My article in Newsmax: “Reopening the Economy? First, We Have to Change”

There are debates all over the world about how and to what extent countries should reopen their economies in order to prevent a complete collapse. But opening it without first dealing with the cause of the coronavirus outbreak is likely to have horrific consequences that will dwarf the ordeal of the current pandemic.

We think we are at war with nature, that we must fight against it and subdue it. We forget that we ourselves are nature’s creation. Each of our thoughts, plans, words and actions is engendered in nature before it manifests in us. This is true even of the aspiration to subdue nature. But trying to conquer the very thing that planted the thought of conquering in our minds makes even less sense than chasing our own tails.

Just as we don’t understand why nature sends us the thoughts it does, we don’t understand why it has sent us the coronavirus. Yet it, too, had a process that led to its emergence. If we want to overcome the virus, we must know where it came from and why. When we identify the process that engendered the virus, we will see what we must do in order to curb it, and why there are many more in store where that little bug came from, and far more sinister.

Many scientists have already pointed to human behavior as the cause of the appearance of the virus. They explained that the destruction of natural habitats of many wild animals has forced them to migrate closer to humans. This makes what virologists call a “spillover” of viruses from animals to humans easier and more frequent. All the coronaviruses that caused respiratory syndromes in this century have resulted from such “spillovers.” SARS, MERS and COVID-19 were all caused by viruses that migrated from the animal kingdom and caused life-threatening illnesses in humans. So, too, by the way, is the case with the Ebola virus.

But human behavior did not only cause spillovers of viruses. Human behavior has polluted the oceans, lakes and rivers, polluted the air and polluted the earth. It depleted the oceans of fish, the sky of birds and the earth of animals. Human behavior starves and sickens millions of men, women and children the world over, enslaves them, rapes them and exploits them in countless ways. Human behavior inflicts death and torment on millions through war, deportation and destruction of communities and entire countries. Even the affluent and fortunate are so afflicted by human behavior that they find refuge in drugs, suicide, excessive eating and depression. In short, human behavior is the cause of all that is bad and wrong in the world.

Yet, what causes us to be so injurious to everything and everyone around us? And if our behavior is so fundamentally flawed, can we even mend it? And if so, where do we start?

We Start at Home

All animals behave according to their nature. Man is a part of nature; therefore, man behaves according to human nature. If human behavior is flawed, it is because so is human nature.

Hugging trees won’t change human nature, but hugging people will. The change should start at home, with the people meant to be closest to us. We must use the COVID-19 hiatus from baleful capitalism to reconnect with our families, reestablish the bond that made us a family in the first place, but which so many of us have lost along the way.

Afterwards, we should look at our communities and begin to reconstruct them. To paraphrase the words of JFK, ask not what your community can do for you; ask what you can do for your community. It will take mutual commitment to succeed, but if people understand the importance and urgency of rebuilding our communities, they will respond.

Before we take action, we must be aware. We must let the idea of human nature being the root of all problems sink into our minds and the minds of the people in our family and community, and then pull together and change it. We can do it. All we have to do is set a good example and let others inspire us through their example. We can use the added free time we have been given to learn about human nature and then go out and do something about it with our friends and neighbors.

From the community level, we must spread the spirit of friendship everywhere else. Just as singing from porches spread from Italy to porches all over the world, so can good deeds. Don’t be afraid to shoot a video of yourself helping others and post it on social media. Tell the viewers that you’re doing it because you want to be a better person, and the idea will catch on. It’s as easy as that: I help others because it makes me a better person. That’s all that people need to know. You will win people’s hearts and they will want to follow in your footsteps.

If we realize who we are and want to change, we only need to change our actions. This will change our mindsets, which will change our hearts.
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From My Facebook Page Michael Laitman 4/23/20

Various pundits are pointing to consumerism as the reason for the destruction of nature, which eventually led to the appearance of the coronavirus and other menaces. They are advocating the idea that we should stop shopping and return to what they call “sustainable” living.

I don’t think it’s natural, and certainly not sustainable to live the way our forefathers lived eons ago. Human nature requires(!) pleasures. We aren’t only animals; we are also humans, and humans have many desires that animals don’t. Needs for entertainment, shopping, or traveling are not luxuries. We really do need them. The problem is not with the desires but with how we use them, and mainly, for what!

We’re all part of one, interconnected system. Everything we do that coincides with our interconnectedness helps us, and everything we do that contradicts our interconnectedness hurts us. If I buy something in order to strengthen my connection with another person, it’s good for me. If I buy that same thing in order to show it off and make others feel bad, it’s bad for me. So the problem is not with our actions, but with our intentions!

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My article in Newsmax: “Are We Going Back to Normal?”

Nature is doing its job—we just need to support it and the world will heal from the coronavirus pandemic.

People stand and cheer for healthcare workers outside Mount Sinai West Hospital at 7pm on Manhattan’s Upper West Side during the outbreak of the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) in New York City, New York, U.S., April 13, 2020. REUTERS/Mike Segar

One thing we have certainly learned from the coronavirus quarantine is that nature could live peacefully without our interference. As countries begin to consider lifting the lockdowns imposed to avoid further contagion, we see unequivocal signs of the planet’s ecological recovery. Nature is a master teacher, now it is our turn to become exemplary students, pass the difficult test handed to us, and advance a grade by improving the relationship between us and the environment.

“As people stopped commuting and traveling, the Earth’s surface vibrated less,” reads a recent National Geographic article which explains how the coronavirus has “quieted” the world with the measures to curb the pandemic, thus reducing seismic noise. It puts in perspective the tremendous impact of humans on nature for better or worse.

Since COVID-19 pushed the world’s pause button, satellite images released by NASA show a significant reduction in toxic emissions and pollution in America. The air is dramatically cleaner in big cities across the globe, the chirping of birds has replaced the unbearable metropolis noise, and animals reclaim their habitats penetrating the big cities. One obvious conclusion is that instead of man’s hectic race to manipulate the world, it is much better when we sit quietly and allow nature to breathe, recover itself, and bloom.

Our attempts to control others out of pride, and particularly, our predatory behaviors toward each other, have brought despair and affliction upon us. However, humankind has the ability to consciously make a change. The first step toward change is awareness. Otherwise, it is impossible to fix something that we just assume works well.

Flattening the Negativity Curve about the Future

If we stop producing, acquiring, and accumulating the unnecessary stuff that is choking the planet, if we discuss and internalize what really matters in life and invest more time in nurturing good and healthy relationships, we will stop feeling that life is a dead-end road and our future will seem brighter and clearer.

Like never before, we are on the verge of a historic breakthrough. As humanity impatiently awaits the reopening of society and businesses, we should not become nostalgic about the past. Returning to what we call “normal” would be returning to the abnormal state that constantly left us unfulfilled, chasing unrealistic goals, and immersed in exhausting competition to succeed at all cost. However, since the old, egoistic patterns have proven themselves unworkable, it is worthwhile to look forward to welcome change, instead of backward. Ultimately, the current crisis has come to raise us and all of creation to a higher level of existence, so we would be wise to flow with the harmonious power of nature and allow it to heal us.

How do we ensure that we do not derail our trajectory toward a renewed and rehabilitated world? We will stay on the right track if we realize that nature is whole and round, where all its elements must be connected in one integral system in which they support and complement each other.

Humanity needs to replicate this pattern and move in sync with nature by gradually refraining from treating one another badly. We must understand that we constitute a delicate system in which each person depends on the other and we need to constantly strengthen social cohesion. This is the formula of nature for a wonderful and balanced existence, one that is complete and eternal. Thus, it is precisely from this enormous coronavirus crisis that we can flatten pessimism about the future and raise the curve of the positive new life.

— Published on April 16, 2020
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Question: Will there be spiritual consequences from the coronavirus? Now humankind is suffering, afraid, and has not yet reached far-reaching conclusions.

Answer: Man is still at a loss: Where will I work? Where will my children study? How will it all develop? How long will I stay at home, etc.? And there are a lot of questions here: What about my wife, the children? I rarely see them, and now I finally get to know my children and my wife too.

This is not easy. We will sit together for a few more months and if we do not conduct serious educational work with the population, then the families will begin to break up.

Remark: These are not very good forecasts.

My Comment: What can we do? Indeed, when people suddenly unite in a small space, they gradually begin to show each other different sides of egoism. This is not easy to get along with.

But I think that we will conduct all kinds of seminars and classes, display everything possible on our websites, and this will prevent a blow.

Question: But how will people, while in quarantine, not try to kill each other?

Answer: On the contrary, we will educate people so that physical distance between us will lead to an internal, heartwarming, spiritual connection, and people will feel the emergence of a new force called the Creator.

It is said in the Torah: “Husband and wife, and the Creator between them.” In this way, we can discover the Creator even between husband and wife. Everything is between us.
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From KabTV’s “Fundamentals of Kabbalah,” 3/22/20

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Question: Over the course of history, there have been many outbreaks of various epidemics in the world, but we have never seen anything quite similar to what is happening now. What is so special about the current pandemic for you as a Kabbalist?

Answer: The current pandemic is special because of the completely different reaction of the people than before. In the past, we weren’t worried about it; what’s the big deal: avian flu, swine flu. Someone has the flu, so be it.

Every year a couple of million people die from various viruses in the world. So what? Nothing is wrong with that. An epidemic comes and we go on with our usual business. We bear children, raise them, get old, and die from the flu or not, it does not matter.

And suddenly, 400 people got sick in the country and the entire world stands up, not knowing what to do.

I think it’s not about the flu or the coronavirus, Rather, humanity underwent a certain inner re-evaluation of reality. Although we don’t feel it, this is exactly what makes us relate to these phenomena differently.

Think about it: If we take a look at the Earth from the side, and 1,000 people died there, would that justify stopping all production, locking everybody at home, forbidding them to go out on the streets, and leaving them not knowing if there will be food on the table in a month or two? What is happening?

Remark: The pandemic is taking over the entire world, and it has never felt so global before.

My Response: There is a sense of globality in the world. Kabbalists talked about it a long time ago. Kabbalah has always linked our time with the entrance into a new era. And the world feels this. Globalism, in particular, confers a special perception on the world.
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From KabTV’s: “The Coronavirus Is Changing the World” 3/19/20

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Question: Today everybody has all the information about what is happening in the world. It was not like this before. Some 30 to 40 years ago we had no way of knowing, to the smallest detail, what was going on in any other country.

Besides, there was never such a thing as a universal quarantine . Everybody is sitting at home now or will be sitting there soon. There are countries where people cannot go out at all, they are fined for it.

What is special about the fact that nature disconnects us?

Answer: This is very good. Nature disconnects egoists to keep them away from each other. That is how we usually disperse a group of teenagers who violate public order because together, they only heat each other up, instigate each other, make noise, and do all kids of stupid things. And separately, they calm down.

It is the same here: The world disengages, egoists forcibly distance themselves from each other, and everything calms down. We see this with ecology in what is happening with the world today. The air clears, everything becomes calmer, smoother. Nature gets rid of the human impact, since people are the rudest egoists, violators of harmony. Then, everything becomes beautiful and good.
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From KabTv’s: “The Corona Virus is Changing the World,” 3/19/20

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From My Facebook Page Michael Laitman 4/21/20

While we are debating to what extent, if at all, we should ease the shelter-in-place policy, we should really be thinking from what or from whom we are taking shelter. Scientists have already been determined that the coronavirus pandemic erupted due to our own behavior toward nature. But we are just as abusive toward each other as we are toward nature. And just as nature has expelled us from itself, it also expelled us from society, and for the very same reason.

So if we want a kinder treatment from nature, we must develop a kinder approach toward it and toward people. We cannot love trees or animals and at the same time hate people. This is the worst kind of hatred, which disguises as love of animals and uses it as a pretext to hate people. This approach will not work. We must change our attitude toward all of creation on all its levels: mineral, plant, animal, and human. Until we learn how to plant love in our hearts instead of hate, nature will punish us every time we bring our bodies closer.

[Runners, families and bikers seen spending a few moments in Central Park during Covid-19 – Corona pandemic stay at home orders, Sunday April 19 2020 in New York NY. (Photo by Jonas Gustavsson/Sipa USA)]

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Question: Reading medical books and talking about pills does not cure anything. How does talking about the integrality of nature help?

Answer: The difference is that when you talk about medicine, it does not affect you. But when you talk about the coronavirus, whether you want to or not, you are awakening the upper forces that send it to us.

When we speak about connection, we generate it between us; we awaken people’s desires for this connection and for ascending above our egoistic nature, So, it turns out that you are being cured through this and you do not need any medicine.

Right now, billions of dollars are being spent in the world to find a cure for the coronavirus. And it practically is on that wave that we are talking about. You can doubt it, you can laugh, but it is a fact.

If we get closer to each other, which is possible through our discussions, acting, and training, then no virus will develop and live between us. However, if we continue to argue and move further away from each other, we will give it space and it will rule between us in order to prevent people from getting closer to each other.

Look how it works. Let’s say there is a decree that no one should get closer than two meters from someone else. Look at how good this is—at least, there cannot be any physical violence, but we will still be able to argue. And if we continue to argue, then another, more complex virus will appear and we will find ourselves at such a distance from each other that we will not be able even to argue.

I see that the virus works in such a way in order to allow us to come closer to each other correctly, both mentally and spiritually. Therefore, we need to be thankful and appreciate it. I hope that in time we will appreciate it.
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From KabTV’s “Fundamentals of Kabbalah” 3/22/20

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Nature advances us, it arranges the right relationship to each other and to nature in general, that is, the Creator. It steered us through the first stage and has moved on to the next.

And therefore, at this new stage, we will soon realize that this is not just another virus, an accident that will soon pass and we will be able to return to our previous lives with the help of some medicine. Do not be mistaken that you can return to the pre-coronavirus state and that the epidemic will end like any other flu.

You must understand that nature will continue to put pressure on us because it has a program, a goal, that it will certainly fulfill without any pity. Therefore, all of humanity will face difficulties, pressure, and blows from nature. Its purpose is not just to quarantine and distance us from each other; it is to awaken us to action that will lead to a conscious unification.

Nature wants us to think about what is happening and see that it is important not just to get rid of the virus, but to understand what the epidemic is for, what its purpose is, what it is doing to us, what changes it makes in our mind and feelings, and how it develops us.

The virus will not disappear, but it will put even stronger and, more importantly, qualitative pressure on us. Then we will have to understand that this is the Creator speaking to us. A virus is not a random phenomenon of a simple nature that does not understand and does not feel anything, as biologists and doctors believe.

We must try to discern the hand that acts in the coronavirus, through it, with a specific aim to increase our mind, understanding, and feelings and allows us to see in the virus that power and thought it brings.

But if you look correctly and see help from above designed to lead us to a sublime, higher goal, then we will perceive the virus as a manifestation of love, an altruistic action that seeks to correct us and connect us.

And then we will see in the coronavirus, in this epidemic, with all its suffering, its goal. Therefore, instead of wanting to escape from the blows and extinguish them, we will want to continue moving in the direction the virus is pushing us, not resisting the pressure, but walking along with this wave.

In this case, we will reveal the path of correction that the virus opens before us, and we will go with it to where it leads us, that is, we will move from the path of suffering to the path of light, and make an ally out of the enemy.

So, we will distinguish a hint in the actions of the virus, a sign, showing us how to change our heart and mind in order to understand the Creator, to achieve likeness to Him, adhesion, connection, and closeness.

By intensifying our suffering, nature, that is, the Creator, wants to force us to relate to what is happening. It wants us to see not just blows, but to notice the higher mind and feelings behind them, the attitude of nature toward us, which seeks to educate and teach us, and most importantly, bring us closer to itself. This is the trend of our time, which will manifest itself more and more day after day.

I hope that humanity will be able to open its heart and mind and see in the growing changes in human society an invitation to approach the Creator, which is the cause of everything that happens.

We, as smart children, will perceive the pressure of Mother Nature not as a cruel punishment, but we will realize why it is putting pressure on us and what it wants from us. After all, this pressure is only an external manifestation of a good attitude, designed to awaken us, the egoists.

If we rise above our egoism in order to see and feel what our parents really want from us, we will perceive everything differently: as a manifestation of love and a desire to draw us to them.
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From the 4^th part of the Daily Kabbalah Lesson 4/12/20,   “Pesach (Passover)”

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My article in Newsmax: “Coronavirus and Emergency Economy”

At the moment, governments are trying to inject businesses and businesspeople with financial oxygen until the pandemic passes. But it won’t pass so quickly. In my estimate, we’re looking at 12-18 months before it fades away. But more importantly, when it’s over, people will have changed dramatically; they will not want to revert to the old way of life.

Graffiti in Hong Kong reads: “We can’t return to normal because our normal was the problem in the first place.” How very true. Some business will return, but a great many will not because they were redundant to begin with so resuscitating them is nothing but a waste of taxpayers’ money. Instead of wasting, governments should declare an “emergency economy” and freeze everything until the dust settles. After several months it will be easier to see what to keep and to what we should bid farewell.

So the first thing that governments need to do is make sure that everyone has food and shelter. Every family should get the same per capita, and this will alleviate the need for cash. Guaranteeing food and shelter for each person is much less costly than transferring money to people’s accounts, and guarantees that they will not waste it on unessential needs.

In the meantime, the business and finance sectors should be put on hold: All transactions, lending and paying of loans, everything and everyone should simply take a break.

The more obstinate we are recognizing the onset of the new phase in humanity, the more painfully that phase will impose itself on us. If you think of social changes like a train ride, then the train has left the dock on its way to a new station, and it will not stop until we’re there.

Alleviating the Transition

My intention in writing this article is not to intimidate anyone. On the contrary, I want the necessary transition we all have to undergo to be as smooth, quick and pleasant as possible. Humanity has suffered enough; there’s no need to add unnecessary agony.

To help us alleviate the shift, we should supplement the provision of food and shelter with information about the process unfolding the world over. Many people already feel that nature is rejuvenating quickly since we’ve been told to stay at home. They realize that we have done too much harm and that we cannot go on this way.

Now we should extend this realization to the relationships between us. Our ill-will toward each other has cost us far more pain and ill-health than the coronavirus. Worse yet, it has made us uncaring for each other no less than we are uncaring for nature. When we rear people in a dog-eat-dog mentality, is it a wonder that this is how they also treat nature?

Therefore, the healing must begin with us. Once we learn how dependent we are on each other, we will stop treating one another like enemies. We will realize that by seeing to each other’s well being we will be seeing to our own well being, and nothing teaches us this lesson better than COVID-19.

Our compulsory slowdown is not aimless; it is for us to reflect on our lives and their meaning. Now that consumerism has been stopped by force majeure, we have time to ask why we needed it in the first place, what we gained by it, and who gained from it. Certainly not us.

We are living in the twilight of one era and the dawn of another. It has not risen yet, but if we teach ourselves about it work shoulder-to-shoulder to embrace it, it will rise and shine on a new humanity: ready to welcome the new epoch with open arms that are joined together.
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