Baal HaSulam, “The Nation”: The only hope is to establish a thoroughly new national education for ourselves, to discover and ignite once more the natural national love that have been dimmed within us.

Question: What should we do with the part of the nation of Israel that is not ready to listen to us, that don’t want to have anything to do with us?

Answer: We should try to reach them from another angle and then from another one, in different innovative ways. We have no choice since they are like your own child. There is nothing you can do: He has been born and he is tied to you in unbreakable ties. So whether you want to or not, you carry your load and try to do everything in your power, looking for a remedy for every illness that he may have.

Besides, we should understand that it is a replica of us; it is our vessel and not something foreign to us. We cannot discard the world, reality, or any part of it.

People refuse to listen to us and it is perfectly natural. It is worse when they want to, since then they mean something that is totally different from what we mean. We should be more creative with the “fans,” in order to turn them in the right direction. If a person just rejects us then this may be the simplest case.

One way or the other, we shouldn’t give up and leave. The easiest thing to do is to say: “Let them suffer.” But these are your parts, your self that is spread throughout humanity, but you only feel a tiny part of it, 80 kilos of your weight and nothing more than that. Gradually you will discover additional new parts of yourself. So just imagine what pain you would feel if you found out the truth; would it be possible to dump people then?

Question: So what can we do? It is as if we are bumping into a wall unable to penetrate it…

Answer: We are not trying enough. If we tried enough there wouldn’t be such problems. It all depends on us. A person judges himself and the whole world to the scale of merit. Try to exert yourself in the group, in connection. Try to do your best there, and then go out to the external circles.
[85322]
From the 4^th part of the Daily Kabbalah Lesson 8/12/12, Writings of Baal HaSulam

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Development means constantly limiting the desire, which is inevitable. Even the most advanced educational approaches that do not use punishments still limit children but in other ways. An embryo in his mother’s womb also develops by limitations. All of nature is based on this principle, and if we kept it in our development, we would certainly avoid troubles and sorrow.

But we followed the opposite path and removed all the obstacles: Free your ego, abuse others as much as you can, abuse the whole world for your own interests. A person sees himself as great when he manages to steal millions and is respected for it. We have totally distorted our way by giving up any form of restraint. Our desires are not limited by anything and we can also see that on TV, in modern cultural and educational forms. Judging by what is happening with children and the youth, we are cultivating a generation that grows by beastly models and not human models of behavior and thinking. What kind of models does advertising present?

We see the outcomes: Without limiting ourselves, we reach collapse and sufferings, and we begin to understand that we have to change. This is what awaits us since we are not really suffering yet.

If we were as flexible as babies who can be easily directed to develop in the right way, if we responded to what is going on with the same speed, with the same readiness they do, then everything would be just fine. We could see that the Creator is the perfect educator and we wouldn’t come to Him with any complaints.

But in order to do that, we have to respond correctly to His educations and to be sensitive. Kabbalists tell us how we can acquire this attitude; they say we should connect and be “good kids,” we should be sociable, kind, and responsible for one another, to create mutual guarantee, etc.

Clearly, children don’t want to listen to anyone. They only want to go in every direction. But the grownups impose discipline on them and so does the Creator, although He hasn’t started to treat us seriously yet. One way or the other, the same laws penetrate through all the worlds, but the point is that we have to learn from nature and not invent artificial limitations.

This refers to the educators of children too. Nature shows us how, when, and in what way to limit them according to the stages of development. Actually nothing depends on us, we only carry things out. If we studied well the laws of creation and children’s’ nature, we would know exactly how to act in every phase, now and in the future. Ideally, an educator carries out nature’s orders. He never invents anything new but only implements its plan. This is his obligation: to gradually, day by day, bring the little person’s nature to match the upper nature.
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From the 4th part of the Daily Kabbalah Lesson 8/9/12, “Introduction to The Book of Zohar”

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In the News (from Finmarket.ru): “There is unanimous agreement among US bank chiefs that their biggest threat is the fallout from the eurozone financial crisis because the European governments begin to save together with European consumers.

“This is easily explained: unemployment in Europe hit record after record, as the recession continues to deepen. As a result, EU citizens have to change consumer habits – it can have a lasting impact on the economy and corporate profits. Changes in consumer habits have affected the income of European corporations.

My Comment: We are facing the bankruptcy of corporations, the disappearance of the middle class, the emergence of hundreds of millions of unemployed, food riots, etc. if mutual responsibility and mutual concern and bestowal are not achieved through unity. Integral education should teach us how to create, step-by-step, a single administration, for both the EU and the whole world.
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A society is neither you nor I, but something we create together between us in our good, mutual relationship. This is the image of Adam—Man. As we begin to transform our entire life to maintain this image as much as possible, we understand that even in our current lives, we do not need more to exist properly and reasonably, but the main thing is for a proper upper community that is above us to exist between us.

Moreover, it is easy to maintain because everyone aspires toward it. I feel that everyone has the same attitude as I toward this community, this group, Adam, and this constantly influences and supports me.

This is called the law of universal mutual guarantee, when everyone of us acts this way and understands that he is supporting the rest. By aspiring higher toward our common denominator, he demonstrates to everyone else how much he aspires toward it and sets the example for others, and, as we support one another in accordance with this, we very easily ascend and become fully included in the community with our hearts and minds.

Additionally, our animate level will remain a level below, and we will begin to feel the difference between them. I consent for the animate level to receive as much as it needs since I understand that it is best if it does not consume cakes or other things. It needs whatever is good for it because this will make it healthier, better. It will feel more comfortable, and when I separate from my incorrect animal relationships, my human level, on the contrary, begins to feel comfortable and, well, to feel like it is alive.

We also begin to perceive nature in our new human image, the proper communication between us, like in a common sensor, a common vessel. We begin to feel its laws, which guided us in our evolutionary development and we understand why nature is pressuring us now this way.

We suddenly begin to perceive its attitude toward us as benevolent and kind, since we become balanced with it on this new level because, just like in nature, everything between us is now based on bestowal, reciprocity, unity, connection, globality, and integration. Without any special pain, we automatically lower our animate level to its normal state where we only work the necessary number of hours per day, and in this way provide a normal existence for ourselves, nothing beyond the necessary comfort level, not through a society of excessive consumption, but through reasonable consumption for a reasonable existence of the body. In this way, we separate these two levels: the animate, where our body remains, and the human, which we beget.

This is why, in general, the current crisis is defined by us as the buffering point of the new birth of mankind. When you begin to explain this to a group, it certainly needs time to adapt to this idea, to the understanding of it, but then when people try to connect through their mutual communication, when they begin to discuss this, suddenly, certain auxiliary forces appear, abilities that a person did not know he had appear from within him.

In reality, they were inside, but they were suppressed, and moreover, they tried to come outside. In general, this was the source of our personal, family, social crises, drug abuse, depression, and so forth, and, here, we suddenly begin to feel free from all this pressure, the boundaries and distortions that we had. In general, this is the essence of the main idea and the very fundamental approach.
[85170]
From a “Talk on Integral Upbringing” 2/29/12

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Question: When we are talking about the still, vegetative and animate levels of nature, we can “feel” them with the help of our five organs of perception. When we talk about the general field, which is revealed among us, it turns out that we have nothing to study it with?

Answer: That is why we have to create it by ourselves.

Man does not differ from an animal by the fact that he has an additional pair of hands or legs, but by the emergence of this new spiritual constituent, created by himself—spiritual because it exists outside of us, outside of the body, so to speak. However, this is where we differ from the animal level.

Otherwise, what can one say when comparing us to animals? What is the difference between us? The gadgets, which I create next to me?! This is not a level of a higher development, only adaptation and nothing more. However, spirituality is the next level of development.

A person begins to attain the essence of nature itself, because he or she comes into balance with it. He begins to feel its thin spheres that are driven by nature: the mind, the force that lies within nature, that moves electrons, creates all of the matter, and moves it. Meaning, that we begin to understand and feel the basis of that life, which controls the whole of the universe, and on which the universe rests.

This is what physics is talking about today. By the way, quantum physics turned out to be the most advanced, even though it studies the smallest, basically, mechanical particles. Finally, through this fine mechanics, the scientists are arriving at the forces, which stand behind it, and begin to perceive the program, the mind, and all sorts of contradictions that we cannot resolve with our linear mind. We must transfer into a quantum mind, into such attainments of nature, which actually are located above our egoistic, direct relationship to it. Life itself compels us towards this.
[85177]
From a “Talk on Integral Upbringing” 2/29/12

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In the News (from Business Insider): “The global economy is in the worst shape since the dark days of 2009. Six of the 17 countries that use the euro currency are in recession. The U.S. economy is struggling again. And the economic superstars of the developing world — China, India and Brazil — are in no position to come to the rescue. They’re slowing, too.

“The lengthening shadow over the world’s economy illustrates one of the consequences of globalization: There’s nowhere to hide.

“Economies around the world have never been so tightly linked — which means that as one region weakens, others do, too. That’s why Europe’s slowdown is hurting factories in China. And why those Chinese factories are buying less iron ore from Brazil. …

“For now, few foresee another global recession. Central banks in China, Britain, Brazil, South Korea and Europe have cut interest rates in the past month to try to jolt growth. European leaders have begun to focus more on promoting growth, not just shrinking debt and cutting budgets. …

“Many fear that Greece and perhaps other countries will default on their debts and have to abandon the euro currency, which could ignite financial chaos across Europe. …

“In the latest wallop to the global economy, China said last week that its economic growth fell to a three-year low. The world’s second-largest economy grew 7.6 percent in the April-June quarter compared with the same quarter last year. That was the slowest growth since early 2009. Countries like China need fast growth to serve growing populations and millions of people leaving farms to seek work in cities.

“Brazil also has a U.S.-style problem with consumer debt: Since 2003, about 40 million Brazilians have entered the middle class and brought a strong appetite for consumption. Brazilian leaders credited those consumers with invigorating the economy in recent years and helping protect it from external shocks.

“But most of the buying has been on credit. And those bills are adding up. In a report last week, London-based Capital Economics estimated that debt payments now eat up 20 percent of household income in Brazil. …

“Similarly, the outlook has dimmed for India, the world’s fourth-biggest economy. Its growth slowed to a 5.3 percent annual rate in the first three months of 2012, the slowest rate in nine years. …

“The slowdown in the developing world could make it harder for the economies of Europe and the United States to climb out of their ruts. And the weaker the rich countries get, the harder it will be for developing economies to regain their old fast pace.

“’In today’s interconnected world, we can no longer afford to look only at what goes on within our national borders,” IMF Managing Director Christine Lagarde said earlier this month. ‘This crisis does not recognize borders. This crisis is knocking at all our doors.’”

My Comment: This is how the “Law of our natural development” teaches us; evolution teaches us through small sufferings; it teaches us that the world is round and we are interconnected in it, and that is why we need to think not only about ourselves, but about everyone like in one family. If we continue to be stubborn, suffering will increase and in spite of everything lead us towards unity, in the bad or good way, depending on our behavior.
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Question: I am confused by your suggestion to keep back one’s criticism regarding others. I am afraid that if I will not be releasing this, I will eventually explode or develop an ulcer.

Answer: But why does one need to look at every person with a critical eye? And if such a negative evaluation occurs automatically, it means that every second you have an opportunity to rise above your dissatisfaction higher and higher in order to see virtues in others instead of shortcomings.

It is as if you are constantly turning your initial impression around. You see how some wretched rascal is being naughty and suddenly you look closer and you recognize that it is your own son. Oh, what a mistake I made, since I thought it was the neighbor’s kid that was misbehaving. When I see that it is my son, I am only touched by his mischief.

Try to work it out well. You won’t be able to achieve anything on your own, but come to us for courses and seminars. You need to study, to train, and to get support from the environment where such an attitude is valued.

And then, you will not be accumulating any irritation inside of you and developing an ulcer, but on the contrary, you will feel pleasure! You will look around and will not see any shortcomings in anyone. Since all of the flaws in others that are irritating you today, belong to you. And then you will see a perfect world.

Question: But I will only reach such an attitude at the end, how can I live through the transition stage if I cannot make any critical remarks to my wife because she is my mirror? I must transfer all of that negativity onto myself. Not a word throughout the whole day, then I will simply explode! It is well known that it is much better for health and family relations to speak one’s mind immediately and not to be accumulating irritation inside yourself. But I must be silent?

Answer: You must hold a continuous workshop among the two of you, to exercise, just like at the family relationships courses where you were taught to speak with each other correctly. Discuss how you see each other and that it is a mirror, which shows you yourselves. Talk about the influence of the environment, about human egoism. If you will be discussing this continously and experiencing it, doing exercises, clarifying, how you see each other and why, then this will become a habit, which will become a second nature.

Such an attitude will become rooted inside of you, and the environment will help you not to forget about it. And in the same way, you will continue this at home. You never leave the seminar. You participate in it during the courses in order to later continue it for the rest of your life.

The workshop is not something occasional. It is like a diet, which once you have started, you cannot quit. And if you quit it, then all of your efforts have come to nothing. The seminar’s purpose is to give us a push for moving a little deeper inside into a more accurate clarification. However, we never fall out of this discussion, but we continue it. From seminar to seminar, we only raise the record ever higher with each time.
[85191]
From a Talk About New Life 7/12/12

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The solution is primarily in the organization of the environment in which everyone would be able to fill up on the fuel for working above reason, that is, egoism. In order to do this, we begin working with a few married couples and conduct exercises and discussions.

It’s similar to how people come into a specific society, for example wanting to lose weight without having any clue about how to do it, but only having a big desire. In the same way, we gather 10-20 people into groups and influence each other. From that, each one feels the strength, the importance of the goal, and pressure.

`We are united by a common goal, to build good family relations. All couples look at your family and impart to you the force to stay above mutual egoism, in mutual love and bestowal. They are constantly feeding you with energy, importance; they supply you with the means to remain above the ego. The more couples in such a group, the better and stronger they are. Besides that, it’s important how connected they are with each other.

We have not yet come to the realization that our nature is the most important obstacle on the path towards the good life. If you still don’t understand what your egoism is, ask your wife and she’ll tell you about who you are. Likewise, you can tell her about all of her shortcomings.

However, the shortcomings that everyone wants to change in the other are actually their own egoism. We see the negative qualities in a partner as a reflection of our own egoism, just like in a mirror. Everything bad that I see on the opposite side belongs to me, beyond any doubt. Even if I am sure that such qualities are absolutely not characteristic of me, rather the opposite side has inherited them from their mother or grandmother, in actuality, all of them are my own flaws.

However, we understand that we have no choice and we must get rid of our criticism, to rise above it, above the entire negativity that we see in our partner. While at the same time she behaves in exactly the same way towards me, rising above her criticism, and we relate to each other as to complete perfection. My spouse is really ideal and my only wish is to make all her wishes come true, I am ready to do everything for her. And in exactly the same way, she wants to do everything for me.

If we have the necessary fuel, then we’ll realize all of that. And then we won’t be demanding proof of slavish devotion from each other day and night. On the contrary, we’ll see that by the virtue of our love, we demand almost nothing of each other. I am happy to do everything for my spouse by myself, and she for me. It turns out that we enjoy the smallest, simplest things, and from this get great mutual pleasure.

I won’t need to buy expensive gifts; just an internal feeling that fulfills us in such a way that we no longer need anything. We feel similar to how newlyweds feel, ready to live in a small flat in the most modest of conditions, only to be together. This is what “love covers all transgressions” means. There is no transgression or shortcoming, which cannot be filled with love.
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From a Talk About New Life 7/12/12

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The next level of our development is called “Human” but the human level isn’t our physical body and it isn’t the level that we’ve created in our civilization. After all, our civilization is built only upon serving our animal desires: food, sex, home, family, wealth, fame, power, and knowledge. None of these desires extend beyond the level of serving our corporeal needs.

It’s crucial for us to elevate above these corporeal needs to a spiritual level and to obtain the essence of a human. This is the next phase of development that humanity is now facing. The ease of this transition depends upon the extent to which we help ourselves to be born in this new realm, on this new level. Otherwise all of humanity will experience terrible birthing pains, which will be bloody and violent. Ultimately we will still be born on the next level. However, if we advance toward this consciously, then we help the birthing process just as the fetus does: The mother pushes him out and he helps her.

Today nature is pushing us toward being born through pressure and crisis. In its translation from Greek, the word “Crisis” means “birth of something new.” It’s not a downfall; rather it’s a revelation of something new, which is, of course, accompanied by birthing pains. This is why we must help ourselves to be born.

It truly is a birth and it’s a special one. In the past we weren’t consciously involved in our advancement, we were simply pushed by nature and we advanced egoistically. Now we elevate above our animal egoism, above our level, and consciously enter the next level where we will represent an integral humanity. This is being revealed today as nature is invoking us, pressuring us, and showing us our interconnection. Through this we obtain a total balance and harmony with nature. This truly is a healthy and conscious birth of humanity.
[85073]
From a “Talk on Integral Upbringing” 2/29/12

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Question: At this time, what particular part of relationships between men and women is “impaired” by the crisis?

Answer: The crisis hits all levels: inanimate, vegetative, and animate. We are not paying attention to this fact, nor do we investigate it much. Our world outlook is not integral yet. We don’t understand what other spheres of life undergo the crisis except recognizing it in the human society, specifically in the financial and economic spheres.

However, the crisis does involve animals and plants, but in a way that we simply don’t notice. If not for the crisis, then why does a huge number of species vanish? Every day, as reported in the literature, several species become extinct.

Of course, the crisis is mostly noticeable in relationships among people; typically, we feel it through ourselves. Interaction among people is crucial and defining; we stopped understanding each other correctly and became internally detached; therefore, we now are incapable of finding common points of connection when solving any kinds of problems.

We make international plans and domestic policies, but then again we are the ones who break them and run around in circles.

Our growing egoism requires integral solutions, mutual interactions, common comfort, reciprocal involvement, and general connection between us; first, we should unite, and as a result of our unity there will emerge a new idea, a new tool for developing technology, economic, and finances. We don’t do this.

We do not unite, nor do we create new instruments for management that stem from our unity, that’s why there is no management whatsoever. We make new plans in education and upbringing that do not originate from our unity, and that’s why they do not work. We are the ones who create the surroundings that impact us: TV programs, movies, etc. that do not stem from our connection; thus, we tremendously damage the society we live in by splitting it even more and setting wrong values.

At all levels of life, the root of the problem is the human being. Instead of correcting this problem by changing people, we use our conventional methods; that is, we “enforce and encourage” by referring either to police or money; it is called “love and hunger rule the world.” However, this pattern doesn’t work any longer. Our egoism doesn’t react to it.

We could have treated our ego in a different way, as a bear in the circus that gets a spoonful of honey instead of sugar, but it’s not enough for our ego. The “bear” in us refuses to work under these conditions; it needs a totally different approach, a new system of interaction and governance, though we do not realize it yet. That’s why the crisis in fact is a misunderstanding of the system of forces within which we find ourselves.

Of course, the main thing is the family. The fact that the family is practically disappearing sets the example for a new generation; it doesn’t seem too terrible to us yet. “So what… Instead of seven billion people we’ll end up having only two. What’s wrong with it?” However, we don’t understand that it is not a solution to the problem. Unfortunately, people are becoming more and more like “barbarians,” they accept everything that happens around them without much ado.

At some point several centuries ago, we were considered barbarians, but it wasn’t actual barbarity, but rather our developmental stage. Today, we outgrew all possible cultural thresholds and acquired every cultural value, but once again we are turning into barbarians regardless of our values; it’s quite different—it’s degradation. So, at this point integral upbringing is simply indispensable.
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From a “Talk on Integral Upbringing” 7/8/12

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