Michael Laitman, On Quora: “On which factor, does our future actually depend?“

Our future depends on understanding who we are, where we are, where we are headed, and how we can align ourselves with the laws guiding our development. When we do so, we will find ourselves living in a harmonious and peaceful world.

Until the 21st century, we evolved according to the egoistic drives that grew within us. Today, the human ego has reached it apex, and accordingly we now have an opening to exercise free choice in our further development.

What is our free choice? It is our ability to rise above our egoistic nature.

Rising above our ego is our only free action because everything else we do, which stems from our egoistic drives, functions according to an involuntary program that constantly makes us move toward self-aimed pleasures. Therefore, when we can rise above self-interest, thinking and acting for the benefit of others, we perform an action that is outside our entire egoistic nature. In this free act, we picture no pleasure in a self-aimed direction, wishing instead for all goodness to redirect to others.

If we realize our free choice, we will rise to a new nature with a new perception and sensation of life that is eternal and perfect.

The laws of nature will unfold whether or not we exercise our free choice. However, without our participation in this transition, we will experience life as increasingly bitter and painful. Our egoistic desires can never be fulfilled. The more they fall short of the pleasures they constantly seek, the more we will find ourselves becoming entangled in a growing web of problems.

Our ability for free choice is what separates us from animals and all other parts of nature. It is for this reason that Kabbalists say that the whole of reality was created for man: We are nature’s sole intelligent creatures that are capable of rising above our inborn egoistic state and aligning ourselves with nature’s laws—laws of love, giving and connection.

We have an immense transition ahead of us, and an even more amazing goal. Our current state requires us to seek answers to new and greater challenges that we encounter as we head into the future. It is indeed a positive situation that I relate to with much hope, not with anxiety.

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

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Michael Laitman, On Quora: “What is the meaning of Deuteronomy 5:15 where it writes, ‘Remember that you were a slave in the land of Egypt, and the Lord your God brought you out from there’?“

According to the wisdom of Kabbalah, the state of slavery in Egypt means that we are under the complete control of the desire to enjoy for self-benefit alone, or in other words, the human ego.

From such a state, we embark on an inner journey to correct our desire so that we enjoy not egoistically, i.e. for the sake of self-benefit alone, but for the benefit of others and the Creator, which is an opposite desire to ours—to give, love and positively connect.

This inversion of our intention is considered a correction of our nature, and it is described in the Torah as us exiting Egypt and entering the Land of Israel.

This correction of our ego from prioritizing self-benefit to prioritizing the benefit of others and nature describes the spiritual path we undergo until our final eternal and perfect state, called “the end of correction” (Heb. “Gmar Tikkun”).

At every stage of this spiritual path, we need to exit our ego called “Egypt,” and gradually start revealing the force of love and bestowal in nature called “the Creator.” Doing so leads us to great joy and a major surprise that the Creator prepared for us.

Therefore, our need to remember that we were slaves in Egypt means that we were in the desire to enjoy for ourselves alone, which completely controlled us, and that the Creator brought us out from our self-aimed desire. We needed to feel that we could not exit our egoistic desire other than by connecting to one another and reaching a sincere mutual request—a prayer—to exit our ego. We were then granted access to a new nature of love, giving and positive connection with others through which we discovered a harmonious, peaceful and joyous reality.

This feeling is very special because a part of it penetrates our desire to enjoy, and another part resists our desire. With this contrast inside, we can then scrutinize the forces that operate on our egoistic nature, whether and how much we can exit the control of those forces, and how the upper force—the Creator—grants us that special ability.

Based on the Daily Kabbalah Lesson with Kabbalist Dr. Michael Laitman on March 27, 2023. Written/edited by students of Kabbalist Dr. Michael Laitman.
Photo by Viktor Forgacs on Unsplash.xt

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Michael Laitman, On Quora: “What is the actual meaning of freedom, in one sentence?“

Freedom means that you overcome your egoistic nature—the desire to receive pleasure—and by doing so, come closer to the altruistic laws of nature.

Based on the Daily Kabbalah Lesson with Kabbalist Dr. Michael Laitman on March 29, 2023. Written/edited by students of Kabbalist Dr. Michael Laitman.

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Michael Laitman, On Quora: “What will heal the wounds in the Israeli society?“

Amid the painful rifts in Israeli society, in a period of mass protests, strikes and sharp divisions, today my student asked me: What prayer can we raise in such a situation?

We can only raise a prayer for unity above division.

It does not matter who is right and wrong. We are not given these situations so that we can work out who is right and wrong. There will be no end to such arguments.

We only need to unite, and our unity should be above all differences—above everything.

Based on the Daily Kabbalah Lesson on March 27, 2023. Written/edited by students of Kabbalist Dr. Michael Laitman.
Photo by Yoav Aziz on Unsplash.

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Michael Laitman, On Quora: “How do I prevent a nuclear war?“

Even though there is a joint statement between five of the world’s most powerful nations—the United States, Russia, China, the United Kingdom and France—that “a nuclear war cannot be won and must never be fought,” we still see that these same nations continue spending trillions of dollars on the arms race. Such statements simply give the people what they want to hear so that those in power can continue their rule.

While we live with self-interest at our core, where we each prioritize self-benefit over the benefit of others, then we position ourselves on a rickety foundation to prevent any kind of future war.

In order to truly prevent a nuclear war, we need to correct our egoistic nature so that we will prioritize the benefit of others and nature over self-benefit, and we need this correction to play out among everybody: from the broadest masses to the ruling elite.

Correcting our egoistic nature and discovering a sturdy foundation for human relations that would safeguard us from future wars requires a new universal education—one that focuses on our need to unite above division.

We need to learn about our egoistic nature: how is it opposed to the general altruistic laws of nature? What are the driving forces behind human development? Where are we headed? And how can we align ourselves with nature’s altruistic laws in order to experience harmony, peace and balance in our lives?

The more we immerse ourselves with this new form of universal education and start correcting our egoistic nature, the more we will protect ourselves from future wars.

Based on KabTV’s “News with Dr. Michael Laitman” with Kabbalist Dr Michael Laitman and Semion Vinokur. Written/edited by students of Kabbalist Dr. Michael Laitman on January 1, 2022.
Photo by Ant Rozetsky (@rozetsky) | Comunidade de fotos da Unsplash on Unsplash.

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Michael Laitman, On Quora: “How can I help depressed teenagers on a large scale?“

It seems to me that children were happier in the past when people lived simpler lives. Family and social connections filled our lives, and we were closer to our parents, neighbors and people in general.

Today, we live in a generation that is glued to its screens, wanting to have nothing to do with one another. The parents of our generation are also generally busy making a living, and I think that teenage depression has a lot to do with us parents neglecting our children.

I would thus recommend parents work less and pass more time with their children. They should do various activities together, like going to the beach or to a soccer game, and so on, and most importantly, the activities should be for both parents and children together.

Today’s families are missing out on much connection, and so I think that it is a must for parents to do more in order to connect with their children.

Based on the video “Curing Teen Depression: Advice for Parents” with Kabbalist Dr. Michael Laitman and Oren Levi. Written/edited by students of Kabbalist Dr. Michael Laitman.
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Michael Laitman, On Quora: “Can dogs smell cancer?“

Israeli startup, SpotitEarly, uses dogs to detect cancer in people with their sense of smell. The process involves giving patients a mask into which they breathe for a few minutes. The mask is then taken to a laboratory where dogs smell it, and in over 90 percent of cases, dogs have detected the cancer patients. Moreover, it has been found that the dogs can detect cancer in its very early stages, before it shows symptoms.

Indeed, there are several phenomena in nature that we have yet to find out about, and we may well soon discover more of them. Yet this discovery is beautiful, that we can detect cancer in its early stages and save many lives.

It also shows us how despite our powerful technological progress, dogs can detect cancer more effectively than us. This is because we each emit a cloud through which it is possible to detect a lot of information about us, including what we think and feel, as well as our inner illnesses and where they are located. Most animals sense what we emit in that cloud, but since we do not feel animals, then we do not understand what they sense.

We commonly think of human beings as the most developed of all creatures, but we then find such abilities in animals that show how—despite our developed intellect—we are no better than them. A clear indicator of this is the fact that our development leads us to invent and stockpile more and more weapons. That is, the more we lay our hands on things, the more we bring about negative outcomes.

In order to start developing more positively, we need to look a little into the future and ask ourselves a serious question: “What do we really get from us living the way we do?”

Based on the video “Can Dogs Smell Cancer” with Kabbalist Dr. Michael Laitman. Written/edited by students of Kabbalist Dr. Michael Laitman.
Photo by Christian Lue

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Michael Laitman, On Quora: “Why would we want to bring back extinct animals?“

I received this question from my student who mentioned a project of a company that is working to bring back the dodo—a large flightless bird that became extinct about 350 years ago—with the help of gene editing. The bird had lived for millions of years in the forests of Mauritius, close to the coasts of Africa, and according to scientists, the process will be completed in six years and the extinct animal will return to the forests of Mauritius.

I answered him that it is forbidden for us to intervene with nature, because nature is smarter and revives what it wishes back to life.

We only need to reach balance among each other, that we will not fight each other, but rather live like any other species that has its rightful place in nature.

If we manage to reach balance among each other at the human level, then our balance will positively influence the entire system of nature on its still, vegetative and animate levels as well, because we are the species with the greatest amount of influence in nature.

Just from achieving balanced human connection, we might very well see the dodo or other species come back to life, simply due to nature’s will. This is because nothing disappears in nature. If a certain species had existed, it means that its information exists in nature, and when we organize our relations in a way that makes room for everyone in nature’s general system, then all parts of nature will gradually return to their place.

Based on the video “Is it Correct to Revive Extinct Species of Animals and Birds?” with Kabbalist Dr. Michael Laitman and Oren Levi. Written/edited by students of Kabbalist Dr. Michael Laitman.

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Michael Laitman, On Quora: “Is the world really controlled by just a few families?“

Indeed, we live within a power hierarchy where only a few dozen families control the world and do whatever they wish for themselves. It seems as if they have limitless abilities with their power, as they limit humanity from obtaining true information, acquiring certain medication, normal food and cheaper energy that we could have long used instead of oil. They act based on their egoistic pursuits and position.

We are powerless to create any different kind of order in our world unless we rise to a degree of connection where we start feeling the positive forces dwelling in nature, which are currently concealed from us. We will then exit this power structure we find ourselves in. These few families cannot stand in the way of nature’s governance and limit our world in its positive form of development.

The wisdom of Kabbalah calls these people in power “angels.” The Kabbalistic meaning of “angels” is completely different to the way most people think about that word. “Angels” means certain forces that are under the complete control of the upper force, and these ones in question function as a shadow of our flaws.

If we positively connect in a way that adapts us to the positive forces of nature—forces of love, bestowal and connection—we neutralize negative forms of control over us. For the time being, however, while we remain detached in our egoistic connections, each one pulling their own way, then it is as if we sustain those few families’ power. In other words, we ourselves are their power source, and we create the conditions for their existence.

Therefore, our progress to a harmonious and peaceful future depends on our transformation to positively connect. When we do so, we will feel the powers over us operating out of absolute love and care—an attitude that will grant everyone access to the most powerful, boundless and perfect form of fulfillment.

Based on KabTV’s “I Got a Call. Kabbalists Versus Psychics” with Kabbalist Dr. Michael Laitman on July 14, 2012. Written/edited by students of Kabbalist Dr. Michael Laitman.

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Michael Laitman, On Quora: “Can you define “love” in one sentence?“

Love is to place the desires of others above one’s own desires.

Based on KabTV’s “I Got a Call. How to Find the Purpose of Your Child” with Kabbalist Dr. Michael Laitman on June 27, 2012. Written/edited by students of Kabbalist Dr. Michael Laitman 6/27/12.

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