Question: There are so many beautiful bright people and forces in this world. And in spirituality, it is said, “There is none else besides Him,” dryly and simply. How can I feel attraction to the spiritual world and taste and pleasure from it so that I will want to rush there?

Answer: How can you feel an attraction to the upper world? If you felt more attraction than you do now, you would be driven by your egoism, you would never be able to rise above it to overcome it, and you would hasten there. So it is concealed in order to give us as the opportunity to make efforts that are above our ego, not for our self-benefit.

If we moved to the upper world through our egoism, we would forever stay within our selfishness, we would have no chance to get out of our egoistic shell, and we would be buried in it, buried alive. We would never go beyond the egoistic sphere.

If the upper world were revealed to you right now, you would immediately understand that this material realm is worth nothing at all! We would clearly see that people are animals that live only to feed themselves. I feel sorry for this life; at this point, nothing is worth our efforts, there is no sense to have children and continue suffering…nothing really matters! Is it clear? Then what?

Ah, there is the upper world! First and foremost, it’s eternity that is beyond any limitations. Time, movement, information, everything becomes completely open to us. Time ceases to exist; it only exists in this world, as physicists say, only below the speed of light. Information becomes completely available there. One begins sensing oneself as existing in infinite space. One acquires absolute knowledge about everything that is going on in the entire system of the worlds, in the whole universe, since this system is analog. There is not a system clock, it does not work on pulses; it is always in continuous motion and at the same time rests in calmness. You feel that you are inside of it and at the same time you know that It somehow exists within you, meaning that you are everything there is!

If you happen to see even the smallest piece of that picture, even one gram of it, you’d become a slave to this sensation. Baal HaSulam writes that if the revelation of the upper worlds to us would happen before the contraction of our desires (at which point a man becomes able to keep his egoism to himself and even rise above it), then even one drop of revelation of this enormous pleasure would force one to chop off his hands and feet seven times a day just to experience this sensation once in his lifetime.

Do you understand? You would be a slave and couldn’t do anything at all except to pursue this pleasure. You would make huge efforts in the group and everywhere else only to receive this sort of pleasure. In other words, you would aspire to it egoistically, and thus you would distance yourself away from it even more.

Question: How can we possibly want to achieve that state if we don’t have powers of our own?

Answer: Ask your friends. Only they can ensure your future. If they go for it, you’ll have it, if not, you won’t.
[85914]
From the Kharkov Convention “Uniting to Ascend” 8/17/12, Lesson 1

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Presently, I am in a fragmented reality that is divided into two parts: my “I” and the external world. This separation explains exactly what Kabbalists wanted to tell us: “You have a chance to connect these two parts, internal and external, together into one entity. You have to do it; this is the program of creation. If you participate in reconnecting them, you’ll perceive the internal reality in which you were before the shattering occurred.”

Kabbalists tell us about the group, dissemination, and the significance of bowing our heads before our friends. The group is nothing but “externality” to us, but it’s already at the human (Adam) level. Those who have a point in the heart, the urge to become similar to the Creator, belong to this level. So, the Kabbalists tell us: “In your reality, there are people who are similar to you and who also strive to unite. They are special selected parts of your soul. One way or the other, everything is a part of your soul. So, you should use these parts, since they are designed to help you; they come to meet you.”

From there, I begin to understand what’s written in the articles that speak of the group, unity, the need to bow one’s head before the group, and of the relationships among friends. All of the above describes the auxiliary force, which stands out from this world, the one that is detached from our other parts that are spread throughout the Universe. The whole Universe is just me; it’s my current sensation. Even things that I can’t feel at this time are still me. It simply means that I haven’t collected the whole range of sensations within myself yet and that my perception of reality is not deep enough as of now.

So, at the highest (speaking) level, there are certain parts that really are helping me, since they encompass the same aspiration as I do. As a result if I happen to unite with them, I correct all other parts of my soul.

Where do I start? I begin with the most sensitive and developed part that is next to me, humankind. It’s still about one’s integrated soul, which we lead towards correction. If one regards everything from this angle, looks deeper, and realizes what Kabbalists write about, then one begins to better understand their texts, their world outlook, and the way they perceived reality and the whole process.

The main thing is to break the “ice” and “dissolve” the common routine self-perception as well as the way we regard the world. We should keep in mind that everything that exists is only our “I”, and that any externality in fact is still inside us. Everything is a picture that we imagine at a certain point in time. Although, we are also given a chance to realize and sense that another approach to this issue is also possible. In his  “Preface to The Book of Zohar” (Item 34), Baal HaSulam writes: …Even though we see everything as actually being in front of us, every reasonable person knows for certain that all that we see is only within our own brains. So are the souls: Although they see all the images in the Giver, they still have no doubt that all these are only in their own interior, and not at all in the Giver.

Another question is what level of “common sense” do we need for that? Of course, it’s not that easy and is not available to everybody. However, if we get ourselves acquainted with psychologists’ and quantum physicists’ opinion, we would discover that their understanding of reality is very similar. Baal HaSulam very much respected materialistic psychology since it’s built on common empiric sense: “A person can be governed only by what one sees.” Psychologists are still partially confused with their hypothesis, whereas physicists talk about these things very seriously: everything is within a person.

So, we have to overcome a gap in our perception. If we constantly apply effort, not physically but rather internally, in order to connect these two parts, internal and external, together, we’ll elicit the Reforming Light and correct our corrupt vessels. The vessel is damaged only inside of our perception, nowhere else. It splits the entire picture and shows some of my vessels as being outside, and the other part as inside. All this is only in our perception.

In order get a correct understanding of the above, we read the articles and letters written by Kabbalists. If we try to understand them from this point of view, they are not what they appear to us in the ordinary psychological approach. They open up much greater depth and clarity, and we’ll feel what Kabbalists had in mind. Because they see the world as a complete entity, united, for them it is concentrated in the point of unity that a person has to attain. They have no question about the need to unite into one group, nor why the “drop of unity” has to be everybody’s goal.

So, together with us now in selected parts of humanity are those who aspire to unite together. If we all think about it and wish to reveal unity, it will happen. In principle, it is sufficient for it to be ten people, and we are much more.

And again, our unity has to be built on the basis of equality. It’s said: “Love thy neighbor as thyself.” Equality will allow us to form a center of unity, the central point of Malchut.
[89163]
From the North Convention of Unity 9/20/12, Lesson 2

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Every time we want to transition to the next state we have to build it. After all, it doesn’t exist: There is no spiritual world, no Creator—nothing. I build everything within me, and everything there depends solely on me, on my “construction.” It means that when I ascend to higher levels, I have to form and visualize them in front of me: “What will my next step of advancement look like?”

My next step is as follows: There is no “us,” only “I”; everything is inside of me and a part of me. Each time I rise to a new step, I see the whole world inside of me, in my perception and sensations.

Then again, the world seems to me as a place that is alienated, separated, and shattered into various conflicting states. So, I have to assemble all its parts back together again—within me, and to relate to everything with love and unity, without any exceptions.

This is the way I ascend all 125 steps, each time increasing the range, the resolution of the picture of perception. With each step, I take a deeper look into the shattering and correct it to the corresponding degree. It’s my perception and my sensation that was broken. It fractures our unity into small splinters, partly distant, opposite, and hateful to me.

In his “Preface to The Book of Zohar” Baal HaSulam writes: …we should be so grateful to His Providence for having created that polished mirror in our brains, enabling us to see and perceive everything outside of us. This is because by that He has given us the power to perceive everything with clear knowledge and attainment, and measure everything from within and from without. Without it, we would lose most of our perception.

In other words, we would never attain the only authentic state that exists. We simply would not get any closer to it, nor would we understand or sense its depth if we didn’t go through the shattering. This is why our authentic state is deliberately broken into pieces and each of them opposes, contradicts the others. What once used to be one whole now is split; the parts that were similar now are antagonistic. It’s beyond our imagination.

We are trying to reconnect them through our own efforts by bowing our heads and consenting with our friends. I want to fill the gaps between them; I would do everything I can to reconnect them together inside of myself due to my love and correct attitude. By persuading myself in this way, I come to a profound understanding of the essence of Malchut of the world of Infinity, which in fact is my unified soul.

The depth of our realization depends on the revelation of the shattering and the understanding of its opposite, the wholeness. The gap between them is so huge that it requires special tools, the vessels. So, it’s said that we have to enlarge our vessels “620” times, meaning to reach a depth that is comparable to Infinity. Besides, in the gap between both states (broken and complete) we reveal the Lights of NRNHY.

Actually, everything we feel in this world is built upon contrasts: bitter and sweet, dark and light, hatred and love, etc. It even applies to music and perception of colors. We perceive everything as the difference between its corrupt and corrected forms; one is always opposite the other.

So, Infinity has always been perfect. We are now talking about our attainment: When we sense something that doesn’t have its opposite, we can only feel the tiny Light of Nefesh–de–Nefesh. In our world, no single particle of any substance lacks two poles, a plus and as a minus. Even an electron (charged negatively) or a positron (charged positively) both still hide opposites within them, which are yet to be discovered. After the shattering occurred, there is not even the tiniest particle that doesn’t contain its opposite, even though it presents itself to us only in one aspect, through one borderline, without revealing the other.

Initially, while the creature was in the world of Infinity, it was in a totally unconscious, mindless state. It had nothing to make comparisons with; there was no space between the two poles—a place for thoughts and perception.

Then, the Infinity split into the parts of the world of Nekudim. Now, we can understand and sense its depth. This is the perception of reality, to which we aspire. It’s our life, an unprecedented harmony, a symphony of minuses and pluses that encompass the entire attainment, the whole understanding between the two states: corrupted and whole.
[89214]
From the North Convention of Unity 9/20/12, Lesson 2

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Our main force is the ego. Except for the ego there is only one small point in everyone’s heart and we have to connect these points. If we connect them into one big point, we’ll feel the spiritual world inside. Then everything will come together: me, the group, and the upper force.

On the other hand, the ego wants to push all our points away from one another. It’s actually meant to push us in the opposite direction from connection, and this is why it’s called a “help against.”

How should we build an environment that will help us fulfill the points in the heart and our egoistic forces so that together we’ll connect into one big wonderful point? Despite the interruptions of the ego, by using it, we want to connect our points in the heart into one point. How can we use the power of the ego to achieve this goal?

The point is that I don’t know the way to the spiritual world. For me it’s a question mark hidden from me. How can I reveal it? How can I focus myself correctly? With the help of the group, I use my ego in the opposite way; it becomes a “helpmate” (Ezer Ke Negdo) and helps me focus myself accurately on spirituality, on the Creator. This is only possible in the group when I work with the point in the heart in order to turn the ego in the opposite direction, (the broken green line in the drawing). Then instead of pulling me downwards, the ego will direct me correctly, so that I can enter the spiritual world.

So there is only an ego and a point in the heart in a person, and with the help of the group, we change the ego and find the way to advance in the opposite direction each time.

Actually, it isn’t only about the egoistic desire to receive different things in our world. It’s a special ego aimed only against connection, against the collective point in which I discover the spiritual world. This is why I disregard and ignore all the desires and the thoughts that are not related to connection. Instead I work in the group trying to connect with others, and I discover how opposite I am from that: I don’t want anything of the kind, I hate the friends and I can’t even think about connecting with them. It’s this repulsion that’s the real ego opposite connection. Everything else doesn’t matter.

The group has a key role here: It increases the importance of unity in my eyes and constantly spurs me and obligates me to keep it. Only the environment (Sviva) leads me to the unknown, serving as a model that helps me subdue myself and still connect internally. The environment actually brings me to connection.

Thus we actually ascend to the first level (step 1) above the Machsom (barrier) when we turn our entire ego, all the rejection and the resistance to connection and unity to the opposite direction—to the force of connection and unity. This is the meaning of “help against.”

Then we move on to the second level. Here the ego is revealed again, but this time bigger than before, since it already belongs to the next level (step 2). Here I have the choice of unity with the help of the group, where the ego begins to show itself again. If I am not attracted to unity, I don’t discover it.

This is why strangers don’t understand what ego we are talking about. The point is that it isn’t just human relations; it isn’t about good deeds and intrigues. People believe that treating others badly is egoism and treating others well is altruism. We judge only by the point of unity. Therefore, after I discover the first level, I want to go on and connect to the group. I discover the ego on the second level (Ego2), and I work against it and ascend to the second level. On the whole there are 125 such levels on the way.

Eventually I reach perfect unity, with all of humanity; we are all together in one point called the “drop of unity.”

What kind of environment should it be in order to allow me to discover the right ego, to separate it from the animal ego of this world, and to turn it into a driving force? How should the environment influence me so that I will reach the goal?

Furthermore, how should we use our conventions, when we mutually influence one another, so that this powerful connection will allow each of us to discover the point of unity: “Where is it? What should I do in order to attain it? How do I enter the upper world? How do I discover it?”

How should we worry about everyone in order to allow them to reach this inner point (the center of the group), our “womb” (Rechem)? After all, we enter the group as if we enter a mother’s womb, and we develop like an embryo. How can we prepare such a “wrapping” for each of us, in which each one will develop like from a drop of semen?

[89247]
From the Convention in Italy Day One, 9/28/12, Workshop 1

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Question: How should a new student who joins the group be awakened to do the right kind of work?

Answer: The group leads him to certain actions and gives him a chance. It isn’t by chance that we live here and not in a different reality. In the world of actions we can exist even on the “animal” level, detached from spirituality, which we build above us. Above my current attributes, I gradually create the image of a human being. I build it by the connection with the friends and by creating the force of the Creator among us. These are all internal spiritual actions that are above our current selves.

In the meantime we connect on the corporeal level without spiritual intentions, and thus we build the environment. We have the necessary infrastructure to do that, which is “this world” from which we begin our spiritual advancement. We have a rare opportunity here: On the one hand, this basis is adaptable in a way to the spiritual world, and on the other hand, it allows us to exist without any adaptation to it. The reality that I see and feel in my five corporeal senses is actually a precious gift: I am on the verge of a spiritual action here, a spiritual ascent, and at the same time I can influence spirituality.

Question: And what can I do if I am the opposite and I am inclined to detachment? For example, a convention is approaching, and I don’t want to go. Is this the shattering?

Answer: Of course. What is more, the lack of desire to go to the convention is not the strongest interruption yet.

If you were invited to a party that you liked, you would gladly join it, since the flavors that you like and the performances and everything that “blows up” your ego is waiting for you there, so you would run when you got the first call.

Here, however, you advance spiritually, and so you feel that the convention is a place to exert yourself. This is where the rejection stems from: Suddenly you become lazy, and you feel disrespect, and “something more important” comes up and there are other calculations…this is all a result of the Light that illuminates for you, so it is a good thing, but use it where you see a place to work.

The more we advance, the more we feel this way. Accordingly you will see that there are fewer and fewer people among us. Now we assume that the more we advance the more of us there will be, but in fact it isn’t so.

In 2007 I was on a tour in ten cities in America and there were about 600 people in every lecture that I gave, and 2,000 people in New York. Today, however, there are about 50-100 people.

Why is that so? Because we have advanced and so has the public. People are not that attracted to the word “Kabbalah” itself. They understand more and they know that it is about internal work. Thanks to the Lights that are closer now, people understand something new and on the whole they don’t want to come to the lectures or go to the conventions.

There is a small minority left and these are the people who will fulfill the correction. All the rest will join the “pioneers” in some way but only by the way of sufferings. Very few move forward by the Light while the rest move by sufferings…
[89505]
From the 4^th part of the Daily Kabbalah Lesson 10/4/12, Writings of Baal HaSulam

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Rabash, “Association of Mercy with Judgment”: … when there is open Providence, there is no room for choice. For this reason, the Upper One raised Malchut, which is Midat Ha Din (the Quality of Judgment) to the Eynaim (eyes). This created a concealment, meaning it became apparent to the lower one that there is a deficiency in the Upper One.

On one hand, the Upper One is elevated, and on the other hand, the lower one doesn’t find Him appealing; there is something repulsive. On one hand, a spark in the desire (a point in the heart) is anxious to attain spirituality. Moreover, the external world presses on us and concocts numerous negative circumstances; it does not promise any pleasures except the ones that we might receive in the future. On the other hand, we have to compromise, since we clearly see a deficiency in the upper.

What kind of deficiency is that? The upper one is not as bright, attractive, or beautiful as we thought.

In that state, the qualities of the Upper One are placed with the lower one; that is, they are deficient. It follows that these Kelim (vessels) are equal to the lower one: as there is no sustenance to the lower one, there is no sustenance to the Higher qualities.

Here are the sensations that the lower one goes through: At first, I really aspired to the next stage, I rushed to it more and more, and then I discovered what the meaning of my next step is. It turned out to be unity with and love for my friends. It turns out that I have to feel them all as one heart; I also have to give up a lot of things; moreover I should be applying lots of exertions and be happy with what I do. And, I don’t feel happy at all…

A place between the two gaps is in fact a point of choice. Every day, each of us senses an endless number of these points. If we happen to clasp them and select the right one, or at least try to do so, then we would discover the upper one within the shortest time possible. We should never miss them! Although, when these moments happen, we don’t feel any need in anything at all; we simply surrender to our sensations and continue to live our miserable lives.

While analyzing our next, higher, and more advanced state, we discover that it is full of concerns and that it brings lots of problems to our current egoism. One has to love one’s friends, serve them, think of them, and take good care of them, treat them better than oneself.

“Who needs it? Are we capable of this kind of behavior?” Doesn’t it mean that we sense a deficiency in the upper one or that we don’t find enough energy or life sustenance in Him? Sometimes, for a couple of minutes we feel a nice sensation, an inspiration; however, as a rule it is the other way around.

It is called a descent: One neither feels life in the upper one, nor does one find it in the state of bestowal, love, or unity. One has no desire to correct oneself.

In that state, there is room for choice.

This is exactly a state that offers us a choice. It’s a very important moment of self-acknowledgment: I don’t want anything, I have no needs, I am getting weak, and am ready to surrender unless the state I am in modifies itself without my participation. There is nothing that attracts me, neither in material nor spiritual life: I feel hopeless in both worlds.

… the lower one must say that all this concealment that one feels is because the Upper One restricted Himself in favor of the lower one. This is called, “when Israel is in exile, Divinity is with them.”

In such cases, we should come to an understanding that the upper one deliberately “plays” this game with us. He cannot do otherwise; He cannot embrace and elevate me as if I were a balloon. If He did so, I would never attain anything and would remain a baby in the adult’s hands forever. Of course, a baby feels good and safe; he can even play at the height he is elevated to, but he doesn’t grow.

The lower one grows only if he strives to reach the upper. One cannot abide without personal exertions. The upper one should not raise the lower one if the latter doesn’t partake in the process. Otherwise, the upper one simply would “destroy” the lower one by not letting him grow and advance. It’s similar to a situation when parents do their child’s homework for the child.

So, we have to realize that the upper one helps us absolutely every given moment. There shouldn’t be even one second of waiting for something to happen on His behalf as if He ever hesitates. From the point of view of the upper one, we are always in the optimum state for our further advancement. We should keep paying attention to various signs through which He addresses us by His intentionally descending to our current state.

…whatever flavor one tastes, one says that it is not his fault for not tasting liveliness, but that in his view there really is no life in the Upper One.

Although, one has to clearly understand what is going on.

And if one becomes stronger and says that the bitter taste he finds in these nourishments is only because he does not have the proper vessels to receive the abundance, because his vessels are for reception and not for bestowal, and regrets the Upper One having to hide Himself…

So, our vessels, desires, are corrupt. In fact, if the upper one would descend to us, we would sense Infinity since each of our next steps is the world of Infinity for us. That is why it has not been disclosed to us yet: We don’t recognize it in our vessels. We perceive it only within a very narrow range; whereas, there is something enormous and multi-faceted in front of us. We simply don’t see the higher level; it covers up everything around from one horizon to another; there are no boundaries that define the space for us.

As a result, the upper one descends to us in the form of a depressed, unsafe, and corrupt world. Moreover, we approach states and sensations that will be even more devastating for us. The upper one lowers to us in order to let us sense Him. The lower He is, the worse we and the world around us will look in our eyes, since our properties are opposite to His.

That’s the reason we are currently experiencing a crisis; the upper one approaches us, thus making us unconsciously sense the difference between Him and us. The “crisis” is a gap between our current state and the state of the upper one. We have to come to balance and stay in harmony with Him, and that requires integral education that will help us understand Him better.

In general, this is a point of freewill. We have to realize that each thing that we sense as being less than Infinity is a state that was specifically formed for us by the upper one in order to give us a chance to choose.

It means that we should feel sorry not about the fact that the world we live in is bad and that we are miserable here, but rather about the point that the upper one had to lower to us, to diminish Himself and present Himself as being smaller than He really is, and that He even had to look unappealing and evil in our eyes.

…this allows the lower one to slander; this is considered MAN that the lower one raises.

On one hand, we notice that the upper one is low; besides, the higher level doesn’t look attractive to us yet. On the other hand, we recognize that it only seems so to us in our sensations. If we perceived the world through real vessels, we would regard the upper one as the Infinity within us. This discrepancy is the core difference between this realm and the world of Infinity.

So, at this point we raise MAN: our request to be corrected. We look for possibilities to justify Him, nothing but validation of Him. Let our states stay the same; let them not bring us any pleasant sensations anymore: All we need is to justify His actions and thank Him for acting so. Consequently, we don’t ask for our own sake, but rather for the sake of the upper one. We request power and understanding, but we don’t ask for sensations; all we should care about is the justification of Him no matter that we continue feeling bad. If our sensations improve, we will egoistically praise Him. No, that’s not what we need. On the contrary, we want our sensations to remain the same, but rather that our understanding and perception be altered. Thus, we grow.

We consist of two parts: intellect and emotions, aspirations and desires. We go forward using both of them as we use both legs while walking. Let’s say, I want to stay in my current sensations, and by “leaning” on this “leg” I make a step ahead with the other “leg”; that is, I stop being blind, see my current state, and justify it, or let’s say I want to expand my brain, then if my sensations remain intact, I really advance since I justify my emotional state although I continue to suffer, but I realize that I grow due to my affliction. I am not sold out to or bribed by a good sensation.

Later on, when our minds expand, we will lean on our new intellect, and if it stays the same, we will ascend to the next level of sensations. Besides, our emotions will not overshadow the intellect, as it happens when pleasures force us to lose our mind.

It’s the other way around; we make one step with one “leg,” while at the same time leaning on the other “leg”: When we fix our emotions, our intellect rises; when we fix the mind, our sensations rise. Consequently, we go through endless changes in both our minds and sensations.
[89207]
From the North Convention of Unity 9/20/12, Lesson 2 

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Question: In March you said that by the end of summer we would definitely make a breakthrough into spirituality. The summer is over. You say that you have a problem with coordinates. What is your next prognosis?

Answer: I think that the point we’ve reached today will give us a strong push toward nullifying ourselves. After all, therein lies the problem. If I am able to do something, then I’m above the Machsom. I think that the sensation we received at the congress gives us that foundation. Now it seems to me that all we have to do is give it a few more pushes. As far as when it will happen, I hope that such states will come at any time, even during the morning lesson. But they must come in a critical form; there must be birthing pains. This is what we’re lacking. The birth is stalling.
[89426]
From “A Virtual Lesson on Fundamentals of Kabbalah “9/23/12

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Question: During the convention I feel that the group is a small part of something big. How can we keep this fire going in dissemination too? How can we not forget that there is a group and that there is something huge behind it and that it is the unity of the friends that fills our work with meaning?

Answer: During the convention we feel a great force; we look at the screens and see the friends from all over the world. With us there are hundreds of groups and thousands of people sitting alone who we don’t even know. Of course, it enables us to feel something, but we have to try to receive the fuel from something else—from advancing humanity towards the revelation.

You are actually asking how we can receive fuel. Of course, it is the impression from a big group that first fuels us; here everyone knows me and encourages me; everyone sees what I do, and together we want to change the world. In short, it is the power of egoism that is active here.

But later the scale of values changes in us. You exerted yourself, you acted, even egoistically, by wanting to bring your beliefs and outlook to the whole world and suddenly you discover that you have run out of fuel.

This is how the Reshimot (reminiscences) change. It is because there is nothing but that which can change. Our Reshimo is the only changeable parameter, the only factor that changes. And here it changes in order to allow you to work in a non egoistic manner, not wanting to impose your opinion on the world, to prove that you are right, and to take the helm.

The next Reshimo enables you to think more altruistically: “The head of the angle is not we and not me. Let no one know, not even myself, whether I achieve any results.” This approach is already closer to spirituality and that is the way you are advanced forward from Above.

More intensive support from the group is needed here. If you connect more strongly with the friends, you will feel that you have purer powers than before, “I really don’t care whether my work is fruitful. Just like sportsmen, I don’t need to see the result. I want to close my eyes and to act only in one direction, without checking the ‘inbox.’ I don’t care whom I have influenced and to what extent he has changed. I feel that I can bring something to the world, I tighten my connection with the friends and move outward, and there is nothing in response.”

So where can you get the energy from? After all, in a situation like this a person remains like an engine without fuel. He doesn’t have the driving force; he needs some response. Here he begins to demand internally: “I have to see myself in the force of bestowal!” It is like changing a conventional engine with an electric engine, switching from gasoline to electricity, to another form of energy. This is what you demand, “The desire to bestow must be revealed to me! If I cannot work within my desire to receive, I need the desire to bestow!”

Then you will get it.
[89297]
From the Convention in Italy, Day Three 9/30/12, Lesson 2

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There is an increasingly growing need for connection in the world today. On the one hand, the integral connection in the world is revealed, and on the other hand, the lack of our adaptability to it is expressed in the form of a crisis.

In order to help people who have the urge for spiritual development, which means for connection and unity, in this unity, in resembling nature, we will be able to reveal the upper force that manages it, to feel, see, and learn to master the system that controls us, the so-called upper world—for this we gather and want to gradually adapt ourselves to the state of balance with this system, with nature. Such a gradual, step-by-step approach is called the levels of the spiritual ascent, a spiritual equivalence.

These are serious, complex levels since we must overcome them and resist our ego. It is by resisting it that we get to know and attain this system.

Just as every system in our world operates on two counteracting forces (plus and minus, contraction and expansion, and so on), in between them there is a mechanical, electrical, pneumatic, or other mechanism, and these two forces are the forces of the development and motion of this mechanism, and in our bodies there are two constantly opposing forces. On the whole, they can be reduced to forces of absorption, absorption and secretion. We exist on the basis of these two forces. They more or less counterbalance or alternately act on levels of nature except for one interesting object: man.

A human being is under the influence of one force only: the egoistic force that controls, manages and rules him, and does whatever it wishes with him. There is no other force that is opposite to our ego, and this is our problem. So, we cannot be balanced, wise, and do what we want, but constantly do what the egoistic force compels us to do, even though it may harm us.

Look at what is happening in the world now! We are sawing off the branch that we are sitting on. We are polluting the air we breathe, cutting down forests, turning large areas into dry deserts, causing icebergs to melt, and bringing about disastrous changes in the climate so that soon it will be impossible to exist on this planet. The pace of this crisis is accelerating threateningly, and we cannot do anything about it.

Why is nature doing this? It is to show us the extent to which we are managed by this one egoistic force and how much we lack the other force that is opposite to it to at least reach a balance. Even if we were totally opposite to the egoistic force, even if we were absolute altruists, we couldn’t exist either. After all, there must be a balancing force between these two forces, the law of equilibrium, the law of the correct switching.

So, we need the other force, and we don’t have it. However, it is found on the levels of the still, vegetative, and animate natures. It is instinct!

Instinct causes animals to perform certain actions and not others. It restrains them and doesn’t push them to perform misguided actions. If a lion sees a stronger lion, he will retreat. There is a clear chain of command, check the strength and instant retreat. That is, there are restraining forces with regard to nature and to different phenomena, no matter what. Animals operate according to the simple principle of the ordinary animal ego that is balanced by a protective instinct.

We don’t have that. We are deprived of it, but we need to acquire it since otherwise we will find ourselves in a condition that threatens our existence!

The wisdom of Kabbalah is revealed in our times so that, somehow, we will be able to acquire this second force that restrains and balances our ego. It is opposite to the ego. It is called altruism, the force of bestowal, the force of love.

If we can discover this force in nature and, in some way, perceive it inside us and begin to mutually balance the two forces, we can be sure that that our existence will be secure, comfortable, good, and desirable. Otherwise, our future development will be simply disastrous. We see how we are lost in the ego from day to day and that it will begin to consume us while we are still alive and eventually leave us no hope of survival.

This is why we hold conventions. We do this in order to acquire the force that is opposite to the ego, to try to balance the two opposing forces inside us, and to attain the middle point in which we can be free—with freewill, freedom of choice—so that we can manage ourselves and advance. This is what we want to achieve.
[89240]
From “A Virtual Lesson on Fundamentals of Kabbalah” 9/23/12

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Each congress is a certain milestone, a certain level in our ascending to spirituality; we gradually begin to feel what is meant by unity, adhesion, and connection and what our development requires of us.

During workshops, lessons, and especially during congresses, each time, we push forward and break through to another level that advances us towards the great force, the altruistic force of nature.

From within it, in turn, we begin to perceive our ego. We begin to understand the meaning of our nature by our control of the new force of altruism and by beginning to attain it and reveal its contradictory meaning, the inner depth of the altruistic force. We see how great and wonderful these two forces are, if used correctly. Through studying both of these forces at the same time, with their help, we begin to see the depth of nature: its inanimate, vegetative, and animate components, and also the next levels of nature.

How can we grow further by continuing to develop both these forces in balance? The forces of egoism and altruism will continue to grow in us. But what is there beyond the horizon, that is, beyond the level of “Adam (man/human)”?

Let’s suppose, that we balanced all of this within us and on our animate level we arrived at a state where we completely control ourselves, that all of our actions are completely balanced, rational, and are found in the so-called middle line. Is there a continuation of the growth?

And here we really reveal the wonderful attribute of balance of these two lines. If you have attained balance, then both lines begin to lead you, like legs, alternately, this time the force of minus (egoism) grows, and next time the positive force (altruism) grows, and thus alternately, like two legs, you advance one step after the other forward. Together with this, your growth is not limited. Everything depends only on you.
[89235]
From “A Virtual Lesson on Fundamentals of Kabbalah” 9/23/12

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