Question: Many people write to us that they lead their life feeling offended for different reasons. There are people who cannot forgive their parents for having destroyed their marriage. Teachers are offended by ungrateful students. Parents do not forgive their children who have abandoned them.

According to some psychologists, everything falls into specific categories, and they explain three major reasons for feeling insulted and the implications of this feeling. They say that if you are a clever person, you can control this feeling, and they explain how you can do so. What is your attitude regarding the feeling of being insulted?

Answer: I am never offended by anyone because I know human nature, and the better I know human nature, the better I know that there is no one to be offended by. Kabbalists say that if you are offended by someone, “Go and tell the craftsman who made me,” go to the Creator who has made me the way I am.

Question: Is this a serious attitude?

Answer: It is not about whether it is serious or not—it is the truth. Where can a person’s thoughts, feelings, attributes, or actions come from? There is nothing in him that is his. He is simply totally enclosed in what nature does with him, which means the Creator.

Question: This is a sublime state. If we go back to an ordinary earthly person, then, for example, parents whose children do not help and have abandoned them or someone who has betrayed his friend, how can one work with such emotions? You said that if you understand human nature, it is possible not to be offended at all.

Answer: True. That is what you should do and then you are truly a human being. You are totally on the side of the other person.

Question: Of the person who has hurt you?

Answer: Of the one who has hurt you. I am not talking just about being hurt. I believe that we need to reach such a level in our development at which you begin to understand that all other people around you are like puppets on a string and that the Creator controls them so that you will correct yourself in relation to them and be able to justify them and wish them all the best.
From KabTV’s “News with Dr. Michael Laitman” 11/29/21

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Question: A person is not able to look into himself, it is against his nature, he does not see his flaws.

Self-knowledge is not always pleasant. Suppose I have always considered myself a good person, well-mannered, intelligent, well-behaved toward others. Suddenly, when I begin to study Kabbalah, the exact opposite is revealed to me.

What is this force that allows a person to advance even though he sees more and more flaws in himself?

Answer: It is pressure from within, which is called a point in the heart in Kabbalah.

A person receives a desire to reveal the meaning of life that he cannot stop; if I do not reveal the essence of existence, then life has no worth to me, it has no meaning. I cannot exist senselessly.

That is, I achieve development when I must solve this issue for myself. I cannot put it all aside and go on living. I have no other fillings, pleasures, or needs. I agree to exist, but only against my will. It is better to fall asleep altogether and not wake up.

This is how big my desire to attain the meaning of life is. Precisely this desire is a human one, it is the human inside me.

Everything else—following fashion, following the neighbor so as not to be worse than him, acquiring a profession, giving birth to children—is all necessary, but it does not fill me.

I do not judge other people for their need to enjoy, for filling themselves with something else, but I cannot do it. If I have such an urgent demand, it is precisely this demand that is called human. There is nothing to do about it. It gives me tremendous strength.
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From KabTV’s “Close-Up—Centaurs” 1/15/10

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Michael Laitman, On Quora: “How do I get connected with a higher source?“

We can connect with a higher source by inviting that higher source into our lives. According to the wisdom of Kabbalah, the higher source is called the “upper light.” It is an abstract force and informational field.

How can we invite this higher source into our lives? One aspect of doing so depends on the amount of people who aim the concentration of their desires to be connected as one, and to use this higher source for the sake and benefit of others. This altruistic approach to others is the key to connecting with that higher source.

Inside us, we have a desire that we can develop into what Kabbalah calls a “Kli” (vessel/tool/receptacle) for creating a connection with the higher source, the abstract upper light. A central aspect in establishing such a connection is our desire: what do we want from this connection? If we organize ourselves in a group, and focus solely on rising above our self-aimed desires in a common direction to a common form—one of positive connection among us and with that higher source—then we will experience a significant transformation: the reception of new knowledge, forces, qualities and relationships with others. In short, everything that stands between the person and the world will change. Moreover, the more people in the group we work with, then the greater are the forces that we receive in order to implement such a change.

If we wish to be connected with the higher source, the upper light, in order for it to change us, to give us the strength to positively connect above our individual desires, then by our correct yearning, we generate a positive future form within us. We then raise a demand for that transformation, and connect to the field of the upper force with our desire.

Based on the video “How to Connect to the Field of the Upper Light” with Kabbalist Dr. Michael Laitman.
Written/edited by students of Kabbalist Dr. Michael Laitman.

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Question: What does it mean when not sons, but daughters are born?

Answer: In the Torah, as a rule, there is a parallel birth of both sons and daughters. There cannot be one without the other since intention always comes above desire. The daughter symbolizes desire and the son symbolizes intention.

But in the Prophets, it is said allegorically that one of the tribes had no sons. The daughters came to Joshua and received from him an allotment of land. This means that there is a lack of foundation for righteous deeds. There is a desire to receive, but there is no right intention.

Question: Why is the allotment given only to men?

Answer: The man symbolizes the quality of bestowal. He is given an allotment because he is able to use it correctly. The woman does not even know how to use it. She personifies the desire to receive without any intention to give.

All this happens in one person. The desire to receive is the woman in us and the intention to bestow is the man.
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From KabTV’s “Secrets of the Eternal Book” 9/27/21

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Preparation to the Lesson

Writings of Baal HaSulam, Shamati #113 “The Eighteen Prayer” 

Writings of Baal HaSulam, “Preface to the Wisdom of Kabbalah,” Item 91

Selected Highlights

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Medium published my new article “We Can Make Inflation Work for Us”

All over the western world, prices are on the rise. In the US, consumer prices have gone up by more than 6 percent, the most since the 1990s. In Germany, prices have gone up 4.5 percent, and in the United Kingdom, prices are up 5.1 percent. These leading economies demonstrate what is happening across Europe and North America. Pundits tell us that jams in supply chains have created a shortage in commodities and raw materials, and an increase in demand, which spirals prices upward.

I believe we can make inflation work for us. We can turn it into an opportunity to rethink our entire value system and figure out if there are more things to enjoy besides shopping, things that are more satisfying and less costly to us and to our planet.

Currently, we produce far more than we need. We throw away half the food we produce, manufacture unprecedented amounts of weapons of all kinds, and trash perfectly good phones in order to buy the latest model. We also apply this senseless approach to clothing, shoes, and many other goods. Do we feel happier when we act this way? Very briefly, before we sink into an even deeper depression. Meanwhile, our needless excessive shopping causes delays in supply chains where there should have been none.

The shopping frenzy does not help anyone. We are filling the soil and oceans with garbage and waste, polluting them with plastic and toxins, poisoning ourselves, the animals, and the fish. The only ones who benefit from this cycle are the business owners who see the number of zeros in their bank accounts grow even though the money is sitting there uselessly.

There is an alternative: We can produce as much as we need to live comfortably, which is less than half of what we produce now, buy only what we need, and spend the rest of our time bonding with each other. Instead of deriving meaningless pleasures from new smartphones, we will enjoy the stronger bonds among us, the greater sense of belonging and security, and the feeling of being surrounded by people who care about us rather than alienate us.

This is not a new idea. The ARI Institute wrote about it back in 2012 in the book The Benefits of the New Economy, and a few years later, The New York Times columnist Thomas Friedman expressed similar ideas when he wrote in 2017 that in the future, people will need to “create more value with hearts and between hearts.” To this, he added, “We used to work with our hands. Machines replaced that but we started to work with our heads instead in a knowledge economy. …Next I think we’re going to work more with our hearts.”

To break the logjam where things are stuck because of our excessive competitiveness and alienation from each other, we should shift from pursuing material pleasures, which do not bring lasting happiness and charge a hefty environmental tax, to spiritual pleasures that come from enhancing and tightening family and community ties, and enhance the overall feeling of mutual responsibility in society.

Such a transition still requires explanation. People have been “programmed” to suspect and alienate everyone. If we want a sustainable society, we must “reprogram” ourselves to be the social beings we once were. We can wait a little longer if we want, but we must do it sooner rather than later. The longer we wait, the more compelling our shift in values will be since the broken supply chains and all the problems that plague our world will not heal themselves. Either we heal them by shedding what is redundant and adopting a more caring approach to each other and our planet, or life will strip us of anything that is not an absolute necessity.
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Medium published my new article “54 Nobel Laureates Are No Match to Petty Politicians”

Physicists Sir Roger Penrose and Prof. Carlo Rovelli, as well as fifty-two other Nobel Laureates, are among the signatories of a new initiative called “Global Peace Dividend.” The initiative seeks to “reduce military spending by 2% in all countries,” thereby “save one trillion USD over 5 years,” and use the money “to fight planetary emergencies.” Since, as they write, “humankind faces risks that can only be averted through cooperation,” the scientists suggest that we “cooperate instead of fighting among ourselves.”

As much as I would like their initiative to succeed, Nobel laureates do not run the world; politicians run it, and they will go to any length and spare no effort to achieve military dominance, even if it leads us to an atomic, third world war, which it will.
We have a problem. Hatred, folly, and selfishness have climaxed to levels that form an impenetrable wall. Humanity is in a desperate state. This is how I see it.

In every society, the people who excel in its most dominant trait are its leaders. In an egoistic society, the most egoistic are the leaders. Human society is not only egoistic, but is growing more so by the day. Therefore, our leaders are the most self-centered. As such, they cannot see anything or think of anything but themselves. They will preach to us and pretend to care about people when in truth, their only goal is their seat at the helm.

It is not their fault; it is human nature, and they cannot go against the nature that drives them from within. They are totally enslaved to it and will do whatever it tells them. If it tells them that it is perfectly OK to destroy the economies of their own countries to keep up with the arms race, they will not hesitate for a minute.

Russia, for example, has extracted everything it could. Other than a few hundred super rich individuals, the rest of the people are in poverty. The US, too, is deteriorating rapidly. Yet, governments cannot control their passion for control. Remember the rule: In an egoistic society, the one at the top is the most egoistic. Therefore, people should not expect any benefits from the leaders.

The only time when politicians listen to scientists is when they tell them that they can develop a more lethal weapon that will give them military superiority. If they tell them anything else, they will reply, “Just give us nuclear weapons; we will know what to do with it.”

In 2020, the world economy shrank by more than 4%. During that same year, global arms purchases reached an all-time high of nearly two trillion dollars. This goes to show how focused world leaders are on their own objectives. One would think that if there is a recession, arms purchases would decrease, but the opposite occurred.

When you think about it from a self-centered perspective, it makes perfect sense: The worse off we are, the more money we need to spend on arming ourselves, since leaders are more likely to start wars. Since leaders need to keep their people from rebelling, they must incite them against others. So the worse we do financially, the more we need to spend on arms in order to prepare for war. And if you think that at some point the resources for weapons will run dry, I would not count on it; leaders will spend their last dime on weapons.

Even building shelters will not help. You can build shelters that protect from rockets, but you cannot build shelters to protect a nation from atomic bombs.

The only solution that does exist is to change the ego itself. The ego is the drive behind the arms race and the impending war. Hence, only changing the ego and reining it in will help prevent a war.

People who understand me should join forces and nurture unity, care for one another, and eventually love one another above all the differences. This is the only antidote to the virus of egoism. There is no other vaccine for it other than to try to care for one another despite our inherent alienation.

If we are already aware that we are dependent on each other, and that narcissism is our enemy, we should start working together on changing our behavior from self-centered to caring. Just as we currently teach ourselves to be selfish, we should teach ourselves that if we are selfish, we are hurting ourselves, so we had better learn to be unselfish. If many of us work on it together, around the world, then it is not too late.

For more on the importance of solidarity, see my book Self-Interest Vs. Altruism In The Global Era.
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Michael Laitman, On The Times of Israel: “On the Verge of Ruin”

A few days ago was the tenth of the Hebrew month of Tevet. On that day in 587 B.C. began the siege of Jerusalem by Nebuchadnezzar II, King of Babylon, which culminated in the destruction of the First Temple and the Babylonian exile of the Jewish people. Jewish sources, however, do not attribute the downfall to the Babylonian king, but to bloody internal conflicts, slander, intrigue, and other forms of mutual abuse. Seventy years after the exile, we returned to the land, rebuilt the Temple, but let the Second Temple fall once more for the same reason: our hatred for one another.

Today we are once again the sovereign in Israel, and once again we are fighting among ourselves. Not physically, yet, but we are definitely fighting, and the hatred is only growing stronger. Religious Jews hate secular Jews and secular Jews detest religious Jews; the Right hate the Left and vice versa; Ashkenazi Jews cannot stand Sephardic Jews and the other way around; and every day new divisions arise. The hatred that destroyed two Temples will also destroy our fragile country. We are on the verge of ruin.

Just as we blame Nebuchadnezzar for the destruction of the First Temple and the Roman general Titus for the destruction of the Second Temple, today we blame Iran, the UN, and a host of other hostile countries and organizations for our troubles. But just as our own sages attributed our ruin only to our own division, today’s approaching fall of the State of Israel is happening for exactly the same reason.

If we are to avoid a similar fate to the one we have already experienced twice, we must address the common cause that keeps failing us: internal hatred. We must recognize that our strength lies first and foremost in our unity, and everything else, including military might and sophisticated technology, is an adjunct to the most essential element: unity.

Our vocation, our calling as a nation, has not changed since our inception. From day one, our mission has been to unite above the hatred that has always existed among us, and by doing so, to set an example for the world. When we were divided, foreign rulers overcame us and tormented us. When we were united, we were safe and welcome among the nations.

We may think of ourselves as a “startup nation” or believe that we are strong because of our military might and technological edge. However, wars are won with spirit, not computers, and when it comes to spirit, we have none. We do not believe in our cause, we do not understand what it means to be “a light unto nations,” people who set an example of unity, and we have no wish to learn about it. We are obstinate and arrogant, and there is nothing more stupefying than hubris.

If we do not wake up now and realize our calling, it will be very difficult and painful to do so later. At some point it will be too late to turn around, the country will be ruined, its people exiled, and the whole world will suffer because Israel failed to recognize its calling.
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Question: Modern people in our age of rationality have lost the ability to marvel at a miracle. Do you think this is a problem?

Answer: No, on the contrary, it is very good. People stopped believing in all sorts of nonsense that supposedly can happen by itself within the framework of the earthly world. They see that only what is available to our sciences can be done here, and therefore, there is nothing to be surprised at. Close your eyes, open them again, look at the world, make sure it is the same as it was before.

Question: You say that you do not believe in miracles, that a person performs a miracle himself. Can you explain this?

Answer: A person, working on himself, creates a certain environment around him that helps him, with the help of the forces of nature, to get out of his nature, from his egoistic desire to attract everything and be filled with everything, into an altruistic desire—to treat everything with bestowal and love.

This transition is the transition from Egypt to the Sinai Desert. It is the transition from our lower earthly world to the upper world, from the property of receiving to the property of bestowal.
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From KabTV’s “Spiritual States” 11/30/21

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