The evolution of man throughout the history of his development is attempts to find pleasure in our lives, fulfillment, preferably eternal and absolute. But in the end, we always reach a “dead end” because the pleasure is momentary, transient, and imperfect.

When a person begins to understand that, then he is ready for us to talk to him. Otherwise it is useless, he won’t listen to us.

Question: But the people who study Kabbalah and are familiar with its principles go through this path quite quickly. When you see the system, then you don’t have to run after the pleasures of the moment.

Answer: The people who come to the wisdom of Kabbalah have not yet solved many of their problems. It seems to them that they can solve the problems with the help of this wisdom, and then afterward are disappointed, leave, and then return in the next reincarnation, or if time allows, they return in this lifetime.

Question: But this wisdom greatly shortens the way.

Answer: No! Knowledge will never help against sensations. You can tell a person anything you want, but he will, in any case, do what he wants and not what he knows.

We were created from the desire to receive. Our brain is designed only to show us where it is possible to receive these desires the most quickly. We are like dogs searching where the pleasures are according to the sense of smell. Our desires lead us, thus there is no possibility to shorten the path.

5,000 years ago, in all Kabbalistic books, it was said that at the end of the 20^th century humanity would begin to be discouraged from its egoistic development and then the discovery of the wisdom of Kabbalah would be possible. And until then, it was forbidden for the Kabbalists to talk about it, and everyone thought that it was some kind of signs, mysticism, fortune telling, magic, and miracles. Only in our days is the science of Kabbalah being discovered. Many still don’t want to understand that because they haven’t yet escaped the old ideas about it.

Until our times we had to go by the path of suffering and disappointments within egoistic development. But from our days onward when we have reached the point of complete disappointment, it is possible to advance forward. And here we have a choice: Either to continue by way of suffering, or to prefer the way of the wisdom of Kabbalah. But to go by the way of Kabbalah means to begin immediately to rise to the next, upper level. This means to create a second level, parallel to the lower level.
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From KabTV’s “Talks with Michael Laitman,” 9/27/13

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Question: All new social systems develop in an egoistic way. How will the integral society develop?

Answer: The material and our sensation of it develop in an egoistic way, whereas the spirit develops in an altruistic way.

Altruism in nature exists only between people. When we begin to develop it and aspire to complete bestowal, to complete mutual connection between us, then in our mutual bestowal, a new balance appears. It carries us forward, raises us above the material level, and then we begin to develop in it. The movement and development in it is infinite, because precisely in bestowal we begin to reveal its depth because each one of us does not work with his egoism but with the desires of all the seven billion inhabitants of planet Earth.

Infinite spaces of other people are being revealed to a person, which he can fill through himself. It turns out that when he bestows and fulfills others, he contains the entire universe in himself. Along with this, everyone begins to feel that he is one, the only one that exists, and it does not bother him. Each one has his own dimension. This is how we advance forward.

Afterwards, all our dimensions unite mutually to one new infinite reality, and then again we work for each other. Elevation of the integration level occurs. Suppose that I united with everyone, someone else united with everyone, the third one also united with everyone, and now each one of us constitutes his own universe in itself, and begins to unite between us once more and then again, and so on.

Therefore, this process is infinite, but in each place it is done only altruistically because otherwise the ego fills, restricts, and blocks us.
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From Kab TV’s “An Integral World” 11/27/13

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Preparation to the Lesson

Workshop 

The Book of Zohar— Selected Excerpts

Talmud Eser Sefirot, Vol. 1, Part 3, Chapter 1, Item 4

Writings of Baal HaSulam “Introduction to The Book of Zohar,” “Torah and Prayer,” Item 182 

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It is said, “A man and a woman, Divinity between them.” Who are this man and woman? In the spiritual world it all depends on a specific role: once, I bestow, another time, I receive. Indeed, in order to give, I also have to receive, and in order to receive, I must also give.

It turns out that each of us once gives to friend and once receives, that is, performs either the male or female role. Thus, it’s realized: “A man and a woman, Divinity between them.” If we are in this mutual connection, then the Creator is revealed between us. It’s within these transmission channels of reception and bestowal that we build the image of the Creator (Bore), meaning “come and see” (Bo-re).

If we build the correct relationship between us according to the law of equivalence of form, this channel of connection will be revived, will acquire vitality. We are required only to make an effort to make it happen, and within it, we will discover that it is alive.
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From the 1^st part of the Daily Kabbalah Lesson 1/16/14, Workshop

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If during the workshop I was able to connect with the friends’ hearts and spoke not external words, but directly from heart to heart, then I need to keep myself in the same state all day long until the next workshop. I have to keep the sense that our hearts are connected together and are not be separated from them. And, as well, I need to continually try to find within myself a stronger collective desire, more closely tied, more strong, in which we are united in one whole and strive to reveal this One, the Creator.We must remain in this state continuously so that the workshop never ends.
[125634]
From the 1^st part of the Daily Kabbalah Lesson 1/16/14, Workshop

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I must try to open my heart towards the friends and that all of their desires, thoughts, and expectations for spirituality will enter directly into my heart without any opposition and criticism from my side. For the right intention, we need the Creator in the center of the group all the time and to accept this state with an open heart. All of us must concentrate around this point and focus all of our efforts on it. Only in this is our free choice, which we must realize. This stance surrounding the Creator found within the group is similar to the stance around Mount Sinai. Exactly as there, Arvut (mutual guarantee) and mutual support is required of us; through them we can reach a constant intention.

In spirituality nothing is measured according to the quantity of power; rather, it’s according to the quality. A strong intention is an intention never stops. A weak intention can be stopped. But a strong intention cannot be stopped and is constant, and therefore it is said to be high. Certainly all kinds of disturbances will come, both general and particular, but in the face of all the disturbances we must be concerned about only one thing: such a strong intention that is never stopped. Precisely with this we must strengthen each other, and this is the mutual guarantee that is realized.

From a small and weak intention, we must come to a great and strong intention; that is, from regular breaks, from a loss of spiritual yearning, we must pass to one heart, to the center of the group, in which the Creator is discovered, so that all of us will connect together there in a single embrace with Him. We must help each other with mutual guarantee, that the intention will not be stopped in any of us. For with this he would be boring a hole in the hull of our common boat, in our common heart. If we approach the convention with efforts like these, then success is assured for us.
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From the 1^st part of the Daily Kabbalah Lesson 1/15/14, Workshop

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In the idea of the intention, the principle: “Each one will help his friend” is active. For “A prisoner cannot free himself from prison,” but only the friends can get him out. The support of the friends is called, “Arvut” and if it is found, then even for a moment, I will not forget about the intention and my heart will always be open in the right direction.

I am not prepared to do this by myself but only with the friends. My heart is found in the hands of the friends, and only they can direct it towards the Creator who is found in the center of the group. Therefore, I depend on them completely. How must I compensate them in exchange for work like this? I compensate them with the same coin; that is, in an identical manner I think about them, I am concerned for their intentions. Not one of them is able to do this alone either, and he also requires the help of the friends.

If together we think and are concerned that the right intention will not cease in others, that their hearts will always remain open and ready for the discovery of the Creator in the center of the group, then with this we assure ourselves of that same concern and that same treatment from others. In the end, I will discover that everyone is already in the final corrected state and I did not see this with my corrupted eyes, as it is written: “Everyone who rejects something does so with his own flaws.” And if I direct myself correctly towards work with the friends, bestowing to them, then I will discover their bestowal towards me.

This is to say that all of the work that I do on myself I do through work on the others. In the meantime I do this for egoistic reasons (Lo Lishma), in that I am directed towards correcting myself in this way. But in spite of all this, it is already being done in the right direction: from myself outwards. From Lo Lishma like this, we come to Lishma, to bestowal.
[125588]
From the 1^st part of the Daily Kabbalah Lesson 1/15/14, Workshop

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In the News (from Salon): “School is a place where children are compelled to be, and where their freedom is greatly restricted — far more restricted than most adults would tolerate in their workplaces. In recent decades, we have been compelling our children to spend ever more time in this kind of setting, and there is strong evidence (summarized in my recent book) that this is causing serious psychological damage to many of them. Moreover, the more scientists have learned about how children naturally learn, the more we have come to realize that children learn most deeply and fully, and with greatest enthusiasm, in conditions that are almost opposite to those of school. …

“Most students — whether A students, C students, or failing ones — have lost their zest for learning by the time they reach middle school or high school. In a recent research study, Mihaly Czikszentmihalyl and Jeremy Hunter fitted more than 800 sixth- through 12th-graders, from 33 different schools across the country, with special wristwatches that provided a signal at random times of day. Whenever the signal appeared, they were to fill out a questionnaire indicating where they were, what they were doing, and how happy or unhappy they were at the moment. The lowest levels of happiness, by far, occurred when they were in school and the highest levels occurred when they were out of school playing or talking with friends. In school, they were often bored, anxious or both. Other researchers have shown that, with each successive grade, students develop increasingly negative attitudes toward the subjects taught, especially math and science. …

“When schools were taken over by the state and made compulsory, and directed toward secular ends, the basic structure and methods of schooling remained unchanged. Subsequent attempts at reform have failed because, though they have tinkered some with the structure, they haven’t altered the basic blueprint. The top-down, teach-and-test method, in which learning is motivated by a system of rewards and punishments rather than by curiosity or by any real, felt desire to know, is well designed for indoctrination and obedience training but not much else. …

“As a society, we tend to shrug off such findings. We’re not surprised that learning is unpleasant. We think of it as bad-tasting medicine, tough to swallow but good for children in the long run. Some people even think that the very unpleasantness of school is good for children, so they will learn to tolerate unpleasantness, because life after school is unpleasant. Perhaps this sad view of life derives from schooling. Of course, life has its ups and downs, in adulthood and in childhood. But there are plenty of opportunities to learn to tolerate unpleasantness without adding unpleasant schooling to the mix. Research has shown that people of all ages learn best when they are self-motivated, pursuing questions that are their own real questions, and goals that are their own real-life goals. In such conditions, learning is usually joyful.

“…the natural drives and abilities of young people to learn are fully sufficient to motivate their entire education. When they want or need help from others, they ask for it. We don’t have to force people to learn; all we need to do is provide them the freedom and opportunities to do so. Of course, not everyone is going to learn the same things, in the same way, or at the same time. But that’s a good thing. Our society thrives on diversity. Our culture needs people with many different kinds of skills, interests and personalities. Most of all, we need people who are pursuing life with passion and who take responsibility for themselves throughout life. These are the common denominators of people who have taken charge of their own education.”

My Comment: School still looks like an institution established for the production of human performers that were needed in times of Charlie Chaplin. It was necessary to change schooling a long time ago, but even those who advocate a new education system have no consensus. The problem is that no one understands the structure of the new world: integrated, unified, interconnected, to which people should be adapted to integrally enter the structure of the world. A person can be changed only through the method of integral education.
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Question: How can we reach the right prayer as quickly as possible?

Answer: Our effort, just like all the spiritual discernments, isn’t measured according to the number of actions but according to their quality. Sometimes we can see a person who tries very hard and does many things spinning like a humming fan. Everyone may admire his energy but the benefit of such actions can be minimal. As it says, “little with the right intention is better.”

The spiritual world is made of qualities: either in order to receive or in order to bestow. Everything depends on that, on how much either one weighs and not the actual number of actions. Therefore it says,” A person can attain his world in one hour!” But how is that possible if one spends a thousand hours or a million hours?! All of humanity wastes billions of hours and doesn’t reach the goal, and there are people who attain their world in one hour and reach revelation. Is this fair?

It’s possible due to the quality that is more important than the quantity. So if you want to reach the right prayer as quickly as possible, you should make an effort in quality and not in the quantity with regard to actions and intentions. Quality should come first.

A qualitative effort means constantly clarifying what receiving and bestowal mean, one with regard to the other. This is what we should look for in every aspect of life, in all our relations with others.

The qualitative effort is measured by how much my heart is involved. The heart should be the criterion and not the mind. There are very clever people and I actually used to envy them in the past when I saw how quickly they could grasp the material, understand things, and delve into details. But eventually I discovered that “it isn’t the wise who learns.” You can understand only through your feelings, and I didn’t really consider that as something serious but rather as something frivolous, some feminine sentiments.

I believed that one’s power is in the mind, but that isn’t true. First everything must go through the feelings and only then a person understands. The mind reads and perceives only what goes through the heart. So we have to try and expand our feelings as much as possible in the right direction, of course. The feelings expand only by the Light that Reforms.
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From the 2^nd part of the Daily Kabbalah Lesson 1/12/14, The Zohar

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