Audio Version Of The Blog – 12/13/22
Posted on December 13th, 2022
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Medium published my new article “‘Gaslighting’ — Merriam-Webster’s Word of the Year”
“In this age of misinformation — of ‘fake news,’ conspiracy theories, Twitter trolls, and deepfakes — gaslighting has emerged as a word for our time,” wrote the editors of the leading dictionary in their explanation of their choice, adding that “2022 saw a 1740% increase in lookups for gaslighting, with high interest throughout the year.” Gaslighting, according to Webster’s, is the “psychological manipulation of a person usually over an extended period of time that causes the victim to question the validity of their own thoughts, perception of reality, or memories and typically leads to confusion, loss of confidence and self-esteem, uncertainty of one’s emotional or mental stability, and a dependency on the perpetrator.” This reads like a serious offense, and it is, but it is also the reality of our lives.
Governments and big business practice gaslighting as a matter of routine. This is how they seek to perpetuate their power or popularity. If we want to be able to make free, independent choices, we must make continuous and conscious efforts, and even then, success is not guaranteed.
Gaslighting is an attempt to deny us not only of the rights given to us in the First Amendment, but even of the right, and ability, to practice free thought. Worse yet, it is an effort to deny us free thought while making us feel as though our manipulated thought is actually our free thought, which we have established and cultivated by ourselves and of our own volition.
Surprisingly, the vast majority of people have no real objection to the subjugation of their minds. They prefer convenient obliviousness as long as their lives run smoothly. Thinking is strenuous, and most people prefer to avoid effort when it is not vividly necessary.
But for those who do mind, awareness is not enough. In order to be free from manipulation of their minds, people must build their own minds, their own backbone. They must doubt everything, ask about everything, be ready and willing to change their minds frequently, admit their mistakes, and gradually develop their own perception of the world.
But most of all, they must be willing to suffer the reproach and patronizing of the “gaslighted” majority. Once one has built a strong enough spine, it is possible to face the manipulators and their messengers with confidence.
It would seem like only very strong and determined individuals can do this, and it is true that not everyone can face the scorn of the manipulated. However, people can still be taught and pulled out of the basement where their minds are kept. Even if people are not naturally resistant to outside influence, they can learn how to see the world without the filters imposed on their vision by interested parties.
I am not saying that people should become activists of any kind. Rather, I think it should be internal work, something that a person does without declaring or propagating it. I realize that it is not simple to be active only inwardly, but I am not in favor of external activism in the form of rallies, protests, and demonstrations.
I, too, had to make an effort to develop my own understanding of the world. I disconnected from it, built an inner wall around me, and this is how I lead my life quite comfortably. In this way, even if the outside world attempts to impose a certain view on me, I may see that view, but I do not feel it. I simply brush it off and keep on living as I want.
Initially, it is not easy living this way. You have to build your own world, with your own values, yet function normally in the everyday surroundings. However, once you have built it, you are free: You have an objective perspective from which to look at the world we all live in, and you are free to participate in it or not, and to the extent of your choice.
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Question: It is said that the Creator is called the healer of broken hearts. Why is He called that?
Answer: Because He heals hearts and connects them into one big single heart. And the person is only present in this. He is, so to say, a witness of what the Creator is doing.
Therefore, all the work that we do in spirituality is called the work of the Creator (Avodat Hashem).
Question: But does something depend on the person, nevertheless?
Answer: What depends on a person is to be more attentive to what is happening to him, to try with the help of the science of Kabbalah to understand how the Creator is working on him, and how he should react to His actions, i.e., to be just a sensor.
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From KabTV’s “Spiritual States” 11/27/22
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There is nothing so whole as a broken heart (Kabbalist Menachem Mendel of Kotzk).
Question: How can we understand this?
Answer: The heart is a person’s desire. When he sees that with these desires he cannot do anything right and purposeful, this state is the best. After all, in such a state, a person is in a desperate request to the Creator to help him because no one else can help him.
This is called the most whole, best state.
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From KabTV’s “Spiritual States” 11/27/22
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Opposition brings concord. Out of discord comes the fairest harmony (Heraclitus).
My Response: In general, this is a simple and fairly correct statement. If we take into account that there are only two opposite points and they do not change, they are not in a dynamic state, and each is by itself, then this can be accepted.
However, if there are many such points and they are constantly changing, then this greatly complicates the processes. The system becomes very complex and even somewhat unpredictable.
True harmony is the mutual balance of all components of the general system. That is, it is already a system with the number of parameters that exist in it. Either we have to rely on the fact that we know this system and understand it, or on the fact that some upper force deals with it and brings it into balance. In this case we cannot say anything.
Question: You say that it is not necessary for a person to even know these forces, that it is enough to know the tool that arranges them within a person. What are these two forces, the maximum difference of potentials that need to be connected?
Answer: If we know the general quality of the system, then we do not need to understand its particulars. The particulars sort themselves out.
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From KabTV’s “Kabbalah Express” 11/18/22
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What is faith above reason? Faith is bestowal, and above reason means it has a higher importance than reception.
In our state, this quality is expressed only as my attitude toward the group because only in the group can I clearly see that in my actions and thoughts I prefer its benefit to my own.
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From the 1st part of the Daily Kabbalah Lesson 8/8/10, Rabash, Shlavei HaSulam, “The Importance of Faith that Always Takes Place”
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Question: How is it that friends seem qualitatively better and more successful than you, but they do not consider themselves like that?
Answer: It seems so to a person, but in fact it may not be so. The main thing is how you feel. It is very good when it seems that everyone else is better than you. You have a lot to catch up on. Jealousy and envy press on you, and you have to go forward and develop.
Comment: This is a point that is always somewhere out there, far away.
My Response: Right. That is how it should be. You will not find an absolute point of reference because everything is relative to you. The closer you come to this state, the further it seems.
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From KabTV’s “I Got a Call. Who to Believe?” 11/26/13
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Question: Whenever people advance toward the spiritual goal, they are interested in the answer to the question: “When? How much more effort does it take? How many more people have to wake up early in the morning every day, study, and connect in order to reach the goal?”
Answer: I do not think it takes millions to do it. People like us should study according to their desires, aspirations, and intentions. The rest will just live and gradually absorb those movements that come from Kabbalah: “Love your neighbor as yourself.” “That which you hate, do not do to your friend,” and so on.
These seem to be such elementary things, but they will be the basis of human relations. That is, without talking about anything, without being urged, people will begin to feel that it is necessary.
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From KabTV’s “Conversations, Israel and Its Impact on the World” 11/18/21
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| [media 1] | [media 2] |
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Selected Highlights
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Michael Laitman, On Quora: “What is happiness (in a single line)?“
Happiness is the achievement of mutual connection that leads people to love for each other, i.e. to the fulfillment of the commandment “love your neighbor as yourself.”
Based on KabTV’s “Conversations, Israel and Its Impact on the World” with Kabbalist Dr. Michael Laitman on November 18, 2021. Written/edited by students of Kabbalist Dr. Michael Laitman.
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