Audio Version Of The Blog – 12.08.13

Listen to an Audio Version of the Blog
Download: MP3 Audio
[audio:http://files.kabbalahmedia.info/audio/eng_o_rav_2013-12-08_declamation_blog-rav_full.mp3 title=’8.12.13′]

Unity Is In The Creator

Dr. Michael LaitmanQuestion: How can we connect through the Creator?

Answer: Very simply. Due to powerlessness in the face of the fact that we are not able to unite, we turn to the Surrounding Light, the Creator, and ask Him to unite us. This occurs at every degree. After we discover our inability to unite, we come to the “gate of tears,” cry, and receive the force to connect, merge together.

But how does the Creator glue us if we are different? We become glued together only according to our intentions to connect to the Creator if we want to bestow only to Him. He becomes our connecting link, our goal. This is like parents who unite in one child. They might even hate each other but connect through him, taking care of him together.

But in this child, they are reconciled but hate each other. However, they love him and that is why they connect in him, in this point. This is the union of opposites. We are all opposite in a thousand different properties and directions. No person is the same. So, what can we do with our desire to enjoy? We cannot kill it; we can do nothing with it. We are only given the opportunity to perform actions that lead to unity.

We need to connect two parts that have nothing in common except the animal basis. That is why there is this world in which we can connect on the physical level just by “holding hands.” But we express our feeling by this gesture. Therefore this degree is separated from all the other degrees, from all the states, because it allows us to begin to ascend. In this world, we can slap the other person in the face or kiss him and thus affect their desire. It is possible to kiss on request, and the desire can be changed due to his desire to kiss.

I just hug someone without feeling any sympathy for him, and even feeling rejection, but due to these actions, my desire gradually changes. This is the uniqueness of this world in which it is possible to affect one’s desire by physical actions. But all this happens at a certain degree and only as a preparation. And that is why it is not considered a spiritual connection.

But if we talk about spiritual desires that are higher than the degree of this world, then there we use material desires that in no way intersect with someone else’s desires. If we want to unite, then the Creator must be between us. Only through Him, through our root, we connect, like two brothers connect through a common mother. That is why they are called brothers.
[122091]
From the 2nd part of the Daily Kabbalah Lesson 12/1/13, The Zohar

Related Material:
There Is None Else Besides Him: The Flirting Of Lovers
The Zohar Becomes Revealed In Love
The Purpose Of Life Is The Revelation Of The Creator

Hanukkah: A Transition To A New Regimen

Dr. Michael LaitmanQuestion: Spiritual work must be intense and incessant. So why does the Hanukkah symbolize a “rest-stop” on the way, from the words, “Hanu” a “rest-stop here”?

Answer: Truly in spirituality there is no parking in the full sense of the word.

The idea is that in this stage we need to finish the work on all ten Sefirot and go on to correction according to the method of “reception for the sake of bestowal.” Therefore there is a “rest-stop” here for we need to stock up on the resources, new vessels, in our war for correction. Essentially, this is talking about a new method.

First we successfully introduced vessels from the worlds of Beria, Yetzira, and Assiya into the world of Atzilut. With this we pass through the appropriate levels in the same order: zero plus the first, second, and third. In other words, we stabilize ourselves in the levels of still, vegetative, and animate.

And after this we work in the world of Atzilut in order to draw these Lights below, to the worlds of Beria, Yetzira, and Assiya. And this is the fourth level, using the receptive vessels in order to bestow.

And after this, the completion of correction is reached by way of the descent to these worlds.

Therefore “Hanukkah” symbolizes the transition to work with a completely different characteristic: If previously we rose to the world of Atzilut in Galgalta ve Eynaim and vessels of “AHP on the rise,” so now we descend to the depths in order to finish the work. Here what is required is a transition to a completely different approach, a different style of work, and therefore this stage is called a rest-stop.

Accordingly, the Lights before Hanukkah and after it, the former being Neshama and the latter being Chaya, are opposite Lights. For in work in Hafetz Hesed I don’t want to get anything, and in reception for the sake of bestowal I work with those vessels, those desires, which I formerly restricted completely, I didn’t activate them.
[122140]
From the Daily Kabbalah Lesson 12/2/13, Writings of Rabash

Related Material:
There Are No Stops Along The Way
An Acquaintance With The New World
Relinquishing The Treasure

Life Accelerated

Dr. Michael LaitmanQuestion: How can we understand that there are different forms of connections between us? How can the connection between us change?

Answer: Imagine that you suddenly discover that the person sitting next to you, whom you hardly know and whose name you don’t even remember, is your brother. Your mother sends you a letter saying: “I have seen the two of you sitting together and I am overwhelmed. How can it be that my two sons have suddenly met! I had no idea what had become of him. He was kidnapped when he was a small child and here he is all of a sudden right next to you, what joy!”

You suddenly discover that you are brothers and your relations totally change. This is what we try to understand. You suddenly discover that the other is not just next to you but inside you and it has nothing to do with blood ties or that you have the same mother or father, but it is directly because of you. Adhesion is the state when another person becomes more important to you than yourself. If the part called the other is separated from you, you die. So you cannot agree to that! Your life is worthless without connection.

This is the only thing the wisdom of Kabbalah speaks about: about the lack of connection and about connecting. There is nothing but that. We have a desire to receive, which we do not understand, and we learn about it by the Light that fills it from the shattering to correction, which means by connection. There are no other actions but that. If we speak about the perception of colors, music, or sounds, we only feel them as movement: either distant or close to one another.

We don’t feel those who are distant or near, we don’t attain the essence, we only feel the change. Every instrument is built according to this principle. We can resemble one another in different attributes, on different levels, in different manners. We don’t know the essence of the desire to receive, which is something from nothing. What is more, we don’t know what a desire to bestow is, something from something. We exist in a state of changing relations between us, and this is the only thing we perceive.

If the desire to receive and the desire to bestow were not moving mutually one towards the other, then we wouldn’t feel anything in our desire to receive and would cease to exist. Everything depends on the changes in our relationships, whether we feel greater love or lesser love. This is what we actually feel. We are not in the actual attributes of the desire to receive and the desire to bestow but in a derivative that determines the change in our relationship. This means that by perceiving only the changes, we don’t measure the speed but rather the acceleration.

If we move in a constant speed, we don’t feel anything and it is as if we stand in the same place (according to the principle of relativity in mechanics). Only if there is a change in velocity, which means that we accelerate, do we begin to feel it. It turns out that we live in this derivative and that we will never know the real essence, the something from nothing and the something from something, because we are the outcome of the meeting between the two.
[122080]
From the 2nd part of the Daily Kabbalah Lesson 12/1/13, The Zohar

Related Material:
A Snapshot Of Internal Relationships
How To Measure Spiritual Acceleration
The Valence Formula Of Desires

Reality Or A Vision Test Chart?

Dr. Michael LaitmanQuestion: What is the connection between my constant yearning to return to the center of the group and the war to see the true picture of reality?

Answer: The war is specifically made about this. If you wake up in the morning and see that you need to direct yourself towards the center of the group, this says that you are on the right path. If time after time you catch yourself unconsciously departing from this state and bring yourself back, this is a sign you are going in the right direction.

Question: What picture and what feeling appear in the center of the group?

Answer: In the center of the group the feeling appears that there is nobody; there is only one desire, not many, in which all of reality is felt.

And then you discover that today’s reality is not true, but only a simulation like on a computer screen. To the degree that your vision is corrected, you begin to see that there is nothing true in this world, there are no real forces. This is like a distorted copy of the spiritual world that shows us what we have ruined and points us in the right direction so that we can eventually enter the true world.

It is as if there is a life that you don’t see, but they show you a performance about it in a theater. And in this presentation you discover how much your view was mistaken and how you can correct yourself in order to see the true life.
[122050]
From the 1st part of the Daily Kabbalah Lesson 12/01/13, Writings of Rabash

Related Material:
How To Enter The Upper World Without Moving
Changes That Lead To Equality
The Safest Guide

A Caring Society

Dr. Michael LaitmanIn the News (from the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) Library): “Every person aspires to a good life. But what does ‘a good or a better life’ mean? The second edition of How’s Life? provides an update on the most important aspects that shape people’s lives and well-being: income, jobs, housing, health, work-life balance, education, social connections, civic engagement and governance, environment, personal security and subjective well-being. It paints a comprehensive picture of well-being in OECD countries and other major economies, by looking at people’s material living conditions and quality of life across the population.

“Humans are social creatures. The frequency of our contact with others and the quality of our personal relationships are thus crucial determinants of our well-being. Helping others can also make you happier. People who volunteer tend to be more satisfied with their lives than those who do not. Time spent volunteering also contributes to a healthy civil society.” Source: OECD Australia

My Comment: At all times people determined their state relative to their environment. But it was always different for everyone and there was never full satisfaction.

The reason for this is in the feeling of fulfillment: If it occurs in the egoistic desire for oneself, then there is no limit in this, and if it is in the desire to fulfill the other, the loved one, then satisfaction is achieved by feeling one’s action, reciprocity, and does not depend on the size of fulfillment. Only in the corrected society, will a person be able to feel confident and satisfied.
[121999]

Related Material:
People Who Volunteer Live Longer
Psychologists: Why People Are Unhappy
The Local GNP Per Capita Does Not Reflect The Standard Of Living

A Prayer In Black Water

Dr. Michael LaitmanQuestion: What can a person do if he is constantly distracted by strange thoughts and cannot concentrate while reading The Zohar?

Answer: A person should try to live with the states we read about. This is called “wanting to know what one studies,” which means to connect to the material and to attain it. Knowledge means connection.

It doesn’t matter what we study, whether it’s “round and straight vessels (Igulim and Yosher) ” or “midnight when the violin of David plays,” when we read a certain article we should want to be in the same state the Kabbalists speak about. We should identify with what we read, and feel it. It’s as if a friend is telling you about his life and you really want to understand him and to share his feelings by absorbing his words in order to reach his feelings through them. Through the words you can reach the inner impression and share the same feelings.

This is what we need to feel when we read. So it turns out that we develop the habit that allows us to penetrate the Kabbalistic text the moment we hear it and we can immediately penetrate it, as if jumping into water. The Torah is water, Hassadim. Once we are in the water, we begin to activate all our senses by clarifying what is going on. It’s as if we are in a sea trying to look around, to feel the atmosphere, and to understand the situation.

It becomes a habit: The moment I hear the words of the Torah, I immediately enter the Light, the water, and try to understand what is going on there. It’s as if I enter a dark room or dark water in which I can see nothing. Then it’s very important for me to understand what is happening; it’s a habit that we should develop with regard to the Torah.

If I actually implement this approach, I will always be searching, expecting that this state will influence me now and be revealed to me. The state will be revealed because it did not exist and then it suddenly appears. It already exists, but I can’t see it or identify it yet. When I change internally, the state will be revealed. There is no revelation that is external to me but only internal. A new sense awakens in me and then I reveal it.

A person should constantly expect this, especially during the lesson. It says: “It would be good to pray the whole day,” but at least, it’s necessary to turn every lesson into a prayer.
[122137]
From the 2nd part of the Daily Kabbalah Lesson 11/29/13, The Zohar

Related Material:
The Secrets Of Reading The Zohar
Under The Infusion Of The Upper Light
Questions At The Zohar Lesson, Part 1

Bring People The Power Of Unity

Dr. Michael LaitmanQuestion: How can an integral group remain in a state of excitement to convey a feeling of unity during an event?

Answer: The easiest way to keep in a state of excitement is during the time of preparing the event, for I and my friends want everything to go successfully. We think about this all the time, are concerned about how we can bring out the energy of inner unity and our integrality from within the group and convey it to the audience that is in front of us.

Therefore during all kinds of activities, workshops, lectures, talks, and games problems like this don’t need to pop up because we ourselves have a real need for this to succeed. We mobilize all of our yearning, all of the integral forces for attaining the goal; we must succeed.

If you feel this, then when you go out to a dissemination activity, you ask for support from the group an additional time so that it won’t forget you, and you try to attract that same warmth that you feel in the group to yourself at the time of connections like these. The need will appear within you when after the morning lessons the group gathers in a circle for at least ten minutes and recreates the wonderful power of unity, and you will grasp it and pass it on.
[122171]
From the Talk About Groups and Dissemination 11/24/13

Related Material:
Without A Spiritual Kli There Is No Fulfillment
With The Right Form
What Determines The Effectiveness Of Dissemination?

Criteria For Evaluating The Integrality Of A Person

Dr. Michael LaitmanQuestion: What is the criteria for evaluating the integrality of a person, especially the manager of a factory after he goes through a course of Integral Education?

Answer: This could be evaluated according to several criteria.

The first criterion is the group. How much does a person yearn again for the group in his daily life and at his regular work because he gets recharged from it? How much is he linked more tightly with some of his friends, but principally with the entire collective because along with this he feels himself comfortable and warm?

Subconsciously all of us aspire to feel secure, like a child who runs to his mother and buries his face in her lap, only we express this differently. A drive like this exists with everyone: both for a nation and for a people, and for a solitary individual, and also for all of humanity. We intentionally receive an imperative like this from above. Therefore a person who yearns for connection, for warmth, is naturally more advanced.

The second criterion is the family. Does he try to create an identical atmosphere in the family, for otherwise he doesn’t feel at ease there? It could be that he cannot or does not want to explain this to the family; it isn’t comfortable or pleasant for him. Therefore, he needs to arrange joint family picnics and social gatherings. Or he could establish a women’s club where women will talk about what changes they see in their husbands.

The third criterion is work. It is most difficult for a manager to work with his workers because he will begin to relate more softly with them and they will consider this to be a weakness. In a case like this, we must urgently begin to teach Integral Education to them.

As long as the managers are still “cooking,” after two or three sessions we must begin to work with the workers.

At the same time, the company does not change, for we only improve the connection among the team of workers. The system doesn’t need to be changed, it will soften and become more integral in its internal connections. But nothing will be changed with the directives and the structure, the previous linearity from above to below will remain. We only improve the atmosphere in the company to produce positive results on all levels.

The values will gradually change with the people. The revolution will happen when every person in the factory, as a result of the annual integral work, will feel that the main thing is spirit and not an increase in salary.

Then the inner need will be created for equalizing salaries. What will lead to this is the realization that a worker is receiving an amount with which he can live only with difficulty, whereas the manager receives above and beyond; everything will bring itself to a new balance. A gradual realignment will occur that will be resolved from above and not from below, but only after the integral development of the management team.
[121920]
From Kab TV’s “Through Time” 9/23/13

Related Material:
Conveying An Integral Message
The Technology Of The “Wisdom Of The Crowd”: A Unified Image
Produce The Integral Laws Together

Daily Kabbalah Lesson – 12.08.13

Preparation to the Lesson

[media 1] [media 2]

Shamati #219 Devotion

[media 3] [media 4]

The Book of Zohar — Selected Excerpts, Parashat, “Beresheet,” Item 655

[media 5] [media 6]

Talmud Eser Sefirot,Histaklut Pnimit, “Vol. 1, Part 2, Chapter 3, Item 23

[media 7] [media 8]

Writings of Baal HaSulam,The Teaching of Kabbalah and Its Essence

[media 9] [media 10]