Michael Laitman, On Quora: “What is the difference between the laws of nature and ethics and morality?“

The laws of nature are unchanging laws of love and bestowal, which harmoniously connect all of nature’s parts, and which take the benefit of the whole into consideration.

By contrast, morals and ethics are codes of human conduct at a given moment in time. For instance, if harsher methods of communication were considered norms in the past, even to the point of cruelty, then the more we developed, the more moderate and friendly these behaviors became.

Laws of nature are opposite to human nature, which is a desire to enjoy at the expense of others, and which is in constant growth. The more the human ego grows, the more our morals and ethics change in order to let ourselves get along with each other more conveniently at different stages of our development. However, no matter how much we develop in our morals and ethics, we always find ourselves lacking something, and more and more problems and crises abound in our relations.

Human development gradually leads us to the need to reach balance with the laws of nature. Today, we are more ripe for the discovery of the laws of nature than ever before.

Yet, how do we make that leap from being governed by the human ego—trying to adapt and observe morals and ethics in order to get along as optimally as possible—to becoming governed consciously by the laws of nature, where we harmoniously connect with each other and discover the positive forces dwelling in nature within our harmonious connections?

We make that leap by learning and exercising the laws of nature in a social setup, i.e., how to positively connect in society so that there will be an envelope of love and care in our relations. That is, by connecting as a single whole in human society, we match the perfection and wholeness of the laws of nature, and then come to experience a whole new kind of harmony, happiness, confidence and peace filling our lives.

I discuss this topic in more depth in the program, “Communication skills. Moral principles and social norms”: Watch the video here » [54:02]

Photo by Toa Heftiba on Unsplash.

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If you connect two electrical wires one with positive and the other with negative voltage, you get a short circuit. It is impossible to connect plus and minus with each other. Therefore, you need to give them work by putting a load, a resistor between them.

If we work together above our nature, then we accumulate efforts between us in trying to cleave to each other. By the fact that each person wants to adjust himself to the other, we build a mini-system of the Creator between us. After all, I treat you with love, and you treat me the same. Each of us takes the power of bestowal from the Creator, turning with it to another, building between us a small Creator, a small system of loyal connections and then even love.

This is how mini-systems are built between all: I am in bestowal toward you, and you are in bestowal toward me. But bestowal is already the force of the Creator, that is, we build the Creator between us in this way, as it is said: “You have made Me.”

We build such passages between each and every one—the property of the Creator that binds us. When everyone unites with everyone in this way, it turns out that we have built the Creator and revealed Him.

That is why the Creator broke our common soul, so that we would reveal Him, feel as if He did not create us but that we gave birth to the Creator. Thus, we become similar to the Creator and understand His plan, that is, we achieve complete adhesion to Him.
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From the 1^st part of the Daily Kabbalah Lesson 11/29/20, “Work with Faith Above Reason”

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My new article on Linkedin “Reflections on the AJC Antisemitism Report”

After the presidential election, possibly as one of the many fallouts of this fiasco, a report by the American Jewish Committee (AJC) that was submitted in late August reemerged. It deals particularly with QAnon, which the report describes as a “far-right network of people who believe the world is controlled by a satanic cabal. …Antisemitic conspiracy theories about Jewish elites, globalists, and bankers are part and parcel of the QAnon belief system.”

In my eyes, this report reflects a deeper problem than the existence of antisemitism. There has always been antisemitism, and Jews have always been blamed for things they didn’t do. Jews have also been blamed for things that Jews did do, but not because they were Jews, but simply because they were corrupt individuals. However, all this is besides the point.

What worries me more is the fact that Jewish organizations are profiteering from the existence of antisemitism. They are promoting the circulation of reports about antisemitic incidents because without them, they would not be able to collect the funds and have the clout that they do. And although they assert that they are collecting the funds in order to combat antisemitism, the hard truth is that for all their purported efforts, antisemitism only seems to grow.

Indeed, combating antisemitism is where all Jewish organizations fail. Exposing it is not enough. It makes us realize that there is a problem, but silencing antisemites does nothing to abate the growing hatred toward the Jews. A genuine campaign against antisemitism must focus on the Jews’ own disunity and promote solidarity, rather than focusing on the anger that more and more parts of American society feel toward the Jews. Regrettably, unity and solidarity don’t sell well while hatred does, so I don’t expect to see any change in the strategy of Jewish organizations regarding combating antisemitism.

You might wonder why I speak so often about American Jewry. I do it because I feel obliged to warn where I see immediate danger. I am not writing in order to change or rebuke this or that organization; I know this is hopeless, as the people who run it seek power and wealth and not much else. I write in order to warn those whose eyes are still open and whose minds are still alert to acknowledge the impending danger.

The Jews have always been afflicted and tormented the most when they were disunited. The current focus of so many Jewish leaders on power and wealth, the growing estrangement of American Jews from the State of Israel, regardless of the question of the Israeli government’s policy, and the extremely high rates of interfaith marriages (twice as much as before the Holocaust) are all signs of Jewish disintegration. And when Jews disintegrate, antisemitism rises and escalates. In 1929, Dr. Kurt Fleischer, leader of the Liberals in the Berlin Jewish Community Assembly, eloquently phrased this oddity: “Anti-Semitism is the scourge that God has sent us in order to lead us together and weld us together.”

Today’s American Jewry is precariously similar to that of pre-World War II German Jewry. If American Jewry does not reverse course very soon, it will experience the same fate that German Jewry experienced in the 1930s and 1940s. It is not a question of if, but of when, and the answer to that question is definitely in the foreseeable future.
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My new article on Linkedin “Looking Back at the Year of the Covid”

Looking back to the beginning of 2020, I see that people involuntarily accepted the Covid-forced changes in their lives. It is hard to call it a pandemic; it is more of a new force that has come into play, creating partitions between us and setting us apart. It sort of put us in our corners and forced us to behave in new ways. We may not want it, at least most of us, but it is nevertheless a compulsory force from above.

I am not surprised that Covid did this. When it just began, I said right away that it’s the beginning of something new that would be with us from now on. Accordingly, I suggested that we adapt our lives to this reality. I don’t think we should go back to the way we lived before, as it was unsustainable and actually facilitated the emergence of Covid-19. If I had a say in the matter, I would say the opposite—that I want Covid to pressure us to the point where we surrender and agree to change our hearts toward each other, and if not, let the virus keep separating us as it has been doing for the past year.

The world before Covid was a madhouse: people running around aimlessly, furiously fighting one another, competing for superiority and power, and increasingly depressed. Covid stopped all that because it changed the way we work, the way we socialize, and the way we treat our families. It changed our values, and I’m happy that it did because the old ones didn’t do us any good.

We felt free, but we were slaves to our egos. We felt entitled, but we used it to disenfranchise others. We felt powerful, but only because we humiliated others. And in the end, we were terrified that if we stopped bullying others, others would bully us. I’m glad that Covid stopped it, and I hope it never returns.

Now it’s time to find real freedom, the freedom to give, to support, and to make room for others. It is freedom to build a society of sharing and caring, solidarity and cohesion, mutual responsibility and trust in our neighbors. It’s time to build a new world.

Now that 2020 is ending, I hope we have learned what it came to teach us and spend the rest of the decade living out its lessons.

Filed under: Coronavirus, Crisis, New Publications | Add Comment / Ask Question →

Michael Laitman, On Quora: “Are there any positive benefits of laziness and procrastination?“

The more we evolve technologically and psychologically, the more we connect around the world and find ourselves working more and more.

Societies around the world today are completely different to how they used to be. In the past, we spent most of our time at home, in villages, participating in several different activities. We did not work from dawn to dusk, or all through the night, as many do today.

Today’s incessant work atmosphere is a chain reaction from industrial developments in the 19th century, such as the steam engine. The more inventions we make, the more we work. It is as if we latch ourselves onto a carriage, and then have to pull ourselves along.

However, this is incorrect.

We should indeed work less. We would be much better off if we would sit by a fireplace, like in the old days, take our time doing things, visit friends and relatives, and participant more in social events. Moreover, most work we invest so much time and effort into today is completely unnecessary, and exists only in order to increase profits as an end in and of itself.

Laziness is thus very beneficial.

Laziness gives us time and space to scrutinize our next moves very scrupulously, to check whether they are really necessary or not.

Laziness thus lets us act in more accordance with our needs, lessening our chances of finding ourselves running around in circles for the sake of “doing something with our lives,” which eventually leads to destructive outcomes.

Therefore, Kabbalistic sages have such saying as, “Sit instead of standing, and stand instead of walking,” and “Sit and do nothing—better.”

In short, the benefit of laziness is that the less we move, the less problems we encounter.

I further discuss this topic in episode 754 of “New Life”: Laziness and Effort. Watch the Video Here »

Photo by Julia Stepper on Unsplash.

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Question: Charisma is a special endowment, an exceptional personality in intellectual, spiritual, or any other respect, an ability to literally appeal to hearts. You are a very charismatic person. Can you advise how to be like that?

Answer: I do not think I am fortunate enough to attract others. Not at all.

I rely on science, which speaks of the universe, of all the worlds combined, including the upper force that governs the entire universe. And I slightly open the way to this enormous knowledge for everyone that wants it.

I do not have any charisma, I do not want to command, I do not want to attract. Maybe sometimes I can be harsh or rude, but this refers to the desire to be understood correctly and to only follow the path I am walking.

It seems to me that if a person has a goal, then he can captivate others with it. In general, you need to do what is closest to you, what your soul desires. And then you will give a good example to others.
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From KabTV’s “Kabbalah Express” 11/6/20

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Question: A wide variety of people are trained in integral education courses. They may include a professor, a locksmith, or a millionaire. Everyone is used to a certain form of communication. For one person, some jokes can cause complete disgust, for another it is normal. What are we supposed to do in this situation?

Answer: I don’t see this as a particular problem since we are dealing with an area of communication that none of them are currently in, even because of their past activities and interests. So it doesn’t matter what sort of people will be in the group.

There are, of course, certain stages of development that help intellectually developed people quickly grasp what the science of Kabbalah says. But, in general, it doesn’t matter. If we are talking about the spiritual development of a person and the spiritual connection of people, then absolutely different people can take part in this.

Question: In other words, such external barriers as language, traditions, even, perhaps, the form of clothing, cannot interfere with communication?

Answer: No. This is completely out of the question.

Question: And if untidily dressed people who do not observe hygiene come to the courses, is it worth making a direct remark to the person? And who should do it?

Answer: The moderator. He should warn people to come in clean clothes even after work. It doesn’t matter if it’s a doctor or a worker from the workshop, a chemist or a mechanic from the garage. All of them should come to classes in such a way that others feel comfortable with them.
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From KabTV’s “Communication Skills” 10/14/20

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Question: Is virtual connection enough to develop an individual as a person?

Answer: In the future, virtual communication will be of a different quality. It will only be the basis for the development of sensory, internal connections that cannot be transmitted through verbal or physical communication.

It just seems to us that we are somehow in contact with each other. We need to establish contact with our hearts and thoughts rather than physically when we are opposite to one other and thus perceive and are impressed by each other.

Question: What new sensory organs would you recommend developing for better communication through virtual connection?

Answer: I would advise people to learn to live only in thoughts so that we would all try to be connected together in one thought called the “thought of creation.” In this thought, we would understand each other, merge with each other, and reach a connection with the thought that governs the entire universe, the entire creation, and in which we must all be included.
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From KabTV’s “Communication Skills” 10/7/20

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Question: There are critical moments in life after which the amount of information that is left in our memory drops sharply. It is assumed that during the first minutes after information is perceived about 25% of it is forgotten, after a couple of hours about 50% is forgotten, and after a day 75% of the information is lost.

A teacher’s goal is to diminish this loss. Is it enough if everyone in the group sums up one or two sentences or writes down a short summary of the conclusions? Will that somehow help preserve the information in our memory?

Answer: No, the information will remain only if there is a constant use for it. If not, nothing will remain.

Comment: Many students say that during the lessons they understand everything, but they leave the lesson totally empty.

My Response: That’s great!

Question: What’s so good about it? A person sits for three hours, listens to a lecture, and the moment he leaves, nothing is left in his memory.

Answer: It means that the information has actually entered him, and is now inside him.

Question: Will I be able to retrieve this information and use it when I need it?

Answer: If you could remember all the information that you have absorbed during your lifetime, you would not be able to think, to decide, to discover anything. You would have no voids in your emotions and in your mind in order to work with the information objectively. Your memory would be like a computer, full of data.
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From KabTV’s “Management Skills” 7/24/20

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Question: Economists today point to employee motivation as one of the biggest challenges. Workplace conditions, bonuses, and salary increases no longer work. The basis of motivation has changed recently, especially in the era of coronavirus. What advice can you give people who cannot find motivation in themselves?

Answer: I think we will soon come to such a state when people will start howling in anguish like wolves at the moon. Then they will understand that they need the most serious motivation, strength, and ability to get out of their absolute hopeless state. They will start looking for someone who can give them this motivation, and they will come to us.

Question: Research shows that a boss who has the skills to listen to a subordinate is 13 times more likely to motivate an employee to stay in their workplace than a salary is. Do you think this has a future? After all, for many, the pay is the only reason to work.

Answer: No. We will reach such a state when a person is satisfied with his material condition so much that he will not have the motivation to work like a slave. He will begin to look for only a creative component in his work. I think we’ll come to this soon.

Question: What, in your opinion, is the most effective way to motivate a work team?

Answer: Connection and the achievement of a special goal is precisely in unity, where huge layers of work on oneself and with others are being revealed. A person will begin to reveal such inner possibilities of his own and others that he will see what incredible events are taking place in and around him.

Question: So people doing collaborative work will get energy from the fact that they work well together?

Answer: Not only. If they are properly linked with each other, then they will find among themselves an emotional, spiritual, upper state that gives them a reward that they will not see in any profession. They will perceive everything directly from the desire for self-realization in a team.
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From KabTV’s “Management Skills” 8/28/20

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