Question: How do we ascend upward?

Answer: If, in a small state (Katnut), the lower one clings tightly to the upper one—who has descended to him in order to help and is standing nearby—then when the upper begins to rise, he lifts the lower together with himself. And all the lower needs to do is hold on to him more and more firmly.

The ascent of the upper to his place means that he constantly adds bestowal and returns to his own state. The lower must constantly add effort on his side. He cannot add bestowal, he has no such qualities; all he can do is cling to the upper, tighter and tighter.

It is as if you grabbed the end of a rope, and suddenly the rope began to rise, pulling you off the ground and lifting you higher and higher. And the farther you get from the ground, the more frightened you become, and the more tightly you cling to the rope. This is what it means to hold on more firmly to the upper—that is the work of the lower.

The upper performs the acts of bestowal, while the lower cannot bestow, he only annuls himself.

The difference between the degrees—if I was on one degree and rose to another—is in the depth of desire that is corrected by the screen. For example, if I had Aviut Alef and I ascended and received Aviut Bet, then I must annul myself even more.

The upper adds depth of desire and ascends. Ascent is not movement in space; it is an increase in the depth of desire and the strength of the screen. This is how the upper ascends. And accordingly, the lower must annul himself. But relative to what does he annul himself?

The upper, having added desire and a screen, attains a greater level of bestowal. And the lower looks at this bestowal, and feels bad! He doesn’t want it, he is unable, he does not know what to do. Therefore, he must cling to the upper even more tightly so the upper can help him annul his ego, his egoistic desire, relative to the bestowal he now sees before him so that this bestowal does not frighten him.
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From the Daily Kabbalah Lesson 8/28/11, Writings of Baal HaSulam “Preface to the Wisdom of Kabbalah”

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