Michael Laitman, On Quora: “How are souls connected?“

According to the wisdom of Kabbalah, there is an upper force called “the Creator” that created creation, which is a desire to enjoy.

The pleasure that the Creator fills the desire to enjoy with is called “light.”

The state where the Creator fills the desire completely is called the “world of Infinity.”

As the desire develops, it reaches a stage where it shatters into a multitude of individual desires, which in the wisdom of Kabbalah is called a shattering into “600,000 souls.” Since all of these desires shattered, they each hold only a minuscule portion of the light, and each one of these desires is called an “individual soul.”

However, such souls are incomplete. They are each only a tiny point within the complete soul. Moreover, they feel nothing of the complete soul but only a tiny point that leads it to yearn to return to its root, completely connected to all the other points as a large and complete single soul—a harmonious state of perfection where all parts are completely connected together as a single soul.

Our current times are ripe to start connecting these points together. In other words, today we are able to organize a closed system among each other where we can connect these points together as a segment of the complete soul, and discover the Creator’s light in such connection.

How does an individual point differ from a segment of the soul?

The point of the soul is also called the “point in the heart” in the wisdom of Kabbalah. It is a part that yearns to return to the complete soul. On the contrary, a segment of a soul is a gathering of these points as a group, what is called “a ten,” which is the minimal part of the collective soul that can function as a complete soul.

The soul is composed of ten parts, called “ten Sefirot.” We can differentiate parts of the soul that will operate exactly like the whole, but on a reduced scale. If we start connecting these parts, then the scale will increase.

However, in principle, the laws discovered in a group of ten will be identical to the laws in the complete collective soul, albeit to a smaller degree, because they will be less apparent, not rounded in the same manner.

Connecting the parts of the soul together is thus possible by organizing ourselves into small groups, where we each come together by having points of the soul, i.e. points in the heart, and realizing the method of Kabbalah that connects these points together. We then discover segments of the soul through these points’ connection, and the connection of the totality of these segments becomes the complete soul, where we discover complete harmony, eternity and perfection.

Based on a Kabbalah lesson with Kabbalist Dr. Michael Laitman on November 6, 2016. Written/edited by students of Kabbalist Dr. Michael Laitman.

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It is the central point of what the Jews are commanded, this is what they have to do in the world. Of course, the Jews must part with the golden calf. We see what happens to them in all the countries of the world, how much they really hold in their hands—wealth, banks, transactions, trade and everything else. We see how successful they are because they use their special mental potential and willpower, but only in order to earn as much as possible.

Today this is harmful not only for them and for other nations, but also for all of nature. We have come to a state where altruistic, interconnected nature, which now reveals itself as one single whole, can no longer tolerate the fact that a person consumes more than he needs.

The Jews, ahead of everyone else, are simply devouring nature, wanting to snatch more and more from it. All this reveals to us a completely disfigured human essence when a person consumes more from nature than he needs. All nature, our entire civilization is closed, global. We cannot consume more than we need, otherwise, we upset the balance in nature, and it punishes us for this.

Today we are facing great problems, including environmental ones. This is much stronger and scarier than the weapons accumulated by humanity and the atomic bombs because what we are facing is a relentless recoil.

We as if cocked the trigger, and now the recoil will go in the opposite direction from nature to us. Therefore, what we are doing is very dangerous. And in this, Jews are also at the forefront.

In addition, unity with the huge global system in which humanity exists is not just reasonable consumption, but the need for interconnection between us, for mutual support, for creating one unified humanity on the basis of the ideal “love your neighbor as yourself.”

However, no one besides Jews can do it. There is a gene inherent in them that they must use in order to unite with each other, and then the entire world will begin to follow them, but only in this movement! If they begin to unite, the world will automatically follow them.

Then we will see a very interesting picture: how a small, scattered nation shakes off all its social, economic, and other problems it is immersed in, and begins to unite. As soon as this happens, all the other nations immediately, like a shadow, will repeat the same thing after it.

This is the true reason for anti-Semitism. The nations of the world feel that their bright, good, nice future depends on these little Jews who live among all nations and do not do what they should.

But when you turn to the Jews, unfortunately, they do not see, do not hear, and do not understand this. They consider you, first of all, even more anti-Semitic than other real anti-Semites. This is where a problem arises, we feel it for ourselves, although we relentlessly continue explaining to them what their mission is.
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From KabTV’s “Conversation on Anti-Semitism”

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Preparation to the Lesson

Writings of Baal HaSulam, Shamati #72 “Confidence Is the Clothing for the Light”

Writings of Baal HaSulam, “The Freedom”

Selected Highlights

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The Creator never punishes us but always only advances us. We, however, consider it punishment. And He can advance us only due to the fact that the desire to receive pleasure grows in us more and more, and therefore we find ourselves in ever greater egoism and distance from the Creator, in an ever worse and opposite state to the Creator.

We cry because of our inability to get what we want or our inability to give, and so we pull ourselves out. Because of all this tossing, we begin to see how the Creator controls us in a purposeful way although He does not lead us along the shortest path to the goal. After all, we are not able to move directly to the opposite property. How can I move toward something that is disgusting, hateful, and frightening to me? And how can I go to such a repulsive goal that I certainly do not want? I am obviously not able to go directly to it, and that is the whole problem.

On one hand, I am in my egoism, the desire to enjoy. On the other hand, there is the Creator, the desire to bestow. And I am not even able to make a slightest move in the direction of the Creator, just as a sailboat cannot sail against the wind but must maneuver, that is, zigzag.

It is impossible to shift directly to bestowal, but we can at least approach it, act a little for the sake of reception, a little for the sake of bestowal, and thus achieve the goal. Therefore, until we reach the goal itself, we are not sure that we are going toward it in the right way. After all, our direction is never right!

It always deviates one way or the other and raises questions. And at the very last stage until the very last moment before entering and merging with the Creator, we do not know that it will happen. We do not know what lies ahead, but the gates suddenly open and we enter.

This is our job: to believe that we are progressing correctly according to external signs. We cannot swim directly to the goal, that is, with intention for the sake of bestowal toward the Creator. This is impossible because it is opposite to our nature. Our nature is one big minus and the Creator is one big plus.

Therefore, we can only maneuver, act in the form of bestowal for the sake of bestowal, and then receive for the sake of bestowal but only partially, step by step—zero, first, second, third, fourth, and receive more and more filling—Nefesh, Ruach, Chaya, Neshama, Yechida, layer by layer.

And of course, I cannot advance alone. The whole advancement goes only through the center of the ten in connection with the friends. And we forget it all the time, we get lost, and we are forced to start as if from the beginning.

I cannot directly attack the desire to bestow. I have no such attributes. But if I add my desire to receive pleasure to the properties of the friends in whom the Creator shines, then I can walk correctly directed to the goal, against my egoism. I cancel my desire to receive pleasure and unite with my friends as tightly as possible, and then all my efforts are illuminated by the reflected light (the surrounding light) and allow me to move in a roundabout way.

There is only one way to rise above my nature—annul myself in front of my friends. By this, I awaken upon myself a higher influence, the upper light, which slightly turns me away from my egoism and allows me to advance.

The Creator shines inside the ten because He sees it at the end of correction. And if I want to move from point 1 to point 2, then the Creator already sees us at point 2. And if I am ready to annul myself in front of the conditions set by Him that He reveals in ten and affects me through the ten, then I attract from above, from the source, the reflected light, and I move forward. In this way, I attract the forces of the higher nature so that they change my nature.
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From the 2^nd part of the Daily Kabbalah Lesson 11/17/21, Writings of Baal HaSulam, Shamati #71 “My Soul Shall Weep in Secret-2”

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My new article on Linkedin “The Long and Winding Road (We Needn’t Take)”

We need to understand the uniqueness of the current state of humanity. All over the world, a new system is emerging. In this system, we are all connected, unwittingly, unwillingly and irreversibly. The system has always been there, but now the threads are pulling us closer and closer together until we can no longer ignore our interdependence, even though we hate the thought of it.

It is becoming apparent that all of creation is headed for interconnection, and those who resist it will lose. We are marching down a long, winding, and painful road when we could be taking a short, quick, and pleasant one. All we need in order to get on the desirable path is to embrace connection. If we reject it, we will remain on the current, painful path until we finally agree to connect.

The intensifying disasters and crises that seem to storm the world from all directions are the twists and turns on our path to connection. Each time we pull away from it, reality forces us to realize that we are dependent on each other and we had better act the part.

Look at the rising prices the world over; look at the soaring costs of transportation, the clusters of cargo ships packed outside ports for weeks waiting their turn to unload. Look at how we infect each other with new strains of Covid every few months. Look at how the shortage of silicon chips is crippling global production of everything from cars to computers and to home appliances. These are all unpleasant and unnecessary signs that we are all connected.

There is no real shortage of anything. There is enough food, enough goods, enough computer chips, enough oil, enough of everything to satisfy everyone. The only thing that is unsatisfied here is our ego, which derives its satisfaction from abusing others. To put others in distress, our egoism creates crises where none should have existed. We do not realize that because we are all connected, when we hurt others, we also hurt ourselves.

We need a new mindset. We must realize that in the emerging reality, countries and organizations that adapt to the requirement to connect will reap the rewards of their efforts, while those that refuse will be left behind.

Granted, it is a process. It will take time for us to truly change our thought patterns. However, we need not succeed right away to initiate the change. The very effort to reroute is enough to create a positive momentum that will put us on the right track toward a satisfied and content humanity. Refraining from exertion will keep us on the long, winding, and increasingly painful road until we bow to the dictates of reality and finally agree to connect.

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When engaged in integral education, a person should understand why he is doing it. His most important task is to bring the world to an integral state because in this way we raise it to the upper force, to the upper purpose.

This is the key difference between our organization and all the others. This point is the very first and the very last. The very first because we start our own internal preparation from it, and the very last because we come with it and want to grow it within our listeners. Therefore, it is always present inside the flow in which we conduct workshops, discussions, answer questions, and so on.

This is a clear direction to make the students into one single whole because in this form they will connect to us, and they will be balanced with all of nature. This is the most important task that defines our methodology and the desired result.

By participating in this, people pass the upper energy through themselves and feel how it fills them, they live by it.

Question: Does it mean that in an ordinary enterprise the motivation is mainly financial, but here it is spiritual?

Answer: There can be no financial motivation here. A person should receive enough in order not to feel any special needs. If his head and all his life are dedicated to the spiritual goal, then it is enough for him to provide his family with a normal living standard.

When he works in a good team and his family does not put pressure on him with any increased demands, then this should completely satisfy him and even give him a feeling of happiness. Inner fulfillment will extinguish external needs.
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From KabTV’s “Through Time”

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Question: Fate is the totality of all events and circumstances that are predetermined and primarily affect either a person or the entire nation. Do you agree with this definition?

Answer: No, I do not agree because you cannot just talk about fate as a combination of some circumstances. Fate is what happens to us in our sensations, in our life, in our conditions, and is a consequence of the influence of nature or the Creator (which are the same thing) on us and our interaction with it.

Question: There are three main characteristics of fate according to something I found on the Internet: totality, unknowability and independence from human will. Do you think this is true?

Answer: No. With regard to totality, I can say that there are private destinies and common destinies, and total destinies too. As for unknowability and independence, on the contrary, we can learn our destiny and manage it if, of course, we wish to, and apply a certain quantity and quality of efforts to this. That is, both cognizability and control can be in our hands. It depends on us.

Comment: If you look at the history and culture of different peoples, then in most cases fate is defined as negative, gloomy, meaningless, blind, and ruthless.

My Response: So we speak because we do not understand the essence and purpose of what is happening.

Comment: By the way, nothing good is written in the Jewish religion, in the Prophets either.

My Response: It depends on how you look and with respect to whom it is said. In principle, the fate of humanity depends on itself. Nothing can be said here about some kind of fatal predestination.

Question: What adjective would you give to destiny?

Answer: Managed.
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From KabTV’s “Spiritual States” 10/26/21

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Question: There is a law of mutual guarantee. A lot has been written about this in Kabbalah. Because we are all interconnected, everyone can change the fate of others, but one can never change one’s own fate. That is, if I want to change my destiny, I have to change my environment.

How does it happen? How can I interfere in the fate of another person?

Answer: By giving him an example. The most important and most effective thing is to show a person an example of correct behavior according to the laws of nature: how to unite, how to approach others, how to interact with them, how to change your attitude to the Creator, to His governance, and so on.

Our future directly depends on it, moreover, the nearest future as well as the global one.

Question: What law of nature that must be complied with are you talking about?

Answer: About absolute love and connection of everyone with everyone.

Question: Nature obliges all elements to connect. There was even a period in cosmology when all the simplest elements were uniting and more complex substances and states were obtained. Likewise, people at a certain level must unite through feelings. Is this what you call love?

Answer: Yes. And then a new essence will emerge, full support of each other, when people create among themselves such states that never existed, which arise precisely from their direct, open aspiration to each other.
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From KabTV’s “Spiritual States” 10/26/21

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From a Reader: I am writing to you in confusion. We have a very close-knit family, three children, and already five grandchildren. The youngest is 13 years old, and I would like to talk about him. He is a very talented boy, he grasps everything on the fly, he has a sharp, analytical mind. That’s the problem, we’re told. He is sure that the end of the world is approaching.

He analyzes all the information he receives from the Internet, from newspapers, and television. He understands politics, economics, everything. And it all comes down to the fact that there is a need to prepare for the worst. We took him to the doctors, they say that he is absolutely healthy. We took him away to the country for three months, we don’t have the Internet there, but he takes it out of thin air. My wife and I are very afraid for him. We kindly ask you to help us.

My Response: You should  give him Kabbalah books, let him study. Then he will see that everything is controlled by the upper force, that everything is programmed, that everything comes down to a single governance, and so on. If he has a good analytical mind, he will grasp it, for him it will be a system of internal balance.

Question: So he will understand where everything is going and what harmony is?

Answer: Sure. And he will not be afraid that the sky will fall.

Question: Can the wisdom of Kabbalah be introduced at school, taught, and so on?

Answer: Why not? It’s talking about the world we live in. Nothing else. It does not frighten us with anything; on the contrary, it calms, and explains the system.

Question: And why does a person have this fear, and he lives by it, meaning that fear already controls him? Is this human nature?

Answer: A person does not feel this upper, single force of nature we exist and revolve in. And that’s why he needs to hold on to something. And on what? That’s where all sorts of beliefs and so on arise.

Question: But if it is harmonious, if it is kind, why does a person have such a crisis and think about the end of the world?

Answer: This happens to every person, and many times during one’s life so that a person realizes his instability, uncertainty, rejection from this life, and he looks for a way in which he can cope with this life and find this force that controls everything. This is especially given to us.

Comment: So your advice is for the boy to read a bit of a book about the laws of the universe?

My Response: Yes.
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From KabTV’s “News with Dr. Michael Laitman” 10/4/21

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