In the News (from the University of Exeter): ”Volunteering may be good for your health, reveals a large systematic review and meta-analysis led by the University of Exeter Medical School.

“Volunteering can improve mental health and help you live longer, finds the study which is published in the open access journal BMC Public Health. The research pools and compares data from multiple experimental trials and longitudinal cohort studies. …

“The systematic review was led by Dr Suzanne Richards at the University of Exeter Medical School, and was supported by the National Institute for Health Research Collaboration for Leadership in Applied Health Research and Care in the South West Peninsula (NIHR PenCLAHRC).

“Worldwide, the prevalence of adult volunteering varies with estimates of 22.5 per cent in Europe, 36 per cent in Australia and 27 per cent in the USA. Volunteers commonly cite altruistic motives for their habit – ‘giving something back’ to their community, or supporting an organisation or charity that has supported them. Volunteering can also be used to gain work experience or to widen social circles, but its effects may go far deeper.

“Previous reviews have highlighted supposed health benefits, including increased longevity, improved quality of life, reductions in stress and hospitalisation, but these tend to be based on narrative, rather than comparative evidence. Richards and colleagues pool data from 40 papers which reported data from 9 experimental trials and 16 cohort studies to arrive at their conclusions.

“The causal mechanisms underlying the potential health benefits of volunteering are unclear.”

My Comment: The real reason is that the Surrounding Light (Ohr Makif) affects them because the basis of voluntary assistance is ascent above egoism and longing for some unity. Though these impulses are selfish, they still are above usual motivations and thus cause a bit of influence of the Surrounding Light. When a person can really go against his egoism in the desire to bestow (the vessel of the soul), the same Ohr Makif will become for him Ohr Pnimi – the Inner Light of his soul.
[115491]

Related Material:
The EU Is Insolvent And Collapsing
Spaniards Are Willing To Work For Free
Everything Studied In Kabbalah Is A Law of Nature

Filed under: Health, News - No Comments →

How do I organize myself so that all of my thoughts, calculations, examinations, and clarifications will always be directed towards the Creator and not towards myself? This is the only and most essential question: How do I move my attention from myself to the Creator?

As long as the person has not begun to feel the Creator through the Light that Reforms, at least a little, even not clearly, but to some degree, he begins to feel how some kind of power pulls him, brings him closer to it, organizes his whole life, until then he has no ability to think about Him. With his powers he never can move his attention from himself to some strange object that doesn’t even exist for him.

He never thinks about what is around him, about the many strange objects, he doesn’t take others into account, except if he is dependent on them. Therefore the environment that tells us about the importance of the Creator, the power of bestowal, the field in which people are found and which organizes for us the entire process through which we pass all the time is so important to us.

Even though we still don’t perceive, don’t feel, or don’t identify this power, still the environment can awaken in us the feeling of its importance all the time. That is how we can return time after time to the thoughts and calculations that focus on the Creator, even if they are all for my own personal good, but in spite of it all they are linked to Him. This state is called Lo Lishma.

And if we seek the discovery of the Creator, in other words, some kind of thought about bestowal within my work, then it can come only from the point in the heart. There are people in whom a basis exists, a gene with information (Reshimo), a spark of the characteristic of bestowal that we had before the shattering of the soul of Adam HaRishon. It follows, that they have some kind of spark from that shattered “Screen” that attracts them towards spirituality.

Which is to say, the person himself doesn’t do anything in particular himself, and simply within him the spark is awakened. This doesn’t depend on him; it is simply that this is how he was born. And if he arrives within a group of Kabbalists, then the group and the study can ignite that spark in him. Thus, time after time he receives awakening: a little more and a little more, in that he overcomes himself, sometimes by himself, sometimes with the help of the teacher and the group. Thus he attracts the Light that strengthens his link with the Creator.

He no longer feels just a vague aspiration like before he reached the group, rather a little more. But this is still a very distant link; you see he is not ready to think about the Creator all the time, rather only at unique moments when he gets extra illumination. And then he is awakened and reminded with the higher power. But in general, he moves according to the desire to receive in an egoistic form, which is to say, to acquire additional knowledge and feeling, and not in order to be concerned about the Creator. This is an artificial turning towards the Creator, as if it is to get the characteristic of bestowal.

But that is how the time passes, and thanks to a person’s present efforts, the Light does its work time after time. He begins to understand that he remains empty and doesn’t reach any success. From the sensation of emptiness within the desire to receive and thanks to the illumination that he receives within his point in the heart, he begins to understand that without help from above he has no chance of getting out of this state. And in order to truly reach bestowal, it is necessary to go out of the ego, to rise from the world in which he is now found, and to leave all the previous values, all that was close and dear to him.

If he feels attractions like these to go outside of himself, then he must be careful that this will not be on his own account; that is, he must clarify more deeply what he is doing this for, what it means to bring joy to the Creator. This must transform into the entire goal for him, the most precious thing in life, more precious than everything that he has in his world. Everything that he had until today was absolutely nothing in comparison to the opportunity to give satisfaction to the Creator.

This is to say, he aspires to this not because he hopes that in this way he will organize all the rest of the things in his life, and not because he hopes to benefit from greater fulfillment when he uses the Light egoistically; rather, he strives to understand and to feel what the true meaning of Lishma is, the intention in order to bestow without any reference to himself. Therefore all the actions must be towards the other, and only when they are towards others can they bring bestowal for the sake of the Creator.

The person doesn’t feel any reason for these actions, he has no desire for this, rather he aspires to this artificially, really forcing himself to think about this. But thus, time after time, when he thinks about this and discusses this with the friends in workshops, clarifying all these concepts, with his efforts he attracts the Light that Reforms and begins to approach the truth. He must check in what place he wants to receive benefit from this advancement.

In this way, a person gradually exits himself—through the other to the Creator. The Light gradually will grant to him the characteristic of bestowal.

And it is impossible to forget that specifically these states, when the person is devoid of sensation, emotion, and excitement, is confused and foggy, these are most useful for giving effort, if he tries with all his power to bring himself to consciousness. Therefore in the work the descents are more important than the ascents. The ascents are designed only to give an impression, an example, of what must be attained during a descent.
[115282]
From the Preparation to the Daily Kabbalah Lesson 8/04/13

Related Material:
Bestowal Should Become Fashionable
Stages On The Way To Bestowal
A Spark That Penetrated From The Upper Floor

Filed under: Daily Kabbalah Lesson, Group Work, Prayer and Intention, Spiritual Work - No Comments →

Question: What is disseminating the wisdom to the masses?

Answer: When a student comes to me, he wants to feel good. But he understands that good for him means attaining the meaning of life, what is above life. He wants to rise to the level where he can attain this meaning in his heart and mind.

For seven billion people the meaning of life is to ascend to the level of wealth, respect, domination, health, and knowledge, everything that is a filling for their desires. They try to do this in every possible way: religious, scientific, philosophical, psychological, technological, financial, and economic, but it leads to nothing and doesn’t work. This is what they call a crisis.

For us, however, the crisis means birth. The word crisis has a double meaning: It means both a fall and the birth of something new, but the public doesn’t understand that.

After they totally despair of all their attempts, we can declare that we have the method for attaining what they want: health control, wealth, food, family, and love. They will have everything that they need in this life, an earthly Heaven. But in order to attain this they must unite.

They will begin to unite simply because they have no choice and they will do so gradually, in small circles without even noticing it. At the same time they will immediately begin to feel a positive outcome.

By uniting they will establish a totally different society, since the unity between them is the new format of humanity. A totally new civilization will emerge which is global, integral and analog. As a result of this unity, they will begin to feel the revelation of the integral force, which is what they seem to be creating.

In fact, they only yearn for the connection between them and this force is revealed as a result of their attempts to unite. It’s the same upper force that influences us, but they do it as a result of their own yearnings and we do it as a result of our yearnings. Therefore our collective work is more accurate and consists of ascents and descents, while for them there is no such thing, they simply advance.

They will feel a constant state of ascent, since they don’t have a left line or a right line. They will feel movements relative to this point, but they will constantly feel good. They will be drawn to us, since it will be clear to them that they will not be able to advance without regular workshops and the study of integral education, but by advancing, they will suddenly begin to see the light ahead instead of dark descents and destruction. This will continue until the end of correction.
[115272]
From KabTV’s “Secrets of the Eternal Book” 6/24/13

Related Material:
The Same Method But A Different Approach
The Power Is In The Head
Spiritual Therapy For The Masses: Session One

Filed under: Dissemination, Integral Upbringing, Spiritual Work - No Comments →

Question: How will the correction of the masses take place?

Answer: The general public will gradually connect to us. They will begin to appreciate us more and more and to better understand that we are the ones who bring them knowledge, the technology of ascending, and f this ascent, the change and the reorganization of life.

They will become an integral part of us and incorporated in us. This movement is mutual and it is performed as one whole until the end of correction. Of course, it is a long process. I don’t think I will be able to be part of even part of it, but I do hope that I will be able to lay the theoretical foundations for this process together with my students, some initial practical seeds. Later the younger students will carry this on since humanity is indifferent. It takes time.

Everyone actually has his own mission. So I will bring them to the point that I have to bring them to.

Question: Do you have a definite feeling that this is your mission?

Answer: Undoubtedly! It isn’t even a feeling; it is a fact! I see how I am being managed, how the method of correction is conveyed through me, and how I depend on the students and on the state of the world.

This mission is a spiritual legacy and there is nothing I can do about it: You cannot run from it and you cannot perform it better than expected, since you depend on others. This means that I am connected both from above and from below.

But I want to constantly expand these limits since our work is to hasten time. If you hasten time you advance faster, more easily and in a more pleasant and correct manner, without great afflictions that humanity can summon upon itself.
[115270]
From KabTV’s “Secrets of the Eternal Book” 6/24/13

Related Material:
Do We Hasten Time?
The Same Method But A Different Approach
The Developer Of The Points In The Heart

Filed under: Dissemination, Spiritual Teacher, Spiritual Work - No Comments →

Writings of Baal HaSulam “The Peace“

Filed under: Daily Kabbalah Lesson - No Comments →

Listen to an Audio Version of the Blog
Download: MP3 Audio
[audio:http://files.kabbalahmedia.info/audio/eng_o_rav_2013-09-01_declamation_blog-rav_full.mp3 title=’1.9.13′]

Filed under: Audio Version of the Blog - No Comments →

The desires of the public are as if on the 1^st floor, where there is a simple relationship between desire and fulfillment. And we need to be on the 2^nd floor, where there is a relationship between the recipient and the giver; that is the intention.

I can go to a restaurant, pay money, and get pleasure in exchange. And I can visit a friend and pay no money. After all, I pay him by my attitude and he also brings me pleasure by his attitude. That is, we are already on the 2^nd floor.

The restaurant had only one floor; I got pleasure, and compensated for it with money, gave pleasure at the same level, on the same floor. But it is not so with a friend: I received a treat from him, but did not pay for it with money, and I enjoyed his relationship to me more than the treat itself.

On the 2^nd floor, fulfillment is our relationships with each other. No matter what treat I received from you, just a cup of coffee, your attitude towards me can be a billion times more valuable.

We bring pleasure to the Creator by what we do on the 2^nd floor. I do not feel fulfillment on the 1^st floor; it is just filling the stomach, and I do not care from whom I got it. The tools of the 2^nd floor are personal relationships.

I feel the pain of others on the 1^st floor; it is called to “empathize with the suffering of society.” But then I am rewarded with the “pleasure for the whole society.” And why am I doing this? To delight the Creator.

I go out to them as a restaurant owner to hungry visitors and say that I have the food they will receive. But I immediately begin to teach them and invite them to the 2^nd floor. I am saying that if we unite, we create connection between us that will give us a special strength with which we shall depend on no one, neither on any government nor on officials. We ourselves will put our world in order.

You cannot just say this to people at once; they will not believe it. First, you have to make them feel that this is indeed possible in some workshop. And then we can say: ” Please note: Due to this force, which we now reveal between us, we can fix all of our lives.”

We can get this force only by connecting with the group, the teacher, and the books. Even on the 1^st floor we cannot be successful without their help. We see that the world cannot cope without this. The world is abundant, but people cannot live a good life because they have no power of unity.

The force of their connection is negative because everyone wants to use everyone else. Therefore, half of the world throws away surplus food and half of the world is starving. This gap will grow day by day. After all, we need to understand that the reason is the bad connection between us that we cannot correct, but everything depends on it. And in the meantime, the split between us grows more and more.

The world has changed completely in 30 to 40 years—everyone is in conflict with each other. Arab countries, first united by one idea but now divided, are in strife and war with one another. After all, the higher management seeks to reveal clearly that we do not have the right connections between people and that this is the cause of all the evil in the world.

People already understand this. When you talk about this, they quickly agree. That is, perhaps a few sentences are enough to lead anyone to the conclusion that our good life depends on good relationship between us. But he immediately says that it is impossible to correct.

You should not argue here; you just have to invite him to a workshop so he will experience this himself and check whether it is possible or not. It is not for nothing that it is said: “There is none wiser than the experienced.”
[115702]
From the Preparation for the Daily Kabbalah Lesson 8/26/13

Related Material:
The World Is An Infant In Our Hands
All Who Feel The Sorrows Of The Public Merit Consolation
The Same Method But A Different Approach

Filed under: Daily Kabbalah Lesson, Dissemination, Group Work, Spiritual Work - No Comments →

Question: Why doesn’t the Creator hear us if we are less than ten?

Answer: This actually is not true. It isn’t about a group of ten that you can actually count, but about a finite fixed desire, which as a result of our connection actually becomes strong and real.

It makes no difference if 50 or 80 people participate in it. In spirituality the quantity is not taken into account, but only the quality. When I say that the lower level is ten times further away from the upper level, I refer to a qualitative measure and not a quantitative one.

On the whole, it says that the minimum of many is two, when each one can exit himself and rise above his ego and connect to another, so even two can be called “a group of ten.”

This is a conditional term. In our world we measure the quantity while in spirituality we measure the quality. But although we use the words of this world, we have to understand that here it refers to real changes.
[115695]
From the Daily Kabbalah Lesson 8/25/13, Question and Answers with Dr. Laitman

Related Material:
Let’s Share The Work
The Decimal System Is In The Basis Of The World
Ten, Not Nine Or Eleven

Filed under: Daily Kabbalah Lesson, Group Work, Spiritual Work - No Comments →

Baal HaSulam, “Messiah’s Horn”: Know that this is what it means that the children of Israel are redeemed only after the wisdom of the hidden is revealed to a great extent, as it is written in The Zohar, “With this composition, the children of Israel are redeemed from exile.”

In my assessment, we are in a generation that is standing at the very threshold of redemption if we only know how to spread the wisdom of the hidden to the masses. We are required to disclose the secret wisdom to the public. But what will be left of the mystery if we reveal it? The fact is that at this stage, we are talking to people about good interconnection based on the principle of love of the other as yourself, about unity for the sake of correction of humanity.

Through numerous incremental phenomena that add up to historical evolutionary development, our vessels, desires, are prepared for the time when there is the generation that is capable of bringing intention into its life and existing on Earth not because it was placed in this “cell,” in this “barn,” in this “kennel,” but because people want to know why and for what purpose this situation occurred and what state they are destined to achieve. We live in this generation. The crisis, despair, and other negative things of the day are the signs of the changes about which Baal HaSulam writes. The necessary conditions are already established from above, but we must finish our work from below. Only the opportunity for redemption comes from above, and the rest is up to us.

We have accepted that there is a precondition for the redemption—that all the nations of the world will acknowledge Israel’s law.

As a result, our entire receiving desire, revealed by this moment, will reach the point where we understand that it needs to be changed. And even if we are incapable of this, even though the egoistic power of “Pharaoh” dominates over us, at the same time it is clear: We have to rise above it. We understand that one day we will achieve universal correction and in advance agree with this future state and wish that it will come, although we have not yet come out from under the power of egoism.

This knowledge, this awareness, this requirement, means that Pharaoh also knows, understands, and agrees that his parts went into the altruistic intention. He is willing to sacrifice himself to let go of a part of himself so that it would be corrected and come into bestowal, having disconnected from egoistic intentions. This is deliverance.
[115458]
From the 4^th part of the Daily Kabbalah Lesson 8/23/13, Writings of Baal HaSulam

Related Material:
The Width And Height
Knowledge Is Power
The Same Method But A Different Approach

Filed under: Daily Kabbalah Lesson, Dissemination, Spiritual Work - No Comments →

In the News ( from the Alex’s Jones InforWars.com): “The mass drugging of US troops is one of the most underreported scandals of the modern era, with soldiers not only being used as guinea pigs in a brave new world of pharmacological experimentation, but also having their rights stripped as a result. …

“As Mike Adams documents, the Defense Department notes that ‘20 percent of U.S. troops are on psychiatric drugs, and that they are often handed as much as a 180-day supply of those pills before being deployed.’

“‘U.S. troops are being forced to take drugs like Prozac and Seroquel for anxiety and depression. Troops cannot refuse to take the drugs without consequences from their superiors. …

“The mass drugging of US troops is another aspect of government social engineering. It is about creating yet another huge sector of society – just like children in school or foster care – whose dependence on the state is secured via the method of artificially creating a dangerous dependence on drugs.”

My Comment: That’s how, from different sides, drugs are gradually introduced into our life; their consumption becomes habitual. After all, it helps calm and even reduce the population …
[115484]

Related Material:
“US To Cut Back Minimum Sentences For Some Drug Offences”
How To Combat Drugs
Fighting Drugs: New Challenges

Filed under: Crisis, Health, News - No Comments →