Let me be in a state in which I do not understand and am unable to connect the thoughts and feelings I am experiencing as a result of it, I am like a shattered vessel that was broken into separate shards, despite this, I perceive this state—these thoughts and desires, and my existence in this reality—as received from the Creator. This is why I have to feel myself as perfect.

The Creator gives me a state that in my opinion is the worst state possible, and I cannot do anything with it. I have neither reason nor feelings for it, but I accept it without any conditions only because it comes from the Creator. Therefore I consider this state to be perfect and as belonging to a higher degree in relation to what I am able to perceive in my Kelim (vessels).

Then I ascend to this upper degree, the degree of bestowal, Bina, which is the degree of faith above reason.

In my opinion, this is a complete shattering because I do not understand anything and cannot connect one with the other. But if I believe that this state comes to me from the Creator, the only and perfect force, the good that does good, then I establish myself with regard to this absolute and increasingly expose myself to the influence of the upper light, to the influence of Bina.

Gradually I begin to understand and feel why the Creator arranged this work for me so I can rise from the will to receive, from all the problems I have, to the will to bestow, from this world to the upper, spiritual world. This is how I rise to the next degree and how I advance toward the state of faith. Even though I do not feel it in my Kelim yet, I am already making room for this concept.

All this is because I do not forget the simple truth: everything I receive now comes to me from the Creator, both the sensation of this world and the sensation of the will to bestow.
[292586]
From the 1^st part of the Daily Kabbalah Lesson 1/18/22, “Faith Above Reason”

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How can you become independent of your feelings? And what is the joy of such work?

The joy is that I can be independent of what I understand and feel because the ability to understand and feel something higher than myself awakens in me. It is as if I am beginning to add another degree to myself, another state, that contains the mind and feelings of an upper level, which is called “above my reason.”

I am working on putting aside my own understanding and feeling. And besides it, I now want to build another higher state in myself, a state where there is a completely different understanding and feeling received from the Creator. Only to Him do I cling, and He defines everything for me. All my feelings and mind are only from Him! There is none else besides Him.

I build this degree above myself and in this form I advance.
[292589]
From the 1^st part of the Daily Kabbalah Lesson 1/18/22, “Faith Above Reason”

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Question: You said that condemning oneself leads a person to prayer. How do we get to the right point to evaluate ourselves when we are in an ocean of concealment?

Answer: At any given moment, you can see absolutely clearly how you feel about your friends. Try to realize what Kabbalists write to us, and you will see how much you disagree with what they write and how much you do not want to get close to other friends, unite with them, and work for them. That is, you will be absolutely clear where you are.

Hence, you will begin to worry about what will happen to you next if you do not change yourself. And in order to change yourself, you must turn to the Creator. That’s it.
[292344]
From the International Convention “Rising Above Ourselves” 1/6/22, “Approaching the Creator Through the Network of Connections Between Us” Lesson 1

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Question: You said that we have a lot of work to do before annulment. What kind of work is it?

Answer: Before annulment, we have the work in preparation where we create a group, study the methodology, etc. But this is still not the beginning of spiritual work.

Spiritual work begins with my practical annulment before the ten when I clearly feel that I must restrict my egoism in order to get closer to my friends.

Moreover, these are not just pretty words. I must clearly feel what I am doing and how close I am to them until our current negative connection becomes positive, when we yearn to replace each other, help each other, and free each other from problems.

And all this will be between us, between our desires and hearts. That is when we can begin to create conditions for the revelation of the Creator.
[292357]
From the International Convention “Rising Above Ourselves” 1/7/22, “Annulling before the Friends” Lesson 2

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How can I see only excellent, superior qualities in all my friends? In an ideal state, I could say that I see an ideal world, ideal people, and ideal friends before me, and only within my egoism do I see shortcomings in my friends, in the world, in the Creator, in everything.

But I gradually adjust myself in such a way as to see the real picture of the world where everything is filled with one Creator—”There is none else besides Him.”

If I want to see the Creator, the upper world, then I can do it only in my corrected properties. And how can I understand, accept, adapt, and improve them? Only to the extent that I raise the group and the friends in my eyes.

All this is within our power and is practically in front of us. This is how we must act. This is a very good calibration, a correct adjustment to the spiritual world. That is why the Creator did it this way. We must try to use it all the time although our egoism will constantly interfere.

Question: What are these higher properties that I am trying to see in my friends?

Answer: They are above yours. They are superior to you in everything.
[292286]
From the International Convention “Rising Above Ourselves” 1/7/22, “Adhering to the Friends” Lesson 3

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Preparation to the Lesson

Lesson on the Topic: “Faith Above Reason” 

Writings of Baal HaSulam “The Peace”  

Selected Highlights 

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Connection is the greatest means of advancement toward the goal. It is the realization of our correction.

The Creator helps us by giving us desires for connection and awakening movement toward understanding and feeling each other in us. Gradually we are approaching the fact that a great multifaceted world group will be formed, and it is already practically being formed, and it will indeed be able to absorb all the power of the upper light and pass it on through itself to the entire humanity.

This is our task, the form of our connection and work. For this the upper force has gathered us together, leads us, and will continue to lead further.

We need to feel how it leads us forward and what we can do to help it and to become its partners.
[292466]
From the International Convention “Rising Above Ourselves” 1/8/22, “Going with Faith above Reason” Lesson 5

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A person can restrict himself only to the extent that he replaces his desires and intentions with those of the group, with purposeful ones.

Restricting yourself does not mean that you simply block some desire. You must always replace it with something that is higher and more preferable. If it is desirable for you to restrict your egoistic desires, then you will achieve this. Otherwise it cannot be done. Only if the group gives you an understanding that this is the most important thing will you be able to restrict your ego.

Question: Does this law work like this wherever a group is formed?

Answer: This law works to the extent that you want to follow it. Therefore it is said that spirituality is concealed. It is concealed because we have to reveal it with our yearnings.
[292462]
From the International Convention “Rising Above Ourselves” 1/8/22, “Deriving the Greatness of the Goal from the Friends” Lesson 4

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Question: Why is it better and more successful to see the merits of a friend within reason and not above reason?

Answer: Because, in general, it is true. You are trying to raise them above reason in order to artificially rise above your egoism. But then you still come to a state when you reveal everything within reason.

However, we work only above reason at first because we have nothing but egoism. Therefore, we try to jump above it, rise above it, and look at the world with non-egoistic eyes.
[292367]
From the International Convention “Rising Above Ourselves” 1/7/22, “Adhering to the Friends” Lesson 3

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Question: How can I know that we have corrected something? Where do feeling and the mind come from? Is a correction measurable?

Answer: We don’t yet know how to measure concealment or revelation.

We are only in preliminary sensations. They do not yet have those forces, the height of which will be determined by us as giving or receiving. We can’t do that yet.

It all depends on the intensity of our work with each other. In general we need to strengthen our actions in order to reach a state where we really understand the quality of connection or the quality of distance between us.

Question: How do we stop identifying ourselves with our egoism and how do we distance from it?

Answer: For this we need practice. From how we act among ourselves, we can see whether we identify ourselves with egoism or with the quality of bestowal and to what extent. Only then will we be able to measure it. In the meantime we do not measure, but at least begin to feel more or less.

It all depends on us. If you translate the science of Kabbalah into relations between friends, then you will see it all in a practical form and will be able to measure, feel, and then repeat. And to do this, you need to start implementing it in connection with each other in the group.
[292441]
From the International Convention “Rising Above Ourselves” 1/6/22, “Approaching the Creator Through the Network of Connections Between Us” Lesson 1

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