Audio Version Of The Blog – 8/25/20

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My Thoughts On Twitter 8/25/20

Dr Michael Laitman Twitter

Despite the modern means of communication, people feel increasingly more lonely, the new communication lacks feelings, a heart-felt connection. It does not fill the emptiness, it has no empathy… We are about to reveal an enormous emptiness… a black hole…
From Twitter, 8/25/20

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“Relocation: Change Your Place, Change Your Luck” (Medium)

Medium published my new article “Relocation: Change Your Place, Change Your Luck

American society is on the move. More than one in five US adults, 22% of the population, has relocated or knows someone likely to do so as a consequence of Covid-19’s socioeconomic impact, according to a recent study. Silicon Valley companies like Google, Facebook, Twitter and others have sent their employees to work from home, making their physical proximity to the workplace irrelevant. High rents and safety concerns are the main reasons for considering relocation in many communities, marking a trend to abandon the city for rural areas. Does this indicate a step backward? No, simple life is moving forward.

A wonderful unexpected outcome from the pandemic on our way of living will be an open door to a simpler, happier, and more fulfilling life.

Mobility is a US characteristic. According to data from the U.S. Census Bureau, on average, Americans change their place of residence no less than 11 times during their lives, mainly pursuing better job opportunities. But relocation due to the pandemic has a peculiar characteristic — it is a true move back to basics. Residents in urban areas are increasingly abandoning the stressful and expensive big cities to settle in the quiet and pastoral countryside, a noticeable trend in America and Europe.

Decades ago, people flocked from farms and villages to the big cities expecting to fulfill their dreams of progress and upward mobility. Today, businesses are closing and those still employed are changing their work patterns from activities in the physical workplace to remote engagement. So, what now is the benefit of living in the urban areas? None. The pandemic is transforming our lifestyle for good. We will realize more and more how adapting to a more virtual environment is a positive thing.

When the population is more scattered and evenly dispersed, everyone benefits — the ecology and humans. Conversely, overcrowded, high-density cities add stress to surrounding environments and pose challenges in the efficient use of natural resources such as water, energy, and food. On the personal level, life outside the urban areas is more manageable, affordable, and healthy.

The Babylonian Talmud says meshane makom, meshane mazal, which means that by changing our place we change our destiny, literally. In fact, our external conditions influence our priorities and focus in life. This also refers to an inner transformation that takes place. A shift to a quiet, simple lifestyle will make us feel better, calmer, and more balanced. And because of this, we will get along with each other more easily. Being rooted to the land with plenty of space for a home vegetable garden and a children’s playground will alleviate the stressful burden of the polluted and noisy concrete jungle.

We all feel secure with the familiar, even if it is far from ideal; this is why people resist change. But the pandemic is ushering us swiftly forward to a profound transformation from one reality to another. Little by little, we are realizing that there is no going back, only forward to a more global world where the boundaries between us are vanishing.

We have the whole world at our fingertips. From work to interpersonal communications and purchases, all is within easy reach within a matter of seconds. Someone can call for any service from America and reach a customer care representative in India without the slightest feeling of distance. We have truly become one global village.

Metropolitan areas will remain as centers for entertainment, culture, tourist attractions and more. Large factories that are indispensable for supplying society’s needs will also continue in big cities, but the population will disperse in different directions. A wonderful unexpected outcome from the pandemic on our way of living will be an open door to a simpler, happier, and more fulfilling life.
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“Nothing Wrong With Egoism (If Used Right)” (Medium)

Medium published my new article “Nothing Wrong with Egoism (If Used Right)

When we talk about egoism being the bane of our generation, we need to understand what it means. After all, where would we be without it? We wouldn’t have industry, modern medicine, or communication. We wouldn’t be able to travel, explore, or lead a pleasant and easy life compared to our forefathers. Moreover, the ego is not man’s creation; it is inherent in our nature. So when we praise nature, how can we condemn the ego, nature’s own creation?

Today, America, which has cultivated the ego culture more than any other country, is reeling with the pain of resisting nature’s pull. But thankfully, there is no need to suffer. If we understand that we do not need to kill our egos but simply use them correctly, share with others and strengthen our communities, we too will evolve, our lives will be safe, and our consciousness will encompass all of humanity and all of reality.

The problem isn’t with the ego; it is with how, how much, and when we use it. In a sense, the ego is everywhere. It is what maintains the shape of atoms and does not let them disintegrate. Nevertheless, in order for atoms to develop, they “relinquish” exclusivity of one or more of their electrons and “share” them with other atoms to create molecules, which is the next stage of their own evolution. As molecules “relinquish” some of their exclusivity and “share” parts of themselves with other molecules, they create molecular structures that in the end become cells, which begin to divide and multiply, and before you know it, you have life.

In other words, life consists of “selfish” elements that “relinquish” exclusivity of parts of themselves and share them with other elements. But by doing so, atoms, molecules, and cells don’t extinguish themselves; on the contrary, they guarantee their survival because now their existence is vital to someone else besides themselves. Moreover, by partaking in the evolution of a more complex system, they themselves evolve. All of creation follows the same evolutionary principle, and this is how our universe was built, with humankind within it.

We, too, are subject to the same laws of development. Socially, we evolved from clans to villages, from villages to towns, from towns to counties, from counties to countries, and now into a global village. But while our societies evolved, our psyches have remained uncared for; now it is their turn. They are the last element in creation that has not been touched, and now it is their turn.

We are at the dawn of an era where we will learn to relinquish parts of ourselves and share them with others in order to create true bonding. We will become one entity not only as communities of individuals, but people will feel each other as parts of themselves. It is a level of connection that we have never experienced, but which our egos are afraid to try thinking that this will be their end.

Indeed, the only thing that stands in the way of this final stage of evolution is our ego. It does not want to relinquish anything regardless of the cost. Like cancer, it is willing to die along with its host, as long as it does not share anything with anyone. But nature will not stop evolving until it brings all of reality into its highest level of development, where all parts both share and sustain one another, and thereby expand their consciousness to encompass the entire system of existence.

Those who resist the process will suffer along the way, but they, too, will reach it. Today, America, which has cultivated the ego culture more than any other country, is reeling with the pain of resisting nature’s pull. But thankfully, there is no need to suffer. If we understand that we do not need to kill our egos but simply use them correctly, share with others and strengthen our communities, we too will evolve, our lives will be safe, and our consciousness will encompass all of humanity and all of reality.

“Humor, Not Mockery” (Linkedin)

My new article on Linkedin “Humor, Not Mockery

Talk show after talk show, comedian after comedian, everyone’s trying to be funny, to make us laugh. But they really needn’t go a long way to do that. All they have to do is find a topical issue, invite a guess or talk about a certain person, and drag their names through the mud until they have lost all speck of respect in the eyes of the audience.

With humor, the rule of thumb is this: When it brings people closer and increases affection, it is good. When it sets us apart and increases derision, it is bad and we must push it away.

More than anything, the media’s humor is a mark of disgrace for our society. And the soaring rating they get only proves that we are growing worse. The truth is very simple: If I find someone else’s pain funny then I am not a good person. It may not be easy to acknowledge, but unless we know the truth, we will never change.

Mockery is not humor; it is venting our venom into the atmosphere and poisoning the air with our ill-will. Later, we shouldn’t be surprised that we can’t trust anyone, that we’re afraid of everyone, and that we feel alone and depressed. We helped build this exact atmosphere with our own foul minds.

Media that presents sneering “entertainment” is not our friend, either. These shows indoctrinate us to be cynical, mean, and unsympathetic—the exact opposite of what we need to build a happy life. We shouldn’t give these shows the rating that they get, and we certainly shouldn’t idolize talk show hosts or comedians who deride their guests. They are not our friends and they do not have our interest in mind. The crueler they make us be toward each other, the more they profit, and the more unhappy we become.

True humor is a gift. When you look at a pet doing funny things, or when your baby does baby stuff, it’s very funny and it’s good humor because it stems from our love for them and even increases it. Also, when humor helps us cope with hardships, it is a true gift.

We can even use humor for constructive criticism, but first we must make certain that we love the person we will criticize, and then use humor as the most inoffensive way to make suggestions. However, here we must be very careful since our ill-will rejoices in opportunities to “offer sound advice,” when in fact it strives to patronize and reprimand.

With humor, the rule of thumb is this: When it brings people closer and increases affection, it is good. When it sets us apart and increases derision, it is bad and we must push it away.

The Germans Of The Laws Of Moses, Part 2

431.05At Odds with Their People

Comment: In the first third of the nineteenth century, the disintegration of the Jewish people in Germany reached its climax, and one of the symptoms of the national malaise was the phenomenon of self-hatred.

Quite often, the Jews who assimilated became Christians or atheists and developed hatred for those who still observed their traditional customs.

My Response: If a Jew is not a Kabbalist who exists on two levels and understands both his animal level, which relates to the peoples of the world, and the spiritual level, which raises him above the animal level and calls him to unite, if he is not guided by the spiritual Kabbalistic principle of “all sins (that is, all differences between us) will be covered by love,” then in the end he becomes at odds with his people.

He loves some, dislikes others; this synagogue he attends, but in that one he will not set foot, etc. All this is based on conflict between people. Therefore, there are as many opinions as the number of Jews out there. The Jews have the same conflicts as all the other nations of the world because their animal root continues to exist from the time of Ancient Babylon.

Comment: The German-Jewish psychologist Kurt Lewin wrote from America, where he fled in 1939: “[a person] will dislike everything specifically Jewish, for he will see in it that which keeps him away from the majority for which he is longing. He will show dislike for those Jews who are outspokenly so, and will frequently indulge in self-hatred. Self-hatred arises from a sense of inferiority, from the fact that the Jew looks at himself through the eyes of the non-Jewish majority, out of fear of being unlike the majority, of being different.”

My Response: Naturally, he will try to be more German, French, and English than the Germans themselves or the French or English. This is what we see.

For more on this topic, read my books Like a Bundle of Reeds: why unity and mutual guarantee are today’s call of the hour, and The Jewish Choice: Unity or Anti-Semitism, Historical facts on anti-Semitism as a reflection of Jewish social discord.
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From KabTV’s “The Germans of the Laws of Moses” 8/12/19

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New Life 1269 – The Citizen And The Leadership In A Corrected State

New Life 1269 – The Citizen And The Leadership In A Corrected State
Dr. Michael Laitman in conversation with Oren Levi

In a corrected world, a citizen is supposed to feel the state as a family, which his wise relatives manage. Today there is unrest all over the world because the world is managed by the force of the ego. Leaders today divide the nation in order to weaken and control people, and think about their own chair.

It is impossible to change the feeling of disconnection between the public and the ruling elite unless each citizen and all of us together learn how to connect to each other. If everyone feels mutual care and responsibility, we will not be afraid or worried about anything. The warmth, love, and connection between people will draw support from nature, which is also one. In a state where people live as one family according to the principle “love thy friend as thyself,” every citizen accepts the others as his brothers.

If the nation connects in this way, the leadership will be forced to go along with it. The State of Israel will become a caring, unified system, and then people will feel that there is a global innovation here that is worth replicating and will want to get closer, and the unrest in the world will subside.
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From KabTV’s “New Life 1269 – The Citizen And The Leadership In A Corrected State,” 7/20/20

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Daily Kabbalah Lesson – 8/25/20

Lesson Preparation

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Writings of Baal HaSulam, “The Arvut (Mutual Guarantee)” 

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Lesson on the Topic of “Love Covers All Transgressions”

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Lesson on the Topic of “Bnei Baruch As a State of Transition”

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Selected Highlights

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The Strongest Factor Of Influence On A Person

423.01Question: The environment affects us through three channels. The first is the media. The second, are the examples of people around us. And the third is through thoughts and desires since we are in the same system on the same globe and all are interconnected.

Which of these factors is most influential?

Answer: The strongest factor of influence on a person is the surrounding society, its examples and opinions.

Question: We humans can only change our attitude to the world, but is that enough? Or do we still need to change the world?

Answer: We ourselves cannot change the world. We can gradually change our attitude toward it, and then we will see another world.
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From KabTV’s “The Post-Coronavirus Era” 5/7/20

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