Entries in the 'Q&A' Category

“What is the biblical definition(s) of sacrifice?” (Quora)

Dr. Michael LaitmanMichael Laitman, On Quora: What is the biblical definition(s) of sacrifice?

Sacrifice is an inner state experienced by everyone undergoing spiritual development.

What do we sacrifice?

We sacrifice our egoism, i.e. our desire to enjoy for self-benefit alone, or in other words, we sacrifice our nature on the inanimate, vegetative and animate levels, which wishes to experience self-aimed pleasure, success and an easy life.

Such desires are egoism’s innate nature. If we wish to limit our egoistic approach to life and reach another state where we wish to not use our egoism but, on the contrary, to distance ourselves from it, then such an inner action is called “sacrifice.”

Based on KabTV’s “Spiritual States” with Kabbalist Dr. Michael Laitman and Michael Sanilevich on January 8, 2023. Written/edited by students of Kabbalist Dr. Michael Laitman.

Family and the Modern World

506.2Question: Is a family needed in the modern world?

Answer: I think it is impossible to live without a family, although today millions of people in the world do not create families and do not give birth to heirs and the next generation. I believe that all this is wrong and temporary.

Question: Does it make sense to have children if you do not know what will happen tomorrow?

Answer: Of course it does. If you do not know what will happen tomorrow, it does not mean that there will be no tomorrow. So we need to give birth. And tomorrow will come and already establish some of its own specific relationships, laws, and values, and you will understand that you did not give birth to children in vain.

Question: How can a couple maintain a relationship if both live in different countries?

Answer: I do not think it is possible. If this is a couple, then there must be some joint actions for them. It is the tactile sensations that are important.

Question: What if one of the partners in the couple is an energy vampire?

Answer: Divide this role into two.
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From KabTV’s “Blitz Questions and Answers” 1/6/23

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In the Authority of the Upper Forces

232.06Question: To what extent can egoism take over a person who is on the spiritual path? How do we escape this situation?

Answer: Egoism cannot rule a person who is on a spiritual level. This means that it breaks down again, but these are extraordinary cases.

A person who is on a spiritual level is dominated by different forces. His intentions may seem egoistic to us, but in principle he does not have any intention for his own sake.

Everything works differently for him. Just as a magnet holds a piece of iron at a certain level above the ground and balances to some extent the force of gravity, it is the same here. An anti-gravitational force that already exists in a person keeps him at this height.

The decisions he makes are different from those made by anyone else living on Earth. But since he is not yet completely corrected, he makes decisions based on the extent to which he exists in the spiritual world.

And if an additional egoistic desire is added to him now, he will fall from the spiritual level and will see everything based on our world. But this is given to him precisely so that he understands that a descent has occurred.

Question: What if a person is not yet in spiritual attainment, but is already on the way?

Answer: While on the way, he feels that he has risen or fallen. That is, he feels the measure of the presence of the upper light in him as the best state of open eyes and an open mind or conversely as a fall, a descent.
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From KabTV’s “I Got a Call. Egoism Uses Me” 1/28/12

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“Is there any such thing as fate or destiny?” (Quora)

Dr. Michael LaitmanMichael Laitman, On Quora: Is there any such thing as fate or destiny?

Yes, we have fate. That is, we live in a predetermined reality.

We each have different fates that move us through life’s various states at differing rates. For instance, some people live basic lives, doing nothing much more than working to provide for themselves and their families until they pass away, and then there are people who undergo many more changes throughout their lives. It is not apparent why it goes one way for some, and another way for others.

According to the wisdom of Kabbalah, each person’s fate depends on the inner structure of the soul that we are all parts of.

Based on KabTV’s “Blitz of Questions and Answers” with Kabbalist Dr. Michael Laitman on January 6, 2023. Written/edited by students of Kabbalist Dr. Michael Laitman.

Introduce a Game in a Relationship

506.5Question: Why does a relationship between a man and a woman end?

Answer: People do not know how to value their relationships; they have not been taught.

Question: How can you keep the intensity and passion of sex?

Answer: I think this is a very complex, multifaceted question. If they are healthy partners, they will find how to keep the intensity and passion.

They should appreciate each other, think about how to please the other, and then they will succeed.

Question: But according to Kabbalah, a person’s desire is fulfilled, and that is it. We see that many couples face a problem when in the course of life they lose some kind of sharpness, brightness of relationships, including sexual ones.

Answer: It is necessary to bring a game into the relationship.
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From KabTV’s “Blitz Questions and Answers” 1/6/23

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Worlds—States of Man

527.09Question: How does the revelation of the Creator take place, and what does it give?

Answer: The revelation of the Creator occurs to the extent that a person wants to reveal Him in order to be like Him.

Question: What are spiritual worlds?

Answer: They are states of a person who is approaching the Creator.

Question: Why are they called “worlds”?

Answer: That is how a person feels, that he is in such an environment.
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From KabTV’s “Blitz Questions and Answers” 1/6/23

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“Is it possible to benefit from a crisis?” (Quora)

Dr. Michael LaitmanMichael Laitman, On Quora: Is it possible to benefit from a crisis?

We can benefit from a crisis if we understand its true cause and how we heal the world through it. Otherwise, we cannot say that we benefit from a crisis.

At their core, all crises we endure emerge from negative human connections. Likewise, their ultimate solution is for us to positively connect above our negative drives.

As much as we positively connect, we will accordingly see positive changes in the world. Positive connection means that we will trust, help, support and encourage each other more and more, and harm each other less and less.

Based on KabTV’s “Blitz of Questions and Answers” on January 6, 2023. Written/edited by students of Kabbalist Dr. Michael Laitman.

To Love a Person or the Masses?

49.01Question: There is a phenomenon when a person, for example, an actor, goes on stage and works with the audience that he can’t live without it, he craves it. And when he meets his fans individually, he treats them contemptuously. Why?

Answer: This happens because, in general, he does not like people. He loves the mass, their next level, when they are connected to one another. Therefore, his attitude manifests itself either in an egoistic or altruistic way.

The artist loves a mass of people because they praise him and he gets energized. We know actors who are like a “little mouse” in everyday life. But suddenly he comes on stage and here he is Hamlet or the Moor. And in ordinary life nobody and nothing.

But he lives on stage because there he transforms into another character.

Have you ever been a prince in your life? No. But he has! He works as a prince for two or three hours every evening. It means a lot. And, of course, for this he loves the mass sitting in front of him. He does not like people individually because they do not give him the opportunity to stay in the image of a prince. This is a purely egoistic approach.

And there is an altruistic approach when in front of the artist there is a mass of people who want to somehow unite, then this is, of course, a field of activity for him. Either self-gratification or general enjoyment. Either you rise egotistically yourself, or you raise the mass by uniting it, lifting it up.

The audience rises up to a higher level thanks to the power that he gives it; rises higher means closer to the light, to the sun, as they say. At this time, a beneficial light bestows on them.

And then they descend, but this effect remains in them. And so, time after time, they begin to feel some kind of opportunity to rise in themselves.
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From KabTV’s “I Got a Call. How to Become a Star?” 5/14/11

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“Can music be used in education?” (Quora)

Dr. Michael LaitmanMichael Laitman, On Quora: Can music be used in education?

There are numerous examples of how music and songs are used in education in order to let students absorb the material more easily. Moreover, by learning various subjects through music, the students themselves learn how to teach others, their next generation, and so on. If students sing together in their learning, then they also add a component of a common bond and adaptation to their learning.

More importantly, however, than using music to better learn within the current educational frameworks, we need a different kind of education altogether, one in which the students would understand the need to positively connect.

In other words, as our world becomes increasingly connected, then we need a renewed emphasis in our educational methods on the need for positive connection. The first takeaway students should extract from their learning is that without positive connection in their society, groups and various interactions, nothing will help them in life.

Such an approach disregards the current educational approach at its core, which is primarily based on individual learning, development and achievements. Developing ourselves in individual competition against one another is an outdated educational approach that no longer suits our globally interconnected and interdependent world. All learning, development and achievements should then come after establishing the new emphasis in education—on the need to positively connect.

The world thus needs new kinds of educators who know how to enter the students’ hearts and generate a well-connected atmosphere. Doing so also requires that the educators themselves grow a positive connection among each other. Indeed, such a vision is distant from our current educational frameworks, and it seems impossible to educate teachers in such a way today. Perhaps it would become possible to reach some kind of an agreement where teachers first establish a positive connection among themselves in the teachers’ rooms, and then from a well-connected state that they reach, they pass that atmosphere over into their classrooms. Certainly, then, we would start seeing better results across the board: first in the more harmonious social atmosphere of kindness and care, then in mutual assistance and the desire to learn better.

There is a long road ahead to develop new educators—and thus a new educational system—based on the need to positively connect throughout society. Along the way, teachers would need to have both their material and ideological interests in such ideas piqued. That is, they would need to receive a satisfying paycheck for their educational work, and also learn the many ins and outs of positive human connection while exercising it among their fellow educators.

Based on the KabTV’s “News with Dr. Michael Laitman” with Kabbalist Dr. Michael Laitman and Semion Vinokur on November 10, 2022. Written/edited by students of Kabbalist Dr. Michael Laitman.
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Where Does Desire Come From?

627.1Question: Where does the desire come to me from?

Answer: Desire comes out of you.

Question: Where is the place in me from where desires come to me?

Answer: They just appear in you.

Question: What to do when you do not know what you want?

Answer: When you do not know what you want, you have to start taking care of others. This will lead you to the right decisions and the revelation of the world.
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From KabTV’s “Blitz Questions and Answers” 1/6/23

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