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do kabbalists believe the in reality?
i believe the free will discussion is better phrased in terms of determinism. as stated in the videos, our dna (out of our control) determines our brain’s internal wiring and proclivities towards a life of crime or spiritual experiences. our initial state is formed by prenatal care, cultural experience, geographic location, etc. none of it in out control. neuroscientists have mapped out brain regions, how neurons trigger and retard currents, and even how memories are formed and accessed. every one of these processes follows deterministic cause and effect. every state we perceive relies on the state prior. therefore, you can’t build a free will device, along any axis, from deterministic components. note that these things don’t just influence our decisions, but are 100% responsible for making them.
how then can one “choose” to study kabbalah or “choose” an intent? such a “choice” must be as pre-determined as everything else. to believe in reality and free will, even a single axis of free will, falls into the “ghost in the machine” argument.
of course that argument assumes reality exists and consciousness and free will are illusions. alternatively, one could argue that reality does not exist, and that the “ghost in the machine” argument is is built upon the fallacy of the “delusional gamer” who believes the “matrix” is reality. hoffman’s work on a collective consciousness projecting “reality” and nima arkani-hamed’s work on the amplituhedron which suggests that time and space are emergent, both support such a notion.
what does kabbalah have to say on the topic?
does reality exist, and if so, where is the mechanism for the free will of intent.
Hi Jason,
Based on the research of the Kabbalists, we can say that reality exists within our desires. We experience the current reality in our desire to receive pleasure. When we correct that desire, direct it towards love and bestowal, we will experience a different reality: spirituality.
But one way or another, everything that Kabbalists ever talk about is the reality that is experienced within our desires. Even when they talk about an upper force, the Creator, etc. These are all phenomena experienced within our desires. This is why there are so many different names for the Creator (in Hebrew), since every time we correct a different desire, we reveal a different aspect of this thing called the Creator, and thereby give it a different name.
As for reality itself, how it exists outside of our desires, such a thing is not scientifically attainable, so Kabbalists don’t talk about it. Kabbalists are after all scientists, not philosophers.
Check out these blog posts from Rav Laitman for more details:
https://laitman.com/2011/12/the-holy-names-of-bestowal/
Shamati 3. The Matter of Spiritual Attainment
As for the topic of free will or freedom, this week’s lesson videos centered around that. You should watch the two videos on the topic if you have not done so yet.
Albert @ KabU
How to get the right environment to the group, and how to know that it is the group I should work with
Hi Milos,
When the point in the heart awakens, it pulls a person to the place where it can get realized. So when a person finds such a place, there is a certain inner resonance, a click where a person feels that he found the right place for himself.
So no one can tell you if this is the place for you or not, you need to feel it for yourself. This follows the rules that “there is no coercion in spirituality” and “one studies only where one’s heart desires”.
As for finding a group, for those who choose to continue their studies in KabU, in the advanced semesters, everyone will be paired up into virtual groups and taught how to do spiritual work in a Kabbalistic group.
For those that graduate KabU, there is an option to continue in the same KabU virtual group or to join a local KabU group in your city/country.
Albert @ KabU
Hi Milos,
Our initial choice of the spiritual environment is not up to us. This follows the saying that: the Creator puts man’s hand on the good fate and says “choose this for yourself”. Meaning He awakened your point in the heart and brought it to a good spiritual environment in which you can nourish it. Only after that, the rest is up to you.
So what needs to happen for me to start actualizing my free will here? After all, the point in the heart is seemingly forcing me to be here. If so, then this desire needs to be taken away from me little by little, and there I begin to reveal more and more the place of my freedom.
This is similar to how we teach a child to ride a bike. First the parent holds the child completely. Then as the child learns to pedal and balance himself, the parent lets go a little, then a little more and a little more, until the child continue to pedal without the parent holding him at all.
So we too need to learn to continue to do this work even when that initial desire for spirituality begins to disappear or when the ego grows and begins to pull us into many different directions. When that happens, we’ll feel a need for mutual work in the group, the spiritual environment. On one hand when I fall into my ego, they need to pull me out, and on the other hand I need to help pull others out when they fall. This is why Kabbalists have always studied in groups (physical or virtual).
We will learn more about this in the more advanced semesters on KabU, where you’ll receive your own Kabbalah group with whom you can practice these things.
Albert @ KabU
I have always felt that the freedom of choice that we seem to enjoy is an illusion. That is why the teachings of kabbalah resonates so much with me. I understand where this freedom lies and how to achieve it from the teachings of Kabbalah and I will definitely attempt to achieve (or begin that journey of climbing out of my limited perception of my reality) in this lifetime.
I don’t seemm to have any doubts about this and no questions and as a student of Kabbalah, we are supposed to have, isn’t it? Is there something wrong with me?
Thank you.
Ranga
So would I be correct by saying that all our experiences thoughts opinions and events that unfold in our life at this level is an indication and measurement of our corrected or uncorrectstate ie negative – fear – hatred – pain would be the uncorrected state. Love – beauty – peace – positivety would be a sign of the corrected state? I refer to this question as my understanding that our outer experiences and opinions are an absolute direct projecting of the state of our inner self where the work needs to be done and an indication of our level of egoism (feeling separated) and our only way to overcome this evident uncorrected stateis to advance spiritually which means developing a complete soul which can only be done through connecting to others in the correct spiritual enviroment attached to the correct taught intention of bestowal? and because we are controlled in a closed system that dictates all our thoughts actions and experiences. So when we are exposed to the kabbalah which would also be controlled by the program would it be correct to say that it is the sign from the program that one is ready to advance and start working to the development of the soul and vice a versa that one is not ready for the development until one is drawn to the knowledge and wisdom as ones experiences thoughts and actions are a chain of progressions that has brought one to the point of this discovery which without the chain of passed events one will not feel the desire to explore and participate in the wisdom or one will not stumble on the wisdom?
So in short I am saying is this a sign to say one is ready for advancement or not and can one measure ones level of advancement by how one sees the world around one ?
Hi Peter,
Yes, you can say that. To the extent that we correct ourselves, we’ll see the world as corrected. It’s like I have these dirty glasses through which I see the whole world as dirty. The moment I clean my own glasses, I’ll look at the same world, but now it’s clean and perfect.
Check out this blog post from Rav Laitman for more details: https://laitman.com/2014/04/in-neutral-gear/
And yes, to the extent that we’re ripe for it, our point in the heart brings us to the environment in which we can realize that desire.
Check out this blog post from Rav Laitman for more details: https://laitman.com/2011/06/aspiring-to-a-point-of-equilibrium/
Albert @ KabU
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