In the News (BBC): “It was March 2020, and caseloads of a novel and dangerous coronavirus were rising quickly here in the UK. Our Prime Minister was about to announce a lockdown. Schools and nurseries were going to close. Like millions of other parents, I was about to become my young children’s de facto school teacher. The idea filled me with dread. …

“Over the months that followed, many parents felt a crushing toll on their mental and physical health. More lockdowns and school closures ensued, along with reports of a worrying increase in levels of parental stress, anxiety and depression. Many asked themselves why this was so hard. Shouldn’t we be naturally good at raising our young without outside help? Didn’t humans cope without schools and daycare in the past, after all?

“As an evolutionary biologist, I do not hold the answers to all pandemic-related family crises, but I can say one thing for certain: as a species, humans are spectacularly ill-equipped to deal with parenting in isolation.

“From an evolutionary perspective, it is not surprising that many of us felt so overwhelmed. Despite the common idea that modern family life consists of small, independent units, the reality is that we would often benefit from help from others to raise our offspring. For much of human history, extended families provided that help. In contemporary industrialised societies, where smaller family units are common, teachers, babysitters and other caregivers have allowed us to replicate that ancient support network.

“This collaborative way of raising children makes us unique among great apes. Called ‘cooperative breeding’, it is more similar to how seemingly more distant species like meerkats and even ants and bees live – and it has given us crucial evolutionary advantages.”

“Cooperatively breeding species live in large family groups where individuals work together to raise offspring. Perhaps surprisingly, other apes, such as chimpanzees, do not parent that way. Although humans and chimpanzees both live in complex social groups, comprising kin and non-relatives, a closer inspection reveals some stark differences. Chimp mothers raise their infants alone, with little or no assistance from anyone else, not even the father.”

Question: We cannot do without the support of others; we are ants, collective creatures. That is what biologists say. Do you think this is our weakness?

Answer: In general, our individualistic egoism will not allow us to properly raise even our own children.

We are individualists. We cannot teach and we cannot show what it means to be dependent on each other, to voluntarily, correctly educate our children in love for our neighbor and not in love for ourselves. After all, this is what we show our children, and this is against the rules of nature—real nature, higher nature.

That is, if we educate a person to take care of himself, we educate him like a monkey. If we educate a person to take care of others, then we educate him as a human being.

Question: We aren’t engaged in this education in kindergartens, nurseries, schools, or anywhere?

Answer: Absolutely not. That contradicts our egoism, our foundation. We say the opposite: “He hits you, hit him back! Do not give in, hold on! This way you will be strong and you will win in life.”

Question: We teach to defeat the other?

Answer: Yes. We have created such an environment that only the suppression of the other allows you to survive and somehow thrive.

Question: So, why do we send our children to kindergartens and nurseries for upbringing, as we say?

Answer: What kind of upbringing is there? Monkey education! We have not climbed out of the level of primates and even worse. We should be above them in terms of social status but, in the end, we are not.

Question: So you think it is because of our individualistic qualities that parents got so anxious when everything was closed during the pandemic and they had to raise their children at home themselves?

Answer: They did not know what to do with this child because they were used to living exclusively for themselves.

Question: So it turns out that we send children to kindergartens and nurseries to dump them there? Just for that?

Answer: That is clear enough. You can conduct a survey and see how many people will say: “I send the child to kindergarten to go to work. And thank God I have a job. Not because I need money but because I need this job. It is better for me than sitting at home with the child.”

And how many women will say: “No, I am ready to sit at home with my child, and this is the most important thing for me”? If this is actually the reason and not to conceal some other purpose.

Question: Do you think that the percentage of those who send their child to kindergarten is two to three times higher than those who say: “I want to be a parent and stay at home”?

Answer: Yes. Wanting to sit at home with a child, I do not think there will be many of those. For the love of the child, to raise him myself because otherwise he will not be brought up the way I think he should. Wrap around it all that really should be there and you will see that, first of all, people are not suited for this. They have no such inclinations, such aspirations.

Comment: To do this, they must be teachers, parents, and everything. And also cook, and everything.

My Response: We are worse than primates. Primates take care of their offspring on an animal, natural, instinctive level, and they are doing the right thing.

And that is why monkeys do not get worse with each generation. And with us, with each generation we seem to become smarter, to develop something external, technology, knowledge, and we use it only to the detriment of ourselves and others.

Question: So we are not ants, as they say here?

Answer: No! We are nobody at all. We are a distinct, unfortunate, dead-end type of evolution.

Question: Is there a way out of this impasse?

Answer: Only through suffering. When we see where we are, what we have done, what consequences we bring about by our social relations, then, perhaps this insight will come. Today we simply have no brains, no desire, no feelings for this—nothing.

And if we ever, and I hope it will be soon, realize: “What are we doing? It should be exactly the opposite,” then we will have a lot of questions for the Creator and to Kabbalists.
[296173]
From KabTV’s “News with Dr. Michael Laitman” 12/6/22

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Question: I have to imagine that the Creator is great, that He wants me to unite with other people. Where can I find fuel and hope that for the efforts to unite with others I will get some pleasure?

Answer: You should not hope for any pleasure. It should come precisely from the fact that through your efforts you bring contentment to the Creator.

You should simply imagine it. After all, if you really feel pleasure, then you will do everything only for the sake of it. Therefore, a person should close himself, make a restriction on himself, and not receive any pleasure from his spiritual work.

Question: But it is not clear where to get fuel for this?

Answer: You will get it, don’t worry.

Question: Are there some resources in nature that can be used?

Answer: You have no idea! They are much larger than in our world.

Comment: It is not clear what this altruistic fuel is.

My Response: It will come when you want to work without any egoistic fulfillment. You will see how many opportunities there are in the world to act without response, without fulfilling yourself, without thinking about reward, when the work itself, the action itself without any reward is a reward.

If a person is freed from thoughts about himself and starts as if exiting himself, this is the greatest pleasure.
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From KabTV’s “Spiritual States” 5/31/22

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In the News (The New York Times): “Japan now plans to build as many as 22 new coal-burning power plants — one of the dirtiest sources of electricity — at 17 different sites in the next five years, just at a time when the world needs to slash carbon dioxide emissions to fight global warming. … 

“Together the 22 power plants would emit almost as much carbon dioxide annually as all the passenger cars sold each year in the United States. The construction stands in contrast with Japan’s effort to portray this summer’s Olympic Games in Tokyo as one of the greenest ever.”

Question: Now, Britain asks: “What is Japan doing?! What is this?!” And Japan replies: “This is more important to us than the starvation of others. It is far more important to us, and we don’t give a damn about anyone.”

Answer: Very true that they “don’t give a damn about others.” Because it’s true. When do people not think about themselves?

So then all is well! We can’t do without coal. As to oil, who knows when and in whose hands it will end up or what will happen to it? As for gas, we’ll run out of it soon. And that’s it. But coal will stay. There’s a good reason it’s been decaying in the ground for millions of years.

This is the most reliable type of fuel. You get a bucket of coal and that’s it. Now you have heat.

Question: You think we will live by this truth up to some point as long as we don’t pollute everything to the max, right?

Answer: No. What are you polluting? I don’t think it’s really that terrible. People will go back to normal. This period of madness will pass.

Question: In your opinion, what is the correct formula for all of this?

Answer: The correct formula is the balance between humans and nature. People must do things for themselves; they must kill animals for food, burn coal, oil, and gas in order to reasonably use machinery, equipment, heating, etc. We can’t avoid it. We must use water wisely. All in adequate measure!

When we throw half of what we produce back into the ocean—creating so much excess dirt and garbage, naturally we will be drowning in it.

But nothing can be done about it; it is out of our hands. It is in the hands of those who greedily or foolishly try to produce and earn as much as possible. And if not, we’ll throw it out. And everyone around them keeps quiet because this process cannot be stopped. Try stopping it.

Half of everything produced in the world today is not needed. Overproduction. If you stop the process, what will people do? Revolutions? No, it’s better to let them pollute, and in the meantime “I will sit on the throne.”

Question: So, you’re saying, don’t ban anything; rather, figure out what is necessary and what is required for it, right?

Answer: Yes. You don’t have to ban anything. If we knew what we really need and what we don’t need, we would stop 70 to 80% of all production.

Question: Tell me, can “what is necessary” be determined by law? Is it possible to gather a number of scientists, sages, and philosophers, so that they decide this is what a person needs? It should be defined by law. This would determine the amount of coal, atomic energy, etc., needed to achieve it? Shall we start from this point?

Answer: Of course, you can approach this problem logically. Even from our point of view, even though we are unaware of many conditions, it is still possible to exercise this approach. People’s needs are already calculated and estimated by economists. But who takes it into account, who cares about everyone having enough but not more than that?

Question: Your conclusion is to calculate what is necessary and start from there?

Answer: Surely! Only from this.

But our egoism must be fed with something! There’s nothing you can do about it. You can talk as much as you’d like, but the ego says: “And what’s in it for me?!” The other guy will get the same as you get. “No! It means you won’t give me anything at all.”
[293702]
From KabTV’s “News with Dr. Michael Laitman” 12/20/21

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Michael Laitman, On Quora: “How do you manifest your thoughts into reality?“

Our every desire makes an impact.

By using our desire, we can achieve anything, but on condition that we examine and bring our desire closer to the general desire of nature, which is one of connection, mutuality and balance. In a word, love is nature’s will.

For instance, if we wish to manifest the best possible and most suitable spouse into our lives, then we need to search inside ourselves, first and foremost, for who and what we are, what we are drawn to, what we wish to achieve, and we will then know, more or less, what we are truly searching for, what we wish to see in our spouse, and what qualities in our spouse can we say that we lack in order to complement each other. Such a force of scrutiny and our inner desire will manifest that reality because we live in a system of forces, and we receive from that system if we activate it.

Based on the video “Kabbalist on Thought Manifestation: How to Manifest Thoughts into Reality” with Kabbalist Dr. Michael Laitman and Oren Levi. Written/edited by students of Kabbalist Dr. Michael Laitman.
Photo by Rebe Pascual on Unsplash

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Preparation to the Lesson

Writings of Rabash, Article 124 “Delight Them with a Complete Structure – 1” Article 55 “To Serve Me”

Writings of Baal HaSulam, “The Essence of Religion and Its Purpose” 

Writings of Baal HaSulam, “Study of the Ten Sefirot, Vol. 1, Part 3,” Chapter 6, Item 2

Selected Highlights

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Comment: We can imagine our current state as one of a person who is under local anesthesia undergoing surgery on some part of the body and he does not feel it. Similarly, we do not feel our dependence on each other.

My Response: We feel globally dependent on each other in our adversities, but we do not want to admit and understand it. Only our correct global interconnection can lead us to harmony, to a correct, good existence.

The correct interconnection between us is like the interconnection between parts of one body where I do not take more than I need. This is how every cell of the body exists. It takes as much as it needs to function and gives the rest to other organs; it serves the whole body.

This is how each of us is, from each according to his ability, to each according to his need.

Comment: But in order for a person to change his perception, he first needs to reveal this picture.

My Response: First, one needs to realize that it is impossible to exist otherwise. We have reached an impasse and one cannot correct oneself. What to do next? Then one will find that source of external energy, light, which will change a person. This is the only way we will be corrected, not on our own, by forcing people to be altruists and give everything they have, but with the help of the upper light, by connecting with each other. You will see that it is possible.

Question: Will we be pushed to this by blows and suffering anyway?

Answer: If we do not want to do this by ourselves.

Question: Does it mean that we cannot expect anything good?

Answer: If we are good, then we will receive only good, and if we are bad, then we will receive only bad.
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From KabTV’s “Close-Up. Branch of Sakura” 5/15/11

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I regard the Jewish race as the born enemy of pure humanity and everything that is noble in it (Richard Wagner).

Comment: Richard Wagner, being a fervent anti-Semite, wrote that humanity should be liberated from the Jews and that there was no other means than total annihilation. He contended that the Jewish race was  especially the enemy of everything German.”

My Response: Germany is the heart of Europe, the center of Europe. It is a tremendous technological potential. These are serious people. It is the German character that is capable of serious decisions. Exactly that is why in Germany, Austria, and Switzerland, ahead of everyone else, the thought arises: “What is hindering our further progress?” Obviously, subconsciously and consciously people come to the conclusion that this is located somewhere in Judaism, among the Jews.

And Jews themselves do not know about it. Only a small part of them, the Kabbalists, know that in fact, the key to happiness, to the correct development of all mankind indeed resides with these people.

Question: Why, if we now live in such a period when this knowledge should be revealed, do the Jews themselves not know about it?

Answer: But they do not want to know!

Our organization exists exactly for the purpose of revealing this knowledge. We want everyone to know about it! We justify the nations of the world by saying that they naturally hate the Jews. Anti-Semitism is a natural condition and their hatred is fully justified. And we will explain to you why you hate us. After all, you don’t know why. We will disclose to you the real foundations of anti-Semitism. Be assured that you feel correctly, but find out why.

And we also want the Jews to find out why they are hated. Because they possess the key to happiness. They don’t know about it. But within Judaism, there is Kabbalah that tells us how to correct ourselves in order to pass, like Pinocchio with a golden key, through a secret door to the next world.
[298193]
From KabTV’s “Close-Up. Around the World” 2/20/11

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Question: Is the fact that we perceive everything separately actually an illusion, since in reality everything is interconnected?

Answer: Of course. In order to perceive what really exists outside of us, we have to exit ourselves. Is it possible or not? Which of us is able to exit our senses, our ideas, desires, thoughts, and even our instinctive attitude to all kinds of phenomena?

We have no idea how we filter out information that to us seems unnecessary, implicit, and unimportant. That is, we cannot put ourselves in the framework of a true and objective observer. To do this, we just need to leave ourselves, exit ourselves from the outside. But then with what qualities will we observe this universe?

If we are speaking from the point of view of the ontology of cognition of reality, then we must completely leave all the qualities of our body, our consciousness, and acquire another body, another consciousness, which is in full compliance with those objective laws, qualities, and forces of the universe that are outside of us. Then based on them, we will be able to observe the picture that is undisturbed by us.

Question: What does another body and another consciousness mean? How can we imagine this?

Answer: Let’s say we call it a soul or simply something that we do not have, but that can appear next to us. Somehow through it, I can feel the world around me as it is and not as it passes through my eyes, ears, tactile sensations, nerves, taste or olfactory receptors.
[298929]
From KabTV’s “Close-Up. Hologram” 7/28/11

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Question: In 1946, the remarkable neuropsychologist Carl Lashley conducted a series of experiments on rats in which he taught them to perform a series of tasks, such as race for the shortest path in a maze, etc.

He then removed various parts of the rats’ brains and retested them. His goal was to remove the part of the brain in which the memory of the ability to run through the maze was stored.

To his surprise, he found that regardless of which parts of the brain were removed, the memory as a whole could not be eliminated. Usually, only the motor skills of the rats were disturbed as they were barely able to hobble through the maze. But even with the removal of a significant part of the brain, their memory remained intact.

How can it be that surgery does not affect memory?

Answer: We are just detectors, recipients, of the vast amount of information that exists outside of us. And it’s all outside of us. All our feelings and thoughts are not held within us.

The heart is not a sense organ, but a pump that reacts very sharply to all kinds of pressure drops, innervations, etc. The brain is the same. The repository of all our desires and thoughts is outside of us. Around us is an information field and we can say that by connecting to it, we manifest this field in our various actions.

The brain is a tool with which we seem to connect to an external information field and within itself conceals a record of all information.

Question: And then where is all the information stored, all the memories?

Answer: Outside of us! Memory is not at the intersection of synapses. There is none of this. It is arranged this way only in order to transform information coming from an external degree that is inaccessible to our perception into something that we can work with.

Meaning, the brain is like a computer, let’s say in the same way that you connect your computer to the Internet. The Internet is like a worldwide virtual mass memory and a computer is something that can extract something from it and present it to us for use.
[299020]
From KabTV’s “Close-Up. Hologram” 7/28/11

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