Last year [2017] was the world’s most miserable for more than a decade, according to a survey of people’s emotions in more than 145 countries.
People experienced sadness, stress, worry, anger, and physical pain more frequently in 2017 than in previous years.
The results mean the world is more “negative” than at any point since the polling company [Gallup] started the study in 2005 (CNN).
Question: How would you comment on basic human emotions from the perspective of Kabbalah, and how can one overcome them?
Answer: You cannot. The answer is simple and immediate—you cannot!
The fact is that our egoism is constantly growing. What satisfied us in, say, in 2017 might no longer satisfy us in 2019. I might feel bored with something that used to interest me. I might have been content with my previous salary, but today I cannot be satisfied with it, nor with spending time with my wife, children, family, even my apartment, and so on.
In other words, my ego demands much more than before. Typically, it does not receive anything more and even maybe even less. So, I have every reason to consider my life as declining.
Comment: Sociologists say the purpose of sadness is to motivate a person to improve their situation, achieve goals, and eliminate dissatisfaction because it is a negative, distressing factor.
My Response: That is a nice sentiment if it stems from tangible issues like a lack of money, a small apartment, or something similar.
But if I am simply sad, melancholic, blue, these are very subtle things within us that we may not even understand where they come from. Life lacks light.
Question: Do Kabbalists feel sadness?
Answer: Kabbalists feel a special, tender, higher form of sadness.
They are sad because they cannot show others the pleasures that await them. That is why Kabbalists feel sadness.
They themselves are in a state of supreme fulfillment. But because they cannot convey this to others, who lack sufficient hunger, appetite, or desire for it, Kabbalists are sad. Like a mother who grieves when she cannot feed her child.
Comment: The next emotion is fear.
In the animal world, fear is an emotion based on past negative experiences and it plays a crucial role in the survival of an individual. In humans, it signals current dangers, both internal and external, innate and acquired.
It naturally evokes feelings of loneliness, rejection, and threats to self-esteem; it suppresses the personality altogether.
My Response: Yes, the sensation of fear suppresses personality. There are about 800 types of fear. It is a powerful negative force that confines a person and severely limits them to the point of being unable to move or think. It is a significant problem.
It can be resolved not by confronting fear itself, but by focusing on its opposite. In other words, instilling a sense of confidence in a person that they cannot only overcome fear, but also can realize that such fear does not exist in nature. It is something you imagine, nothing more. Be free, rise above life, and do not feel fear.
In Kabbalah, it is said that one must overcome fear with awe of the Creator.
If I replace my petty, selfish fears with awe of the Creator, whether I can make myself useful and needed in His work in this world, then my fear disappears. Instead, I gain immense strength, vigor, and ability to express myself.
Fear vanishes. I suppress it, rise above it. Fear becomes the very ladder I climb; it is pressed down as I ascend.
Comment: This requires an internally strong personality.
Answer: Yes, and it is achieved through strength.
Question: As we know from life, anger is not just a feeling of irritation or a contradiction to one’s beliefs, egoism, or worldview. It also has a physical dimension and manifests as an emotional impact through the brain. That is, anger gives a person strength and a drive to act.
How should one properly use anger?
Answer: That is a completely different question. You are not talking about suppressing anger but about transforming it.
Question: How should one use it and transform it?
Answer: First, anger can only be subdued by realizing you are dealing not with someone or something else, but with the Creator. He is the source of both positive and negative emotions; they all come from Him.
So when feelings like insecurity, fear, or anger arise, you must remember that you are dealing with the Creator and act accordingly.
Anger can only be transformed into joy and collaboration, embracing the person or thing you are angry with and feeling close to them. This happens when you understand that the Creator sends you anger to help you rise to the next level.
Thus, the people, events, or even objects that provoke your anger should be seen as aids in your growth. You should approach them with approval, love, understanding, and gratitude.
Question: What do you usually get angry about?
Answer: Everything! Absolutely everything. I get very angry. It helps me move forward.
Question: Do you flip it around immediately?
Answer: Yes, very quickly!
Question: Over the past decade, people have been united by negative emotions. In the past, people were united by aspirations for the future, achieving and conquering new heights. Today, they are united by negative states.
You have just provided methods for transforming destructive emotions into constructive movement. How can people realize that all the negativity accumulating in them is like a stepping stone, a springboard for transformation toward something better?
Answer: People need to be taught this; it is not easy. It is an entire system where a person possesses two forces: positive and negative. Positioned between them, they begin to view all qualities, sensations, and experiences as tools or opportunities for their next spiritual ascent.
Thus their reactions become less instinctive.
This requires training, understanding the process, and constant interaction with like-minded individuals. He learns from them and they learn from him. It is the education of emotions
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From KabTV’s “News with Dr. Michael Laitman” 11/14/19
Related Material:
The Roots Of Fear
How To Release Accumulated Anger?
Does Fear Exist In Spirituality?
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Question: I understand why the fulfillment is hidden from us. But why are our connections with each other hidden?
