and even a beneficial force.

Thus, you understand that if you don’t do anything in the field of forces, you remain a zero. However, Kabbalists tell you that this isn’t so. If you were just an “animal,” you would remain a zero, but since you are given different opportunities that you don’t fulfill, then you are not just a “zero,” but a harmful force. Then, you must be “shaken” so that you will understand that.

I repeat, erase the picture of our fictitious world from your imagination, and feel that you are in a world of two forces: a negative one and a positive one, a desire to receive and a desire to bestow. We were given the opportunity to connect the two, and the connection between the “plus” and the “minus” is determined by resistance.

There are different types of resistance: a simple resistor, a cable, and so on. Certain factors create fields, and other factors create linear forces. The spiritual system also is varied and full. Some of the activities are fulfilled by the Surrounding Lights, as in a conduction coil; other Lights sustain the current state and don’t allow the force to burst, like a cable, and there are Lights that reduce the force or those that increase it. In addition, these forces connect in two lines that continue the three lines.

Generally speaking, it is about very complex systems that operate these two forces. To “pray” means to fulfill the opportunity you were given to increase your force. Thus, I change the whole system as if I have another supplier of power. Actually, there is no other supplier, but I use other suppliers like a solar panel that receives the sun’s energy and converts it, aiming at another function, for example, heating water or generating electricity.

So, a prayer or a request is the force that I operate in the system. I don’t simply ask the Creator to give me something. No, I know for sure what force I activate, how exactly I activate it, and what I can get in response. This is indeed an active spiritual act.
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From the 3rd part of the Daily Kabbalah Lesson 4/28/13, Writings of Baal HaSulam “A Speech for the Completion of The Zohar”

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The Letters That Came To Life

Dr. Michael LaitmanQuestion: How can we say at any given moment, in spite of any problems, that “There is none else besides Him” and that “He is good and benevolent” if I feel the opposite at the moment? Do I have to combine the feelings with words?

Answer: We begin to work from a state of total uncertainty. We only hear and read that “There is none else besides Him.” This is how the first article in Shamati begins: “It is written: There is none else besides Him.” This is what Kabbalists say! But these are only words for me that have no meaning. So how do I develop them?

I try to turn these words into actions that will impress me. So I find a group in this world that claims that “There is none else besides Him,” and I am incorporated in it so that it will influence me and convince me that indeed there is nothing else but the upper force. At least they speak about what Kabbalists say.

I connect to that group and subdue myself before them, raising my friends above me, so that the principle of “There is none else beside Him” will be heard more loudly and so that I will feel how important it is. I try to be under the impression of this slogan, which in the meantime exists only on paper for me.

But if I work with my friends, I begin to receive the Light that Reforms through them. This Light is in their words, and to the extent that I exert myself in the group and subdue myself before it by serving my friends, the Light changes this slogan. The Light is dressed in these words and brings them to life. I begin to feel the life in the letters that make up the words “There is none else besides Him.”

I begin to feel the letters as live vessels that are full of Light, and then the vessels, my desires, begin to move together with these letters according to the Light that goes through them. It isn’t just a Light, but rather a “formatted” Light that has taken on the form of these letters. It turns out that I am impressed in different ways by the sentence “There is none else besides Him” and begin to see, to understand, and to feel how it’s expressed in different states and manners. I learn to work with it.

The sentence that used to be dead for me, just a written slogan, gradually begins to come to life. Accordingly I try to fulfill it in different states, the good and the bad. I hold on to it especially in the bad states, since in the meantime I am an egoist. If the uniqueness of the Creator, “There is none else besides Him” and “good and benevolent” is revealed to me in unpleasant ways, it means that I am acquiring vessels of bestowal and that I rise above this pain. I advance towards the state of: “Don’t do unto your friend what is hateful for you.” I hate this state and want to rise above it. I don’t think that the Creator has caused me all these troubles, but rather, I attribute them to my ego. Thus I acquire the attribute of Bina, “to bestow in order to bestow.”

Then, in very unpleasant states, I begin to receive pleasant states, which is much more difficult, since I have to rise above them. It’s already faith above reason on the second level, not only above the desire to bestow, but also above the desire to receive. I already work with AHP.

It’s as if I work against the good and the benevolent, which means that I receive both the good and the evil equally, as the same thing. Thus I reach love, about which it says: “Love thy friend as thyself,” and then “Love thy Lord,” the highest level of this state, Keter.

All this work is done in “faith above reason.” The moon stands for Malchut, which “sanctifies” itself in its darkest state, and by that begins to illuminate with the Returning Light. It has nothing of its own, and it doesn’t need anything of its own either. It says to the sun that it wants to be like it. The more the moon becomes like the sun, the more the earth determines all the appearances of the moon, to the extent that Malchut is adapted to Keter.
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From the 1st part of the Daily Kabbalah Lesson 4/24/13, Writings of Rabash

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Daily Kabbalah Lesson – 05.17.13

Preparation to the Lesson

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Writings of Rabash “Shlavei HaSulam,” You Stand Today All of You

[media 3] [media 4]

The Book of Zohar – Introduction

[media 5] [media 6]

Talmud Eser Sefirot, Vol. 1, Part 1

[media 7] [media 8]

Writings of Baal HaSulam The Peace“, Lesson 13

[media 9] [media 10]

Audio Version Of The Blog – 05.16.13

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Europeans Are Losing Trust In The European Union

Dr. Michael LaitmanOpinion (from Deutsche Welle): “Public confidence in the European Union has hit rock bottom, a recent survey reveals. Since the onset of the euro crisis, Europeans have lost faith in the bloc, even in pro-European countries, like Germany.

“’The most surprising result was that almost all Europeans saw themselves as victims,’ Jose Ignacio Torreblanca said. ‘Both debtors and creditor countries basically feel that they lost control of what they are doing.’

“It’s indeed an all too real risk that Europe might fail due to a lack of support from its citizens.

“It’s a common problem that national politicians attribute Europe’s successes to their own policies, whereas they blame failures on Brussels. That’s a well-known pattern for explaining why the EU is not popular.”

My Comment: Only deeper unification will save the EU and Europe in general. But the unification should take place not at the level of financial and political establishment, but at the level of societies and nations.
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Welcome To The Eternal Cruise

Dr. Michael LaitmanBaal HaSulam says in the article “The Arvut (Mutual Guarantee)” that if the society cares about each of its members, it can neutralize a person’s egoistic desire. 

Suppose I go on a “everything’s included” pleasure cruise, feeling carefree since the service actually includes everything I can think of. I settle down in my cabin getting ready to spend two weeks of sheer pleasure. However, as we set off, I am told that this is going to be a eternal cruise. So, I live, and everything is prepared for me: Breakfast, lunch, and dinner are  served right on schedule; my cabin is always made; there is a library, a cinema, the Internet, a swimming pool, and so on. Everything is at my service.

In addition to that, everyone treats me nicely and is very attentive, and there is nothing to worry about. The people around me are ready to help me at any time and in any way. These are the social principles on this boat, and they apply to everyone without exception.

So, how will my nature react to that? Is it possible for the ego to erupt under such conditions? The people around me teach me to annul myself by their attitude toward me, and I don’t look for ways to fill and satisfy myself anymore.

For example, I don’t wander in pubs and restaurants in search for delicacies that I haven’t tasted yet, but rather feel satisfied with simple healthy food. Luxuries don’t excite me like before. There, a buffet of desserts is open daily, and it quickly curbs my demands. After a couple of days, I already restrict my “daily consumption,” and after a week, I am satisfied with a cup of coffee and a biscuit. The atmosphere is full of Surrounding Lights that are constantly ready to restrain and calm my ego.

The main thing here is the example I take from others and the attitude they teach me. I am in the company of people who are satisfied with little. This is what is accepted among them, and that’s it. They actually don’t need more than that. They prefer to enjoy the good relationships that I now take in portions, instead of food. If I feel gloomy and take a portion of “our love,” I am immediately filled with love.

It is because I am in a network of social, human relationships whose message clearly is that I never will lack anything. The feeling itself actually is enough, and nothing else. Initially, by our nature, we depend on environment, and there are no compromises here. So, if the group radiates the right attitude toward me, imbued with tranquility, peace, and good will, then half a day later, I also will feel that everything is exactly as it should be. However, if I find myself in some gang, I also will absorb their principles.

There is a natural inclination within a person to adapt to the environment. I simply have no means and no way to fight this inclination. So, within a couple of hours, I become incorporated in the general atmosphere of mutual guarantee and stop worrying about myself. The people around me are my network of connections and are closest to me. I cannot resist their opinion since I am also part of the general network.

So, when it is my turn to reveal the Creator, the root of my soul, I am brought to a new type of connection, to a group. The same law operates here: The group tells me that there is nothing to worry about and that I will stop worrying about it. But besides that, it has to convey the message that I must connect with the friends and adhere to the Creator. It’s because self-annulment is not enough, I also need the right direction, And I also will receive this message.

My free will is not taken away from me in the group since that simply will suppress me. In spirituality, other people’s opinions are not conveyed automatically. This is another boat that I must choose by myself. The Creator brings me to the ladder, but each step up requires great effort and strengthening along the way. However, do I get stronger? Do I fulfill my free will? Without free will, I never will develop the human within me.

A “human being” (Adam) is only the one who pressures himself to enter the group and be incorporated with the friends. Then, I receive everything else from them automatically since I have no control over it anymore.

In short, we choose only one thing: the environment. The first and main condition is mutual guarantee. If we are connected in mutual guarantee and provide everyone with everything that they need for self-annulment, then there is nothing else that we need for a start.

The second condition is to make sure that everyone has the stimuli and incentives so that they surely will hold onto the friends. This ensures a person’s good fate.
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From the 3rd part of the Daily Kabbalah Lesson 4/30/13, “The Mutual Guarantee”

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They Help Someone Who Is Ready To Be A Guarantor

Dr. Michael LaitmanBaal HaSulam, “The Arvut (Mutual Guarantee)” Item 17: The giving of the Torah had to be delayed until they came out of Egypt and became a nation of their own, so that all their needs were provided for by themselves, without dependence on others. This qualified them to receive the above Arvut, and then they were given the Torah.

The condition for the giving of the Torah, the method of correction, is readiness for mutual guarantee.

In general, the Torah is the Light that Reforms, which helps a person to the degree that he is ready to be a guarantor. In other words, the Torah works for a person if he is ready to unite with another, up to the point of loving the other.

If the person is not ready for this, the Torah doesn’t work for him, the Light is not shed. After all, the Light only comes as a reaction to a person’s effort to do something for another.

This principle resembles an electrical system with resistance (R). Depending on the amount of resistance between me and another, the Light that Reforms, the Surrounding Light (Ohr MakifOM), will come.

There is no other possibility. Hatred can burn between us. Our relationship can be negative (-), neutral (0), or positive (+), it makes no difference. The main thing is that these relationships will be such that work will be done, that the friends will exert efforts.

To do this, we need to study so as to learn what we have to attain. We also need the group that establishes the order of activities.

So, the Light that Reforms also called the Torah influences us. And it acts upon us on the background of inner clarification discerned through the evil inclination, which is what provides the resistance.

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From the 4th part of the Daily Kabbalah Lesson 5/1/13, “The Mutual Guarantee”

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A Nation That Communicates On A Different Range Of Frequencies

A Nation That Communicates On A Different Range Of FrequenciesBaal HaSulam, “The Arvut (Mutual Guarantee)” Item 17: When the sons of Israel came out of Egypt and became a nation of their own all their needs were provided for by themselves, without dependence on others. This qualified them to receive the above Arvut, and then they were given the Torah.

By uniting among ourselves and building a mechanism of general interconnection out of many people, we create a perfect, whole system. We don’t need anyone in this mutual connection: Everything happens internally, among us.

So, these particular conditions were created in those times, and the external environment didn’t influence the sons of Israel. Thus, they became a nation that exists in a state of interconnection and attributes itself to the upper force.

In that case, the nations of the world cannot hurt the nation of Israel in any way. It is because it is on a different level, lives in a different range of frequencies, and simply doesn’t intersect with or touch others.


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From the 4th part of the Daily Kabbalah Lesson 5/1/13, Writings of Baal HaSulam “The Mutual Guarantee”

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