Entries in the 'Education' Category

Facing A Choice

Dr. Michael LaitmanCurrently, we’re receiving fairly strong negative action from nature with its pressure toward integral unification, but humanity doesn’t recognize this yet. Our challenge is to present mankind with this opportunity and to prevent the nihilism, alienation, and desolation that are already being felt in all the media.

On one hand, it‘s becoming not just fashionable but threatening. Earlier it might have helped relieve some kind of tension in society to lower consumer demand and gradually reduce our insatiable needs (our unlimited use of natural resources, and so on). Currently it’s starting to become dangerous because society itself is becoming subject to very bad internal influences. It’s similar to the way Hitler came to power, like all kinds of despots and tyrants usurp the throne, and so on.

On the other hand, if we don’t show the next state to humanity, especially to its developed part, then even in order to return to the previous state it’s possible that war awaits us ahead. After all, if people with enormous wealth see it slipping out of their hands since everything is becoming devalued, they will unleash a war. In the end, despite immense destruction and billions of human and technological losses, a new market will emerge and the rich can continue to profit, like a person who just had a full meal and is waiting until he becomes hungry again in order to re-engage in the process of satiation.

We see that there are two ways out. If we don’t give mankind a new paradigm of development, it will inevitably lead to war as the only possible solution. There’s a lot of research on this subject. This is planned within nature itself, which pushes us to find a solution under the influence of various disasters.

Or alternatively, we arrange it so that human society will begin to develop towards a new state, a new dimension, and then we will smoothly transition into it. But for that it’s necessary to initiate integral education.
[82114]
From a “Talk on Integral Education” 5/25/2012

Related Material:
The World Must Know The Truth!
Cause And Effect
A School You Don’t Drop Out Of

Healthcare For One’s Pocket

Dr. Michael LaitmanIn the News (from Dawn): “Indian pharmaceutical tycoon Yusuf Hamied revolutionised AIDS treatment more than a decade ago by supplying cut-price drugs to the world’s poor – and now he wants to do the same for cancer.

“Hamied, 76, was pilloried by Western drug giants 11 years ago when he broke their monopoly by offering to supply life-saving triple therapy AIDS drug cocktails for under $1 a day – one-thirtieth the price of the multinationals.

The firms branded him an intellectual property thief while he accused them of being ‘global serial killers’ whose high prices were costing the lives of AIDS patients.

“In 1972, India made only the process for making drugs patentable, not the drugs themselves. This meant firms could ‘reverse-engineer’ or change methods used to make medicines and sell them at up to one-fiftieth of US prices. …

“But in 2005, India brought its law in line with World Trade Organization (WTO) rules recognising 20-year patents, pushing up the prices of newly launched drugs.”

My Comment: It is not surprising that a healthcare system in any country is only a hidden means of collecting taxes and feeding trough for its supportors. This happens to any egoistic system and to any altruistic initiative that quickly turns egoistic if it doesn’t include integral education and upbringing.
[82033]

Related Material:
Pharmaceutical Industry In Crisis
Head Of WHO: “The End Of Modern Medicine As We Know It”
Medicine: A Profitable Business

Temperament, Astrology, Integrality…

Dr. Michael LaitmanQuestion: In ancient Greece, the birthplace of the foundations of psychology, four types of people were distinguished according to their individual characteristics: sanguine, phlegmatic, melancholic, and choleric.

In modern psychology, the branch dealing with diagnostics of individual qualities is very broad. A person wants to know about himself and his properties in order to maximize his potential.

Why don’t we use, let’s say, 16 types of individual properties in the integral methodology, instead of only four?

Answer: Because these are egoistic qualities corresponding to four types of egoism. But there is one more, the fifth one, which all of the other ones come from and which doesn’t have its own shape. Indeed, this corresponds to a four-level structure of human perception and his soul. But all of that is related to egoism.

While egoism was still at work, we really could divide people into these types, and make calculations with respect to their zodiac signs. Up to this day, many magazines publish all kinds of divination.

But we see that this is nothing we can really work with. Why do we relate to a fact that has outlived itself? We have become different people, and we no longer have that. Outwardly, each corresponding temperament manifests itself, of course, but there is nothing we can do with it today.

If before you could pick a pair according to the sign of the zodiac, try to select a couple according to astrology today. Would you get happy marriages from that? No. If you give some advice to a sanguine and other advice to a choleric, would they be happy? No. So why do we need this old classification?

It used to be correct about the older active egoism that was linear, individual, and directed towards self-needs.

But now I no longer have my personal needs. I don’t want anything. They went up to the next level where I feel some need, but can’t tell what it is. I don’t see where to find the source of fulfilling my needs. I get into some kind of sexual perversion or spend time somehow, in order to forget myself. In addition to that, I get into drugs, terror, or something else because I don’t see the source of pleasure.

And it can come to me only through the integral society when I place myself into it. Thus, I must enter the integral society and then in there, in its heart, I’ll find the source of my fulfillment. But today, a person is still not at the level where he realizes that.
[81700]
From a “Talk on Integral Upbringing” 5/24/12

Related Material:
And Won’t Need Sedatives
Rejecting Our Present Selves
We Are Not Equal…

And Won’t Need Sedatives

Dr. Michael LaitmanQuestion: A member of our organization, a very emotional adult, developed sleep problems. He went to see a specialist and was prescribed a medication called Ritalin. I was simply shocked by this. His problem is that he does not express himself enough, according to his nature, and the doctor limits his self-expression even more.

Should this impulsive, naturally vocal person still be given a place in the organization for him to realize himself?

Answer: If you help him properly set his mind towards group work, he will feel such strength from it, such a warm organization, that he will have no problem restraining himself, so other people will have no problem actively participating in the discussion. This happens automatically; every person becomes its balanced particle under the influence of the common field. Thus no pressure or limitation is needed here.

We understand that specialists have no other tools at their disposal; they automatically prescribe Ritalin, and this basically is the essence of their profession, if it may be called so today.

People need to be put together in a circle, given a proper intention, attitude, and instructions; you need to watch them to make sure that they behave in an undulating manner in relation to the group, going up and down. Everyone moves similar to the way you churn cream to make butter: above the group – beneath the group, above the group – beneath the group.

And suddenly a new body appears between them, which has an absolutely new life of its own. And as they feel themselves in it, they begin to feel that this new thing is the next stage of my development, I am in it. Instead of associating myself with my body, I associate myself with this something common we have all begotten together, and there I am no longer sanguine, choleric, phlegmatic, or melancholic, I simply include everything in me. I am all the qualities put together.
[81689]
From a “Talk on Integral Upbringing” 5/24/12

Related Material:
Temperament, Astrology, Integrality…
Rejecting Our Present Selves
A Seminar With The Creator

Who Will Pull Us Out Of The Gutter?

Dr. Michael LaitmanQuestion: Now most people, from factory workers to scientists, cannot perform the simplest actions, and in essence, everyday it gets harder and harder. It turns out that in a few years, the only working system will be the system of integral interaction. But why then are we talking about it so quietly? Why aren’t we developing it more actively?

Answer: Unfortunately, we can’t shout. However, we observe this phenomena even on those people who are taking the integral upbringing courses with us.

When they are interacting among themselves, they feel an ascent.

When they temporarily move away from the interaction with each other, they feel a descent in which they feel emptiness and an absence of any energy of movement, internal energy, thought.

However, in the integration with others, an ascent immediately happens in them, an influx of new strength, opportunities appear for the analysis of what is happening. We see this clearly.

Unfortunately, we come across an apathetic attitude of people everywhere to what is going on. They send a person who is in a state of depression to psychologists and give him some kind of medicines, antidepressants and so on. Meaning, that they believe that one needs to fight against this, not understanding that you can’t fight against nature. And this tendency continues to develop. It is already clearly being observed by the young generation, not to mention the adult one.

How do we come out into the wide circles of society, through the upper echelons or the lower ones? How do we approach the middle class without conveying information through the mass media or the attractive elements of conviction, and express our methods? It is not simple. We are trying to move in different directions, but we cannot say that we have succeeded on a large scale yet.

Everything rests on the fact that people do not want these changes. It is very difficult for them to transition from their linear egoism to the public, closed one.

He will lie on the sofa and will not be able to stand up even if he would be told that tomorrow there is a war. Let the war happen, I will just lay here.

We need to convince him that if he will make a small movement forward, will sit into a circle with others, will enter a new method of socializing, then he will receive totally different desires, totally different thoughts of a new order; he will start to fly compared to his previous state.

But this transition for him is purely psychological. We cannot do it for him, and he is not able to. It has to happen as some kind of internal change. Strictly speaking, he must be “attacked” by the group, which will shake him up, will take him into the collective by force, and will convey its new inspiration to him. Something must happen because the man cannot pull himself out of this gutter by himself.
[81589]
From a “Talk on Integral Upbringing”, 5/24/12

Related Material:
Unlimited Opportunities
An Infinite Source Of Energy
Overcoming Indifference And Boredom

Not For Pride, Control And Respect

Dr. Michael LaitmanQuestion: Well-known corporations such as Sony and IBM have long been implementing group motivation in different ways. The corporate culture is built on the concept of “We are one whole,” but they are doing all this in order to profit.

How is our social integral organization different from such corporations?

Answer: I wouldn’t emphasize the differences, but rather would come to them with our integral method and invite them to use it: “Let’s try. We’ll show you how our training and workshops lift people’s spirits.”

They may ask: “And what’s the difference between your workshops and what we’ve been doing?” After all, perhaps they have a lot of different methods.

The difference is in the fact that in our actions, we are trying to create a feeling of a totally new world. We lift them above themselves into a new state, but not according to the principle of “we are one group” like football players whose actions are generally the direct sum of their efforts. Of course, the spirit and the feeling help them and make them feel they are part of a great mechanism, and having the support of a strong organization brings the company certain profits. Here, however, we are trying to lift them spiritually.

What does “spiritually” mean? First, it isn’t for material success, not for pride, control, or respect. We are trying to lift people above our nature not in order to use it, but in order to be above it. In this case, the group gets together in order to rise above its egoistic group “self” and feel that it is on the next level of existence.

This is achieved by a very simple method. The work in the group is managed according to a certain method: When I rise above the others, descend below them, and become equal to them, I reach mutual guarantee; I try to build a relationship with others above my ego, which means that I don’t act egoistically like they do. In today’s corporations, egoists, who are trying to develop their own ego on the account of others, get together based on competition, respect, envy, knowledge, and other qualities that only humans have. They try to spur themselves, make a profit, and get rich within the same ego.

We, on the other hand, don’t. We first try to rise above our ego. We want to reach the opposite attribute, the attribute of bestowal, above the ego. Here it is not all the egoistic attempts that get together, like in the case of the members of the IBM and Sony corporations, but attempts to reach the attribute of bestowal. This is a totally different method.

Eventually we get a totally different result, a different creation. We give birth to the collective force of bestowal, the force of love, not the egoistic force, but above the egoistic force. This is exactly what we call “the attribute of bestowal.”

Within the same attribute of bestowal, we begin to feel what an integral society really is, what mutual guarantee is, and what life outside ourselves is.

“Outside ourselves” means outside the ego, above it, on a new level, in a new dimension, where I measure everything according to the attribute of bestowal, according to the new relations among us, where I don’t take myself into account at all, but only the new existence, which is my life. It isn’t I that am included in it, but it is my “self.” My body exists next to it as a corporal appendix.

It is hard to explain this to ordinary people, but they will be able to understand this even after one practical lesson.

Comment: But people don’t only want to feel good, they also want to get more efficient production.

Answer: This will surely be the outcome. Production will not only be effective, but above the efficient production, each of them will see new opportunities in his work that he didn’t see before by using his egoistic perspective. He will see totally different goals, relations, and possible solutions; there is no doubt about that.

A person’s actions will become much more productive. A person will be much wiser, brighter, and sharper. Each one will radiate a totally different upper energy, especially those dealing in high-tech and various creative professions. And today they are the majority. Besides, all these special ways are necessary even for those who deal with marketing; the outcome will be felt immediately.
[81586]
From a “Talk on Integral Upbringing” 5/24/12

Related Material:
Preparing High Level Experts
Education: The Main Law Of Modern Times
Revealing The Pattern Of Development

The Region Of Goodness

Dr. Michael LaitmanQuestion: If we create an international institute of integral education with centers in various countries, won’t it enter into conflict with already existing institutions, for example, with science academies?

Answer: No. I think that it must simply be a parallel system of upbringing, because nobody has of yet worked with the upbringing of society and humanity.

In this case, nobody can disturb us in this work: We are not crossing into anyone’s territory; we are not taking anything away from anyone. Basically, this is an absolutely empty space since nobody has ever wished to work on the upbringing of humanity.

What can we say about the adults if we are not even bringing up children? We only give them an education, but not upbringing. So there can be no competition. The first thing that needs to be done is coming out into the wide world with the explanations about the need for upbringing.

The second is the creation of a major international center that could become an example for everyone.

It is not a scientific, research, upbringing, or an educational center, but a whole town, area, or region that would live by the new socio-economic laws, using the economics of sensible consumption, correct interactions between people, and so on.

This would be a very serious step forward. By the way, Baal HaSulam, a great researcher of the integral methodology, wrote about the need to create such a place where people would live in the framework of a new society that would become an example for everyone, where this methodology could be worked on and brought out to the world.

On one hand, this place would be attractive for everyone. While on the other hand, it would provide the possibility of completely developing the integral approach for humanity and for individuals.
[81592]
From a “Talk on Integral Upbringing”, 5/24/12

Related Material:
Everybody Needs Integral Knowledge
The Ruse In The Quality Of Life
A Real Transition

“Respect Matters More Than Money”

Dr. Michael LaitmanIn the News (from the Association for Psychological Science): “New research suggests that overall happiness in life is more related to how much you are respected and admired by those around you, not to the status that comes from how much money you have stashed in your bank account.

“Psychological scientist Cameron Anderson of the Haas School of Business at the University of California, Berkeley, and his co-authors explore the relationship between different types of status and well-being in a new article published in Psychological Science, a journal of the Association for Psychological Science.

“‘We got interested in this idea because there is abundant evidence that higher socioeconomic status – higher income or wealth, higher education – does not boost subjective well-being (or happiness) much at all. Yet at the same time, many theories suggest that higher status should boost happiness,’ said Anderson.

“So if higher socioeconomic status doesn’t equate with a greater sense of well-being, then what does? Anderson and his colleagues hypothesized that higher sociometric status – respect and admiration in your face-to-face groups, such as your friendship network, your neighborhood, or your athletic team – might make a difference in your overall happiness. ‘Having high standing in your local ladder leads to receiving more respect, having more influence, and being more integrated into the group’s social fabric,’ Anderson said.”

My Comment: Kabbalah says that the desire to receive constitutes the matter of the world. In general, it can be divided into four groups: still, vegetative, animate, and speaking. In the human being, it is divided into bodily (food, sex, and family) and social (wealth, respect, and knowledge) desires. Thus, psychologists concluded that the most important thing, besides satisfying the desires of the body, is how a person feels himself in society. That is why Kabbalah believes that after satisfying the basic needs of the body, if integral education gives people the correct skills in social relations, everyone will be happy in the end, and humanity will come into balance with each other and with nature.
[81719]

Related Material:
If You Want To Be Happy, Then Just Let It Be!
How To Change Society’s Values
It’s All A Factor Of Society’s Appreciation

Raise Taxes On The Wealthy Instead Of Cutting Public Expenditure

Dr. Michael LaitmanIn the News (from The Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe (PACE)): “There is growing concern that the restrictive approaches of budget consolidation currently pursued in many European countries may not reach their objectives, but risk further exacerbating the crisis. Austerity measures applied across Europe are viewed increasingly critically by international experts and organisations as they can undermine democratic and social rights, in particular for the most vulnerable categories of the population.

“The Parliamentary Assembly should send out a strong signal by calling for a profound reorientation of austerity programmes, ending their quasi-exclusive focus on expenditure cuts in social areas such as pensions, health services or family benefits. Future national action should also include measures aimed at increasing public revenues by taxing higher income categories and property wealth more strongly, by shoring up the tax base and by enhancing tax collection, the efficiency of the tax administration and the fight against tax fraud, tax evasion and tax havens, corruption and the underground economy.

“Current budget consolidation programmes should be further supplemented with measures fostering sustainable economic growth, including the creation of new quality employment and special support to be given to the young generation in the transitional period between education and employment.”

My Comment: The nature of egoistic society is such that if we check the implementation of these good intentions, we will find out that in the end, the wealthy become wealthier and pay less, while the poor become poorer and pay more. This occurs everywhere in all countries and at all times. Not the calls of the authorities, not the direct instructions from the government, not the wishes of the rich themselves will change this trend.

Only the change of the basis of the egoistic society through education can transform it to a more equal one. After all, the development of society on the egoistic foundation is obliged to bring about, involuntarily through sufferings, or consciously and willingly, the change of human nature.
[81623]

Related Material:
The Readiness Of The Rich To Pay For Peace Will Not Help
France’s Richest Say: “Please Tax Us!”
On The Intricacies Of Taxes

I Demand Proof!

Dr. Michael LaitmanQuestion: The integral method is unnatural to human egoism, and for that reason, people try to dodge it. People need proof.

Answer: Proof can be twofold. Either we show a person a good future that truly shines to him from afar if he becomes an integral element of society and reaches harmony and balance with it, or he experiences the suffering that is not far ahead.

At the same time, we need to show people that suffering is necessary only so that one will realize the need to develop socially. In essence, these are the only two forces of development: suffering that pushes us from behind and benevolent aspiration ahead. That’s it!
[81440]
From a “Talk on Integral Upbringing” 5/24/12

Related Material:
When Did The Integration Begin?
Egoism Is Changing Its Form
Popularization Of The Integral Method