Audio Version Of The Blog – 2/4/22
Posted on February 4th, 2022
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My new article on Linkedin “Respect the Venom ”
Many toxic events have been happening in the world recently: Extreme weather events, intensifying political tensions, soaring inflation, revolutions and coups, not to mention new strains every other day. As countries fall apart and nations implode, relationships that were the foundation of society no longer hold, as well, as even the structure of the family is being erased. It seems as though people are treating each other with spite and venom.
However, venom does not have to be harmful. There is a good reason that the symbol of medicine features two snakes coiled around a staff. When used wisely, the venom itself becomes the remedy, the antidote for the poison.
We can turn venom into medicine by processing it correctly. We need to adjust the amount and administer only what the body can tolerate, and as a result, we grow stronger.
Therefore, when venom appears between people, we should not be alarmed. We should process it correctly and turn it into a remedy. Were it not for the venom between people, we would not know that our society is ill and needs our attention. Now that we are aware of it, we can begin to take the venom one drop at a time and use it to heal ourselves and our society.
Each drop of venom is a drop of hatred that we feel for one another. When we acknowledge it and acknowledge its toxicity to society, we can rise above it and by strengthening the bonds of mutual concern between us. In this way, the venom makes us stronger rather than sicker.
The human ego is the snake within us. It is ever growing, becoming increasingly cunning and insidious. The bad thoughts about others it instills in us are the venom we must turn into a medicine. We take tiny doses of it and build closeness with others on top of our aversion.
We therefore see that the purpose of the venom is to build love between us. Without the hostility, we would not need to strengthen our relationships, to deepen them and tighten them until they become love.
A mother’s love for her child is natural, but we do not feel this way toward people who are not family. Therefore, the way to develop this feeling is to feel the need for it, to create an impetus that will make us work on building closeness and affection. The only incentive that will make us work on developing love is the revelation of our mutual dislike. This is why the venom is essential for building love, why it is the remedy.
Indeed, we must respect the venom of our egoism and hatred toward others. But while we respect it, we must use it to build a layer of love over each and every drop of ego that appears between us.
Michael Laitman, On The Times of Israel: “World’s Misconception about Jews, and the Jews’ Misconception about Antisemitism”
Not long ago, The Jerusalem Post published an op-ed by Conrad Myrland, CEO of a pro-Israel group in Norway. In the column, Myrland referenced a survey by the Norwegian Center for Holocaust and Minority, which stated that “32% of Norwegians think it is correct or somewhat correct that Israel treats the Palestinians as badly as the Jews were treated during World War II.” To Israelis, this sounds horrific. We, who live here, know how far this view is from the truth. But to many people around the world, not only to Norwegians, it seems perfectly reasonable. I cannot blame them for thinking this. Antisemitism will not pass until we make it pass by carrying out our obligation to bring unity and brotherhood to the world.
Norwegians, like many others around the world, cannot sense, much less sympathize with what the Nazis did to the Jews. Being antisemitic, they exploit every opportunity to slander Israel.
We need to understand that antisemitism is far from over. The misconceptions instilled in Norway’s youth today will create tomorrow’s Nazis, at least in terms of how they will treat Jews.
The struggle against antisemitism does not end. It needs to be tackled every single generation.
However, it is important to realize that tackling antisemitism means far more than forbidding antisemitic displays. Censorship is like aspirin to cancer; it may relieve the pain for a while but it will not cure it. Focusing the struggle only on curbing antisemitic displays is a strategic mistake and a lost cause regardless of the budgets we will pour into it.
The only way that we can mitigate, and even dissolve antisemitism is if we begin to take our obligation to the world seriously. We need to realize that the only reason we exist is to be a model society.
We were created as a nation that is held by unity, and whose nationhood depends on the level of its unity. All other nations have natural affiliation among their members, but the builders of our nation came from different tribes at different times, and the only thing that held them together was the idea that unity and love of others should transcend all divisions and hatred, even among rival nations. This is why we were tasked with being a model nation, to show humanity how to create unity even in the absence of natural, biological affinity.
Accordingly, when we mistreat each other, the world blames us of mistreating others not because we treat others the way the Nazis treated us, but because we are denying it the example we owe it. It may be counterintuitive but when we are kind to one another, the world is kind to us; and when we are cruel to one another, the world is cruel to us.
The numbers speak for themselves: If you look at condemnations that the United Nations General Assembly (UNGA) has issued, it is apparent that the world’s most tyrannical regimes get away with very little criticism, while Israel is constantly reproved. Between 2015-2021, for example, the UNGA issued 121 critical resolutions against Israel compared to 45 such resolutions against all other countries combined. Clearly, Norwegians are not alone in their critical stance on Israel. The world agrees with them.
If we are serious about “combatting” antisemitism, we have to combat the division within us. Unless we begin to strive to unite above the hatred and contempt we feel for one another, no efforts to lessen the world’s hatred toward us will succeed. Israel’s future depends not on its policy toward other nations or its efforts to explain its position to the world. It depends only on how Israelis treat each other, because when we deride each other, the world disdains us. When we support each other, the world approves of us.
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Michael Laitman, On Quora: “What is the spiritual meaning of the color white?“
First, white is not a color because it does not absorb anything. A color absorbs something, but the concept of white is that it receives nothing from the outside.
Therefore, white is felt as nonexistent. White is seemingly transparent. It demands nothing, and it draws no attention to itself.
If we adjusted our attitudes to each other and to nature accordingly, i.e. with no demands to receive anything for ourselves, we would find ourselves living in a harmonious and peaceful world, free from the problems we encounter today.
In other words, when we do not want anything from nature on any of its levels—the still, vegetative, animate and human—and wish only for everyone’s benefit, then it means that we act like white.
What would sustain us in such a state? We would then find that we receive from everyone and nature exactly what we need in order to exist. We then use any surplus that we receive for the benefit of others and nature.
We then develop ourselves in our service to others, which is possible if society mutually operates according to such lines—where each member of society thinks about how to serve the others their respective needs.
That is the spiritual meaning of white. By contrast, the spiritual meaning of black is self-centeredness, to show us that by prioritizing self-benefit over benefiting others, we ruin our lives.
It is necessary to see the black part of our lives, because if we would not see it, then we would not want to turn it into white, i.e. we cannot rise above our self-centered nature into a new altruistic, harmonious and peaceful reality if we do not feel living in our self-centered nature as a major problem that requires correction.
Based on the video “What Is the Spiritual Meaning of White and Black?” with Kabbalist Dr. Michael Laitman and Oren Levi. Written/edited by students of Kabbalist Dr. Michael Laitman.
Question: How can I feel that I am connected with all the members of the ten only through the properties of bestowal?
Answer: When you fulfill the conditions of unification, you will feel that you are getting closer to it. Do not worry in advance, but try to do it! And then the appropriate sensitivity will appear in you.
As in any kind of work, if we do not do it, we do not feel anything. But when we start doing something, sensations gradually appear. This is what distinguishes a person who does nothing from a master. Accumulate experience!
Question: What confirms that we really build the Creator in the ten?
Answer: The fact that you constantly exert to create actions of connection and mutual bestowal between you. The most important thing is the effort because we need to build a network of such relationships that would reveal the Creator.
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From the International Convention “Rising Above Ourselves” 1/8/22, “Going with Faith above Reason” Lesson 5
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Question: How can we see all seven billion people as the greatest? Is this worth doing it at all?
Answer: These seven billion people are all parts of your soul. We are all parts of the common soul, Adam. Therefore, there are no problems here. In the end, we will all attain this soul. Its quality of bestowal is called Adam and the quality of reception is called Hava (Eve).
We all exist in this system and we just have to open our eyes and arrange it in the correct way.
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From the International Convention “Rising Above Ourselves” 1/8/22, “Deriving the Greatness of the Goal from the Friends” Lesson 4
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Question: A few days ago in a lesson we talked about pride. You said: “I am also a very proud person.” Now we are talking about the greatness of the friends. If the friends in the group are to be exalted, then what kind of pride in the group are we talking about?
Answer: Pride is what prevents me from seeing myself as inferior to my friends.
Question: How should I work with this property in a group if a person has been on the path for many years and cannot overcome his pride? After all, it does not relate to spirituality at all. It is given to him by nature.
Answer: All properties are spiritual, only in plus or minus. There is nothing but spirituality. Any property that we can only imagine is spiritual. And even if we call something anti-spiritual, it is related to spirituality although it is “anti.”
Apart from the property of bestowal, the Creator, there is nothing at all. Everything that manifests itself, even against Him, is still measured in relation to one standard—the Creator.
And we need to make sure that we clearly distinguish between the properties for and against. And all will be well.
Study deeply the lessons we are now learning. They will clearly open the doors to the upper world for you. You will see how it all pays off. There is nothing worthwhile in our world anyway. And the spiritual world will come and fill everything.
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From the International Convention “Rising Above Ourselves” 1/7/22, “Adhering to the Friends” Lesson 3
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Michael Laitman, On Quora: “What is currently the single largest problem for human beings as a species?“
The very foundation of our attitude toward life, nature and everything else is our ego, which is a desire to enjoy at the expense of others and nature.
Therefore, our most significant problem is our desire to exploit for personal gain that we place above the development of positive relations.
We cannot continue by wanting to control everyone, destroy them, and then discard them.
We are depleting our planet through such an attitude, and it is the base cause behind all of our problems and crises on personal, social, economic, ecological and global scales.
Besides our world, we have nothing else. So, let us not delude ourselves, thinking that we will inhabit the moon or Mars or anywhere else. It is not going to happen. They are unsuitable for our survival, and moreover, even if we succeeded to somewhat populate them, what would we do there? We would destroy ourselves and those places similarly to how we bring ruin to ourselves and to our planet.
We thus only need to correct our attitude toward each other and to nature, to see that by following the dictates of our egoistic nature we bring ruin to ourselves, and then seek how to positively connect in society with attitudes of mutual consideration. The more we engage in developing positive attitudes to each other and to nature throughout society, the more we would activate the positive forces dwelling in nature to enter our lives, which would start letting us think and want oppositely to our egoism, for the benefit of others and nature, and we would then see a major positive transition to a new harmonious and peaceful world.
Based on the video “New Paradigm Approaching” with Kabbalist Dr. Michael Laitman and Chaim Ratz. Written/edited by students of Kabbalist Dr. Michael Laitman.
Question: What actions can we take when some members of the ten do not believe that the Creator rules the world as the good that does good?
Answer: If we want to reveal the Creator, and this is why we are in a group, we need to be aware of what we are doing to reveal Him.
The disclosure of whatever states and events occurs in sensation and in understanding, that is, in feelings and in knowledge to the extent that we can become like what is happening. This is also true in our egoistic world.
Therefore, we must create an organ similar to the Creator’s property of bestowal in us in which we can reveal Him and reach our goal. Let’s do it.
You must believe in the Kabbalists and follow them. And then you will see that you will succeed. In any case, they do not teach you anything bad, only for you to relate to your specific, small group of friends as if you are already in the property of bestowal and love.
If you try this, you will gradually feel that there is another world beside our world, there are other relationships beside our level of relationships, and they are all built on this property.
To do this, you must create a closed space in our world, a group, where you will treat each other according to the laws of the spiritual world. And then you will reveal the Creator between you.
Remember these words, try to feel them! Do not try to be clever, you will only bounce away from this, and who knows when you will return again.
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From the International Convention “Rising Above Ourselves” 1/8/22, “Going with Faith above Reason” Lesson 5
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Question: When I annul myself, do I begin to see the negative qualities of my friends as positive? Or do I still see them as negative, but it does not matter, I justify them nevertheless?
Answer: Negative qualities do not disappear. The Creator created them so that we could rise above them and begin to love them just like the positive ones. It is not that I agree with them; I rise above them and then connect with them. That is, here we have a lot of mutual, joint work.
Therefore, there is no need to do anything with both negative and positive qualities. We need to raise the importance of the group and the Creator in our eyes. Then all our egoistic qualities, both good and bad, will change accordingly. We will not change them, but our desire to come closer to the Creator, to the upper light, will change us.
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From the International Convention “Rising Above Ourselves” 1/8/22, “Deriving the Greatness of the Goal from the Friends” Lesson 4
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