Audio Version Of The Blog – 08.09.13

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How To Never Be Detached From The Creator

Dr. Michael LaitmanQuestion: How can I never be detached from the Creator?

Answer: If I do not feel the Creator, if there is a complete separation, it means that I return to the animal state and can do nothing by my own strength. So, I need a daily schedule, regular work that I have to perform. Then, this still level, my schedule, will bring me back to life. I will begin to read, study, and take part in some actions, and thus will recover. I would not be able to do this myself and would never go back to the Creator.

Thus, everyone should organize for himself mandatory activities during the day that when necessary will bring him back to some connection with the upper management. And after I have regained connection, (after I worked on an article, talked to someone, did something), then I return to spirituality, even if not yet in feeling and in the heart, but at least in thoughts, with the mind.

I read, edited text, studied it, did my part. I do not have a sense of connection with the Creator yet, but due to the environment that inspires and pulls me along, I am starting to wake up and come to life. And the heart and the mind begin to bring me back to spiritual work. I understand that I must reveal the Creator, the upper management, in everything that I see before me.

Someone yells at me; there are some problems at home, at work, and I try to recognize the Creator beyond all these people and events so that the external picture of reality does not overshadow Him and does not become that “iron barrier” between us about which Baal HaSulam writes. I want that picture, the outlines that I see, to help me reveal the Creator instead of hiding Him. This is the difference between the concealing screen and the revealing screen: It all depends on how I will be able to change one into another.
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From the Daily Kabbalah Lesson 8/7/13, Writings of Baal HaSulam

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Good Kids Grow In Good Families

Dr. Michael LaitmanIf I have a big, strong, good society, I am like a kid who follows this example, trying to do whatever the friends do. In that case it isn’t hard to resemble the Creator at all. A good society will teach me how to do this, just like a grownup teaches children.

I have to make efforts on my part, but they should be more qualitative each time. The society sets a clearer example for me each time, while I receive a greater hardening of the ego each time from the Creator so that I will be independent in my attitude to the group and free of its influence.

My desire to receive keeps growing and I have to work with the group and the Creator in order to overcome the growing ego. It’s like a child who grows and becomes lazier and doesn’t want to make any efforts anymore. A person is given a chance to benefit more by seeing the importance of the society, the goal. His desire to be bigger like the Creator is like a child in our world who dreams about being a pilot. But he must always participate to some extent (like a child does) by trying to see the society as more important. If I see the society that helps me resemble the Creator and come in contact with Him as more important, it means that I connect “Israel, the Torah, and the Creator,” and this helps me focus directly on the goal.

It turns out that it’s impossible to manage without the society. I have to constantly follow the example that it sets for me so that it will seem as great as possible. This is important in order to acquire equivalence of form with the Creator and to perceive that I will eventually receive everything that is good from Him without any concealment.

Now I also receive an infinite filling from the Creator, but the problem is that my desire to receive is opening gradually and slowly. Now, I use, let’s say, only one percent of my whole desire. So instead of the world of Ein Sof (Infinity), I feel only one percent of it. This one percent is divided into my right and wrong attitude towards the Creator, which means that there is always concealment.

This is how I advance, step by step, like a child growing in our world. I feel the concealment with regard to the society, the Creator, and my qualitative advancement. It’s because I shouldn’t just grow like an animal by remaining the same child but simply bigger. It’s rather the human being in me that should change for the better each time.
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From the Daily Kabbalah Lesson 8/06/13, Shamati #8 “What Is the Difference Between a Shade of Kedusha and a Shade of Sitra Achra”

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How Can I Fill The Friend?

Dr. Michael LaitmanQuestion: How can I include the friends in me so I will always feel what they lack in order to be able to constantly fill them?

Answer: I should simply think about what else I can give the friend. Have you seen how a mother treats her small child? She constantly looks at him and thinks only about him and about what else she can do for him. She can talk to you and at the same time not let him out of her sight.

This is how we should see the group, since it is the only valuable thing we have in order to attain something in this life.
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From the St. Petersburg Convention “Day Two” 7/13/13, Lesson 4

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Gradual Development

Dr. Michael LaitmanThe Kabbalists who attained an inner understanding of the world, described the entire creation as multidimensional, composed of many “worlds”: basically this is what both physicists and psychologists are beginning to talk about today.

The “multidimensional” world is composed of concentric circles which we investigate from within our small world which is found in the middle of their central point.

The great Kabbalist, the ARI, writes that after everything was contracted, a ray of light was drawn and created all the worlds up to our world, which is the last of all and is found within the empty gaping void. And only a narrow channel of Light passes from the world of Infinity (symbol ∞) to our world.

Gradual Development
We began to be developed from its most central point, which within it, according to astronomy, through the power of an explosion that all matter was created. According to the wisdom of Kabbalah, matter was created as a result of a contraction even before the explosion.

Our world is absolutely the opposite of all that exists outside of it. And therefore we don’t feel all that exists outside of it. Together with this, we feel only what enters by way of our five senses, and from this we describe to ourselves the picture of the world. This is what we have.

The entire creation was formed through a consistent contraction from above to below. This is to say, all the circles were gradually contracted until the area of the contraction was shattered into a multitude of parts under the influence of the Light. And therefore within matter (the desire to receive), the characteristics of the Light appeared, except in an opposite form.

If the characteristic of the Light is to bestow, to fill, to love, to connect, to enrich, and to create, which is to say, to create everything so that it will be beneficial, good, and eternal, then when it enters and shatters matter, it divides it into a multitude of parts, and in itself produces in this place characteristics which are its opposite, characteristics of reception, egoism, coercion, hatred, and rejection; these are within our negative emotions, although we use them because it has become our nature, and that is how we are.

Everything that separates us (the so-called “Pharaoh”) is the negative characteristics of the Light, its opposite. And from them we can learn, we can explain them in reverse all the time and can see what is happening.

Therefore, our work is realized with “faith above reason,” which is to say with bestowal above reception, with yearning for bonding, connection, and love, rising above ourselves, above our nature. In this manner it is possible to go forward.

But we ourselves can only make small efforts, and also, those who are ready for this are only people who have a “point in the heart,” the beginning of the characteristic of bestowal.

In principle, this spark exists in everyone; only it is discovered gradually, beginning with people who are more subtle and after that in those who are coarser. At the same time, the coarser the person is, his potential is greater. Even though it is more difficult for him to correct himself, but accordingly, the intensity of the discovery of his spiritual height will be greater also. Therefore, those who will be corrected after us will add immense Light to our perception.

Let’s say that in sum we attain the level of Nefesh, and after that, when this passes to them, the attain the levels of Ruach, Neshama, Haya, and Yechida. Every generation attains some particular level and the following generation that replaces it reaches even greater heights. And we develop in an identical manner.

Our development is gradual. Those in whom the point in the heart is awakened are inclined to search after the meaning of life. They are not influenced by any religion, what interests them is attainment, which is to say a real filling of knowledge, emotion, and ability to “take” the whole world, to discover it fully, to feel it within them, and in a real, tangible manner to feel themselves within it. The point in the heart pushes them towards this.

But the point in the heart alone is not enough for this, rather the mutual help of the rest of the shattered parts of the collective desires is required, or at least a part of them. Thus the group is gathered.

What is more, it is not we who gather the group. It is created as if by chance. The idea is that around us there exists a higher Light that fills the empty void that was formed (we call this an empty void because we don’t actually feel the Light), and it acts on us to the degree of the inclination of our yearning for its characteristic.
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From the St. Petersburg Convention “Day Two” 7/13/13, Lesson 3

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Uruguay’s Parliament Has Said “Yes” To Marijuana

Dr. Michael LaitmanIn the News (from The Sun Daily): “The lower house of Uruguay’s National Assembly approved the controlled sale of marijuana, news reports said Thursday, in a move to aid the country’s fight against illegal drugs.

“The Chamber of Deputies voted by 50 to 46 late Wednesday after a 13-hour session to allow individuals over 18 to buy up to 40 grams of marijuana per month from chemists’ shops, or to grow up to six cannabis plants, if they register on a database of users.

“Marijuana clubs would be allowed 15 to 45 members, and up to 99 cannabis plants.

“The initiative by the left-leaning government of President Jose Mujica now goes to the Senate, where his Frente Amplio (Broad Front) coalition has a narrow majority.

“If it passes, it would give the state ‘control and regulation of the activities of import, export, planting, cultivation, harvesting, production, acquisition in any capacity, storage, marketing, and distribution of cannabis and its derivatives.’

“Possession of cannabis for personal consumption is already tolerated in Uruguay.”

My Comment: As I have repeatedly pointed out in this blog, everything is heading towards the complete legalization of drugs in order to calm the population and reduce it by peaceful means. All this also leads to the recognition of the evil of our egoistic existence and the realization of the need to correct human nature as the only way for survival.
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When The Illusion Fades Away…

Dr. Michael LaitmanQuestion: When the friends are incorporated properly, I feel delight that I bring the Creator pleasure. How can I keep in mind that it is the Creator, that everything is under His control, and that it has nothing to do with me and my pride?

Answer: It is written: “I am the first, and I am the last.” This means that no matter what you do, it is the Creator who does it. Everything that you start, no matter what state you and your environment are in, it is He who arranges everything. Whatever happens in the end is also arranged by the Creator.

What doesn’t he arrange? There isn’t such a thing! Everything stems from Him!

So where am I? You are only the one who does his best so that everything would work out. But what for? After all, He arranges everything? When you make such attempts, you adhere to Him, that’s all and there is nothing but that.

The illusion that you exist separately and independently, that you do something, that you think, etc. is given to you only for your sake. It is so you will attain the revelation that you are totally adhered to Him anyway and that you constantly move together in your desires, intentions, and actions in everything
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From the St. Petersburg Convention “Day Two” 7/13/13, Lesson 4

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An Example With A Hint

Dr. Michael LaitmanQuestion: How should a group behave if it notices an eruption of the ego in several friends, or disrespect of one friend toward another?

Answer: You should set a quiet example with a hint. Suppose I see that one friend treats another disrespectfully. I will try, as if by chance, to speak respectfully about the one he disrespects, in a conversation that we may have. I will do that without hurting or humiliating anyone. It only relates to the spiritual work.

If we speak about our work with the public or here at the center, which is not related to spiritual contact, then we can object to one another and not agree with one another. But then again, it has to be totally detached, and absolutely clear that it has nothing to do with our spiritual adhesion.
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From the St. Petersburg Convention “Day Two” 7/13/13, Lesson 4

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It All Depends On The Attitude

Dr. Michael LaitmanThe Creator begins to awaken us through His illumination and changes in relation to us in the last stage of development where we are most distant from Him. We are just the “material” of desire that is possible to “awaken” and activate.

We ourselves are unable to initiate a single action, our desire can only react and does not have the slightest potential of independent undertaking. It has no creative power of the Creator, the force of creation; it has no Light, no source of energy. It’s capable of only two things:

  • Either to merely receive fulfillment without any freewill
  • Or by means of a special attitude towards the Host, the Light, to form a qualitatively different response.

As a result, we are always under the full control of the Creator: He sends us the Light, and it depends upon us as to how to accept His attitude. Either we accept it applied only to the “material” of our desire. That is, we enjoy to a greater or lesser degree, or besides that, we respond to Him above this or that level of enjoyment.

If I start calculating my attitude to the Creator in response and this becomes more important for me than the pleasures received by the “material” of desire, then I work in faith above reason. In other words, receiving the feeling of my own being from the Creator, I make calculations every second of my life: Do I take into account only my attitude, my “physical” reality, or, based on this reality, do I respond to the Creator with bestowal? Can I respond to Him with bestowal using what I feel in my life now?

Thus, I begin my path along the steps of getting closer to the Creator. And my calculation on this path is the following: To what extent, above the growing desire with its changeable sensations, good or bad, can I build a reciprocal relationship with the Creator?

In fact, I proceed from the assumption that only absolute good comes to us from the Creator. He can cause no harm to anybody, and if the created being feels evil, then in the end the only reason is that it cannot build within itself the correct attitude to what it receives.

For example, we know from life experience, how many people are willing to pay a surgeon who performs a vital operation on them, including injections, intravenous infusions, blood transfusion, a difficult period of rehabilitation, and other painful sensations. That is because the goal is important, so important that a person does not feel any pain because he is wholly focused on the goal and wants to get rid of the disease. The surgeon for him is not an enemy but a well-wisher who it is worthwhile to pay.

So, it all depends on the attitude. My attitude to the Creator is changing dramatically: Having changed the intention to bestowal, I feel from Him only good instead of evil and I feel pleasure. In contrast to the example with a surgeon, not a trace is left in my perception from some painful surgery on my “body” of desire. On the contrary, my “body” feels that I am enjoying. But again, all this is possible only if I obtain the intention to bestow. It all depends on the change of intent.

How do I change it? Here lies the work of the fourth degree of human development. I constantly have to ask so that besides good or bad affects felt in the desire, the Creator helps me correct my attitude to what I receive from Him.

I want to feel Him as He is, according to His bestowal upon me, completely Good That Does Good, but not because He brings me good, but because I don’t want to think ill of Him, to treat Him badly. If I feel that the Creator causes me pain, then surely He is not good for me. This is the natural reaction of my lower levels. It’s obvious to them. The egoistic desire cannot experience other responses to the source of evil. That’s why I don’t want to build a direct relationship with the Creator based on the feelings in my own desire.

Thus, there is a game: We need to be ready to feel increasingly bad feelings in our desire, in various forms, more and more complex, sophisticated, and at the same time more qualitative. In other words, I will feel evil, more and more directed at the Creator. And the more, in spite of my bad feelings, I try to see the source of good in Him (only not to internally curse Him and not in order to avoid evil), the more important my attitude towards Him will be, the further I advance.

At first, during the first few years, a person faces a lot of confusion. No matter, the core of the matter is my attitude to the Creator that should be tied to what my desire feels. This is not masochism: by truly changing my attitude to Him, I no longer feel bad sensations. Everything in me says it’s pleasure, including the still, vegetative, and animal levels, which are attached to the fourth stage, to the intention.

However, much work is required to establish connection with the Creator, so that He changes my response from negative to positive. That is the goal: To establish contact with Him. That is why we have two “alert systems”: One is based on the feelings of desire on the first three levels, and the second one, on my response on the fourth level. Together, these hub systems form connection between man and the Creator.

For example, I see those who surround me in one system and I react to them in the other one. There is no “feedback,” meaning a conscious response to the Creator, on the still, vegetative, and animate levels, only instinctive reactions. He just makes them act as necessary and no more. On the other hand, on the fourth stage, we have to participate in responses, giving them a certain form using the screen and the Reflected Light. This response to the Creator is the human being, Adam.
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From the 1st part of the Daily Kabbalah Lesson 8/6/13, Shamati #8 “What Is the Difference Between a Shade of Kedusha and a Shade of Sitra Achra

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There Are No Negative Qualities

Dr. Michael LaitmanAccording to the sources, an angel takes a drop of semen before a person is born and asks the Creator what will become of it: a hero or a weakling, a wise man or a fool, a rich man or a poor man. But it doesn’t say if he will become righteous or wicked.

Therefore, we have to focus all our attention only on that. Everything else is predetermined and there is nothing we can do about it. People who have lived a long time know that what you are is what you will be and that a person doesn’t change. There is no way you can change yourself.

So we shouldn’t have complaints about anyone, but simply should try to help a person become a righteous. Then all his negative qualities and discernments will suddenly become so useful that you will simply be very happy.

The higher a person is spiritually, the more his qualities are revealed as negative so he will be able to correct them. So when the greatest righteous are in a state of descent, they appear to be very egoistic people: irritable, angry, grumpy, stingy, etc. On the one hand, most of these qualities are revealed internally and no one feels it on the outside. But on the other hand, it says: “He who is greater than his friend, his desire is even greater.”

Envy is the most wonderful quality and it should actually be cultivated and increased, as it says: “The envy of authors will increase wisdom.” The reason is that if you see it correctly, then you can be greatly impressed by the positive qualities of the friends, by their achievements, their adhesion to the group in order to bestow; I see how they succeed while I don’t. This is the right kind of envy! I don’t try to humiliate the friends’ qualities and to annul them, but rather try to attain these qualities by myself.

There are two ways of using the same attribute correctly: either the negative use of envy when I want to “eliminate” a friend who succeeds or when I want to become even better than him.
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From the St. Petersburg Convention “Day Two” 7/13/13, Lesson 4

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