Michael Laitman, On Quora: “Do you think Israel is broken? If yes, how can we fix it?“

We have long been broken. We face alienation and generally negative relations toward each other, and it is indeed a problem. We need to reach a state where we take care of each other, to explain to ourselves that there is no other place for us.

The positive aspect of our broken state is that we have the power to change it. If we come closer together and decide that we are one nation, then we can mend our currently-broken connections. We certainly need to work on that more and more.

On the other hand, many would argue that we are familiar with slogans about our unity from a young age. We hear about it regularly throughout our upbringing. However, we see that it fails to bring us any closer together. It is because the explanations we currently receive about our unity lack the understanding of our foundation as a nation. Moreover, neither side of the political spectrum in Israel discuss it.

Our foundation as a nation resides in the tenet, “Love your neighbor as yourself.” If we fail to sustain such relations among each other, then we are not Israel. There is a superior law to our existence as a nation that requires us to unite above our differences. If we adhere to this law, that “all of Israel are brothers,” then we can truly fix our broken connections, and build the State of Israel in a new and positive way.

Therefore, while we are broken, we have the power to fix our shattered state, and become a united nation based on mutual relations of love. We would then also see that the negative sentiment toward us would fade away, as we would positively affect everyone in the world with the positive unifying force that we would realize among each other.

Based on the video “Is Israel Disintegrating?” with Kabbalist Dr. Michael Laitman and Oren Levi. Written/edited by students of Kabbalist Dr. Michael Laitman.

Filed under: Israel Today, Q&A, Quora - No Comments →

Michael Laitman, On Quora: “What are the full implications of ‘Deepfake’?“

While there is a lot of anxiety regarding the implications of deepfake technology, I think that it could help correct the world.

Deepfake could help bring us closer to the truth, prompting us to outsmart the phenomena that we create in order to confuse each other. In other words, it could help us reach a state where we simply believe nothing that we see and hear in the media. Therefore, I see such developments as positive because they become part of our path to a state where we see that the whole world is fake.

We will come to realize that there is no truth anywhere, that everything we produce is us lying to ourselves. We actually live that way today, but we are not yet fully aware of it. Deepfake technology would help clarify that we are living in a lie. And when we reach such a realization, we will gain a stronger demand for a greater truth, a genuine perception and sensation of the true reality that we exist in.

Based on the video “What Are the Implications of Deepfake?” with Kabbalist Dr. Michael Laitman and Oren Levi. Written/edited by students of Kabbalist Dr. Michael Laitman.

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

Question: In theory, a movie itself is a fraud. For example, a movie supposedly takes place in New York, but in fact they shoot somewhere in an alley or a set somewhere else. It still evokes certain feelings in people. They are sort of deceived, but this deception works.

Nowadays everything is being filmed in 3D in studios. They recreate some worlds for you to view, but in fact, you see generated graphics, something not real. Is there some kind of energy behind the material image that has existed for five centuries that is identical to this 3D?

Answer: All this is so artificial! But what does “genuine” mean? What does “natural” mean? No one knows that. You can take a person and stuff him with any images as basic ones, and then build anything upon them, any civilization, any culture.

But gradually it all goes away. We are entering a completely different world, which will be a transitional world where we will get used to the fact that everything is changing. As, for example, in the movies where encounters with aliens who arrived from other galaxies are portrayed. Let’s say some huge hall in which different creatures with crocodile muzzles or with two heads walk around and bow to each other, such an international bazaar.

We are in a state where we have to get used to the fact that the world is within us, all of Hollywood is within us. One single truth will prevail above everything. This is the Kabbalistic approach.

Everything will be measured only by the relative quality of bestowal. Relative means that it is in a different way for everyone. People will communicate and understand each other internally. The feeling of our world, space, and matter will begin to disappear because it does not really exist.

Engels said that matter is given to us in sensations. And it is indeed so. Matter is what is given to us today in sensations. To the extent that our qualities, our sensations change, our idea of matter also changes.

Question: If we compare cinema with this fake world and take Kabbalistic texts, do they also awaken certain states, a certain movie, but only on a different level? Are the feelings that are awakened, for example, by The Book of Zohar and by other sources real, not like a movie?

Answer: Yes, because they are those partial qualities, types, and fragments of the whole unified image of nature. That is, they are degrees of attaining the perfection of nature, which is eternal and perfect. And all its degrees are private measures of its revelation relative to us. They also exist, but they exist relative to us.

Everything else that we feel today is absolutely illusive, invented because it is induced to us by our egoism, like in a half-dream, like in an unconscious state in which a person feels some kind of vibes.
[301504]
From KabTV’s “I Got a Call. Deception of the Movies” 2/19/13

Related Material:
Small Efforts, Huge Corrections
Everything Depends On Us
The Whole World Is Inside Me

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

Comment: The moment you convey information, when you pass something out of yourself, it is recorded on video or audio. When we watch these recordings, it is like we are watching this movie anew every time, it is not not just the same movie, but a new one.

My Response: Naturally, because the information itself is a spiritual message, and it depends on the state of any listener each time. You will read and view it dozens of times and see it as completely different each time because there is light in it, and you will choose from this light what you can in accordance with your qualities at that moment.

Question: Does this have some kind of time limit? Let’s say it still affects the state of the listener for a week, and after that it does not.

Answer: No, there is no such thing in spirituality. It is just that a person is under the influence of certain internal conditions, but the information itself is eternal. It constantly exists in the same volume. I transformed it to a certain level, lowered it, clothed it in some new covering, and starting from this degree and below, everyone can perceive it, in accordance with their qualities.
[301354]
From KabTV’s “I Got a Call. Exchange of Spiritual Information” 2/15/13

Related Material:
The Flow of Higher Information
Entering the System of Spiritual Connection
How Is Internal Information Shared?

Filed under: Q&A, Spiritual Work - No Comments →

Question: When you say that a person who attains spirituality burns from the inside and it really begins to be felt, do you take analogies from what you perceived yourself?

Answer: Of course from myself! Everything that exists in the world, a person lives through himself. Look how everyone lives their life: short or long, more or less prosperous, suffering, with problems, a little bit of this, a little bit of that.

Question: You are talking about such scorching things! Did you really have to go through this yourself to feel all that?

Answer: By going through it, I saw that if I deviated to the right or left line, I would either turn into a “flatbread,” or it would be something perfect—a soft down pillow that would smoothly slow down my train.

Question: So, when you went through these states, did you clearly feel each of them?

Answer: Yes, because a person usually walks in the middle line. He still hits a barrier that slows him down, but it is like hooks grabbing you when you need to stop. These grips slowly slow you down.

Question: And everyone will have to go through these states?

Answer: Of course, it is a must: the right and left lines upon which you build the middle line. It depends in what form, that is, to what extent. In accordance with my soul, I had to study so much and disseminate so much. There are such souls among the souls, not high, but just special. They are required to be teachers or leaders in charge, and so on.

Once we visited a former student of Rabash and he, looking at me, said: “I look at you and how many years you have been doing this. I remember once you had a fight with everyone, including Rabash and refused to go to the coast with him. Then I went with him. And there I asked him: “Rav, why don’t you expel this Laitman? Look what he allows himself!”

Rabash replied: “I would kick him out, but he has a special soul.” I did not understand it then, but now I see that you do not give up, you continue and keep hitting one spot all the time.”

Why am I saying this? Not to spotlight myself. There is nothing special about it because the Creator appoints and removes. But everyone simply has a mission, and it must be fulfilled. I feel it pressing on me, and I am implementing it. Is it possible to escape from it? It is forbidden. Whether you agree with it or not is your problem.

I am trying to agree, to justify the Creator’s plan, in relation to myself at least. Therefore, I have no questions about how I live. I feel that it must be done.

And what is interesting about Kabbalah, the more you study, the more you realize that this image you are playing now does not really exist. Nothing remains of a person! It is in our world, in its history, we remember great or famous people, positive or negative. But there is nothing left at all! That same integral point remains in the huge system, which played its role because the Creator played it that way. And that is it.

So, I have a very simple mission. I am trying to do the maximum of what I feel from my science. As much as it works, it works, as much as it does not, it does not.
[301134]
From KabTV’s “I Got a Call. To See the Future” 2/5/13

Related Material:
Great Kabbalists Are Special Souls
A Dwelling That Corresponds To The Structure Of The Soul
Special Period of Development

Filed under: Body and Soul, Dissemination, Q&A, Spiritual Teacher, Spiritual Work - No Comments →

Michael Laitman, On Quora: “How can I shift my emotions from negative to positive?“

Throughout nature, negative feelings run in parallel to positive ones to sustain the balance. We should thus first understand that negative feelings surface in us from nature in order for us to enter into balance with nature. Doing so will lead us to understand both negative and positive systems in nature, and we will be in between them as its masters.

We thus should not try to suppress or cover up negative feelings, but complement them with positive ones. Suppose that we take a negative feeling like depression: it needs to balance out with joy and happiness. I understand that this sounds far fetched, because joy and happiness are the most distant feelings from depression. However, doing so becomes possible if we engage in connection-enriching learning on a regular basis.

If we are in an environment that regularly explains and promotes to us that negative feelings are an invitation for us to develop to their positive opposites, and which provides support and encouragement to do so, then it is possible to make such a shift.

The process is quite simple to explain, but it requires regular engagement in a supportive environment connected to such learning in order to implement. The process is as follows: A negative feeling arises, and we then have to find its source and its purpose—that the negative feeling arises in us from nature in order for us to seek its opposite, joy and happiness. We then have to learn how to relate to negative feelings as to positive ones, and be equally grateful for negative feelings as for positive ones. By doing so, we learn how to live between the two because there can be no plus without a minus.

If we engage in such a process, then we become masters of our state. We will know what to do with negative emotions when they arise, and we will understand that nature awakens such feelings solely in order for us to enter into balance with it.

Moreover, we need to understand that as we develop into the future, we can expect more and more negative feelings. From one day to the next, things will get worse. I promise. The world will cry and shout, and no remedy will help. If today we can take some pills or shots to try alleviate our pains, tomorrow we will find that they will no longer work. Drugs will not help us in the future because nature will lead us to a state of feeling a complete sense of depression and negative feelings. It might seem cruel, but it is in order for us to reach a much better state, one that we have yet to experience, through realizing the correct solution: that we need to want the positive force, that it would balance out the negative force in us, which is the reason for depression and all other negative sensations.

Based on the video “How to Shift Your Emotions from Negative to Positive” with Kabbalist Dr. Michael Laitman and Oren Levi. Written/edited by students of Kabbalist Dr. Michael Laitman.

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

Question: Is it true that babies have a much greater perception of the world than an adult even  though it seems to us that they do not perceive anything at all?

Answer: The fact is that children’s perception is not constrained, not limited by the framework imposed by society, the environment, conventions, so-called “education,” and so on. It is not yet narrowed to a frame, like with the aperture of a lens, by the requirements of the environment.

Therefore, we can say that it is undoubtedly more open than in adults. We do not see very much. We see everything that society directs us to and restricts us by. Every time we hear or see something from the outside, we constantly include it in ourselves, and as a result, our field of perception narrows and distorts under the influence of the environment.

The perception of a baby is like clean photographic film on which it can record everything directly. Our perception however, can be compared with something worn-out because society with its stupidities coarsens us so much that as a result we perceive only some scanty information from the environment.

Therefore it is of course wonderful to rise above the influence of society, which means to throw away culture and all external conventions, that is to say, external egoism, to drop the inner egoism that was introduced into you, and to begin to perceive the world from your point, which you pull out of there. Then you discover yourself, not what was done to you.
[301269]
From KabTV’s “I Got a Call. The World Through the Eyes of a Baby?” 2/10/13

Related Material:
How To Broaden Your Perception
Why Do We Perceive A Divided Reality?
A Conversation With The Creator

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

Question: Suppose you need to meet and talk with someone. Do you perform a series of actions that enable you to connect with this person?

Answer: Yes, it is possible. But this should immediately manifest itself on the basis of some common platform: for what, why, what is in the past, future, or present. There should be something in common. If it turns out quickly, then I am ready to communicate.

For example, I have interviews with people who come to our studio. So right away within 10 to 15 minutes, I find out in a polite conversation whether we have a common platform, a mutual understanding, or a common viewpoint on some problem in the world or on all problems in general.

If so, then we have something to talk about. We debate and discuss things in this common field. If it is not the case, then no. Then we politely slip one past the other and that is it.

I never convince anyone that I am right. It is useless and unnecessary. Even if you could politely convince someone that he is wrong and your point of view is right, you should not do this, not because I am afraid to somehow hurt my opponent and leave a bad impression of myself as an arrogant person exerting pressure, but because this will not help.

A person himself must “ripen” from within, and get to the point of view that appears each time at the moment of its maturation. Maybe someday he will agree with you, and maybe you will agree with him. So you should not pressure anyone.

Tell your opponent what you think is the right thing to do. Also to listen to what he thinks. But in no case to try to pressure him. Even if together you want to come to a common opinion by putting pressure on each other, it is also wrong. Let your feelings and mind develop normally and calmly so that you finally feel your next state. It is you who should evolve!

Therefore, I have no need for any discussions with anyone or getting into special contact with anyone except in cases in which some kind of influence on a person who has a special status is possible. For example, I was in Italy where I met with a representative of the European Union and explained our method to him and what can be done to overcome the crisis. He enjoyed taking notes on it. For an hour and a half, I dictated to him what to do, as if he were a student, and he, like a student, wrote it down.

It was very serious work that we did together for an hour and a half. It gave a lot to me and to him. Not because I was engaged in moralizing, as it were, but because I saw that this man really understands the problem and does not know how to solve it.

And he really wanted to find a solution. And I, for my part, felt that this was how it should be solved. In general, we made good contact.
[301034]
From KabTV’s “I Got a Call. Laitman’s Contacts” 2/7/13

Related Material:
Life Beyond Time
Growing Recognition Of The Current Moment
The End Of The Development Of Egoism

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

Michael Laitman, On Quora: “Can we consider all humans as being ill? If yes, why?“

We are ill in the fact that we cannot distinguish good from evil, and we cannot gather and integrate the good in ourselves so that it gradually covers the evil.

Evil in this case is egoism, the desire to enjoy at the expense of others and nature. We need to reach a sensation that we are complete egoists and that it is our collective illness, and when we feel how this quality is evil—that it is the cause of every shortcoming and pain that we experience—then we will seek some kind of remedy.

Today, we already experience an accumulation of suffering that evokes a luminescence of a good light upon us, which can reveal where the evil is in us. Together with our egoism, we also have a tiny spark, a very small good desire, which we still have yet to fully clarify, but which connects to egoism’s opposite: the positive force of love, giving and connection that dwells in nature.

Remedying our egoism is by learning how to develop and expand the good point within us. Doing so requires applying a method of connecting these points between us in order to attract more and more of the positive force dwelling in nature into such a connection. In the process, we will be able to distinguish good from evil, and amplify the good quality so that it covers the evil. We will then experience a whole new harmonious and peaceful life.

Based on the video “What Is Humanity’s Illness?” with Kabbalist Dr. Michael Laitman and Semion Vinokur. Written/edited by students of Kabbalist Dr. Michael Laitman.

Filed under: Health, Q&A, Quora - No Comments →

Michael Laitman, On Quora: “Why does crisis bring people closer?“

I recently received a letter from a lady who explained that she and her husband had to move into their basement after their house got destroyed, and they felt liberated as a result. In her words, she wrote that “caring for others supplanted all thoughts of self,” and she continued to ask about how that happens, requesting an explanation.

Indeed, we host an inner quality where we try to escape from suffering, fear, hatred and other negative states due to our desire to feel good. As a result, we suddenly find ourselves caring about others, and we then realize that it feels right to come together.

Such states of crisis make us lose the feeling of corporeal fulfillment that we usually seek in money, honor, control and knowledge, and all we have left is spiritual fulfillment, where we fulfill ourselves by helping others, and feel like we need nothing else in our lives. It is a spiritual state that emerges out of suffering.

However, the state where crisis and suffering brings people closer together—that we then feel fulfillment in caring about others in order to run away from our problems—is only an elementary spiritual state. Later, we will care about others simply because we receive such an opportunity and feel it as our mission to do so: that we feel a strong drive to communicate the need to increase mutual care throughout the world, and that caring about each other and coming closer together also vitalizes us with new elevated harmonious, joyous and peaceful sensations. In other words, we can learn from times of crisis that caring about others and coming closer together has a special fulfillment that we previously failed to realize, but if we were to voluntarily advance ourselves to come closer together and increase mutual care in society, then we would alleviate the need for crises to bring us to such a realization. We would then progress to greater states of fulfillment, peace and harmony by attracting nature’s positive forces into our lives.

Based on the video “Why Crisis Brings People Closer and Increases Care among People” with Kabbalist Dr. Michael Laitman and Semion Vinokur. Written/edited by students of Kabbalist Dr. Michael Laitman.
Photo by National Cancer Institute on Unsplash.

Filed under: Crisis, Q&A, Quora - No Comments →