Audio Version Of The Blog – 11/25/18

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Contrast Of Opposites

laitman_962.5The created beings cannot perceive reality except through the contrast of opposites. We inevitably must feel ourselves and what is outside of us, and only in this way do we perceive reality. Therefore, first we develop our egoistic perception of reality in the desire to receive. Then, after many thousands of years of development, having reached a certain level of egoistic perception, we become ready to move to the perception of the true reality the way it actually exists, not limited by our egoism and by our nature.

But we are not the Creator, for whom this reality is natural, but rather the created beings, and therefore, we reveal the true reality only in contrast to our egoistic reality in which we grew up. Every detail of the upper reality we discover includes two opposites: one side that we notice and feel in our egoism and the other one that we perceive above our egoism.

It is like a candle that consists of oil and a burning wick where the two opposites support each other. Only in this way can we grasp, feel, study, and begin to live in the reality called “the Creator.” We perceive it only from our opposite state of creation in the contrast of opposites.

Therefore, we must always keep to the middle line without deviating either to the right, where everything is for the sake of bestowal, or to the left, where everything is for the sake of reception. Only in the middle between these two lines can we exist as the created beings and acquire the nature of the Creator.

We should not despair that we are thrown from one extreme to the other, from an absolutely egoistic perception of reality to quasi-altruism. It is the combination of these two opposites that will lead us to the true reality. We must be patient and get used to such a split, because one opposite supports the other, revealing the advantage of the Light over darkness. Without this, it is impossible to feel the upper reality.

If I agree with the darkness, understanding that this is an inseparable and most important part of my perception of reality, then I look objectively at both forms. On one hand, I depend on both of them, and on the other hand, I am between them. By my equal attitude to the Light and to the darkness, to pleasant and unpleasant states, and to good and evil, I correctly balance myself and can remain as an independent created being, moving in the middle line toward the purpose of creation, that is, toward adhesion with the upper force.1
From the 1st part of the Daily Kabbalah Lesson 11/16/18, Lesson on the Topic “The Work Within Reason And The Work Above Reason”
1 Minute 0:20

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Two Forces That Create A Human Being
Combining The Opposites
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Spiritual Development And Growth Of Egoism

Laitman_524.01Rabash, “Concerning the Importance of Society”: And man, whom The Zohar compares to the tree of the field, suffers, like the tree of the field, from bad neighbors. In other words, we must always cut down the bad weeds around us that affect us, and we must also keep away from bad environments and from people who do not favor the path of truth.

Therefore, in matters of work on the path of truth, one should isolate oneself from other people… that is, from people who do not follow this path. We need a careful watch so as to not be drawn to follow them.

This is called “isolation,” when one has thoughts of the “single authority,” called “bestowal,” and not “public authority,” which is self-love. This is called “two authorities”—the Creator’s authority and one’s own authority.

Question: People who start to seriously study Kabbalah suddenly get various new desires for wealth, knowledge, and external things. Why does it work this way? After all, before that, they did not crave these things at all.

Answer: It happens in order to give them the opportunity to understand themselves and to sort out spiritual desires from material ones.

They have great desires for wealth, fame, power, and even for knowledge. This is natural because in contrast to spiritual development, the material component will always grow. So, it is said: “He who is greater than his friend, his egoism is greater.”
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From KabTV’s “The Last Generation” 4/24/18

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In Order To Not Go Astray
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Medium: “Fitness In The 21st Century: The Birth Of A New Religion”

Medium published my new article “Fitness in the 21st Century: The Birth of a New Religion

Who doesn’t want to be fit these days? Trying to stay in good shape has become a noble quest in modern life, and an expensive one. Does the effort actually yield a more fulfilling life? The end result feels more like we’ve been tilting at windmills because something is missing.

Whether your daily schedule includes preparing superfoods, working out at the gym or outdoors, taking supplements, getting state-of-the-art gadgets to measure your training performance and body levels, we invest in anything and everything necessary to be in shape and healthy at any price.

Don’t get me wrong, there is nothing bad about being fit. Regular exercise can help reduce stress and improve health. The problem arises when devotion to staying in shape becomes an obsession.

It is precisely this Western fixation on the cult of the body that feeds a $32 billion fitness industry. Instead of delivering, our preoccupation just adds pressure to our already heavyweight lives. How can we lift the weight off our shoulders and experience true satisfaction?

As far back as the 1950s, anthropologist Horace Miner wrote about a strange people called the “Nacirema” who were excessively focused on their physical appearance. Through various ceremonies and rituals, they tried to improve their condition at the ultimate expense of their peace of mind. “It is hard to understand how they have managed to exist so long under the burdens which they have imposed upon themselves,” Miner wrote in his journal.

As it turns out, the Nacirema were neither a lost tribe nor inhabitants of a far-off land. “Nacirema” is “American” spelled backwards, and Miner’s work is a critical review of the American worship of the body in current society. People are ready and willing to do anything to delay aging: undergo cosmetic treatments, consume what is marketed as optimal nutrition, follow rigorous and unconventional workout regimes, and whatever it takes to live up to 150 years if it were possible.

The characteristics of our generation have swung full-circle back to the days of Hellenistic Greek culture with its worship of the “I” and quest for perfection, personal achievement and competition. Our fitness infatuation has made us forget the essential truth of our existence: at the end of the day, the body will be buried six feet under and gradually rot. This distressing truth underscores the importance chasing an ageless and worthy goal.

We are not to be blamed for our folly because there is an instinctive desire to cultivate and preserve the body at the root of every human being. We have within us a yearning to reach eternity. We are just misguided and squander our strength on our passion for corporeal goals.

There is a way to achieve ultimate wholeness and eternity. When we aim ourselves above the limitations of our temporary lives at the soul’s development, we discover the feeling of attaining a supreme power that encompasses nature. This is the force that gives life to everything in nature, the force that allows for eternal life — the power of love and bestowal. A person imbued with this power begins to perceive a different reality, a life of balance and fulfillment.

How is it possible to live in this new reality? We enter it by focusing our “work outs” on our spiritual body, our inner self. Although we may continue our engagement in physical activities and take care of our health, our main concern becomes directed toward spiritual growth, which is achieved through human connection, i.e. by building and nurturing strong, meaningful relationships.

As we switch self-concern with concern for others, aging and the body’s expiration date are no longer the main focus of our lives. We invest in building meaningful connections instead of spending fortunes on phony fixes, we grab onto our inextinguishable soul. Then the loss of the body to death is no more painful to us than removing a shirt because we have risen above corporeal existence. By investing in our internal body, our inner temple, we will experience a life full of vitality, eternally beautiful and fit.

New Life 101 – Pregnancy And Birth: The Female Power

New Life 101 – Pregnancy And Birth: The Female Power
Dr. Michael Laitman in conversation with Oren Levi and Nitzah Mazoz

The female power should promote humanity’s birth. A woman should feel that all of nature is her womb and through it provide everyone with life. She should use her free choice to take care of the world like a womb, just as nature wraps the embryo with love, care, warmth, and bestowal. Pregnancy can even heal a woman because she receives great forces from nature for two. If she suffers during pregnancy, this means that she lacks balance. She should learn so that she can teach her children the right attitude toward life.
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From KabTV’s “New Life 101 – Pregnancy And Birth: The Female Power,” 11/11/12

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Daily Kabbalah Lesson – 11/25/18

Lesson Preparation

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Lesson on the Topic “How Do We Organize Ourselves For Prayer”

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Talmud Eser Sefirot,  Vol. 6, Part 16,  Table of Answers for the Meaning of the Words, Item 107

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Writings of Baal HaSulam, Newspaper “The Nation”, Title “The Individual and the Nation”

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