What Is So Good About Our Life?

Question: Why does a person try to extend his life in this world? After all, this is not what we were born for, we were born to develop our soul.

Answer: This is absolutely true, I believe that there is nothing good about this life and the Torah also refers to this: the sages sat and discussed who is happier, one who was born or one who had not been born, and arrived at the conclusion that it is the one who had not been born. But if you were born, you will fulfill your destiny, namely to develop your soul.

This was said 3,000 years ago.
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From the Kabbalah Lesson in Russian 1/1/17

Two Possibilities For Spiritual Advancement

Question: The upper force is interested in creation making contact with Him. He knows how to prod us by striking at our nature (the desire to receive) so we will turn to Him. After all, when things are good for us, we don’t remember Him.

But there is another option, when we consciously begin to turn to Him ourselves without waiting for blows. How can I do this?

Answer: There are a number of fundamental means through which we can initiate our exposure to the higher power: studying according to the sources, the group in which we learn and realize this methodology, disseminating the wisdom of Kabbalah, and organizing all of humanity to get closer to the upper force.

Question: So by being present for a lesson and studying the material, do we also call on the Upper Light?

Answer: Without a doubt! After several hundred hours like this, a person will necessarily get a feeling of internal changes. He will begin to see the world through his inner vision as he comes into contact with the upper force and begins to be clothed by it.

Question: When we begin to unite between us in a group, it requires our efforts and these are also blows to the ego, but conscious ones. What is the difference between the first and second options? It is when the Creator strikes me, and then when I apparently strike myself.

Answer: First, you don’t strike yourself and you choose this path.

It can be thorny, not particularly pleasant, but you choose it consciously. And you can convince yourself that this is imperative not only to escape suffering, but because you want to be an Adam (Man)!

You want to choose a path of spiritual growth while still living in this world in order to feel the upper world.

Here you have the opportunity to begin to work on yourself, to bring yourself closer to the eternal and perfect source and become like it. Moreover, this is something that is attained in this life.

Therefore, no matter what you may do in this world, it cannot compare with the same result you would attain through implementing the wisdom of Kabbalah.
[200542]
From the Kabbalah Lesson in Russian 8/21/16

New Life #337 – The Leaders Of Revolutions, Then And Today

New Life #337 –  The Leaders of the Revolutions, Then and Today
Dr. Michael Laitman in conversation with Oren Levi and Nitzah Mazoz

Summary:

What will characterize revolutions in the 21^st century, in what ways are today’s revolution special, and who will initiate the next revolution?

Man changes society from time to time to feel that life is better. This is our nature.

Everything new is born from a previous state. Sometimes it is accompanied by conflicts. Nature awakens a need for change in us and invites us to take a part in the process of advancement. The revolution will have one leader with a group surrounding him, and surrounding them additional circles.

The next revolution will be special. Before changing society, we must change ourselves. It will be a revolution in education, which will include a general, social explanation process that will be comprehensive and go deeply into the society.

The leaders of the new revolution will be educators. The next revolution will be an internal one, from within the individual. There will be an understanding that there is no one to blame except for human nature, the ego. Inside each one of us there is an animal that is only concerned for itself and crushes everyone in its way. The next revolutionary will be an educator, a mentor. He won’t deflect others, won’t awaken rebellion or aggression.
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From KabTV’s “New Life #337 –  Leaders of the Revolutions, Then and Today,” 4/3/14

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A Student Or A Free Listener

Question: According to what criterion do you decide if you are a student or just a listener?

Answer: A student is someone who wants to study with a certain teacher, to do what he says, to follow his instructions and receive from him.

A listener, on the other hand, is independent and can choose what he wants to do: whether he wants to listen or not. He is not obliged to anything in any way, and he doesn’t implement the method.
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From the Kabbalah Lesson in Russian 8/7/16

Eleven Years After Arosa, Part 3

From “The Crisis and Its Solution” (Arosa Forum Report)

How can we prevent the deepening of the crisis?

To overcome further deepening of the crisis it is necessary to:

1. Acknowledge the existence of the crisis.
2. Reveal its causes.
3. Realize the existence of an alternative and the possibility of getting out of the crisis.
4. Create a plan for exiting the crisis.
5. Implement the plan.

In January 2006 when this report was prepared, the crisis had not yet manifested. Therefore, it was only a warning that the world was entering into crisis and advice about how to avoid it in order not to come to the manifestations that we see today eleven years later.

Today, it is impossible to hide the crisis, although some of its manifestations are still hidden from people and part of the crisis is still not apparent at all, but ready in potential. The crisis has spread to industry, trade, financial and political systems, the control structure of the financial elite over the masses, education, and family—in other words, all areas of human society.

It may seem that these are different crises affecting each of its regions and that it is possible to deal with them separately. However, in fact, there is only one crisis in man’s relationship to human society, which should become more and more integrated and interconnected. If we begin to correct this problem, we will correct each individual crisis that is manifesting today.

In essence, this is a crisis of humanity, rather than of any extraneous things. The crisis is rooted in human society living on Earth, or more precisely, in the most developed countries of North America, Europe, and Asia. The reason for the crisis— the relationship of man to society—is because we feel ourselves as individuals, rather than feeling like an integral part of human society.

Throughout the millennia-old history of humanity, it was considered normal for a person to feel special, set apart from others, and not obliged to anyone. On the contrary, he aspired to use others as much as possible and, by this, to advance.

It is exactly this egoistic aspiration that motivates all human achievements, and it was considered a useful quality. Human society has evolved due to the fact that there were people who used it because they were pulling society forward.

All development was due to the use of human egoism. All great discoveries—new continents, energy, electricity, and drugs—happened precisely because the people who discovered them wanted to gain power, money, and knowledge, which are operated by their egoism.

This was greatly encouraged by society because a person who strove to invent, discover, and create something new was helping others and dragging them along after him.

However, today, this engine has stopped working and even has begun to spin in the opposite direction, and we need to realize that.

All the while, until recently, human egoism was a developing element, a positive factor in the development of mankind. But from a certain moment in time—we could say from the middle of the 20^th century, or more precisely, from the creation of the Club of Rome in 1968—humanity began to discover that egoistic acts cause harm.

It is like a fruit that ripens and then begins to rot if we continue to use it as we did before.

Today, the world has realized that there is a crisis but doesn’t see any way out of it, and therefore, everyone is trying not to talk about it. After all, politicians, rulers, and scientists don’t want to show their weakness and inability to manage. They want to believe that they can cope with the crisis.

Now, all hope is with the new US President. All of this is necessary to go through to make sure that it doesn’t work for him either. However, in this way, it will be confirmed that this crisis has no solution on the ordinary, human level.

If the cause of the crisis is human egoism, then only the correction of the relationship of the individual to society can bring us out of the crisis and enable the continued existence of humanity. Otherwise, nature will harshly teach us the path of suffering and wars.

This is not a technical crisis caused by a lack of organization of some material systems, but a human one, at the human level. Therefore, to exit from the crisis, we need not establish a system that is of this world; we need to correct man’s attitude toward nature, society, and his entire existence.
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From the 4th part of the Daily Kabbalah Lesson 1/10/17, Lesson on the Topic, “Mismah Arosa,” (Arosa Document)

Hundreds Of Circles, Thousands Of Melted Hearts

In the News (JPost): “’Each and every one of us has the responsibility to act toward a mutual guarantee to save the rare fabric that our people have.’

“‘I am whole because of the unity of the people,’ said Capt. Ziv Shilon, who lost his arm in a Hamas terrorist attack near the Gaza border in 2012.

“He made these comments at a rally on Saturday night in Rabin Square in Tel Aviv, where a couple of thousand gathered to project unity and call for an end to the divisiveness plaguing Israeli society in the wake of Sgt. Elor Azaria’s manslaughter conviction. …

“Late Thursday night, Shilon, who has been an inspiration to many Israelis due to his optimism in the face of great adversity, took to Facebook to decry the ‘hate’ which has divided the nation.

“’I feel that our people are divided, hurt, hateful, disappointed, discouraged,’ he wrote.”

Question: Ziv appealed to anyone, who wants to show their commitment to unity and solidarity to gather on the square in the evening. Thousands of people responded to the call. The Arvut movement took part in the rally and organized hundreds of round tables. How important do you see this action?

Answer: Of course, it was a very important event. After all, the people of Israel were created from a group selected by Abraham from all the inhabitants of ancient Babylon, that is, of the entire human civilization at that time, 3,500 years ago. This group was dedicated to connection as their ideology. Fifteen hundred years before the destruction of the Temple they were able to live in unity as much as possible.

But then this union collapsed and they fell into egoistic desires, in which we are to this day. The sense of the upper reality, perceived only through the forces of bestowal and the desire to connect, disappeared from our senses and from our lives. We must renew and awaken this feeling. Every day the world and each of us need it more and more.

Therefore, everything directed to the connection is very important to us. This is the mission of the Bnei Baruch organization. We want to be the link that unites people and leads to unity, bringing the correct form of connection to the people.

Unfortunately, there are many methods that just confuse people. We want to bring the correct method of connection described by Baal HaSulam. Initially, we all are egoists and are unable to unite. No attempt will succeed, as can be seen from the entire path traversed by humanity. The only way is to attract the positive force of unity hidden in nature, so that it will dress in us and implement our connection.

We all bicker with each other like quarrelsome children. Yet this force, like a cloud, suddenly descends upon us and gives us the opportunity to think well of each other and to treat each other kindly. Suddenly everybody calms down and sees each other as friends that are worthy of our friendship.

Such a force exists in nature; we just need to awaken it. It is possible through certain actions of connection. This is not a simple connection as has been attempted many times in the world. In order to attract this special force that can unite us, we need a special method. And this method exists! It is called the wisdom of Kabbalah.

The method of Kabbalah or the method of connection can attract the positive force of nature that will dwell within us. It is absolutely necessary nowadays. Judging by the demonstration that took place at Rabin Square on January 7^th and what caused it, we can see how urgently it is needed.

Only by attracting the Reforming Light, the positive force of connection that neutralizes the negative effect of our egoism, can we advance to a good future. Otherwise, our state can become very dangerous, threatening the very existence of the people of Israel. Therefore, it is important to hold such events and organize roundtables that allow a person to feel that it is possible to realize the connection, possible to sit together in a circle and unite.

I would put people from the opposing sides, right and left, together in a circle so that they would try to talk about something that they have in common rather than their differences, “How can we reach unity? Is it possible? What forces do we need? What kind of future awaits us if we don’t reach unity?”

A person must consistently go through the entire path and find the answer. This isn’t simple; after all, the people of Israel are called “stiff-necked” for a reason. But we have to work on it because our good future depends only on it. This is our only hope.

Comment: In the evening at the square, I met two young men from the United States who come to Israel for the seventeenth time. After sitting in a circle they said that they always wanted to see exactly such an Israel, and this is the first time their dream finally came true. That is what they were looking for every time they came to Israel.

During the evening many people spoke about the same thing, wondering how they had never heard of the Arvut movement and roundtables, which provide the unusual experience of warmth and the feeling of unity. Many thanks to all the participants of the Arvut movement who gathered for the meeting from across the country and organized circles in order to melt and connect the hearts of the people of Israel.
[200099]
From the 3d part of Daily Kabbalah Lesson 1/8/17, Writings of Baal HaSulam

This Is A Sentence For All Of Us

Question: Day after day, Israeli society receives new blows that split it more and more. The latest example is the verdict of the military tribunal of the soldier who shot and killed a terrorist.

This blow was so strong that it shook the very foundations of the country of Israel and divided society even further. How do you assess the state of Israeli society after this event?

Answer: I can’t evaluate the actions of the military tribunal, the army, the judges, and the right and the left. I look only at the harm caused to the people of Israel and to Israeli society. Unfortunately, no one else is considering it, and this is a huge problem.

The people of Israel must understand that our mission is to unite. All of our strength is in unity, and all our hope is in the connection with each other. We can’t afford to harm our connection, even if it is a purely physical one.

If there is no spiritual unity, then at least we must take care of the physical framework in which we live together that it does not lead to hatred, division, and alienation in any form. Yet, exactly such a division has occurred now between the media, judges, police, army, people, the right and the left, and between different parties.

This is a huge problem for parents and children. Parents now don’t know what will happen when their children go to the army. It is such a blow to our nation as has never happened before. It hits the heart of the nation: the army that has always been sacred to them. However, today this attitude is changing, especially after such a case.

It is a real pity that the division has reached such proportions. It is all because there is no organization responsible for the unity of the people. And it is only from this main point—the need for the people of Israel to be in unity—that we need to check any decision, to approve it or not.

Everything that leads to separation of the people must be stopped at any cost. It was possible to deal with this matter so that it wouldn’t shock people and divide them into opposing camps. We received a very strong blow. Hopefully, it will help to recognize the evil and understand the lack of unity.

What kind of division do we need to reach in order to finally discover that it is necessary to unite? No one even mentions it; no one cares. Some people hate others, the others hate someone else, and everyone thinks it’s normal. Every day, the hatred is revealed more and more.

The media acts only to increase the hatred. They are called a means of “connection,” but what kind of connection is there? Who and how do they connect? This is a terrible state.

Question: The Internet is full of complaints with expressions of distrust of the basic systems of the state and the legal system. Mothers are refusing to send sons into the army. There is sharp criticism of the media. How can this situation be fixed?

Answer: We are not an ordinary nation, and if it continues this way, the country will simply collapse and cease to exist! The people of Israel are not just ordinary people.

We, so far, were given an opportunity to live in this land, and only due to the upper grace do we still exist here and somehow connect. But if this continues, we soon will not feel any connection with each other. Then, why would the young people go into the army? They wouldn’t feel obligated to anyone in any way.

There will be a complete disregard of the governmental systems; it is already happening today. This will be our end. The situation seems simply terrible, and the problem is that no one is explaining to the people and the government that connection is the foundation of the people of Israel.

This can’t happen with any other nation. Even if there would be a fratricidal war, they would still remain one nation. This isn’t so for the people of Israel. We will just scatter because we are not a nation. There is no biological connection between us, no inner instinctive feeling that we come from the same father and mother.

Abraham gathered the Jews from all of the Babylonians, and we remain this way. There is no instinctive communication between people, and it is natural and correct. There should be a spiritual connection instead. But even this small connection that we have received due to the opportunity to live in the land of Israel as granted from above is breaking as a result of such actions.
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From the 2nd part of the Daily Kabbalah Lesson 1/5/17, Writings of Baal HaSulam

New Life #336 – Conflict Resolution In The Workplace, Part 2

New Life #336 – Conflict Resolution In The Workplace, Part 2
Dr. Michael Laitman in conversation with Oren Levi and Tal Mandelbaum ben Moshe

Summary

Conflicts at the workplace hinder business’s success and they radiate to all our relationship and on our health. What are the stages of creating connection and an integral approach in an organization?

What is the role of management during the process of building connections between team members? Managers participate exactly like everyone else. The goal is to create a family-like environment in the organization.

Man’s nature is explored—how egoistic it is, and how everyone wants to step on others. How the ego destroys us and our health is discussed. Bad relationships at work cause a person to be nervous and this carries over to the home life and ruins the family’s mood.

We reach the recognition of general and personal evil. From this, the desire to build something new will be built.

In a connection workshop, managers participate like everyone else, are equal to everyone, and give examples to the others.

We are not trying to solve specific problems between people, but are building connection. From within that everything will be solved.

There is preparation for emergency workshops to be held if an argument erupts during the week. Everyone gathers into a circle to talk about how the ego reacts in each of us and that it’s natural. And everyone in the circle connects. We don’t relate to the argument itself, but speak in generalities. From within the atmosphere that is created, the tension will lessen. If a good atmosphere is created, arguments and outbursts will be reduced.
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From KabTV’s “New Life #336 – Conflict Resolution in the Workplace Part 2,” 4/1/14

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