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Question: When will we really reach the level of “love thy friend as thyself”?
Answer: Right now. Who is stopping you? First man discovered this path; the other Kabbalists adapted it for us, and today we have everything that we need. Many have reached the level of “love thy friend as thyself” throughout history. All of Rabbi Shimon’s students were on this level.
Question: But according to their writings, there was burning hatred between them.
Answer: That’s true. In the same manner, the Israeli nation was in the state of “49 gates of impurity” before the exodus from Egypt. So how could it be that they could exit such a terrible state and enter redemption by one leap?
The whole point is that “He who is greater than his friend, his desire is greater than his friend’s.” If I try to reach the world of Ein Sof (Infinity) then my desire to receive becomes bigger and stronger on every level that I reach. The bestowal in me is faced with receiving, with the ego, the shell, the evil inclination each time. This is the reason that the Creator, the King of kings was revealed to the Israeli nation in the “49 gates of impurity.”
On the whole, the children of Israel advance along the middle line. The Light was felt in the shell as darkness and revealed the evil in them (1). To oppose it they asked for and received the Surrounding Light, which is the Light that Reforms, which means the Torah, the method of correction (2). As a result they reached the middle line (3).
This is the whole process: the recognition of evil in the left line, the request in the right line, and the transition to the middle line. Thus the evil grows each time and as a result, the goodness also grows, and then the middle line appears, which is the average of the two (S). So I promise you that the more you advance, the worse you will become. But this is the negative side. The left line will be balanced each time by the positive side, the right line.
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Question: It is now absolutely clear to doctors that a human being is not only comprised of physiological systems of the body and mind, but also of the desire for a purpose. But we know that this is a person’s spiritual level. So he is compelled to build relationships between himself and the goal, his environment, and also to his body.
Recently, we are faced with the fact that people have been relating to their bodies negligently or even contemptuously, and consequently they are subject to disease. So how should one relate to the body?
Answer: As a result of thousands of years of development, a person has reached a state where he is not happy to be alive. Subconsciously we don’t want to live. Everything is in vain: the anguish, the suffering; life, what is it all? Do I need to feel that I am joyful, happy? But I don’t.
If I get some kind of satisfaction, it is attained through unjustified effort, and then it either passes very rapidly or at any moment it transforms into the opposite. So people truly don’t want to live. Therefore contempt for the body is only a small consequence of the current condition. A person secretly feels that he would be happier if he didn’t exist at all.
In the past there was nothing like this because we still had not evolved to this awareness. Today we have a conscious approach to life, the futility of our existence, the lack of fruitfulness, the degradation. We understand our nature, our nothingness. Nobody asked us if we wanted to be born, to be educated in this society, or in another society. We don’t understand what, where, or how.
There was a time when we had defined goals. We were still not that developed and so we went after whatever seemed permanent, building something, yearning for something. One yearned for capitalism, some for communism, and others yearned to explore space. We wanted to prove something, to struggle, and to attain some kind of self-affirmation. Today none of this exists; everything has simply disappeared and an “empty sink” remains where all the water has drained from. We no longer have anything to fulfill us.
Therefore we even look at our bodies with contempt. This explains the attraction to drugs, antidepressants, and suicide. Moreover, this is not only seen in developed countries, but everywhere, in Latin America, and even in Africa, in those places where people were sufficiently happy in the past despite their wretched existence. Today this no longer exists. There must be some kind of purpose for a person for one to engage in himself, his appearance, sports, etc.
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From Kab TV’s “Through Time” 10/20/13
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Question: What is the difference between “round” and “linear” discussion, implementation, or decision? What do interactions between linear efforts and circular integration mean in the integral method?
Answer: It means that all of us are found in linear interactions for the sake of connection in a circle. I invest effort that is directed towards the center of the circle in order to become rounded, to disappear, and to melt into it. With this I acquire an idea, a thought, and a general common desire.
There is nothing integral in me now. Integrality is created in a connection between us. Therefore my efforts are linear.
Question: We have people who are used to taking an initiative upon themselves and implementing actions individually.
Answer: Implementation cannot be individual! A team has been gathered that has accrued an integral connection, power, and warmth from the group. It goes and transmits this feeling of mutual connection to another place, wanting this drop of shared unity that they create through their desires and thoughts to gradually flow to others.
What is the idea of an individual person here? What can he do alone? He needs to be a carrier of our integral virus and nothing more.
Imagine how ticks travel around with the help of dogs. Each one of us, in general, needs to be like a dog upon which “ticks” of “integral viruses” sit that are transferred from our group to another group.
Question: But there isn’t anything integral in me….
Answer: How could there not be? You are included in a group, you see! If there were nothing integral in you, then it would be impossible for you to go anywhere. You would fail! And what will become of us, what will happen with those you come to? Will there be a collective global failure?
Question: Suppose we gather together, that is all well and good for us. How can we go out to the 99% of the population and transmit these wonderful “ticks” to them?
Answer: It is necessary to agree and establish from the start how and what we are doing, to create a plan of action before going out to disseminate, to discuss it, approve it, and implement it.
For example, before an excursion of this type, you need to arrange a small practice workshop for us. For example, you tell us facts we already know; it doesn’t matter; you simply practice your first workshop on us as an apprentice, in training. After this, we give suggestions and prompts, laugh at you, correct you, and then you take a few friends with you and you go to disseminate.
Go out to disseminate with at least two people, but preferably three, and even better four; it depends on what society you are going to. You all bear the same responsibility, that is, each one of the friends can replace you at any moment. And so you don’t have anything to fear, and we too, in general, have nothing to fear, because three or four of our friends can fill any gap.
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From Kab TV’s “Through Time” 9/17/13
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In the News (from TechHive): “As the Internet evolved into a ubiquitous part of #ModernLife, we’ve witnessed a rise in the number of distinct mental disorders directly tied to our use of digital technology. These afflictions, which range from benign to destructive, weren’t recognized by the medical community until very recently, and didn’t even exist before the Clinton administration.
“Phantom Ringing Syndrome: When your brain punks you into thinking your phone is buzzing in your pocket.
“Have you ever reached for the vibrating phone in your pocket only to realize that it was silent the whole time—or weirder still, it wasn’t even in your pocket to begin with? While you may be slightly delusional, you aren’t alone. …
“Nomophobia: The anxiety that arises from not having access to one’s mobile device. The term ‘Nomophobia’ is an abbreviation of ‘no-mobile phobia.’…
“Cybersickness: The disorientation and dizziness some people feel when interacting with certain digital environments. …
“Facebook Depression: Depression caused by social interactions, or lack thereof, on Facebook…. One possible reason is that people tend to post only good news about themselves on Facebook: Vacations, promotions, party pics, etc. So, it’s very easy to fall under the false belief that everyone else is leading far happier and successful lives than you (when this may not be the case at all). …
“Internet Addiction Disorder: A constant and unhealthy urge to access the Internet. … Internet Addiction Disorder (sometimes referred to as Problematic Internet Use) is excessive Internet use that interferes with daily life.
“Online Gaming Addiction: An unhealthy need to access online multiplayer games. …
“Cyberchondria: The tendency to believe you have diseases you read about online. That’s the kind of thinking that goes on in the head of Cyberchondriacs—a downward spiral of medical factoids strung together to reach the worst possible conclusions. And it’s far from uncommon. A 2008 Microsoft study found that search-engine-aided self-diagnosis typically led the afflicted searcher to conclude the worst possible outcome. …
“The Google Effect: The tendency of the human mind to retain less information because it knows that all answers are only a few clicks away. Thanks to the Internet, a single individual can easily access nearly all the information civilization has amassed since the beginning of time. And as it turns out, this ability may be altering the very way our brains function.”
My Comment: Our egoism is constantly evolving and looking for new sources of contentment, corresponding to its development. Therefore, all these temporary Internet attractions will pass; they will be replaced by new aspirations: to reveal the secret of our existence.
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Question: After the morning lesson we begin a new day. How is it possible to use this day most effectively? How is it possible to advance without delay and procrastination?
Answer: We need to think about the guarantee, about the conditions for the guarantee, so that this concept will be as close as possible to us.
In the one collective soul, each one is included in all. The mutual inclusion doesn’t indicate control, but rather equality. And the equality is in this, that each one nullifies himself in regard to the others. Only then are we equal.
Pay attention only to this and focus on this. With this we will win, not in any other form. All other victories will turn into a loss.
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From the 3rd part of the Daily Kabbalah Lesson 10/10/13, Writings of Baal HaSulam
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When a person studies the laws of the integrated system, it becomes clear that he can’t change anything. The whole calculation carried with him is based on the fact of whether he is able to take upon himself the law of mutual guarantee.
And if one can’t, then the difference between the way the system works in the state of mutual guarantee and how he was supposed to activate it independently feels to him as suffering, pressure that comes to him from that system. There is no mercy for an individual here, just a calculation of the overall system.
If a person doesn’t comply with its laws, to the extent that he would have to carry them out for the benefit of the whole system, it receives negative feedback from the system. It seemingly stops, waiting for him to put it into action. And that is what he feels like all kinds of misfortunes and suffering.
But if you know what the system is, you can even see in what form and way the problems and troubles will come to a person. It depends on the connection between the souls and the extent to which he has to bring them into action.
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From the 4th part of the Daily Kabbalah Lesson 10/15/10, Writings of Baal HaSulam
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When we are in a circle, it means that we remain in the general system of nature, which includes the entire still, vegetative, and animate nature and the human souls in the system of Infinity.
A line is when we take on the function of bringing this system into action instead of letting it be launched from the above, by nature.
A circle represents the condition of absolute mutual guarantee from the above, and a line represents the extent of our ability to realize the mutual guarantee on our behalf.
When we observe the law of mutual guarantee, the still, vegetative, and animate nature also join this process because it is included in our “human” degree. This way the entire system on all of its levels participates in the mutual guarantee.
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From the 4th part of the Daily Kabbalah Lesson 10/15/10, Writings of Baal HaSulam
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Question: How does one recognize that he is at a point of choice?
Answer: If you see clearly what is better, this is not a choice—it’s knowledge. And if you don’t understand what’s better, this too is not a choice; it is lack of knowledge.
A choice is possible when you see two equal components in front of you, but it’s impossible to solve anything with them by preferring one over the other. You see that both the desire to receive and the desire to bestow are equally needed; you cannot get by without either of them. You are situated right in the middle between them and you are confident that you must use both of them.
After all, how can I bestow if I don’t use my egoism? I can carry out some actions only due to my desire to enjoy. Yet how can I bestow if I don’t use the desire to bestow? It is impossible to proceed without either one of these desires. So how do we use them together?
I need to first build the attitude of love toward the one to whom this action is directed. And to the extent of my love, I will feel his desire, accept it and make it my own, and then I will be able to use my two desires, two forces, in order to fill his desire in me, like a mother fills an embryo (Ubar) in her womb. And then I make it more external for me, and this is called “feeding” (Yenika) or a big state (Gadlut).
This is how these states are built due to a third force that elucidates them. Then where is this third force? It is the one to whom I wish to bestow.
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From the 4th part of the Daily Kabbalah Lesson 10/19/10, Writings of Baal HaSulam
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