Entries in the 'Conventions' Category

United With The Creator

Dr. Michael LaitmanIn the article “Thou Hast Hemmed Me In Behind and Before” we learn how the rider and the horse move in perfect accord. We, like all of creation, play the role of the horse, and the rider is the Creator, who manages it fully and naturally. There is not one movement that the horse makes without the influence of the rider. But the horse itself wants to go along with the rider in accordance with his desire to understand and to predict the desire of his owner to such an extent that the horse will act even before the rider influences it. This means that we have to reach such a level of connection with the Creator, that we act in His place, thinking and feeling in His place; this is how strongly we should be connected and adhered to Him.

Here we attain the next level, the next problem: What are we doing this for? We do so in order to bring the Creator contentment and not so that we will feel good. If I do things for myself, I detach myself from Him because of the difference in attributes. So we have to think about the fact that we don’t just want the revelation of the Creator, but want to do so in order to bring Him contentment.

Then we begin to feel how He wants to be revealed to us, in order to bring us joy, in order to tell us about everything, and to draw us to His world of eternity and wholeness. Our world, which conceals it, that is between us and Him, and our bodies and everything that surrounds us will gradually disappear. Then we will see only the one force that manages the world and that we are in it. In fact, scientists also begin to speak about this today.

So we have to start feeling pain and joy as a result of our intention. Why do we want to reveal Him, for our sake or for His sake? Here is the last work our ego has to do. Once again we demand from the Creator to give us the intention that everything is from Him and everything is for Him. All the questions, all the demands, all the requests, the prayers , all the complaints, everything is to Him.

Don’t ever try to find the slightest movement inside you. If there is a problem, turn straight to Him, no matter what it is, and operate with Him. If you focus yourselves correctly on this force, you will see how everything works out. This means that I want to reveal this force because there is only Him in the world and only so that all of us will connect in order to become “one below Him,” to unite as one single “horse.”

We have to feel joy for being in contact with Him, no matter if this contact is good or bad. If I feel the contact with Him in the worst feeling, it’s a sign that it’s a good state, if I don’t remember Him in the best feeling, it’s a sign that it is a bad state.

We have to value the states according to the intensity of our contact with the Creator. Then we will gradually move from feelings in our desires of receiving to feelings in the desires of bestowal. This means that all our joy, all our yearning, is already aimed at Him in order to bring Him contentment, and then in the intention to bring Him contentment, we begin to receive the upper Light that fills us. The Creator in His entirety enters us and we begin to feel that we are one whole with Him, as two lovers that connect.
[105501]
From the European Convention 3/23/13, Lesson 3

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Closing The Circle

Closing the CircleWhat did we attain at the European Convention? First of all, we created between us a certain mutual understanding.

We assembled together as one European group. It isn’t important that the languages and in part also the mentality separate between us. It’s Babylon as it was 3800 years ago, when it disintegrated into separate parts. Today, we are that same Babylon and come together again, but it’s not to continue the Babylonian suffering. Rather, it’s in order to unite according to the method revealed to the world back then.

It’s as if we are closing the circle, returning to the same state. It isn’t important that instead of three million Babylonians today we have seven billion. It’s simply a further division of the general soul so that for each one of us it will be easier to correct his small particle. But essentially, we represent the part of Babylon that is ready for this correction. Our entire world Kli (vessel or desire) is specifically the “cream” that rises to the top and needs to be gathered and united, and then the correction of the whole world will take place.

I think we attained here such mutual understanding, and now we have some serious work to do: to realize our mission.

You will see how each of you will come to be in great demand, how each of you can become a teacher, an educator. People will clutch at you like at straws since they don’t understand the situation they are in and in particular, the method of correction that they will suddenly discover: “How can we unite? How do we sit in a circle? What should we talk about? How do we interact between ourselves? How do we discover the contact between us?”

Here we refer to fine details we feel from within because we live them, while to explain it to someone in a scientific or systematic way is difficult and very complex. Everyone understands that if a person feels something inside, that’s one thing, but when he begins to pass it on to someone else and the other person, who doesn’t understand or feel the material, repeats it only in a mechanical way, then that’s something else completely.

Thus, each one of you will be very much in demand. Begin to be involved in integral and virtual education and you will see how people will be drawn to you. Each one of you will be worth your weight in gold.

The Creator will turn to us only when we have a passageway to the external world, and not otherwise. This is written about in every Kabbalah book. This is how nature is created: by an open, complete dissemination system. And if through us there will be an open channel to the external world, then through it, the upper Light will pass and shine upon the world. It won’t stop in any place, only circulate and become revealed. If we don’t hinder but allow for an open channel, the Light will flow through us.
[104360]
From the European Convention in Germany 3/24/13, Lesson 6

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That Every Moment Were New

Dr. Michael LaitmanAs Baal HaSulam and other great Kabbalists write, the most important thing is that every day be as new. The “day” means a moment, not daytime. That is why your every moment should be new! And this is the main thing.

Wake up, get up, and shake yourself at any time of the day and night as if you are reborn. Cross out all that was before: all our old problems and relationships. No past problems! No emotional baggage!

Forget all the bad things that were in each group and between the groups, between all the groups and me as well. Reset, restart!
[104355]
From the European Convention in Germany 3/24/13, Lesson 6

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Don’t Confuse The Spiritual With The Physical

Dr. Michael LaitmanQuestion: What are the perfect relationships between men and women in the group?

Answer: The perfect relationship is the mutual yearning to unite only our desires for the Creator and not any other desires. It is best if we don’t pay attention to the bodies. It doesn’t matter who I am dealing with, whether it is a man or a woman, but if it disturbs me, I should make it so that it doesn’t disturb me. In fact, in the spiritual world the male and the female desires exist in each of us.

There is a desire to receive, AHP and a desire to bestow, GE. This means that in the spiritual world things don’t take place the way they do in our world in the corporeal bodies. There only the desires connect, the desires for the Creator and no other desires; all the other desires are egoistic, and therefore they don’t exist in spirituality.

If a person wants to eat two meals for lunch, he should go ahead, since it doesn’t stand in the way of his spiritual advancement. If he likes a certain girl, then it doesn’t interrupt his spiritual advancement either. What’s important is what his main desire is focused on. If it is focused on the Creator everything else becomes part of that.

The relationships between men and women in the group should be regulated and organized so that they don’t interrupt the spiritual advancement in any way.

Question: Suppose that I can hug my friend as a man, but I cannot picture myself doing it correctly with women.

Answer: Your relationships with women should be established so that they don’t interfere with spiritual advancement, so that the spiritual and the physical are not confused. Spiritual is spiritual and physical is physical.
[104216]
From the European Convention in Germany 3/23/13, Lesson 5

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Yearning Only For Love

Dr. Michael LaitmanQuestion: In the workshops we speak a lot about love. But you often give an example of how great Kabbalists hated each other. I am afraid. Do all of us need to go through this?

Answer: In order to feel hatred, you need to love very strongly, you need to yearn for love. We talk about this a lot in our lessons. All that happens to us, including even the worst things, is all for the good. All is given to us just so that we will rise above all that happens.

If we want to advance, we must advance towards love.

Let’s suppose that now I try to approach someone with love and as a result I feel mutual hatred from him towards me. But my love is only a formal one, and his hatred is, as if, real.

I begin to ask from the upper Light to build real love within me above this hatred. It is said, “Love covers all sins,” all the hatred.

The huge inner hatred is called “Mount Sinai” (sina – hatred in Hebrew). And the love that I acquire is already real love. In this way we advance forward.

Question: How is it possible to acquire real love all at once, bypassing hatred?

Answer: My yearning is only for love and whatever happens on the way is not important. The hatred will appear only so that you will rise above it and love others even more. But due to that, your love will increase and grow, thanks to the hatred that is constantly growing underneath it. It can’t be any other way, because the upper world was created by two contradictory and opposite attributes that connect to one complete whole.
[104184]
From the European Convention in Germany 3/23/13, Lesson 5

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As The Call, So The Echo

Dr. Michael LaitmanQuestion: How will the force of unity in Europe help us reach our next level at the upcoming convention in America?

Answer: Europe and America have a strong influence on each other. But the fact is that the crisis in America is felt much less; there’s a possibility to gloss over it there. In America, there is one government, one power; there is no need to negotiate anything with anyone. They can do whatever they want and that’s it. They decided to print a hundred billion dollars more and printed them. The printing press is operating.

In Europe, it is much more difficult because it requires coordination between all the countries. That is why the crisis is felt much more there. If Europe had united, it could have dealt with the crisis easily. First, the crisis would have subsided quickly because the EU citizens had united above their egoism. In general, Europe is today’s Babylon.

But in addition, they would have begun to adopt a single solution and could do the same as the Americans. The whole crisis has spread only because Europe is divided. One part of Europe from Brussels dictates to the other part of Europe: And the other part doesn’t want this; in Nicosia, Cypress, the parliament refused to accept their decisions.

What kind of union is this? They will have to either truly unite or disintegrate.

In America, the condition is better from the point of view that they have simply decided, “We have no crisis.” They have determined this and live as if nothing has happened. But later of course, everything will “collapse.”
[104435]
From the European Convention in Germany 3/24/13, Lesson 6

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You Are Dear To Me Because I Have Invested In You

Dr. Michael LaitmanQuestion: Why do we begin to love others only if we invest in them?

Answer: It is no secret that we love only ourselves—not even the people closest to us, not anyone else, but only ourselves. When can we love something or someone outside of ourselves? It is if we invest ourselves in them.

If a mother does not take care of her child, she does not love him, and, if she is given someone else’s child, continuously takes care of him, and raises him, then he will become as her own because she invested herself in him.

It is the same with anything else such as, let’s say, an artist and the picture he has painted, and so on. If I put my work, my effort, and my desire into something, then, to the extent of my effort, this object becomes dear to me because it contains part of me. I myself am in this object.

So, if for many years, we invest in the group, it becomes close to us, dear, and we cannot just leave it (if we truly invest in it).

It is a condition that you must work for the friends all the time. Then, you will begin to feel that they are close to you, and this gives you a chance to feel their desires. After all, it is precisely those desires that you receive from the group that you turn to the upper Light and it begins to shine on you.

There is no point of turning to it with your desire; it will not work. That is why we try so much and in vain. In addition, if we take the group desires and turn them to the Light, we will succeed at once. Try! You need to invest in the group. Then, it will become dear, and we quickly will feel the upper world.
[104107]
From the European Convention in Germany 3/23/13, Lesson 5

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From Confusion To Wisdom

Dr. Michael LaitmanQuestion: Our work is divided into two types: work within the group and work for the 99% of humanity. Often, the combination of these two orientations creates confusion, and as a result, all kinds of problems emerge in the group. How does one need to work correctly with these two orientations in a group and maintain its integrity?

Answer: Everything relevant to the property of bestowal, to this spiritual property, is the opposite to us; so, it is not grasped directly, simply, and clearly by us.

I am sure that many of you have already passed through similar states. You study and participate in group events; generally, everything is sufficiently understandable and clear to you, and then suddenly, “Boom!” everything is blocked: You don’t know and don’t understand anything; it becomes impermeable, you don’t grasp anything. You can be found in a state like this for days or a week, and it could even be longer.

This is when the upper Light is acting and influencing us. Then suddenly everything begins to become clear, everything becomes much simpler and understandable than it was before; you read the same text and begin to understand it more deeply.

We need to adhere to spiritual laws, to the properties that don’t exist in us. And when our senses are dulled, this is when the upper Light, the Surrounding Light (Ohr Makif) is influencing us. At this time we are changed.

During this process of changing we don’t know anything; we are found in a state of stupor. After then, when the Light ends its influence, it is as if we wake up; light appears in our eyes, we begin to understand everything in a clear and good form; we begin to see everything better.

The same thing is happening to us now (I feel this in regard to all the groups) with integral education. In our minds this is still not working. We already understand that we need to move forward, to change ourselves, to place ourselves under the influence of the Light, but we don’t know what to do to introduce integral education, how to turn to the 99%.

This is a process that we need to begin to feel within us. It will slowly sink into us. We still think and talk about this and understanding will disappear for us again and again. Two or three months will pass. Look at how long we wait until a baby grows up, twenty years. The same thing here too, we must wait.

Today we are undergoing huge changes. Some of them pass quickly and some slowly.

I am sure that within two or three months, you will begin to describe to yourselves clearly where integral education is found, where the group that studies Kabbalah is found, how we need to relate to the 99% of the population, and how to relate to our friends, how to disseminate the wisdom of Kabbalah and how to disseminate integral education.

All of this will work out over time. It seems to us that we are talking about simple things that do not have anything complicated about them. Many of us graduated from college, studied for many years, but this doesn’t matter. The intellect will not help here. Anyway, it is necessary to continue to learn and be involved in integral education as well as the wisdom of Kabbalah.

First, you will have great confusion in your mind, then everything will begin to become clear. If you want to speed up this process, you need to be seriously occupied with both of them. If you are not occupied with this, nothing will work out. You will not attract the Surrounding Light onto yourselves.

It could be that you don’t have the possibility of being occupied with dissemination through the Internet, virtual networks, the blog, and so forth. So, begin to be involved with the translation of books; do something, get published, print and distribute flyers. But it’s best to work with the Internet, it is free. And if you produce something interesting, millions of people will see it.
[104110]
From the European Convention in Germany 3/23/13, Lesson 5

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Loyalty To The Most Important Thing

Dr. Michael LaitmanQuestion: How is it possible to remain loyal to the most important thing and not forget about the connection in all possible situations?

Answer: We constantly need to remind each other about that. This is called Arvut, mutual guarantee.

We must create a network that doesn’t allow us, even for one moment, to forget about the connection: read parts of the lessons or articles several times a day, talk, think, listen to our songs, and study, which means do whatever is possible in order to live within it. And in parallel with our daily business, work, and care of the family, within us there always needs to be the yearning for connection.
[104043]
From the European Convention in Germany 3/23/13, Lesson 5

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It Is Forbidden For Us To Err

Dr. Michael LaitmanQuestion: The current period is very difficult. We feel the pressure put on us; the Creator is very strict with us. In what way, here in Europe, can we rise above all our fears to respond appropriately to what the Creator wants from us?

Answer: Our main goal is connection, unity. Even if we don’t disseminate the method of integral education, our connection will influence the world anyway. It will seemingly spread under the ground and influence everyone.

Everyone will begin talking about this. Everyone will begin to think and to understand since the entire world is interconnected anyway. This is known from scientific research, and people already feel this: Something that I think about in one country in the world suddenly begins to be discovered in thoughts and actions in another country, and so forth.

So, first and foremost, we need unity. Especially, if we begin to connect beyond the borders of Europe! And the moment we begin to do this, we will feel that the relationships between nations, between people, will become completely different. The media are beginning to present information in a slightly different form: in a softer, mutual form, with the understanding that there is no other choice, it is necessary to campaign for good relations with one another. Therefore, we need to go towards this.

And then, from our connection, we already disseminate the method of integral education itself. This is not complicated at all. You can’t imagine how quickly this will be realized; we simply need to take on the right form and to act; this is the main thing in the wisdom of Kabbalah. For you can invest immense amounts of energy, years of toil, squeeze out of yourselves everything that is possible, but if this doesn’t progress in the right direction, deviating a little to the side, then nothing will come of this!

Baal HaSulam writes in his book Shamati, that Israel is someone who is directed straight towards the Creator; the Torah is the system that connects people because it acts to implement the general rule “Love thy neighbor as thyself.” This is to say, if you direct yourself towards love, towards the connection between you, directly towards the Creator, then you will reach the Creator. But if you distort this way slightly, then you veer to the side. This angular distance can be very small, but when you advance, the distance grows.

Therefore, it is forbidden for us to err, we need to correct ourselves all the time: a little more and more, like any tracking system.

We need to pay attention to this, and then it will not be complicated and difficult at all. Very quickly, really immediately, you will feel the right reaction from the world. People will suddenly begin to find you, to turn to you and ask: “Where were you up to now?”
[103915]
From the European Convention in Germany 3/23/13, Lesson 4

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