Entries in the 'Group Work' Category

Nothing Will Work Without Annulment

530Question: How can we annul ourselves before the ten if we are part of it?

Answer: So, annul, each one in relation to the others; without this, nothing will happen. You can, of course, continue to be a part of our large international group, but nothing will happen.

All in all, you must realize that there is no spiritual correction except by replacing our animal egoism with a spiritual property, which is the property of bestowal, connection, and love.

Question: Should every desire that appears in us be reduced to zero?

Answer: There is no need to bring anything to zero. We cannot do anything with desires, they are our essence. We just need to understand that desires lead us to correction, to similarity with the Creator, to merging with Him, to revealing Him, and we must use them in that manner.
[292301]
From the International Convention “Rising Above Ourselves” 1/7/22, “Annulling before the Friends” Lesson 2

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How Do We Acquire Spiritual Properties?

945Rabash. Article 21 (1986) “Concerning Above Reason”: And as was said, the same can be obtained by adhesion of friends—new qualities by which they will be qualified to achieve Dvekut with the Creator. 

I do not have properties with which I can come to the revelation of the Creator and merge with Him. These properties are in my friends. I am Malchut, which must absorb the properties of the first nine Sefirot. And this can be achieved only if Malchut reduces itself, that is, limits itself in its egoism and gives itself over to serving the connection with the first nine Sefirot. This is the work of Malchut. Therefore, we have no other way to come to creating the vessel that can reveal the Creator except from incorporation with friends to incorporation with the Creator.

And all this can be said while he sees the merits of the friends. At that time, it is relevant to say that he should learn from their actions. But when he sees that he is better qualified than they are, there is nothing he can receive from the friends. 

And he cannot come closer to the Creator naturally. He will not have those properties with which he can approach the Creator. That is, I cannot reveal the Creator in my properties, but only if I annul myself before my friends and absorb their properties into myself. And it is so for everyone.
[292259]
From the International Convention “Rising Above Ourselves” 1/8/22, “Adhering to the Friends” Lesson 3

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A Gathering Of Disciples Is Higher Than A Great Sage

938.02It is important even for a great sage to nullify himself toward his disciples. He has, of course, a million times more wisdom than they do, but he does not have the properties of mutual connection and bestowal, which they cultivate among themselves because there are many of them, and he is one. Therefore, he is ready to lower himself toward them.

That is why a Kabbalistic group in its spiritual value is higher than any single Kabbalist, higher than any sage, because the property of mutual bestowal is manifested in it.

The most important thing we need is the maximum nullification of ourselves toward the group, before its internal setting, in internal connection, and thus bring ourselves closer to the property of bestowal, the property of the Creator. The Creator is in the center of the group, and as far as I can approach this center and begin to feel it, to this extent I can reveal the Creator.

A group is a collection of small, but goal-oriented people. They still cannot do anything spiritually and do not understand where they are, but they have gathered together. Therefore, their assembly is higher in spiritual construction than a great Kabbalist who is alone.

After all, they build the Creator within themselves, that is, their state is more promising, and therefore the Creator is more concerned with them.
[292046]
From the International Convention “Rising Above Ourselves” 1/8/22, “Adhering to the Friends” Lesson 3

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The Constant Desire For Self-Cancellation

565.01Question: How can self-nullification be renewed when a new stage in egoism is revealed?

Answer: You must strive to nullify yourself in front of your friends all the time. Constantly check whether you cancel yourself before them, how much you cancel, where and in what else you can cancel. And then we will have mutual inclusion into each other and thus the revelation of the Creator.

But the principle of cancellation before friends must be fundamental. There are people who very quickly begin to understand and accept it, and there are people who have such great egoism that they do not hear it.

I also went through a very difficult path until I began to feel that I was in the power of egoism so much that I did not hear words about canceling myself in front of my friends. This is a problem for many. But in fact this is not a problem; it is simply the first step that we need to overcome, and we cannot get away from this.

Therefore we need to help each other, set an example, and read relevant articles. In particular, Rabash writes about how honor, power, and glory help a person overcome himself in order to cancel himself in front of a group.
[292246]
From the International Convention “Rising Above Ourselves” 1/7/22, “Annulling before the Friends” Lesson 2

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Praise The Group

938.04The Creator has created a special condition: a group with the help of which we can come to Him. Otherwise, we could not have come and would have remained at our level in an egoistic existence.

The group is a wonderful, special quality created in caring for us. This is Adam’s soul, which has shattered, and a part of it is in each of us. When we gather in a group, we must gather them together, and then we can come to the Creator.

In fact, we have a huge, amazing, unique opportunity, to gather together on our earthly level, to gradually bring this gathering of ours to a spiritual level in at least something. By the similarity of our striving, even still egoistically, we evoke the influence of the upper light, the Creator, and thus begin to pull ourselves up to Him.

This is the way to become like Him, to rise above ourselves, and to get closer to the Creator. All this is the group! Only through it will we be able to make this journey. Otherwise, we remain at the lowest level (animate) in which we were born.

The group is a special tool and the only way to rise from the level of an animal to the level of the Creator.
[292011]
From the International Convention “Rising Above Ourselves” 1/7/22, “Annulling before the Friends” Lesson 2

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First Stage Of Movement Toward Correction

608.01Question: The more I annul myself, the more I rise above my egoism, right? Does this happen continuously as I connect with the ten more and more?

Answer: Yes, the more I annul myself, the closer I come to finally really annulling myself. This happens to the extent that egoism is revealed in me now, but not completely. It will be revealed for a long time over all future degrees.

But for the time being I have to carry out the work that was given to me so that in spite of my egoism, when I annul it, I unite with my friends and annul myself before them.

The moment I achieve the state of annulment of my ego to a certain degree—meaning I make a restriction on it—I receive an opportunity to use the upper light and begin to ascend. This is a different kind of work.

Right now we are talking only about the first stage of our movement toward correction, and this is annulling ourselves before the friends. This is what our world was created for. We are going through a great historical panorama and are participating in this from generation to generation in order to create all the conditions for complete annulment.

At each degree we must keep the restriction and then rise above it in order to use our desires in the opposite direction, in the direction of bestowal. Then, in this quality of bestowal, we will begin to feel some kind of similarity to the Creator. This is already a feeling of the upper light that will fill us.
[292194]
From the International Convention “Rising Above Ourselves” 1/7/22, “Annulling before the Friends” Lesson 2

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The Point Of Spiritual Ascent

530Question: If everyone in the ten is a zero and each annuls their desire, then there will be no desire at all, then what do I annul to?

Answer: Then you will no longer have to annul yourself before anything because you will be completely annulled. This is the first point from which you will begin your spiritual ascent.

Annulling ourselves before the others is the task of each of us at the starting point of the spiritual path. That’s where we will start our ascent. This is the task we are facing now.

And then the whole ascent will be based on the principle of faith above reason, when the quality of bestowal will prevail in us over the quality of reception.
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From the International Convention “Rising Above Ourselves” 1/7/22, “Annulling before the Friends” Lesson 2

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Attack The Concealment Of The Creator

507.04Question: How can we maintain the special connection that we have tuned into among ourselves at the congress?

Answer: Kabbalah, on the one hand, is a somewhat unrealistic science because it does not operate within the physical qualities of our sensations. On the other hand, it is absolutely real because we must not only study and explore it, but also create it, and not simply create it, but do so out of our opposite qualities.

In this movement of studying the opposite qualities, we must attract the concealed upper force of nature that holds, nourishes, births, saturates and fills everything. This is a quality of bestowal. It comes through a little, but it is still manifested and perceived by us in our egoistic qualities.

And here,  in connection with each other, we must manifest these qualities of nature, the qualities of selfless bestowal. And in the measure we strive for this, we begin to feel that there is such a quality of real, true love in nature, which is called “the Creator.” But it is concealed because we ourselves conceal it since we do not have such qualities and feelings or such relations between us.

Therefore, the Creator broke the original single desire He created so that in all possible attempts to connect between us, we could somehow understand what is opposite to us, and start trying to reveal it and pull it out of concealment.

So we will act as the Kabbalists advise us; we will attack the concealment of the Creator because there is only Him and His concealment, which we must negate with our efforts. We need to create such connections between us in order to reveal this quality of love and bestowal, then, in the way our relationships resemble the Creator, He will be revealed in them.
[292160]
From the International Convention “Rising Above Ourselves” 1/6/22, “Approaching the Creator Through the Network of Connections Between Us” Lesson 1

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Creating The Creator Out Of Common Desires

261Question: You said that the Creator does not exist. How do we become something that does not exist?

Answer: Just build Him. Create a Creator out of your feelings, desires, yearnings, and relationships, otherwise He does not exist. After all, the Creator is revealed only with regard to us, so we cannot say whether something exists outside of us and without us at all.

One day we will acquire the ability to feel something outside of us. But this is already in the complete quality of bestowal when we rise above ourselves and all of us begin to work with reflected light. Then we will enter new realms of connection and integration.

It is ahead of us; it is not far. Basically, the Creator is something that is attained and created between us. So let’s build Him.
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From the International Convention “Rising Above Ourselves” 1/6/22, “Approaching the Creator Through the Network of Connections Between Us” Lesson 1

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Strive To Create The Creator Between Us

938.01Question: When we get some minimal revelation, do we still remain researchers of the shattering? Is that our role in this world anyway?

Answer: No, our job is that at the same time we reveal our shattering, separation, and the opposition between us, we would strive for the opposite, which means, to unite all the way to love. We should not stop only at revealing that we are egoists and engage in self-criticism. We should strive precisely to create the Creator between us.

Question: And afterward?

Answer: And afterward, to reveal the Creator means to create a Creator from our destroyed, mutilated relationships. This is what building the Creator, revealing Him, means.

Comment: But then, further ahead step after step, we march into the shattering. It’s like we’re going to help put the world together piece by piece.

My Response: Because we reveal this whole world as our state. Not only am I with you or with the ten, but we are beginning to reveal that the whole world is every single one of us, and so we achieve a complete attitude to the whole world. These are our desires, we must put them all together, and not only on the human, but at the same time on the animal, vegetative, and inanimate levels.

And all this will be the substrate for us, the basis on which we will feel the appearance of the Creator, meaning the revelation of the qualities of love between all, the quality of the highest connection, the fullest inclusion in each other.

In this increasing, progressive inclusion within each other, we will begin to attain the kind of quality called “Creator,” but precisely in relation to us. In general, this quality is the only thing that exists in the universe, and “There is None Else but Him.”
[292156]
From the International Convention “Rising Above Ourselves” 1/6/22, “Approaching the Creator Through the Network of Connections Between Us” Lesson 1

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