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Hi Albert,
I have a question, but for that I need to write an intro of a few bullet points:
1 – I feel our material world of today as absolute rot. We learned in the course that this is my own incorrect perception of reality. I still ‘doubt’ that what goes on around us in the corporeal world is pure bestowal, but I also know that my inability of bestowing could be to blame (not yet 100% convinced – but I admit that the sages of Kabbalah know better).
2 – During work, which consumes most of my time, I constantly deal exclusively with material and business interests and desires (of myself and others). More and more I feel this as irrelevant, not only in the context of our studies, but also on the ever-present ‘rot’ presented in point 1.
3 – But as you have written before ‘no flour, no Torah’ (and vice-versa). So I have to work and do so everyday. Whereas before I had a flare for it, now I feel like a husk dragging myself. Still I work.
Which takes me to the question. The Tip of the Week fits perfectly with this mood: “Make sure you aren’t leaving your corporeal life unattended, and carry on as usual.” So I will do! But how is it that I can feel purpose in it? I mean, it is bad for my clients, my family and ultimately myself that I have totally lost interest in this! Surely there is a form of bestowal in this? Any insights?
Hi Francisco,
Losing interest in corporeal life is a temporary state. It’s a present from the Creator to give us the opportunity to plant our point in the heart in a good spiritual environment. But after that, in order to actually develop spiritually, we need resistance. Just like a bodybuilder needs resistance to grow his muscles, we need resistance in order to grow spiritually. This resistance comes to us from corporeality, from leading a normal life, working, taking care of our family, health, etc. It’s thanks to this resistance that we can reach higher levels of spiritual attainment.
In other words, there is no spirituality in corporeality itself. Spirituality is when we rise above corporeality. But if we’re not immersed in corporeality, then we have nothing over which to rise above and thereby no spirituality to achieve.
See my reply 222713 to Joseph in the Week 2 questions forum for more details: https://kabuconnect.com/forums/topic/ask-anything-about-week-2-lesson-and-materials-and-get-an-answer-from-a-senior-kabbalah-instructor-2/#post-222713
Albert @ KabU
Can we say kabU is one type of a group spoken about in this video lesson?
Can a group be comprised of people from different locations around the world connected via internet etc..?
Hi Innocent,
Yes, you can say that.
Physical groups were once the norm that we aspired to reach. But then the Creator sent along the pandemic and we had to turn all of our groups into virtual groups. With the experience we have now, we can see that it’s not a shortcoming to belong to a virtual group. In many cases, virtual groups can be even stronger than physical groups. Virtual groups allow us to focus more on the spiritual work and get less distracted by the physical world. Furthermore, given the generation that we live in and the level of egoism that we’re working with, it seems like virtual groups are the way of the future. We’ll learn more about these things in the more advanced semesters.
Albert @ KabU
Dear Instructor,
How many time does it take to be in the speaking level or to become like the creator?
Hi Gelaye,
There is no time in spirituality. Reaching it does not depend on hours of study or acquisition of knowledge, but rather it works according to laws. One of these laws is that “there is no light without a kli (vessel)”. Meaning that if we don’t have the vessel (desire) we have nothing with which to get the light (the fulfillment for that desire).
In other words, everything depends on us, if we build the right desire for spirituality, we will right away reveal it. If not, then even if a few more thousands of years pass by, we will still not reveal it. This is called “there is no coercion in spirituality”. Meaning if we don’t want it, we will not receive it.
And although we spend a lot of time studying, the goal is not to acquire knowledge, but through the study to draw the light, a special force that helps us to build the right desire. Meaning we don’t need to be super strong, wise, or talented in order to succeed in Kabbalah, all we need is to extract more and more of this light and it does all the rest.
Check out this blog post from Rav Laitman for more details: http://laitman.com/2013/02/sunbathing-in-the-rays-of-the-reforming-light/
Albert @ KabU
So, from the video, it sounds like feeling the future and past are more aligned with being closer to the Creator’s level. Is this correct?
And yet…, it has always seemed to me that when I dwell on the past or future (which I do far more often than I would like), I am most distant from any sense of connection to my Creator. In fact, that tends to make me feel like I am on the dark side of the moon rather than basking in the sunlight of the spirit. By contrast, when I am truly in the flow of the present moment, I feel most peaceful and connected to life. And other spiritual sources, like meditative/mindfulness books, tend to echo this. They emphasize that the spirit of peace is best found in the present moment.
So, can you please explain, which way should I understand this part of the message? My experience tells me one thing but the video suggested another… Thank you.
Hi Sharon,
By becoming similar to the Creator, we rise above the feeling of time, of past, present, and future. But in order to do that, we need to focus on the present, on becoming similar to Him in His qualities of bestowal here and now.
As for dwelling on the past, in general, the healthiest attitude towards the past is to say “there is none else besides Him” and that we went through exactly what we needed to go through. Beyond that, we should be very happy that through everything we went through, we merited an awakened point in the heart. After all, less than 1% of the world has this desire and we were as if handpicked by the Creator to be among such people.
So don’t go digging into the past, don’t despair or feel guilty, but rather focus on the present, on the opportunity that is presented before us and be happy for the priceless gift that we received!
Albert @ KabU
Please help me understand why does the Creator needs to push back when we first decide to turn to him? Did i misunderstood something?
Hi Yana,
This is done to help us to grow and develop. It’s just like when we teach our kids to walk. We place them on their feet and wait for them to take a step towards us. When they do, we move back a little to give them space to take another step and another. From the process of us going further and further from them, they develop and learn how to walk.
It’s the same with us and the Creator. When we start to aspire for Him, we begin to feel Him get more distant. Like with the above walking example, this too is for our development. It’s thanks to this process that we build a true desire for Him, for spirituality.
Check out the article Shamati 1: There is none else besides Him, for more details: https://kabbalahmedia.info/sources/hFeGidcS?language=en
Albert @ KabU
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