“Not A Virus But Sophisticated Software” (Medium)

Medium published my new article “Not a Virus But Sophisticated Software”

Like sophisticated software, COVID-19 operates us and changes us from within. The virus is driving forward our development as human beings and we will continue experiencing on-going waves of the pandemic until we fix our selfish human relationships. Until we harmonize with nature’s program, the situation around us will not change.

The virus is driving forward our development as human beings and we will continue experiencing on-going waves of the pandemic until we fix our selfish human relationships.

Through the coronavirus, nature is pushing us from behind to redefine human connection. However, we have not yet responded correctly to the outbreaks by improving human relations toward mutual consideration, support, and responsibility. We have not reduced frictions between the sectors within society. Thus the virus strikes us over and over. Therefore, we must force ourselves to arrange our interactions in an integral, complementary way.

Just as nature is one system within which all its parts are linked, the human race must develop an integral network of connections between all its members. But unlike animals, which behave instinctively, we need to move toward connection consciously until we feel as equally vital parts of a single humanity.

How does the virus perceive and respond to our behavior? We and the virus are in the same system of nature, one vast system that encompasses all of reality and responds to our reactions and everything that happens within it. If our behavior continues to rub against the grain of the system, persisting in being egotistical and narrow, the forces of nature will require the system to respond more strongly to force us back in line. If we do not change our behavior, no place in the world will find a lasting cure for the pandemic because the virus will mutate and create new versions of itself time and time again.

First and foremost, the problem is the hostile attitude of people toward one another. Consequently, the virus is applying pressure precisely on this point of mutual consideration. It does not allow us even to approach one another or return to normal unless we reconstruct our attitude from the ground up. We need to understand that nature views us as part of its single integral system, without regard to our feeling that we are separate, independent units.

Conversely, if we maintain proper connections between us, we can shape the world in a completely different way. We will feel a significant new perception, mindset, and attitude toward one another that will lead to new behaviors and expressions between us. Whether we notice the process or not, our entire inner world will change for the better through the influence of the environment.

Even if the time comes that the virus finally passes, we will discover that we are different people than before, that we have changed. We will no longer have the urge to run from one corner of the globe to the other or storm the malls every time a new phone model comes out on the market. Life will be simpler, more natural, and our satisfaction will mainly come from higher quality relationships between people.

The closer we get to each other and finely tune our relationships to integrate with nature, the sooner and more painlessly we can be rid of all the troubles that now plague us.

We will understand the need to relate to everything around us in a more responsible way, the need to halt the pursuit of vain materialistic goals that are destroying our earth. Until now, the idea of acquiring and accumulating has controlled us: man has wanted to take the best of everything for himself, to advance in wealth and control at any cost. As we become more developed, we will discover that our best life as a human species will be when we harmonize our relationships with the integrality that exists in the rest of nature.

Integrality is the next step in human evolution. The absorption and internalization of this idea, and its realization among human beings will lead us to the discovery of the most potent inner power of nature, the one power that connects all levels of nature and its forces into one integral system.

Our inability to cope with the crises of our time — all the mess, the schisms and corruption that fill our world in every field and every level — help us discover how opposite we are to the balanced system that rules the rest of reality. Learning can occur in one of two ways: the unpleasant way, in which more global catastrophes like the coronavirus will hit us to illustrate how much we are part of one system, that are interdependent and affect each other’s fate; or, we can learn an easier way, in which we immerse ourselves in the concept of a single holistic system and start taking proactive actions to develop new qualitative relationships between us that are based on care, reciprocity, and completion.

Our future fate is in the hands of the integral power of nature. So the closer we get to each other and finely tune our relationships to integrate with nature, the sooner and more painlessly we can be rid of all the troubles that now plague us. We can succeed to rise to a whole new level of human development by upgrading our human connection to harmonize with the deepest and most meaningful software of all.
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“A Bailout Plan For A Country In Pain” (Medium)

Medium published my new article “A Bailout Plan for a Country in Pain”

Look around, we need a bailout plan, and we need it fast. COVID-19 is winning on all fronts, the economy is crashing, anxiety is rising, and aggression is winning. But there are things we can do, if we have the guts, gumption, and grit.

If people stay home idly for more than a few months, they will begin to lose their ability to commit. Once they are in that state, it will be virtually impossible to train them and make them productive for society, and they will remain a weight on the back of society.

First, we need to free the world from the illusion that the coronavirus is a passing phase. It is here to stay. It may not remain the coronavirus that we know today, but its quelling impact on the capitalistic world we’ve known for generations will remain. So whether we like it or not, capitalism as we know it is over, and the sooner we get over the withdrawal phase, the better.

Next, the majority of the job market that we know today will not survive the transition. Anything that is not essential for regular human sustenance will fade, though perhaps not immediately, and the remaining occupations will shrink in size and volume to a fraction of what they are today. Alongside the demise of the old job market, a new scope of jobs will emerge. The New York Times columnist Thomas Friedman referred to them as jobs that “create more value with hearts and between hearts.”

These jobs will be occupations that deal exclusively with bringing people together, increasing mutual responsibility within communities, mutual care and concern, and a sense of accountability and affinity even among strangers. To engage residents in the process, another aspect of this new social work will deal with providing knowledge about the shift that the world is going through. The information will be given via courses that will explain the nature of the change we’re going through, why all of a sudden the economy came crashing down, why we must be responsible for one another like never before, the benefits of such a change of mind and change of heart, and what would happen had we kept going the way we did until the outbreak of COVID-19. The two kinds of training — for enhancing solidarity and providing knowledge — will run side by side and will keep people busy at least as many hours as they would be occupied had they kept working as before, perhaps minus transit time.

Third, the transition period between the capitalist era and the new era must be as short as possible. Human nature loves rest and becomes accustomed to it almost instantaneously. As a result, if people stay home idly for more than a few months, they will begin to lose their ability to commit. Once they are in that state, it will be virtually impossible to train them and make them productive for society, and they will remain a weight on the back of society.

Fourth, alongside the shift in the job market, society will transform its values from admiration of the powerful and narcissistic to esteem for the empowering and altruistic. This will not be a society that worships superheroes, but one that honors those who bring it together in solidarity.

Fifth, preparing the next generation for life in the new world will require changes in the approach to learning, teaching, communication between teachers and students, and between students and students. As in society, so at school, the most commended students will be those who excel in helping their peers work together. The idea isn’t a novel one; it’s been around for more than a decade. Perhaps the best expression of the practicality of collaborative learning is a quote that patent lawyer Lawrence Ebert J.D. found in an essay about high-school cheating: “In no industry is collaboration considered cheating. Only in school is this a problem. What are we teaching our kids?”

We have very little time to make the change. COVID-19 is pressing and old certainties are crumbling. Fringe groups have become mainstream and extremities the norm. If the bailout plan begins without delay, it can take us across the water to the other bank in relative calm and safety. If we let the current carry us where it is going, we will drown.
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“Where Have All The Chain Stores Gone?” (Linkedin)

My new article on Linkedin “Where Have All the Chain Stores Gone?”

From high-end venues such as Neiman Marcus through discount retailers such as Tuesday Morning, to car rental giant Hertz, veteran businesses all over are filing for bankruptcy faster than anyone can update the list. Here are just some of the big names that COVID-19 either crushed or handed them the final blow: J. Crew, Neiman Marcus, Stage Stores, Brooks Brothers, J.C. Penney, Tuesday Morning, GNC Holdings, Lucky Brand Dungarees, Gold’s Gym, Pier 1 Imports, Hertz, CEC Entertainment, and this is hardly the beginning of the list.

The heroes of tomorrow will not be movie stars or Instagram icons; they will be people who bring people together, who promote solidarity and mutual responsibility.

It’s not as if the coronavirus started the trend. Just last year, Gymboree, Payless Shoesource, Forever 21, Diesel, and many other big, medium, and small retailers filed for Chapter 11. While it is true that these stores fell prey to the online commerce revolution, it is still a sign that we are seeing the end of an era.

Accelerated by the virus, a process of abandoning the brands and embracing the basic is happening the world over, with America as the trailblazer. It is not only that people’s need to show off their high end tech-gadgets and trappings is diminishing; they also need less of them. The coronavirus-induced lockdown landed a big blow on sales everywhere, and some recovery is to be expected, but the general trend is downward.

People are changing; they are losing interest in buying gadgets that are here today, gone tomorrow, and leave nothing but emptiness in their wake. Instead of stuff, people are beginning to look for meaning in more lasting engagements, and mainly in human connections. It is simply that life has become so cold behind the text messages, and so limited behind the cellphone screen, that people need some real connection—connection of the hearts.

The heroes of tomorrow will not be movie stars or Instagram icons; they will be people who bring people together, who promote solidarity and mutual responsibility. The most admired individuals of the emerging era will be those who quietly make others feel that heart to heart connection is what makes them happy, what gives them confidence, and what they would like to feel from now on.

Coronavirus—A Push To Internal Rapprochement

Question: Today, nature separates us through the coronavirus. In theory, considering our inner nature, it seems that we are supposed to enjoy it because everyone wants to be one of a kind, to show their individuality.

On the other hand, we are striving for communication, we want to get out of quarantine and begin life as before. What is the essence of this conflict?

Answer: Firstly, I don’t believe that our period is already post-coronavirus. We haven’t passed it yet and it isn’t known when we will pass it.

The coronavirus mutates, as all viruses breed and multiply, appear and disappear. People will seem to be getting ill again, but in fact, slightly different variations of this virus will manifest themselves in this way. Not soon yet we will part with the virus.

On the other hand, the virus separates us a lot. It gradually weaned us from being physically close to each other. I see how the queue is in public places now: at the post office, at groceries, at the box office, etc. Nobody crowds each other. On the contrary, everyone is trying to stay at a distance, not leaning against one another.

In general, this is commendable, since our past willingness to go literally over each other’s heads is bad, ill-mannered, and did not give anything except a false idea that we are close to each other.

The current state is more polite, helpful. Against this background, you can develop a real rapprochement between each other and feel that we can really be closer, but internally, more helpful, sociable, but on a different wave—more sensitive, coming from the heart, and not from the external movements of the body.

Therefore, I see a lot of positive, healthy manifestations from the coronavirus communications. Ultimately, the virus must show that we need to get closer internally, and then we will find the cure from it that we are looking for.

This is a new evolutionary stage in the development of our desires.
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From KabTV’s “The Post-Coronavirus Era,” 4/23/20

Understanding The True Value Of Life

Question: On one hand, the coronavirus showed how high the value of human life is, and on the other hand, how easy it is to inflict a blow on it. How do these two opposites fit together?

Answer: This is what always happens in life. On one hand, it is priceless; on the other hand, it is worthless. We cannot solve this paradox because we do not understand the true value of life.

It exists not on the animate level, but rather on the spiritual level, which is higher than the corporeal one because it is eternal, perfect. Only there can we compare, correlate, and weigh our lives and yearnings.

We do not really know anything about our earthly life. We do not know the meaning of our actions or the meaning of our behavior. We do not know what is really happening to us. It seems like we live, get up, go to work, go home, have hobbies, and raise children. What do we do in this life? Nothing.

Only if we seriously want to know the meaning of life and start to build our lives based on it and in accordance with it, then we can really say that we exist.
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From KabTV’s “Fundamentals of Kabbalah,” 5/17/20

What Makes Us Change The Values Of Life?

Question: We see that even being on his deathbed, a person continues to think about nonsense and does not change his values. It is scary even to imagine what scale the crisis should be in order to change us with its pressure. Who or what will make a person radically change the values of this life?

Answer: Changing the values of life is possible only under the influence of a higher power, a higher light, which lifts us above our world, pulls us out of purely animal desires. In this case, animal desires are replaced by human desires, proceeding from the next level of nature. Then we can talk about our growth.

And so in man the desires of our world prevail, nothing else. He simply does not understand what the Kabbalists are concerned about. He thinks: “If you live – live, if you die – die. What can you do? This is life.” And only if the higher light shines upon a person and under its influence does the person begin to think and make other decisions.

Who comes to study Kabbalah? Those people who have questions about the meaning of life. They are already from the next level, the so-called “faith above reason.”

We live in our flat knowledge: It is what it is. But there is still a level called “faith above reason.” It is not blind faith to believe, to be religious. This is the next level of perception of reality.
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From KabTV’s “Fundamentals of Kabbalah,” 5/17/20

A Fascinating Perspective

Question: Eventually, after forcing us to unite through a virus, would we need a method of connection, or is it enough for us to unite under the blows?

Answer: No, that’s not enough. Under the blows, you can only advance at the beginning when you are brought to the methodology. Afterward you would want to move yourself.

Therefore, movement without blows will become your permanent state. Moreover, it will not occur under the influence of blows, but under the influence of attraction to future good states—from your aspiration forward.

We still have a lot to learn in the method of our connection, and then we will just see how we can literally continuously rise in our understanding, in our feelings, in our confidence in ourselves and in the world. This is such an exciting prospect that you should not give it up.

Question: What should a person do in order not to wait for the next blows, but to move in a good way, without suffering?

Answer: To learn what he needs to do. To be integrally interconnected as possible with at least a small group of people because it isn’t yet possible with the whole world.

This way the person will avoid the blows. And further, try to attract anyone to this integral relationship, and in this move higher and higher together with those whom he attracts to unity.
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From KabTV’s “Fundamentals of Kabbalah,” 5/10/20

Nature Demands We Surrender

Question: During the coronavirus epidemic, our planet has calmed down. It became less seismically active. The isolation of people in their homes and the fact that they do not work in plants and offices has allowed us to listen to the Earth and what is happening inside it.

Now scientists can finally make correct measurements. It turns out that human activity has caused all the unrest, anxiety, volcanic eruptions, hurricanes, and so on.

Among other things, we know how nature reacts to everything. All of a sudden, in Santiago, Chile, a puma was seen walking around the city and a deer walking in the suburbs of London. Wild animals practically approach cities.

We wanted to invest billions, trillions of dollars in gradually restoring nature, planting trees, cleaning the oceans, etc. So, maybe these trillions should be invested in keeping people at home and nature will restore itself as a result? That is, to allocate funds for educational programs, to educate people all the time, for a lifetime. And nature will recover by itself.

Answer: Great idea. I totally agree with you. The main thing is not to put your hands in it. And everything will be well.

Let nature recover. Do not interfere and it will recover. You cannot imagine what it will do! The globe will rotate in a different way, the sun will shine in a different way, birds, anything you want, everything will change. We will measure the main parameters after a while, I am not talking about the atmosphere, and we will be surprised, it will be as if we are on another planet!

Everything that we decide, we decide through our egoism. Nature cannot handle it. We can do nothing good, nothing until we correct our egoism! And only after correcting our egoism can we act, to the extent of our correction, in the right way.

Most importantly, correct yourself and not nature. By correcting himself, man will step a bit aside from nature, and he will understand that he does not need to interfere in anything! Only to fit in beautifully into this integral picture of nature.

We do not understand its integrality, its perfection. We just need to turn off our brains, put away our hands, and stop using them until we correct our egoism.

Question: In what would you invest this fortune of money, donations that were spent on restoring nature?

Answer: In restoring human nature. That is, for training, for correction of human egoism. Nothing else! This is our biggest enemy, and it will not supply us with anything good in the future. And in the near future. Nature will smash us heavier than this virus.

How many billions, how much money, have we invested in our development, and you will see how now, in the near future, we will have to get rid of all this and leave only the most basic and necessary for our existence. And nothing more!

Question: Who can draw up such a program to correct man, correct his egoism?

Answer: It does not need to be made; it exists. We must now apply it seriously to all living creatures on Earth.

From now on, we must not do anything to another person if he does not want it. As Hillel said: “That which you hate, do not do to your friend.”

Imagine what the Earth will be like when we achieve at least this! This is only the first part of the program when you do no harm to another person. And the second part of the program is when you do only good to others.

Nature requires this from us. It will lead us to this. Today we are for the first time in the history of mankind at a level of development that has never existed!

The program itself does everything. Everything is resolved at different stages. It is being implemented, and everyone agrees. What can we do?

And now we do not need to ask what we can do but how we can help this program. How to approve of it and make it desirable. And then in every family, in every community, in the city, in the state, on the whole Earth, there will be a friendly atmosphere.

That is all. We just need to try and let nature work on us. We must understand and support it with our inner strength and aspirations so that all this happens.
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From KabTV’s “News with Dr. Michael Laitman,” 4/6/20

China: Yesterday They Were Getting Divorced, Today They Are Getting Married

Question: There are surprising statistics in China. A huge number of divorces happened while sitting at home due to the coronavirus. Then suddenly, other statistics appeared.

For example, in the city of Wuhan, where it all began, after a long period of complete isolation, the blockade was lifted, and it turned out that people want to marry three, four, five times more than usual. What happened?

Answer: People want a reliable partner because they have become convinced that home is important, and they will have to stay at home who knows when and for how long. They want to have a reliable partner with whom the person can really see himself sitting in such confinement next time because they feel that they are not out of this virus yet.

I feel that this is very important to them. And it doesn’t matter whether or not there will be a virus and when, but there is a need to be with a person who is reliable, good, convenient, simple, easy, with whom you practically do not feel confined.

Question: So it appears that the marriages that are being made now will be stronger?

Answer: Yes. These marriages will be stronger. Because the person felt what it means to be with the one with whom he was. These will be very interesting marriages.

How well they are going to be, I don’t know. But I think that a person, who has lasted a month or two with a family or even without a family, just with a partner in such confinement, already understands what he needs.

Question: So the recipe is, perhaps, not to get divorced, but to imagine that you will be in such a situation with your beloved. You will find yourself one on one; will it be good with that person or not? Is that the right way of thinking?

Answer: Of course, as it is with nature. The virus forces us to be integrally connected: I give to nature and nature gives to me. So it is with my partner: I give to my partner and my partner gives to me.

Question: And then the marriages will be strong?

Answer: Then I’m not afraid of the virus.
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From KabTV’s “News with Dr. Michael Laitman,” 4/13/20

What Are We Lagging Behind In?

Question: Life before the virus gave us cars, mobile phones, modern medicine, all the benefits of mankind. Will humanity evolve in a new life or have we reached a peak?

Answer: No, we can continue to develop technically, but also socially.

Industrial, technological civilization has gone far ahead in comparison with social development. We remain wild animals and use all modern technology to suppress each other.

We need to develop good relations between us, and in this we are lagging behind.
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From KabTV’s “Fundamentals of Kabbalah,” 5/3/20

Opposition To Unity, Part 1

The Reason for Hating Each Other

Question: Throughout the history of the development of the Jewish people, hatred has always manifested among them. It began in Egypt with the confrontation of the “mixed multitude” (Erev Rav) to the exodus of the Israeli people from Egypt. This confrontation continued in the desert between the tribes of Israel.

At the end of the 10th century BC, a division began between the kingdoms of Israel and Judah, which led to contention between them.

Later, the hatred that erupted in the ruling elite led to the destruction of the First Temple. Then there were the Maccabees’ war with the Hellenistic Jews, the split into parties, the fall of fraternal love at the time of the Roman Empire, and the collapse of the Second Temple.

In medieval Spain, the first inquisitors were Jews. In the sixteenth century, neglect and harsh statements on the part of the Jews toward the greatest Kabbalist the Ari were documented. At the beginning of the twentieth century there was a rabbinate prohibition on the publication of the books of Rav Kuk and Baal HaSulam.

This list continues on and on.

Today, the confrontation is already observed in the state of Israel itself, numbering about 50 parties of right and left blocs. What is the reason for the hatred between Jews?

Answer: This hatred is ideological, natural, and manifests on completely different levels. The fact is that the nation of Israel was assembled from representatives of all the peoples of Babylon, who, at the call of Abraham, formed one large group together.

Abraham called them to unity above all the contradictions that existed between them because of their natural origin, character, etc. People worked very seriously on themselves in order to become as one whole, as one family, or as one man with one heart. And they succeeded in it. In those days, everything was a little different.

In this way they moved forward for many years, constantly fighting within themselves to suppress their personal egoism and rise to the level of friendly connection with others.

Thus they went through a period called the “Egyptian exile” or captivity. Their egoism rose so much that they were practically detached from each other; egoism pushed them apart. This is the “Egyptian exile” when Pharaoh (egoism) rules over them. But then they managed to overcome their mutual rejection, which led to their exodus from Egypt and their subsequent unity, but at a different level.

In order to rise above the egoism that developed in them during the period of the Egyptian exile, they had to receive a new force from above, the upper light, the so-called light of the Torah, that is, the force of bestowal and love, the force of reciprocity and attraction.

They received it and started working with it in order to stay together. Every day their egoism grew bigger and bigger, and they grew above it each time. Gradual development of altruism above egoism, mutual connection above hatred, led the nation to unity in strength and volume, which is called the “Temple.”

In addition, their state was called the entrance into the Land of Israel. “Land,” “Eretz” comes from the word “Ratzon” and means “desire,” and “Israel” means striving for the Creator.

Having risen to such a level of connection, they could build a relationship between themselves called the “Temple”—a common home, a common heart. The people were in this state for a very short time since egoism in them was constantly developing. They could not resist it and began to move apart, until the Temple collapsed, which means the connection between them collapsed.

For more on this topic, read my books A Very Narrow Bridge: The fate of the Jewish people, and Like a Bundle of Reeds: why unity and mutual guarantee are today’s call of the hour.
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From KabTV’s “Systematic Analysis of the Development of the People of Israel,” 7/29/19

Israel—Humanity’s Engine

Question: Is Israel responsible for what is going on in the world? What should Israel do to correct the situation?

Answer: Israel is every person in the world who aspires to be balanced with nature, to the similarity of human society with the general system of nature.

Hence a group of people arose, gathered as one nation that broke away from ancient Babylon and went on a journey around the world.

The purpose of this nation is to have a small group within it, which at the beginning of the twenty-first century will explain to all the peoples of the world how they should exist and what state they should achieve.

The state of Yashar-El means directly to the Creator, directly aimed toward the good, positive force, the quality of love and bestowal. Humanity must be brought to this state.

This is what our group is doing now. It spreads its knowledge among all the peoples of the world. One who joins it, regardless of nationality, and strives to bring all people to good connections is called Israel.

And those of the nation who do not do this are simply called Jews and are not considered Israel.
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From KabTV’s “Fundamentals of Kabbalah,” 5/3/20

A Black Hole Allows One To Live Several Lives

Comment: Scientists have discovered a black hole that allows a person to live several lives.

My Response: Several black lives.

Comment: Such a black hole will not crush a person with gravity and the living creature will only be beyond time. All the past will be forgotten and ahead of him are multiple options of the events that develop in the future.

If a person could visit such hole and successfully leave it, he could live countless lives, each time starting all over again.

My Response: We are already starting all over again.

Comment: The only restriction is that the person cannot leave the black hole.

My Response: It is impossible to get out from a black hole because everything in general is one black hole. And we are in the black hole now also.

Question: What is a black hole from the point of view of Kabbalah?

Answer: It is our egoism. We are inside of it, inside of the black hole. There is no way out of it. Only if we correct this black hole to a white one, to the light one.

Comment: This is what scientists say: It is possible to get out of a black hole, only if there is a white hole that will let him pass though.

My Response: A black one will turn into white by itself. And for this, we need to attract forces that will change it to white.

The black hole devours all the time, you can’t get out of it. And the white will emanate all the time.

Question: What does it mean to live several lives? A person will enter a black hole, will exit?

Answer: Not to enter and not to exit! We don’t have to do anything! We just need to change ourselves and the environment we are in from black to white, change everything to the quality of bestowal instead of the quality of reception.

Question: And then he will forget the past and will see only the present?

Answer: He will have everything past, present and future in one whole. Time will disappear. He will not have such a concept of “past, present and future.” No! There is just one “is” and that is it. Nothing else.

And there is even no today, tomorrow, and after tomorrow. Because nothing changes. Time is in us, it is the changes we undergo.

Question: Meaning that the changes will be so fast that it will seem like everything is one moment?

Answer: They will seem an eternity to us.

Question: Why?

Answer: Because he will not have either “today” or “tomorrow.” This is not going to be!

Question: What does it mean “not going to?”

Answer: A person is a sensation. The sensation of myself yesterday, today, tomorrow. There will be no such sensations. Instead of that, one will sense eternity, perfection in which nothing changes.

We cannot talk about whether there is life, that there is something before, during, or after life. There is none of this. That’s it! We are in a white hole.

Question: A person now lives his normal life. He has many experiences, problems, joys, and sorrows. This creates a certain palette, a taste of life. What will be the taste of life when one will reveal this absolute state?

Answer: It is the Garden of Eden, paradise. What does the Garden of Eden mean if I don’t feel anything good or bad? I feel good in comparison with bad, bad in comparison with good.

And if nothing will change and everything would be only good? Maybe I will stop feeling? That is why we can’t talk about these states. It is a hole! Only the white one.

Question: So, is it worth it for humanity to get there?

Answer: Whether it is worth it or not is not up to us. We are already in it.

Question: And where should we get out of it?

Answer: You won’t go anywhere. We are just in it. The whole universe, the entire creation is in it. We have to stop and grasp where we are. It will come, do not worry.

Question: For whom is this desirable state?

Answer: For those who want to know the truth.
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From KabTV’s “News with Dr. Michael Laitman,” 12/24/19

“What Does It Mean To Love Your Neighbor As Yourself?” (Quora)

Michael Laitman, On Quora: “What does it mean to love your neighbor as yourself?“

As much as we depict the extent of our love for ourselves, we need to love others to that same extent.

The more we develop, the more we perceive “love your neighbor as yourself” differently.

As the human ego, the attribute of self-love, constantly grows in each and every person, then the more we develop, the more we love ourselves.

Our self-love should then serve as an example for how we should love others.

The path to reaching “love your neighbor as yourself” is thus a path that has a necessary first stage, which is defined as “don’t do to others what you hate.” By exercising not doing to others what we hate, we gradually learn how to rise above the ego that separates us from each other, developing the quality of bestowal above our innate quality of reception, developing our readiness to reach the sublime state of “love your neighbor as yourself.”

In other words, “love your neighbor as yourself” is not merely a pleasant slogan, but a state of absolute positive connection above the ego, where we perceive and sense a completely different reality to the one we feel in our inborn ego.

Reaching such a state requires a surrounding society of people willing to support each other in order to achieve that goal. Otherwise, if there is a lack of agreement among anyone in such a society, where even one remains in the natural egoistic drive for self-love, it then harms everyone’s ability to achieve a common state of love.

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“Are You Aware That Love Is All We Need?” (Quora)

Michael Laitman, On Quora: “Are you aware that love is all we need?“

In an era when social division and hatred is soaring, and when authorities and human reasoning fail to contain the surging negative emotions, the world definitely needs a shift to a whole, inclusive and absolute form of love.

It is common to think of love as an illogical sensation that emerges seemingly out of thin air, and that there is no real reason to love each other.

However, the power of love is all that can bring us together upon our divisions, and guide us to a more positive world.

We are developing into times where we will feel on our flesh that love is a necessity, that without love, life will become increasingly painful, and with love, we will rise to a whole new harmonious dimension that we’ve never experienced before.

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On The Threshold Of A New Formation: “Integral Society” Part 2

Nature requires human society to be reorganized according to the principles of integration and rapprochement [establishment of harmonious relations] of people with each other. How will this affect the world of entrepreneurship? As a result, everyone should join in one common business around the globe as one humanity.

More than fifty years ago, we started talking about the butterfly effect, about universal dependence in a global integrated system. Fifty years ago, we did not want to make this change out of awareness and good will, and now we will have to do it involuntarily. We don’t want it and we don’t agree, but we have no choice. We will have to build unified public state economic and industrial systems in all sectors and all countries together.

The question arises: what practical steps should each business owner take to adapt it to the new integral law? The main problem is not how to execute the law, but who executes it. We should start by teaching all employees new relationships, connections, with each other as a single system, at least in the minimal way possible.

It is clear that integration is a multi-stage process, but it must begin. Therefore, we need to organize training courses for employees of each business. Everyone should know what the law of integration includes, where it comes from, what it requires of us, and why we are obliged to comply with it. Its implementation guarantees us great gains and success in general and in particular, that is, each in their personal life, and collectively in society and the whole world.

Those who can adapt themselves to the law of integration will be more successful in all the activities of this world. Gradually, everyone will have to come to this sooner or later.

Employees must understand that they depend on each other and are connected because they are in the same system. The success of an organization depends on how close employees are to reciprocating each other. This is understood even today, and much is being done to strengthen relationships in a team. But the main difference is that now this is done in order to increase one’s ability to compete, stomp on the opponent, and take his place.

In the integral world, we initially build such systems of relationships that everyone strives to be together, wants to help, and opens themselves to others. This approach guarantees their future success.

This is to the extent that if I see that another factory that produces the same product has managed to make it cheaper and better, then I shut down my entire manufacturing in order to help the competing company and the whole of humanity achieve the best results. I am guided by only one criterion: the benefit of humanity, the benefit of the consumer.

After all, why would I produce the same product and try to beat a competitor with all sorts of dirty ploys? I’d rather let the whole world enjoy the best product. I think about the benefits of the consumer, the benefits of the world, and in this I see my profit.

This is a real revolution, because until today, the business owner thought about how to break everyone and remain alone without competitors. And now, in order to succeed, he must take into account the law of integration, which turns around his way of thinking and forces him to care about the good of the consumer, the good of humanity. The concept of business changes radically.

I run my own business and know what is happening around the world in this field, I see who is producing the same product. We always give in to the one who is more successful and try to support and strengthen him. I act in the interest of the consumer, in the interest of the advancement of humanity, not in the interest of my personal pocket.

I can give my equipment to a competitor and help them in every way in order for them to succeed. And likewise in everything. This breaks the law of competition. Competition remains, but in a different form: whoever is better is whom we elevate. And all the others are included in him or disappear from the market altogether.

Businesspeople are always interested in the business perspective, that is, the answer to the question of what will be in demand tomorrow. What is most in demand in business right now is to sort out all the products produced by humanity, and remove everything that is not urgently needed. Closing unnecessary businesses is the most successful business.

The success of a business depends on good relationships between employees, not on equipment and skills. Professional training will take a back seat, giving way to human relationships. Within the relationships between people, we will begin to understand, feel, and discover how to do business more successfully. After all, success is determined only by our connections with each other.
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From KabTV’s “A New Life” 6/22/20

“The Benefits Of Diversity” (Times Of Israel)

The Times of Israel published my new article “The Benefits of Diversity”

It is written in the Mishnah (Sotah, 9:15) that at the end of days, hatred will soar. Judging by what is happening today, we’re nearing the end of days. Never has so much hatred been spewed on social media, newspapers, and television, and the wave only seems to crest ever higher. It’s not as if there are no quiet places anymore, but the zeitgeist is simply toxic. One word out of line—and it is super easy to cross the line—and you’re banned, excommunicated from the world.

The racial hatred and anti-racist protests we have seen lately are part of that murky tide. Like all waves, racism-driven riots will have their crests and troughs, but the trend is definitely toward a giant storm.

The hatred will not stop there. As hatred intensifies and spreads, fragments within each group will split from the main corps and form smaller camps that will fight against each other. Society will disintegrate and anarchy will reign. It is written in the Talmud (Sanhedrin 98b) that even the greatest sages would not want to live at the end of days.

Clearly, we are not there yet, but we are heading there. If we don’t reverse course, we’ll get there sooner than we realize.

The Role of Hatred

The problem is that we think that hatred is all bad and harmful. We’re trying not to hate but by doing so, we’re missing the chance to correct it until we face a more intense eruption of hatred.

Hatred is the dislike we feel toward anything that is not us. Our sense of uniqueness is deeply rooted in our psyche, but it is there for a good reason: We perceive only through opposites. If we didn’t grasp the sensation of darkness, we wouldn’t know that there is light. If we didn’t feel what cold is, we wouldn’t be able to feel warmth. Likewise, if we didn’t feel hate, we wouldn’t be able to feel love.

Therefore, when hatred surfaces, we shouldn’t try to stifle or deny it. Instead, we should make a conscious effort to increase our love for the object of our hatred to the point that it is bigger than the hatred that has surfaced. If all the parties involved in the manifestation of hatred participate in the effort, the result will be greater love than ever before. If not all parties take part, the whole process is hopeless.

If all parts of society engage in this endeavor, we will increase the love in our world to levels that we’ve never seen before, and it will be precisely because of the unprecedented level of hatred which forced us to forge a matching level of love. By denying the legitimacy of hate, we are denying the world of love, and sentence it to more intense manifestations of hate that will soon follow.

According to this paradigm, everything that we hate is actually a springboard to experiencing greater love. If today, the most intense hatred manifests between races, this is precisely where the new level of love should appear. However, this will only happen if both sides work together on increasing the love between them to the extent of the current hatred.

I realize this is a completely novel idea and contradicts most everything that we’ve been taught. But on the other hand, what we’ve been taught isn’t working anymore, so it’s time to try a new direction.

The idea is simple: The other person is different from me; I dislike the other person, and I want that person hurt or at least gone. This hatred is what is fueling all the violence we’ve seen in recent weeks and months. If we leave it at that, it’ll blow up the entire country. So instead of letting it fester and grow, we should all make conscious efforts to increase our love for one another, even though it’s clearly fake. Surprisingly, however, our efforts will bear fruit and we will find that we can love people who, a moment ago, we couldn’t stand.

It is a very practical paradigm; it demands courage and commitment, and it is the country’s only hope for avoiding complete meltdown.