Michael Laitman, On Quora: “Do you support the use of genetically engineered crops and foods?“

Regarding genetically engineered crops and food, we have no choice: we are compelled to use genetic technologies and replications, because otherwise we will be unable to feed everyone. Today, we are obliged to think about how we can provide food for everyone.

Since we are egoists and are unable to control the specifics of food, then we will be able to do so later by means of a method that guides us to positively connect above the ego. At that stage, we will do everything for people’s benefit, and there will be no calculations of developing anything with the primary goal of profiting as much as possible. People will change internally and will relate to others as to their loved ones, as to themselves, and this will already compel us to think about the optimal technology and the use of the developments of biology and genetic engineering, thanks to which we will be able to provide ourselves and humanity with the best food possible.

Based on a Q&A with Kabbalist Dr. Michael Laitman on September 9, 2006. Written/edited by students of Kabbalist Dr. Michael Laitman.

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

Michael Laitman, On Quora: “What needs to be changed in humans?“

A Global Trends Report by the US National Intelligence Council predicted the pandemic back in 2017. They warned that the next 20 years will be chaotic and turbulent: the slowdown of population growth, major aging of the populace, and climate change; storms, hurricanes, floods and heat waves will lead to an increase in migration. International relations will become unpredictable; ties will not be established and potentially break apart. There will also be an increase in famine. The pandemic will have a long-term impact. There will be growing distrust of medicine, science, authorities and politics, and eruptions of protests and riots. In short, according to the report, we face a bleak future.

We see that many reasons are emerging for us to change.

Give humanity a good future and it will go completely wild. In the Soviet Union, we were told that things would get better, that in ten years we would arrive at communism and capitalism with the promised slogan: “Don’t worry, business will grow, and everything will get better.” Seemingly the promise of a better future is not a very good idea today after all. Those who propagated this ideology tell us “Let us lead and everything will be great for you in the future. In the meantime, go on as you were, and be content.” However, having clear hope and faith that everything will be better is no solution.

If nature’s course and our course are unaligned, then nature must force us to correct ourselves, to change. It is a process, and we initially need to see a bleak picture of the future in the event that we fail to change. We need to see a clear dependence and connection between the person’s internal state and nature’s external state. In other words, if we change, everything around us also changes. Nature influences us this way, through an opposite, negative connection. It will force us to change through all sorts of problems, and by doing so, we discover this dependence.

We will come to the realization that we have no other way out and that the only way to break out of this rotting corporeal existence is to become a self-changing being. A human being is one who strives to be like the Creator. This is expressed in Hebrew, where the word “Adam” (“human being”) stems from the words “Domeh le Elyon” (“similar to the most high”). The Creator is the immense unified force of nature, the giving force, which births everything emanating from itself. We need to become like that force. We need to reach a state where we treat everything outside of us with total love, and then everything will fall into place.

Indeed, we must change and reach a state of likeness to the Creator, where we emanate love, kindness and warmth. One day, we will desire this state more than life itself. Moreover, we need nothing but such an alignment. Also, we should think beyond mere self-transformation and consider global transformation—that the whole world will acquire the quality of love and bestowal. Through the human level, the animate, vegetative and inanimate levels will also change. In the end, absolutely everything—the still, vegetative, animate, and human levels—will be at the degree of mutual, eternal and boundless love. Then, in this huge desire, which will be common on all four levels, the upper force will manifest and envelop everything within itself, and the world will take on a singular form.

The foundations for this transformation are being laid and we must give the optimal shape to this act of nature and our personal aspiration, to aim it correctly through our appeal to humanity. Since we are sentient beings, then it will happen. We can be intimidated, brought to our knees, coerced, and we can thus be taught. At the moment, nature is relating to us more and more like a misbehaving youth, giving us blows in order for us to wake up to the change we need to make. While we can train an animal to the point of becoming a well-behaved animal, we can change a human being in a way where he rises above his nature.

The report from current-day experts is very acceptable and realistic, to put it mildly. There will be various waves from different sides, and they will batter us. We will be unable to keep up and to react with effective remedies unless we get smarter. We will gradually reach an agreement with the upper force that coerces us. The current pandemic will subside and give way to the next wave. And we will try to cope with the next wave too through our own efforts, trying to do something about it. We will come to see how selectively these waves of all kinds of suffering will affect us, forcing us to change.

Our first and most important realization is that pain will be the source of wisdom. Nature will continue battering us, and through the relatively continuous blows we will receive from nature, we will grow in our understanding of where nature guides us. These waves will depend on the extent of our intelligence. Here, we can already engage another higher and more connected level of consciousness, and the people in touch with that consciousness should pass it on to the best of their abilities.

Based on a talk with Kabbalist Dr. Michael Laitman and Semion Vinokur. Written/edited by students of Kabbalist Dr. Michael Laitman.

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

Question: “What to do when your children fall below the base and do not want to ascend spiritually but continue to chase the golden calf? They say: ‘Do not teach us how to live better, help us financially.’ I want to hear Laitman’s answer, not in general, but specifically, in essence. Thank you in advance. Raya”

Answer: Dear Raya. If your children have grown up so that they are chasing the golden calf, then you should help them in some way to enter this field.

The rest is God’s will. You do not have to fully participate in this, but you must give them an initial push, you must help them at the beginning, as they are your children. It is written: “One learns specifically where one’s heart desires.”

If they really have an aspiration for something, help them a little, not hundred percent, but help normally, so to speak, push them forward. But no more than that.

Question: So I should not load them with the pursuit of spirituality? I shouldn’t tell them: “You are not looking for spirituality, you are only looking for the material. What are you doing?!”

Answer: No.

I looked at my teacher’s family and saw how calm he was about it. There were many children and many grandchildren there. He always used to let them do whatever they wanted, move out, separate, have children. This is their business. If they want to, they will be interested in life, the source of life, the purpose of life. If they do not want to, that is their business.

Question: Does that mean to let them go? Help them in whatever they want, and let them go?

Answer: Yes.

My daughter also wanted to go to a certain university, please, go. The second to a different university, no problem. The son wanted a certain direction, please. That is it. In whatever I could, I pushed them forward.
[285975]
From KabTV’s “News with Dr. Michael Laitman” 7/8/21

Related Material:
Generation Gap, Part 2
The Problem Of Fathers And Sons
Education Of Parents – Guaranteed Benefit For Children

Filed under: Children, Education, Q&A - No Comments →

Michael Laitman, On Quora: “What were the justifications of Barcelona FC to insist on playing against Beitar Jerusalem, not in Jerusalem?“

There was supposed to be a friendly football match between Beitar Jerusalem and Barcelona FC, but the game was canceled. Why? Barcelona decided that they did not want to play in Jerusalem because of pressure put on them by various pro-Palestinian bodies who stated that playing in Jerusalem would disrespect Barcelona’s Palestinian fans, who want Jerusalem as their capital. Beitar Jerusalem owner Moshe Hogeg since canceled the match stating that

a game against Beitar Jerusalem deserves to take place in Jerusalem, and if the motive for its not taking place in Jerusalem is political and I submit to it, I will not be [at peace] with myself. I cannot betray Jerusalem.

Now the way I see it, it was the right decision to make. It is respectful toward Israel, and in general, I think that we need not concede to anyone in this regard. It has nothing to do with the game. If you look at things from a broader perspective, the international arena is applying more and more pressure on us.

It seems as if the Palestinians are doing better and better in their explanation, and we are doing worse and worse. Why?

It is because we are failing in our correction of “Love your neighbor as yourself.” First of all, we lack this correction among each other, Israelis. If we reach a common state of love, where all of Israel are friends, then we will see how the entire world will start treating us positively and favorably.

Can we separate the terrible attitude of Israelis toward each other inside Israel, the relations between us and the world, and between us and the Palestinians? No. We cannot put our attitudes toward each other aside.

We cannot separate what goes on inside of Israel and what goes on in the world, Palestinians or no Palestinians. This is because we are a miniature model of the world. Being Israeli is not a nationality. Israel is a gathering of the nations of the world who have since forgotten about the special connection they shared.

If we connect with each other lovingly and with mutual assistance, then we will project positive forces to the world. The positive force of love and connection that we would draw to ourselves and pass on would compel others to think and act positively to one another.

The world would then relate favorably toward us. Everything and everyone would calm down. It all depends on Israel. In the meantime, in Israel, we are always in each other’s faces. That is the problem. It is why so many people hate us and want to do us harm.

It is up to us. The forces of the world will not change. The laws of nature are absolute. If we aspire to make our connections positive, then we will draw a positive influence onto ourselves, and become a conduit for that positive influence to spread throughout humanity.

Based on a talk between Kabbalist Dr. Michael Laitman and Oren Levi, “An Inside Look.” Written/edited by students of Kabbalist Dr. Michael Laitman.

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

Michael Laitman, On Quora: “How can we create a balance between the preservation of local cultures and the development of a global community?“

We can create a balance between the preservation of local cultures and the development of a global community on condition that we treat each other according to the law of “Love your neighbor as yourself,” i.e. with mutual love, when we feel other people as cells feel other cells in the organism to which they belong. Each cell helps the others, and is obligated to support and complement the body’s other cells.

This is how we need to treat each other. It is also what nature demands of us. We belong to a single village, one humanity and one species, so in essence, we belong to a single organism. If we start relating to each other as such, then we will develop optimally, in the form and speed that is suitable for us. By doing so, we will achieve balance between different cultures and humanity as a whole. We will each then be able to add something of ourselves to the community.

Based on a Q&A with Kabbalist Dr. Michael Laitman on September 9, 2006. Written/edited by students of Kabbalist Dr. Michael Laitman.

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

Comment: I recently read an article that quotes people’s letters. “I do not want to work anymore,” a large number of people categorically declare.

People are making comments like: “COVID has opened my eyes, I no longer want to get up every morning, get in the car, type in my password and answer emails. I cannot take it anymore! I just want to enjoy life while I am healthy and full of energy. I want to see my friends, travel, read, and take care of my garden. Luckily, I can afford it financially.”

People are beginning to think that there is no point in working hard.

My Response: There is no point in working at all.

Question: Provided you can get the necessities?

Answer: No more than this. To live in this way. Why do you want more? No need to litter the Earth.

Question: What will people come to as a result?

Answer: To the fact that they will begin to arrange the world so that they work less. There is no need for this. They will be engaged in self-education via the Internet inevitably.

Question: Do you think that this request, “I want to rest” will turn into self-education?

Answer: Yes. In order to fill yourself and your environment. That is, they will fill the influence on themselves with greater meaning.

Question: Does it mean that this request: “Let me live peacefully and relax,” one way or another, will turn into the search for some kind of fulfillment?

Answer: Yes. This is exactly “to live and relax.” Only I want to understand why I live, why I rest, what I need to do with myself, how I can achieve greater saturation, fulfillment, and connect with the world around me in a more peaceful way?

Question: Do you think that this is correct?

Answer: Yes. Why should I work hard to make a living? I have enough for bread. Humanity should not work so hard. All this is excessive and only pollutes the Earth.

Question: What will we come to as a result?

Answer: To the fact that our life will be more balanced, necessary, sufficient, but not excessive when later we do not know what to do with these excesses. We throw them away, and we produce them again, and we throw them away again, and we continue this endlessly. And the ordinary people pay for it.
[285637]
From KabTV’s “News with Dr. Michael Laitman” 7/1/21

Related Material:
What Determines The Motivation To Live And Work?
When There Is No Inner Fulfillment
An Unconditional Basic Income

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

Michael Laitman, On Quora: “What can we do to prepare humanity for impending crises?“

We need to upgrade our education so that we all learn that our problems and crises are a result of our imbalance with nature, since nature is altruistic and we are egoistic.

Until we change ourselves from egoistic to altruistic, and bring ourselves to balance with nature by doing so, then we will fail to resemble nature on its “human” or “speaking” level. After all, in all other levels—the still, vegetative and animate levels—we instinctively resemble nature. However, on the human level, we have freedom of choice.

It is by our own free choice, our personal efforts, that we achieve balance and adaptation with nature. We will then feel the eternity, perfection and harmony present in the altruistic sphere of nature outside of our narrow egoistic nature.

Otherwise we have no feeling of nature, but only its opposite. We feel the opposite side of nature in the negative phenomena we experience, on the ecological, physical and physiological level (disease), on the speaking level (depression, anxiety, suicide, drug abuse and divorce), and in the social sphere (terrorism, wars and violence).

The first step we must immediately take in order to avoid our collision with a global problem, an upshot of catastrophes—is to explain the reason for our misfortunes to humanity, which is solely in our attitude to each other.

Based on a Q&A with Kabbalist Dr. Michael Laitman on September 9, 2006. Written/edited by students of Kabbalist Dr. Michael Laitman.

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

Question: A letter from Svetlana Alexandrova: “It is nice to listen to you, but you always rely on the Creator to solve everything, and on a combination of circumstances. Only some people have a wonderful life, and others do not. Who decides who and how I should live? This is unclear. It is very difficult to accept that some Creator is favorable to some but not to others. What should we do with this? Why does the Creator decide this way?”

Answer: It depends on the root of a person’s soul; it does not even depend on the Creator. The Creator does not choose whom to be friendly with and whom to punish, and whom, on the contrary, to elevate. There is no such thing. It all depends only on the state in which the total sum of souls is, how they interact with each other.

Here everyone has their own destiny. But this fate, in general, is predetermined, and no one here has any distortion, some kind of favor, a special state better or worst in relation to others. None of this exists. It all depends on the person himself.

Question: So, you are saying that every person, everyone, has their own root of the soul in the common soul? Is it on this string that he should rise to the common root?

Answer: This is not a string, but a path to climb a mountain on all fours, fall, rollback, and climb again.

This is all predetermined except for how a person will perceive this path of ascent.

The more we think and strive for connection and convince the Creator to help us, the faster we accelerate our development to a good state. We do not have anything else.

Question: Is that why you always rely on the Creator?

Answer: I trust in the Creator that we will force, oblige, and convince Him to help us create a normal human society out of us in good external conditions.
[285803]
From KabTV’s “News with Dr. Michael Laitman” 7/8/21

Related Material:
Change The Map Of Your Destiny
Map Of Fate
Power Over Destiny

Filed under: Body and Soul, Free Will, Q&A - No Comments →

Michael Laitman, On Quora: “What can we do to prepare humanity for impending crises?“

We need to upgrade our education so that we all learn that our problems and crises are a result of our imbalance with nature, since nature is altruistic and we are egoistic.

Until we change ourselves from egoistic to altruistic, and bring ourselves to balance with nature by doing so, then we will fail to resemble nature on its “human” or “speaking” level. After all, in all other levels—the still, vegetative and animate levels—we instinctively resemble nature. However, on the human level, we have freedom of choice.

It is by our own free choice, our personal efforts, that we achieve balance and adaptation with nature. We will then feel the eternity, perfection and harmony present in the altruistic sphere of nature outside of our narrow egoistic nature.

Otherwise we have no feeling of nature, but only its opposite. We feel the opposite side of nature in the negative phenomena we experience, on the ecological, physical and physiological level (disease), on the speaking level (depression, anxiety, suicide, drug abuse and divorce), and in the social sphere (terrorism, wars and violence).

The first step we must immediately take in order to avoid our collision with a global problem, an upshot of catastrophes—is to explain the reason for our misfortunes to humanity, which is solely in our attitude to each other.

Based on a Q&A with Kabbalist Dr. Michael Laitman on September 9, 2006. Written/edited by students of Kabbalist Dr. Michael Laitman.

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

Comment: A letter was sent to you: “We have been living together for almost 30 years—quite a long time. We have two children, our daily life is settled, we have jobs, enough money, everything is fine. But love is gone, everything is very ordinary, without scandals, without love that used to burn.

“We have even been to a psychologist, we did all sorts of exercises that he advised, but we are still cold and quiet; we are dead. What should we do? Please tell us. We are writing to you together. Can we bring back the old relationship or at least get close to it?”—Alexander and Nadezhda

My Response: It is very difficult, but it is possible if we are serious about each other and make some kind of contract that we will constantly take care of one another, show how much we love each other, and treasure our mutual cooperation.

It is impossible, of course, to have the same feelings, the same states that we once had when we were young, when it was all new, and so on. However, they should not fade.

They should just grow precisely because of the fact that we constantly try to show each other our care. Love gives way to mutual concern.

Question: Is this what happens over the years?

Answer: Of course. Then you do not need to be on fire, you should somehow try to please the other.

Question: Is this a game? This is not even real.

Answer: It is a game. So what? All our life is a game.

Question: Will it lead to feelings?

Answer: It does not need to lead anywhere. The correct relationship is when we consciously, above our egoism, treat each other with care and consideration.

Question: Do I know that I am playing?

Answer: I specifically know, and this is why I can do it beautifully and well, and I love this state. It is because, first of all, I do it against my egoism. Second, I constantly show my partner that I am doing this for him, that I am even doing it against my egoistic desire, and that I am pleased that I am doing it against my egoism.

This point is very precise. Therefore, I do not have to lie. After all, it is clear that when I come home we no longer look at each other. He looks at the refrigerator, at the TV, at the bed, and that’s it!  And here…

Comment: You are already preparing yourself in front of the door that you will now enter with a smile and say: “Hello, my love.”

My Response: Yes. This is how it should be. Also, during the day, you should sound and talk in this way. Fill your life with this game. But do not overplay it. It should simply be an even attitude by which you show the other that you care about him.

Question: What happens then? You say that love is like this!

Answer: This is not love. It is mutual care for each other when you want the other to feel good next to you.

Question: Will both of them feel good then?

Answer: Of course. You buy his good attitude with this.

Question: So, is your advice to turn it into mutual care?

Answer: There is no other way at all! Or you can artificially pretend that you are still in love and like in a ballet fly toward each other! By this, you create a warm cloud or a relationship field.

This is called “A man and a woman, if they are rewarded, the Shechina [Divinity] is between them.”

Question: What is the Shechina here?

Answer: The state that they give birth to and cultivate between them, and it then manifests itself as something independent, outside of them, and begins to bind them together and raise them both to another degree.

Question: Does it mean that by this they reveal the Creator?

Answer: Of course. After all, they work above their egoism. This is a very difficult, real work.
[285470]
From KabTV’s “News with Dr. Michael Laitman” 6/28/21

Related Material:
Bygone Love
On The Way To Attaining Love
Love Without Conditions

Filed under: Man and Woman, Q&A - No Comments →