Question: In the world now people have so much varying information crammed into them every day; this affects people in many ways. Is there anything to help people not get confused, but to stand firm and take the next step in our development? It is very difficult for people now. In the past, this has never happened.

Answer: This has not happened in the past, because people did not have such a massive amount of information. On the other hand, we need not to reduce the amount of information, but to correctly direct a person to the perception of it. Then everything will be fine.

A person will very quickly, correctly, and effectively sort out all the information that will try to move into him. Of course, there are many interesting things, but I cannot hear everything, read everything, and see everything. I am not able to pass all the information that is constantly being updated in the world through my five senses. It is just not possible.

And there is no need to do it. Each of us involuntarily becomes a filter in the way of the information that surrounds us.

Therefore, everyone should choose for themselves something basic, a little bit of the secondary and that’s it. What about everything else? There is nothing I can do about the fact that I will not read all the books, will not watch all the movies, will not see all the ballets, and so on.

Question: According to what should a person place some kind of limits for himself?

Answer: According to what he wants to achieve in life. If I am engaged in some interesting issue and this is my specialty, then I devote all my time to it. I try to fill myself only with it and dedicate an additional five percent of my total time to the events in the world.
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From KabTV’s “Kabbalah Express” 4/29/22

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Question: At the moment, the world is going through a relatively complex stage of its development. We are attacked by a sea of information every day. A person’s reality is literally comprised of all the population and the entire world with its quick, abrupt changes. In an instant, your life can fall apart or on the contrary, rise from the ashes.

Sometimes one wonders how a person can survive in this kind of world, how he or she can keep the right foundation for his development, and how he can perceive everything that transpires correctly?

What is human perception? Is it a quality, a property, or an ability?

Answer: The world is what is given to us in our sensations. The world in itself is unknown and uninteresting to us, we don’t feel it and don’t even wish to know what it is. What interests us is how to change our sensations so that they are more certain, full, and predictable in relation to a new state.

There is such a concept as a thing-in-itself, the world-in-itself, but I would not say that this is what attracts us.

Question: Meaning, that there is a human being while perception is what is being added to him. Does this state have some kind of spiritual root?

Answer: I would say that a human being is that which perceives the surrounding world. And it is measured by how man perceives it. One’s entire worldview depends only on his or her perception. And all his aspirations in life amount to making his perception dependent only on him as much as possible.
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From KabTV’s “Kabbalah Express” 4/29/22

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Michael Laitman, On Quora: “Why is gold so valuable besides humans liking it aesthetically?“

Why is gold so valuable? It is because we want to apply our efforts into various immutable material objects, i.e. objects that will not decay or rust.

In relation to spirituality, gold represents the full correction of egoism, i.e. when our inborn desire to enjoy acquires a full intention of bestowal and love for the other. In the language of Kabbalah, gold represents our connection to the Sefira of Keter, and silver represents the ego’s partial correction, our connection to the Sefira of Bina.

As long as egoism rules in the world, we will value gold as the universal and global equivalent of the egoistic forces, i.e. the forces of the desire to enjoy for self-benefit. But when people trade their egos for positive connection, i.e. when our desire to enjoy acquires an intention to bestow upon others that lets us positively connect to each other, then we will value gold as an ordinary metal, and will no longer use it for trade. At that point, we will only use the value of bestowal to one another as a measure for trading.

Based on the video “Why Is Gold So Valuable?” with Kabbalist Dr. Michael Laitman and Semion Vinokur. Written/edited by students of Kabbalist Dr. Michael Laitman.
Photo by Jingming Pan on Unsplash.

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Michael Laitman, On Quora: “How could anyone abuse a child?“

In recent weeks in Israel, there have been several cases of children and babies being abused by their kindergarten teachers and caretakers. It is a phenomenon that has been shaking up many people.

Indeed, how is it possible to abuse defenseless children and babies?

The Torah speaks of even worse states that humanity could reach, where merciful mothers would eat their own children.

Our development is marked by our constantly-growing egoism, which has become overblown in our era. The ego, i.e. the desire to enjoy at the expense of others, has reached such major proportions that horrible cases of child abuse increasingly appear the more that we become more egoistic and detached from one another.

There is a method, however, called “the wisdom of Kabbalah,” which can teach us how to build a correctly-functioning society, where we learn how our egoism operates, and how to rise above it in order to develop positive connections to one another.

With the learning and implementation of such a method, we could reach a state where we feel other people’s children not only as our own, but even more closely than we feel our own children.

Why would we feel that way? It is because through a positive attitude to each other—and to each other’s children—we would become close with the positive force of nature that dwells in our connections. Our positive attitudes would let us connect to the positive force that dwells in nature, and such a connection would fulfill us with a much greater sensation of fulfillment than what we currently sense.

We need to start discovering how the positive force of nature dwells in the connections between all people, and we have the ability to reveal and connect to this force. Doing so can let us feel love toward other people’s children and babies, beyond even feeling them as our own children.

This is precisely why the wisdom of Kabbalah has become revealed on a mass scale in our era: Without the wisdom of how to positively connect to each other above our egoistic drives while our egos constantly grow, we would end up eating each other alive.

Based on the video “How Could Anyone Abuse a Child or Baby?” with Kabbalist Dr. Michael Laitman and Oren Levi. Written/edited by students of Kabbalist Dr. Michael Laitman.

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Michael Laitman, On Quora: “What do you think of Israel announcing that the Iron Beam laser defense system was tested successfully shooting down drones and rockets?“

Against any good thing, there is always a bad thing. So you will not find me jumping with joy that we have rid ourselves of our problems and threats.

I do not think that this laser defense system can give us a real sense of security in Israel. Things will get worse. Our problems will rise to an even higher level.

In order for us to truly have a sense of quiet, there is a simple idea that we must adhere to—that of connection, or to reach “Love your neighbor as yourself” among the Israeli nation.

This is no innovation of the defense industry. It is up to us people to implement. If we fail to upgrade our attitudes to each other, then no sophisticated technological, scientific or military equipment would help us.

Developing ties of love between us would protect us from all harm. If we had a very strong sense of connection, then this force of connection would reject all evil forces.

This is because thought and desire are forces much more powerful than laser beams. They are similar to laser waves, only sharper, operating beyond time, space and motion.

We need to establish a network of love between us, love that comes from the heart, and then we would see those same inclinations starting to surface in our enemies’ thoughts and desires. We can make this much-needed innovation in human connection, and sooner or later, we will have to.

Based on the video “Kabbalist Responds to Israel’s Iron Beam Laser Defense System” with Kabbalist Dr. Michael Laitman and Oren Levi. Written/edited by students of Kabbalist Dr. Michael Laitman.
Photo by Umberto on Unsplash.

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Question: Why do the Jews not have such servility and deep reverence for each other like other peoples?

Answer: Yes, we really see it today. And if you looked into the depths of the centuries, you would see that even 100 years ago there was no such thing and could not have been. Absolutely in no way!

In the army, in enterprises, anywhere, fraternity is characteristic of Jews—everyone is the same. This is so deeply embedded within the people that even when we began to take an example from the West in the organization of the country and everything else, even then the relationship remained the same.

From time immemorial, everyone has been absolutely equal. A person has never been respected for wealth, only for knowledge. There has never been any subservience to anyone. This inner brotherhood still does not go away, since then it has been in everyone.

And although there is no strong connection anymore, equality that I am no worse than another, reigns everywhere.

There is no slave in a Jew—something that practically exists in every nation. As all other nations have passed the slave-owning period, when some were masters, others were slaves. There was no such period for the Jewish people. There was a so-called slave to his master. But it has always been said: whoever buys a slave, buys himself a master.

These are the spiritual laws. There are whole volumes in the Talmud telling how to treat a slave. The slave lived as if under communism. You were obliged to take care of him, you could not force him morally or spiritually.

He worked as if for hire, and was only considered a slave, since the owner made a contract with him that he would buy him for a certain time. For six years he worked and in the seventh year he could leave the owner. This law is called “Shemitah” when everyone returns to freedom.

According to this law, in the 50th year of the use of land, it is returned to free use and does not remain assigned to anyone forever.

We do not understand how these laws provide a completely different basis for people to connect with each other. What does it mean that you are given land for only 50 years?! This is practically a small human century.

There is the same thing in slavery: a contract for 6 years. You were obliged to give a slave the opportunity to marry, a bondwomen, to get married. And if you used her as a concubine, you had to take her as a wife, buy her clothes and jewelry, which means, give her a completely different status.

This is completely different from the system that other nations had. Therefore, today it still exists in the blood.

And now we are already at a stage where we have to understand that there is nothing valuable, nothing to save, nothing to store, nothing to buy, nothing to stock up on. The world will turn over anyway, and the earth will swallow everything up.
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From KabTV’s “I Got a Call. Who Has Longer” 11/3/09

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Question: Why does Kabbalah say that every person should change himself? If we are all one common system, let Kabbalists change everything.

Answer: How can I change you? You have your own egoism, your own qualities; I have my own, and I have no power over you. Every person must reach this state, and everyone can and must ultimately control their own fate. That’s when he will reach an understanding of a common idea, a common thought.

Question: So Kabbalah gives a person the opportunity to become the master of his own destiny and not just predict some events?

Answer: Kabbalah does not make predictions at all. This is exactly what is forbidden in Kabbalah, because you go deeper into predicting the future, instead of changing yourself so that this future will be good.

Question: So, in principle, predictions change nothing?

Answer: Of course. This is just a game, and therefore Kabbalah forbids it.

But there is immortality! And it is very easy to reach this degree. I invite everyone.
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From KabTV’s “Close-Up. Secrets of Immortality” 1/7/11

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Michael Laitman, On Quora: “Is there free will in this world?“

There is no free will in our world. Free will is possible only if we have an opportunity to rise above the egoistic nature of our world, i.e. the nature where we wish to benefit ourselves at the expense of others and nature, which determines our decisions and behavior.

We consider ourselves free for as long as we do not think about it and identify ourselves with our animate body. But if we rose above our body a little, we would see that it strictly obeys the laws and processes it is subject to.

We think that we determine all kinds of choices in our lives. However, we are placed in certain conditions and given certain inner qualities, while our desire to enjoy runs like an engine according to a simple principle: maximum pleasure and gain for minimum effort and investment.

We calculate according to this principle at every moment, direction, place and in relation to everything. That is how nature works. It takes into consideration various conditions, such as how tired and healthy we are, and how much risk is involved versus the quality and quantity of enjoyment—and accordingly passes out decisions. We can thus see how we remain in the ego, and how there is no free will in its range of functioning.

We have to realize that we can realize our free will by controlling and being above our desire. The more we stay in our egoistic desire, the more we remain as obedient puppets, fully controlled by egoism.

If, however, we wish to take control of the situation, then we have to manage our desire, which is done by rising above it. In other words, we can experience free will, but only above desire.

Then the question becomes: How can we rise above our egoistic nature in order to realize our free will?

That is what the wisdom of Kabbalah engages in.

Based on the Daily Kabbalah Lesson with Kabbalist Dr. Michael Laitman on November 26, 2010. Written/edited by students of Kabbalist Dr. Michael Laitman.

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Michael Laitman, On Quora: “What is the importance of humans to the Earth?“

The importance of humans to the Earth is that we truly realize what it means to become human, and fulfill our role here by doing so.

Becoming human means adjusting our attitude toward people and nature on all of its levels—the still, vegetative, animate and speaking—so that our attitude aligns with the altruistic attitude sourced in nature.

In other words, we need love. By increasing love in our relations, we can stop the spread of hatred. By failing to add love in our relations, we let hatred abound and thus find that we become increasingly imbalanced among each other and with nature.

Planet Earth feels human attitudes, whether or not we feel love, hate or anything else. We live on a living organism, which is now suffering.

In order to alleviate the Earth’s suffering and to make the Earth happy, we need only wish to create a positive, mutual and balanced life, that we become the source of this newfound balance, and we will then also bring balance to the planet, to the atmosphere, and to everything else in nature.

When we reach balance among each other and with nature, we will experience a whole new abundant and perfect life.

Based on the video “It’s Time to Reassess Our Relationship With Nature” with Kabbalist Dr. Michael Laitman and Oren Levi. Written/edited by students of Kabbalist Dr. Michael Laitman.

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Michael Laitman, On Quora: “Why should you care?“

If we fail to reach mutual care in our times, then we can expect ourselves as a humanity to regress, rather than progress, as we head into the future.

Any current progress we make is for profit purposes. If there were no thirst for money, would medicine and surgery continue developing? Nothing would develop. We would live as if in a primitive society.

However, in our times we will feel a growing awareness of the need for mutual care. For the time being, however, the modern world does everything possible in order to obscure it, even though it is crucial to its survival.

Today, human egoism—the desire to enjoy at the expense of others—undergoes immense exponential growth, and we cannot object to its demands. Our overblown egoism could lead us to such disastrous states as nuclear wars, or nature itself will trap us with its own disasters, and it would all be in order for us to reach an agreement: that we invert our attitudes to each other, to solely consider the other’s benefit without taking ourselves into account.

By making such a fateful shift in our attitudes to each other—to become more caring for each other—we would see the dark picture of the world fade away, and a new harmonious and peaceful world open up to us.

Based on the video “Here’s the CONSCIOUSNESS SHIFT We’re on the Threshold of Making” with Kabbalist Dr. Michael Laitman and Semion Vinokur. Written/edited by students of Kabbalist Dr. Michael Laitman.
Photo by Jack Finnigan on Unsplash.

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