In the News (from Simon Fraser University, Canada): “Using scientific theories, toy ecosystem modeling and paleontological evidence as a crystal ball, 21 scientists, including one from Simon Fraser University, predict we’re on a much worse collision course with Mother Nature than currently thought.

“In ‘Approaching a state-shift in Earth’s biosphere,’ a paper just published in Nature, the authors, whose expertise spans a multitude of disciplines, suggest our planet’s ecosystems are careering towards an imminent, irreversible collapse.

“Earth’s accelerating loss of biodiversity, its climate’s increasingly extreme fluctuations, its ecosystems’ growing connectedness and its radically changing total energy budget are precursors to reaching a planetary state threshold or tipping point.

“Once that happens, which the authors predict could be reached this century, the planet’s ecosystems, as we know them, could irreversibly collapse in the proverbial blink of an eye. …

“Once a threshold-induced planetary state shift occurs, there’s no going back. So, if a system switches to a new state because you’ve added lots of energy, even if you take out the new energy, it won’t revert back to the old system. The planet doesn’t have any memory of the old state.

“These projections contradict the popularly held belief that the extent to which human-induced pressures, such as climate change, are destroying our planet is still debatable, and any collapse would be both gradual and centuries away.

“This study concludes we better not exceed the 50 per cent mark of wholesale transformation of Earth’s surface or we won’t be able to delay, never mind avert, a planetary collapse.

“We’ve already reached the 43 per cent mark through our conversion of landscapes into agricultural and urban areas, making Earth increasingly susceptible to an environmental epidemic.

“’In a nutshell, humans have not done anything really important to stave off the worst because the social structures for doing something just aren’t there,’ says Mooers. ‘My colleagues who study climate-induced changes through the earth’s history are more than pretty worried. In fact, some are terrified.’”
My Comment: How can it be done without connection? How can we unite without integral education?—Only it is intended to evoke a desire of community in man.
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In the News (from LiveScience): “The new research, published in Nature Geoscience July 29, suggests the western evergreen forests, which cover an area from southern Canada to northern Mexico, took up a lot less carbon from the atmosphere during the drought that lasted from 2000-2004. That’s normal, and expected. The question is what happens after that.

“Christopher Schwalm and his colleagues at Northern Arizona University’s School of Earth Science and Environmental Sustainability think that there is a good chance the drought could be the new normal. If that happens, a big carbon sink will be lost. …

“There’s a lot of uncertainty in those measurements, but even assuming the smallest loss and the highest carbon uptake — which is unlikely — it still means a non-trivial dent in the amount of CO2 removed from the atmosphere.

“A lengthy drought will cause a big dieback of the evergreen forests that are familiar to hikers and skiers, bringing in vegetation that will likely more resemble a desert scrubland. Those kinds of plants take up carbon, but not as well as forests do. …

“If people don’t cut back emissions or mitigate the die-off somehow, the result will probably be an increase in the rate of carbon-dioxide accumulation in the atmosphere, leading to greater warming, Schwalm told LiveScience. …

“The study also looked at the severe the turn-of-the-century drought using the ‘Palmer Drought Severity Index,’ which measures precipitation, runoff and other factors. Taking a five-year average, and using indicators such as tree-ring data, Schwalm found that this most recent drought of 2000-2004 was as bad as any since about the year 1200.

“That doesn’t bode well; there is a real possibility given current trends that this drought could be one of those that lasts decades, or even a century, he said.”

My Comment: The strongest influence on an imbalance of the planet is caused not by emissions of gases, but by our wrong behavior. We have to consume only what is needed for normal life (the economy of reasonable consumption), work as much as it requires (a couple of hours a day) and dedicate the rest of the time to communication/unity and leisure.

Thus, on the animal level (our bodies) we consume like animals, in balance with nature, and at the level of human in us, we unite and become filled with the power of connection, which aims at fulfilling all our desires fully. The balance with nature will lead the whole system of “still-vegetable-animal-human” in balance, as organs of one body.
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In the News (from Finmarket.ru): “There is unanimous agreement among US bank chiefs that their biggest threat is the fallout from the eurozone financial crisis because the European governments begin to save together with European consumers.

“This is easily explained: unemployment in Europe hit record after record, as the recession continues to deepen. As a result, EU citizens have to change consumer habits – it can have a lasting impact on the economy and corporate profits. Changes in consumer habits have affected the income of European corporations.

My Comment: We are facing the bankruptcy of corporations, the disappearance of the middle class, the emergence of hundreds of millions of unemployed, food riots, etc. if mutual responsibility and mutual concern and bestowal are not achieved through unity. Integral education should teach us how to create, step-by-step, a single administration, for both the EU and the whole world.
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Question: You say that in the current extraordinary circumstances, we need help from the women. What kind of force is this, which we will not be able to manage without?

Answer: Someone once said that behind every successful man stands a woman. Apparently, the greater his success so, to put it mildly, is the more serious her approach.

So, I would like to ask all our women, those whose husbands study with us and the single ones, at every opportunity, show the men that women expect unity and correction from them. Let them see that a great anxiety about the existing threats lives in every woman, so that we rise above the current state and correct it.

Every woman needs to show this. And in the family, of course, the maximum effect is achieved when the husband feels that his wife is expecting real spiritual actions from him.

It is important that every woman applies efforts. After all, women have a special talent that allows, even without words, at the level of feeling, awakening men to bring in a desire and send them in the right direction. This is not just a woman’s, but a mother’s property.

A man, not being able to give birth, remains somewhat of a “child” and thus has the opposite tendency—to obey. So, we, men, really need female support.

Question: By nature, a woman feels a characteristic need. What should it be aimed at today?

Answer: The world is in crisis, and this crisis has arisen for us to correct it through unity. First, we unite in groups, then in the people of Israel, on the “territory,” from which comes the Light that Reforms, and then in the whole world. We should take care that correction is spread in this order. A wife requires this from her husband, and, in general, every woman from every man, gently but persistently. They know how to do this…
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From the 4^th part of the Daily Kabbalah Lesson 8/12/12, Writings of Baal HaSulam

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In the News (from Business Insider): “The global economy is in the worst shape since the dark days of 2009. Six of the 17 countries that use the euro currency are in recession. The U.S. economy is struggling again. And the economic superstars of the developing world — China, India and Brazil — are in no position to come to the rescue. They’re slowing, too.

“The lengthening shadow over the world’s economy illustrates one of the consequences of globalization: There’s nowhere to hide.

“Economies around the world have never been so tightly linked — which means that as one region weakens, others do, too. That’s why Europe’s slowdown is hurting factories in China. And why those Chinese factories are buying less iron ore from Brazil. …

“For now, few foresee another global recession. Central banks in China, Britain, Brazil, South Korea and Europe have cut interest rates in the past month to try to jolt growth. European leaders have begun to focus more on promoting growth, not just shrinking debt and cutting budgets. …

“Many fear that Greece and perhaps other countries will default on their debts and have to abandon the euro currency, which could ignite financial chaos across Europe. …

“In the latest wallop to the global economy, China said last week that its economic growth fell to a three-year low. The world’s second-largest economy grew 7.6 percent in the April-June quarter compared with the same quarter last year. That was the slowest growth since early 2009. Countries like China need fast growth to serve growing populations and millions of people leaving farms to seek work in cities.

“Brazil also has a U.S.-style problem with consumer debt: Since 2003, about 40 million Brazilians have entered the middle class and brought a strong appetite for consumption. Brazilian leaders credited those consumers with invigorating the economy in recent years and helping protect it from external shocks.

“But most of the buying has been on credit. And those bills are adding up. In a report last week, London-based Capital Economics estimated that debt payments now eat up 20 percent of household income in Brazil. …

“Similarly, the outlook has dimmed for India, the world’s fourth-biggest economy. Its growth slowed to a 5.3 percent annual rate in the first three months of 2012, the slowest rate in nine years. …

“The slowdown in the developing world could make it harder for the economies of Europe and the United States to climb out of their ruts. And the weaker the rich countries get, the harder it will be for developing economies to regain their old fast pace.

“’In today’s interconnected world, we can no longer afford to look only at what goes on within our national borders,” IMF Managing Director Christine Lagarde said earlier this month. ‘This crisis does not recognize borders. This crisis is knocking at all our doors.’”

My Comment: This is how the “Law of our natural development” teaches us; evolution teaches us through small sufferings; it teaches us that the world is round and we are interconnected in it, and that is why we need to think not only about ourselves, but about everyone like in one family. If we continue to be stubborn, suffering will increase and in spite of everything lead us towards unity, in the bad or good way, depending on our behavior.
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The next level of our development is called “Human” but the human level isn’t our physical body and it isn’t the level that we’ve created in our civilization. After all, our civilization is built only upon serving our animal desires: food, sex, home, family, wealth, fame, power, and knowledge. None of these desires extend beyond the level of serving our corporeal needs.

It’s crucial for us to elevate above these corporeal needs to a spiritual level and to obtain the essence of a human. This is the next phase of development that humanity is now facing. The ease of this transition depends upon the extent to which we help ourselves to be born in this new realm, on this new level. Otherwise all of humanity will experience terrible birthing pains, which will be bloody and violent. Ultimately we will still be born on the next level. However, if we advance toward this consciously, then we help the birthing process just as the fetus does: The mother pushes him out and he helps her.

Today nature is pushing us toward being born through pressure and crisis. In its translation from Greek, the word “Crisis” means “birth of something new.” It’s not a downfall; rather it’s a revelation of something new, which is, of course, accompanied by birthing pains. This is why we must help ourselves to be born.

It truly is a birth and it’s a special one. In the past we weren’t consciously involved in our advancement, we were simply pushed by nature and we advanced egoistically. Now we elevate above our animal egoism, above our level, and consciously enter the next level where we will represent an integral humanity. This is being revealed today as nature is invoking us, pressuring us, and showing us our interconnection. Through this we obtain a total balance and harmony with nature. This truly is a healthy and conscious birth of humanity.
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From a “Talk on Integral Upbringing” 2/29/12

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Question: At this time, what particular part of relationships between men and women is “impaired” by the crisis?

Answer: The crisis hits all levels: inanimate, vegetative, and animate. We are not paying attention to this fact, nor do we investigate it much. Our world outlook is not integral yet. We don’t understand what other spheres of life undergo the crisis except recognizing it in the human society, specifically in the financial and economic spheres.

However, the crisis does involve animals and plants, but in a way that we simply don’t notice. If not for the crisis, then why does a huge number of species vanish? Every day, as reported in the literature, several species become extinct.

Of course, the crisis is mostly noticeable in relationships among people; typically, we feel it through ourselves. Interaction among people is crucial and defining; we stopped understanding each other correctly and became internally detached; therefore, we now are incapable of finding common points of connection when solving any kinds of problems.

We make international plans and domestic policies, but then again we are the ones who break them and run around in circles.

Our growing egoism requires integral solutions, mutual interactions, common comfort, reciprocal involvement, and general connection between us; first, we should unite, and as a result of our unity there will emerge a new idea, a new tool for developing technology, economic, and finances. We don’t do this.

We do not unite, nor do we create new instruments for management that stem from our unity, that’s why there is no management whatsoever. We make new plans in education and upbringing that do not originate from our unity, and that’s why they do not work. We are the ones who create the surroundings that impact us: TV programs, movies, etc. that do not stem from our connection; thus, we tremendously damage the society we live in by splitting it even more and setting wrong values.

At all levels of life, the root of the problem is the human being. Instead of correcting this problem by changing people, we use our conventional methods; that is, we “enforce and encourage” by referring either to police or money; it is called “love and hunger rule the world.” However, this pattern doesn’t work any longer. Our egoism doesn’t react to it.

We could have treated our ego in a different way, as a bear in the circus that gets a spoonful of honey instead of sugar, but it’s not enough for our ego. The “bear” in us refuses to work under these conditions; it needs a totally different approach, a new system of interaction and governance, though we do not realize it yet. That’s why the crisis in fact is a misunderstanding of the system of forces within which we find ourselves.

Of course, the main thing is the family. The fact that the family is practically disappearing sets the example for a new generation; it doesn’t seem too terrible to us yet. “So what… Instead of seven billion people we’ll end up having only two. What’s wrong with it?” However, we don’t understand that it is not a solution to the problem. Unfortunately, people are becoming more and more like “barbarians,” they accept everything that happens around them without much ado.

At some point several centuries ago, we were considered barbarians, but it wasn’t actual barbarity, but rather our developmental stage. Today, we outgrew all possible cultural thresholds and acquired every cultural value, but once again we are turning into barbarians regardless of our values; it’s quite different—it’s degradation. So, at this point integral upbringing is simply indispensable.
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From a “Talk on Integral Upbringing” 7/8/12

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Although we need to study, change, and correct ourselves, it’s not all to be done yet because it’s as if nature is raising us up to a new level. It wants to take us out of the state of small, foolish, always squabbling animals, destroying our families and relationships, and having entered a dead end after all of the attempts to build a good life for ourselves. It’s because of the complete destruction and downfall of those attempts and the now growing world of disappointment and desperation that we can begin to rise towards the new world. It’s clear to anyone, even psychologically, that if I look at everything through the eyes of love and co-participation with the feeling that the whole world belongs to me, like a doting mother, if I feel that I am inside of every one, then this will give me a completely new view of the world.

From this, it’s clear that the world starts to look completely different to a person. He receives an integral vision, as if he’s looking at the world through new glasses. And now he sees that only one method, one force, a common system functions in the world. He understands that everyone is connected to each other and completes each other. While the whole of nature, the still, vegetative, and the animate world and people are suddenly being revealed to him as one unified system. He reveals all kinds of connections that exist in nature.

Before, with an egoistic view, it seemed to him that everything was separate from each other, and you didn’t have to worry if you spoiled something. Wishing to receive benefit in one place, one was not afraid to cause harm in another. The important thing for him was to make it good wherever he, himself, was.

Now however, through his new integral glasses, he sees that these places are connected to each other and it’s not possible to act at the expense of another place. It’s because of that type of action that we are now in a crisis, since we think that we must arrange a good life only around ourselves, and everything else will wait.

The absence of an integral vision does not let us put anything in order. We don’t know how to approach the financial systems, economics, technology, ecology, family, or the upbringing of children. And all of that is due to this integral blindness. However, by building new integral relationships within the family, we’ll be able to understand through them how to build up the world, since we’ll see how everything is connected to each other and we’ll receive the instruments for the perception of the new world.
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Talks about The New Life 7/18/12

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Question: In the middle of the twentieth century, a phenomenon called a “Swedish family” has appeared. Its meaning is now somewhat faded. A Swedish family is, in essence, a relationship, which is not officially registered. In Sweden, such an economic situation was formed that made it not beneficial to officially register a marriage, and many people lived in families without a marriage registration.

Many times, you have talked about the fact that it is very important to observe all of the conditions, customary in a society in order to fully realize the condition that husband and wife are one whole. Why is it so important to register your relationships, even if on a religious basis?

Answer: A human is, after all, a psychological system. And probably, there is no way out here. Since even a religious marriage, even in our society, which is far from religion, still binds you to something. Call it fear, prejudice, whatever you want, in any case the young and the old people do abide by it.

That is why I am for any culture, any religion to take part in marriage. That, nevertheless, gives a wider psychological base, not spiritual, but psychological, and a person is obliged to uphold the requirements of a marriage. In our memory, in the subconscious, there are such dark, hidden places, which remind us that marriage was entered into in front of our relatives, in the presence of a large number of people, that it has been validated in a religious sense, which proves that we are a family, and so on.

I would even give this event much higher publicity, not glamour, so that it would not mean that we are talking about material costs, but publicity. I would show these families on local TV, meaning that I would basically make it much more fundamental, so that there would be as much internal, psychological obstacles as possible against separating.
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From a “Talk on Integral Upbringing” 7/8/12

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Question: Does the family constitute a closed system? How is it possible to correctly use the tension that it creates?

Answer: Nowadays, the family rises from the animal level to the level of the human. If people understand this, then they will need to create a completely new kind of family that comes in contact with each other, and in that creates a correct integral family cell. This cell isn’t based on animal connections, and not on shared money, even not on children, since for this purpose institutions and systems were created, which in principle, take all of this upon themselves.

Today, within a family, people are not able to stay together since the couples are not mutually bound in any way from their shared inner level. The previous level remains far behind: We are no longer materially dependent on each other, we don’t have to be together; I am not tied to the family or the home, not to the children, not to religion, not to my village, not to my work, etc. Today a person is free: He bought a ticket, and flew somewhere, and you don’t even know where. He can disappear until the end of life in some corner of the world. Who knows!

In Moscow there is a popular TV program called, “I Am Looking for You” where people look for each other. This is, in principle, the call of the times. People disappear, leave, and don’t even try to give notice about themselves! A person finds something completely different, and he, as if, discovers a new life.

We must understand, that the family rose from the animal to the human level. If we are on that level, there is no reason for them to be together, to compromise, to connect. They don’t see the benefit or the profit from it and don’t see what form of spirituality they need to create between them or how to give birth to spiritual children and not physical ones, to create that same cell that will be called “spiritual family,” and not just a cell that is connected because of shared property, an apartment, or car, etc. If we don’t bring a person to this, then there won’t be a family. This is absolutely accurate!

We need to teach people to create a spiritual family now, meaning to be mutually connected at the next level, not at the corporeal level where each person can get along on his own.
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From a “Talk on Integral Upbringing” 7/8/12

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