Question: What advice would you give to a leader or a manager who feels a desire for power? What should he do?

Answer: They should decide to conduct elections only according to the criterion of kindness and love of the candidate for power: what he wants to do, what kind of good deeds, and how he wants to fill the space subordinate to him with his love.

Comment: Usually he has an entire list of things he wants to do.

My Response: No! The list will not help here. It is necessary to constantly check his management:, every day, every week, every month, and every year. If it is not according to these criteria, he should be dismissed immediately.

And behind him there is a queue of people who will fight for kindness! A queue of people who want to show the power of love in relation to society.
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From KabTV’s “Spiritual States” 3/22/22

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Question: Are there any effective mechanisms for combating the negative influence of power on an individual and on the behavior of a person?

Answer: There is the gradual cultivation of love in everyone for everyone else over many years and even maybe generations. Nothing else! Only in this way will we be able to rise above our egoistic essence and become controlled by love.

Comment: But this is a long educational process.

My Response: We do not have anything else.
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From KabTV’s “Spiritual States” 3/22/22

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Michael Laitman, On The Times of Israel: “Europe’s ‘Strategic Compass’”

Some three weeks ago, Europe announced the launch of the Strategic Compass initiative, “an ambitious plan of action for strengthening the EU’s security and defence [sic] policy.” The initiative does not intend to be a part of NATO, but to run alongside it and relate to NATO as a “strategic partner.”

Despite the fact that NATO is an alliance established primarily in order to protect Europe, and even though the majority of the countries in both entities, including the primary initiator of the “Compass,” France, participate in both, the new organization will compete against NATO for the same resources. It’s Military Mobility plan, for example, is “an EU initiative to improve the mobility of military personnel, materiel and assets within and beyond the EU.” Similarly, the “Compass” will build an EU Rapid Deployment Capacity task force to enable the EU “to react to conflicts quickly, robustly and effectively. To that end, the EU will develop a Rapid Deployment Capacity (EU RDC) consisting of up to 5000 troops.”

As I see it, Europe’s anti-American spirit will blow up in its face. The initiative demonstrates how disunited the European Union really is. The only solution to this situation is that soon, both France and Germany (to a lesser extent), will suffer powerful blows that will shake the anti-American spirit out of them.

The relentless ambition to be unique, superior, and all powerful, especially in the leading countries in the EU, makes Europe the opposite of united, and in that sense, this initiative is exemplary. The rest of the European countries will have to balance them, but it will not be easy.

Europe had been the dominant continent for centuries, but two world wars have upended the world order. Today, Europe has two leaders, Germany and France, in that order, which are completely opposite to one another in every sense of the word. Additionally, there are the United States, Russia, and a number of Asian countries such as China, India, and several others, which are also growing increasingly powerful and dominant. The EU countries pale in comparison to them.

Because of it, Europe has no future. They might join hands in order to protect themselves against outside aggressors, but the connection among the EU countries has always been loose and competitive. This is why they cannot get along and why they will not succeed.

If there is a future for Europe, it is to show the entire world that humanity has no choice but to live together in peace and rise above the ego. The sustainable concept for humanity is to begin to genuinely help one another. Instead of looking for the next opportunity to beat each other on the head, we must learn to look for ways to tighten the bonds between us.

Granted, this is a learning process, but it has to start somewhere. If Europe sows the seeds now, they will see them bear fruit. If they stall, matters will deteriorate until they are forced to go down this path of peace against their will. As long as Germany stands on one side and France on the other, and in between no one does anything, nothing good will happen.‎
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Medium published my new article “Are We Blind to Our Own Nature?”

Every so often, I am amazed at the willingness of people to blindly follow leaders in the name of some ideology or religion, and believe that it will solve all the world’s problems. I am amazed not because people can become fanatics, but because they somehow still don’t understand that “The inclination of a man’s heart is evil from his youth” (Gen. 8:21). Somehow, despite eons of bad experiences deriving exclusively from our evil nature, we fail to see that there is simply nothing good in us, that “great is the wickedness of man in the earth, and all the inclination of the thoughts of his heart are only evil all day long” (Gen. 6:5).

Even when we give, we do it because of some ulterior self-serving motive. Baal HaSulam, the greatest kabbalist and thinker of the previous century, and one of the greatest of all time, articulated the nastiness of our nature in the early 1930 in his essay “Peace in the World”: “In simple words,” he wrote, “we will say that the nature of each and every person is to exploit the lives of all ‎other people in the world for his own benefit, and all that he gives to another is only out of ‎necessity.” “Even then,” he stressed, “there is exploitation of others in it, but it is done cunningly, so his neighbor ‎will not notice it and concede willingly.”

I do not expect leaders to acknowledge that this is who we are. Leaders are fixated on gaining power and control, so they will support any agenda that increases their popularity. But what about us, the people who follow them? Have we not learned yet that every ideology and every religion, even if it begins with the best intentions, ends up being self-serving, patronizing, and therefore wrong?

It is vital that we recognize the truth about human nature because only if we acknowledge it will we genuinely seek to change it. Until then, we will continue to cling to false ideas and dogmas, and we will continue to patronize, admonish, and torture one another through our ignorance. Perhaps this is why Rudyard Kipling wrote, “There is no sin so great as ignorance. Remember this.” Indeed, we seem to be oblivious to it.

If we resolve to change our nature, we will discover that there is indeed an alternative. The reason we perceive every being in our world as selfish and uncaring toward others is that we ourselves are like that. However, this is not at all the truth. If it were, this world would not persist; it would disintegrate before any complex being could come into being.

The truth is that the law that governs our world is not the “winner take all,” but the “law of balance,” of homeostasis. Every scientist and physician knows that were it not for homeostasis, or dynamic equilibrium, nothing would evolve. Yet, unless we recognize that our current perception is flawed, we will not be able to open our eyes and see the truth.

Once we realize that we are the only selfish beings on the planet, we will begin to change. Gradually, we will become aware of our mutual dependence and learn to act accordingly. What comes naturally to animals, we will gain through our efforts. Yet, our reward will be a deeper understanding and perception of the world than any being can have.

Only once we achieve this new perception will we realize that we were created selfish precisely so as to perceive how the world really operates. Had we been made this way from the beginning, we would have followed our instincts and would not have known that there is more than one option for existence. Our ego is our foe, but it is also our impetus for positive transformation. The sooner we use it for that purpose, the sooner we will gain that new perception and discover the truth about our world — that everything is balanced, harmonious, and filled with love.
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Filed under: Egoism, New Publications | Add Comment / Ask Question →

Medium published my new article “The Heavy Price of Feeding Ourselves”

Putting food on the table has become a luxury these days. U.S. inflation soars to 8.5%, the highest annual level in 40 years and grocery prices are particularly hit, up to at least 10 percent higher from last year. For many people, not only in America but around the world, the cost of food is out of reach. Are we on the verge of the next global crisis?

“Sharply higher prices for staples and supply shortages are increasing pressure on households worldwide and pushing millions more into poverty.” declared the Heads of the World Bank Group, International Monetary Fund, United Nations World Food Program, and World Trade Organization in a joint statement just released.

The World Bank estimates that for each one percentage point increase in food prices, “10 million people are thrown into extreme poverty worldwide.” The Covid-19 pandemic caused disruptions in the world’s food supplies; climate crisis has damaged agricultural crops and threatened the food security of millions of people. Now the war in Ukraine is affecting grain and fertilizers production and exports to the world. Global food prices have reached “a new all-time high,” and the situation is getting worse every day. Starving masses could fuel social tensions, particularly in vulnerable countries.

But besides the aforementioned factors, people’s mindsets and habits trigger food insecurity. As the world evolves, the population has grown as a result of medical developments that allow increasing fertility and life expectancy. In addition to it, we are not only more numerous and live longer but we also consume much more today than in the past. Just a few hundred years ago we stayed home passively and a slice of bread a day was enough, today we live a hectic life and instead of a slice we need a pound of bread a day.

Compared to nature, we can see that animals behave differently from us in terms of breeding and consuming calories. When animals are not hunting or gathering food, they usually lie down peacefully and save energy. When there is a lack of food in the area, they give birth to fewer offspring. In the past, in times of food shortages, women naturally would also conceive less.

But as human beings we are no longer as attached to nature as animals, nor do we care to think deeply about our future as human beings and how properly use and balance our resources. We may easily degenerate into a world of famine and consequently, more conflicts will emerge.

We will be able to prevent hunger and other problems that can cause great suffering and death through a joint international debate. In such a discussion, representatives of countries would consider together what to do with the onerous facts and how to use human capabilities to solve them.

The problem is that the international organizations that are supposed to deal with it, like the UN, are impractical because they represent the bureaucratic forces of the states and governments, nor are they enthusiastic about dealing with solutions about the future of the world. It turns out that we have no one to trust and no one to wait for to formulate plans for a good life for us.

The scale and gravity of today’s global challenges which have outgrown the present systems’ ability to handle them require fresh new thinking. In my view, until we deal with the heart of the problem, which is the egoism in human nature, we will find no remedy to our woes. We all need to finally realize that humanity is a single superorganism in which any disruption affects the whole system and any solution should be integral. In other words, a better future starts with a shift of awareness of what needs to be fixed: we.
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My new article on Linkedin “Exile and Redemption – the Israel Way”

On Friday the 15th, Jews all over the world celebrated Passover—the redemption of Israel from the enslavement in Egypt, thirty-three centuries ago. The exodus from Egypt is mentioned not only on the relevant date in the Hebrew calendar. Almost every significant date on the Hebrew calendar contains the words “to remember the exodus from Egypt.” In fact, not only Judaism, but Christians, too, attribute great importance to the deliverance of the Israelites from enslavement. Throughout history, there have been countless cases of enslavement and liberation. Why then is this one so important that we make it a point to remember it? The exodus symbolizes much more than deliverance of one nation from another. It describes the inner process by which one redeems one’s soul from the enslavement of the ego. And since we are all born slaves to our egos, the exodus from Egypt pertains to each and every person on the planet.

When the Israelites were in the Sinai desert, they complained to Moses, “We remember the fish that we ate for free in Egypt, the cucumbers and the melons and the greens [vegetables] and the onions and the garlic” (Num. 11:5). On another occasion, they lamented, “Would that we had died by the Lord’s hand in the land of Egypt, when we sat by the pots of meat, when we ate bread to the full” (Ex. 16:3). We see that it was not physical hardships that afflicted the children of Israel in Egypt, but something else tormented them to the point where they could not tolerate remaining there even for another night. That something is the reason that the story of the exodus of the children of Israel from Egypt is still so well remembered.

To understand what that something is, we must remember that the people of Israel are unlike any other nation. Their roots cannot be traced to any one nation or country, clan, or tribe. We attribute the beginning of the nation to Abraham, but he was only the first. On the day he died, the Hebrews were still not a nation. They received their official status, if you will, only at the foot of Mt. Sinai, after they vowed to unite “as one man with one heart.”

Until then, people of countless tribes and nations joined the Hebrews at their own will. The only condition for joining the ancient Hebrews was to agree to the principle of unity above all differences. In other words, the emerging nation consisted of people from many different origins, who joined the group that Abraham had established because they subscribed to the idea by which he established it: unity, care for others, this is all that matters. This is why the fundamental law of Judaism is “Love your neighbor as yourself.”

Despite their efforts to unite, the ego of the ancient Hebrews failed them time and time again. Each time they rose above it and united, it intensified and separated them once more. This is why the history of the people of Israel is rife with conflicts and wars.

The story of the exodus from Egypt is a symbolic tale that speaks about one’s efforts to overcome one’s ego. Moses, for example, is the quality within us that constantly pulls toward unity. The Hebrew name Moshe [Moses] is similar to the Hebrew word “moshech” [pulling], namely pulling away from the ego and toward unity and love of others.

The people of Israel are qualities within us that can relate to Moses and follow him, but hesitate to do so. They are tempted by the ego to remain in Egypt, where the ego is king. This is why they constantly question Moses’ leadership and wonder if it would not be better had they stayed in Egypt.

Egypt symbolizes our ego, our hatred of others. Pharaoh is the epitome of the ego. He is not only hatred of others, but a desire to rule over everyone and everything, to oppress all of reality under one’s own governance. This is why Pharaoh says, “Who is the Lord that I should obey His voice?” (Ex. 5:2). In other words, Pharaoh bows to no one; it is the core of egoism.

Moses’ struggle to release the people of Israel from the ego was successful. For an individual, it is the redemption of the soul from the shackles of the ego, the king that rules us from birth, as it is written, “The inclination of a man’s heart is evil from his youth” (Gen. 8:21).

As we can see, the story of Israel’s exodus from Egypt is very pertinent. Today’s world, which is mired in egoism, needs redemption from the ego no less than the people of Israel needed it then. We have built a beautiful world, abundant in every possible way. Yet, the enslavement to our narcissistic selves separates us from each other and causes us to destroy every piece of beauty on our planet.

Just as the enslavement of the people of Israel in Egypt was really an enslavement to their egos, so we are trapped by our own egos and seek to dominate and oppress others (if we are Pharaoh), or simply hate other people (if we are simple Egyptians). Either way, it is destructive to ourselves, to our society, and to the world we live in.

May this Passover be the beginning of our redemption from our egos and the beginning of our unity and love of others.
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Michael Laitman, On Quora: “When was Exodus from Egypt?“

According to the wisdom of Kabbalah, the exodus from Egypt means exiting the desire to receive for oneself, leaving behind self-aimed egoistic thoughts, discernments and decisions, and entering a higher reality of love, bestowal and connection. It is a birth into a new illuminated world.

Before we enter that world, we are in a desire to receive for self-benefit alone, a narrow concern about our own lives, and exiting that state means getting rid of the control of Egypt—the intention for self-benefit alone—and entering into a new control of the upper force of love, bestowal and connection. In the latter world, we discover and live in a new intention to benefit others and the whole of nature.

In other words, the exodus from Egypt is not some past historical event or merely a story that we learn as we grow up. It is rather a key transitional state we go through on our spiritual path, where we shift from being in a corporeal egoistic state to living in a spiritual state of love, bestowal and connection, in contact with the upper force.

Based on the Daily Kabbalah Lesson with Kabbalist Dr. Michael Laitman on April 15, 2022. Written/edited by students of Kabbalist Dr. Michael Laitman.

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Jews are hated because they have a quality opposite to egoistic development, the quality of altruism.

Not only do the nations of the world not understand, but also Jews themselves do not understand why this is happening.

Jews are hated because they do not implement this quality into the world; otherwise, everyone could reach a wonderful life. Therefore, they are rightfully accused of being the source of all problems.
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From KabTV’s “Close-Up. Gene of Altruism” 9/19/10

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Question: Today we are in a state where a person is given to understand that he does not decide anything, he is nobody and nothing, and it is useless to try to change something within the framework of this world.

What is the program for the realization of freedom in equivalence with the Creator?

Answer: The realization of freedom in the likeness with the Creator is when I do not want to, but I must call upon the Creator as an arbiter because I am between two states and do not know what to prefer.

I decide what He decides because this is the only upper force from which two opposite states derive. They converge in me, but I cannot solve my conflict, i.e., combine the plus with the minus so that this system, these two universes, spiritual and corporeal, start working for me.

Therefore, I must call upon a third force that connects them correctly and creates a certain resistance between them. Then it will be like a motor that runs on two wires connected to it.

In this case, I will start working and will find myself in the same state as the Creator. From Him, two forces descend and unite in me.

By invoking Him, I give birth to the same quality as His, the same state as His, and at the same time, I become a man, Adam, from the word “Domeh,” similar to the Creator.

Therefore, I really call upon Him; I do not transfer freedom to Him, but I summon Him, I include His quality in myself. The Creator is a quality of bestowal, love, and the attraction of everything for common bestowal, a common system, and I become just like Him.

This is the freedom to become like the Creator, like this integral nature, to rise above all that He has done, just as He is, above all that has been created. This is prepared for all of us. This is the purpose of man.
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From KabTV’s “Close-Up, Dissenting Opinion” 8/29/10

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Question: In May of 2020 TikTok blogger Demi Skipper from San Francisco took announced on her blog that wanted to start with an ordinary bobby pin [hair pin] and swap her way up to a home. She exchanged it for a pair of earrings, and then continued to make a progression of more valuable trade-ups until in November of the same year she achieved her goal of owning a home.

This isn’t the first case of someone trading up a relatively worthless item to owning a house. In 2007, Canadian Kyle McDonald made 14 exchanges to home ownership starting with a big red paper clip.

What do you think about these tales that seem like fantasy?

Answer: All this takes place in front of an audience. But it is quite possible. From where does wealth, money, steamships, etc. come in general? That’s exactly how it’s done.

Question: What’s happening in the chain? Why? How does it get so hyped?

Answer: These are desires multiplied by human stupidity, swagger, fame, and so on. All this gives value to these amounts.

Question: “I’ll do it, and I’ll give you a car for a paper clip. And they will talk about me.” Something like that?

Answer: Yes, it is a sale, of course.

Question: What would you personally like to launch, something simple like this paper clip, and what would you like to get at the end?

Answer: I would like to launch into the world the popularity of the happiness of the world, the real happiness of the world, and at the end for everyone to get an understanding of it. But there is no such TikTok currently, not yet.

Question: A simple sentence like this: “What is happiness for the world?” And as a result, everyone will understand it. Is there no such thing?

Answer: No. There are no such games like this. A deep awareness is needed by each and everyone, of course, that a person is created an egoist and so on. This is the only way. A  game won’t help here; it can’t wind up just like that. It’s not a show.

A person should really want to connect with others, to take care of them, and to realize that we are on the same Titanic.

Question: Can this Titanic sail?

Answer: If we support it this way, then undoubtedly.

Question: If we unite?

Answer: Yes.

Question: And if not, then this is the Titanic?

Answer: Of course.
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From KabTV’s “News with Dr. Michael Laitman” 12/23/21

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