Question: Should we learn to feel the pain of others?
Answer: We should learn to feel the pain of others because by doing so we create a positive field of mutual connection around ourselves. It is necessary for existence.
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From KabTV’s “News with Dr. Michael Laitman” 9/23/24
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Comment: A person who condemns another will unexpectedly find themselves experiencing the same state.
My Response: And that is very good! He was given an opportunity to correct himself because in the very trait that he condemns, the saw himself. Anyone who notices a flaw in another does so because that flaw exists within them; otherwise, they would not recognize it in someone else.
The fact is that by expressing condemnation out loud, they also begin to go through this correction. On our level this triggers a feedback loop from the other person. However, if they only condemn in their thoughts without voicing it, they are less involved in the process.
Question: Nevertheless, is a thought not much stronger than a word?
Answer: Not for us! Not for those who are still at the level of our world where everything is determined by words or a person’s appearance rather than their inner essence.
Question: But in principle is the influence of thought still strong?
Answer: Absolutely! The influence of thought is absolute!
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From KabTV’s “I Got A Call. Condemnation” 6/16/10
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Question: I want to ask about thought and speech. How can a person keep themselves in check? Is it by restraining their impulses or by fully expressing even their negative traits? Let’s say someone wants to say something nasty to another person, either they say it or they do not?
Answer: The rule is very simple: strive toward the goal, and everything that arises along the way will unfold. Bad or good does not matter; the main thing is to keep moving toward the goal.
For example, you are driving along a road. There are potholes, uneven pavement, and some hills, but you must keep going toward your destination, always choosing the straightest, most direct path. And whatever you encounter along the way is given to you by the Creator to shape you in some way.
That is why on the spiritual path you must be grateful equally for both the bad and the good. Equally! This is the test for a person. Let’s say today you “got hit on the head,” but yesterday everything was wonderful. Yet, in your heart, you feel the same. Absolutely the same! That means you are already moving straight ahead.
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From KabTV’s “I Got A Call. Correcting evil into good” 6/17/10
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Question: How should one behave toward the group? How can one integrate into it as much as possible and receive the light?
Answer: To integrate into the group as much as possible means to influence it as much as possible so that the greatness of the goal, the greatness of the Creator, and the greatness of unity become revealed within it.
Moreover, one must humble oneself before the group so what you have put into it, you can get back, multiplied by the group’s power. You cannot get from it what is in it. You can only receive as much as you desire to receive and as much as you have shown yourself in this desire.
Question: What does it mean to humble oneself? Does it mean becoming like a “rag”?
Answer: On the contrary! I do not humble myself, but my ego. I feel that I am pressing my ego down. There is something within me that I reject, pull away from myself, and at the same time I am in unity with my friends.
I do not feel inferior to them. If my egoistic mind and egoistic desires are lower than theirs, then I, my inner, spiritual “I,” merge with them at that moment because I am in a way removing the partition between us, lower it down. And between my point in the heart and their vast common vessel, there are no longer any obstacles—the barrier is removed.
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From KabTV’s “I Got A Call. To belittle egoism” 6/3/10
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There is a powerful exercise that is quite simple and I started using many years ago.
Whoever I have met on my way, be it man or insect, the first thought that I allow is: “I wish you happiness!”
But the most important thing is that this thought should really come first: “I wish you happiness.”
This thought will completely change what happens between you and this person. I say this from personal experience.
Sometimes it is very difficult when you meet an enemy, when you find yourself face to face with an unexpected, tough situation. But it is at this moment that you get the opportunity to create a different space around yourself. Before the negative emotion takes over you, you have time to transform it: “I wish you happiness.”
Try it and see how much everything in your life changes” (Richard Gere).
Question: Can this first thought “I wish you happiness” change the space between people?
Answer: Yes.
Question: Why?
Answer: Because one person sets himself in a positive way toward another without expecting anything in return.
Comment: That is remarkable.
My Response: It is incredible, yes.
Question: If I practice this exercise and mechanically try to do it, can it change me?
Answer: Yes, from egoism to altruism, from being a cold person to being kind.
Question: Can a person change?
Answer: Yes, this is the desire of a person to change. If he does not let go of this desire and constantly imagines how he can change in every instance, it transforms him.
Question: And does it work?
Answer: That is why it works.
Question: Tell me, can this exercise really be applied when meeting an enemy you hate, when emotions are overwhelming? Can one manage to insert this thought?
Answer: This needs preparation. A person must understand how he should relate to the enemy.
Question: But how? After all, it is still an enemy.
Answer: Why is it an enemy? This requires significant preliminary work. If such work has truly been done, a person would not be able to harm another. I am absolutely sure of this because we must become different. We must make the world different. If it depends on us, on people, we must remake ourselves.
Question: And where is the Creator in what you are saying?
Answer: The Creator does not want to be among people.
Question: Among such people?
Answer: At all! He gave us nature, He gave us the foundation to change ourselves. Based on this, He will relate to us differently.
Question: So do we have this spark within us to change ourselves? This point of light?
Answer: Yes.
Question: Even in complete darkness?
Answer: We are the most sophisticated egoists.
Comment: And still, you say there is this spark of light inside.
My Response: Yes.
Question: Why does Richard Gere, and you as well, insist that this thought must be the first, before all others, that it must push its way through?
Answer: Yes, before it gets spoiled.
Question: So all other thoughts spoil it?
Answer: Yes, but this thought, if it is first, it is interesting to see how a person will respond to you.
Question: If you constantly practice this exercise, falling, getting up, succeeding or not succeeding, can it change a person’s perspective on the world? Could this world suddenly become bright?
Answer: Yes.
Question: But isn’t it dark? Or is it bright? What is it?
Answer: It’s neither. That is, we can make it bright.
Question: If I tell everyone, “I want you to be happy,” and suddenly it works, does the world change and become happy?
Answer: Yes.
Question: But who is happy? The world or me?
Answer: You are happy.
Question: I am happy? So, the whole thing is for me to change?
Answer: The world is just a reflection of our inner states.
Question: So what I have inside is what I see?
Answer: Yes.
Question: What spiritual principles are involved here? Human principles are clear, but what about spiritual ones?
Answer: The spiritual principle is very simple: If you wish happiness to another and act on it, you create wonderful relationships between yourself and them.
Question: And that is a spiritual principle?
Answer: Yes.
Question: Can we say that in this way I also establish similar relations with the Creator?
Answer: Of course.
Question: And He with me?
Answer: Yes.
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From KabTV’s “News with Dr. Michael Laitman” 12/9/24
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Last year [2017] was the world’s most miserable for more than a decade, according to a survey of people’s emotions in more than 145 countries.
People experienced sadness, stress, worry, anger, and physical pain more frequently in 2017 than in previous years.
The results mean the world is more “negative” than at any point since the polling company [Gallup] started the study in 2005 (CNN).
Question: How would you comment on basic human emotions from the perspective of Kabbalah, and how can one overcome them?
Answer: You cannot. The answer is simple and immediate—you cannot!
The fact is that our egoism is constantly growing. What satisfied us in, say, in 2017 might no longer satisfy us in 2019. I might feel bored with something that used to interest me. I might have been content with my previous salary, but today I cannot be satisfied with it, nor with spending time with my wife, children, family, even my apartment, and so on.
In other words, my ego demands much more than before. Typically, it does not receive anything more and even maybe even less. So, I have every reason to consider my life as declining.
Comment: Sociologists say the purpose of sadness is to motivate a person to improve their situation, achieve goals, and eliminate dissatisfaction because it is a negative, distressing factor.
My Response: That is a nice sentiment if it stems from tangible issues like a lack of money, a small apartment, or something similar.
But if I am simply sad, melancholic, blue, these are very subtle things within us that we may not even understand where they come from. Life lacks light.
Question: Do Kabbalists feel sadness?
Answer: Kabbalists feel a special, tender, higher form of sadness.
They are sad because they cannot show others the pleasures that await them. That is why Kabbalists feel sadness.
They themselves are in a state of supreme fulfillment. But because they cannot convey this to others, who lack sufficient hunger, appetite, or desire for it, Kabbalists are sad. Like a mother who grieves when she cannot feed her child.
Comment: The next emotion is fear.
In the animal world, fear is an emotion based on past negative experiences and it plays a crucial role in the survival of an individual. In humans, it signals current dangers, both internal and external, innate and acquired.
It naturally evokes feelings of loneliness, rejection, and threats to self-esteem; it suppresses the personality altogether.
My Response: Yes, the sensation of fear suppresses personality. There are about 800 types of fear. It is a powerful negative force that confines a person and severely limits them to the point of being unable to move or think. It is a significant problem.
It can be resolved not by confronting fear itself, but by focusing on its opposite. In other words, instilling a sense of confidence in a person that they cannot only overcome fear, but also can realize that such fear does not exist in nature. It is something you imagine, nothing more. Be free, rise above life, and do not feel fear.
In Kabbalah, it is said that one must overcome fear with awe of the Creator.
If I replace my petty, selfish fears with awe of the Creator, whether I can make myself useful and needed in His work in this world, then my fear disappears. Instead, I gain immense strength, vigor, and ability to express myself.
Fear vanishes. I suppress it, rise above it. Fear becomes the very ladder I climb; it is pressed down as I ascend.
Comment: This requires an internally strong personality.
Answer: Yes, and it is achieved through strength.
Question: As we know from life, anger is not just a feeling of irritation or a contradiction to one’s beliefs, egoism, or worldview. It also has a physical dimension and manifests as an emotional impact through the brain. That is, anger gives a person strength and a drive to act.
How should one properly use anger?
Answer: That is a completely different question. You are not talking about suppressing anger but about transforming it.
Question: How should one use it and transform it?
Answer: First, anger can only be subdued by realizing you are dealing not with someone or something else, but with the Creator. He is the source of both positive and negative emotions; they all come from Him.
So when feelings like insecurity, fear, or anger arise, you must remember that you are dealing with the Creator and act accordingly.
Anger can only be transformed into joy and collaboration, embracing the person or thing you are angry with and feeling close to them. This happens when you understand that the Creator sends you anger to help you rise to the next level.
Thus, the people, events, or even objects that provoke your anger should be seen as aids in your growth. You should approach them with approval, love, understanding, and gratitude.
Question: What do you usually get angry about?
Answer: Everything! Absolutely everything. I get very angry. It helps me move forward.
Question: Do you flip it around immediately?
Answer: Yes, very quickly!
Question: Over the past decade, people have been united by negative emotions. In the past, people were united by aspirations for the future, achieving and conquering new heights. Today, they are united by negative states.
You have just provided methods for transforming destructive emotions into constructive movement. How can people realize that all the negativity accumulating in them is like a stepping stone, a springboard for transformation toward something better?
Answer: People need to be taught this; it is not easy. It is an entire system where a person possesses two forces: positive and negative. Positioned between them, they begin to view all qualities, sensations, and experiences as tools or opportunities for their next spiritual ascent.
Thus their reactions become less instinctive.
This requires training, understanding the process, and constant interaction with like-minded individuals. He learns from them and they learn from him. It is the education of emotions
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From KabTV’s “News with Dr. Michael Laitman” 11/14/19
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Question: Over time trust that the Creator loves us increases. Does this come from the fact that the heart opens or is it because the mind prevails? I would like the heart to constantly soften. Is it possible to pass this on to the ten, if so how?
Answer: You can talk about this in the ten, but only occasionally, in rare cases.
Question: What does this trust depend on? After all, before there were only blows and pain.
Answer: Before you were small, and now you have grown a little.
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From Daily Kabbalah Lesson 2/1/25, “Connecting to Lishma“
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Question: At conventions we are given strength that must be realized afterward, otherwise it will dissolve. What does this mean?
Answer: At the convention we achieve a certain connection with each other, and for the sake of that connection, we are ready to sacrifice some small egoistic fulfillments, pleasures, and weaknesses in this life. We are ready to give ourselves to achieve something higher.
Subsequently inspiration fades because the connection between us disintegrates. We cannot keep it from a distance.
We are small people. Everyone returns to their old ways, and, as a result, we lose mutual strength, plunge into our philistinism, and can no longer think so intensely about spiritual elevation, correction, the meaning of life, or how to really achieve it here and now.
So it turns out that we need some kind of constant connection, maybe not as intense as at conventions, but one which would excite, tug, prick us more intensely because we only occasionally remember and ask ourselves: “What will become of us?” We need to restore this connection somehow.
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From KabTV’s “I Got A Call. Congress for Connection!!!” 5/1/10
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Question: Why do you say it is preferable to watch lessons in a large group? Does it amplify your information?
Answer: Of course. It is said: “In the multitude of people is the King’s glory.” We are very small by ourselves. But if a thousand people are listening to a lesson, wow! And if it is ten thousand? WOW! We look at the headcount and the numbers, but we do not understand the quality.
Question: Is the group a very strong amplifier?
Answer: Yes, there is a big difference between whether I give information to one person or a thousand. After all, it is distributed among all according to each person’s disposition. There are instances when you can study with one person, expressly tune them in, and lead them toward a spiritual goal. However, there is no such thing today. Today it is only going out to the masses.
At one time I was a student of Rabash, and he was constantly engaged with me. Every morning we went for walks together, and every week we would go on a two-day trip to Tiberias. However, these are isolated instances that Kabbalists had in the past.
But now we have crossed a line, and I do not think it can happen again. There is no such option today. I do not see anyone I can bring near me and shape into a leader of the next generation.
This would be in great contrast with all the others and would harm the general dissemination of Kabbalah, which is very relevant now.
In the past, there was no way to disseminate, but this is no longer the case. Nowadays dissemination is only for the masses.
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From KabTV’s “I Got A Call. The Group—Informational Amplifier” 4/17/10
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Question: You often talk about the correct use of disturbances that arise on a person’s path of development. How do you personally manage to use a disturbance correctly in order to progress?
Answer: If I know that these disturbances come from the Creator, that already removes the perception of them as disturbances and instantly shifts them from the category of disturbances to the category of help. It is like in training when you have to overcome certain hurdles to become stronger, reach higher, and go further.
In other words, you need to view these disturbances as the acquisition of new degrees.
This is a big job. Is it really a disturbance? You can’t ascend from one degree to another relying solely on your own strength, on the power of your mind, because you need to gain new awareness, a new sensation, and new revelation.
To achieve this, you must acquire new qualities. And to acquire them, you must struggle and create them within yourself. Otherwise, you won’t have the necessary sensations, the sensitivity to new, subtler layers of reality.
Comment: Suppose I have to overcome some disturbance. There are situations where you genuinely don’t know which direction to take.
My Response: Always toward the Creator. It is very simple: “There is none else besides Him.” This is the one and only force that governs you, always with a benevolent purpose. Even though it may seem to you that there are millions of problems coming from different sources and it is hard to see any benevolent purpose in that. What is happening to you may seem completely unclear. But your task is to connect it all together.
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From KabTV’s “I Got a Call. Use the Enemy” 4/19/10
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