Science Revelations that remember me The Kabbalah !!!!!!!
Saturday, January 15, 2011
Friday, January 14, 2011
Thursday, January 13, 2011
European Congress in Berlin
Start the year in Harmony with the forces of Nature!
Berlin Kabbalah Convention, January 28-30
The Berlin Kabbalah Convention is the meeting point for everyone who understands that behind this world, there are laws in Nature, which need to be discovered in order to reach a higher level of existence.
Kabbalah is more than a study, it is an experimental science, and events like these are what make this experiment much more real, opening up the understanding and feeling of what Kabbalists speak about and the messages they try to convey.
"One convention is worth a year of daily studies"
Dr. Michael Laitman
| European Congress 2011 Kosmos KG Karl-Marx-Allee 131a 10243 Berlin |
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Introductory Course to Kabbalah Lesson 5 - The Development of the Desires
Introductory Course to Kabbalah Lesson 5 - The Development of the Desires
By Michael Laitman, Ph.D
The Development of the Desires
- Is there any connection between the pleasures in our world and the pleasures in spirituality?
- When do I begin to fulfill spiritual Reshimo?
- How do material desires fit together inside myself with the desire towards spirituality?
- Why are there fewer suicides in underdeveloped countries?
- How should children be educated in a manner useful for their development and not oppress them?
Is there a connection between the spiritual desire to receive, the Screen, the Upper Light, the spiritual pleasure - and what we are feeling here in this world, meaning through our five senses?
There is no connection at all, because this is our world. What does it mean that there is no connection? - Very simple: the pleasures I can receive through my five senses, I receive without a screen. I receive them according to my desire to receive - which is dependent on the Reshimo I have at the source of the pleasure. These Reshimo are predetermined, but dormant. I have to work on this only in order to activate this Reshimo. If I have a small Reshimo, the goal is to make it a little bigger. Let us say, I want to eat, but not enough. But I am working with that desire. And these entrances and the entrance of the sixth sense are completely independent of one another.
It is possible to be a great Kabbalist, and to work with the sixth sense, with the screen, on very high steps, and at the same time to enjoy all my five senses, - there is no contradiction in this.
Does it not annul the five senses?
It does not annul the five senses. On the contrary, the end of correction means that you have reached the highest step, and at the same time you are in your body, in this world, and are connecting in your soul these two opposite points as one. You are really arranging them. By that you have really fulfilled the Purpose of Creation.
How are those two spirals connected to the point in the heart, and to the material Reshimo?
We have already talked about this - we have numerous developmental steps, or what is called - reincarnations, which is the term we use. We have many incarnations during which we fulfill these material Reshimo, which are divided first of all into the desire for animal-like pleasures, found in animals and humans alike - the desire for food, for family, for sex, for shelter, for the pack. Afterwards there are the desires for fame and for knowledge.
After man has fulfilled all of these desires, follows the desire for spirituality. This does not mean that things are clear cut, that I advance from one to the other - from corporeal pleasures to the desire for money, and then I want only money, and all that belongs to food does not interest me any more. Not true! However, I have developed the former in such extent, enough to now open in me the will for money in a certain measure (everybody in his own, personal way, according to his or hers soul's structure); now I start to work with honor. All of a sudden I wish to work for honor, let's say I want to be a Member of Parliament or something similar. It is not as if forget about money or about corporeal pleasures, simply, they are all working together. I have developed them enough and now they are developing some more through honor also, and so on. So it is with the desire for spirituality; along with it, I also develop the former pleasures more and more. Honor, for example, greatly disturbs the spiritual development. It disturbs it in a positive way. As any other disturbance, it comes in order to highlight to me where I am imperfect, and so on.
That is to say - these senses are always accompanying a Kabbalist. It is written that "he who feels greater than his friend, his desire is greater than him", and "from the times of the destruction of the Temple, the flavor of Beria, Yetzira, Assiya has remained with those who serve the Creator". This means that the lowest animal-like desires remain only for those who are working for the Creator's sake. Especially inside those who open this channel, the sixth sense, the other five senses are working very, very strongly. But he feels them in a purposeful manner and they are helping him toward the goal.
Does suffering help in the development of the soul?
What can I tell you? There a billions of people suffering, all of Africa is starving, and this does not bring them to be involved with the development of the soul. On the other hand, the highest rate of suicides is found in the most developed countries, and not among the Africans. Where is the highest rate of drug-users? In Europe. Those who hardly have enough to eat, live in poverty, and those that grow drugs do not use them.
It is written, "suffering purifies the body", or suffering purifies the desire to receive. Those are not sufferings that we feel through the lack of corporeal pleasures. They are sufferings of love, that we long for spirituality and do not attain it. Then solely those sufferings purify us and draw us nearer to spirituality.
And again, Kabbalah is against suffering. According to the Wisdom of Kabbalah, man should tread wisely - so that he derives enjoyment each and every moment. Otherwise he is cursing the Creator instead of justifying Him and does not correctly read the situation happening to him. This is because each situation we find ourselves in happens only in order to correct us and to bring us to a more spiritual and higher state. We are never in a state where we do not progress. Each day, each moment, we are constantly progressing. However, even someone who does not feel it yet should understand a little and reflect on it. It is indeed so.
And whoever enters a state of suffering and does not want to emerge from it, and even enjoys it - this is called Klipa (shell). These are the powers that stop man, and even in a certain way lower him; and we have to resist it. That is why this is a big problem for beginners as they are starting to feel how rotten, how distant from sanctity they are and in what measure they lack what they want. And they are still immersed in egoism, in the egoistic desire to receive, "I lack, I lack, I lack", and man despairs. Just the opposite from what should be.
That is why progress, real progress, consists of man opening the possibility for himself to criticize his way only on the condition that he is able to remain joyful. Baal HaSulam writes about it in one of his letters: that man should be joyful twenty three and a half hours a day, and only for half an hour to check on where he is at.
You have said before, that there is this moral system working on the simple people. My question is, is it possible in the state that the world is in, to open the whole world, to behave as is "everything is allowed."?
The question is, how to educate this generation, to cross over from the morals method to the method of Kabbalah, to develop in accord with Nature? I don't know. We have a group of our youngest girls here. We do not know, I do not know even how to educate children. I obviously have ideas on the subject, but we do not have any from our greatest Kabbalists - and I am no greater. I am not going to write books on spiritual education, I know my place.
To our regret, we have not yet received from the great one, from above, any method how to approach children. The great Gaon of Vilna has indeed written some three or four hundred years ago that from nine years onward, the Wisdom of Kabbalah may be taught to children. Because there is nothing more natural for man than to know that there is more and more around him to be achieved and to grow. And these questions are asked from a young age: Who am I? What am I? What I am here to do? Later, as a result of all our troubles, we forget these questions.
But, in any case - there is no method yet. Like there is no current method on how to approach the whole nation, if it does not feel the lack of spirituality, and still finds itself in previous matters. Therefore, either through studying we speed up the whole humanity toward it, or - like it was at my Rabbi's. I like to learn from examples, and this is a good example, that occurred right in front of my eyes. When I brought him students from Tel Aviv, there were non-religious young men among them including some that he absolutely did not want to accept. And he told me that if possible - they should not come. There were some about whom he said: let them come, and from being present they will develop, even if their point in the heart has not developed yet; they were there together in the group, they went to pubs together, they spent time together and all of a sudden in some of them the desire for spirituality was ignited. And they were pulling along all the other guys, and so many were joining, whole groups. We saw that this was indeed of use, that people were all of a sudden arriving, without knowing why, just because "Itzik is here, I want to be here as well", like a club. And afterwards, we saw that these people had indeed developed, that he has overtaken his friend Itzik, and has progressed even further.
We do not know the ways of the soul, in what manner and at which speed it is progressing. It can suddenly leap forth, and I have seen it myself. And the opposite is also true. I have many examples of people that were so pure, and so open to it, they understood immediately, they discovered so many things that I envied them for it, they were so advanced, grasping the material.
All of a sudden they began to backslide, to dry up and to leave, and if they did not leave, they stayed in Kabbalah only formally. That is why it is impossible to know in advance, I would say even that I am not wise enough, and I have seen that my Rabbi did not see it either. It is not possible to predict how far someone will go forward, in what measure he will progress and where his stumbling-blocks will be. This is true about any other soul, and even if he is little and inconsequential, there is nothing you are able to tell. Even as we see with our own eyes, we cannot say about a person - what his life's path will be. That's how it is.
All of a sudden they began to backslide, to dry up and to leave, and if they did not leave, they stayed in Kabbalah only formally. That is why it is impossible to know in advance, I would say even that I am not wise enough, and I have seen that my Rabbi did not see it either. It is not possible to predict how far someone will go forward, in what measure he will progress and where his stumbling-blocks will be. This is true about any other soul, and even if he is little and inconsequential, there is nothing you are able to tell. Even as we see with our own eyes, we cannot say about a person - what his life's path will be. That's how it is.
Introductory Course to Kabbalah - Lesson 4 - There is No Coercion in Spirituality
Introductory Course to Kabbalah - Lesson 4 - There is No Coercion in Spirituality
By Michael Laitman, Ph.D
By Michael Laitman, Ph.D
There is No Coercion in Spirituality
- Does spiritual development entail "being satisfied with little"?
- Why did people start to run away from prayer houses to the big wide world?
- Why does Kabbalah not say, "it is forbidden" and "shame on you"?
- Why do people use drugs?
- How do I begin my correction?
Is the goal to restrict use of the five senses to a minimum, in favor of the sixth sense? Truly live in it and in them (the five senses), only in order to breathe a little, to eat a little...?
No. Just the opposite, as there is nothing coming from Above that has not been created for a reason. Rather, all things that have descended here, at their source, or during ascent, they exist in an ever more refreshing, grand form. All the desires are very big, even the most animal like ones.
You will see how much more you will want to eat. You will also see the same intensity with all other pleasures. Why is this happening? It is no joke, as it is written about in Kabbalah books in a very explicit manner. In Kabbalah there is nothing to hide, we are talking about souls. In fact you are going to develop the space for pleasure. If you have a place for a small pleasure, then you need nothing more: like a righteous one only wants a glass of water and a slice of bread, God willing, only this. From it you do not become a Kabbalist. A Kabbalist has to swallow the whole world, and little by little, through the Light coming to us we begin to feel it. And also this notion - in Kabbalah you are not told to stop receiving. On the contrary - the Wisdom of Kabbalah explains that you should receive and enjoy yourself to the fullest, in the most perfect manner, as much as you possibly can. However, these ideas are complicated and require real wisdom.
To begin, everything that we learn is about the way to develop the ability to receive. Not, God forbid, on account of some sort of restriction of our senses, no. A student of Kabbalah is forbidden to withdraw from society, to put all sorts of restraints upon himself. He has to continue functioning as usual; Kabbalah obligates one to marry, to live a normal life, to work, to serve in the army, to do everything that members of his generation do. It is written - "among my people I am dwelling". This is to say, I have to function just like everybody else in my generation, average.
And I have seen this at my Rabbi's place. If I was going shopping for different things, or to bring him something in particular, he used to say "Ask everyone, as many as you can, and bring me the average opinion of whatever they all think or use. It is forbidden otherwise." It used to be so even in the smallest matters, even when we were admitted to the hospital, sometimes we had no alternative and we had to take a private room, but usually we were given a room like everybody else. There is an opposite principle here - whoever uses something special for himself only, and not for everybody - he loses.
In practical terms this means, continue to be as usual, and do not put any restriction from your side - this is not from holiness.
On the contrary, we have two approaches to this world: there is the approach called "education through morals" and there is education by interior development. Morals tell us: "it is not nice, shame on you", do not do it, do not do this, do not do that, they are slapping your hand all the time - "do not touch". By this they are limiting man, and do not let him develop. It is good for the "common folk", to keep them in rein. He who wants to rule over a nation uses exactly this approach. And in truth, almost until the present, it was working - because people had not yet developed in such measure. The souls had not arrived yet to the same level as the last generation, that is to say that their spiritual gene had begun to awaken. They have come to a point where they already have to nurture their center, their point in the heart. Before that, the moral approach was working well, was supporting the people, all of them were religious, everybody was going to the synagogue, coming back, studying, everything was agreeable.
Until it came to the point where the will to receive grew, this spiritual gene already had realized itself almost completely. It remained inside us only to open the sixth sense, and to proceed into the spiritual world.
We see by ourselves that it is not working any more. A moral education has already stopped working and you can not say to somebody "shame on you". If that is what you are telling him, later - he has no choice but to start using drugs. Once this happens he is finished. There is nothing to do; you have to let him develop.
That is why Kabbalah teaches us not to say "shame on you". Not to limit a person in anything, just the opposite. Contrary to the morals method, according to which "this world is not worth anything, there is nothing that you need from it, go only to spirituality". Kabbalah says - no. This world is very good, and you can enjoy yourself here - and indeed, one can.
That you are unable to, or cannot, or you do not have the opportunity - that is another matter, but do not say this of the world. However, you have to discover by yourself that spirituality is much greater, richer and attractive than all material riches.
That you are unable to, or cannot, or you do not have the opportunity - that is another matter, but do not say this of the world. However, you have to discover by yourself that spirituality is much greater, richer and attractive than all material riches.
Why is it that the morals education is not able to do this? - Because it does not open the spiritual world. They are not able to say to a person, look, you have to prefer this over that; look, it is clear what exists in spirituality. Kabbalah does exactly that: it opens the spiritual world for man, and anyway he will - in the best way, without any restriction - manage both. There is no coercion in spirituality - this is a very important law. There is no coercion, including on yourself.
In as much as you enter the feeling of the sixth sense, at the same time you begin, little by little, to criticize the five senses, and see in what measure you are in an illusion. I would say that it is not exactly an illusion - you clothe your five senses over the sixth sense, and really see it as one perspective. You can ask: why is the sixth sense one? Let me have a few channels, like in this world. The truth is that in the sixth sense there are also five channels, called the Five Sefirot - Keter, Hochma, Bina, Tifferet, Malchut. And also the impressions we receive in them are called Five Lights:Nefesh, Ruach, Neshama, Chaya, Yechida. In spirituality they are called just so: sight, hearing, smell, taste, touch. It is only us that say it is one sense. Why? -Because we are receiving the whole package as one. In our world we can be blind, G-d forbid, or deaf. In spirituality it is not possible - if you receive, you receive the whole package, the whole NRNHY (Nefesh, Ruach, Neshama, Chaya, Yechida), and then the senses clothe themselves one upon the other, and inside they are creating an impression, one whole, perfect image.
There is no one born in this world who receives an impression and excitement from these five senses that does not do something with them. Let us say, that we are going from one place to another without a feeling of spirituality, with no understanding of what spirituality is, - we do not even have any desire for it. Let us say that I am living in some village, my father was a shepherd and I am also a shepherd like him, and also my son, and my grandson, and that is how it works, and rolls, and rolls. In the final analysis, this is how we are doing also. The question is this: are we doing something by just living in this world, through the five senses? Or are we also only receiving and returning information, materials and in the end nothing comes out of it? No. We are fulfilling these records. We have always, in each and every record, its private, very own NRNHY, even in our records, and afterwards, when they all come together, they are giving us a perfect image, from the beginning to the end, as one image. Our whole life, this life and all the preceding ones, did not pass purposelessly, man has not lived by chance. That is why it is forbidden to despise even the lowest man. This contempt can express itself in the thought - why doesn't man use the opportunity that he has been given to break into spirituality. That is to say - not to contempt, but attempt to make him do it. But simply to contempt - no. On the contrary, I would say. Baal HaSulam says that even in the existence of the smallest louse, or some small insect, no matter where, his existence is needed. And that is why he has been created, and by this he has been chosen to fulfill its small part of the general will.
Without fulfilling the whole will in all its details, nothing will come of it. That is why we must not despise people who are not drawn yet to spirituality; help them - yes. By helping them, I help myself, as we are connected to the same system.
If Kabbalah develops the place of pleasure, then what is the matter of restriction?
The Creator has created the will to receive. What is the meaning of the will to receive moving away from The Creator? The will to receive remains the same, it is unable to restrict itself; it restricts itself from receiving the bestowal. There was a very big space here for receiving the Light, afterwards it closed - this is called restriction. It is not the restriction of the will to receive itself, the whole volume remains, this space retains the same volume, the same size, only a restriction occurred. That means: it is not closed, but there is a cover.
How do we open this cover? The cover that existed before was not proper. We need to open the cover only with the purpose to climb back upwards. Not in order to receive here in this place, but so that every reception will mean an elevation on the one hundred and twenty five step Ladder.
What do I begin my correction with? I am doing the restriction, let's say the First Restriction and then I am opening myself, in as much as I can elevate higher than my present state, and still higher, so that it moves all the time. Only by doing this can we start opening the cover.
If I can receive the Light and progress toward it, then I am opening myself to the reception of the Light. Otherwise, I will remain in my present state until I receive sufficient power for what is called - The Barrier, so that the filling is received for development.
Introductory Course to Kabbalah Lesson 3 - The System of Reshimot (Records)
Introductory Course to Kabbalah Lesson 3 - The System of Reshimot (Records)
By Michael Laitman, Ph.D
By Michael Laitman, Ph.D
Lesson 3
The system of Reshimot (Records)
- How is the sense of the surrounding reality built inside me?
- What is the system of Reshimot - the internal software by which I develop?
- What is the influence of the Upper Light upon us? Does it change, or is it I who is developing?
- How do I relate to this world, while I am rising toward the Spiritual World?
- What is beneficial to think about while studying?
You said that everything is inside man, and there is nothing outside
We are told that whatever man feels is felt inside of himself. All information is entering us from outside. The Upper Light is entering us, and we do not feel anything beside it. But what does that mean? All that we are feeling is how the Upper Light interacts with our five senses and nervous system. That is what makes an impression on our senses. Information travels from these sensory receptors to the pleasure center, and finally to our intellect where we connect all this information and feel "something", some impression. This impression is not dependent on what is happening outside. It depends on how we are built from the inside.
We have inside ourselves some sort of software or records - Reshimot. These Reshimot exist inside of me exactly like in a spiral, and cause me to change each and every moment. I am passing through all those Reshimot, and if I decipher every point in itself, I will see that it is also a big spiral within which are also all kinds of Reshimot. That is what gives me my inner state, and then I change every time from inside. And because I am changing from inside, I apparently feel that I have been changed from outside. But there is no change from outside. All the transformations occur solely by my internal records. Then it seems to me that the world is turning, changing and I see what is happening all around me. This is the reason why our world is called - the imaginary world, because this is all taking place in our imagination. He, who comes out of this world, grasps it, feels it from outside and sees how simple it is. However, until you come out of it, this idea is incomprehensible. I am transformed incessantly by these Reshimot, and then it seems to me that the Upper Light which puts pressure on me is changing itself, when in fact It is simple and constant.
What does it mean that Its pressure is simple and constant?
Its pressure is always directed toward one goal - to bring us to the Final Correction. The Final Correction means to raise oneself to the level of The Creator and be equal to The Creator. And when we receive this impression from the Upper Light through our five senses - then we change. This change happens generation to generation, year to year and from reincarnation to reincarnation. In our former reincarnations we had purer desires. Now we are more selfish, coarser and less refined. These records cause in ourselves this entire urge for progress - all that has been achieved in technology, in culture - in everything. That is with regard to this world's outlook.
As to what pertains to the soul - it is the same - we have this point of the heart, and it has the same records. The records in the point of the heart are different from the records of the five senses. That is because they stem from the path the soul has traveled from The Creator to the Barrier, all the way to this world. All this way, through this descent, the records are now inside me, like in a gene. All the information, the endless details (we are learning a little about it, especially in the book Beit Shaar HaKavanot.) These records are being renewed incessantly, I am changing all the time from situation to situation and inside me there is some sort of compact disk, scanning all the information. I am changing from inside all the time, and accordingly it seems to me that the Upper Light, The Creator, is changing also and works upon me in different ways. But in fact, there is no change at all in the Light, It is in absolute rest, the pressure it exerts on me is unchanging and constant - only to raise me to Its degree.
We can say that at some stage we are developing the sixth sense and are passing the barrier. There is an entire world in which I operate and there are mutual reactions. As a matter of fact, all the while I live in this world I can observe that I live in a false reality.
How do I relate to this world, while developing the sixth sense?
That is also connected to what I have said earlier, that we - who are learning the method of Baal HaSulam - have both legs on the ground. What is, in fact, the matter? It is forbidden to ever criticize, to think or to relate to the reality not from the position we ourselves are in. That is to say, if I, in my present state -am still a beast ("beast" meaning that I have the same sense as a beast. The term is not used in a derogatory fashion, I am stating the situation). Sight, hearing, smell, taste, touch - these are the five senses by which I live - although I read books and I am filled with wonder from them. I have to exist and relate to the perceived world I find myself in. That is to say that my relation with this world is determined by the quantity of information I receive.
As long as I have not developed the sixth sense and I still do not live by it, I am forbidden to relate to the world through this sense. That is because I simply am not with the Upper Light and I am not in touch with It. Yet through the sixth sense, why should I begin to relate in this manner? I am only learning about it, for me it is still theoretical. That is to say - as long as I have not received a spiritual vessel, called screen (Masach) in order to cope with the Upper Light - myself, the Upper Light and the screen in the middle, which is the connecting factor between us - I am forbidden to think that I am performing a spiritual act. I have to act in this world as usual, as everybody else.
I am talking about the fact that you have a relationship with the Upper World, and as you say - you discover there an imaginary reality.
No, no, not at all! In the Upper World I do not discover an imaginary reality. When I enter the feeling of the Upper World, I see that the reality I perceive through the five senses is imaginary.
How do you relate to it?
I relate in a different manner, although I do not stop feeling this reality. I begin to relate to it also through the sixth sense, as it is coming from the same source. We'll talk some more about it in the future as this is not such a simple concept. If you live it, then everything will become simple for you - that's how it is.
But to explain it to somebody living through one sense, I mean through five instead of six senses, it is almost impossible. That is why Kabbalah is called "the hidden wisdom", because all things are concealed form us; even the state we are in now is concealed from us: we are unable to diagnose it accurately as well.
Is it possible to make a mistake using the sixth sense?
There is no such possibility, and I will explain why. We find ourselves in this world, without any preparation: I am born; I am brought forth from my mother right into my mother's hands, from my mother to kindergarten; from kindergarten to school, and so on. We live in this very big world and are so very small ourselves. We do not understand anything but there are all sorts of support systems called: mother, father, society, social security, all sorts of things that are helping us. And then we can exist, even as we do not know and do not comprehend anything. A sick person is taken care of by ten people. That is how we have built human society, and we have the mental preparation to do it. It is not as if we have invented it, since it is Nature that compels us to do it. It is possible only in the frame of this world.
In spirituality the law is the complete opposite - the vessel precedes the Light. Only in as much as I know where I am, that I know exactly how to do the most correct action, the optimal thing, will I have the power not to make a mistake, to understand, and to be of use to myself, to The Creator and to the other souls. Only in this measure, only in this segment, in this fragment I can enter and feel the Upper World, and act in it exactly as I have prepared myself. And the rest is completely sealed off from me. It is closed and I do not feel it at all. I do not comprehend that they even exist. Such is the entrance to the Upper World.
Before I climb the next step, I have to equip myself with all that exists on this level, everything: with strength, with understanding, with what is called mind and heart. Therefore there is no possibility of error. Everything that we study about the breaking of the vessels, the sin of The First Man, the Destruction of the First Temple etc, it is all done from the expansion from above downwards in order to prepare this place for us, the place of ruin. So that afterwards we can collect from it all this breakage, all of the broken vessels and to rise back.
But from us upwards, there is no possibility to err and to do any harm - that is the Law. Again, this is because the vessels precede the Light. First I have to have the power, and according to the amount of power I begin to act. There is no worry.
I am uncomfortable with the thought that I am drawing Light all the time.
If it's uncomfortable to think that you are drawing the Light, then do not think about it, do not draw. I described in words that are not close to you how you are feeling as each one of us feels in a different way.
I am a technical man and Kabbalah speaks also in technical terms. It speaks about the Will to receive. What is this Will to receive? - The desire to enjoy, filling of needs. We are talking about filling this feeling of emptiness, more, less, a quarter, half and so on. A quarter filled, half-filled. It is all about feelings. Therefore we do not speak about feeling toward this or that thing, in what manner, which nuances. We have language for this, only this language is very coarse, technical and it empties of all the emotional impression - coarseness, screen, records, purification, this goes up, this comes down, and so on. Even afterwards, when we study all sort of things like mating while kissing.
I am a technical man and Kabbalah speaks also in technical terms. It speaks about the Will to receive. What is this Will to receive? - The desire to enjoy, filling of needs. We are talking about filling this feeling of emptiness, more, less, a quarter, half and so on. A quarter filled, half-filled. It is all about feelings. Therefore we do not speak about feeling toward this or that thing, in what manner, which nuances. We have language for this, only this language is very coarse, technical and it empties of all the emotional impression - coarseness, screen, records, purification, this goes up, this comes down, and so on. Even afterwards, when we study all sort of things like mating while kissing.
A Kabbalist sees it as simple technique. It is the technique of how we work with our objects. When we go into it we see that this is so, even that we feel it. And these are very emotional matters, much more then we are feeling and being impressed by in this world. If we could gather together all that humanity has in this world, throughout all generations, all the souls, with all the Lights they are receiving through these five senses, throughout all the incarnations, if you could receive it all together, it would be less than the smallest step in spirituality. The smallest step in spirituality that man enters is more than all that is here, below the barrier, to all of us together, throughout all times.
Therefore, maybe everyone should choose for himself some other words. For me, this language explains and speaks to me now. But I still remember how it was before. For example, body. What is body? I always thought - a body is a body, don't I know what a body is? Until the notion of body began to be connected to the notion of - will to receive. Meaning, that in as much as I desire, in what form I desire - the body takes form accordingly. Now I want to eat a piece of chicken, then my body is like a chicken. That's right! I want to enjoy drinking now and then my body receives the form of that drink, it is really like this. Until I began to comprehend this, years passed.
That is why, little by little, everyone who studies, begins to translate it for himself. Besides, the mentality is different, I am a Russian you are an American. There are different attitudes; we also belong to different generations. You simply have to learn it, and slowly, slowly it comes to order. Everybody finds himself an internal dictionary. So, do not draw Lights. Think about it in another manner: is there anything in your life that you want from Above? Then think about it.
Introductory Course to Kabbalah - Lesson 2 - The Sixth Sense
Introductory Course to Kabbalah - Lesson 2 - The Sixth Sense
By Michael Laitman, Ph.D
By Michael Laitman, Ph.D
The Sixth Sense
- Are there people born with the sixth sense?
- What is the difference between a Kabbalist and a fortune teller, or people possessing special psychic powers?
- Was Nostradamus a spiritual man?
- Is it preferable to know that tomorrow will be bad, or to receive the power to create a different "tomorrow"?
What happens to people that are born with the sixth sense?
In reality, there is no such thing as people born with the sixth sense. There are sensitive, receptive people, who are pure from birth, for example, Boff Lessing in Russia. He was a well known Jew from Poland who used to appear in theatres and all kinds of places. He was able to tell one's entire future and entire past. He predicted in advance when he was going to die, the day, the date and so on. These facts are widely accepted and there are many such examples throughout history. But this is different than being a Kabbalist. The Christians also have prophetic people such as Nostradamus. Psychic abilities do not indicate somebody's spiritual level. This comes from fineness, without the opening of the sixth sense, stemming out of the purity of the soul.
We can compare ourselves to a black box, which is all feeling. So through five openings, the souls feel this world, and become refined. In this shell of the soul, there is a certain measure of coarseness, and it is so sensitive, so refined, that through the light we sense the light all around it, called the Surrounding Light. Accordingly, it has a certain kind of sensation that transmits what is happening and what is going to happen. Usually these sensations do not transcend this world. That is to say that that he can tell you what was and what will be in this world only. He can predict the future and help people by using all kinds of energies or similar things – there are all sorts of techniques in our world. But they do not raise man upwards, from the level of a human being to the level of the Creator. All in all they give man a little more information about his earthly, biological existence.
This is similar to animals and beasts being able to sense what is going to happen tomorrow. They can predict natural phenomena such as earthquakes, hurricanes and storms a few days before they occur. This ability is also inside our body, with some people being more sensitive than others. For example, a Bedouin lives close to the land and senses more of nature than an urban dweller.
We could have also sensed it some thousand or two thousands years ago, but today we have lost this sensitivity because of the development of technology, all the techniques and scientific progress.
In other words these are things that do not belong to the sixth sense. I am not interested because it does not help me. Even if I know more, or I know less, I am going to live and die anyway and nothing will come of it.
It's said that it is better to know less… so we do not occupy ourselves with it.
In order to emerge from this world of the five senses to a wider feeling, called "the sixth sense" I need outside help. The question is – do I have to wait for the awakening from above in order to begin developing it?
It's said that it is better to know less… so we do not occupy ourselves with it.
In order to emerge from this world of the five senses to a wider feeling, called "the sixth sense" I need outside help. The question is – do I have to wait for the awakening from above in order to begin developing it?
Very good question! I have descended from the Creator to a level below the barrier (Machsom) where I feel myself alive as a person. I'm living in a box or vessel with five senses. What needs to occur now? Does something special have to suddenly happen to me that will initiate the development of the sixth sense?
There are seven billion people like me – walking and talking boxes. Everybody has a "Reshimo", a spiritual "gene" waiting to develop. If we connect all seven billion people, we can build a chain linked by spiritual "genes" that vary in size, strength and intensity.
There are seven billion people like me – walking and talking boxes. Everybody has a "Reshimo", a spiritual "gene" waiting to develop. If we connect all seven billion people, we can build a chain linked by spiritual "genes" that vary in size, strength and intensity.
It follows that there is a queue, according to which genes are beginning to act and to speak inside a person. For example, you are already sitting here today. However, your neighbor is still sitting in front of the television with a beer and will arrive here in another year or two. It will speak inside him after a while.
What does it depend on? It depends on the Light coming from above getting bigger all the time. Besides, all the people in the world who are sitting there right now, just like you, are also drawing these Lights. By doing this they are creating an atmosphere in this world by which more and more people are drawn, and are sensing. Already you are creating an environment which enables these spiritual genes to also awaken in others. Even if their time has not come yet, they nevertheless awaken today because you've drawn an additional illumination toward this world. So you are – what we call – speeding up the times.
What does it depend on? It depends on the Light coming from above getting bigger all the time. Besides, all the people in the world who are sitting there right now, just like you, are also drawing these Lights. By doing this they are creating an atmosphere in this world by which more and more people are drawn, and are sensing. Already you are creating an environment which enables these spiritual genes to also awaken in others. Even if their time has not come yet, they nevertheless awaken today because you've drawn an additional illumination toward this world. So you are – what we call – speeding up the times.
I feel the surrounding environment through all my senses. Without the sixth sense I desire all the pleasures of this world. This sixth sense, the spiritual gene, the point in the heart or the beginning of the spiritual soul – it feels only the Spiritual Light. This is what it wants; this is what it longs for. So it is this desire that now brings you here, and here you receive a taste of the Light. Through this enlightenment, the desire will slowly start to grow, and then it will grow some more.
It is growing, until this soul, this sixth sense through which you feel is beginning to be stronger than all of the other five senses together. The moment you are coming to the stage where you agree and identify with this sixth sense, you will want to live solely through it. The moment you achieve this, your entire soul is drawn upwards. However, you continue to live in this world only because one’s physical body has to exist, and take care of its basic needs. But once the whole soul has risen above, at that moment the sixth channel is opened for you. From then on you have free admission and an unrestricted feeling. This means that one is crossing the barrier or that this barrier does not exist for him.
And through studying and while studying, we have to think about it all the time. It does not matter what you will study. You will study all kind of things, not necessarily exactly connected to it. We learn about the building of the Worlds and all kinds of things being done there, including details that are usually not so relevant.
Kabbalists could have written to us about these things, but did not for a reason. They could have written for us a hundred thousand volumes. As it is, we have a lot: six volumes of "The Study of the Ten Sefirot" is not insubstantial. But on what did the Kabbalists touch, and what did they do? They indicated to us, they wrote to us only of those places that are like some kind of crossroad, where the sources of the Surrounding Lights special to us are accumulating. And that is why it is worthwhile for us to study what they wrote. It is not at all important how much one knows. You are passing over them and then you draw Lights. And if you are thinking with the intention of really getting to those places from where the Lights are descending upon you, then – indeed – you have a mutual working, and then it comes as assistance.
And following us, billions will come.
And following us, billions will come.
How does someone who has crossed the barrier feel?
This is a real problem. There are some that come to me and say – "I'm already in the Infinity. There are many like these – it is no laughing matter. If one says so, that is how one feels. That his feeling is wrong, is another matter altogether, but how can you prove it to him? He feels it. Sometimes I have to look at such people, and I have to consider if I should tell them the truth or not. To live with such a sweet illusion, is very good. And indeed it's also written – "don't put an obstacle in front of the blind". Meaning – if someone does not see, it is forbidden to put something in front of him which will make him stumble and fall. But if indeed he is living in the wrong environment, far away someplace … Now, for example, I'm invited to Australia – there are some people there that want to study Kabbalah. Let's say that somebody like that lives there without support, he has nothing, not our books, etc. Do I have to begin telling him that he is in hell, that he has not even begun to know anything, and he does not understand where he is … this is a big question.
So, how will we really know? Just like he's wrong, I could also be wrong.
And the opposite also – people come to me weeping "Who am I? What am I? I am nothing". And maybe not. Maybe they are already in a good degree, and do not feel it? It is definitely a problem.
And the opposite also – people come to me weeping "Who am I? What am I? I am nothing". And maybe not. Maybe they are already in a good degree, and do not feel it? It is definitely a problem.
To a person that does not live in spirituality, it is impossible to explain what spirituality is, simply because he has no tools. It is like trying to explain to a blind person the color of the sky, or to explain to a deaf person some sound. How can they understand if they do not know about this sense? And another thing: someone who is in spirituality, how does he know that he indeed is there? He knows it by what he reads in books and it starts to be the real life for him. This means that he can live inside it, in the same way that we live in this world. It means that if I act, if I bestow – I feel a reaction. I can measure it very precisely, in the same way that I would use a "measuring tape" in this world. My feelings, what I receive, with whom I work, in what way I work, what relation do I have with the Creator, the Upper Power. In short, man is not floating in clouds… If two Kabbalists are speaking, they are using a common language. But if one of them wants to hide, then he hides from the other. It is not like they always see each other. There are many other things in the working with the Sixth Sense, with the knowledge the Creator, I simply do not want to confound you. We will speak about this slowly and as much as possible, I will describe it so that it will be understood.
For now I can say only one thing: for the person who learns Kabbalah in the right way, by the teachings of Baal HaSulam and Rabash, it's impossible to live in some illusion and imagine himself in the Infinity, floating away in spiritual worlds and meeting ghosts. Our work is very technical, precise, and the method is very practical. The person is standing with both legs on the ground and has to use virtually all his powers. He will need all the means he has in this world, positive traits and less desirable attributes. Only through this effort will he achieve a revelation of the Creator. So he has no chance of floating; on the contrary, he will always feel himself grounded.
Introductory Course to Kabbalah - Lesson 1 - What is the Wisdom of Kabbalah?
Lesson 1 - What is the Wisdom of Kabbalah?
By Michael Laitman, Ph.D
By Michael Laitman, Ph.D
The revelation of the Upper Power, feeling Him and uniting with Him
The Wisdom of Kabbalah is called "the wisdom to receive", because it speaks about the revelation of the Creator – about the way to receive the revelation of the Upper Force, to feel Him, to see Him, and to unite with Him.
We receive the knowledge contained in this wisdom through people just like us, who lived in this world and suddenly, something higher than this world was revealed to them. That which they saw and felt they began to record. They began to measure the feeling, to examine it and go back to it. Very slowly, their notes accumulated into books, which now comprise the foundation of the Wisdom of Kabbalah.
While we are busy studying Kabbalah, we are attracting a special kind of power called "the Surrounding Light". By it we could also reach a state from where we'll see like them, the wider, supreme reality. This reality will help us to know who we are, where we have come from, where we are heading towards – and will provide us with the answer to the question "what is the purpose of our life?"
Lesson 1
What is the Wisdom of Kabbalah?
- Why do the Kabbalists appeal to each and every one of us to study the wisdom of Kabbalah?
- What is the soul? How does it develop?
- Does something exist outside of us, or is it simply an illusion?
- Who are the Kabbalists?
- How is it possible to know who we are, where we come from and where we are headed to?
In item 155, towards the end of the Introduction to the Talmud Eser Sefirot (The Study of the TenSefirot) Baal HaSulam (Rabbi Yehuda Ashlag) writes: "…Therefore we must ask: why did the Kabbalists obligate each person to study the wisdom of Kabbalah? Indeed there is an important thing here, worthy of being publicized: there is a magnificent, invaluable remedy…"
What invaluable remedy? And he explains that we all have a soul. And this soul exists within every one of us in a dormant state.
What invaluable remedy? And he explains that we all have a soul. And this soul exists within every one of us in a dormant state.
In order to awaken the soul and open it, we have to develop the soul so that it can absorb the Upper Light coming from above. The progression of the soul is effected by the Upper Light. The reason why we haven't developed enough until today is that we haven't attracted the Upper Light toward ourselves.
What method should we now use to do this? While studying, especially during the next two hours we should strive to attract the Upper Light. This is done in a simple manner: we do not forget why we are studying and what the purpose of our learning is. It is not only to know what's written and understand what I'm explaining, but to live it, to reach it, to feel it working inside you – because we're talking only about what's inside us.
Outside of ourselves exists only the Upper Light from above, The Creator; and anything that we're able to imagine – all of it, it's in oneself.
Spiritual worlds, this world, everything we can think of, all of it, is to be found in ourselves, inside us. And if it seems to us that there's anything located outside ourselves, it's simply an illusion. Whoever will later be rewarded and see these things from the worlds above, will see that this is indeed so – that everything is found inside a man.
First of all: while studying, think that we're all a large group that is uniform and special. We have one big desire, a big vessel, through which we attract a great spiritual Light. I'm here in order to enable this process to materialize, I support it, I'm doing it for you, and you should strive to create a pleasant, comfortable atmosphere for all of us together.
It's important to know that we are about to receive a very great power from Above, a power that will help us to progress and climb the spiritual ladder. Then you will feel and see it. This is most important.
It's important to know that we are about to receive a very great power from Above, a power that will help us to progress and climb the spiritual ladder. Then you will feel and see it. This is most important.
Additionally, I won't use any specific book and I'll tell you, what my sources are. But as a matter of fact, it is not important where it is coming from. My purpose is to give you foundations, and every time I'll use something from different places in the books.
At the end of the lesson there will certainly be questions and I hope everyone will receive an answer. If not, I will answer later, through the Internet or during the next lesson.
How did we acquire the knowledge that you are learning with these lessons?
We learned it from people like us that lived like us in this world, and suddenly something higher then this world has been revealed to them. They began to see through walls, through people, through where they were living – inside caves, in tents, maybe palaces. They began to see something outside of this world and they began to write down whatever they saw and felt.
They began to measure this feeling, to examine it and constantly analyze it. In short, they began to discover an entire new world outside this one. Slowly they gathered their impressions into books, which have become the basis of the wisdom of Kabbalah.
The wisdom of Kabbalah is called "The Wisdom of Kabbalah" because it speaks of the revelation of Godliness. How to receive revelation of the Upper Power and to feel It, to see It, and be united with It. That's what they wrote about, and what they have left to us.
Why did they write? First they achieved, afterwards they wrote. They measured, they repeated all their experiences, and really talked with each other through their books. However, their writings were understood only by those that had personally achieved the feeling of the Upper World.
And by studying what they wrote, we receive the Surrounding Light. While we are thinking and looking forward to attracting the Surrounding Light towards us, to enjoy it, then with its help we also can reach a state where we'll see like them, a larger, superior reality. And this reality will help us to know who we are, where we come from, where we're headed to in the future.
That is to say that by studying the Wisdom of Kabbalah and the books written by the Kabbalists, we can observe two influences: the first one is that one Kabbalist is passing on his knowledge to another Kabbalist, who can read and walk through the same places where the author has been – to go up, and go down, exactly like him – in short, really to live, to experience the same situations described in those books.
The second influence is upon us: for now we enjoy it as Surrounding Light. Without understanding what it is, we strive to attract towards us the power which will improve us and will raise us to the same situations as the Kabbalists.
Therefore, it is worthwhile reading from these kinds of books that indeed have special powers, great powers. Although there are many books written about Kabbalah, we do not read all of them (there were a great number of Kabbalists that wrote in all kind of languages and in many forms). However, we take special books, written by people from the level of the end of Correction, from a very high step. Besides, those books were written especially for us, for those below the Barrier who are willing to pass over it. In all, we don’t have many of those books: the books of the Holy Ari, the books by Ramchal (whose writings we don't study yet, because he wrote in a very special language, at least the external language is written like this), and the books by Baal HaSulam.
Monday, January 10, 2011
The Perfection of Misperception
Have you ever played the telephone game? You know, person A whispers something into the ear of person B, who whispers the very same thing (hopefully) into the ear of person C, who whispers that same message (theoretically) into the ear of person D, and on and on until they reach the end of the line.
Now what invariably happens to the original message? That’s right. It gets distorted and warped into something entirely new altogether. Look at Creation re-create itself! (Note: “Distorted” doesn’t imply it’s bad, just different and altered.)
Subjective Reality
Why does this distortion happen? It happens because what people perceive is different from what was “actually” being said. In a way, we can say that your personal experience itself is entirely subjective.
“Hold on,” one might say, “it can’t all be entirely subjective. You and I can stand in a field and both look up at the moon at night together and we’ll see the very same moon.”
Well, it’s almost the same. First of all, we’ll have a sliiiiightly different angle we’d view the moon from so we wouldn’t see exactly the same view of it. Second, we wouldn’t actually looking at the moon as it is now! We’d be looking at a the moon as it existed about 1.5 seconds ago. No matter what we looked at, we’d always be looking at the past because it takes time for light to travel from any object to our eyes. We can never actually perceive the objective reality as it exists in this very moment! Creation is always a step ahead of us! Given that you and I will also be sliiiiightly different distances from the moon, we’ll both perceive the moon in slightly different points in its existence.
A Rose-colored Reality
You don’t directly experience a distinct objective reality around you, but rather the version of it that gets filtered through your mind, beliefs, concepts, perception, and even location.
Experiencing your personal view of the world is a lot like wearing rose-colored sunglasses. The filtered world you perceive is rose-colored, but that doesn’t mean that the world itself is actually rose-colored.
Now, because everyone experiences their own rose-colored world, 100 people could all hear the exact same speech and all get something different out of it. In fact, someone can listen to a message and get out of it exactly the opposite of what the original speaker intended! It’s quite fascinating to see this happen! (and this too, fascinating, is just an interpretation I’m choosing to give it… )
The ego doesn’t hear what other people say. It only hears what it thinks other people are saying.
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