Entries in the 'Perception' Category

What Conceals the World of Truth from Us?

115.06Comment: The neurons that make up our brain function as logic gates. They are adapted to reflect the logic that exists in nature and reproduce it in the brain and nervous system. Therefore, they can sense when the information reaching them does not correspond to that logic.

It seems to me that if a person is presented with false information, he begins to sense it at the level of the neurons. And if a person is continually fed falsehoods, it may even lead to illness. History provides examples of how years of feeding people false information have resulted in social consequences and widespread negative phenomena.

In other words, there is an objective truth in nature that is reflected in the neurons themselves, enabling them to detect falsehood.

My Response: The fact is that within human consciousness there are two levels of nature. The higher level represents the perfect connection among all parts of nature, while the lower level is an absolutely fragmented, egoistic connection.

Today we function on the egoistic level, in mutual alienation from one another. Yet, nature is arranged in such a way that, through all the positive and negative feelings that arise within us and through the comparison of reason and emotion, it gradually leads us to examine what truth really is.

We will inevitably have to accept the system of complete interconnectedness, and we will begin to perceive this entire system existing for the sake of its all-encompassing nature and integrality. It exists within every person.

Therefore, it is quite possible that our neurons sense that the perception of truth is inherent in our nature. Essentially, we are structured correctly; it is only that all of this is covered over by an immense egoism that conceals from us the complete, closed system that is entirely good.
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From KabTV’s “Together about the main thing. Alexander Zhdanov,” 12/8/17

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Truth Lies Between Two Worlds

707A person acts out of habit, and feels and accepts only what they are accustomed to. Everything unfamiliar passes by us and remains elusive.

We unconsciously disregard everything new before we sense or, become aware of it. That is why it is so difficult for us to encounter spirituality!

We live in a world we select from the world of infinity; we choose the familiar and habitual.

To expand our world with the world of bestowal, we must not push it away, but accept the states of bestowal through “faith above reason,” accept the properties, desires, thoughts, and actions of the “anti-world.”

To do this, you need to combine two opposing levels within yourself: realize your current egoistic state, the lower degree, and from the perspective of the property of bestowal, the highest degree.

One must exist between these levels, rejoice in the sensation of the lower level’s emptiness of the lower and in the opportunity to find the strength to rise above it.

This strength comes to me from the upper light through the group; it holds me above the “earth” as if by a magnet.

Truth and faith (bestowal) should pull me upward more strongly than the sensation of animalistic egoism pulls me down toward the “earth.”

The true state lies in sensing both degrees simultaneously while each one in isolation is a lie. Even if I am entirely in spirituality, that alone is a lie.

The true state is always found between two degrees that simultaneously bring a sense of both perfection and lack, gratitude and prayer.

I must rejoice that I experience both sensations at once and constantly remain in a transitional state sensing obstacles yet holding myself above them by force of will, like a climber scaling a mountain who feels that if they were to relax their tension for even a moment they would immediately fall.

This is the only true state; we need to train ourselves to remain in it all the time, and to find joy in it.

This is how we can test ourselves. Are we capable, despite all our discontent, eternal struggle, and constantly vacillation between inspiration and utter despair, of remaining in joyful nevertheless?
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From the Daily Kabbalah Lesson 8/2/10, Rabash, “The Meaning of Truth and Faith”

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What Does It Mean to Correct the World?

424.01Question: You say that if I correct myself, the entire world will appear corrected to me. Then why are so many Kabbalists needed to correct the world if the world is within me?

Answer: To correct the world means to correct yourself. You do not exist in some vast external world and the people you see do not exist by chance; they are parts of your soul.

Therefore, besides you and the Creator, there is no one else. Everything you see— the still, vegetative, animate, and human levels—is you; they are all parts of your soul! By uniting them within yourself, you will attain complete unity with the Creator. This will be your complete correction.
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From Kabbalah Lesson on Russian, 8/19/18

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Faith Above Reason Is a Channel for Perceiving Reality

137Question: What is the connection between bestowal and faith above reason that we must acquire?

Answer: What is the connection between bestowal that I am supposed to acquire (without knowing why, other than being told it is necessary) and faith above reason (which I also need for some unknown purpose? I have no desire, no inner urge for bestowal or faith above reason. I have no idea what these things are.

Whenever I experience rejection, I move to a state where I must reveal the reason why this is happening to me, why I feel bad, and from there, to the question: “Who is doing this to me?” All these questions are essentially about the same thing: my source, the Creator.

Upon encountering this question, I begin to sense that I cannot directly discover the Creator in the events occurring around me. At the same time, I cannot remain at peace, because all these states compel me to reveal Him.

It turns out that I can discover Him not through my five senses, but through faith above reason. What does that mean? It demonstrates the extent of my readiness to proceed not according to my feelings, but above them. That is, I do not want to attain through my intellect who the Creator is or how He acts. I do not want to see exactly what He does. Because in that form, I will never receive any revelation other than an animalistic understanding that there is someone behind everything; I will not attain true awareness.

I must reach a state where I receive some sensation from Him but not within my ordinary senses. I attain something resembling knowledge, yet not through His direct revelation. This is called revealing the Creator in the sixth sense, in the force of faith above reason, which means acquiring the force of Bina, the intention to bestow. Before that, a person does not know what it is.

But if I acquire the quality of Bina, I gain the ability to establish a connection with the Creator through this extraordinary phenomenon called faith above reason. It is a kind of “something, I do not know what.” I have no understanding and no sensation in the vessels of reception, since sensation and understanding are what we receive within our Kelim (vessels).

I have something entirely different that exists above them, a completely different vessel of perception called the reflected light (Ohr Hozer), a spiritual Kli, a sixth sense. What it is, however, we do not know.

A different channel opens within us in relation to the Creator, and it functions in such a way that through it, we reveal Him. Through our ordinary feelings and our ordinary channels of perception, we can never do so.

To give this channel a name, we call it faith above reason. This term is merely an indication that it operates beyond our senses, beyond understanding, beyond everything to which we are accustomed—above all of that, in a different manner.
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From the Daily Kabbalah Lesson 6/10/26, Rabash, “What Is Above Reason in the Work?”

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How We Perceive Reality

766.4Question: Does the saying, “A judge has only what his eyes can see,” mean that we cannot attribute good things to the Creator if we do not see them?

Answer: It is said: “A judge has only what his eyes can see.” This means that a person must judge the surrounding reality as he perceives it, according to the way it is received in his Kelim (vessels of perception).

If a person is developed to only 20%, then he sees the reality around him according to that degree and cannot perceive it differently. If he wishes to see it differently, he must raise himself to a 30% level of development.

But at every stage, “one who condemns does so through his own flaw.” I always see through my own eyes, through my own Kli (vessel of perception). Therefore, it is impossible to demand that a person understand things differently. Correct him, and then, as a result of that correction, he will behave differently and understand differently.

But a person cannot simply change on his own. Such a change can come only as the result of many blows, study, and influences from the outside. There is no other way. Therefore, “a judge has only what his eyes can see” means that a person perceives reality only through what his Kli is capable of perceiving.

Question: But what if a person tries to think correctly, in a positive direction, even though his eyes do not see it that way?

Answer: If his eyes do not see it, then it is not real for him, and such a state is very unstable. It does not truly belong to him, and he will not be able to take hold of it and maintain it. Only through an inner correction that a person performs within himself can he be certain that he will preserve such a perception, because it then becomes his nature.
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From the Daily Kabbalah Lesson 6/7/26, Rabash, “What Are the Times of Prayer and Gratitude in the Work?”

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Kabbalah in Five Minutes

630.2Comment: You say that history has nothing to do with spirituality.

My Response: I was never particularly interested in history, and I absolutely hated it in school. The only aspect that eventually interested me was when I began to understand history from the perspective of the development of the human egoism, the force that determines everything. But this is not what is taught in school.

For example, human egoism drove people to invent the plow, and this enabled a person, through his own labor, to feed not only himself but another ten to twenty people as well. As a result, farms expanded, villages grew, and cities emerged. Then came the invention of the forge, the furnace, and many other things.

Each time human egoism invents something, it turns out to have a profound impact on psychology, sociology, politics, the restructuring of society, and other aspects of life.

What interests me is the interconnection of our egoistic growth in all its manifestations in culture, science, technology, human psychology, family life, urban settlements, and so on. When all of this is viewed as one unified system—why things happen this or that way, stemming from one cause or another—then it becomes truly fascinating.

You begin to see a closed picture within which there is only one changing parameter: egoism. It gives rise to an enormous variety of expressions. Suddenly, printing appears. New musical instruments replace the old ones. Medieval songs give way to new forms of music.

People begin to live differently. To listen to music, one had to go to the theater. There were no tape recorders then, and a person knew that at a specific time he had to arrive at the theater to hear his favorite aria. Then, suddenly, everything changed. This approach to history was what interested me.

Why did geographical discoveries suddenly begin to take place? Why did some countries decline while others flourished?

When you see this dynamic unfolding on completely different levels and realize that there is only one parameter driving it—egoism—it teaches you everything.

First and foremost, it teaches you that the cause lies only in the ego. Therefore, I must get hold of it, work only with it, and pay no attention to anything else. Nothing but egoism can change. It changes everything.

But who can change it? Who created it in the first place? Where did it come from?

There is a parameter called the light that created egoism. It sustains, raises, lowers, and develops egoism. Therefore, I somehow need to influence the light. When it shines more strongly, egoism grows; when it shines less, egoism subsides and fades.

How can I reach the light? I cannot reach it directly at all; it is a substance completely detached from me.

However, it is possible to influence it. There is a kind of diaphragm that opens and closes regulating how much light shines upon my egoism. And what is this diaphragm? It is a connection with others like me, bestowal, and love.

It does not matter whether you truly love them or genuinely bestow upon them. If you want to draw the influence of the light upon yourself, then try in some way—even artificially, even just a little—to come closer to such a connection with others. That is why we gather in a group where all of us ask the same question: How can we draw the influence of the light upon ourselves?

It is very simple. Let’s start coming together, talking to one another, inspiring one another, encouraging and spurring each other on toward this, and the light will begin to shine upon us more strongly. The egoism within us will start to stir. It will bring about ever greater changes, and we will begin to run, to roll forward. That is all there is to it.

If we could explain everything in this simple and beautiful way to other people, to our children, and to ourselves, then… . You see, it takes five minutes to tell the whole story.

After that, there is no problem either. Just continue attracting the upper light through ever greater unity among friends who share the same goal of drawing the influence of the light upon themselves.

For what purpose? We want to develop. We want to rise higher. We want to accelerate our process. We do not want to remain in this dreadful, slow process that simply frays our nerves. Another day passes and another while we remain in a terrible depression, in a kind of unending sleep.

That is all. Gather together, make the effort, draw upon yourselves the influence of the upper light, and move forward.

Question: And where does it all end?

Answer: Draw enough upper light, not merely to further develop your egoism further, but to transform it and make it like the light itself. Then you will cross the potential barrier and ascend to the next level, just like an electron, under the influence of a photon, jumps to a higher orbit.
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From KabTV’s “I Got A Call. Kabbalah for 5 minutes” 10/11/10

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Then the World Will Stop Pressing You

963.5We wait for positive changes to happen on the outside. They won’t! We have to come to the conclusion that changes for the better can occur only if we change from within ourselves. That is when we will begin to depict our world the way we want to see it! That is what we have to do.

Question: Does our nature depict the world now? Does our egoism depict the world?

Answer: Yes

Comment: You are supposed to be enjoying yourself, but I am not. This is my state right now.

My Response: Egoism has finished its development. It shows you the entire world you exist in. That is all it can give you. Ultimately it will press down on you and crush you to the point that you cannot exist in this world. You will feel so bad, nauseous, fearful, uncomfortable, in other words, in any possible way.

This is solely so you understand that there are no more changes to be made on the outside. We have gone through all stages of our egoistic development; we have reached a state where the next step is simply to slaughter one another. This is it, there is nothing else.

Question: What should I say to my egoism now that I have understood that my egoism has depicted the entire picture for me?

Answer: You should say that egoism is right, that it has done its job; it brought you to the state where you are in complete disappointment and have to understand that you must not exist in such a paradigm. Must not!

What should you do? You have to correct yourself and then the world will be corrected too. This is a totally different methodology.

Comment: I should not correct the world, but correct myself…

My Response: You should correct the world by correcting yourself.

Comment: Yes, this is not easy!

My Response: It’s not easy, but this is a good moment in history when we indeed have to change the source of our development, the system, the methodology of our development. Our development will depend not on breaking nature that surrounds us, but on how we will be changing ourselves. As a result, the world will be changing.

Question: You keep saying: “Change yourself.” What exactly do you imply by “changing yourself?”

Answer: This is simple: change my evil attitude to everything that surrounds me from an exploitive and egoistic attitude to a kind and altruistic one.

Comment: A warm, kind attitude.

My Response: Yes. Then I will begin to see the world differently. I will start to see through it a different system of governance.

Question: And what will I receive pleasure from? After all, it is a person who receives pleasure.

Answer: I will be bonding with this world, will be attaining its eternity, infinity, perfection, something that I do not see now because I look with my limited egoistic eyes.

This is what lies ahead of us.
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From KabTV’s “News with Dr. Michael Laitman,” 5/15/26

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“If Someone Comes to Kill You, Kill Him First”

294.2Question: What should I do if a terrorist wants to kill me?

Answer: It is said in the Torah that if someone comes to kill you, you must kill him first. The Torah speaks a lot about how people came out of Egypt and how many enemies they killed. How many did King David, who was constantly at war, kill? Warfare back then was not what it is today.

In those days tens of thousands of people were killed in face to face combat. This is not like modern warfare where a few bombs are dropped merely to pave the way for peace negotiations. Back then, how many men actually returned from the battlefield? In those times when there was a battle, it was a real battle!

Yet, even in those times, there were individuals who had attained high spiritual degrees, and a profound and accurate perception of reality. This was especially true in the times of the First Temple, and to some extent during the era of the Second Temple.

Did they not fight, did they not kill? What did the Maccabees do? They were Kabbalists of the highest caliber; they certainly perceived the spiritual dimension, the reverse side of our world.

The source of confusion lies in the fact that we do not see the spiritual world, and are merely attempting to imagine what it looks like from the reverse side.
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From the Daily Kabbalah Lesson 4/15/26, Rabash, “What It Means that the Generations of the Righteous are Good Deeds, in the Work”

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When the Time Comes to Depart from the World

504There is no permission to inform a person how much longer is one given to live in this world; one is not to be informed of this. But Rabbi Shimon was in great joy on the day of his demise, and there was great joy in all the worlds because of the many secrets he had revealed then (Rashbi, Zohar for All, Vol. 3, VaYechi, item 157, “When His Time Comes to Depart from the World”).

The departure of a righteous person is like the purification of a Partzuf. When a person leaves their degree and passes from world to world, and especially when leaving the lowest degree, this world, it is a great joy.

Although it does not appear so to us and we think we are living in a wonderful world, we simply have not yet seen anything else besides it. But one must reveal the spiritual world, as it is said: “You shall see your world in your lifetime,” and then we will understand where we truly are.

If a person completes their mission, they no longer need to return to this world, as was the case with Rabbi Shimon bar Yochai, who attained final correction. This means that from then on, he exists only in the upper dimension and no longer reincarnates into this lower, corporeal form.

But one who has not reached their final corrected state in this incarnation must be born again and live in this world.

It is clear that Rabbi Shimon bar Yochai rejoices not because he has finished his work and can rest, but because he brought the Torah, that is, the light that reforms, to the whole world. And this, of course, fills him with joy.
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From a lecture for the holiday of Lag Ba’Omer, 5/1/10

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Only Mirrors Surround Me

921If I do not feel another, truly another, outside of myself, and do not perceive myself within him, then I do not perceive the world at all.

Question: So does that mean I must always see myself through someone else?

Answer: Through someone else, yes.

Question: And the fact that we see ourselves as being so ugly now, why is that?

Answer: Because we close ourselves off, isolate ourselves in, limit ourselves, and we have no desire to see anyone but ourselves. In other words, I see mirrors all around me, mirrors, nothing but mirrors. Reflected in them is nothing but my face, distorted, twisted, full of contortions and grimaces. I see nothing but that. “That” is my world.

Question: So, if I do not let anyone in, and I do not venture out anywhere, does that mean I appear hideous? Does it mean that this, this egoistic state, is my world? It is just me, all alone?

Answer: I see only myself.
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From KabTV’s “News with Dr. Michael Laitman,” 4/7/26

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