In the News (from BBC News): “People of working age who live alone increase their risk of depression by up to 80% compared with people living in families, says a Finnish study. It says the main factors are poor housing conditions for women and a lack of social support for men, who are both equally affected.

“The study tracked the use of antidepressants in 3,500 Finnish people.

“A mental health charity said people who lived alone must be given outlets to talk about their problems.

“The study authors highlight the fact that the proportion of one-person households in Western countries has increased during the past three decades, with one in every three people in the US and the UK living alone.

“‘This kind of study usually underestimates risk because the people who are at the most risk tend to be the people who are least likely to complete the follow up. We were also not able to judge how common untreated depression was.’

“Living alone, the study said, could be linked with feelings of isolation and a lack of social integration and trust, which are risk factors for mental health.

“Beth Murphy, head of information at mental health charity Mind, said the rise in the number of people living alone had had a clear impact on the nation’s mental health.

“’It is therefore essential that people who live alone are given the most appropriate treatment such as talking therapies, which provide safe, supportive environments to discuss and work through problems, rather than simply being left to rely solely on antidepressants.’”

My Comment: That is why they should study at the classes of integral upbringing—to acquire a special society that creates waves of positive connection, closeness, and love in every participant. Then, we will be able to conduct a research study and show how much we managed to increase their level of happiness, confidence, and psychological and physical health, and how much the criminal and suicide rates went down.

In our address to society, we should reach out to lonely people and explain to them that precisely in our circle they will find warmth and the support of the environment. The collapse of the institution of marriage is intended to show people that they need to build their relationships on a different level, the level of unconditional bestowal and love, rather than on beastly attraction.
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In the News (from People Alliance Blog): “The United Nations plans to use its upcoming UN Conference on ‘Sustainable Development’ (UN CSD or Rio+20) in Rio de Janeiro to amass a vast array of unprecedented new powers and literally re-shape civilization, the global economy, and even peoples’ thoughts, according to official documents. All of it will be done in the name of transitioning toward a so-called ‘green economy.’

“Among the new authorities being sought by the world body are global carbon taxes, wealth redistribution amounting to trillions of dollars per year, and a barrage of programs dealing with everything from poverty and education to health and resource allocation. Virtually no realm of human activity will be unaffected by the scheme, which analysts have described as a ‘mammoth exercise in global social engineering.’”

“‘A global transformation towards a green economy will require substantial financial resources,’ the document admits… ‘In addition, there is a need to identify and develop new sources of international funds at scale that support the global transition towards a green economy,’ the document explains.

“‘Transitioning to a green economy requires a fundamental shift in the way we think and act,’ the document explains, calling for greater ‘education,’ information, and ‘awareness’ efforts to help ‘change individual and collective behavior’ in lifestyles as well as consumption and production patterns. The agenda will necessitate ‘a serious rethinking of lifestyles in developed countries…’

“Education: Ensuring Future Support: The future of humanity — the youth — must be taught about the supposed dangers of theoretical man-made global warming. And children must also learn that the UN is needed to solve the alleged problem.

“Poverty and Green Welfare: Of course, the global transformation is going to leave a lot of people unemployed — and the UN acknowledges this… ‘Measures to support the most vulnerable groups such as access to a social protection floor and social safety nets are essential to achieve social inclusion, to deal with the restructuring towards a greener economy, and to adapt to climate change,’ the report claims. ‘Coherence between social, environmental, and economic policies is needed to maximize opportunities and buffer the social cost of the transition. A transition to a green economy needs to project a vision of a greener as well as a fairer economy and society.’”

My Comment: The plans are grand! There are plenty of questions about such an enormous project, but first of all:
– Where do the means come from?
– How can we solve the problems of people’s attitude towards themselves and nature without integral education and upbringing?
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Opinion: (Dr. Alexei Yablokov, member of Russian Academy of Sciences, Center for Environmental and Ecological Policy): “The key implication of Professor V. Vernadsky’s biosphere concept is that the Earth is a peculiar living organism, in which the slightest fluctuations in its thinnest layers can trigger severe geological consequences.

“Later, British scientist James Lovelock also spoke about the Earth as a living creature. He stated a concept called “Gaia theory” or “Gaia principle” (“Gaia” stands for ancient Greek Goddess of Earth.)

The Earth (Gaia) might “cut off” humanity as a dangerous cancerous tumor. The population of Earth does everything to force it to get rid of us: over usage of irreplaceable natural resources, over-extraction of land, wood and water, pollution of the biosphere by chemical and radioactive substances….

“Ecologists’ approach to our planet’s resources takes into consideration long-term consequences, rather than merely present-day day “benefits.” As for economists, they look only 10 years ahead. Politicians’ thinking is limited to the time interval between two election cycles (4 – 6 years.) Discrepancies in calculation of time cause contradictions of various points of view. Politicians cannot agree with ecologists’ argument that “20 years from now it will be much worse,” since the main thing for them is to get their voters’ approval in the nearest future.

“Consumption-based society has to understand that at some point its development will exhaust itself. Common people give their votes to politicians who make ecologically dangerous decisions to attract voters. The only way to eliminate the environmental menace is to spread ecological information and knowledge as widely as possible. The worst thing that can happen to us is missing “the point of no return.”

“Ecologically oriented thinking should lead people to act conscientiously, to keep the environment safe and, to find our place in the magnificent biosphere we live in. Ecology is a science about keeping our home safe and sound. So far, the vast majority of earth inhabitants have not realized that the entire planet is our home.”

My Comment: For dozens of years, ecologists have been appealing to us, but since politicians and financiers are the ones who delineate our life, nothing ever changes. They will never invest in any endeavors that don’t bring immediate visible political or economic results. Is there a way out of the loop? The answer is to educate all layers of our society paying particular attention to widening the horizons of common people, since the upper layers of society will never voluntarily allow integral upbringing, because their goal is to keep the masses in front of TV sets.
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Initially in the world of Infinity we united as one, like one body all of whose parts are necessary to one another and totally interdependent. After descending from Infinity into our world, we became completely disconnected because all of the space between us was filled by egoism, which pushes us away from one another.

This egoism is constantly growing, and therefore, as history progresses we feel more and more flawed. But there comes a moment when egoism stops growing and reaches satiation. That is why people today are overcome by disillusionment and despair, and depression is becoming the most widespread illness in the world.

Man is losing the meaning of life. Previously he did not ask those kinds of questions since the egoistic desire constantly grew within him and pushed him forward. It deceitfully told him , “You want this, and this and that! You definitely have to get that and become bigger than everyone else!”

But today a time comes when we no longer want anything. And in addition, the general world crisis is unfolding, leaving us with no choice but to search for a way to change the situation and achieve correction, where correction lies in ascending back to the world of Infinity and becoming one man again. Yet this unity is already attained by our own efforts, meaning through work against our egoism, for the sake of unity.

This is the most hateful work to us, and we do not want it. I am willing to do anything but this – anything but to unite with the friends! I feel good by myself, this is comfortable! After all, my entire nature is the will to enjoy, and all I need is to fulfill it. I only want fulfillment.

Every person thinks only about how to make things better for himself at every moment. Our organism and brain works only to keep itself in the most comfortable state. And that is how our entire life goes by. Every person thinks only about how to make things better for himself now and in the future. All of our calculations revolve around this and we are incapable of thinking about anything else. All I care about is my own body. It turns out that I am doomed to a life of a poor, miserable animal that tries to support its body in every possible way so it would live for several decades and then die. But if all of life really comes down to just this, then what’s the point in it?

That is why it is so difficult for us to work against our egoism. There is a great psychological problem here, preventing us from reuniting with others in circumstances where our ego has reached the maximum mark. That is why the science of Kabbalah comes and explains to us how to do this by uniting into a small group.

Through the group we begin to attract this special force to us, which is concealed in nature and is called the Light that reforms. And if we try to extract this concealed force from within, it will surface and do wonders to us. It will correct us completely, will change us so we will be able to connect with others. And then a group will begin to come together among several friends, which will become a mini-model of the corrected humanity in which our unity is realized.

Instead of the previous, negative force of egoism, which separates us in a broken state and has various names (Pharaoh, Haman, Bilam, Balak, and all the “sinners,” meaning forces of disunity), inside of our connection we will begin to reveal the enormous positive force. This is the force of connection which comes to replace the negative force of disunity and is called the Creator. This is the force of bestowal, the force that gave birth to us and unites us. In it we reveal the program of creation and its goal.

That is why we have to unite into a group, since by virtue of that we will feel a higher state – the presence of a higher, concealed force, the Creator who is between us. We just have to reveal Him! Let us hope that we will feel this awakening inside of us during seminars, as a result of our efforts to unite with one another. This can even happen to a person who is at a convention like this for the first time.
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From the 1st lesson at the Brazil Convention, 5/3/12

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Opinion (Evgeny Abramyan, Russian scientist and futurologist): “In order to survive and preserve civilization there is practically no options for mankind but to stop the endless chain of destructive wars and learn to resolve contradictions by way of negotiations and compromise. To begin with, radical reforms need to be implemented in the system of education and in the media as they strongly influence people’s attitudes and behavioural patterns. …

“Propaganda and education directed at promoting tolerance, peacefulness and equality, suppression of aggressiveness, ethnic and religious hatred, and imposing limits on consumption where it is excessive. Use of the rapidly developing information technologies, global information networks and distant educations, for the purpose of mindset transformation.”

My Comment: Politicians and military leaders always used scientists for their purposes, throwing them scraps from the table and getting what they needed themselves. Once, Plato and Aristotle warned scientists against disclosing science to politicians, egoists. But scientists couldn’t resist, they wanted power and money themselves. Thus, they sold themselves and serve the rulers until this day. In reality, science must be hidden, as the science of Kabbalah, and become revealed only to the extent of its correct use.
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In the News (from Rutgers): “Even if humankind manages to limit global warming to 2 degrees C (3.6 degrees F), as the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change recommends, future generations will have to deal with sea levels 12 to 22 meters (40 to 70 feet) higher than at present, according to research published in the journal Geology. …

“‘The difference in water volume released is the equivalent of melting the entire Greenland and West Antarctic Ice Sheets, as well as some of the marine margin of the East Antarctic Ice Sheet,’ said H. Richard Lane, program director of the National Science Foundation’s Division of Earth Sciences, which funded the work. ‘Such a rise of the modern oceans would swamp the world’s coasts and affect as much as 70 percent of the world’s population…’

“This research highlights the sensitivity of the earth’s great ice sheets to temperature change, suggesting that even a modest rise in temperature results in a large sea-level rise. ‘The natural state of the earth with present carbon dioxide levels is one with sea levels about 20 meters higher than at present.’”

My Comment: The Flood will not happen again (as God promised in the Bible); however, nature will put pressure on egoism and in every way force it to be corrected, until people take their place in its system.
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Question: Suppose we have an integral study group, which needs some guidance, to be told what it will deal with, what process it will go through. What should we start with?

Answer: For the new members there should be talks about the world, about the new trend, about evolution based on the ego, etc. First we have to prepare a serious theoretical basis of the practical perspective of human history, of society, and of ourselves. A person is gradually brought to the question of “what’s next?” Suppose we have explored the modern world, our development, the development of man and all of nature, and where it’s leading us. We don’t even see the lack of free choice, the dynamics of our development, and the collapse of the ego as the engine, as the source of our life and of our advancement. We reach a crisis, what’s next?

Next, of course, there are different goals in nature. We are now at such an intersection in which we have to totally change our attitude towards the world because the ego with which we grew before has suddenly stopped working.

So where is it leading us? It’s leading us to its negation. We see that in all the problems, in depression, drugs, terrorism, and even the crisis in the family and society. The main thing that hurts us most of all is the economic crisis because we, as beasts, need to eat and to supply our basic needs. Here we find ourselves in a state where we will not be able to supply the basic needs, especially in the world that we have created around us, a world that is a huge urban jungle, in which we all have to do something in order to get what we need.

It’s very easy to destroy such a world. It’s so sensitive to the slightest inability to adapt that millions of people can find themselves cut off from food, water, and the supply of energy and other resources. We cannot even imagine how delicate and fragile the world we’ve created is, and if something goes wrong, just a little, it will collapse like a house of cards. All this will collapse and what about us?

As a result of our development, we have brought ourselves to this very unstable state. You can imagine cities around the world with a population of 20 million people, but even in cities with a population of 2 million people, what will happen when these people are cut off from food, electricity, water, or a sewage system?! This is the end!

There is a need for mutual cooperation among countries, without which we cannot manage. No country can provide its own needs by itself any more. So we can see that the world is really very fragile and unsafe. We are showing people all this, explaining the general trend and why nature and the ego have brought us to this point so that we will rise above the ego, because in the present state we are unable to adapt to the global integral nature. How can we be mutually connected to it, meaning being included in its integrality, in its sphere, in harmony, with our ego?

This is why we need guidance by which we can show people that there is another way to develop. When we psychologically change ourselves and people, we will see the world not from an egoistic perspective, but from an integral altruistic perspective. We’ll be able to form a totally different society that will be in harmony with all the natural laws. And then having no choice, a person, the family, the society, the state, civilization, and all of humanity will reach such harmony with nature that we’ll recover all the fragile balance on earth, internally and externally, with the rest of nature. This is possible only if a person changes from an individualist into a person of the universe. This is what we have to bring to people.

Now let’s see how this can be done: Can we leave the individualistic, egoistic perspective of the world? Can we change the egoistic glasses and see everything through integral lenses? What will I gain from that? In other words, I have to take care of everyone. Is it possible? I shouldn’t take myself into account, is that possible? Do I have to totally “leave” myself? What about me and my family, and my relatives? How can we aim at mutual cooperation with others so that we can form a unified society?

What does unified mean? It is when each of us doesn’t feel himself, but only the society, like ants, who only understand their cooperation. None of them has a separate role, a separate goal, size or priority, but all are operated by a collective mind, a program, and meticulously carry out all the orders of the program. Is this possible? This is where nature is leading us. On such a level we will reach total harmony with it.

What do we gain from that? Although it sounds a bit like a fantasy, we are gaining the feeling of eternity, the feeling of infinity, because all our feelings today are within the limited ego, while here we move on to a different feeling, outside ourselves. Then a person doesn’t feel his own beastly body anymore, by rising to the next level, to the next dimension called “human,” which we didn’t feel before. He isn’t in his “animal” anymore, but rises to an upper level. Until today we were actually more developed animals.
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From a “Talk on Integral Education” #17, 02/28/12

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In the News (from Google): “The International Monetary Fund issued a clarion call to bickering US politicians Tuesday, urging them to solve the country’s debt problems before a still-vulnerable economy is tipped over the brink.

“In a hallmark semi-annual report, the Washington-based fund warned policymakers on the other side of the US capital that, while the world’s largest economy is improving, they invite trouble by not addressing a looming debt crisis. …

“So far the United States has avoided the type of debt crisis that has ravaged Europe – with the dollar’s safe-haven status and moderate growth providing a sizable safety net even as agencies have downgraded the country’s credit rating. …

“A flare-up in the euro area from increased sovereign and bank stress could easily undermine confidence in the US corporate sector and thereby squeeze investment and demand undermining growth. …

“Spending cuts will automatically come into effect and major tax breaks will end in the next year if Congress does not act.”

My Comment: There is no doubt that today’s rates are pre-election and everyone understands that this will be over, and they will have to pay their bills.
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Opinion (Amartya Sen, the Indian Nobel Laureate professor of Economics, Professor of Economics and Philosophy, at Harvard University): “Several features of policy making are worrying, particularly in Europe. The first is a democratic failure. An economic policy has to be ultimately something that people understand, appreciate and support. That’s what democracy is all about. The old idea of “no taxation without representation” is not there in Europe at the moment. …

“If you are living in a southern country, in Greece, and Portugal and Spain, the electorates’ views are much less important than the views of the bankers, the rating agencies and the financial institutions. One result of European monetary integration, without a political integration, is that the population of many of these countries has no voice. Economics is de-linked from the political base. That I think is a mistake and it goes completely against the big European movement that began in the 40s and fostered the idea of a democratic, united Europe.”

My Comment: It depends upon how you define democracy. If we consider the quality of equality, Europe has been always ahead of the rest in terms of arrogance and humiliation of others. The mutual hatred of the EU countries and peoples is known in the world as a bad example. And within countries with respect to the influence of people on politics or economy, then the masters have always played tricks on their people, and people followed them. Today, the crisis is not about democracy but the opportunity to no longer “play” at it—everything is exposed.
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In our current global world we are all connected whether we like it or not, and this is dangerous because it can lead to an explosion, a world war. There are already talks about it, but there is no solution.

If the ego has already ended its development and doesn’t allow us to advance further, then the pressure that expands this integral system, which is totally mutually dependent, may bring about anything. And we will be ready to do anything just to break this connection. This is the uniqueness of our times.

Endless research studies show that we have reached a special point in our development that is unprecedented in human history. In the past, the growing ego constantly pushed us from behind, and we knew that life would be good for us or for our children. But today we don’t expect our children to have a better life than we have. On the contrary, soon we will totally deplete all the natural resources, pollute the environment, and run out of fresh water and clean air. There is no place where we can develop.

This crisis is the essence of a new humanity. It isn’t by chance that the word “crisis” (ρίσις) means birth in ancient Greek, a turning point from which a new life begins. So by examining the current situation, we have to understand: What is new here? What is being revealed to us?

The whole problem is that until now we have developed through one, negative force that molded different needs in us and pushed us forward to fulfill them. We lack a second, positive force that pulls and unites. This force doesn’t exist in our nature, in the human essence. No matter what we do, it is all meant for personal gain, to use others for our own benefit.

So where can we attain this second force? After all, our body and all natural systems are built on the cooperation of two opposing forces: plus and minus, hot and cold, pressure and

vacuum, etc. In the inanimate, vegetative, and animate nature there is always one against the other, and life develops in the balance between these forces, in harmony, in the right absorption and emission. But on the “human” level and on the level of our consciousness the positive force doesn’t exist, only the negative force: I constantly want to use whatever I see and receive what I feel that I lack.

Today we are at the peak of this trend, and at this point we must realize that we lack the other positive force. It will not come to us instinctively, naturally; we have to develop it ourselves. Many scientists are studying this problem. In the ARI Institute we are in contact with thousands of experts throughout the world. They all agree about this issue, that without this positive force we will not be able to go on. But where can we find it? The answer is simple: a person has to stabilize his source by building a new society.

It is common knowledge that we develop by our society. A child left in a forest will grow like an animal and will not develop into a person. A person is the result of the human society he grows in. This is why we are so concerned about the friends our children play with, the school they go to, and who they see; society molds us.

If we want to create a new man that lives in harmony with others, then we have to establish the right environment for him in order to teach him the integral way of thinking that is based on bestowal and not on receiving.

Today as the mutual global connection is growing stronger, we already feel the connections among countries. In the future the social pressure will also increase. So we simply have to take care of ourselves.

Everything depends on whether we establish an environment. No one is happy about the current situation. The conflicts everywhere are more intense and the despair is growing. There is no other choice. It is time to develop the integral education, to draw the positive force. Then we will discover that the current crisis is revealing negativity only so that positivity will be placed opposite to it. In this way our society (on every level, up to the global level), like all of nature, will be based on two forces: the positive and the negative. In the middle, in the connection, in the balance between them, we will find new life, the true “human” level.

We will feel the harmony in nature that is concealed from us since we are working with only one force. By rising above the inanimate, vegetative, and animate nature, and working on the human level by independently acquiring the positive force and balancing it with the negative force, we will become acquainted with nature’s perfect system, and discover the forces that manage us behind the screen of matter. We will suddenly discover this huge system that created life and that manages it through evolution. We will begin to develop consciously by discovering these forces and advance with them.

So our current state is actually our birth. Everything depends on us, and on whether we will manage to organize the integral education. It isn’t by chance that the current crisis is global and varied; it includes everyone and everything, and we have to find the general balance point to compensate for it.

Then, we will truly feel happy. We will begin to discover nature’s eternity, and will feel that we are on the “human” level, which is independent of our body. In our consciousness we will rise above it and discover nature’s “level of knowledge” that manages the whole universe. Many scientists are talking about this today, especially those who deal with quantum physics.

Eventually the integral education will open up new horizons for us in science, culture, society, and family by which we will acquire and create a new dimension of life, and promise ourselves a better future.
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From the Lecture in Chile 5/1/12, “Reaching the Internal Connection”

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