Audio Version Of The Blog – 11/11/22
Posted on November 11th, 2022
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Medium published my new article “Space Tourism and the Overview Effect”
The overview effect is a cognitive shift reported by some astronauts while viewing the Earth from space. Researchers have described the effect as “a state of awe with self-transcendent qualities, precipitated by a particularly striking visual stimulus.” The most prominent common aspects of personally experiencing the Earth from space are appreciation and perception of beauty, unexpected and even overwhelming emotion, and a heightened sense of connection to other people and the Earth as a whole.
Michael Collins, a crew member on the Apollo 11 spacecraft (1969), said that “the thing that really surprised me was that it [Earth] projected an air of fragility. And why, I don’t know. I don’t know to this day. I had a feeling it’s tiny, it’s shiny, it’s beautiful, it’s home, and it’s fragile.” Edgar Mitchell, who was aboard the Apollo 14 (1971), recalled, “You develop an instant global consciousness, a people orientation, an intense dissatisfaction with the state of the world, and a compulsion to do something about it. From out there on the moon, international politics look so petty. You want to grab a politician by the scruff of the neck and drag him a quarter of a million miles out and say, ‘Look at that, you son of a …’”
A student of mine asked me about the overview effect and suggested that space tourism might make people feel more connected to the Earth and to each other.
I can see why a trip to outer space and a view of the world from there would make one aware of the fragility of our (not so big) blue marble, and how we are all dependent on each other. From out there, it is easy to see that we are all breathing the same air, feeding on the same soil, and drinking the same water.
Still, I do not believe space travel would change much about the way we treat our planet because the people at the helm, those who call the shots, could not care less. In April, António Guterres, the United Nations Secretary General, stated his opinion about such people in the most undiplomatic terms: “Some governments and business leaders are saying one thing but doing another. Simply put, they are lying.”
When you read this, you feel like taking politicians out to space, making them look down on Earth, as Edgar Mitchell suggested, and leaving them there to float until they change. But seriously, I do not think they will change, or even that they can.
Politicians care about one thing only: control. They cannot see or feel anything else. As long as they are alive, they want to be on top, and nothing else matters to them.
What can we do about it? I am not really sure. However, if enough people change their perception of life and realize that solidarity and mutual concern are more important than pride and power, perhaps politicians will change their views, as well. I do not think that they will change from within, but they just might realize that in order to stay at the helm, they must endorse such values as concern for others and compassion rather than vanity and self-absorption. In conclusion, we need a thorough educational process so we become not only human beings, but humane beings.
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Michael Laitman, On The Times of Israel: “Quitting Israel”
The results of the Israeli election had an interesting side effect: dissatisfied Israelis, presumably from the left side of the political map, have begun to explore the possibility of “quitting” Israel. They have set up Facebook groups with titles like “Leaving the Country Together,” where they debate where to go.
Apparently, there is more than just talk on the subject. This morning, the Population and Immigration Authority of Israel published an update (in Hebrew) to its announcement that “due to the high demand for passport renewals, Israeli citizens holding a foreign passport will be allowed to leave the country with their foreign passport.”
On the one hand, I think it is good that people are not indifferent. On the other hand, I do not think that a phenomenon of leaving one’s homeland, “quitting” it because of dissatisfaction with the choice of the majority of the people in a free and democratic election, exists anywhere outside of Israel. But Israel is indeed a free country; if they want to quit being here, I have no objection whatsoever.
Perhaps it is a Jewish trait, a characteristic obstinacy that makes people feel that if things do not go their way, they will move away. At the same time, this same phenomenon does not exist when the opposite happens, when the Left wins the election.
Another interesting phenomenon, which may not be exclusive to Israelis, is harsh criticism of one’s homeland while living there, and the lack thereof when living abroad. It is patently clear when seeing how Israelis criticize the government, police, justice system, education system, and basically every institution one can think of when living in Israel, while praising those very institutions when that same Israeli person has moved abroad.
I can understand why people on the Left leave when things do not go their way. Generally speaking, the Right strives to unite the Israeli society, while the Left strives to control it. When left leaning people are not in control, it becomes very difficult for them to stay here. If they give up all hope of regaining control, they quit. This is when they leave.
From the perspective of the world, I think it is better this way because if Jews do not want to unite, it is better for them and better for the world that they are not together and not in Israel. The hatred between Left and Right in Israel is so profound that it seems impossible to bridge it.
However, the hatred between us is exactly what we should overcome. If we use it correctly, rise above it and unite, we will become a model nation, a symbol of unity that the world will embrace. Still, who among us understands it? Very, very few, regrettably.
Before we understand that hate is given not for itself, but as a basis for building stronger unity above it, we will not be able to bridge the gaps between us. As we can already see, we will not even be able to share the same country.
Nevertheless, neither the State of Israel nor Jews overseas will be able to solve their problems before we realize that we must transcend our hatred. There cannot be love without hate because hate is the motive for nurturing love. This is why King Solomon said, “Hate stirs up strife, and love will cover all crimes” (Prov. 10:12). This is the formula for peace, the formula for unity, and the only principle that should guide our actions.
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Patience and perseverance are the two main qualities essential to spiritual work. The Creator tests our devotion, i.e., how much we are attached to Him and are able to sacrifice everything else except Him, as if there is none else but the Creator.
We have to test our strength and whether we will be able to withstand all the influences from the Creator by which He leads us to the recognition that “There is nothing else but a higher power.”
A person needs great stubbornness in the work of the Creator so that despite any interference he does not forget that everything comes only from the Creator and so that under any conditions he continues the path in one direction. In all situations that arise in life, he should only hold on even more tightly to “There is none else besides Him”—for the Creator to be his only goal.
And the further a person advances, the more obstacles arise in front of him, all in order to strengthen his perseverance and dedication to the goal and his stability. Each time he is torn away from the goal, has obstacles in front of him, becomes confused, and is led astray, but he tries not to forget that all this comes in order for him to strengthen himself even more on the path and grow.
It is necessary to go through all the descents and falls, through a very narrow bridge, before you enter the gates of the spiritual world. And most importantly, do not be afraid of anything; no matter what happens, do not leave, but instead hold on to the goal. Just as a baby clings to his mother until it is impossible to tear him away from her, so must we cling to the Creator in order to be attached even stronger to the goal and in such a way to grow in spirituality.
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From the Daily Kabbalah Lesson 11/1/22, “Patience and Persistence”
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One who is reading in the book of Torah—one reads and the other is silent. If two read in the Torah, they diminish the faith above because with one voice and speech, everything is one (The Book of Zohar, “And Moses Assembled,” Item 141).
Comment: Two are the good and the evil inclinations in a person. When one of them is silent and the other speaks, you can read the Torah. Otherwise, it is impossible.
My Response: Yes, when only one force speaks in a person, then he understands the cause, the process itself, and the effect. It teaches him and leads him somewhere. And if he does not understand the difference between these two sides of his being, then he cannot recognize either the truth or the lie.
Question: In principle, this is also the case in externality. If one reads, then the other should be silent.
Kabbalists of all generations largely avoided opening their mouths in order not to divulge something prohibited. What can be revealed that can harm humanity?
Answer: The fact is that everyone has their own destiny, everyone has their own way. It is impossible for one person to interfere in what another is doing. He must choose his own path, his actions, analyze them, and decide what to do next.
And if he listens to all kinds of advice from all sides, as it usually falls on our head from newspapers, television, and other sources of information, then, of course, these actions only limit a person and do not lead to anything good.
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From KabTV’s “Spiritual States” 10/23/22
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Question: In the 14th century when the bubonic plague raged around the world, sixty million people died. People died instantly. What is the qualitative difference between those sufferings and the present ones?
Answer: The current suffering is practically regulated by man. We have entered a period of development where we can regulate everything: suffering, joy, progress, and regression. Nature has a goal—to bring us to absolute perfection, that is, to complete bestowal and love among ourselves, whether we want it or not.
Our freewill lies in the choice of the path: which way to go in carrying out this program. Therefore, if we behave accordingly, then the program treats us favorably, we implement it and move toward the goal.
If we do not want to move toward this goal in any format, if there are no any indications on our part that we proceed in the direction of awareness, consent, and implementation of the idea of nature, the plan of nature, the goal of nature, then this plan is still being implemented, but goes against our will and feels like great sufferings.
On the one hand, these are the actions of humanity regarding the natural plan of development, although people do not understand and do not know it. On the other hand, humanity sees its development in a completely different way than is set by nature. This is an egoistic, terrible, incomprehensible development that has no plan.
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From KabTV’s “I Got a Call. Destruction of the Earth’s Population” 9/7/13
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Comment: You say that before the final correction, everyone sees the same events that are taking place, but in completely different ways.
My Response: Seeing events differently does not mean that they happen differently.
We don’t feel it, we don’t understand it, but Kabbalists look at the management system (why how, and for what purpose) and see it differently than an ordinary person.
Even on the corporeal level, for example, in court, two witnesses testify, both speak from the heart, but each one recounts the events from his own point of view because they see a completely different picture. At the same time, they aren’t being deceptive, but simply perceive it as such. And it is the same here.
We will not understand this until we ourselves begin to experience that this is all changing. Baal HaSulam’s article “Concealment and Disclosure of the Face of the Creator” says that in concealment we see a person as sick, poor, fallen, and suffering, and in revealation as healthy, prosperous, happy, and successful. That is, we see the world in a completely different way.
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From KabTV’s “I Got a Call. Everyone Sees the World Differently” 9/7/12
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“Death comes to the Blacksmith with a scythe and asks him to sharpen it. He sharpens the scythe in horror, thinking that Death has come for him.
He sharpens it and says, “I can’t believe I’m holding a weapon in my hands that has mowed down so many people.”
And suddenly Death jumps up to him and says, “I didn’t kill anyone, not a single person! It’s not me! It’s you killing each other and blaming me.
I used to be a beautiful girl. I met the souls of people and escorted them to their resting place. And today I wore black clothes so that you couldn’t see the blood on me. I put on a hood to hide the tears that I cried, because I can’t stop this horror of your hatred—these wars, and blood, and so on. And today I’m an old woman. You made me like this.”
So says Death as she takes the scythe, turns around, and leaves.
And then he quietly asks her: “Why do you need a scythe then?” She replies: “The road to paradise—it has long been overgrown with grass” (Translation of”Domovoy’s Diary” by Evgeniy Cheshirko).
My Response: 🙂 Good!
Comment: Which means, as always, we blame someone. We do it in a terrible way: death with a hood, black clothes, and a scythe. And we don’t see that…
My Response: …that this is actually the road to heaven. In fact, it is so.
According to Kabbalah, our world is the worst of the worlds, the lowest of the worlds. And therefore there is nothing to regret that your being in it ends.
Question: I wanted to ask another question that Death asked. She said: “It’s you! Look at yourself! That’s how you are, not me. You created my scary image, and you are so scary yourself.”
Here there is a reversal. In principle, is this the main thing that a person should do?
Answer: Of course. He is killing himself from day to day, instead of making himself a free, bright, and eternal being.
Question: And then what will this Death with a scythe turn into?
Answer: It is necessary to kill egoism in a person.
Question: Does the person do it within himself?
Answer: Within himself, yes.
Question: What do I reveal then?
Answer: That your egoism is killing you, and you have to kill it.
Question: What attitude will I have toward death then, since it will come to me one way or another?
Answer: Calm!
Question: I won’t depict it like this?
Answer: No! It’s just a transition from one state to another.
Question: In principle, I could depict Death with a scythe as something very light. Can I eventually advance to this?
Answer: Yes. Death is a light state.
Question: Do I draw it in a black state when this black exists in me, when there is egoism in me? And when I start working with it, does everything turn over for me?
Answer: Yes. Renounce egoism and you enter the bright world.
Question: And then death will seem to be a completely bright state?
Answer: Of course. After all, only the quality of egoism is being killed in you and there remains a small quality of altruism that was in you, but you did not bother to develop it. And when you develop it, then everything changes for you.
Question: When they tell you that the road to paradise is too overgrown and it needs to be cleaned, what do you imagine?
Answer: We must go to that entrance to paradise—the quality of bestowal and love—and try to tread, to trample this path for everyone.
Question: When they say “overgrown,” what is it overgrown with?
Answer: Egoism. We feed this road with our egoism. It is overgrown, of course. We do not allow the quality of bestowal and love to manifest, which would clean this road.
Question: So it’s not that easy to pass through this road? Does it really need to be mowed? And the scythe needs to be sharpened?
Answer: It is necessary to sharpen it.
Question: Is this done by the person himself?
Answer: Of course.
Question: What does it mean that I have sharpened my scythe and mow?
Answer: I go out against my egoism and I just want to cut it off, to cut it off until it practically disappears.
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From KabTV’s “News with Dr. Michael Laitman” 8/18/22
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Comment: A girl sued her parents because she was born without her consent. As if she could somehow agree. And at first she even won the court.
Below I quote this young girl from her Instagram post:
“A few months ago I sued my folks for having me without my permission. And I won. So the court ordered them to pay me $5,000 a month to cover my basic expenses. Well, they went and had that appealed. So now they don’t have to give me any money. And now I have to go get a job. And I’m realizing, like I don’t have any work experience, or any higher education. Nowhere is paying me $5,000 a month. So how the hell am I supposed to afford to pay my bills? … Don’t have children if you don’t want to support them.”
My Response: She’s partly right. It only depends on how much and up to what age to help. Because if you give birth, you take responsibility.
Comment: But she is a grown-up girl. Someone who can study and work a bit. But this is the relation to the world in which a person simply does not want to be.
My Response: I understand her. If she really does not want to relate to the world and regrets that she exists, then her claims against her parents, in general, can be understood.
Question: What are these claims against parents?! They supported her as best they could. And at some point they stopped supporting her. She has to support them at some point. What kind of claims are these?!
Answer: But it depends on society, on education.
Comment: Many people have such a question: “Why was I born?” Some make claims to parents: “Why did you give birth to me?” and others ask the question: “Why was I born?” You are always advocating for this question to arise in a person.
My Response: Of course. So that a person finds out what he is born for explicitly.
Question: And to whom should one send this question?
Answer: To oneself. Whom else? What did the parents know about it? Also nothing. And I don’t know anything. They don’t have any questions, but I do. So go and find out.
Question: If I ask myself this question, can I find the answer in myself?
Answer: Yes. You can find this answer only in yourself.
Question: And what will it be like?
Answer: Whatever you will find. Look for the meaning of life.
Question: When a person asks himself this question, and, for example, an answer comes to him, at what point is he sure that this answer is correct? Does a person have such confidence?
Answer: Let him search. And he will select all possible questions and answers that he will have at the same time, and he will get to something interesting.
Comment: If a person, for example, is not looking for an answer to this question, but simply lives in this life and that’s it. He has no such ups and downs.
My Response: If not, very good, let him live quietly. A person who is looking for an answer in himself, on the other hand, really has a desire, an urgent need, to find out about himself, about his history, his fate: where I am from, where am I, what am I for, and so on.
Question: Do you welcome this?
Answer: Of course. He can become a human, that is, can understand: what he is here for, and what kind of secret is in him.
Question: A happy person for you is one who feels ups and downs, descents and ascents, in search of the meaning of life. Big ascents and big descents?
Answer: Yes. But he’s a Human.
Question: And is this a happy man?
Answer: I do not know if he is happy.
Question: And when will he be happy?
Answer: When he gets to his core: to what he exists for.
Question: Can happiness be permanent if he gets to this core?
Answer: Yes, then he will be in constant happiness. Because he will merge precisely with the question and answer that he asked himself.
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From KabTV’s “News with Michael Laitman” 8/18/22
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Michael Laitman, On Quora: “What social framework should we develop for a better future?“
We are now entering a completely new framework in humanity, spanning families, towns, cities and nations. Today, nations have become replaced with a new kind of mixture, similar to how separate vegetables turn into a salad. This is especially visible in Europe. There is no framework like there was around thirty or forty years ago. For instance, you used to be able to visit a city and see the city’s character, and today it is no longer the case.
It is because we are currently going through serious changes where we will have to determine a new framework for our lives. We will first need to scrutinize what is the meaning of our lives, and accordingly build a new framework.
Toward such an end, we need to seriously ask ourselves: What is the meaning of life? What do we live for? In the past, we had a clear picture of why we lived. We lived in order to get married to a young spouse. We knew their family and they knew ours, and we started living together and building a home. We knew everything in advance. Today, it is far from the case.
If we want to enter certain professions, for instance, to become biologists or psychologists, then we know that we have to prepare ourselves, to go through university, to study from books related to those fields, and to take an interest in various biological or psychological works. We then invest ourselves for several years in such environments and grow into our professions, and we then perhaps also advance to a doctorate or other specializations. It is clear and laid out. But how many people are there in the world who follow the north star in such a way?
We need to determine our goal and build a plan for how to reach it. Society is a key factor in realizing such a plan. In the past, we had societies that supported us. Today, we also need a society that supports such goals. We can understand the need for a supportive society from our professions. We cannot achieve anything if we remain by ourselves, because we are then like animals, and unless we are like animals in the wild that have their own instinctual frameworks, then we are lost.
Based on the video “What Social Framework Should We Develop for a Better Future?” with Kabbalist Dr. Michael Laitman. Written/edited by students of Kabbalist Dr. Michael Laitman.
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