Entries in the 'Unity' Category

A Simple Law Of Revelation

Dr. Michael LaitmanEverything is very simple: the Creator is revealed in the connection among us. Therefore I should look for where I can work on the connection among us all day long. Where are the wires that I can stretch in order to connect us to one another? Between whom should they be stretched, between which desires? How should I connect everyone, and by what? What is the work I have to do?

It says that the Creator is revealed in the connection among us. If there are ten people, it is enough. We only have to connect and He will be revealed. But have I taken any practical steps towards connection? We only speak about connection, and the Creator is not revealed. So what should we do? Continue until the Creator is revealed.

It is a law! He will certainly be revealed as soon as the correct need for connection compatible to Him arises and is sufficient for the very first level of revelation, Nefesh de Nefesh. Or we will open up the opposite relationship, the opposite of Nefesh de Nefesh, so we have an indication that a desire to connect occurred and was revealed in the opposite, and then we will cry out so that the Creator will correct us.

This outcry comes automatically, since one action leads to another action. So when we cry out, the Creator will correct the connection among us and will be revealed. The broken part will be revealed to us in the coarsest from of separation between ten people. Then we will discover an increasingly more delicate shattering.

First we discover the shattering in its most primitive form: 10 big parts of egoism, opposite from one another trying to tear one another to pieces with their teeth, instead of connecting and holding on by their teeth, like cogwheels. Then we ask for correction and connect more coarsely, and so the Light of Nefesh de Nefesh is revealed. This is already the revelation of the Creator to the created being.

This is a very coarse form of connection, which we are capable of at the moment, 1/125 of the connection. Then the same thing takes place, but the resolution is higher. There are the same ten Sefirot, but we penetrate more deeply into them by discovering more and more individual parts.

The main thing is to discover the first ten Sefirot, the first level, because this is how you are born and take on a spiritual form. Then in this form, you already begin to improve. The most difficult part is to overcome the first level.
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From the 4th part of the Daily Kabbalah Lesson 10/5/12, Preface to The Book of Zohar

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The Urgent Need

Dr. Michael LaitmanQuestion: Science and art are methods for understanding reality. Science does it in a rational way and art, emotionally and intuitively.

Many criteria we have talked about stem from the emotional and the intuitive field. So does that mean that the idea of establishing an integral society is based on art?

Answer: I believe this perception is based on scientific and economic findings.

I will not speak about science since it is hard to explain to a person to what extent science is actually subjective with regard to our senses. If we were different, we would discover other sciences and other mutual actions. Nature is concealed only with regard to man. Therefore all the sciences are subjective.

Building an integral society is not some emotional philosophy or some psychological approach. It is an essential necessity because the current state of society obligates us to do so. Whatever we build in industry or economy is a result of society and therefore cannot exist without the correct change of social connections. So the need for this is obvious.

The integrality that is being revealed in the world today is a fully mutual connection that we cannot chop off. We see it in the connections in the so-called common market, although it is quite one-sided. An ordinary person cannot understand why these connections must not be broken. Expel Greece, Spain and Italy, why do you need them?! Leave only Germany, France, and a couple of other strong states that able, willing, rich, and strong; no, you can’t tear them off, you cannot disconnect from them.

The point is that the connections are so entangled (and this appears in a totally irrational manner) that these states are ready to pay billions of dollars only so that other states will not break off the common market. Why? Because it is already felt as one common integral system! In an analog system, you tear apart all the connections by tearing off a certain part. So by cutting off Greece you will suddenly feel that there are connections missing between Germany and France. This means that we actually see how mutually connected the world is today.

Today we don’t even have to fight someone; there is no need to conquer anyone. You can defeat any country by cutting off your relations with it.

Today there isn’t one state that can hold on and provide everything that it needs by itself. The world has become integral and so in an integral world we have to make the right mutual relations part of our connections.

If we only think about how to harm one another, we will not be able to survive. So when we talk about the need for the change of man as the basic factor in this system, it is an urgent practical necessity. Without it today, you will not develop industry, commerce or international commerce since it is all mutually connected.
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From KabTV’s “Integral World: Formula of an Integral Society” 7/1/12

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What Are You Doing Here?

Dr. Michael LaitmanQuestion: Is it important to match people in the integral education groups according to their properties?

Answer: I wouldn’t say we should match people according to their properties. After all, the characteristics can be completely different, and no qualifications matter there.

What matters is the so-called “threshold attitude,” the preparation to what we are doing. Someone may have already taken certain courses, undergone some integral superposition with others, while another may not know what we are talking about. He was brought from outside and wonders, trying to catch his breath: “What are the rest of the people doing here?” This should not happen: They will simply not understand one another. People should be approximately at the same level according to their integral preparation.

The integral experience should be similar.

We should know beforehand that in the group of twelve people there are, say, five who are more or less prepared and who feel and know already what’s going on. And then they include all the rest within themselves as though they enclose them and take them together with them. Then the joint work begins.
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From the talk on the integral upbringing, 03.04.2012

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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 Dual Shock Of October 2012

Dr. Michael LaitmanOpinion (GlobalEurope Anticipation Bulletin): “As LEAP/E2020 anticipated since the end of 2011, the end of summer 2012 marks the beginning of the revival for Euroland. … That being said, Europe will be in recession for the next six to twelve months. …

“The more Euroland advances constructively, the more the ‘Potemkinien’ ‘character of the US, Chinese, Japanese and Brazilian…economies’ ‘health’ will show itself. The tree will no longer hide the forest, namely that all the major global economies are entering recession or slowing growth simultaneously, leading the socio-economic and financial world into a black hole. …

“For these reasons, LEAP/E2020 maintains its June 2012 Red Alert and estimates that, by the end of October 2012, the global economy will be sucked into a black hole against a backdrop of world geopolitics heated white-hot. Suffice it to say that the coming weeks will, according to our team, carry the planet away in a hurricane of unprecedented crises and conflicts. …

“As we have underlined on many occasions in the GEAB, the United States has, since the beginning of this crisis, refused to face reality by having increasing recourse to financial, monetary,… (and military) subterfuge to try and mitigate the consequences of the crisis. All this however is proving to be ineffective at the end of summer 2012, in spite of the trillions of Dollars thrown down what is proving to be a bottomless hole. …

“The US political system’s current and future impotence in facing its deficit problems combined with ‘sequestration’ of the Federal budget the effects of which are already making themselves felt throughout the US economy (as we had anticipated from spring 2012), will turn the coming weeks into an endless succession of bad economic news … against a backdrop of increasingly less well-managed geopolitical challenges. Because the anaesthetic is finished on this front as well! …

“Let’s quote Europe also as an anecdote, since Euroland’s accelerated integration de facto constitutes an ousting of US influence at the heart of European construction.”

My Comment: It all depends on the nature of the movement of the world towards unity, either along the good path, through an understanding of the only healthy condition, or when the understanding of this inevitable future state becomes clear not through thinking, but through suffering. It is necessary to reach such a state that every person in the world understands these two opportunities of bringing the world to unity, to similarity with Nature, which guarantees his welfare.
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The Wonderful Attribute Of Balance

Dr. Michael LaitmanEach congress is a certain milestone, a certain level in our ascending to spirituality; we gradually begin to feel what is meant by unity, adhesion, and connection and what our development requires of us.

During workshops, lessons, and especially during congresses, each time, we push forward and break through to another level that advances us towards the great force, the altruistic force of nature.

From within it, in turn, we begin to perceive our ego. We begin to understand the meaning of our nature by our control of the new force of altruism and by beginning to attain it and reveal its contradictory meaning, the inner depth of the altruistic force. We see how great and wonderful these two forces are, if used correctly. Through studying both of these forces at the same time, with their help, we begin to see the depth of nature: its inanimate, vegetative, and animate components, and also the next levels of nature.

How can we grow further by continuing to develop both these forces in balance? The forces of egoism and altruism will continue to grow in us. But what is there beyond the horizon, that is, beyond the level of “Adam (man/human)”?

Let’s suppose, that we balanced all of this within us and on our animate level we arrived at a state where we completely control ourselves, that all of our actions are completely balanced, rational, and are found in the so-called middle line. Is there a continuation of the growth?

And here we really reveal the wonderful attribute of balance of these two lines. If you have attained balance, then both lines begin to lead you, like legs, alternately, this time the force of minus (egoism) grows, and next time the positive force (altruism) grows, and thus alternately, like two legs, you advance one step after the other forward. Together with this, your growth is not limited. Everything depends only on you.
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From “A Virtual Lesson on Fundamentals of Kabbalah” 9/23/12

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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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Not All That Grows Is “Green”

Dr. Michael LaitmanIn the News (from Empa): “In order to be able to give a well-informed response, Empa, on behalf of the Department of Energy (BFA) and in collaboration with the research institute Agroscope Reckenholz-Tänikon (ART), and the Paul Scherrer Institute (PSI), has updated the ecobalance of numerous biofuels, including their production chains. Compared with the first worldwide ecobalance study of its kind in 2007, also carried out by Empa, the team, led by Empa researcher Rainer Zah, included both innovative energy plants and manufacturing processes and also updated assessment methods.

“However, despite a more extensive data set and up-to-date methods, Empa comes to the same conclusion as the study in 2007: many biofuels based on agricultural products indeed do help to reduce the emission of greenhouse gases, but lead to other environmental pollution, such as too much acid in the soil and polluted (over-fertilised) lakes and rivers. ‘Most biofuels therefore just deflect the environmental impact: fewer greenhouse gases, thus more growth-related pollution for land used for agriculture.’ says Zah. This results in only a few biofuels having an overall better ecobalance than petrol. …

“However, the new methodology also allowed Zah and his colleagues to highlight the ‘weaknesses’ of the earlier study. The researchers in 2007 underestimated the effects of changes to natural areas on the greenhouse gas balance, for example the deforestation of the rain forest. The current study now shows that biofuels from deforested areas usually emit more greenhouse gases than fossil fuels. This also applies to indirect land usage changes if existing agricultural land is used for the first time for biofuel production and, as a consequence, forested areas have to be cleared in order to maintain the existing foodstuff or animal feed production. …

“Although the devil is in the detail, the new studies make it possible to make some general recommendations: Clearing woodland and bush areas in order to develop energy plants is to be avoided; this worsens the greenhouse gas balance considerably, which has a distinctly greater impact on the environment.”

My Comment: There will be no winning with any of our tricks! Only achieving balance with nature, bringing ourselves to general good connection, and reaching reasonable consumption will lead us to a good agreement with Nature/the Creator.
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The Dance That Lasts Eternity

Dr. Michael LaitmanI am very pleased that we have begun to understand the greatness of the altruistic force through the connection between us, because in general this is the only opportunity to master it. This happens when we get together in the group and begin to try in some way to recreate and cultivate the state of bestowal, love, and mutual connection between us. When we are in mutual guarantee, mutual union, then we gradually start feeling what this adhesion can give us and how unusual it is.

On the basis of my practice, I think that the most important thing is to feel something unearthly, special, what emerges in a person. Inside it, the feeling, the property that was not familiar to him before, begins to be formed. He knows that it can be only inside the connection with others.

Then this property can gradually vanish, disappear like in a fog, cool down, dissolve, but a person still retains the information record of this state, so-called Reshimo. And he will still strive to it, will know, understand, and remember it. However, this is not enough; we must stir this property constantly and nurture it, as any bodily organ grows, any property, if we take care of it all the time. If we stir it repeatedly, it shows its new properties, new connections; it is not the same as it used to be. When we make it appear from obscurity where it was lost, we discover its new dimensions.

That is why unexplored paths, degrees, and states are before us. And on this path, we will certainly see many victories, ascents, disappointments, and what seem like losses. From all this with our constant effort, with a certain number of workshops and conventions, we will reach a point when this force that will manifest itself in us becomes so clearly felt and attained by us, so much in our power that we will control it. We will begin to interact with it and feel it as two partners feel each other in the dance.

This mutual action between a person, the force of bestowal and the force of reception (the man is the middle line), is the state that I hope we will be able to reach by the next convention, and perhaps even earlier. It all depends on how intensively we will be able to develop in ourselves those states that we have experienced and did not forget. So, everything is before us.
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From a Virtual Lesson 9/23/12

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Why Do We Begin To Cooperate With Each Other?

Dr. Michael LaitmanIn the News (from Technology Review): “The world of game theory is currently on fire. In May, Freeman Dyson at Princeton University and William Press at the University of Texas announced that they had discovered a previously unknown strategy for the game of prisoner’s dilemma which guarantees one player a better outcome than the other.

“That’s a monumental surprise. Theorists have studied Prisoner’s Dilemma for decades, using it as a model for the emergence of co-operation in nature. This work has had a profound impact on disciplines such as economics, evolutionary biology and, of course, game theory itself. The new result will have impact in all these areas and more. …

“Until now, everyone thought the best strategy in iterative prisoner’s dilemma was to copy your opponents behaviour in the previous round. This tit-for-tat approach guarantees that you both spend the same time in jail.

“So the news that there are other strategies that allow one player to not only beat the other but to determine their time in jail is nothing short of revolutionary. …

The new approach is called the zero determinant strategy (because it involves the process of setting a mathematical object called a determinant to zero).

It turns out that the tit-for-tat approach is a special case of the zero determinant strategy: the player using this strategy determines that the other player’s time in jail is equal to theirs. But there are a whole set of other strategies that make the other player spend far more time in jail (or far less if you’re feeling generous).

The one caveat is that the other player must be unaware that they are being manipulated. If they discover the ruse, they can play a strategy that results in the maximum jail time for both players: ie both suffer.”

My Comment: Recently, more and more discoveries are happening in the field of human interaction. This should lead us to the realization of our absolute integrality as a unified system in which there is no individual freedom in thoughts, feelings, and actions. And only dissolving oneself in everyone makes one free. For the time being this seems incredible, but we will outgrow this inertia and the limitations of our understanding of the great unity of nature.
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