Entries in the 'Q&A' Category

A Gift From The Creator In The Form Of Obstacles

Dr. Michael LaitmanQuestion: How should we realize the obstacles correctly in order to strengthen our connection and hold on to this state in spite of them?

Answer: We need to overcome the obstacles. Undoubtedly, there will be problems and also obstacles, but it depends on how one looks at them. If you are ready for them beforehand and understand that by transcending them, you actually rise, then you don’t create them on purpose, but accept them prepared and prepare the group, the environment, for it in advance.

I remember how I prepared for an operation. They didn’t promise positive results, but I went into the operation with inner peace as if I studied myself from the side. It’s very interesting. It all depends on how you prepare yourself for the obstacles. After all, they give you an ascent, and without them we wouldn’t be able to rise.

What is an obstacle? It’s that same egoistic force that constantly pushes me forward. And here the Creator decides to help you. He takes back this ego and you are left completely without energy. There is nothing to do now, nowhere to turn, nothing is attractive; there is no motivation for anything. It would be good if it were possible to go to sleep and not wake up. But no, that isn’t an option either.

It is a feeling of complete helplessness, and not just helplessness, but a complete lack of desire, inner emptiness, and it is given to you only to fill the emptiness with the force of altruism and not egoism. The strength that motivates you forward is taken from you on purpose—thereby you are given a gift.

Now the group needs to give you some kind of push forward, at least a little, and then you will go forward. This means that you need to work with the group in advance, to help, to invest in it like in a bank, and then when you have no strength, you can take from it and advance.
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From a Virtual Lesson on Fundamentals of Kabbalah 9/23/12

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In Spirituality Everyone Is Equal

Dr. Michael LaitmanQuestion: When I am sitting in a circle with other women, are they my group? Should I attach my thoughts to the men’s part during a women’s workshop?

Answer: Why do you have to think about the men? It does not matter whether it is a man or woman in front of you. They are the friends with whom you are communicating now.

And if we could cross out the gender and not see this division? In front of me it is just a desire, and this desire transmits its thoughts to me. Then, there would be no problem at all. What kind of women and men are you talking about? It is only the lowest physiology and nothing more.

I do not believe that women can understand spiritual matters less than men can. If they really want to raise themselves, they can do this, but they have another problem: For some reason, they think that they are not capable. This pushes them down.

If it were possible to cancel their appearance so that it does not interfere, I think that there would be many equal partners among women. I know these women.
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From “A Virtual Lesson on Fundamentals of Kabbalah “9/23/12

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Overcoming Self-Deception

Dr. Michael LaitmanQuestion: We are talking about a person who is connected with the group. And what is the same person on the street who sees, feels, reacts, and chooses? Is this a superposition of all the desires, the collective result of the whole person, the whole world desire?

Answer: It depends on where the observer is located.

If the observer is me, then I can say that everything that I see around me now is a manifestation of the Creator. It is He who plays with me in this way, on the one hand. On the other hand, all that I feel outside of me is parts of my soul. What I feel in myself is my Galgalta ve Eynaim, and everything that I feel outside of myself is my parts that I cannot connect to myself yet because between me personally, my inner part, and those parts outside of me there is egoism that does not let me perceive them correctly.

That is, my general soul was broken in two parts, and one of the parts I perceive as my own, and the other part I do not. I do not feel that it is mine. On the contrary, I feel it as the opposite of me, I hate it, I do not like it, I do not want to feel it like my own.

This sight was created in me artificially. However, I need to find the way to feel it as my own. It is actually mine, but I perceive it as so foreign that I cause harm to those who are around me, all sorts of still, vegetative, animate, and human objects, and enjoy that I harm them. How can it be? The higher I am, the more I submit and use them (my external part for my inner part), the more comfortable, better, and happier I feel; I enjoy this.

This is a terrible self-deception. Then, a person begins to reveal that by causing everyone harm and thus disturbing the balance in the world, he hurts the elements closest to him, those who are much closer to him more than his children, than he himself. In reality, these are the Kelim (vessels) that are dearest to us. It is a horrible condition called torments of hell. But its redemption then gives a person new opportunities.

So, it all depends on how do I look at what is outside of myself, either according to the principle “There is none else besides Him,” or like parts of my soul, which in principle is the same thing.

When a person connects to the Kabbalistic method, when he comes to the Creator and unites with everyone else, that is, with the entire universe and the Creator, then naturally, everything becomes one: It was the Creator in front of me and He me showed that all were my parts.
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From “A Virtual Lesson on Fundamentals of Kabbalah” 09/23/12

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The Source Of Infinite Resources

Dr. Michael LaitmanQuestion: We always talk about nature using terms such as “nature, balanced relationships, harmony with nature” and so on.

But if we look at human progress, it is considered to have resulted from man’s opposition to nature, from man’s trying to resist nature’s forces, from trying to exit nature and thereby develop. Given this, what harmony with nature are we talking about?

Answer: We are not talking about egoistic development but about altruistic development in accordance with the governing force of nature. Here we have no opposition.

First, we begin working not against nature, but “for” it. So here entirely new mechanisms can come about that operate on totally different energy. They don’t require the old energy sources but instead run on what they generate themselves. That is, we can discover such properties and opportunities in nature where everything occurs without a loss because we don’t have to be in constant opposition with something.

After all, our egoistic development occurred against nature and therefore we constantly advanced in opposition. We conquered nature, we forcefully changed it, and considered ourselves to be great and mighty.

And here, on the contrary, we begin to use nature’s integrality, and in accordance with it, in harmony with it, in similarity to it, we feed on this integrality. As a result we receive the natural source of infinite resources from nature and our life completely changes. We won’t be producing everything from the sweat of our brow as in the current processes, they will be entirely different.

People will start to reveal the force of life, filled with energy not through what he consumes, flour, meat, etc., but through a completely different field. A person will begin to reveal within himself opportunities to be fulfilled by life. We will suddenly find fulfillment on the next level, not on the level of the animalistic body, but on the “Human” level.

Because in nature there is the next level which is called “wise person.” And where is this wise person? We, by nature, physiology, and behavior are an extension of the animal world. There is innate, vegetative, and animal nature, but we haven’t reached the “Human” level yet.

The human is one who will be completely adapted to the integral picture of nature, who will exist in a state of unity and harmony with nature because he will possess an understanding, feeling, knowledge, attainment, and control of this connection.
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From KabTV’s  “Integral World: Formula of an Integral Society” 7/1/12

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Introductory Lecture – 10.03.12

Kabbalah for the Nation Introductory Series

[media 1]   [media 2]

How To Work Irrespective Of The Result

Dr. Michael LaitmanQuestion: During the convention I feel that the group is a small part of something big. How can we keep this fire going in dissemination too? How can we not forget that there is a group and that there is something huge behind it and that it is the unity of the friends that fills our work with meaning?

Answer: During the convention we feel a great force; we look at the screens and see the friends from all over the world. With us there are hundreds of groups and thousands of people sitting alone who we don’t even know. Of course, it enables us to feel something, but we have to try to receive the fuel from something else—from advancing humanity towards the revelation.

You are actually asking how we can receive fuel. Of course, it is the impression from a big group that first fuels us; here everyone knows me and encourages me; everyone sees what I do, and together we want to change the world. In short, it is the power of egoism that is active here.

But later the scale of values changes in us. You exerted yourself, you acted, even egoistically, by wanting to bring your beliefs and outlook to the whole world and suddenly you discover that you have run out of fuel.

This is how the Reshimot (reminiscences) change. It is because there is nothing but that which can change. Our Reshimo is the only changeable parameter, the only factor that changes. And here it changes in order to allow you to work in a non egoistic manner, not wanting to impose your opinion on the world, to prove that you are right, and to take the helm.

The next Reshimo enables you to think more altruistically: “The head of the angle is not we and not me. Let no one know, not even myself, whether I achieve any results.” This approach is already closer to spirituality and that is the way you are advanced forward from Above.

More intensive support from the group is needed here. If you connect more strongly with the friends, you will feel that you have purer powers than before, “I really don’t care whether my work is fruitful. Just like sportsmen, I don’t need to see the result. I want to close my eyes and to act only in one direction, without checking the ‘inbox.’ I don’t care whom I have influenced and to what extent he has changed. I feel that I can bring something to the world, I tighten my connection with the friends and move outward, and there is nothing in response.”

So where can you get the energy from? After all, in a situation like this a person remains like an engine without fuel. He doesn’t have the driving force; he needs some response. Here he begins to demand internally: “I have to see myself in the force of bestowal!” It is like changing a conventional engine with an electric engine, switching from gasoline to electricity, to another form of energy. This is what you demand, “The desire to bestow must be revealed to me! If I cannot work within my desire to receive, I need the desire to bestow!”

Then you will get it.
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From the Convention in Italy, Day Three 9/30/12, Lesson 2

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An Intensive Inquiry

Dr. Michael LaitmanQuestion: How do I manage my states? Do they develop automatically or can I evoke them?

Answer: I manage my states when I am with the friends sitting in a circle with them and discussing different problems and options regarding the connections between us: When does the ego help us and when does it distract us? How can we attract the attributes of bestowal and love, connection, mutual guarantee, and so on?

When we discuss these issues, I am involuntarily in different contrasting states, such as “I don’t want to listen to a friend, but I have to listen to him, “he is higher or lower than me,” “I agree with his answer or disagree,” and so on. Why do I agree with him? It may be because I simply like him, but someone else not, so I don’t want to listen to him and I didn’t even hear what he had to say.

So, it isn’t just the process, but the issue itself, the words, and the interactions, everywhere at every level, when I overcome the egoism and the altruism. Eventually there is a revelation, an intensive clarification of these two opposing attributes inside me.

What is more, when I am in a discussion with all the friends, I first intensify my attributes and, second, I expand myself by absorbing them. Thus, a person develops in many aspects by the integration of and communication between the two opposing forces.
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From “A Virtual Lesson on Fundamentals of Kabbalah” 9/23/12

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The Immune System Of The Integral Society

Dr. Michael LaitmanQuestion: It is common knowledge that the human organism has an immune system that blocks and destroys old defected cells which are still alive. If we compare this to the integral society, does it mean that this system has to get rid of old sick people?

Answer: No. The point is that here we need a system that sorts out what is beneficial and what is harmful. There is nothing harmful in nature. It is all revealed this way to us because we don’t know how and what to implement correctly. Nothing is destroyed in nature. Everything that nature develops is necessary and so it should be the same in human society. This means that we are going to see how various intractable, negative forces remain outside of our success in integral education do so because we do not put in the correct effort.

On the basis of these examples, we will just learn to improve our system of education and teaching and thus advance. We should be thankful to all the revelations of our deficiencies because they constantly compel us to further develop this method and will serve as the basis for its development.

I believe that the revelation of the negative attributes is as beneficial as the revelation of the positive attributes. It is negative feedback that corrects our focus towards the ultimate goal.

Question: So it turns that a direct transfer of the human organism model, or of what we see in nature, and our attempt to implement it without explaining the real reasons why it is that way in nature actually leads to great problems.

Answer: No. Here it is implemented on the model of a closed living body, which we have to keep balanced. In order to do that we have to sort out, clarify, and analyze the elements or the attributes that we receive from the outside and what we need.

This is because we realize that no matter how much we try to absorb only what is beneficial from the environment around us, a lot of harmful things also enter the organism. That which is harmful needs to be identified, collected, and evacuated from the body. This is what our physiological systems do, and it is the same on the cognitive level. The immune system stands guard and destroys everything that penetrates the organism that is hostile to the body.

I think this system has to be created in society until it reaches its ultimate form. If a certain part of humanity is in the process of becoming integral, it will certainly have to set some limits and boundaries around it so that outsiders will not be able to influence it. This means that in contrast to the rest of humanity, these people will have to live according to laws and constitutions and different social and family relations, which they accept according to their spiritual level and their altruistic development.

Of course, like a healthy organism, they will have to protect themselves from evil external influences. Here there should be an immune system that warns if a negative influence is felt in the society, and should immediately identify and remove it.
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From KabTV’s “The Integral World: The Formula of Integral Society,” 7/1/12

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A Life Jacket To Those Drowning In The Sea Of Egoism

Dr. Michael LaitmanQuestion: Lately I have lost all interest in and desire for the spiritual. I have become distant from the group, but the group did not forget about me and continued to care for me with constant love. This is why, despite everything, I decided to come to the convention in Rome, and made enormous effort to do it. And now here, I feel shame before my friends who once again have taken me in their arms, and I have experienced the love of my friends with new strength over these two days. But what do I need to do to make sure I do not become distanced again after the congress? I am very afraid of it.

Answer: I’m sorry about all you had to experience. But there is no other way but accepting that everything comes from one source, and we need to be grateful for both bad things and good things. I am very grateful to your friends who worked so hard that they were able to bring you back. I hope that from this day forward, all of you will only see goodness and mercy, love and warmth, which await you.

But still, no matter what happens, you need to hold on to the group with all your strength because it is the life jacket thrown out into the sea for those who are drowning. We have nothing else to grab on to.

And believe me, you will still see the entire country hold on to your group as if it were a life jacket. So become stronger, help each other, and continue. I wish you success!
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From the 5th meal at the Italian Convention  9/30/12

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Are Parts Of My Soul Wandering In The Streets?

Dr. Michael LaitmanQuestion: How can I hold on to the spiritual work as strongly as possible in my daily life (on the street, the public transportation, etc)?

Answer: I try to look at everything through the system of connection, through the system of mutual completion. I wonder if through everything that appears before me I will see the mutual cooperation between the two opposing forces that depict different images to me.

If I am in a circle at a workshop and there are nine friends before me, partners but also competitors in a way, as to who will give the best answer and who will answer less accurately, how we can complete one another, how we can play together in order to find the right answers? There is much closeness and oppositeness here.

If I am on the street, why can’t I see an identical partner in everyone that evokes certain feeling in me? It makes no difference whether it is for or against, what’s important is how I respond to him. Can I respond to him as to someone who is very close to me? My ego doesn’t let me. If I could look at him differently, I would see a very close and dear person and I would immediately change my attitude toward him.

We have to play with that by turning on the start-stop button of receiving and bestowal and constantly clarifying our relations with others. Then you will become more flexible and acquire a softer attitude to life and to the world.

But on the whole, of course you want to see the managing force through this attitude, which presents this whole picture to you and projects it before you so that you will see the revelation of the Creator, so that behind this picture you will see the managing force.
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From “A Virtual Lesson on Fundamentals of Kabbalah” 09/23/12

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