In the News (from MIT Technology Review): “The global pattern of e-mail communication reflects the cultural fault lines thought to determine future conflict, say computational social scientists.

“In 1992, the Harvard-based political scientist Samuel Hartington suggested that future conflicts would be driven largely by cultural differences. He went on to map out a new world order in which the people of the world are divided into nine culturally distinct civilizations. …

“Bogdan State at Stanford University in California and a few pals … have analyzed a global database of e-mail messages, and their locations, sent by more than 10 million people over the space of a year. State and co say that the pattern of connections between these people clearly reflects the civilizations mapped out by Huntington. In other words, the way we send e-mails is a reflection of the mesh of civilizations that is an important driver of future conflict. …
“This result provides evidence towards a division of the world into civilizational blocks following Huntington’s theory,” say State and pals.

“But there are other patterns too.  ‘The findings (unsurprisingly) support the idea that geography, transportation and administrative decisions are all important determinant of between-country communication: distance decreases density, as do visas, while direct flights increase it,’ say the researchers.

“And there are surprising results as well. For example, a common border between two countries actually reduces the communication density between them, perhaps because of increased tensions.  ‘These curious findings do raise the issue of potential problems with European integration, as well as of the higher potential for conflict between countries sharing borders, which may lead to less communication,’ say State and pals.”

My Comment: Global and personal egoism is constantly growing and becoming interdependent, which heightens contradictions further. It is impossible to isolate oneself. We can only follow the trend, indicated by nature, that is, to unite. This is possible only through the change of the human being, by our re-education. A method of correcting our egoistic nature is offered: integral education and upbringing.
[102862]

Related Material:
Europe’s Social Model Contradicts Integration
David Cameron: “Don’t Force Political Union”
Will Europe Reunite?

Filed under: Education, Egoism, Integral Upbringing, Internet, News - No Comments →

Don’t forget that our Kli (vessel, desire) is outside of us. It’s a shame to waste time  worrying about ourselves, on what goes in your inner borders since it’s all a lie and exists only because of the force of the breakage, the force of our ego that creates this picture for us.

Of course, it’s possible to live in this illusion for another few thousand reincarnations. But it is desirable, if you have reached an incarnation in which you are finally beginning to hear the truth that your “I” is not you, but is your imagination, that you rise above it; you were given an opportunity to do your best to realize it.

If you continue to think within your circle, then not only do you not approach the truth, but you also cause great damage to others. It’s as if you drill a hole in the bottom of the common boat. In this way you hurt others and all this damage is registered in your account.

We can’t calculate this damage exactly. It’s as if I took a specific nail for my house and then afterward suddenly discover that it is this precise nail that was missing in for the completion in the construction of a big and beautiful boat in which thousands of people were supposed to sail. And of course the damage that I caused is not estimated by a small nail but by the thousands of people who were damaged through my wrong-doing.

However, I don’t understand. What terrible thing have I done? I didn’t do anything bad to anyone! How could I know that this nail was so essential to them? But my lack of knowledge doesn’t clear the blame from me, and the court won’t take that into consideration. The judgment is very simple: the damage was caused to the general system. As is said, “The law was given and cannot be transgressed.”

It’s possible to apologize that you didn’t know and they didn’t tell you, but this account wasn’t arranged according to our calculations, but only according to the damage caused to society. Whether this was revealed to you or not, if you knew or not, is not taken into account. It should be remembered that judgment is merciless.
[102129]
From the 1^st part of the Daily Kabbalah Lesson 3/3/13, Writings of Baal HaSulam

Related Material:
Everything Is Accurately Measured
I Am One With This World
The World Around Me: It’s Me Under A Magnifying Glass

Filed under: Daily Kabbalah Lesson, Egoism - No Comments →

Question: What are “the Creator’s gifts?”

Answer: We give presents to someone we love, and we receive presents when there is no doubt that they come from love. I may feel that someone is giving me a present to repay me as a bribe.

This means that I must distinguish between a real and unselfish present that comes from the closeness that I already feel toward the giver who wants to make us both happy by the present and a present that is meant to buy me for a price and connect to me in order to use me later for one’s own interests. It turns out that the present can be because of the interests of the giver, because of my interests, or because of our common interests.

Several types of bestowal come to us from the Creator, and we call one of them a gift. As it is written, “He who hates gifts shall live,” but it refers to gifts for our ego, for the desire to receive fulfillment for free, since this is what the ego considers a gift.

The real present is “I labored and found.” A finding is also a kind of present since it is given to me out of love although I don’t deserve it. This means that it is not a direct outcome of my work, but rather, “I labored and found.” It isn’t a payment, but a present, a finding.

It is a very slight difference that is only understood by whomever purifies his vessels of perception (his senses) more and who then discovers different attributes to which he gives different names.

You can receive a present only if it helps you in the work. As it is written, “Open for me an opening like the eye of a needle” so that I can put a thread through it and start “sewing,” start working. This is how we are ready to receive a gift from the Creator since otherwise, we will not be able to get close to Him.

Therefore, the Torah is called a present since the Light in it reforms. So, I receive this present although I don’t deserve it, but, through this gift, I can correct myself and reach adhesion with the Creator. Eventually, I return to the Creator with this present as if I have taken it as a loan from His shop and am returning it.

It turns out that one of the types of receiving and bestowal is called a present.
[102753]
From the 1^st part of the Daily Kabbalah Lesson 2/27/13, Writings of Baal HaSulam

Related Material:
Unexpected Gifts From The Creator
Four Stages Of Love
A Wicked Desire Is A Kind Gift

Filed under: Daily Kabbalah Lesson, Egoism, Inner Work, My Similarity to the Creator - No Comments →

As one advances, a person begins to feel that everything spiritual is outside of his body, in everything that surrounds him in the still, vegetative, and animate nature, in humans. This is what the world is, the area we must learn to treat with love and care as a great treasure so that the world, which is outside of our body, will become very important to us.

The feeling of existence in the physiological body occurs only in our imagination through a combination of forces that are acting on us. That is why we feel as if we live in the material body, and, if a person has an aspiration to live outside of his body—in everything that surrounds him—this is already the need to feel the soul.

Having begun working on this, a person sees that he needs to concentrate all his work on the correct environment because only from there can he get help and support. Such an environment is the group, as a representative of the external world, which may respond to me, attract me, and help me exit myself.

Then, I view the group as my savior, who throws me a rope to pull me out as if from a well. I do not associate myself with the body and wish to get out of it, and thus I grab the rope. The group, friends who are outside of me, help me break away from my body.

Thus, working together, we take turns helping each other climb up and exit ourselves. After all, only outside of his skin, outside of his selfish interests, does a person begin to feel that the group is not a gathering of some people but the holy Shechina in which the Creator dresses.

The body consists of Klipat Noga, the part that gives me freedom of choice, and the “snake’s skin,” the most powerful egoism that pulls me back, so that in trying to get out, I am able to apply sufficient effort correctly aimed.

Due to my desire to get out of my egoism—self-love and thoughts about my own good—to break out beyond my skin and think about the group and the world, I awaken the force that comes through the group, the teacher, and the Creator, which saves me from this prison. All this is due to the mutual work in the group with the teacher and with the books, and thanks to studies and dissemination, which are all the means in which the force of the Creator dresses and helps me exit myself.
[102824]
From the 1^st part of the Daily Kabbalah Lesson 3/13/13, Shamati #36

Related Material:
Do You Like Flowers?
A Cry From The Bottom Of The Well
A Veil Over The Face Of Infinity

Filed under: Daily Kabbalah Lesson, Egoism, Group Work, Inner Work, My Similarity to the Creator - No Comments →

Baal HaSulam, “Introduction to The Book of Zohar,” Item 10: …He has no interest in reception, only in bestowal, whereas the Klipot want nothing of bestowal, but only to receive for themselves, for their own delight, and there is no greater oppositeness than that. And you already know that spiritual remoteness begins with some disparity of form and ends in oppositeness of form, which is the farthest possible distance in the last degree.

In this world, pluses and minuses attract each other as do opposite poles of a magnet. For example, people who have opposing opinions usually are interested in talking with each other and comparing their points of view. This happens because our world is submerged in the egoistic nature of receiving.

As a result, we can get something from one another to the degree of our dissimilarity. If we were alike, what could we get from one another? Similarity doesn’t promise any benefits; we need others to receive “profits” from them whether it is money, respect, power, recognition, services, etc. One needs something that one doesn’t have, something that one lacks. This is why we bother dealing with others.

It explains why we are unable to understand relationships between the Creator and creation: The distance between them is tremendous and they have no chance to come closer. At the same time, we see numerous examples when opposites meet. This is a paradox: Two different people who have egoistic desires find ways to take advantage of each other; however two contrary desires (egoistic and altruistic) can’t unite because they repel each other.

Consequently, creation has no chance to approach the Creator unless it modifies its nature. It goes without saying that it’s impossible to change the desire to receive per se. So, the Creator made the intention far more important (basic) than the desire. Intention is something we can work with and eventually it can be changed. Spiritual distance between the Creator and us is delineated exclusively by the intention. Intention changes the essence of connection among us and makes us either similar or different.

“The Creator” is a giving desire; consequently, one has to “shield” one’s desire to receive with the intention to bestow. The desire by itself is only a “material,” whereas intention is a tool for transforming the very essence of our actions to bestow. Thus, we approach the Creator.

Still, how do the Creator and creation converge if they have similar poles? It contradicts the laws of physics in this realm. Why can’t those people who have points in the heart unite with each other in spite of the law of similarity of properties? What does convergence depend on? Is it contingent upon our qualities or does it depend on the way we are using them?

For example, two thieves can find common ground. On the other hand, today people are not ready to unite their efforts even if their cooperation promises obvious benefits. They prefer to earn less independently rather than receive more in somebody else’s company.

Now, it becomes even harder to unite since our egoism continues growing and we repel each other much more strongly. Each of us prefers detachment and isolation. There is a growing trend of working from home; it’s convenient both for employees and employers.

We don’t find pleasure in teamwork; it doesn’t appeal to us at all. At one point, women started to strive to get out of their homes and escape from their families. They wanted to find jobs and enjoy more freedom and now people of both genders wish for the opposite.

However, it’s not about returning to their families. Currently, too many people don’t have families. It’s not about going back to family life, but rather it’s a continuation of our path in reaching new levels of egoism that in their turn lead to even more detachment and loneliness. On one hand, we understand that our alienation is not good for us; on the other hand, it has become do difficult to establish contact with anyone. So, people choose to refuse the potential advantages of connecting.

It means that we have to give charm to the idea of unity. Our joint work has to be pleasant, interesting, attractive, and to bring us satisfaction. We have to work on creating these conditions, since nothing will happen on its own. In the end, who would mind working in a company of nice people even without being rewarded? If we enjoy somebody’s company, we would be willing to pay for this pleasure. The problem is that we don’t regard liaisons among us as attractive. It’s very hard to treat others well since our egoism is too strong and amicable relationships require too much exertion and energy.

We have to break many walls that separate us before others will believe that we are not lying to them, playing with them, or confusing them in some way, and that we are genuinely sympathetic. We are used to hypocrisy; our relationships with others are too “commercial” and are saturated in mutual contempt. We should really try hard to understand others more deeply…

In spirituality, similarity of properties brings us closer to each other and allows us to eventually attain revelation, whereas in the material world we take pride in “consuming” each other. In spirituality, togetherness is based on similarity of properties, although in this material realm our closeness rests on dissimilarities. On this material plane, two people unite only if they want to confront a “third party” or if they expect to obtain certain benefits from their association.

There is a law that states that without the intention to bestow, pluses and minuses attract each other; the intention to bestow reverses the situation and makes everything conditioned by the degree of similarity.
[102029]
From the 4^th part of the Daily Kabbalah Lesson 3/5/13, “Introduction to The Book of Zohar”

Related Material:
The Difference Between An Egoistic And Altruistic Union
Short Wave Communication
Between Two Intentions

Filed under: Daily Kabbalah Lesson, Egoism, My Similarity to the Creator - No Comments →

A person’s success depends upon the environment that he manages to organize for himself. To this extent he gradually begins to change his concept: what day and night are, light and darkness. He now begins to see that what he previously considered to be the light—his success relative to others, the filling of his egoistic desires of pride—now seems like total darkness, as a terrible state from which he must escape in order to think about bestowal upon others, about the friend’s success, and about bestowal upon the Creator.

This is actually what becomes the light and day for a person now, instead of the light and day he felt previously in his own success. To the extent that he can annul and restrict himself forcefully, he encounters great resistance on the part of his body, and the more he sees the importance of the other and of the Creator, the more he advances. Eventually, he fills the measure of his exertion and receives enough Light that Reforms so that the Masach (screen) can be born in him. Then a resisting force toward the desire to receive begins to operate in him, and, thanks to the equivalence of form with the Light that he has attained, he is rewarded with the first revelation.

Our work is to find the right criteria for checking: Where is day and where is night, where is darkness and where is the Light? According to these values, I have to judge: Is it for my own benefit or for the Creator? If I begin to understand that it’s totally opposite from my previous criteria, it’s a sign that I am already on the right track. If I begin to have an inner struggle with which principle to assess the state, it’s a sign that I am already advancing.

If I pray that my scale of values, the measuring system of the light and darkness, day and night, be changed so that I will be able to see them spiritually, then it’s an even more advanced state. When I adhere to bestowal with all my might and try to see every state from this perspective, then I am ready to detach myself from the desire to receive. If I constantly ask for this to happen, and if I constantly feel that the Creator is sending me interruptions in order to strengthen my request, then I am already close to it, in order to actually work in Lishma (for its sake).

So what was previously darkness turns to light and what was light for myself turns to darkness, and I actually run from it. Everything turns to the opposite state: day and night. What had been the darkness of the night before turns into the bright light of the day.
[102664]
From the 1^st part of the Daily Kabbalah Lesson 3/12/13, Shamati #16

Related Material:
Together We Shall Turn The Night Into Day!
The Day Of The Lord And The Night Of The Lord
Day Will Follow Night

Filed under: Daily Kabbalah Lesson, Egoism, Inner Work, Perception - 1 Comment →

When rising to Bina, a person (Malchut) annuls himself above all the egoism that is revealed in him. Ibur (gestation) is a terrible state for the desire to receive. Imagine that you returned to the womb: There can’t a more terrible state for you; you have no air, no light, and no freedom to move. You are squeezed into a narrow confinement, like in a vise gripping all your senses, so that you can’t move internally in your consciousness or externally.

Entering the spiritual womb is a terrible feeling, spiritual claustrophobia…but you prefer this state, because if you are in it, in Bina, in the attribute of bestowal, then you don’t need anything! You accept the dark solitary confinement as the good promised land, as heaven. The condition for entering spiritual Ibur is to change your appreciation of Malchut to Bina and to begin to value the attribute of bestowal.
[102661]
From the 3^rd part of the Daily Kabbalah Lesson 3/11/13, The Study of the Ten Sefirot

Related Material:
Protected By The Mother’s Safe Shield
There Is No Safer Place Than A Mother’s Arms
Between Minus Infinity And Plus Infinity

Filed under: Daily Kabbalah Lesson, Egoism, Inner Work, Spirituality - No Comments →

Baal HaSulam, “Introduction to The Book of Zohar,” Item 18: And we must not ponder the state of other beings in the world but man, since man is the center of Creation, as will be written below (item 39). And all other creatures do not have any value of their own but to the extent that they help man achieve his perfection. Hence, they rise and fall with him without any consideration of themselves.

All the creatures on the levels of the still, vegetative, and animate nature have no value of their own; they cannot correct themselves, and so they ascend and descend together with man. This means that man discovers that the whole universe, including all the flora and fauna on earth, are in man without any expectation for themselves, just as corporeal body contains all the previous stages of nature.

So to the extent that I correct my desire on the speaking level, all the desires of the levels of the still, vegetative, and animate nature are included in this correction. I actually feel that they are included in me, regardless of their external existence. After all, I have been through these desires and so they have also have been corrected and some of them have disappeared.

The dinosaurs disappeared millions of years ago and are extinct, and today different species of plants and animals are also disappearing, but scientists are discovering many new species that we didn’t know about before. This is all a projection of what is happening with our desires, so we shouldn’t panic that the human race may also become extinct. Several desires in us have simply been corrected and have been exhausted, have ended the cycle of their role and have disappeared. There is no need for them anymore, and so they “return to dust.”
[102480]
From the 4^th part of the Daily Kabbalah Lesson 3/11/13, “Introduction to The Book of Zohar”

Related Material:
Nature Does Not Tolerate Imbalance
There Are Many Surprises Up Ahead
Learn To Live In Balance With Nature

Filed under: Daily Kabbalah Lesson, Egoism, Evolution - No Comments →

So the people rested on the seventh day. And the house of Israel called the name thereof Manna; and it was like coriander seed, white; and the taste of it was like wafers made with honey. (The Torah, Exodus, “BeShalach,” 16:30 – 16:31)

Saturday (the Sabbath) is a special state when, for the last six days (states), we correct our egoistic desire and approach its realization in the corrected form. In total, there are five levels of egoism that we have to correct. On the sixth day, their mutual blending, mixing, and combination into a single whole takes place. And then, we receive the Light on this corrected united desire. This light is Saturday.

But I don’t correct my egoistic properties myself; the Light corrects them. There is a Light that comes to correct in me the properties of the first day, then of the second, third, fourth, and fifth. On the sixth day, a special Light descends that unites all this together, and the result is a single common altruistic desire, the common property of bestowal, in which I receive fulfillment on the seventh day. That is, over the six days purification of the vessel takes place in which the Light can enter afterward. This Light, filling the pure vessel, is the representation of the seventh day.

Question: Why is it given a taste called “manna”?

Answer: Because it always moves under our constant yearning upward to receive the Light of correction and then the Light of fulfillment.

Question: Why is it said that it tastes “like wafers made with honey”?

Answer: This is a somewhat unclear allegory. It doesn’t mean honey, but rather, egoism sweetened by correction that starts to work on bestowal and that represents this meal. But sometimes, it’s referred to as a “bull” sometimes as to a “whale” (Leviathan), etc. We are talking about the spiritual roots that appear in our world in this way.
[102657]
From KabTV’s “Secrets of the Eternal Book” 2/4/13

Related Material:
Eternal Sabbath
The “Awakening From Above” On The Sabbath
Saturday As The Result Of Corrections

Filed under: Daily Kabbalah Lesson, Egoism, Prayer and Intention, Q&A - No Comments →

Baal HaSulam, “The Peace”: Rabbi Akiva tells us about that, “All is in deposit.” This means that everything that God had placed in Creation and given to people, He did not give to them licentiously, but secured Himself with collateral. And should you wonder what collateral He was given?

He responds to that by saying: “and a fortress spreads over all of life.” This means that the Creator has cleverly devised a wonderful fortress and spread it over all of humanity, so no one will escape. All the living must be caught in that fortress and necessarily accept His work, until they attain their sublime goal. This is the collateral by which the Creator secured Himself, to guarantee that no harm would come to the deed of Creation.

“All is in deposit” means that whether I want to or not, I will have to pay my “debt” to the Creator. I was given life not because I asked for it and without my consent, and still I have to pay the debt. It doesn’t matter that I didn’t ask for it. If I received life, I have to pay for it, and I can only pay by attaining the goal of creation.

We see that the sufferings we have been through throughout history are gradually becoming more “spiritual” and “virtual,” and detached from reality. Today many people don’t want to live although they have everything. Once a person was happy if he had half a kilo of bread a day and was satisfied with that, but about fifty years ago the “shopping” era began. Today it is coming to an end and not because of a shortage of money but because people lack the desire to shop. This is the problem—the desire is changing. Even if you offer a person a million dollars, it will not spur him like before; he doesn’t want anything anymore.

This is the natural inclination of our evolution that brings us to ask about the meaning of life. So what is left of life if not food, shopping, and recreation? There is nothing else that we can enjoy. It isn’t by chance that football and all sorts of distractions other are being promoted so much these days. This is the policy: to provide people with “tranquilizers” and other nonsense to give them something to fill their inner emptiness with. Otherwise, they would express their rage in the streets instead of in the stadiums.

A person who feels empty asks himself more and more: “Why was I given a life that I didn’t ask for, why am I being forced to do something that I don’t want to?” Why? He feels as if his hands and feet are chained.

This is why we need integral education today. Thanks to it people will understand that everyone is connected and that we depend on one another and that by using this integral connection correctly, we will be able to solve all our problems.

Good relations are generally the key to our success in every aspect. We could have machines replace physical work in every field and provide everything we need. But we don’t want that since it isn’t clear what a person would enjoy then. Even now, most people already have everything they could imagine except for a deficiency. A person is absolutely full, so what’s next? He can either kill himself or start killing others otherwise he won’t feel any pleasure.

We enjoy only when pleasure fills a deficiency. But the pleasure immediately neutralizes itself. So how can we prevent this? We have to constantly renew the desire.

This is exactly what the world leaders tried to achieve by building a modern economy and inserting new desires into people and satisfying them. But this is impossible, since our corporeal desire is changing in quality and eventually doesn’t want anything on the previous level. To chase our own tail in order to buy a new washing machine and a new television every year and to change the wall paper…? How much longer can we take that? A person suddenly discovers that his desires are gone.

Thus a whole philosophy of evolution has come to an end. It wasn’t just a way of making money but a way of making people happy. At the top people thought about getting richer providing all the basic necessities and keeping them in a close circuit so that people would buy light bulbs that burn out after a short while, printers with an integrated chip that stops working after a while, and other low quality products. They continued to supply incentives so that people will feel it is worthwhile to work, to live, and to buy. They continued to renew the deficiencies since without a deficiency that receives pleasure, there is no feeling of happiness.

They were right about that. It was indeed a time of prosperity in the West. The Americans saw that their new philosophy justified itself and everyone followed them happily. But in the meantime the desire grew, not only in quantity but also in quality, so a person doesn’t need all that anymore. He doesn’t see any point in investing his whole life in that. In the past people bought things without any advertising, but today more than half the cost of a product is due to advertising costs. On the other hand, in countries that are more economically developed, depression, suicide, and drug abuse are becoming more prevalent.

So where are we headed? A person cannot go on living without feeling happy, excitement, and the “ecstasy” that is felt when the deficiency meets the pleasure. But they immediately neutralize one another if there is no Masach (screen) between them. This is what the wisdom of Kabbalah is about, the wisdom of how to receive correctly, since without a Masach, a person discovers only darkness.

If the decision makers were a bit wiser, they would accept that. But in the meantime, we are in the middle of the process, so in any case there is no other choice. The deficiency has to be in contact with the pleasure, but only if it doesn’t stop. Otherwise, it isn’t worth it. We are ready to renew only our animal deficiencies over and over again, but anything that is beyond that is questionable. So what we see on almost every TV channel today is mainly cooking programs or sex, because people are so narrow minded…

We hope that we will manage to explain the need for a Masach between the deficiency and the pleasure. Then the infinite pleasure will give us a feeling of eternal life.
[102338]
From the 4^th part of the Daily Kabbalah Lesson 3/8/13, “The Peace”

Related Material:
The Era Of Understanding
Why Do Our Desires Lag Behind Life?
What Are We Being “Fed”?

Filed under: Crisis, Daily Kabbalah Lesson, Egoism, Evolution, Mutual Guarantee, Unity - No Comments →