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From your previous reply I read the article “The Worse, the Better” which put my heart at ease somewhat. Thank you very much.
Still, it is becoming abundantly clear to me how EVERYTHING I do is a result of an egoistical calculation. This is tremendously frustrating.
Now, the only thing I really have to work with is my intention. This has been clear to me for a long time now. Right now, my intention is to “do everything for the sake of the Creator”. I hold on to this intention. Hour by hour, day and night.
I also realised that this very intention itself is based on an egoistical calculation as well :(.
Please tell me that holding on to this intention is enough. I am used to physical pain, I am used to frustration and whatnot. It is not a problem anymore. BUT I need one intention I can hold onto. Otherwise, I have no means of going through the pain.
Hi Niklas,
Our very nature is egoistic. So we shouldn’t expect anything good to come out of our nature. On the contrary, we will see again and again to what extent this ego rules us in everything. And that’s okay. After all, we were created like this on purpose. So no one is demanding of us to be saints, no one is demanding of us to have superhuman strength and to conquer our ego. Nope. All that we need to do, and all that we’re capable of doing actually, is just to try. That’s it. We just need to try to be above the ego. We don’t need to succeed, we just need to try. Such efforts are enough to extract the reforming light and it’s the light that ultimately makes all the corrections on us. Our work is only to extract the light, especially during the Kabbalistic studies, and it does all the rest.
Check out this blog post from Rav Laitman for more details: https://laitman.com/2012/03/building-blocks-of-the-first-spiritual-degree/
Albert @ KabU
I have some trouble with the concept of the human being above all other creatures. We know animals have strong emotional states, and it seems some, like elephants, even have spiritual beliefs and we know many have language
I get that other animals are in tune with the law of nature and humans are not, but there’s some species chauvinism in the way it’s presented that disturbs me. Can you address that?I get the idea of having to change one’s intention and inner state to create change in the world. I agree. But I think many people (myself included) who are working as advocates for the environment are attuned to the oneness of nature and use that as a source of inspiration and as a guide to our work. The connections people make to further that goal are also creating an equivalence of form, right? And though we are different individuals we hold a common idea and intention. How does that differ from a ten besides that the goal is different, though I think many of us are driven by spiritual ideas of balance, harmony and love of creation.
Thanks for your answer. They’re always interesting.
Hi Esther,
You’re right, in practice we see that humans are not above animals. In practice we see that humans are the cause of all the harm in the world. In potential on the other hand, humans are much higher than animals. This is because humans have an egoistic nature while animals do not. So although animals are naturally in tune with nature, this connection is very small, on the level of instincts. Humans on the other hand were given a giant ego that separates them from nature, from the Creator. Which is not a bad thing. Since the bigger the ego, the more that humans have to overcome, and as a result the greater the connection they will ultimately reach with the Creator.
Check out this blog post from Rav Laitman for more details: https://laitman.com/2011/02/the-worse-the-better/
As for creating change in the world, as we learned in the lesson on the perception of reality, the entire external world is a reflection of my own uncorrected state. As such, if I want to change the external world, I need to change myself. In other words the world is perfect. Once I correct myself, I will see it as such.
If you have the time, I recommend that you read Baal HaSulam’s article “Peace in the World“.
https://kabbalahmedia.info/en/sources/hqUTKcZz?language=en
Albert @ KabU
Is this state of equlibrium a static one ? I mean is it the final state that we want to reach?
Or, maybe it is a kind of dynamic balance like during the walking – we keep the balance at every step but we also fall out of the balnce in order to move?
Hi Marcin,
It’s a static state of constant movement.
Check out this blog post from Rav Laitman for more details: https://laitman.com/2010/09/infinite-rest-with-infinite-speed/
Albert @ KabU
1. Equivalence of form. Like the seed that becomes a tree that produces a fruit that has a seed that becomes a tree without much input, without making any resistant to it.
2. I am seeking for the creator because I do not want to suffer anymore or see any suffering as I perceive in my reality. This is not altruistic…this seeking is for my own benefit and gratification
3. I thought that I connect to the creator first and then he will uncover the altruistic love for humanity on me -“But seek first his kingdom and his righteousness, and all these things will be given to you as well” –
everything outside of the creature is available to him. how then do we “choose” wc ones of these should we “receive” first? do we base it on the levels of our ego that we want to turn into bestowal? for example, my biggest challenge is jealousy – how can i use the surrounding light to transform this?
how can i use the 4 phases of direct light in this situation for me to transform?
Hi Elizabeth,
As I wrote to you earlier in the week 3 forums, (https://kabuconnect.com/forums/topic/ask-anything-about-week-3-lesson-and-materials-and-get-an-answer-from-a-senior-kabbalah-instructor/#post-182996) the focus in kabbalah is not on changing ourselves. Each one of us is perfect. We just need to find where we connect with others. Then we’ll see that there are no redundant qualities in us, each quality can be used in a beneficial way.
Take jealousy for example. Without this quality, we would not have the strength to do spiritual work. After all, spiritual work means rising above our ego. This is something against our ego. But if we tap into the force of jealousy/envy, then it’s like the sages wrote: “envy, lust, and honor take a person out of this world”. Meaning that if we learn how to use these qualities correctly, we can find the right fuel to come out of our egoistic world into the spiritual world, filled with love and bestowal.
Keep in mind that we practice all these things within this safe environment that we call the Kabbalistic group. Outside of the group, we should act normal, just like everyone else. We’ll learn more about all these things and how to apply them practically in the more advanced semesters when everyone will receive their own Kabbalistic group.
Albert @ KabU
Q1) Does becoming more in equivalence with the creator mean that he will reward us by creating futures for us that have less bad in them and more good ?
That is to say, do we earn a reward for our efforts to be more in line with the creators desires that will increase all the good things in life and reduce all the bad things ?
Or is it believed that just as many bad things will always continue to happen to us regardless of what we do and that all that can be/ is achieved from gaining equivalence with the creator is to convince ourselves to feel good about all the bad things? For example the person just diagnosed with terminal cancer can cope slightly better with the bad thing that IS going to happen to them, but being in equivalence will not and could not stop the bad thing from happening?
In summary is it just about having a more positive mindset to that we can cope with life ?
Hi Philip,
We learn that the Creator is the pure quality of love and bestowal. Every single moment He sends us nothing but goodness. This is called “there is none else besides Him” and “the good that does good”. But why don’t we sense this goodness? It’s because we’re opposite to Him. Our opposite egoistic nature inverts this goodness into something bad. It’s like multiplying numbers: a positive times a negative, equals negative.
So as long as we remain within this egoistic nature, we will continue to suffer and we will continue to see others suffering more and more in life. But if we correct our nature to be similar to the Creator’s nature, we will reveal the true reality in which only goodness exists and that our previous egoistic state was nothing more than a dream.
In other words, all those “bad” situations are invitations for us to correct our egoistic nature and thereby to come closer to the Creator.
We’ll learn more about this in the next semester, in the meantime, check out this blog post from Rav Laitman for more details: https://laitman.com/2011/06/how-can-we-justify-the-creator/
Albert @ KabU
I’m sorry I am still confused.
If, for example, the innocent people murdered during the holocaust had seen it as a bestowal / blessing instead of evil would ………
A) – the holocaust not have happened at all because of their positive mindset? In a similar way to people who believe in the law of attraction think that they can manifest a reality that they wish for themselves by just wishing for good things?
OR
B) – it would still have happened and the evil would be no different and the only difference being that the victims would have had a more positive mindset about it but the genocide would still have happened ?
Thanks
Hi Philip,
I cannot answer you in this way because you’re mixing together a few different concepts. First we need to understand the concept of perception of reality. As we learned in the lesson on the perception of reality, our perception is entirely subjective. We see the world through the lens of our egoistic nature. In other words, the entire external world is nothing more than a reflection of my own uncorrected egoistic state. If I’m not corrected, I see in front of me a bad world, full of suffering. If I correct myself, I’ll look at the same world, but now it’s perfect. 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: http://laitman.com/2014/04/in-neutral-gear/
What about the holocaust and all such atrocities that took place in the external world? Once we correct ourselves, we will see that the previous reality that we saw through the lens of our ego was nothing more than a dream. This is called “we were as dreamers”.
Check out this blog post from Rav Laitman for more details: http://laitman.com/2010/11/this-life-is-a-dream/
Albert @ KabU
What about the holocaust and all such atrocities that took place in the external world? Once we correct ourselves, we will see that the previous reality that we saw through the lens of our ego was nothing more than a dream. This is called “we were as dreamers”.
Sorry am also unclear on this –
does this mean when we are above the screen, we will not see the holocaust anymore? or will we see it instead like this happend because it is man’s own doing that such a holocaust happend? will it in a way sort of desenstize and trivialize the feelings of someone who is a victim?
Hi Elizabeth,
When we rise above the ego, we’ll see this whole egoistic world as imaginary, like a dream, or a video game.
Check out this blog post from Rav Laitman for more details: https://laitman.com/2014/04/in-neutral-gear/
Albert @ KabU
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