Entries in the 'Crisis' Category

The Entire World Continues To Feel The Effects Of The Crisis

To all  questions about the crisis, I answer that I have not changed my opinion: I still believe that the crisis continues, and that it will end only when people correct their nature. The crisis is happening due to the disparity between humanity’s global, integral egoism and Nature (the Creator).  The following news stories demonstrate the ongoing crisis worldwide:

The Skies Are Not Clear In Spain
In the News (from The Financial Times): “Spanish unemployment rises as tourism suffers” The labour and immigration ministry said the number of jobless claimants rose by nearly 85,000 to 3.63m, 1.1m more than in August last year, with services and construction recording the heaviest job losses.

Unemployed Chinese Have Nowhere to Go
In the News (from SecretChina): “Over 24 million people unemployed in China!” The Chinese government indicated on August 23 that total unemployment in the country will exceed 24 million people in 2009. In 2008, many manufacturing plants were shut down, leaving about 30 million migrant workers jobless.

Americans Committing Suicide In The Workplace
In the News (from BusinessInsurance): “Employers grapple with rise in workplace suicides” There was a 28% increase in the number of suicides committed in the workplace last year—251—compared with the prior year, according to a census by the U.S. Department of Labor. Those who commit suicide at work may have felt significant stress from their increased work load as well as worries about job security…

Is It The End Of The Crisis Or Just The End?
In the News (from TruthOut.org): “Unemployment Jumps to 9.7 Percent, as Economy Loses Another 216,000 Jobs” The 10.1 percent unemployment rate for adult men equals the prior post-war high. The number of discouraged workers is almost exactly double the August 2008 number. And the U-6 measure of labor market slack rose to 16.8%. Hours for production workers have been reduced by 8.5% over the course of this recession. This is the largest percent reduction of hours during a recession since the Great Depression.

Asian Countries To Work For Themselves
In the News (from VOA): – “Nobel Economist Says Asia’s Economies in ‘Remarkable’ Recovery” Joseph Stiglitz says Asia’s economies are in a good position to reduce their dependence on exporting goods to the United States and Europe. He said, “You have a robust large economy here in Asia and so you have the basis of developing a regional economy.”

Related Material:
Laitman.com Post: Changing The World Starts With Changing Yourself
Laitman.com Post: A World Without Money
Laitman.com Post: Specific, Practical Methods To Combat The Crisis
Laitman.com Post: Instead Of Seeking To Change Our Economic Systems, We Should Draw The Upper Light Of Correction
Bail Yourself Out: Chapter 12:”Money, Money, Money”
Rabash Article: Shlavey HaSulam: “The Importance of the Association”

Countdown To Doomsday In Philadelphia?

Laitman_2009-05-28_8348_wIn the News (from The CW Philly): “Devastating Cuts Expected Under Doomsday Budget” – Mayor Michael Nutter said the clock is counting down to the implementation of a devastating ‘doomsday budget’ in Philadelphia.

Under the “Plan C” budget, nearly 3,000 city workers will lose their jobs, including 1,000 police officers and 200 firefighters.

On Wednesday, Mayor Nutter said Philadelphia’s court system will face a “virtual shutdown” if the cash-strapped city does not get state approval for a sales tax increase and changes to how it makes its pension payments. Philadelphia is facing a $1.4 billion five-year budget deficit.

My Comment: Looting and robberies will soon begin, just as we see in the movies that show our “bright” future.

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From Chaos To Harmony: “Obeying Nature’s Law. Life’s Purpose”

Even Weapons Manufacturers Are Feeling The Effects Of The Crisis


In the News (translated from MIGnews.com): The largest manufacturer of the “Kalashnikov” machine gun has stopped production of this weapon at the Moscow Metallugical Plant, “Serp i Molot” (hammer and sickle).

My Comment: I don’t believe it and I don’t understand!  Last year, military expenditures rose 27% worldwide!  They can’t even sell machine guns?

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The New Stage Of The Same Old Crisis

Laitman_2009-05-xx_ny_6618A question I received: Despite the numbers and facts you believe that the world economy is not getting out of the crisis, and this is the opinion of Kabbalah?

My Answer: I am not an economist and Kabbalah doesn’t do market forecasts. But here is my personal opinion:

We observe rising oil prices, rising market indices and rising stock prices. That’s why people talk about the end of the recession and the beginning of world economic growth.

However, it is not a reflection of real economic growth,  but an artificial stimulus of demand and new market speculations as a result of the infusion of government funds into the economy. Speculation in the oil market has caused a rise in oil prices, triggering a rise in prices on other goods. So new bubbles are being created, which will eventually burst and thus bring a new economic collapse.

The governments have provided funds to stimulate consumer demand and thus trigger economic growth. However, these funds have landed in the banks and instead of generating economic growth, layoffs continue, which in turn causes further decline in demand.

Governmental debts of the world’s leading economies are higher than their annual GDP, military expenses are on the rise, and the printing of money doesn’t stop.

Conclusion: We are in the next stage of the same crisis and we are heading towards the bursting of an even bigger bubble.

1. The cause of the crisis lies in the fact that we have reached the limit of our egoistic development through many centuries and we have now formed  a global, integral system.

2. The law of behavior of such a system is based on the common inter-connectedness of its elements. It is like the organs of the body, where each organ is working to support the whole system, and by this, insuring its own existence.

3. But in order to form such a connection (to love your neighbor as yourself), there must be a very evident revelation of our interconnectedness. Only in this scenario, will our personal egoism allow the possibility of taking the concept of caring for the whole system into account, .

4. Out of all doctrines, philosophies and religions, only Kabbalah talks about the revelation of the global connection between people – the Upper World, and not about suppressing the ego. Only the revelation of the concealed connection between us (which is the same as revelation of the Creator) will bring us to prosperity, according to His thought and our desire!

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Laitman.com Post: Those “Fixing” The Crisis Are Like Poker Players Who Just Can’t Stop
Laitman.com Post: The Real Crisis Is Not In Finance, But In Our Attitudes
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Kabbalah Today Article: Navigating Through the Financial Storm

Governments Seek To Restrict Awards To Bankers


In the News (from Bloomberg): “France Seeking Ban on Guaranteed Bonuses for Bankers” France wants the Group of 20 to go further in clamping down on banker pay, including a ban on guaranteed bonuses … Governments in France, Britain and the U.S. are struggling to implement promises made this year to restrict awards to bankers. In the U.S., the Treasury is reviewing compensation of top executives at seven companies that got aid from the government… Citigroup Inc., among U.S. companies being scrutinized, may seek to persuade energy trader Andrew Hall to accept stock [instead of cash] next year after paying him $100 million for 2008.

My Comment: What other course of action would you propose to the people who hold access to society’s funds? Their innate egoism does not allow them to part with this money unless there is a huge personal reward. If there is no such reward, they will simply keep it all for themselves.

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10 Big Recession Surprises (Clue: One Involves Sex)


In the News (from Time): Surging unemployment, tight credit and depressed housing prices are common components of a recession. But rarely do they occur at once, like now, and endure for so long. But it is hardly the only oddity. The rules for tough times are being rewritten almost daily. Here are some other ways this recession is rewriting the rules:

1. Soup: A Recession Staple No More
2. Organic Food Sales Remain Strong
3. Loan Rates Remain Stubbornly High
4. Movie Ticket Sales Are Booming
5. Intimacy Takes a Hit
6. Sin Industry Goes to Hell
7. There Are No Safe Havens
8. Trade is Getting Clobbered
9. Nail Salons Are Getting Nailed
10. The Rich Feel it Too

My Comment: Apparently people still haven’t figured out the fundamental difference of this crisis: that it comes from the lack of a benevolent connection between people, and not from the lack of any other connections, whether political, economic, or anything else. Meanwhile, people are still trying to pinpoint the external consequences…

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Kabbalah Today Article: The Way Passed the End

Those “Fixing” The Crisis Are Like Poker Players Who Just Can’t Stop


People are currently trying to fix the economic crisis, and they’ll continue to play this game until everything tumbles down completely. They are like poker players who have lost everything, but can’t tear themselves away from the table. It is all a complete lie and a bluff, but people cannot tear away from it because they don’t know where to run or what to do.

Kabbalah is being revealed to humanity particularly in this state, because it is the only means to reveal the cause of the crisis. Suffering will not enable us to see the cause because suffering is perceived on the still, vegetative, and animate levels. Meanwhile, the crisis is taking place on the human level: it is the revelation of the breaking of the common soul. The suffering will bring people to the science of Kabbalah, which will reveal the cause of the breaking, and people will then realize that they have to correct their attitude to others. There is nothing else to correct but this.

All the causes are in the spiritual world, and our world is merely a consequence. Because we want to correct the consequences, the Creator sends us more and more disappointment. Everyone knows that all our attempts to unite and to achieve peace are always followed by an outburst of terrible hatred.

Even if the G20 gets together now and signs an agreement to create a single world government, a common bank, a pension for everyone, equal and fair distribution, then an epidemic or some other calamity will still hit us because we do not wish to correct the point in the system that was damaged: the connection between us.

The simple solution is to reach the state of “love your neighbor as yourself,” and Kabbalah gives us a piece of advice on how to achieve this: “I created egoism and I created the Torah (the Light) that corrects it.”

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Diamonds Are Becoming Outdated


A question I received: What does it mean that everything a person does should be done for the sake of others? Say, for instance, I have a business. In this context, what does it mean to “align my actions with others”?

My Answer: Any person, including a businessman, must first reveal the evil in the world. One must become certain of the fact that the only evil in the world is the faulty relationships between people. Then, all we have to do is simply change our relationships from hate to love.

The crisis is not happening because of some financial or economic program that failed. Rather, the most fundamental cause of the crisis is the relationships between people, which, as we are now starting to see, are destroying the world. This is why people have to sit down and study. There is no other way to change anything. And the current crisis is leading us to realize this.

In addition, we must understand that a business such as DeBeers, for instance, which is the global leader in diamond production, will not be rescued from collapse if it decides to offer us 10% of their profits as Maaser and to implement some private corporate changes. There are many businesses in the world which are completely superfluous, and they will stop functioning altogether because humanity will only need the things necessary for existence. People will need only quality products that are healthy and will satisfy their essential needs.

This new program which is being revealed more and more with each passing day is what controls humanity, and it will not allow anyone to accumulate capital above and beyond what is necessary for a person to lead a decent, correct, healthy and safe life.

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Obama’s Presidential Job Approval Ratings Show Steady Decline


In the News (from Rasmussen Reports): The Rasmussen Reports daily Presidential Tracking Poll for Monday shows that … 40% Strongly Disapprove [of the way that Barack Obama is performing his role as President] giving Obama a Presidential Approval Index rating of -12.

My Comment: Yet, the crisis is still ahead, and Mr. Obama does not have answers to it. The new administration will lead to a degradation of morals in America, and that, together with the crisis, will cause terrible consequences… until the people will reveal the method of correction, Kabbalah.

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The Real Crisis Is Not In Finance, But In Our Attitudes


An editorial in the news (translated from blog.liga.net): Even supposing that the crisis will soon be over, there still won’t be enough work for everyone. People are buying fewer products because they have less money, and in addition, a person without work is a dangerous thing. The only solution is for people all over the world to change their value system and their notions of what they are willing to pay money for.

The crisis is making us realize what is of true value in the 21st century. It is preparing us to change our life values, and to understand the new values for which we are willing to pay money.

If the world’s richest people were to gather and form a world government based on these new values, then the world structure could change. But apparently, such an intent cannot appear without a crisis.

People’s consciousness doesn’t change in conditions of comfort. Stress, or a crisis, is necessary. Everyone needs it – whether they are workers, the middle class, retirees, or homeless – in order to ask themselves the main question: What are the new values that are important to me today?

I have yet to find one person who could give me a straight answer of what to do. Managing the crisis lies not in changing the situation in the external world – since all of this is just vanity of vanities, but the change needs to occur in the human consciousness. That is where all the roots and causes are found.

My Comment: People are already guessing that the crisis is not in finance, but in the need to change our general attitude toward life, ourselves, the world, and Nature. The problem is that we understand that we need to change, but we don’t know how and what to change, and we won’t find these things out by ourselves. We will keep receiving blows, but we won’t know how to evade them correctly.

Nature demands that we rise to the “human” level, which is a level we know nothing about because its qualities are opposite to our current level.

We will develop and eventually recognize the evil of our level, but on our own we will never be able to understand how to shift from evil to good, because this transition involves a new consciousness and new qualities on our part. That is why Kabbalah is being revealed today, as it is the science about revealing our next level.

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