Michael Laitman, On Quora: “Is there anything wrong with living for your own pleasure too much?“

We live within laws of nature, which develop us according to a certain plan in order to reach a destination where we will harmoniously connect with each other and discover the positive force of love, giving and connection that dwells in nature.

Toward that happy ending, nature created us in an opposite quality to its own—as egoists, while nature and its laws operate altruistically—in order for us to develop a realization of our egoistic nature as flawed, and come to want an inversion to a new altruistic nature, which accords with nature’s laws.

We thus have a period in our development when we grow through our egoistic desires, enjoying materialistically for our own personal pleasure, and another period when we start feeling increasing emptiness in our constant pursuit for self-benefit. The latter feeling characterizes our current era.

Today, we experience our egoistic desires reaching a threshold where they can no longer be satisfied like they used to. We developed through desires for food, sex, family, money, honor, control and knowledge, and today we feel increasingly short-lived fulfillments at these levels. As a result, we bear witness to rising depression, loneliness, stress, anxiety, drug abuse and suicide, i.e., all kinds of phenomena that stem from our desires feeling emptier, that we cannot be meaningfully satisfied by the smorgasbord of available pleasures.

We are thus at a crossroad between our outdated egoistic mode of enjoying ourselves, the need to grow out of our egoistic attitude to life and to acquire a new altruistic mode of relating to each other, which is congruent with nature’s laws.

At this crossroad, we still find many people who cling onto an approach of “I have my job. I don’t steal. I pay my taxes. I’m a good citizen. And yes, I enjoy life. I travel overseas with my family, I visit Disneyland, go to all kinds of restaurants, and so on. What’s bad about that?”

We see, however, that it is still insufficient. Moreover, there is a mind, plan and laws of nature that operate beyond our egoistic minds’ reach, and according to that higher plan, we need to grow up, to learn how it works, and how we can apply its laws to our own attitudes and connections.

Our egoism, however, rejects the higher plan and laws. In this respect, we are like small children who reach a certain age where they have to leave behind their pacifier or various toys, and they want to hold onto them at any cost, crying and crying if they are taken away.

Therefore, we do not want to recognize and understand these new laws. Why? It is because in our egoistic modus operandi, we fail to see how we can enjoy life according to an altruistic paradigm, i.e., where we switch our primary attitude of self-benefit to benefiting others.

There is no problem with enjoying the many pleasures of life, like eating well, making money, traveling and going to good restaurants, and so on and so forth. It is just that while we immerse ourselves in those corporeal pleasures, we are not advancing in accordance with the higher plan that was prepared for us, i.e., to the true meaning and purpose of our lives. We fail to develop our emotion and intellect to a whole other level that nature’s laws lay out: the sensation of an eternal and perfect reality where pleasure flows abundantly, unbounded by the constraints of our narrow egoistic perceptions, and where we all experience completely harmony and bliss.

There is thus nothing wrong with enjoying the many pleasures of life. But we need to acknowledge the existence of a plan that is higher than us, and that we are in a certain stage of development where we will have to grow out of our current narrow egoistic worldviews and start feeling a new eternal and perfect reality with the positive altruistic force of nature enlivening our connections.

Based on the video “Is There Anything Wrong with Living for Your Own Pleasure Too Much?” with Kabbalist Dr. Michael Laitman. Written/edited by students of Kabbalist Dr. Michael Laitman.
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Question: Why do I easily accept the desires of advertising, but I cannot feel the inner desires of people?

Answer: Because companies study what you would like to have and start creating ads that would exactly fit your desire using a bit of lies and leaving a little something unsaid.

Let’s say you have an initial desire for an iPhone, and the advertisers practically show you, “This is exactly what you need. This is what you really want. Think and have a look.”

They start spinning advertisements in front of you, showing successful men and beautiful women with iPhones in their hands. You start to feel like you want one too. That is, you get not only an iPhone, but you see yourself as lucky, well-dressed, and in the company of people like that. It is all psychological manipulation.

In Kabbalah we do not deceive, but turn to the more internal, deeper needs of a person. Food, sex, family, power, fame, money, and knowledge, we do not sell it. These are egoistic fulfillments. In principle, everyone has them in their natural form.

Therefore, advertisers simply shape them for a certain circle of society. They study society and thus sell unnecessary things.

If the thing were necessary, it would not have to be advertised. During a famine, you do not have to advertise bread. It is all clear. I remember how there was no advertising in the Soviet Union because there was nothing on the store shelves, one was struggling to buy anything there. But in America where there was an overproduction of goods, there was advertising, the purpose of which was to make people buy.

But now the people’s demand is gradually moving to other things. Therefore, we need to show them that we can sell such a product, that is, to give the advice they need.
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From KabTV’s “I Got a Call. To Feel the Desires of Others” 7/28/11

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Question: You say that it is harmful when a person is praised a lot. How can one find the right measure?

Answer: It depends on how one praises and for what.

I would like to be praised by everyone because this is an advertisement. Then everyone would listen to what I say.

But I don’t even need to know about the good reviews. It is necessary for others. And for me personally it is better when I get criticized a little.

Question: Is it good in the family when a wife praises her husband and raises him in his eyes?

Answer: Yes. This gives him great strength. He, like a small child, immediately feels as if on a high horse.

Question: Does it harm him?

Answer: It depends on what kind of person he is and how he perceives any actions: one is productive, the other is not. One may become proud, and the second, on the contrary, will try to justify the trust.

Question: Do you care what people say about you?

Answer: I wouldn’t say I don’t care. This is how I control myself and feel where I am, how I react to it, and so on. It’s still interesting.

A wife can support her husband by giving him a lot of help, either directly or inversely. As it is said: “Help against you.”
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From KabTV’s “I Got a Call. Protection From the Evil Eye” 7/9/11

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Question: How can couples generate constant flirting?

Answer: There is an entire science called the wisdom of Kabbalah, which is the science of how to get pleasure from the same source and at the same time make sure that it is constantly renewed. It is the science of desire that we are trying to master.

Question: There are some couples who understand that they cannot be together, but still do not break up the family. What keeps them together?

Answer: I think that if people do not physically feel any dislike or repulsion for each other, then everything else is fixable, but you cannot physically cope with your rejection.

Physically means at the inanimate, vegetative, and animate level. We hardly change there. This is how one animal sniffs another animal and determines by the smell whether it is its partner or not. People find a partner in the same way. Does smell not matter to us? It does matter very much. And so does everything else.

But if everything depends on the fact that once a couple loved each other, everything was fine and now it is not, then this is fixable. This is all psychology; you need to work on yourself correctly.

In addition, it is necessary to consider whether one interferes with the other. Today there are many couples who continue to love each other, and at the same time each of them has something on the side.

That is, the physical side today is so disconnected from the internal that it can be like that.

Comment: But Rabash, in principle, said that it does not matter what kind of wife you have.

My Response: “It does not matter what kind of wife” means that she does not physically repel you, but in everything else, you must find some common path.
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From KabTV’s “I Got a Call. Eternal Love” 7/27/11

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Michael Laitman, On Quora: “What’s your opinion of the controversy over proposed judicial reforms in Israel?“

They have ignited significant unrest in Israeli society.

Israelis from all walks of life are either denouncing or supporting the reform. Its critics argue that it will destroy Israel’s democracy and make it vulnerable to the whims of politicians. Its proponents claim that it will restore equilibrium to Israeli democracy, which they believe was disrupted by the Supreme Court’s overreaching powers, such as the ability to revoke laws or appoint new judges.

The current protests against these reforms have escalated so much that prominent figures in Israeli society have been discussing the possibility of a civil war. Some have gone so far as to explicitly call for the murder of Prime Minister Netanyahu, Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Justice Yariv Levin, and the entire cabinet, to reinstate democracy.

Throughout our history, we have been known as a stubborn people, holding strong opinions and believing that only our perspectives hold value. There have been instances when we took this belief to the extreme, from deeming those who disagreed with us as unworthy of living to engaging in brutal civil wars. And it appears as if we are on a similar trajectory today.

Democracy does not benefit such people. Democracy is for people who trust that general policy decisions are made through voting. If more people favor one policy over another, the parties supporting that popular policy will arise victorious in the elections. This grants them no right to mistreat the minority, but it empowers them and imposes an obligation to put the policy for which they were elected into practice.

If we view democracy as valid solely when the views we support are in power, then we are not truly democratic but rather disguised tyrants.

It pains me to witness Israel’s current state of affairs. While the rest of the world is advancing and learning, we find ourselves entangled in power struggles that will bring our nation to its knees.

Taking into account our violent history marked by internal conflicts, then it might be preferable for us to disperse and to dissolve the nation. I do not know what the upper force has in store for us, but if the choice is between dissolution and civil war, I would opt for the former.

Yet there is a third alternative.

Our people have always been stubborn, haughty, and strong-minded. If we were to disband now and regroup later, we would still face each other in disagreements, much like we do today. We possess this deeply-ingrained characteristic because our ancestors had such traits. Since they were that way, they understood that their only chance for success was to set aside their egos and unite, especially with their dissenters. That is, they faced a clear-cut choice: unite or die. Today, we find ourselves approaching that critical juncture once more.

In the past, when our ancestors chose unity, we not only became a nation but also served as a model for the world. We demonstrated that despite our mutual aversion, uniting above hatred would create an unbreakable bond capable of overcoming any obstacle. The strength of such a united nation was insurmountable.

For the time being, however, I see hostilities flaring and no one ready to even have a dialog, let alone unite. However, as long as we have yet to trigger violence, there remains hope that we will come to our senses before we sink the ship we are sailing on.

Based on the article “The Judicial War May Devolve into a Civil War” by Kabbalist Dr. Michael Laitman. Written/edited by students of Kabbalist Dr. Michael Laitman.

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Question: Why when a man and a woman connect, first the so-called spark of love flares up between them, and then gradually fades and turns into cooling or even hatred?

Answer: This is a natural process, just like any other. It is like I sit down to eat and eventually I get full, and if I continue, then I will have repulsion.

Similarly, there is a period of feeling hungry, satiation, filling, and enjoying it. And then, when hunger disappears, the person is satisfied, as after eating, and therefore needs to stimulate the desire again. Now the desire for this object or for some other requires renewal.

If people are properly attuned to each other and are able to find the process of renewing desires, aspirations for each other, flirting, then they can live together all their lives, be devoted to each other, and find great satisfaction in each other.

There are people who are not originally created to be satisfied with each other. Rabash also said that when you meet a girl as a future spouse, you just have to see if she isn’t physically repelling you. That’s all. And then whatever you decide.
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From KabTV’s “I Got a Call. Eternal Love” 7/9/11

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Question (from a letter): Why do you formulate the golden rule in the interpretation of Rabbi Akiva’s “love your neighbor as yourself”? Rabbi Akiva said that all the commandments of the Torah converge to this one, single commandment. But the sage Hillel said that the main commandment is “Do not do to another what you do not want to be done to you.” Isn’t this second, more passive formulation the key to success? And besides, it’s more realistic.

Answer: That is right, I totally agree with that. But the fact is that “Do not do to another what you do not want to be done to you” is not a complete, passive fulfillment of the commandment. The second part is active—love.

So, the first one does not solve the problem. It only seems to distance people from each other. But they tend not to harm.

Question: So do no harm is the first condition? Should there be some kind of attack next?

Answer: Active.

Question: “Love your neighbor as yourself” is like an attack on yourself? Can I do it only after I have fulfilled this first rule?

Answer: Of course.

Question: Can’t I jump over it, right away to “love your neighbor as yourself”? Instead of proceeding from the rule “Do not do to another what you do not want to be done to you.”

Answer: Try it. But on the way you’ll still be doing it.

Question: So, it turns out that “Don’t do to others what you don’t want to be done to you” is included in “love your neighbor”?

Answer: Yes.

Question: Is it possible for an ordinary, simple person to come to this and not to do to another what you don’t want to be done to yourself? Or will you still do something wrong to someone?

Answer: A person cannot restrain himself. He faces his own kind all the time and constantly sees where he wins and where he loses.

Question: And they annoy him all the time. So why do they offer things that are unrealistic for a person to do?

Answer: It is realistic, you just have to work on yourself.

Question: The result should be the fact that I need to work on it?

Answer: Yes.

Comment: And until this arises in a person, he is not capable. Because a lot of people write to us: “I already live by this rule,” “I have been living by this rule for a long time.”

My Response: 🙂 I believe that it is impossible without the Creator. But, on the other hand, I believe that we will come to this.

I am optimistic because it does not depend on us. Nature moves us, and we will inevitably come to this rule.

Comment: All these rules of both Rabbi Akiva and Hillel seem to say to a person: “Do it!” And you say that one cannot do it without the Creator.

My Response: One cannot. Man cannot change the laws of nature.

Question: Which are only for themselves, only egoism?

Answer: Yes, a person is not able to do it.

Question: So, the question is if a person wants to follow these rules, what should be his steps? What is step one?

Answer: The step is very simple. You have to come to a society that will be occupied only with correcting the connection between them. There you will be able to see how they work on loving each other and at the same time study yourself, as far as you are capable of this at all.

So, one way or another, you have to connect to this breathing machine.
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From KabTV’s “News with Dr. Michael Laitman” 6/5/23

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Question: What is the selling point or advantage of spirituality, of raising a person to the next degree?

Answer: It depends on which society you turn to because there are several civilizations in our world. The selling proposition can be either equality, security, friendship, or connection. It can be getting rid of depression, environmental problems, or any family or social problems, i.e., everything that you protect people from within our world.

In addition, people not only get rid of something, but also get eternity and perfection. After all, in any case, even if I make my life on this earth as comfortable as possible that I will be filled and happy without limit, it will still end within some limit, in 70, 80, 90, even 100 years, but it will end.

And here I am invited to be filled in this world with the most kind, pleasant, safe, correct way of life and start from it, right now, to feel my next life and be born in this next life, in this new feeling. It is easy, simple, and not for me alone, but for everyone together. I am invited to feel such a slight intoxication when you rise and begin to really attain the next degree, the next state.

But the next degree, the state, is built on society, on the fact that everyone feels like one whole—we. This is not the feeling of each one where he feels only his small world and his small individual life. It is a feeling when we all add up to one common organism and feel the life of this organism.

It is eternal and perfect because it becomes like the upper force of nature, the Creator, because it is all in bestowal. And we become not a scattered organism, but gathered together in its parts into one huge great whole. And this organism exists forever because it is built on bestowal, and we feel it. It is called “the soul,” and there is one soul for all.
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From KabTV’s “I Got a Call. Advertising Image of the Spiritual” 7/16/11

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Question: Hypnosis is the imposition of one person’s desires on another. If everything is programmed, then why are there such factors in nature when one controls another through hypnosis?

Answer: We are all connected together in a common system. But there are people who see more, people who hear more, and those who communicate better with this system.

Look what Wolf Messing could do making others think in a certain way or catching their thoughts! How did he do it? He did not know himself.

The fact is that he was connected to some other system in which the past, present, and future already exist connected into one. It was as if he was traveling along this axis or rising to a level where his thoughts and the thoughts of another person were together. And because he was stronger, he imposed these thoughts on the other, good or bad, any thoughts.

Is not that clear? What do the various secret services do? How many such developers and specialists do they have? A huge number! I have seen it myself: one can point his finger at you in such a way that you will feel a blow.
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From KabTV’s “I Got a Call. The Power of Hypnosis” 7/24/11

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Question: Is it possible to go through the entire Kabbalistic methodology according to The Book of Zohar and The Study of the Ten Sefirot?

Answer: Of course not! Even if Shamati, Baal HaSulam’s letters, and Rabash’s articles are included, it is still impossible; a teacher is needed for this. And those who do not have one are engaged in currents revolving around Kabbalah such as Hasidism, New Age, and others, and it seems to them that they are already in it.

The realization of texts themselves, clear, internal, Kabbalistic ones, cannot be realized without a teacher. After all, he works on you more than you work on yourself. Just as a mother and father work on a child to raise him and it seems to him that he is growing by himself. Only later, when he has his own children does he begin to understand this.

No one can reach the spiritual degree by himself! Only if there is someone who teaches you all the time, “slips” you all sorts of actions, knowledge, questions, and guides you. Why do I always give an example with children? This is an exact copy of the spiritual growth!
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From KabTV’s “I Got a Call. You Cannot Advance Ahead Without a Teacher” 7/23/11

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