Audio Version Of The Blog – 08.25.15
Posted on August 25th, 2015
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The Torah, “Numbers,” 13:25 – 13:29: They returned from scouting the land at the end of forty days. They went, and they came to Moses and Aaron and all the congregation of the children of Israel in the desert of Paran, to Kadesh. They brought them back a report, as well as to the entire congregation, and they showed them the fruit of the land. They told him and said, “We came to the land to which you sent us, and it is flowing with milk and honey, and this is its fruit. However, the people who inhabit the land are mighty, and the cities are extremely huge and fortified, and there we saw even the offspring of the giant. The Amalekites dwell in the south land, while the Hittites, the Jebusites, and the Amorites dwell in the mountainous region. The Canaanites dwell on the coast and alongside the Jordan.”
Comment: When the spies spoke about the land of Israel they were very excited, but suddenly there is a turning point…
Answer: The upper world is very attractive. It isn’t the egoistic communism we have been fed by the European utopians during the Middle Ages, but rather the state of a person who has fully attained and knows all of creation and his role within it. This person has attained the upper force and feels that he is in the attribute of bestowal, beyond the limitations of existing for his own sake. He totally attains all the states of the worlds throughout time and on all the levels inside himself, including all of nature, meaning both our world and the upper world.
Of course we don’t attain the upper world because it is above our universe and is a billion times larger. But we have to discover it eventually, and therefore we have the potential that draws us to the attainment of this state. But when you clarify what you have to do in order to reach this, you realize that it is totally beyond your powers because you are like a tiny mouse in a great world. What can you do?
So the spies were right. They came with two accurate conclusions regarding the land of Israel. On the one hand, there are all sorts of fruits, i.e., all sorts of comprehension—everything you can imagine and even billions of times greater than what we have today, just as the generation of the Middle Ages could not imagine life in our generation. On the other hand, they had no powers, no preconditions, nor understanding, neither moral nor intellectual. They couldn’t reach the states of attainment since they were not prepared for them.
This is actually what happened, because the spies belonged to the generation of the desert who lived where there was nothing and where they had to try to be in a strong, mutual connection to advance. But, when they entered the land of Israel, they confronted their internal egoism, which treated them with disrespect, like Pharaoh. He reappears among them and once again, forces them to conquer him because the land of Israel is based on the conquering of Pharaoh.
The exodus from Egypt is just the escape from Pharaoh, and during the 40 years of wandering in the desert, we neutralize him. Now, however, we need to take this animal out of its den and begin to restrain it so that by taming it, it will carry out all our orders. This seems to be absolutely impossible!
When the spies look at all this horror, they forget that there is an upper force that plans everything and that they have to advance in accordance with this force and be a like a small child holding the hand of a grownup, not fearing anything. The spies couldn’t take that into account because they were terrified of the greatness they had to attain, of the infinity and uncertainty revealed to them by infinite space. When a person feels that there are no limits, he feels lost.
When a person is in a certain framework in certain limits, he feels that everything is simple, easy, and free. But if he transcends these limits, he loses the ability to weigh things and find his way around. This is very scary for those who reach a more sublime state. Therefore, every person who is about to enter the land of Israel—the correction of egoism to love and bestowal and the inclination of the ego towards the Creator—experiences such feelings.
[164758]
From KabTV’s “Secrets of the Eternal Book” 4/8/15
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We are all parts of one general whole and mutually complement one another as a result of the differences, contrasts, and oppositeness between us. This mutual complementing is obliged to emphasize and expose all the rejections we feel internally towards one another.
It is only by the right connection between us that we can find the ideal unity that will allow the revelation of all the differences and oppositeness between us, and on the other hand, the absolute whole, harmonious, and mutual cooperation between us. All the differences between us connect through our mutual love, mutual bestowal, and mutual agreement. When all the parts work together only for the sake of others, it makes their connection possible.
Question: How can we attain this realization?
Answer: It results from the great desire that each of us has to be filled with the Light. We have been looking for this filling, not only for many years, but also in our previous lives. Within a certain life, we stop and begin to dig more deeply into the question of how I can fulfill myself.
If we were all equal, we would be as one, but there cannot be much of the same thing. We can make many identical tables in our world, but there is no such thing in the spiritual world. There is no uniformity inside us, and we see it in people around us. It is thanks to our differences that such a global orchestra exists. In the meantime, it is not yet an orchestra, but a terrible cacophony (a combination of meaningless sounds). But if we bring them all together under the leadership of an experienced conductor, there will be a wonderful, coordinated, and harmonious orchestra.
[164394]
From KabTV’s “Conversations with Michael Laitman” 8/5/15
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In the News: (ucsdnews.ucsd.ed): “Far from being selfish, organisms whose sole purpose is to maximize their own reproduction, bacteria in large communities work for the greater good by resolving a social conflict among individuals to enhance the survival of their entire community.
“It turns out that, much like human societies, bacterial communities benefit when they can balance opposing needs within the group.
“The discovery of this unusual behavior among bacteria in large communities, comes not from any inherent altruism among the bacteria. Instead, it ’emerges’ spontaneously from the community in which the bacteria grow.
“‘It’s an example of what we call “emergent phenomena”,’ explained Gürol Süel, an associate professor of molecular biology at UC San Diego who headed the research effort. ‘Emergent phenomena are processes that you cannot observe or understand if you are studying individuals. You can only understand the process if you look at the collective.’
“Süel and his colleagues observed this unusual phenomenon while carefully measuring the growth of a microbial community called a ‘biofilm.’ Such communities of bacteria and other microorganisms form thin structures on surfaces—such as the tartar that develops on teeth—that are highly resistant to chemicals and antibiotics.
“The UC San Diego biologists discovered that when the biofilm community reached a certain size, it suddenly began to oscillate in its growth. By complementing their experiments with mathematical modeling, the researchers discovered that these oscillations resolved a social conflict between individual cells that were cooperating, but also had to compete for food. The reason these biofilms are so hardy is that individuals within the community manage to resolve this internal conflict through coordinating their activities in space and time.
“The conflict is essentially this: bacteria at the outer edges of the biofilm are the most vulnerable within their community to chemical and antibiotic attacks. At the same time, they also provide protection to the interior cells. But the bacteria at the outer edge are the closest to nutrients necessary for growth. So if they grow unchecked, they can consume all the food and starve the sheltered interior cells.
“But that doesn’t happen, because the biofilm develops an ingenious solution to this problem that the scientists call ‘metabolic codependence.’ Essentially, the interior cells produce a metabolite necessary for the growth of the bacteria on the outside. This provides the inner cells with the ability to periodically put the brakes on the growth of outer cells, which otherwise would consume all the food and starve the cells they are protecting from attack. By periodically preventing the growth on the periphery, inner cells ensure that they have sufficient access to nutrients. By keeping the protected inner cells alive, the biofilm has a much higher chance of surviving antibiotic treatment.
“This strategy allows bacteria with conflicting needs to take turns, like drivers approaching an intersection from different directions. In many ways, the internal social conflict within bacterial communities is not unlike the conflicts that opposing groups of individuals must find ways to resolve in order to maintain successful nations or communities.
“‘The social conflict we studied is directly applicable to conflicts that arise in human societies,’ added Süel. ‘We all face the social dilemma where supporting others, even our competitors, may ultimately make our society stronger. We may be able to learn more about how to resolve our own social conflicts by studying bacterial societies.'”
My Comment: It is the same universal egoism that forces enemies to reach agreement in order not to “get lost alone.” Everything happens on the level of our world, so it is no wonder that egoistic and unconscious behavior like this among bacteria is clearly represented in every connection of egoistic elements, such as atoms in inert matter, for example.
All matter is egoistic, so all of its connections are no more than the same egoistic connection, but on a higher level. Whereas spiritual union, which is even higher, happens not for the sake of egoistic benefit, but above egoistic calculation and for the sake of a higher principle, the Creator. This higher principle, is perceived and understood only by a person who has been given a unique characteristic called the point in the heart, and only under the influence of the higher power, the Ohr Makif (Surrounding Light), the Light that reforms.
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Question: Should we be afraid of demanding Light so we won’t use it for personal enjoyment and ask for darkness instead?
Answer: We are advancing towards a state where what now seems to us as darkness will become Light and we will want to adhere to this Light that we feel as darkness at the moment.
Comment: But this act is very difficult, exhausting, and leads to a feeling of powerlessness!
Answer: If you don’t nullify yourself, it really does seem like very difficult work.
Question: I am trying to nullify myself with all my might! What else must I do?
Answer: I can give you an example. Many years ago I was in a very severe accident. After it I suffered serious breathing difficulties due to the accumulation of blood in my lungs. I was not able to even take a few steps; I couldn’t get enough air and immediately began to breathe heavily. And when they finally told me that they were ready to operate on me, I ran into the operating room by myself without waiting for them to move me there and I lay down on the operating table, just so they would begin to operate on me as soon as possible.
Such a situation showed that I was ready to give myself over to the influence of the Upper Light. Understandably, this is an example of physical behavior for egoistic reasons, the desire to live and enjoy life. But we must nullify ourselves in regard to spiritual correction in the same way.
Question: It seems to me that the only place from which it is possible to get oxygen is the group. What can you do when you are separated from it and you lack air?
Answer: Oxygen is not just found in the group, rather, it is because of the presence of the Creator within it. It is necessary to grasp this very clearly; otherwise, we lose our direction.
In the meantime it is very difficult for us to hold onto the thought that our ultimate goal is to give contentment to the Creator. This is like a small child who is taught that it is necessary to obey his mother, to love her. And he obeys! He has no questions: Whether he loves his mother or not, he sticks to her naturally like every child does to his mother because of a simple egoistic animal instinct.
But when we grow up, we move away from our mother, and only after that, at a mature age we begin to understand and appreciate how much our parents did for us. We are ready to comprehend this. What this means is that a particular period of time must go by for a person to begin to get a taste for the words “giving contentment to the Creator.”
This period of development happens thanks to the Light, just as everything in our lives changes only due to the influence of the Light. It seems to us that years go by, we mature, and age does its work, but that is not so. We don’t understand that, in fact, there are no years at all, there is only the influence of the Light that causes us to feel the flow of time and change.
So now when we are talking about the necessity of being concerned about the Creator, it sounds to us like convincing a little child that he must love his mother. You simply have to make it possible for the Light to influence you more and more; try to increase its influence and raise your sensitivity to it through work in a group and dissemination.
And then you will see how a particular type of attitude will awaken in you towards words that were previously empty: “contentment to the Creator.” Who is this Creator? Where is He? And suddenly you begin to feel Him closer and closer to you. You don’t feel Him, but when they mention Him, particular feelings and a particular attitude are awakened in you. This sensation continues to expand; it touches your heart and moves you.
This sensation begins to grow: At one point, the mention of the Creator will evoke different sensations and emotions. This point expands, and within it appear different forms of relationships. That is how a new Kli, a new sense, is built in you.
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From the Preparation for the Daily Kabbalah Lesson 3/11/14
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If humanity does not accept the method of connection which the wisdom of Kabbalah is offering, then it will simply collapse. In the end, we will still realize the necessity for unity, but at the cost of horrible blows.
It is like children who do not want to listen to their parents who are urging them to be friendly with each other. After many quarrels and bruises, they will nevertheless gradually understand that it is impossible to play and develop alone and they will step onto the right path.
But such a path to connection is called the path of suffering. The wisdom of Kabbalah warns us that this path encompasses nuclear world wars, enormous suffering, famine, and epidemics. The lack of our connection is evoking such changes in the climate of the planet that soon there will be another ice age. Kabbalists tell us that if humanity will not want to unite voluntarily, they will have to do it nevertheless, but only with a small handful of people who survive after all these terrible events, and they eventually come to unification.
The fact is that unity is a goal of the entire evolution of nature, not just people. All forms of nature need to connect together into one harmonious whole. In all parts of nature: in stones, plants, animals, and in people, harmony should prevail in such a way that all these levels complete and support one another. It is written in Prophets that at the end of correction of the world, a wolf will dwell peacefully with a lamb, and a small boy will lead them.
Having achieved such harmony, unity, connection, and balance, this world will transform from the multitude of different parts into one organism. And a body that senses itself as one whole begins to feel a higher level of its existence that is called the Creator, the upper force. The higher level of nature contains a program, as if it is a big computer, a brain that operates us and leads us to unity and connection, whether through a path of suffering, or due to us uniting of our own accord.
The first time that humanity began to feel the need for the method of unification was in ancient Babylon. Until then, unity was natural, since they lived as one nation sharing everything. Although there were many different communities, ethnic groups, and family clans in this ancient nation, they all lived in peace and harmony. Egoism was very small.
But then egoism suddenly grew suddenly, and at that time they began to feel how divided they were and how much they lacked unity. Thus they understood the need for a method of connection. All this happened about 3,500 years ago. Part of the Babylonians felt the need for this method, and since then the wisdom of Kabbalah, which explains how to do it, became revealed.
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From the Convention In Guadalajara “One Heart For All,” “Day One” 7/17/15, “Preparatory Lesson”
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Question: What will happen when we succeed in publicizing the Integral Education method in the world? Will there be abundance in the world, will everyone have food, a comfortable life, and no need to work more than two hours per day?
Answer: We will get more than this: we will correct and refine ourselves in such a way that we won’t need to work at all. It’s not that machines will work for us, but in general, this physical world will evaporate, we will move on to a world of forces instead of a world of imaginary objects.
We will begin to use all of our knowledge, all of science and strength for the benefit of humanity, according to a mutual agreement that is accepted in society. A transition like this will happen gradually to the degree of the readiness of society.
Question: Which is to say, even the crisis in medicine and the incorrect usage of medicines will also be corrected and transformed into a good use?
Answer: There will be a good use of drugs, until their use disappears entirely. We won’t need the drugs themselves. But in the intermediate stages we certainly use only beneficial drugs. You will not be able to give harmful drugs and poison people whom you feel are like relatives.
Question: I don’t understand, how could the climate crisis disappear, the threatening and frightening phenomena that are liable to happen? Is nature also connected to our success in disseminating Integral Education?
Answer: If you establish balance on the “speaking” level, it will influence the level of forces on all levels under it. The whole problem is that we don’t feel these forces. If 150 years ago I had shown you an electric battery, you would not believe or understand that some kind of power can be found in it. In those times you would have understood the power of fire, a rod, dynamic energy, potential energy, but not electrical energy.
Today, you understand that electricity is powerful and you believe that a battery can operate a large machine. But if I had shown you a small box then and and told you that this is an atomic bomb that contains the power to incinerate all of Manhattan, you would not believe me. You would certainly laugh, because you know the size of Manhattan.
But today you already believe if some regular car arrives on Fifth Avenue containing a small box that explodes, all of Manhattan could turn back into a Native American village. A hundred years ago this would seem impossible, but today we have gotten smarter and a situation like this seems absolutely realistic.
Also, the same thing is relevant regarding more hidden forces; these are spiritual forces that also operate in the world. They are much more hidden and billions of times stronger than atomic energy. These forces don’t just “operate” on this world, they run it!
Question: Can they stop the glaciers from melting?
Answer: If we bring ourselves back into balance with nature, then all the levels found below us will also be in balance.
Question: And everyone will be able to see these forces?
Answer: Those who attain, those who are prepared for this internally, will see these forces. For this it is necessary to construct an internal device inside of you.
[129517]
From the 4th part of the Daily Kabbalah Lesson 3/9/14, Writing of Baal HaSulam
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