Opinion (Daniel Innerarity Grau, Spanish philosopher and lecturer in philosophy at the University of Zaragoza, Spain): “Power is the ability to define the situation, that is, to impose, by force and manipulation or argumentatively one’s vision. … In the EU, all the members participate in that.

“The euro crisis has caused break up of the weak union that was formed around certain shared goals and equally shared fears. But this union was fragile and yielded to the powerful voice of some states. …There is no solution to the institutional crisis of the EU until all the member states become convinced that they are not autonomous, but interdependent and hence are obliged to cooperate as a whole. ….

“An understanding and acceptance of these duties require a sense of co-belonging that no historical distinctiveness or administrative body seems able to provide. …

“The European Union is a real challenge to the idea that a national state is the only form of political community and identity. A uniform national identity is not a requirement either for democracy or for solidarity. … The European democratic experiment is precisely an attempt to share rights and responsibilities, costs and benefits, but without the guarantee of a national interaction of the old style.

“Consequently, Europe is established not only through institutional reforms, but also through shared practices. … Governments have to end up accepting, however reluctantly, the fact the European Commission will have more power.

My Comment: An egoistic approach by each country to the EU tears this union apart, and it is quickly heading towards its collapse. Salvation is only in intensive integration. But this is possible only under the condition of educating all the EU members in the spirit of unity. Its absence before the creation of the EU brought about all their problems. But this defect has not been corrected yet. It is necessary to implement integral education for the EU; otherwise, we will witness its collapse …
[97576]

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Opinion (Roger B. Myerson, American economist and winner of the 2007 Nobel Prize in Economics, author of Game Theory: Analysis of Conflict): “The nature of the financial crisis, the war in Iraq, democracy in Russia, endless military conflicts and terrorist attacks, cures for depression, the presidential election … all these are games, which humanity has been playing for centuries. …

“So our lives are—the game. To win, you just need to follow the rules. A game is a process that involves two or more participants. Working in teams, shopping, negotiations, conflict and war… . Everyone wants to realize his own interests and uses a special strategy. … Game theory studies general rules that will reduce stress and facilitate peace.”

My Comment: Kabbalah views everything that happens as a game because without imagining the future state, it is impossible to reach it. I often talk about this in class and always cite the example of children who develop due to games. But a game should be carried out as by children, according to the rules of nature. In children it happens instinctively, but in adults only under the laws of development that Kabbalah reveals.
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Opinion (Lucrezia Reichlin, professor of economics at London Business School):  “‘The economy is spoken about everywhere after the crisis of 2008. It seemed that things will resume, but in reality in Europe, which is in recession, things got worse since the summer of 2011. …’

“‘If Europe, including Germany, does not address the problem and get into a position to invest in “education,” if human capital will not be enhanced, and if the problem of corruption is not solved, I would be very worried.’”

My Comment: Education and corruption cannot be cured without introducing an integral approach to humanity and its re-education.
[97302]

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Studies (from ScienceDaily): “Consumers found that satisfaction with ‘experiential purchases’ – from massages to family vacations – starts high and increases over time. In contrast, spending money on material things feels good at first, but actually makes people less happy in the end, says Thomas Gilovich, Cornell University professor of psychology and Travis J. Carter, Cornell Ph.D.

“When it comes to material things, Gilovich and Carter found shoppers often second-guess their original buying decisions, comparing what they bought to other people’s purchases – or to better deals they missed.

“But buying experiences provides greater satisfaction as time goes on, in part because of selective memory and because a consumer’s experience is highly subjective, making it much harder to make negative comparisons. Consumers also find it easier to decide on experiences, spending money on the first option that meets a set of expectations rather than painstakingly comparing all options.”

My Comment: The desire to acquire things starts to cool down and is replaced by the desire to feel; business people should take it into account! But the desire to feel will begin to develop into the desire for higher feelings, and people will inevitably turn to Kabbalah.
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In the News (from Iowa State University): “The Media Violence Commission’s research-based report concludes that the research clearly shows that media violence consumption increases the relative risk of aggression, defined as intentional harm to another person that could be verbal, relational, or physical. …

“In their report, the commission wrote that aside from being sources of imitation, violent images — such as scenes in movies, games or pictures in comic books — act as triggers for activating aggressive thoughts and feelings already stored in memory. If these aggressive thoughts and feelings are activated over and over again because of repeated exposure to media violence, they become chronically accessible, and thus more likely to influence behavior. …

“While most public policy has focused on restricting children’s access to violent media, the commission found that approach to have significant political and legal challenges in many countries. For that reason, it recommends putting efforts into improving media ratings, classifications, and public education about the effects of media on children.

“‘Improving media ratings really has two pieces. One is that the media ratings themselves need to be done by an independent entity — meaning, not by an industry-influenced or controlled system,’ said Anderson, himself a leading researcher of the effects of violent media on children. ‘They need to be ratings that have some scientific validity to them.’”

My Comment: Since these media are beneficial to many, it is much more difficult to ban them in our society than smoking. The environment forms a child, but even parents cannot talk in the organized manner against the media that destroy their children and all the efforts of parents to instill good education. Are WHO and UNESCO opposed to these media? Did anyone put forward such proposals in the UN? There is one answer—we cannot resist such media because we ourselves are no different!

According to Kabbalah, a person never commits his own acts, but only what society, his surroundings, his environment, dictate to him. That is why by choosing the environment, a person completely determines his actions, which are the result of the influence of the environment. That is, one can determine his actions only through the environment in which he exists. And his free will is only in choosing the environment. (See Baal HaSulam, “Freedom of Will”)
[97096]

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In the News (from DailyMail): “Chicken soup is good for the soul, they say. And as a homespun remedy for everything that might ail you during winter, there are few things as deliciously soothing.

“But could such a broth be more than just a cold comfort? According to the latest scientific study, the answer is yes.

“Research in the American Journal of Therapeutics showed that a compound found in chicken soup – carnosine – helped the body’s immune system to fight the early stages of flu.

“But the authors warned this benefit ended as soon as the soup was excreted by the body, so that means you may need to have a fairly constant supply.

“The study wasn’t the first to look at this. More than a decade ago, Dr Stephen Rennard, of the University of Nebraska Medical Center, Omaha, wanted to find out why his wife’s recipe for chicken soup, handed down through generations, was so healing.

“Using blood samples from volunteers, he showed that the soup inhibited the movement of the most common type of white blood cell, neutrophils, which defend against infection.

“Dr Rennard theorised that by inhibiting the migration of these infection-fighting cells in the body, chicken soup helps reduce upper respiratory cold symptoms. …

“Also, researchers at the University of Nebraska found the combination of vegetables and poultry in soup could help alleviate respiratory tract inflammation that results in feeling bunged-up.”

My Comment: We shouldn’t laugh at our grandmothers and mothers! It is always like that… but how could they know of the existence of carnosine in broth?
[97088]

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In the News (from PLOS.org): “On 22 February 2011, Christchurch New Zealand (population 367,700) experienced a devastating earthquake, causing extensive damage and killing one hundred and eighty-five people. The earthquake and aftershocks occurred between the 2009 and 2011 waves of a longitudinal probability sample conducted in New Zealand, enabling us to examine how a natural disaster of this magnitude affected deeply held commitments and global ratings of personal health, depending on earthquake exposure. We first investigated whether the earthquake-affected were more likely to believe in God. Consistent with the Religious Comfort Hypothesis, religious faith increased among the earthquake-affected, despite an overall decline in religious faith elsewhere. This result offers the first population-level demonstration that secular people turn to religion at times of natural crisis. We then examined whether religious affiliation was associated with differences in subjective ratings of personal health. We found no evidence for superior buffering from having religious faith. Among those affected by the earthquake, however, a loss of faith was associated with significant subjective health declines. Those who lost faith elsewhere in the country did not experience similar health declines. Our findings suggest that religious conversion after a natural disaster is unlikely to improve subjective well-being, yet upholding faith might be an important step on the road to recovery.”

My Comment: Fear, uncertainty, and lack of confidence gave rise to religious feelings and sustained religions. If it were not for them and if there were no death, there would be no religion—the mass belief in the unprovable. Kabbalah refutes the religious attitude towards the world. There is Nature and its laws; this is an upper force. And all the feelings that people feel toward the Creator and attribute to Him originate from sensations that are peculiar to man, and to man alone; it is similar to how we attribute certain thoughts and feelings to animals.
[96796]

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In the News (from Reuters): “Europe and the United States are set to launch trade talks early next year to deepen the world’s largest trading relationship, EU and U.S. officials say, potentially unleashing billions of euros of new transatlantic business.

“Together, the bloc and the United States account for about half the world’s economic output and nearly a third of world trade. But a debt crisis in Europe and elusive American growth are pushing both sides to consider knocking down the final barriers to trade.”

My Comment: Market consolidation to help global integration may, in a more peaceful way, facilitate the recognition of the need for a universal global integration.
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In the News (from The New York Times): “’There is no doubt that the crisis is pushing people to stay together,’ said José María Redondo, the council’s spokesman, who attributed the drop in the divorce rate to a burst housing bubble and hard economic times.

“The crisis is not only slowing divorces but also transforming the process, according to divorce lawyers. Judges are reducing alimony payments and dueling spouses have moved from fighting over property to sparring over the critical issue of who assumes debts. …

“Some Spaniards say the hard times may have at least one benefit. If the crisis helps preserve the Spanish family by making it harder to divorce, that was no bad thing, said Julián M. Valón, a pioneering divorce lawyer who helped write the country’s 1981 divorce law.

“‘If there’s something positive about the economic crisis it is that people have less money to fight about than before,’ he said, ‘and this could help people to stay together, even through the tough times.’”

My Comment: The crisis is the collapse of our past egoistic nature and the birth of an altruistic nature. It is a historical process, meaning long and painful. It takes place above us. There were a few changes like that in our history. But this is the first time when we can consciously participate in our rebirth and thus facilitate the flow of the birth process. Otherwise, as in the past, we face revolutions and wars simultaneously worldwide.

The crisis is happening in all the areas of our life because it is a crisis of our nature; this is what we need to change: knowingly, by means of integral self-education, or unconsciously, when suffering will force us to accept new changes. As you can see, at the personal level, the crisis teaches us the “correct” life.
[96736]

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Opinion (His Holiness the 14th Dalai Lama): “He said that the source of our problems is self-centredness. Theistic religions tackle this by complete submission to God, whereas Buddhism reduces self-centredness by focusing on selflessness, the lack of a single, autonomous self, and the advice to regard others as more important than us. He counselled that once we understand that our different religions have common goals, we understand the grounds for granting them equal respect. …

“‘Compassion brings peace of mind and with it better health; so cherish compassion. … As human beings we are all the same; we are born the same and we die the same. We need to emphasize the oneness of humanity, how we are all the same as brothers and sisters.’ …

“He said that when we are in the grip of destructive emotions we are unhappy, but when we develop love and compassion for others we feel happier and more at ease. Competitiveness and jealousy give rise to fear and mistrust; we lose friends and become lonely. When we are free from fear, trust and friendship grow. When our minds are at peace, we are less anxious and free from fear. And today, scientists and thinkers recognise that true happiness comes from peace of mind. …

“His Holiness then turned to the topic of secular ethics, his belief that in a materialistic world we need to find ways to foster and encourage people to nurture fundamental, humane, inner values. He feels that this can best be done through the medium of secular education, using the word secular as the Indian constitution does, not to exclude religion, religious believers or non-believers, but to accord all of them an inclusive respect. He encouraged his listeners to understand that if they passed on their interest in what he had to say about this to others, the word would spread.”

My Comment: Religions will never come together because they are based on the egoism of believers. They divide people. Rising above them and uniting, that is, accepting unity above all the differences, including religious, is the way out of the crisis. The appeal must be towards unity, despite the differences. We see in religions only hatred of strangers and people of other faiths and never true calls for unity and love. That is why, the Dalai Lama talks about non-religious ethics as appropriate to address the challenges of the 21^st century.
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