Michael Laitman, On Quora: “Are luxury clothes overrated?“

More and more people lose interest in luxury clothing the more we develop a need for things closer to spirit.

The desire for luxury clothing today is due to its value in the eyes of some societies. That is, by being in a society that values such garments, then our own value increases just by owning and wearing them. It is currently a status symbol: People respect and desire wealth, and so by wearing such clothing, it suggests that we are wealthy, which demands respect from society.

However, the more we develop, the more we lose the importance of wealth and such status symbols. For instance, if we compare the way we relate to world leaders and celebrities today as opposed to the past, then we see how today we have a lot less respect for their status and their money.

The more we lose respect for wealth, the more we will also view wealth as repulsive. We will see how wealth—that which buys us luxury clothing, expensive cars, yachts and frequent international travel—just confuses us. Therefore, as we further develop, we will find ourselves buying less luxury clothing simply because wealth and its status symbols will lose their worth in society.

Moreover, together with our loss of interest in wealth and its status symbols, we will increasingly respect that which can bring people closer together, as we will grow in our understanding of how positive human connection truly makes us happy, successful, confident and prosperous.

Instead of looking up to wealth and its status symbols, we will look up to the idea or method that elevates us from this corporeal level of problems, pains and confusions, to a level where we understand and feel the meaning and purpose of life.

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

Photo by Dima Pechurin on Unsplash.

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Michael Laitman, On Quora: “Is the International Criminal Court’s decision to investigate Israel’s alleged war crimes an anti-Semitic farce?“

What is ultimately behind the attitude of the International Criminal Court in The Hague toward Israel?

The International Criminal Court in The Hague gave a green light to investigate Israel for war crimes. As a result of this decision, government officials, army commanders and soldiers might face criminal proceedings or even international warrant arrests. Taking it a step further, the UN might decide to place economic sanctions on Israel, or even apply military force.

The action that the Jewish people will now take is what matters now. Do they have the inner strength and a consent within the nation that they have to positively connect among themselves, to the nation and to the world? If they knew how to correctly organize themselves as a positive unifying example to the world, then of course, they would not have to mind the UN and other such organizations.

What awaits the state of Israel and its complicated relationship with the UN? The criticism on the state of Israel works to Israel’s benefit as it gives hope that the people of Israel might learn how much they have to change and become more responsible for what happens with them and the rest of the world.

The international pressure on Israel urges them to pull themselves together and understand what is their role in the world, and why the world treats them negatively.

Antisemitism is due to the people of Israel not realizing their role. The wisdom of Kabbalah defines the role of the people of Israel as uniting (“love your friend as yourself”) in order to be “a light unto the nations,” as it writes in the Torah.

If the Jewish people would prioritize positive connection in order to spread the inclination to unite among humanity, then they would see lessening pressure against them, and in its place, honors and praise for a people bringing a positive unifying force to the world.

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

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Michael Laitman, On Quora: “What is the most important example that parents should give their children?“

The most important example that parents should give their children is the correct attitude toward society, i.e., one of relating positively to others, considering others’ needs, thinking how to benefit people, and in general, participating in the creation of a well-connected society.

To that end, parents need to critically examine everything that influences their children. Notably, this means rigorously reviewing the material that the children encounter on the Internet, TV, books and media of all kinds.

We have no desire to restrict children from watching and learning from various media, but in order to ensure that we encourage the creation of a society of happy, confident, successful, safe and supportive people, we need to examine their influences from an educational perspective:

To what extent does the material they encounter guide them to positively connect to one another?
How much does it include the wisdom of connection and pave a path to a better and more harmonious future for human society?
It is necessary to remove all violence, horror and torture out of the material that children consume. Children learn from imitation and examples, and such material gives them very bad examples and inserts all kinds of distortions into the children that can have long-lasting negative effects on their mental and emotional development, and also in their relationships with other people.

The main goal of raising children and education in general should be to create human beings in the fullest sense of the term: a society that aims to positively connect above all forms of division, and which relates to other people and to nature constructively.

Therefore, our sole concern should be to create a new kind of education system that raises children to become happy, confident, successful and safe human beings by guiding them to build a positively-connected, supportive and peaceful society.

Written/edited by students of Kabbalist Dr. Michael Laitman.
Photo by Jude Beck on Unsplash.

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Question: Sometimes a complex problem stumps a person. You struggle with a solution, but there is no solution. But should you get distracted, and an epiphany falls on you, everything is suddenly solved. Scientists say that almost a third of people solve problems only with the help of an epiphany.

From the point of view of biology, an insight or epiphany is the formation of a new neural connection in the brain. You can’t create it directly, but somehow, with the help of effort, distraction, by creating certain conditions, it just appears, and in a person’s mind it appears as a solution.

Do you think it is possible to cause such an epiphany?

Answer: Yes. This can be done by moral and mental exertion, by placing yourself in a certain external environment with certain people or with nature.

A person who is searching for his new spiritual state needs this illumination. He understands that there are forces around us, and he would like to invoke their influence on himself. He tries to do it.

There are even all sorts of techniques, both spiritual and scientific, that talk about how to do it. Try it.

Comment: Even quantum physics says that a person moves unevenly, but progressively, from level to level. That is, there is a jump through the potential difference, and the person moves, rises.

My Response: There is a cumulative process, and then a jump.

Question: Can an epiphany be likened to such a jump?

Answer: Yes, but this is done on a different plane, not in the mind. Not that he can order an epiphany in advance, but he makes a certain effort to do so.
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From KabTV’s “Kabbalah Express” 2/16/21

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Michael Laitman, On Quora: “How can we solve the worlds clean water shortage problem?“

The spiritual root of water is the force of bestowal, which in Kabbalah is called “the force of Bina.”

As such, on one hand, we develop in water when we are embryos and fetuses, we are born in water, we are drawn to water, and the human body mostly consists of water. However, on the other hand, we become emotionally drier from one generation to the next. In other words, the more we develop, the more the human ego grows, and likewise, the more our attitudes to each other dry out, lacking emotion and an inner sense of connection.

There is an abundance of water in the world, and the sole reason for water shortage is our lack of positive connection to each other. Due to our growing egoistic nature, we find ourselves lodged in myriad problems, with water shortage in several parts of the world being one of them.

If we cared about others as much as we care about ourselves, then we would find solutions to our several problems, water shortage among them. People would find themselves with access to an abundance of water, however, wherever and whenever they want it.

The patent to solving our problems is very simple and open to everyone: If we connect ourselves with a positive attitude of bestowal to each other, then as bestowal is the spiritual root of water (Hassadim [mercy]), we too would draw living water, not floodwater, from above and from below.

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

Image: A visual representation of Bina, the quality of absolute bestowal.

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Michael Laitman, On Quora: “Does God exist? Can you explain why God may or may not exist?“

Subconsciously, we want God to exist. It is a natural instinctive response to uncertainty. But outside of our desire for God to exist, how can we find out if God really exists or not?

The wisdom of Kabbalah is a methodology for discovering a perception and sensation of God, which is also called “the Creator,” “Nature,” and various other names.

When we embark on the journey to discover the Creator, we start understanding how the myriad ways of believing in God without attaining revelation are no more than psychology.

Therefore, does God exist if we do not clearly perceive or sense Him?

According to the wisdom of Kabbalah, the Creator is hidden from us and is attainable, but we cannot attain the Creator through our corporeal senses, intellect and emotion. Therefore, any beliefs in the Creator without attainment are no more than inferences and guesses.

The Kabbalistic approach to the Creator is written in the sources as follows: “A judge has only what his eyes see.” By developing our perception of reality according to the method of Kabbalah, we come to attain a new sense through which we can perceive a new reality, one in which we clearly see and feel the presence of the Creator. Until we reach such attainment, however, we cannot say that the Creator exists, because we have not attained that existence.

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

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Michael Laitman, On Quora: “What is the one thing that should be taught in school that isn’t already?“

There should be more of an emphasis on friendship, to build friendly connections among all the students.

We should focus mostly on how to positively connect the students in order to build a supportive society of happy and confident individuals. Ultimately, people should leave school with the feeling that their happiness and success in life depends on the extent to which they positively connect to one another.

The goal of schools toward the students should not be profession-oriented, but to build happy, confident and successful human beings out of the students.

If the students have to constantly sustain an array of egoistic relationships, where they each seek to maximize personal benefit at the expense of others, then they will never be truly happy, confident or successful in life.

Also, we need to understand that today’s generation is unlike any other, where as we head into more globally interconnected and interdependent times than ever before, likewise we should learn how to realize such interconnectedness and interdependence positively in order to secure our happiness, success and confidence in a way that suits our current times. The professions we currently treat with primacy need to be re-prioritized into second place, with the first place being given to positive human connections.

When students go to school, they should feel comfortable and even willing to connect with the other students, and there should be no fear or criticism circulating between the students. In order to establish such a positive and supportive atmosphere for the students to develop their connections, the teachers first and foremost need to undergo a connection-enriching process where they learn how to relate positively to each other and to the students in order that the students feel a life of happiness, confidence, safety, balance and prosperity through participation in the creation of a society led by values of unity and mutual consideration.

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

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Michael Laitman, On Quora: “Is dancing a spiritual thing?“

Dancing is very natural. It is the body’s language. Where there are no words left to express ourselves, we dance.

Dancing and singing stem from our desire to connect to the upper force, to our destiny, and to hope.

The individualized form of dancing that has developed over the generations is an outcome of our egoistic development, where the more egoistic we become, the more our human activities, including dancing, become individualized.

Dancing in groups and in circles gives us a feeling of connection to others, where by dancing together, we become stronger, and fuel ourselves with more intention and desire. Dancing together also gives us much greater strength than dancing as individuals because a spiritual force dwells in our togetherness, which helps us overcome our egos. Thus, in such a setup, negative egoistic forces become positive forces that increase our connection.

According to the wisdom of Kabbalah, dancing is the expression of connection and love that has to ride upon division and hatred, like two poles. It is our work to connect these opposites, and dance emerges as a balance of opposite motions, such as drawing closer together and then retreating, and jumping up and down. It points to our nature as individual and separate beings created as such by nature, how we overcome and rise above that state, and our desire to become as one.

Dancing with God is called “the dance of the bride and the groom.” God, or the upper force, is the groom and we are the bride who brings ourselves into connection with God. We are then willing to do whatever God wants of us, devotedly, and that becomes our dance.

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

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

Spirituality is when I want others and nature to enjoy from everything I do, and that the enjoyment that goes to others and nature will not belong to me in any way.

Opposite spirituality is corporeality, which is when I want to enjoy for self-benefit alone.

Based on the afternoon Daily Kabbalah Lesson with Kabbalist Dr. Michael Laitman on March 13, 2021. Written/edited by students of Kabbalist Dr. Michael Laitman.

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Michael Laitman, On Quora: “What do you think about challenges on YouTube?“

Challenges on YouTube and on social media platforms in general represent our primal animal nature and how we learn from others. It is natural for us to imitate others since we are social animals.

In the end, imitating one another brings us closer together. In some ways, we start to better understand each other.

Whether such challenges are good or bad depends on what we imitate.

For instance, if there are challenges that get people involved in doing good deeds to each other, and which increase positive social connection and helping others, then they are good for society and I’m all for them.

Based on the TV show, “Kabbalah Express,” with Kabbalist Dr. Michael Laitman and Israel Samsonnikov on February 16, 2021. Written/edited by students of Kabbalist Dr. Michael Laitman.

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