Question: How can a person find out whether he acts on his own awakening from below or if he is awakened from above?

Answer: A person never acts on his own awakening. The awakening from below does not exist. Where could it come from? However, if a person works correctly and establishes the right attitude to his life, feeling within that everything is organized by the Creator, then his reaction is called the “awakening from below.”

However, the “awakening from below” as such does not happen. Can a material be awakened if it is completely dead? It is not even able to feel anything. It goes a long way of developing: electrons and positrons are combined into atoms, molecules are built from atoms, molecules begin to link with each other and grow. At some point, life appears inside of this creature. It begins feeling itself first, then the environment. Due to these feelings, the mind develops in it, and some kind of intelligent life emerges.

All this requires many changes in the initial element of matter that consists of the plus and the minus, and although we do not see, it already contains those internal forces that later will develop into the mind and heart in the form that will become similar to the Creator.

The awakening from below cannot exist because at the heart of creation, first of all, there is the Light as “existence from existence.” Therefore, no matter what happens, everything begins from this existence from existence. The only question is where to begin counting the reaction of the created being that can be called “existence from absence,” as if from nowhere, as if his own prayer (MAN) is the awakening from below.

We begin to count this awakening from the first conscious human response to something that happens in him when he realizes that all of this comes from the Creator and that the Creator created him in this form and set all the external and internal conditions. If a person wants to react as if seemingly against his own desire and builds his attitude toward the Creator above his nature, then this is called the awakening from below.

There are some kind of calculations and actions of the person in this reaction, but of course, all this is based on what the Creator organizes for him from above. We see the same thing in children. A child grows up and suddenly begins to respond as an independent person showing his character. Prior to that, he acted instinctively and suddenly he demonstrates his own attitude to what is happening.

We already are beginning to see how a person is manifested in him because he begins to act independently. Of course, there is no independence in our world, and in essence, a child just shows one of the forms of his desire to enjoy that are inherent in him. However, if a person builds faith above reason, that is, bestowal against his nature, then it is called spiritual work.

This faith can be built only with the help of the Light that Reforms and according to the example that a person sees in the attitude of the Creator toward him. Therefore, the first moment, when he begins the creative work of building his own self in order to become similar to the Creator and become like Him, is considered the beginning of the human being and the beginning of the prayer, MAN, the awakening from below.
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From the Preparation to the Daily Kabbalah Lesson 7/31/13

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The clarification of truth and lies is the work of the mind, and for this we need to work from the aspect of “faith,” with the “faith of the sages.” After all, one cannot clarify the concept of truth and falsehood for himself. We must convince ourselves to accept the higher standard that bestowal is truth. We will never be prepared to know it ourselves.

We are found on a lower level and are linked with our higher part (Galgalta ve Eynaim) to the higher level by way of its lower part (AHP). It follows that we can attract the Light to us only by way of the AHP of the higher. It is impossible to know what the higher level is, as long as we haven’t ascended to it.

And in the beginning we are found entirely on an even lower level completely below the upper; this is my first state. After that we rise to a second state and are already clothed in the AHP of the upper. But we can never truly know what this is and what the sweetness is in the upper one. We always need to search how to find and acquire new observations and feelings in order to rise to the next level.

It follows that I have no other choice but only to accept this with the “faith of the sages,” with faith in the upper, which is found above me. According to me he is considered to be a sage, for he has wisdom that I don’t have. I must only supply myself with Hassadim and then I will be able to accept the conditions from the upper, his advice.
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From the 1^st part of the Daily Kabbalah Lesson 7/30/13, Shamati #148 “The Scrutiny of Bitter and Sweet, True and False”

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In the News (from Money News): “Despite the 6.5% stock market rally over the last three months, a handful of billionaires are quietly dumping their American stocks . . . and fast.

“Warren Buffett, who has been a cheerleader for U.S. stocks for quite some time, is dumping shares at an alarming rate. … Fellow billionaire John Paulson, who made a fortune betting on the subprime mortgage meltdown, is clearing out of U.S. stocks too. During the second quarter of the year, Paulson’s hedge fund, Paulson & Co., dumped 14 million shares of JPMorgan Chase. The fund also dumped its entire position in discount retailer Family Dollar and consumer-goods maker Sara Lee.

“Finally, billionaire George Soros recently sold nearly all of his bank stocks, including shares of JPMorgan Chase, Citigroup, and Goldman Sachs. Between the three banks, Soros sold more than a million shares.

“So why are these billionaires dumping their shares of U.S. companies?

“After all, the stock market is still in the midst of its historic rally. Real estate prices have finally leveled off, and for the first time in five years are actually rising in many locations. And the unemployment rate seems to have stabilized.

“It’s very likely that these professional investors are aware of specific research that points toward a massive market correction, as much as 90%.

“One such person publishing this research is Robert Wiedemer, an esteemed economist and author of the New York Times best-selling book Aftershock.

“In 2006, Wiedemer and a team of economists accurately predicted the collapse of the U.S. housing market, equity markets, and consumer spending that almost sank the United States. They published their research in the book America’s Bubble Economy. …

“Wiedemer calmly laid out a clear explanation of why a large drop of some sort is a virtual certainty.

“It starts with the reckless strategy of the Federal Reserve to print a massive amount of money out of thin air in an attempt to stimulate the economy.

“’These funds haven’t made it into the markets and the economy yet. But it is a mathematical certainty that once the dam breaks, and this money passes through the reserves and hits the markets, inflation will surge,’ said Wiedemer.

“’Once you hit 10% inflation, 10-year Treasury bonds lose about half their value. And by 20%, any value is all but gone. Interest rates will increase dramatically at this point, and that will cause real estate values to collapse. And the stock market will collapse as a consequence of these other problems.’…

“And this is where Wiedemer explains why Buffett, Paulson, and Soros could be dumping U.S. stocks:

“’Companies will be spending more money on borrowing costs than business expansion costs. That means lower profit margins, lower dividends, and less hiring. Plus, more layoffs.’

“No investors, let alone billionaires, will want to own stocks with falling profit margins and shrinking dividends. So if that’s why Buffett, Paulson, and Soros are dumping stocks, they have decided to cash out early and leave Main Street investors holding the bag.”

My Comment: Apparently, the meltdown is under way. But fundamentally, this issue is not solved, like anything else, other than by changing the person himself, and through this social and economic relations. All the problems are caused by nature to force us to change. People are still not inclined to believe that we are we “enter” the new world.
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Baal HaSulam, “The Peace in the World”: But when we delve deeply into it, we will find that the contradiction from reception for oneself to bestowal upon others is nothing but a psychological matter, because in fact we do bestow upon others without benefiting ourselves. …Thus, if the direction were to change from self-reception to bestowal, the individual will enjoy the entire produce he produces without much pain.

Today, when we produce much more than everyone needs, our life, in theory, should be generous, abundant, and peaceful. We could get rid of all the troubles and problems with these resources, having understood that our body requires just a basic, essential regime, and all the other efforts we need to invest into balance with nature, the Creator, into resembling Him. No matter what He reveals to us, we must immediately seek equivalence of form, adhesion, even egoistically. By this we acquire health, peace, good relationships in the family, etc.

In fact, here in this world, we have only one way to achieve a peaceful life: to produce what is essential and put all the rest of our efforts to the spiritual realm. Otherwise, we are harming ourselves because we produce nothing but problems.

What is the correct arrangement? Suppose, we dedicate ten hours a day to spiritual development and from time to time, in turns, give about an hour or more to the material needs of society. Automation allows us to completely switch to this mode.

Then we will see that our world has really completed the previous stage of industrial development and moved to the next stage, to spiritual development. This will be the final corrected way of life in this world: a person lives, provides the necessities for his “animal level,” and develops himself on the human degree, on the level of becoming similar to the Creator. This is what is before us today, according to the evolutionary process, and there is nothing else you can invent.

So, at the current stage, we have to be more and more involved in the work of building a new society, new relationships, and the new human. That is when we will see how all the pleasures that we desired and could not achieve on the previous stages are revealed. You can reach them only on the human degree because their forms of realization have to be similar to the Creator.

It’s clear from here that there is no point in waiting for new pleasures in this world. On the contrary, from now on we will just face growing suffering, which will nonetheless compel us either to take the correct form or to plunge into suffering. And these troubles will eventually do their job, meaning that by their means we will become smarter and come to the right decisions.
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From the 4^th part of the Daily Kabbalah Lesson 7/31/13, Writings of Baal HaSulam

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When the mind agrees that the truth is in bestowal, a person has to work on his heart, which according to his nature only feels receiving as sweet and bestowal as bitter. Working in converting receiving to bestowal is the work in the heart. Logically I agree that the truth is bestowal and now I have to feel sweetness in bestowal. This is attained by habit, due to performing certain actions with force at first: listening to what the friends say, envying them, and trying to do what they do.

These actions, which are against my will, draw the Light that Reforms upon me. After all, it isn’t about the mind that can be persuaded, but about the heart, about the desires. Only the Light can change the desire since it created it in the first place. So if I work systematically in order to draw the Surrounding Light upon my desires, I gradually begin to feel the importance of bestowal.

It takes several years. After all, since the first week I arrived, I came only to learn, and just speak about the greatness of bestowal. I see how the friends speak about it and I repeat after them, like a baby who repeats what the grownups say, even if he doesn’t understand what it means. But I consciously perform actions of bestowal towards the friends, which means that I study with them with the intention of drawing the Light that Reforms, so it will change me.

I keep thinking about the Light that will change my attitude to bestowal. Bestowal needs to be more than just a theoretical truth that I recognize in my mind thanks to the evidence obtained. Now I am looking for the Light that will change my heart so I will feel the sweetness in bestowal.

Some of the sweetness that is felt in bestowal is a result of my actions. If I help the friends, I receive a positive response from them and I already feel sweetness in that. They treat me nicely in response to my bestowal and I begin to respect myself for having bestowed upon them and for helping others. This means that I begin to change my attitude to bestowal even by simple corporeal actions, which let me feel its sweet and pleasant taste.

But the most important change in the taste is done by the Light that Reforms. All this work is called the work of the heart.
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From the 1^st part of the Daily Kabbalah Lesson 7/30/13, Shamati #148 “The Scrutiny of Bitter and Sweet, True and False”

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Question: Which steps do we need to make in order to think and to feel everything within the center of the group, for it is this that is specifically necessary to hasten and accelerate our adherence as a world group?

Answer:  Combining all the methods that Rabash teaches us in his articles are suitable for bringing unity:

• Nullify yourself before the friends.
• Show them how important the goal is to me, how great the Creator is in my eyes.
• Play in front of them in order to lift them, and with this I lift myself.
• Reduce myself before them, agree to all that they demand from me.
• Participate in all that helps in dissemination because with this the discovery of the Creator among His creatures happens. Specifically this is His first, greatest, and only desire. Therefore dissemination is the greatest means for our advancement.
• Participate in gatherings of friends and in the rest of the shared events.

All this is in order to gather us together, to come to unity and to create one shared “Kli”, in which the principle of equivalence of the Creator is revealed.
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From the 2^nd part of the Daily Kabbalah Lesson 7/21/13, Shamati #59 “About the Rod and the Serpent”

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Question: Why is the collective soul divided into so many different and extremely disparate parts? Why is the world filled with unsolvable contradictions? And how can all these parts be connected in unity and equality?

Answer: Indeed, the soul is divided into countless pieces, private Sefirot. And therefore, through every action, even the smallest, we immediately activate many components, all the characteristics, as simple as it sounds, but every time in a different combination.

In general, the desire of the “soul of Adam HaRishon” that shattered is unfathomable. This is the true Behina Dalet (fourth stage)  with its “stony heart” and it is no longer on the level of the still, vegetative, or animate level, and is at the level of man (Adam). In other words, it is an absolutely different, deeper stratum of the soul. We see that the nature of the still, vegetative, and animate is found under the direct control of the Creator, while man after the split is His opposite.

So, after the Upper Light enters the shattered soul of Adam, it divides humans into groups that are very distant from each other. And from then on, the process of correction takes place from easy to difficult. A small “mess” began in ancient Babylon, and this was enough for people to be scattered. And then the desire grew and the imperial wars of ancient Greece and Rome began.

In the beginning people lived in a very simple and primitive form, but when the desire grew in particular parts, the condition was changed. For example, when Cortés conquered South America, he stood against a civilization that just didn’t know about war. The Indians of the American continent, in general, solved problems without bringing them to military confrontation.

However, Cortés, who didn’t have enough soldiers, caused trouble among the Native American tribes, like the Biblical snake, by squirting “poison” at them, meaning the addition of the evil inclination. And they began to kill each other to the benefit of Cortés. In this way several hundred people conquered the continent.

The moral is that the gap formed in contact between the various civilizations created great opportunities, and in particular for correction.

We are simply unconscious of the processes that are taking place in the modern world. For example, not long ago, China was a closed nation, but the Americans began to “flirt” with it, and the condition was dramatically changed. Japan was also isolated from the world for a long time, and Asia “slept” until the last century. Today, in contrast, contact between cultures activates more meaningful mechanisms than the wars of Cortés. But now these are internal wars. A living example is Europe, which has changed its face as a result of mass immigration.

And therefore we need to explain the situation to people and the method of the correct connection. That they will understand our explanation in another ten or twenty years is not important. We must help and they will gradually understand what is happening.
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From the 4^th part of the Daily Kabbalah Lesson 7/25/13, Writings of Baal HaSulam

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Preparation to the Lesson

Shamati #121, “She Is Like Merchant-Ships“

The Book of Zohar — Introduction, “Heaven and Earth,”  Item 154, Lesson 56

Talmud Eser Sefirot Vol. 6, Part 15

Writings of Baal HaSulam “Exile and Redemption,” Lesson 3

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Baal HaSulam, “Peace in the World”: The contradiction from reception for oneself to bestowal upon others is nothing but a psychological matter.

Question: So what is a psychological barrier?

Answer: It is multi-faceted and stems from the principle that we don’t understand that we have to give up everything in order to receive everything. It is this comprehensive concession that will allow me to open all the doors widely. However, it is impossible to reveal a little in order to receive the power to concede, since it would already be an egoistic concession (in order to receive).

There is an inner shattering here that requires unconditional concession. I have nothing and will have nothing, do whatever you want with me, I don’t belong to myself anymore; I leave and escape myself.

It is very difficult. It takes a long time and a person has to go through many states. It is hard to exit our nature and penetrate the nature of the other, of the Creator.

This is the psychological barrier. It is psychological since afterwards there is pleasure. I actually give up something that is worthless: this world and its temporary existence, the daily troubles that only occasional rays of consolation break through. In fact there is no way we can enjoy, but we can suffer less.

This isn’t life and it isn’t pleasure. I have to constantly calculate where I will suffer less, and nothing more than that. What is more, my calculations become more and more confusing each day.

This is a miserable life full of pain that pressures us that were given to us on purpose as help from above so that we will prefer another way of developing instead. Still we cannot…

But today we disseminate the integral education method, which means the chance to receive pleasure by connection. We hope that people will discover this opportunity. There is no psychological crisis here, since they don’t have to leave this world. Let’s just try to connect, let’s try the workshops; we don’t have to leave anything or to give up anything but our preconceptions about connection.

After all, we have suffered enough to agree to try this, but this is also difficult. Even under the threat of terrible afflictions we will not be able to agree to make a small innocent attempt, to sit in a group of people in a nice atmosphere and have a talk over a cup of coffee. The crisis is so serious that a person is not even willing to hear about this.

However, I suppose that the general inclination is positive. Our groups around the world manage to come up with great results in disseminating the integral method and the process is gradually advancing.

On the whole, we have to look for any chance to speak to people about connection. It should be on any level, even the simplest level as long as we don’t create any obstacles. According to this approach, we choose the way to present it to different people. The workshops are good for some and the roundtables for others; others still prefer the games in the park or a TV series, or computer games, etc.

On the whole it is the same subject—connection, but the connection is on a different basis. It can be medicine, education, relations in the family, at work, etc. We design the right attitude that suits a certain sector based on any problem area.

Our neighborhood may have a lot of litter and there may be a shortage of parking spaces, so this is exactly what we talk about in the workshop. The main thing is to evoke as little resistance as possible so that people will see that there is a real chance here to improve their lives.

On our part, we use this in order to show them that connection eventually brings them to something much greater. Besides, when they find a solution, we spur the Light that Reforms and it raises them to another level where they see something that is greater and more sublime.
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From the 4^th part of the Daily Kabbalah Lesson 7/31/13, Writings of Baal HaSulam

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