Entries in the 'Evolution' Category

The Need To Follow The Laws Of Nature

Dr. Michael LaitmanSo far we have been discussing the process we are undergoing, where we actually are, and the opportunities that lie before us. We can see a lot of proof in literature about this, and there is plenty of opportunity for discussion, so we will gradually get back to this.

But the first introductory part of the course is intended to give us a general view of the development of our desires throughout our entire journey through history so that we can understand where we came from and when these desires become global. They have us closed in through common interdependence, and we have become one family on the verge of breaking.

Essentially, the crisis is happening in the family called humanity. And by fixing the relationship between us, we would fix all of life. There are some amazing studies, which assert that if people were to start treating each other like family then even nature, the climate, and other natural phenomena would also normalize.

Today many scientists are already discovering a connection between human society and other levels of nature: the still, vegetative, and animate. Animal and plant life will feel a big positive effect.

We need to explain to ourselves that we have no choice; we must come to negotiations and mutual understanding on a global scale. This is the first thing we must do.

Question: You have said that there are laws of nature, which pertain to human and social psychology, and we would achieve a good life if we were to follow them. What does this mean? I understand the laws of gravity.

Answer: We are also talking about the laws of inner, human nature: a person’s psychology, the psychology of the society and the family, relationships between parents and children, and relationships between children. It is necessary to know the psychology of all human relations, human animal nature: the small and the big, parents and children, the old and the young, all the human layers, in all directions. If I know human nature and the way to fix the relationships between us, I will be able to build a human society where everyone will be comfortable and happy.

Everyone will have to compromise. After all,everyone wants to be the king and to be worshipped by others. On the other hand, if we were to educate a person that he benefits and gains respect, support, and assistance when he is on equal terms with others, then he would gladly accept this. He will see that in a system where everyone depends on each other things cannot be any other way. We will have to achieve this by convincing people.

It is clear that the human ego will constantly try to fight it and will wish to rule over others. But on the other hand, there will be public opinion. After all, the environment has a strong influence on him and educates him. If society wanted to, it could keep a person inside a framework and protect him in order to prevent his ego from coming through. And when a person uses his ego for the good, he would be treated well by the environment and everyone in it.

Public opinion and the influence of society should immediately become the dominant and binding determinant.
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From KabTV’s “A New Life” Episode 1, 12/27/11

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Dr. Michael LaitmanQuestion: What laws of nature are we referring to?

Answer: The first requirement for observing the laws of nature is studying the human being, his environment, and their influence on each other.

This also pertains to the laws of nature because we are a part of nature. So first, man needs to be studied. Every person must be a psychologist, both for himself and for human society, to know how to coexist with others and avoid throwing themselves at people without thinking about the consequences.

We first learn who man is, a human being, why we develop the way we do, and whether we have the ability to resist the development of the crisis. Will it benefit us to stop it? Maybe nature is advancing us towards something new, something even better? We simply need to understand what it is pushing us towards and willingly move towards this goal.

We also need to understand why we cannot see this future picture now. We used to always see a future, and developed according to our aspiration to reveal something new and rise higher. But today it is the other way around, we are becoming disappointed and constricted; we no longer want anything.

This form must be useful and desirable for future development, where we need to abandon our current state and rise to a completely different one. This is why we feel so much disappointment, tiredness, and weakness in relation to our current state, we do not wish to continue and remain in it.

The next state must be very different. It is like leaving the past, diving into a ritual purifying pool, getting washed, putting on new clothes, and coming out into the new world! We no longer wish to be connected to this world, we have soiled it enough; we have been divorced and harmed ourselves and others, those near and far from us.

If we were to take a critical look at this world, we would see that there is nothing in it we could take with us to the new good world. What would I want to take with me from this life when a beautiful perfect world awaits me? Do I have a family I could take? No. Children, friends, and work: no, no, and no. So what can I take then when I am switching to a perfect life?

This is why we critically reevaluate our entire life and overall do not find anything in it but disappointment. But maybe it is some kind of a transition toward a completely different state? But we don’t yet see it, and on the other hand we are already disappointed with what we currently have and no longer want it.

We do not see a solution for the current situation. This situation is happening around the world; more and more people are living in the moment without even planning for the future, following the principle of: We live because we live.

This is a special state; this is why we need to learn from our small experiment, where it is as if we were abandoning our entire past life and moving into a new dimension, a new level of existence. We are jumping to a new degree, being born in a new world.

There are other integral laws operating in this world; nature is already beginning to show us the interdependence of everyone and everything in a closed round world, a world of equality and connection, with laws that exist in a good, close-knit family. This is what we seem to be coming to now.

We will check: Is this just a dream or is humanity really moving forward; we must come to this either consciously or through forces that will obligate us.

Naturally, it will benefit us to study all these laws, since we will know how to transition from one state to another in the most favorable way. Until now we were developing by nature pushing us from behind, by adding new desires to the ones we already had.

But not today, today we have come to a dead end and we must evaluate our next step on our own: its purpose, the reason for it, and how to take it. Once we reveal it and see this new life, we will also need to look for ways to attain it.

In contrast to the past generations where the times of transition from one state to another and from one social formation to another occurred by instinctive development, today we must develop consciously. Our job is to understand nature and its laws, and we will transition to a new state once we carry out these laws with understanding and the knowledge of ourselves and of human society. It is as if we were giving birth to ourselves.

This time we must be on top, so we could look at ourselves and our state from above. This has never existed before. We have always flowed with the current of life, on and on: another revolution, another new car, and another new opportunity. But today we must rise above this life in our awareness to see the entire planet and all of human society with a global view, from above, and then we will evolve further.

This is the first time that nature demands us, all of us together and every one of us individually without exception, to attain the precise understanding of who we are, the world in which we exist, and the state towards which we are developing. This is the first time that I am required to be human, one who understands and knows the essence of life.

This is why our course is not only intended to simply occupy your time, but it must help us completely change our lives and raise it to a new level, towards perfection.
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From KabTV’s “A New Life” Episode 1, 12/27/11

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Man’s Responsibility To Rebuild Society

Dr. Michael LaitmanSometime in the past life, every person felt that he had had enough, he was done, it was time to make a revolution: change the environment and society. But it is not the same this time around. We understand that we need to change everything, but we do not know where to begin. We don’t know the means or the goal; we are completely helpless.

So let us begin our first conversation by discussing what we call the evolution of human society on which we base the development of nations, family, economy, the household, upbringing of children, culture, technology, and science.

People have been living in societies for hundreds of thousands of years. At least the past tens of thousands of years, man has been living a social life because he was not able to provide everything he needed on his own. We cannot live in small tribes, like animals. Even though we came from the animal level, our nature pushes us towards personal development, the development of our environment, learning about life and ways to improve it.

This is a person’s inner aspiration; it is an egoistic nature because everyone wants a better life for himself, a more confident and peaceful life. Everyone wants to have more success than others. Envy, lust, and ambition rule people, and we see that these qualities evolved and blossomed in very ancient cultures. They push us to develop.

This is why a person needs to live in a community. He could have survived in the woods, but he would have remained as an animal, like all other animals. We know of cases where children were lost in the woods and they grew up like animals. Animals adopted them, and the human took on the form of an animal to such a degree that he no longer is able to return to a human society, that is the extent to which he loses the human form.

This is why throughout all generations, our development has been directed towards society and the environment. And the further we develop, the more we see that man himself does not change very much. The major changes happen in society, and all development depends on it.

The person develops the society, and his personal life changes through the society. One depends on the other. Today I depend on thousands of people around the world, because if we were to look at what I am wearing, what I eat, what my house is made with, what my heating, air conditioning, and work depend on, we would not be able to find even one country, which did not participate in providing me with everything I have.

And when it does not happen directly, it happens through another several countries: one country supplies materials, another supplies machine parts, which produce certain goods, which in turn are used to make my clothes, for example. Studies show that everyone in the world depends on everyone else.

And the more the world delves into specialization where everyone’s work is connected and in harmony with all the other people, the more additional goods we can provide for ourselves, goods that were not available in the past.

In past centuries, a person provided a bit of bread, vinegar, wine and meat for himself, and that is it. Then there was a little more food, more clothes, more shoes, and many different industries. Then there were cars. And with that, experts developed in economics, agriculture, engineering, etc. Culture, literature, music, and songs developed.

Entire industries appeared around a person, things not even required for survival but which he can’t live without. A musician goes on stage and gives a concert in front of a thousand people who pay him more for that one performance than a working man makes in a month, or maybe even a year of really hard work. In other words, we value things that are not essential for us: sports, tourism.

If we were to look at how much of what we produce are actually necessities, we would discover that about 90% is unnecessary. But we still kind of need them. We feel that they belong to the human level, and this is why we need them.

Of course, I could also survive in a cave if I do not have another choice, but evolution obligates me to produce all these things.

We have reached a state where people who break away from society will be obligated to live a very meager life. The most he will be able to provide for himself are the very basic necessities, just not to starve to death. But if he wishes to receive everything that comes with civilization, he must join society, produce the goods that it needs, and then he will receive what he wants from the society to the extent it’s possible.

So, primarily we depend on society. This is inevitable. So, where did we go wrong in this society if we are now unable to live in it normally and are experiencing crises in this society and our lives. This crisis does not feel good; this is not yet the actual birth, but the birthing pains which precede it, and this is why we want to figure out what is wrong.
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From KabTV’s “A New Life” Episode 1, 12/27/11

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Questions About Future Development

Dr. Michael LaitmanQuestion: In the post “Are Mass Protests An Effective Means Of Reform?” you write: “…no country today is capable of controlling its domestic affairs, and all of them together cannot deal with anything as well. No one can do anything, and that includes all of the countries and governments. And there is no solution to the situation besides drawing closer to nature.”

Are you saying that after we come closer to nature, the next thing will be for all the countries of the world to get together and come up with a plan that will benefit all, and then take it to the public of each country for more detailed solutions?

Answer: Today it’s already clear that all countries are totally dependent upon each other. However, nobody knows how to govern the world in which everything is globally interconnected, and this lack of knowledge is called the crisis. The exit from the crisis is in learning how to be interconnected as nature itself is. Then we will be able to make correct decisions and act accordingly.

Question: What do you actually mean when you say “the preceding development is over”? Will there still be money being made, businesses opening up?

Answer: Everything will happen according to the law of evolution, the only difference being that until now we developed unconsciously, as dictated by nature, and today we develop against our desire, which means consciously.
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Newton About The Last Days Of The World

In the News (from HaAretz): “The end of the world will be coming in just another 48 years, in 2060, according to the father of modern physics, Isaac Newton, who died in 1727. His calculations were not based on mathematical principles or the laws of physics, but instead on the Christian Bible and the Book of Daniel from the Hebrew Bible. …

The time times and half time do not end before 2060. …. It may end later, but I see no reason for its ending sooner. This I mention not to assert when the time of the end shall be, but to put a stop to the rash conjectures of fanciful men who are frequently predicting the time of the end, and by doing so bring the sacred prophesies into discredit as often as their predictions fail. (Source: Wikiquote)

“Contrary to his public image, most of Newton’s work was not devoted to science but rather to theology, mysticism and alchemy. Unlike Newton’s scientific texts, which are owned by the University of Cambridge in England, the 18th century thinker’s theological writings made their way to the National Library of Israel in Jerusalem, and they have just recently been digitally copied and posted on the Internet in cooperation with Cambridge University’s Newton Project. …

“Among the National Library collection in Jerusalem, there are a large number of works by Newton about mysticism, analyses of holy books, attempts at projecting what the end of days would be like, and what the ancient Temple in Jerusalem looked like. The collection also contains maps that Newton sketched about mythical events to assist him in his calculations over the end of days.

“‘From our perspective, there is a contradiction between natural sciences and rationalism and theology, mysticism and faith, but in his mind, as a product of his time, part of the understanding of the laws of nature involved understanding how the world worked,’ Milka Levy-Rubin, who curates the national library’s humanities collection, said of Newton. ‘The stage of history was a field of research for him.’

“Newton’s theological writings have importance beyond the intellectual edification they provide, Levy-Rubin noted.

“Newton belonged to a group of theologians who ultimately managed to change the face of Christianity in general and its relationship with the Jews in particular. Until then, the prevailing doctrine held that the degradation the Jews had suffered over the centuries was proof of the validity of Christian belief. The spirit of the Renaissance, however, prompted theologians to revisit the scriptures, including the Hebrew scriptures.

“In their rereading, they saw the Jews’ place in history in a new light, viewing the historic role of the Jews as one that had not ended. They foresaw a time when the Jews would return to their ancient homeland, after which, in the view of these Christian thinkers, they would accept Christianity, as a prelude to the return of Jesus.”

Newton writes in “Of the Day of Iudgment & World to come: “So then the mystery of this restitution of all things is to be found in all the Prophets: which makes me wonder with great admiration that so few Christians of our age can find it there. For they understand not that the final return of the Jews captivity & their conquering the nations of the four Monarchies & setting up a righteous & flourishing Kingdom at the day of judgment is this mystery. Did they understand this they would find it in all the old Prophets who write of the last times as in the last chapters of Isaiah where the Prophet conjoyns the new heaven & new earth with the ruin of the wicked nations, the end of weeping & of all troubles, the return of the Jews captivity & their setting up a flourishing & everlasting Kingdom.” (Source: Newtonproject)
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Revealing The Pattern Of Development

Dr. Michael LaitmanToday we will talk about the single general law of nature, which we are a part of. As we advance, we see that there is a certain pattern to the development. Generation after generation, for the duration of thousands of years there was the appearance and development of the still, vegetative, animate, and human levels of nature.

Our development occurs gradually. From generation to generation, year to year, and even from day to day, we develop more and more, but where are we going? In order to answer this question, we must clarify what this law is that acts upon us?

We see that there exists a sort of a mechanism, which is located above us and develops the whole nature in a particular direction, making it ever more complicated, of higher quality, better formed and interconnected in all of its parts. Whether we want it or not, we are forced to obey the orders of this law, which influences us and makes us develop.

This is one common law. All that exists is under its influence: everything we see on our planet, everything that is born and moves in some direction.

We study the laws of nature using science, and if we want to achieve something, the knowledge of these laws helps us achieve success. We begin to better understand how to avoid the bad and to draw nearer to the good, how to decrease the amount of mistakes and blunders.

That is why if we would know this common law, which includes all of the rest of the laws (physics, chemistry, zoology, biology, botany, astronomy, medicine, psychology, the little bit that we are already aware of and all that we are yet to discover for ourselves), this knowledge will help us succeed.

Science helps us make our life better and more comfortable. Before, a person would work from morning until the night, as it is said “by the sweat of your brow shall you eat bread” (Genesis), but now one person can feed a thousand people with bread thanks to the development of technology, chemistry and the whole of farming industry. The same goes for the clothing industry, construction, education, culture, everything!

It would seem that today, with our current understanding of all of the laws and the strength that we possess, we would be able to set up a splendid, wonderful life for ourselves! Knowing the current state of the world and the characteristics of its population, we see that we produce such a quantity and assortment of products and things, which can provide a normal, poverty-free life for the entire population of the world.

The problem lies only in the fact that the human is egoistic and he cannot manage to correctly use all of that potential, which he is getting from the knowledge of the laws of the nature. We are given abundance, but some are holding great powers in their hands: money, equipment and everything else, while others, as a result of that, are not getting even the bare necessities for life.

So it means that it’s all within human nature, which does not let us create a good, comfortable, calm, confident life on a beautiful, prospering planet. That is why our goal is to understand human nature and understand how we can improve our lives so that we would want to create a good, prosperous life for ourselves and for others.

This is possible through the knowledge of the law, which is only now, in our time, starting to become revealed in nature. This is the law of the global force, which includes the rest of the forces inside of it, and regardless of our desire (because we do not want this), it forces people, countries, and civilizations to be more connected and in need of each other.
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From KabTV’s “A New Life” Episode 4, 1/1/12

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Instead Of Disorder, Peace To Every Home

Dr. Michael LaitmanQuestion: Romania has been shaken by collisions for a week now. In Bucharest they are becoming quite brutal. Our friends there are very worried. Overall, how should we view the suffering that the world experiences?

Answer: We must only disseminate materials about unity. And there are several rules in this regard:

– We do not mix with anyone;
– We are not “for” or “against”;
– As educators, we relate to people very considerately and unsophisticated.

That is how we approach the situation, according to the principle, “Love will cover all sins.” It is necessary to reach consensus, conciliation, unity. This does not mean that everyone calms down and goes home, since in that case we would be against the protestors. No, we are for change. However, in all of history, methods like this have never brought about anything good.

We have live examples before our eyes: Egypt, Tunisia, and other countries. For example, what was the use of the spontaneous disorders in London? This approach does not bring anything good to anyone. And Egypt has become immersed in devastation and is left with nothing. So, disorders won’t help.

That is why we have to release explanatory brochures with materials about mutual guarantee, including our advice: communication, round tables, and integral upbringing.

But first of all, we must concisely describe the current situation: Why is this happening?

And in doing so we do not speak out against the government or anyone else. We are talking about a natural process, a regular phase of our evolution where the world is becoming global and interconnected.

So what should we do? We have to adapt to the new conditions. After all, there is no other way to go. The integral network is already expressing itself. It’s simply that previously we adapted instinctively, whereas now we must reach harmony with the changed world consciously, with our own awareness. This is our new level of development.

Next, we have to explain how to do this: by means of integral upbringing, with the help of a good environment, which will convince every person of the need to unite with others.

Romania is a pretty homogenous country. It is not home to different cultures living side by side—it’s not America or the united Europe, so there it’s easier to talk about unity. This approach will appease the people, will revitalize the country, and will give people work. People will rise in their consciousness and will understand what is happening. They will see for themselves that this is good for them, their children, their country, and people.

As a whole, we are only inviting everyone to unite, and no more than that. There are no hidden “fees,” dirty tricks, or attempts to make money off of someone. On the contrary, let them do everything themselves. Let them organize the learning process and build an environment according to the laws of nature, while collaborating with psychologists.

This is what we have to offer, especially considering that there are many countries standing at the threshold of the same kind of strife.
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From the 4th part of the Daily Kabbalah Lesson 1/22/12, “Introduction to the Study of Ten Sefirot”

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Consequences Of A Thousand Year Explosion

Dr. Michael LaitmanWe all are the consequences of the shattering of the first man’s (Adam HaRishon) huge desire. Adam HaRishon remained in the state of total perfection even though he was comprised of numerous desires and each of them wanted for itself. Desires always “think” of themselves; and yet the fact that the ultimate force ruled over them allowed the whole structure to stay within a condition that is called the world of Infinity. It maintained total adhesion with and stayed under the absolute authority of the power of bestowal and love.

It is similar to the sensation that we often feel when we are sitting and singing with our friends in a great mood, and hoping that this sensation of warmth and mutual love will last forever.

Of course, this is far from a spiritual sensation, but it gives us an idea of how the common soul felt before it was shattered. Then, some external force broke in and destroyed this sensation.

Where did this force come from in the first place? It was revealed within us; we never sensed it before and didn’t even suspect that it existed. All of a sudden we sensed hatred! It was always hiding within us and suddenly showed itself against our will.

The strength of hatred that hit us was so huge that each of us simply ran away from the beautiful assembly and thus ruined the connections among us. We all started to view it as something dirty and disgusting. We couldn’t tolerate staying within it any longer. This is how we happened to end up in this world and continue to live in it now.

Since then, this world kept developing under the guidance of the force of hatred. Throughout history, and to this day, we have been using the power of the shattering over and over again. But only today are we starting to realize that we have already reached the final implementation of hatred into our lives and that it doesn’t lead us anywhere anymore. Our hope to achieve the good life with its help has vanished.

The time of correction has come since we already understand that using the power of hatred and separation can only ruin our lives. So, our duty is to do something about it!
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From the 2nd part of the Daily Kabbalah Lesson 1/13/12, The Zohar

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Don’t Torture Yourself

Dr. Michael LaitmanYou shouldn’t torture yourself because of your qualities or the bad things that you did or do. After all, it is the Creator who “trips you up” and arranges all the different states for you. This is how He brings you to the recognition of evil and actually does all the work. And you, instead of revealing the truth, reprimand yourself for your actions.

Question: But if you don’t pay attention to these things, isn’t it like running away from the struggle?

Answer: It isn’t a struggle at all. You are like a donkey in front of which an obstacle has been placed: He doesn’t understand how it can be bypassed, and tries to break through it. There is no point in that.

We have to rise above all the actions and feelings, above all the imaginary calculations, and through the group, connect with the Creator. It is the only way to reach the right decision. All the rest is a game, the show of life. It costs us great pain and suffering, but this is our evolution: It is impossible to avoid the mistakes here before we discover the opportunity to rise. One day it will happen.
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From the 3rd part of the Daily Kabbalah Lesson 1/17/12, “The Study of the Ten Sefirot

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Death: The Fee For Development Of Egoism

Dr. Michael LaitmanPure desire without intellect represents an original form that is derived from the root. If desire strives only to maintain itself without any other desires, it is called “inanimate.” It doesn’t change, but rather always wants by all means to preserve its existence one hundred percent as it is and continually resists any changes whatsoever. That’s why it’s called “dead.”

On one hand, it’s the most powerful force that keeps inanimate matter in its form and because it is inanimate, it is stronger than anything else. On the other hand, it has a deficit because it doesn’t develop at all, nor does it create any advanced form!

A plant doesn’t possess as much force for self-preservation as inanimate matter; it is weaker. But it does have an addition; it is able to change! It develops, alters, and grows. On the other hand, it still cannot remain eternal; that’s why it “acquires” life and death.

There is no choice, there is a price for the opportunity to continue developing. If you don’t possess stony steadfastness, but rather allow yourself to change, you go from edge to edge, from life to death; there is no other option. In other words, our development happens at the expense of immortality.

For a lifeless stone, life and death are the same. For a plant, life and death are different since plants can sense life. This is the root of any sensation, pleasure and affliction, one against the other.

Animals are much farther from inanimate nature; they undergo dramatic changes and experience tremendous growth. They acquire a higher intellect that accompanies their desires; so, during the process of development, animals acquire diverse forms. Naturally, animals are subject to an array of external and internal influences. Compared to inanimate and even vegetative levels, animals have a much more complex organization. Of course, animals sense their mortality very strongly as the difference between life and death.

The added ability to use intellect for analysis constitutes a distinction between human beings and animals. As opposed to an animal, a person has developed to the extent that he recognizes “time” in his brain: past, present and future. People can bring time closer by including it in desire. All of a sudden, we start envying someone who lived a thousand years ago or someone who will be born two hundred years from now.

We observe that at a human level, intellect enhances desire. The work of intellect upon the desire is directly related to the Light; actually, it’s the only work we ever do. The more we work on clarification and expansion of our desires, the more advanced we consider ourselves to be compared to our past, undeveloped states: inanimate, vegetative, animate and speaking levels within the human stage.

Naturally, humans sense life and death, the Light and the darkness, even more strongly. We become more dependent, delicate, sensitive and constrained. But this is the payment for our development.

At the time when our development at simple levels (inanimate, vegetative, animate and speaking) is complete, we approach the Creator’s level at which we gain new senses, a different kind of intellect and an alternative developmental force, all three components together, which we didn’t have before.
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From the 2nd part of the Daily Kabbalah Lesson 1/6/12, The Zohar

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