What is Perception of Reality Made of?

Question: The purpose of nature is to develop all its parts to the state of polar opposites and then combine them. Why is this so? What is the meaning of such development?

Answer: Only in this way do we reveal everything. Our attainment consists of differentiation and integration of all parts of what we observe.

Remark: We see that our nature, our desire to receive, is constantly evolving, becoming more powerful, more egoistic.

My Comment: In the same way, the ability to integrate this, to capture the interconnection between all parts, is developing in us. This is what our perception of reality consists of.

But the next Kabbalistic awareness of reality is that there is no reality as such. We only project our inner properties onto the upper light, and we feel and consider this picture, which we ourselves create with our feelings, as the world in which we exist.

Question: “Upper Light” is a new term. Why do Kabbalists in their sources use it instead of the concept of “Creator”?

Answer: The Creator/Upper Light is a property of bestowal and love, and therefore, we associate it with the light of the sun, the light of the mind, with something higher.

Against the background of the upper light, the properties of bestowal and love, all our egoistic desires paint a three-dimensional, living picture of this world. But actually it doesn’t exist. I only observe my internal properties.

Therefore, to the extent that I am moving closer and closer to the properties of the upper light, this world dissolves and becomes more and more elusive, until I find myself in absolute light.
[250229]
From KabTV’s “Basics of Kabbalah” 12/10/18

Related Material:
Uniqueness Of The Creator, Part 7
Uniqueness Of The Creator, Part 6
Uniqueness Of The Creator, Part 5

Filed under: Perception, The Creator - No Comments →

2,000 years ago, the Temple was destroyed and the people of Israel began their wanderings around the world. We got used to living in exile among other nations and often even succeeded in doing so. Sometimes, on the contrary, the nations of the world settled scores with us. Hatred of the Jews steadily grew, one wave rose after another, and recently a tsunami of anti-Semitism has been rising.

The problem is that we are not correcting the shattering. Anti-Semitism is the result of our neglect of the possibility of achieving correction. The exile ended, but only in potential, not in practice. Many would dream of leaving the land of Israel and returning to exile. After all, holiness is only in the unity that we can build between us. Without unity, there is no holiness, and we are still in destruction.¹

In fact, the destruction was a correction. You cannot call it corruption because there was still nothing corrected that could be corrupted. It was the shattering of the boundary between the receiving and bestowing desires, the boundary between the Creator and the created being, between the properties of the Creator and the created being. Therefore, it was only for the sake of correction.

The desire to enjoy existed before the shattering, only it was hidden. After it was revealed, the created being could already begin to work on it and rise to the Creator. Each time the creature reveals its disparity with the Creator, which gives him the opportunity to correct this discrepancy and get closer to the Creator.

This disparity already existed before, but now it has been revealed. That is, there is a revelation with respect to the created being, as if we put on glasses and begin to see the malfunction that we did not notice before.²

The destruction of the Temple represents the merging of Bina with Malchut. Therefore, there were two destructions, according to the two levels in the spiritual Partzufim: Dalet-Gimel (4/3) and Gimel-Bet (3/2). The first Temple was destroyed at the level of Mochin de Haya, and the Second—at the level of Mochin de Neshama. Therefore, the destruction of the First Temple was much more powerful and significant. But the destruction of the Second Temple was more significant in that it meant a complete exit from spirituality.

The First Temple is a spiritual union in which all desires are combined together with the intention of bestowing to the Creator at the level of Mochin de Haya. There was a huge struggle between people and each one within himself for the sake of maintaining this unity and not falling. But egoism was steadily growing and in the end, the shattering did occur. The people of Israel went into exile; that is, there was a gap between the levels—the spiritual Partzuf exhausted itself. After the exile, the people were returning to spirituality, building a new Temple. (The First Temple is like Malchey DHGT [Daat, Hesed, Gevura, Tifferet] and the Second Temple is Malchey TNHYM [Tifferet, Netzah, Hod, Yesod, Malchut] in the world of Nekudim, which were broken).

The destruction of the Second Temple was already the final exit from spirituality—all went into intention for their own sake. Since then, the whole nation except for some special people, Kabbalists, entered the process of the continuous descent of generations.

It is impossible to compare the generations that lived immediately after the destruction of the First or the Second Temple with our contemporaries. They felt a much greater connection with each other. Holiness still illuminated them from afar and the sparks from the destruction of the previous Temple fell and made an impact. Therefore, there were still great people in those generations even after the destruction of the Second Temple. We see what great books they left for us: Mishna and Talmud.

Many were still in spiritual attainment. The fall did not happen instantly. The light was exiting the Partzuf gradually, until we were almost in total darkness by the time of the Ari.

From the time of the Baal Shem Tov and onward, the awakening from below began. Baal Shem Tov did a great job reviving spirituality, and he was followed by Baal HaSulam. There were other Kabbalists who lived in the time between them. The last great Kabbalist of our time was Rabash who left us the whole method of correction that we use today.³
From the 2^nd part of the Daily Kabbalah Lesson 7/21/19, “Ninth of Av”
¹ Minute 9:50
² Minute 12:50
³ Minute 18:58

Related Material:
Mourn The Temple That Hasn’t Yet Been Built In Our Hearts
New Life #613 – A Temple That Is Built Between Us
How Do You Define Anti-Semitism?

Filed under: Daily Kabbalah Lesson, Perception - No Comments →

To the Level of Absolute Interaction

Question: A person consists of intention, desires, feelings, emotions, reason, and thoughts. Are there are two kinds of intentions: for oneself or for others? Is there only one desire—to enjoy?

Answer: Yes. Nothing else. This is a quality of nature. That is, receiving fulfillment or avoiding suffering is basically one and the same.

Feelings and emotions are manifested in desire, the magnitude of its filling. The mind lets us accurately realize what we want.

Question: Before I thought that the mind is separate, as it were, or vice versa, that desires serve the mind?

Answer: The mind on inanimate, vegetative, and animate levels can serve instinctive desires. When a person develops oneself, then the mind begins to serve one’s human desires.

In fact, we need reason in order to circumvent inanimate, vegetative, animal, and even human desires, and begin to rise to the level of absolute interaction, higher than our nature. This is the so-called “faith above reason,” when we seek connection with each other in spite of all other desires and intentions.

Question: Is our goal to correct the natural egoistic perception of the world, egoistic desires—toward the neighbor?

Answer: Not even a neighbor, but a union: “Love your neighbor as yourself.” That is, I must love myself and my neighbor as well. This means absolute unification in order to create a common system. Therefore, I want to be its integral part.
[249674]
From KabTV’s “Basics of Kabbalah,” 7/19/19

Related Material:
Evolution Of Desires, Part 12
Evolution Of Desires, Part 11
Evolution Of Desires, Part 10

Filed under: Perception, Spiritual Work - No Comments →

Question: On one hand, you say that we always live in the future. On the other hand, there is no future. Could you explain this, please?

Answer: The fact is that I always as if precede myself and go half a step ahead. Otherwise, I cannot exist in my current state. It is called that I live as if in the future. But there really is no future because I define it. On one hand, I wait for it, but on the other hand, I predetermine it.

The science of Kabbalah says very simply: if you think that the future itself comes to you, then you exist on animate level. The inanimate, vegetative, and animate levels of nature—this is what controls you.

If you want to determine your future yourself, then please, define it yourself, but for this you must rise to the appropriate level of control where you understand that the future depends only on the degree of unity among people.

The stronger we are united, the better the future, we accelerate time, and events become more coordinated. The more people are in greater separation among themselves, the worse is the future and of course, everything else.

So, with our interactions toward our unity or separation, we ourselves determine the future.
[250316]
From the Kabbalah Lesson in Russian, 4/28/19

Related Material:
Learn To Live in The Future
The Only Factor That Determines Our Future
Live Not In The Past, But In Anticipation Of The Future

Filed under: Perception, Spiritual Work - No Comments →

Question: You say that the future depends on us, but our destiny is predetermined. How are we to understand that?

Answer: The fact of the matter is that we all must reach the state of the final correction. It is already predetermined. Moreover, we already exist in it.

Now we need to realize this future, bring ourselves closer to it. How we do it—the fast way or the slow, we strive forward by ourselves or urged by nature—depends on us. But the future already exists.

This is the state we were in before the breaking of the vessel of our soul and now we have to get back to it. We will not get away from it, we will be obliged to take each of our points, our cell, you, and I, and everyone else.

But the road by which we reach this predetermined future does not exist, it depends precisely on us. It depends on us how quickly we will be able to achieve this goal, how fast can we reach it, how comfortable our way will be.

We absolutely have to reach its predetermined end where all the parts of the soul will meld into one common system, into one whole, and the Creator will fill them infinitely with the upper light. We must get to this state.

Question: You frequently mention that there is spiritual information, Reshimo, in a person. Does it really exist in us?

Answer: There is a Reshimo in a person, a record of all states that this person needs to go through from the beginning till the end. But the person determines how he will go through them: fast or slow, comfortably or through blows.
[249830]
From the Kabbalah Lesson in Russian, 4/28/19

Related Material:
What Determines The Future Of A Person?
The Only Factor That Determines Our Future
From What “Point” Does A Kabbalist Make A Prediction?

Filed under: Perception, Spiritual Work - No Comments →

Question: I came to Kabbalah with a clear internal understanding that everything a person thinks about comes to him from the Creator. I put that into practice when I have a thought about some other person, relative, or acquaintance; I make sure I realize this thought immediately.

What I mean is that I will call him and ask what is going on, and it turns out that at the very same moment this person was thinking about me or was having problems.

Do these thoughts come to us from our egoistic world or arise from the upper worlds?

Answer: Nothing appears by itself. We are all connected by our thoughts and desires. I am not saying that we have to call each other all the time and inquire about what is happening. But if any thoughts or desires surface, they depend on the global picture of souls with whom we are completely interconnected.

Nothing is independent in this world, not the slightest thought or desire. Everything is completely interconnected and mutually defined. We all determine each other’s destinies.
[249825]
From the Kabbalah Lesson in Russian 4/21/19

Related Material:
Where Do Desires And Thoughts Come From?
Are There Random Thoughts?
Where Do Our Thoughts Come From?

Filed under: Crisis, Globalization, Perception - 1 Comment →

Question from Facebook: You talk about spiritual work, but how do we know that the changed values will be better than the previous ones?

Answer: The fact is that all the values we have today are built on the insignificance of our sensations, the insignificance of our world, on the fact that we run away from problems all the time, and we struggle with various difficulties.

In a different state, at the next level of perception of reality, there is a completely different existence—in plus, not in minus. Therefore, the values there are in bestowal, in love, and in fulfillment. In our world, everything is the other way around.

The Book of Zohar says: “Try and see how beautiful the upper world is.”
[249612]
From KabTV’s: “Answers to Questions on Facebook,” 3/10/19

Related Material:
Several Details About The Picture Of The Spiritual World
Superimposed Worlds
The Spiritual World – The World Of Qualities

Filed under: Perception, Q&A - No Comments →

What Gives Rise To A Thought?

Question: What do thoughts relate to—desire or intention?

Answer: A thought arises when there is a contradiction between what is desired and what you have. The difference between the desired and the actual gives rise to a thought. Otherwise, it would not have arisen.

If I feel what I want, then I have no thought. I have some kind of fulfilment in desire and that is it. If I feel my desire is completely different than the one that is in me now, then the difference between the desired and the reality gives rise to thought.

This thought, in turn, gives rise to a certain action: how to achieve that vector of forces that would lead me from this state to a more desirable one.

Question: Suppose I am hungry and immediately receive some fulfillment, then I don’t even have a thought. If I am hungry and there is no such filling around me, no food, I start thinking about how can I find it?

Answer: Yes, as they say: “love and hunger rule the world.” The absence of the desired generates thought, development. Therefore, it is said, “they give two unbeaten for a beaten one.” When a person receives punishment or suffering, it develops him.
[249531]
From KabTV’s “Basics of Kabbalah,” 12/3/18

Related Material:
Evolution Of Desires, Part 8
Evolution Of Desires, Part 7
Evolution Of Desires, Part 6

Filed under: Perception - No Comments →

Theory of the Governance of the World: Nature

Comment: From the point of view of Kabbalah, the Creator and nature are one and the same. Baal HaSulam in his article “The Peace” explains five theories of the governance of the world, how throughout history, humanity was changing its view in relation to the Creator.

The first theory is “Nature,” according to which,

“…they came to assume that the Creator, who created all these, who watches mightily over His reality lest any of it be cancelled, is mindless and senseless.

“… And for that reason, they believe that there is no one to be angry at, to pray to, or to justify oneself to.”

My Comment: This is a very good theory. In fact, we see that this is so.

We are before the immutable law of nature and we need to study it well. By studying it, we begin to understand that everything depends on our compliance with this law, not on how it changes. After all, it changes with respect to us in order to change us. That’s all!

It means that the law is immutable. Nature always moves to connection in order to manifest itself with regard to us in ever greater integral connection.

We cannot talk about nature itself. We can only talk about our perception of it because we do not know what is happening outside of our five senses. It is like a newborn baby who does not see, hear, or feel. Then gradually the baby begins to show its senses, to engage with the world.

We live in some kind of space, and this space is also our sensation. We perceive it with our five senses; that is, something in us is reflected from it. We do not know what is really happening.

Question: Can we say that everything we see around us is the Creator?

Answer: No. We can call the Creator everything that is behind this: a law, force, thought, and intention.

Question: It is not what I see in my five sensory organs?

Answer: No. I see everything around me is changing. The one who changes everything is called the Creator.

You can call Him, as Baal HaSulam writes, a senseless law or, on the contrary, a law that is full of feelings and intentions, which may or may not change depending on my attitude toward Him.
[249607]
From Kab TV’s “Basics of Kabbalah,” 12/10/18

Related Material:
Nuances Of The Theory Of Duality
The Two Forces Of The Universe
Reconstructing The Seal By The Imprint

Filed under: Perception, Structure of the Universe, The Creator - No Comments →

Question: How do we learn to live not in the present?

Answer: We never live in the present. Even if I say that now I want something, it means that I already want something that might be realized in a future moment. We always exist as if in the future.

How can we learn to live in the future? We should just create it.

The spiritual future is created by a greater connection between us. The stronger it is, the faster we reach the following spiritual states. We need to think about it.

If we mainly deal with this and with all earthly problems only to the extent it is necessary, then we will suddenly feel that from that spiritual state to which we wish to advance, we also provide ourselves with material things because the upper Light will shine upon us in corporeality too.
[250077]
From the Kabbalah Lesson in Russian, 04/28/19

Related Material:
Live Not In The Past, But In Anticipation Of The Future
Should We Live Forever?
Beyond Time, Space And Motion

Filed under: Perception, Spiritual Work - No Comments →