Michael Laitman, On Quora: “What instigates hatred among humans?“

It is written, “the inclination of man’s heart is evil from his youth” (Genesis 8:21). Envy, lust, honor and hatred are egoistic emotions unique to humans. Moreover, human egoism constantly grows, and due to its constant growth, our egos are much worse today than they were in the past.

While the human ego is behind the hatred, rejection, alienation and suffering we feel in our world, we also need to understand that the reason we have been given such a nature and such broken relationships is so that we will correct them. Correcting our egoism means rising above it, and acquiring a new sense that feels the positive force of nature opposite our ego—the force of love, bestowal and connection. Likewise, only we humans can bring about such correction. Moreover, egoism constantly grows in order for us to see that unless we correct it, then we will plunge into such crises that we will have no choice but to correct it.

Based on the video “The Root Cause of People’s Hatred for Other People” with Kabbalist Dr. Michael Laitman and Chaim Ratz. Written/edited by students of Kabbalist Dr. Michael Laitman.

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Michael Laitman, On Quora: “What is your viewpoint on the Russian-Ukrainian conflict?“

The current Russo-Ukrainian war awakens the awareness that as human beings, we desperately lack correction and positive connection. It shows how hatred can brew between two nations that have lived side-by-side for a long time, which share similarities in religion, language and history, and which play host to millions of families that were built with no regard as to whether the spouses’ respective families were Russian or Ukrainian. Despite their similarities, they instead emphasize their differences, differentiating and distancing themselves from each other up to a point of hatred. And the hatred boiled over into war, as if they share nothing at all in common.

Why does such a dire state come about? It is because human nature—the egoistic desire to enjoy at the expense of others and nature—is uncorrected at its basis. Moreover, this ego is already overblown, and still constantly inflating. Without correction—without mutually redirecting our intentions to benefit one another and nature—then it is bound to explode, to burst into flames, and bring about conflict and much suffering.

We then have no choice but to extinguish the flames of war by correcting ourselves, our egoistic nature, which presents itself today as the ego of one nation attacking to overpower another. We need to see that the ego’s correction is the only solution to this problem, as it is the only solution that treats the problem at its core.

We also need to understand that we cannot repair the war at its root cause—the growing uncorrected human ego—with the same egoistic powers at our disposal. Instead, through connecting to each other above our egoistic drives, which requires a guided method, we can invite the positive force dwelling in nature into our connections, and by doing so, be granted peace. Let us pray that the good inclination (intentions to positively connect to each other) will overcome the evil inclination (our innate egoistic drives) from person to person, nation to nation, and among all nations.

Based on the Writers Meeting with Kabbalist Dr. Michael Laitman on February 24, 2022, and the Daily Kabbalah Lesson on February 25, 2022. Written/edited by students of Kabbalist Dr. Michael Laitman.
Photo by Artur Voznenko on Unsplash.

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Question: Valentin writes: “I have a strange feeling that everything around is a lie. The government lies, managers lie, the media lie. There is no truth in anything anywhere. But then how does one live? Whom can we believe? I’ve never felt it so sharply before.”

Answer: Yes, it depends on how much you have developed and feel the actual nature of the world, that egoism lies at the basis of the nature of the world. When a person begins to feel this, he really gets lost: “Where can I go?”

There are people who go to some distant islands or somewhere in a village to live quietly by themselves. They even disconnect themselves from the outside world in some way. And there are others who believe that if they accumulate wealth, for example, they will protect themselves, their future, and their successors.

Question: So how can he live with this feeling that he constantly sees that he is being deceived everywhere?

Answer: This is the nature of the world, and then—Kabbalah.

If he does not agree with the nature of our world, then he can only do one thing, go against this nature.

Question: What question should he have?

Answer: He should ask a serious question: Is it possible that the world is arranged by lies or not?

The world is designed so that we can change it. Therefore in our egoism we perceive the world in this way. If we change ourselves, the world will change.

Question: If he has such a sharp feeling that everything around him is a lie, does it mean that he needs to change?

Answer: Certainly. Otherwise he will not change the world. We think about changing the world all the time. This is the highest egoism.

Comment: This means the media cannot be destroyed, the government cannot be overthrown, the managers cannot be replaced.

My Response: Don’t do all this. We must try to show the whole world that its very nature—still, vegetative, animal, and human especially—is absolutely egoistic. And we need to correct this nature. Moreover, it is corrected from the “human” level.

Question: Therefore I always start from myself?

Answer: Start from yourself and others, with the connection between us, with the connection between people, and then nature will change at all levels. From top to bottom it will go to the animal, vegetative and still world.

Question: If I, an ordinary person, start with the connection with my loved ones, start trying to make it kind—no matter what, no matter what skirmishes and so on—will I start changing the world?

Answer: Yes, of course!

Comment: There are such rulers around in this world today that a person wants to overthrow them so much!

My Response: No, there is no need to overthrow. That would be an even bigger mess. That is all the wrong technique. It is necessary not to overthrow. It is necessary to show them how this should change.

“On them” means that, in principle, we need to explain its essence to the world. And the rulers are puppets. The hearts of the rulers are in the hands of this upper nature. And we need to understand that it is an explanation—just an explanation—that can lead people to change their attitude to themselves, to the world, and to others.

Question: And if someone who sees a solid lie around starts explaining to himself and others that this is human nature, that it is necessary to rise above it, to work with it, and to switch to good connections, what will he see instead of this lie?

Answer: Huge egoism. And we need to talk about this. Where is the method of correcting the world? It is in correcting a person. But not just in shouting and putting pressure on others. Rather, the method is in teaching, ennobling, and changing a person.

Question: If I start to change, what do I see?

Answer: If I start to change, I begin to see that this is what the world needs. And the world will change accordingly along with this. I will see more and more goodness in this world. And to the extent that I have such an impact on the world, I will see how it is changing.

This way—through our attitude to the world, and not only from me—we will bring the world into a state of correct balance.
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From KabTV’s “News with Dr. Michael Laitman” 1/3/22

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Michael Laitman, On Quora: “How do you deal with negativity coming your way and your own feelings of negativity?“

Every one of our negative feelings is the outcome of torn positive connections that we once had. That is why we can fix anything negative in our life by correcting our connections to each other.

If we take steps toward positively connecting with each other instead of letting our divisive drives take hold of us, then our every negative feeling will flip to become positive. We will then find ourselves in a world of love, kindness and care instead of a world of increasing pain, suffering and emptiness.

Since we are different, we are stronger united and weaker divided. When we apply unity above our differences, then our differences complement each other and we function as a single whole. When we are divided, then our differences weaken us. We should thus focus not on making everyone the same, but on placing an umbrella of unity over all of our differences. By doing so, we would discover a new world filled with blossoming positive attitudes of connection and love above our divisive drives. That is the key to successfully dealing with negativity, and it ultimately leads to a harmonious and peaceful society.

Based on the Writers Meeting with Kabbalist Dr. Michael Laitman on February 20, 2022.

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Comment: We live in fear all the time, in fear about what others say, that we will be fired, that we will be put in jail, that the bank will close, that we will get sick, that we will be deceived, that we will be underpaid, that we will overpay, that I will offend someone, that I will be offended, and there are fears for the future and fear in the present. This is our life. Why is it arranged this way?

My Response: To stir you up a little. You are all egoists. Just give you some slack and that’s it, you’re already lying and sunbathing, or on the couch, or on the river, or on the sea.

Question: So fear is the most effective thing to stir up a person?

Answer: There is no other way.

Question: What is afraid in me?

Answer: That I will not receive enough of something. From the smallest to some of the largest fillings.

Question: How can one overcome this fear?

Answer: Relax. Let the river of life flow freely through you.

The upper force governs everything. So the more you give yourself to it and get closer to it, the more you want to feel its governance, its flow, its plan, and its goal, you will completely get rid of your vain problems.

The closer you are to it, the more you relax because you give yourself to its flow. But it is necessary to make efforts to somehow connect with this flow.

Meaning that there is such a scenario and such a program to explain why we are moved by fear. And you have to gradually make it so that all these fears somehow decrease and disappear. Transfer all these fears to their source: the Creator. It is all from Him. He does this on purpose so that you turn to Him so that all fears would turn into the opposite, into pleasure and agreement.

Question: What should my appeal to Him be?

Answer: “Make it so that I perceive everything as coming from You and therefore as kind, good, and eternal.” That is all.

Question: And that’s it? And there are no fears?

Answer: There is nothing.

Question: Is there fear in spirituality?

Answer: The fear in spirituality is different. It comes from the fact that you are not doing what you can. In fact, you can rise above all obstacles, take them all to their source, the Creator, and thus get rid of all thoughts and desires that hinder you, and dissolve in Him.

Question: Is this fear in spirituality?

Answer: Yes. That is, do not rush and do not jerk. Simply dissolve as much as possible in the upper force through the method of equivalence. Here is where the work begins, hard work on yourself. But in general, there are no fears.
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From KabTV’s “News with Dr. Michael Laitman” 10/28/21

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Michael Laitman, On Quora: “What are the lessons learned from Squid Game?“

The screenwriter and director of Squid Game have been noted as saying that “such is our world” in relation to the setup where people become willing to kill other people if placed under conditions where it is either their life or another’s life.

I would take it a step further: that our world is worse than what is presented in Squid Game. In our world, we wish to kill others without playing a game in order to do so, knowing in advance that we will kill them, and not as it is in Squid Game, where players agree to play a game according to certain rules.

If we were to remove the filters that cloud human relations, we would see that we are killing each other. Imagine, for instance, the horrible phenomena we would see if everyone’s thoughts became revealed. Thankfully, however, we have been given a gift of being able to each keep our thoughts to ourselves, so that we would be spared from such a terrible vision.

The main lesson that Squid Game might open up is a view of how human nature works: that we each prioritize self-benefit over anything else, up to a point of killing other people if we are placed in a situation where it is either us or them. However, such a lesson is only a small part of what we truly need lessons in today: the need to transform our nature so that we prioritize positive connection to each other and to nature. The more we develop without undergoing such a fateful transformation, the more we will suffer; and the sooner we take steps to transform our nature in order to positively connect with each other above our self-centeredness, then the sooner we will experience a new harmonious and peaceful world.

Therefore, the main takeaway from Squid Game, which shows the evilness of our egoistic nature, should be paralleled with a serious endeavor that aims at clarifying what human nature is, how it works, why we create such shows, and whether they correctly portray our condition. We will be able to understand that we watch Squid Game and similar forms of art and entertainment because they portray the egoistic qualities that make up our current nature.

However, such viewing should be accompanied with an explanation of the need to change this nature if we are to shift our lives to a positive course, a world of happiness, balance and peace. Then, instead of identifying with our egos, we would start seeing our egoistic attitudes to each other as masks that hide a much better life from us, and we will then start feeling a desire to exit our egoistic state, and develop a completely different attitude to each other, to nature and to life in general.

Based on the video “How Squid Game Portrays Human Nature” with Kabbalist Dr. Michael Laitman and Semion Vinokur.

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Michael Laitman, On Quora: “How important to development is a father figure?“

In the words of Sigmund Freud, “I could not point to any need in childhood as strong as that for a father’s protection.”

The importance of the father figure is embedded in nature and our biology. A child who grows up with a distorted fatherly presence, whether the child experiences abuse or neglect from the father, leads to certain distortions that become part of them for the rest of their lives. On the contrary, a child who grows up with a positive father figure accordingly absorbs a positive influence. In our times, since the human ego has reached overblown proportions, in order to be a positive father figure to a child, men need to undergo an educational process that gives them the ability to rise above their egoistic drives and consistently exercise an altruistic attitude to other people, including their family.

If speaking in broader terms, then we can also say that humanity’s lack of feeling for its “Father,” i.e., the Creator, the upper force, is the cause of every problem that we experience in our lives. If we felt the caring attitude of our “Father”—the Creator, the upper force—which begets and cares for us at every moment, then we would bear witness to a completely different, positive, harmonious and peaceful world. However, it is impossible to feel such a presence with our inborn properties, because we would then possess no free will. We would feel the full love of the Creator, but we would also be subordinated by it. We thus have no such feeling, and it is in order to be able to act freely, i.e. to develop a similar attitude among each other in society as that of the upper force toward us. Until we do so, we will keep finding ourselves in a world that is full of increasing problems and crises.

Based on the video “The Importance of a Father Figure” with Kabbalist Dr. Michael Laitman and Semion Vinokur. Written/edited by students of Kabbalist Dr. Michael Laitman.
Photo by Kelly Sikkema on Unsplash.

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Michael Laitman, On Quora: “Why do some like to spy on other people?“

The initial impulse of people who spy on others is to evaluate themselves as being above those on whom they spy. In short, it is an attitude of “they don’t see me, but I see them.” Secondly, it might give the ones spying an opportunity to gain an advantage over the ones they spy on, to command them in some way, or to defend themselves against them, depending on the situation.

In general, however, spying helps the human ego, i.e. our innate desire to enjoy at the expense of others. It expands the ego and makes us feel more in control, like rulers or masters.

Such a feeling is neither good nor bad. Rather, it should lead us to reassess our values so that we understand that the human ego—our desires to be better, stronger and smarter than others—is flawed.

Nature views us as a single whole, as one humanity. To position ourselves correctly, we need to aim at viewing ourselves in the same way, and positively connect to each other. We will then be able to accurately take control of our fate, ourselves and the world. Through positive connection to each other, we increase and expand altruism and lessen egoism. We can then rise above our egoistic nature, and we will then not abuse such actions as spying.

Based on “Kabbalah Express” with Kabbalist Dr. Michael Laitman and Israel Shimshon on February 16, 2021. Written/edited by students of Kabbalist Dr. Michael Laitman.
Photo by Glen Carrie on Unsplash.

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Michael Laitman, On Quora: “What is pain?“

Pain is an organism’s reaction to a problem it experiences. It is the organism’s way of communicating that something is wrong; it sends a warning signal of danger, and it protects us from harm or injury. For instance, if our hand touches a fire, pain makes us pull our hand away from the fire immediately, and so it protects our hand.

Pain compels our movements: to move away from something painful and move toward something enjoyable. It thus compels us to change our qualities, accept new opinions, realize the pain’s purpose, make conclusions and advance to new states of being.

Pain is a force capable of affecting the human ego. It pushes us from behind, making us develop and evolve. One form of pain are feelings of emptiness within us. They push us toward fulfillment. Our feelings come from clashes, contact and pressure, or in other words, from pain. We enjoy when the enjoyment is preceded by the painful sensation of an unfulfilled desire, suffering or expectation.

However, when we exit the human ego in order to positively connect with others and nature, we start realizing that instead of living our lives based on empty feelings, we can live on the basis of complete fulfillment. In other words, instead of pain at the basis of our drives, we can begin our motivations from love.

It is a completely different kind of existence, an alternative attitude to ourselves, our society, our world and to nature. When we achieve such an attitude, we discover a full picture of nature that is unblocked by the human ego, because we then become perfect like nature itself.

Written/edited by students of Kabbalist Dr. Michael Laitman.
Photo by Jonathan Rados on Unsplash.

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Michael Laitman, On Quora: “In 1-2 sentences, what is Kabbalah?“

Kabbalah is a methodology for the expansion of human awareness through the connection of desires. In such expanded awareness, we start perceiving the force that created and sustains our reality, which lets us know more about the world we live in, its cause and effect relationships, and which makes us kinder, more approachable and more contributive members of society.

Written/edited by students of Kabbalist Dr. Michael Laitman.

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