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Julian, I have watched all videos which has described and taught in a more clearly way how to pray effectively. I understand now what the essence of the a true prayer truly is. The only times that I have prayed for myself were really from a serious PTSD consequence out of being a lonely survivor of a serious car accident, not our fault. I lost my mother and little brother. My Papa was not in the car. With time and without knowing that I had serious PTSD reactions from almost every aspect of my outside world, I began to deal with and overcome some of the serious PTSD reactions. The one that I still have not overcome fully is fear of the night, fear of driving under bridges, roads where there are trees on both sides of the road; in summary anything and anywhere where if feel being enclosed. That is when I would pray to the Creator to help me overcome the different aspects of high PTSD and I did. As time passed and most fears were in the past, my prayers changed. I began to pray for others, friends, family, “all souls in this world.” I have had many tragedies and at the same time beautiful times and adventures. I give thanks to the Creator for the life He has granted me. Now that I have fully understand from the videos what a true prayer is, I understand the reasoning behind praying, asking the Creator to help me connect with the point in my heart, followed by praying, asking the Creator to show me how to pray to connect to the point in the heart in others who are also on the same journey. Hence, my question to you is: I understand now about true prayer. I believe that I heard from the videos that I can still pray for others, friends, family, other souls in the this world; and now in addition to join my point in my heart with all the others who are trying to reach that point in their hearts so we may be joined as a whole. Is it still a true prayer for me to continue to pray for others and include in my prayer to ask the Creator to help me; guide me in prayer to guide me to my point in my heart and extend that prayer to guide me to join and reach the point in the heart in others on the same journey?
To help others is to share the knowledge we learn through our Kabbalah lessons. More so, and more important, is to learn from each other in our group and extend our learning/sharing to other groups involved in having the same goal in attracting the light that reforms.
As a professor at UTSA, I taught a Sensation and Perception class. As one experiment, I placed eight candles on a table and lit them. I asked my students if there was any difference in illumination; was it bright, very bright, awesomely bright? Their response was that they just saw eight candles with the same illumination. I then added one more and asked the same question. Their response was the same. I added one more. Again they did not notice any difference in brightness. When I added the last one, their reaction was “wow.” Now the illumination was very much brighter. We are the individual candles and each one of us has a light within us; the Point in the Heart. As we gather together as a group learning the essence of Kabbalah, we begin to feel a tiny light within us begin to light up as a group. Of course, as we move forward, we need to continue revisiting and fixing our egoistic desires. The important aspect for the illumination to shine brighter is to continue learning as a group,sharing our learning and reaching out to others who are like minded in wanting to learn how to enter the Spiritual world. This union will work as fortifying our connection with the illuminating force. We amplify its transformative influence as we continue to learn together and grow together.
I might be late in understanding how to transition from egoism to bestowal. In watching and listening more carefully to the videos and after watching them three times, I believe I understand better regarding how to fix the egoistic desires. I have learned that one begins with fixing one’s relationships/attitudes towards others. I vaguely was able to understand the Point in the Heart. I understood the concept. However, I was not able to answer the question to myself on how to reach that Point. I understood that one had to desire,feel the way to the Point in the Heart, but how? Again, reaching the Point in the Heart has to do with fixing one’s relationships towards other and follow the values base on connection, unity, and bestowal. Mainly, what clicked for me was the fixing part that I believe I now understand.
On a point I did not get to comment regarding the video I watched from Dr. Laitman on what reaction one should have with evil people, something like that. I watched it twice and did not agree that it was so easy to forgive people who have been/are evil towards one. Dr. Laitman’s response was to have compassion on them even if that person/s were insulting one in our face. I watched it a third time. Then I watched a movie about the Holocaust and a boy asked a Holocaust survivor if he hated the Nazis. The man responded that he did not. He felt pity for them. That allowed me to review the cruelty that I am receiving from a certain person. I have only hated two people in my life. However, that hate subsided quickly when I realized I was wasting my time in doing so. Hence, I watched Dr. Laitman’s video again and realized that one needs to have compassion/pity if so towards anyone who is blatantly insulting one constantly. That gave me a lot of peace and now I understand and agree with Dr. Laitman. If we are to leave egoism and “hate,” one needs to transfer those emotions to true altruism.
Jon, I agree with your statement: “…consciously replace the ‘why’ of our actions for something greater. Our actions still depend on our egoism, but originate from an altruistic force.” Last year I helped a dear friend who when she found out that I had a Ph.D. in Psychology and she had a master’s, she was honest in telling me she felt jealous. Hence, she embarked on pursuing a doctorate. She is from my country. Therefore, we would communicate through WhatsApp and occasionally on the phone. I was more than happy to help her all the way through including her doctoral thesis. I was very happy to help her. After three years, she accomplished her goal. We always stayed in touch even before she decided to go for the doctorate. She gave her dissertation before several professors and I also guided her on how to present it. I was truthfully happy. I sent her so many congratulatory messages and then she stopped communicating with me. It has now been a year that I have not heard from her. In the last two months, I have had thoughts of how ungrateful she has been by not even give me a friend’s call. After reading your response, I have to admit that at the time I was helping altruistically. However, in questioning the fact that she has no longer communicated and posts how she alone accomplished this degree on her own; I thought to myself “how ungrateful.” Therefore, my action did originate from egoism, “but originated from an altruistic force.”
