[Helen]

Hi Gianni, thank you for this dialogue, it helps me greatly in sorting out the key elements of this method. I am somebody who always wants to understand the logic of what I am doing, why I am doing , where I am heading to and how to measure if I am on the right track. below is my attempt to summarize my thinking right now. I know this probably will evolve as I advance, but for who I am right now,  can you comment if I am on the right track? anything critical missing?

1. Direction
In every thought, action, and interaction, aim toward bestowal(as much as I understand what it is) as though the Creator were standing before me.

2. Aim
Do not expect my above thoughts/actions to change me directly,  to invite the Reforming Light to perform the correction simultaneously.

3. Fuel
Continually increase the greatness of the Creator through the society(classes, books, teachers), seeing the friends primarily through their yearning for the Creator rather than their personalities, and by supporting each friend’s unique Lo Lishma fuels.

4. Measure
Measure progress not by changes in my personality, but by whether the Creator and the goal become more important than self-concern, and whether I increasingly relate to friends through our connection with the Creator, rather than what I like or dislike.

thanks

Helen

[Helen]

it was copy and paste from the transcript on Kabbalahmedia.

I get the part about not changing our qualities but using it for bestowal. but in lo lishma, we do not even know what real bestow is, nor do I have clear view on my own qualities. for example, if I “think” I have a tendency of belittling myself, behind that it actually might be pride, but I do not know how to look at it correctly. How do I use that “quality”  in my relation to the Creator? and how do I use that correctly to benefit the society?

thanks

Helen

[Helen]

Hi Gianni

Yesterday’ morning lesson “What Should a Person Do If Born With Unfavorable Traits”,  can you expand based on transcript:

1. what did Rav mean by below sentences I highlighted in bold.

2. what did Rav mean by :” I will benefit the most” or ” in order to benefit from the society”?

3. what does it mean “my qualities in relation to the creator? ”

thanks!

Helen

Question (Petah Tikva Center): (56:43) Maybe the lack of understanding stems from the fact that we interpret these qualities — pride, lust, and so forth, through our simple concepts.

M. Laitman: First and foremost, we are concerned with our general desire to receive, not to be harmed. And then when I check, I can see how much I’m using all these qualities and show myself towards the society so that I will benefit the most, and show myself towards the society like a… The society has its own standard and respects a certain quality. If there’s a quality that the society is in, and it respects laziness, then I’ll see myself as the laziest of all. If pride is it, then I’ll see myself as the most prideful, and so on, in order to benefit from this society. And it’s not that these qualities themselves are bad or good. There’s no good nor bad in them. Moreover, towards the Creator, we have yet to speak about this, about Sodom and all those discernments where, well, in short, what is below the barrier should not be our engagement. We shouldn’t engage in that. Bottom line. Only begin to care who you are and what you are towards the Creator. That’s it

[Helen]

Just to make sure I understood your answer correctly in relation to my original question: does this mean that why I was initially doing the act (whether from fear, habit, wanting approval, or some other egoistic reason) becomes less important? What becomes important is that, while doing the act, I consciously recognize that my intention is probably still egoistic or mixed, and I shall ask the Creator at the same time, through the Reforming Light, to correct whatever needs to be corrected within me? it’s like external action + internal prayer simultaneously?

[Helen]

Hi Gianni

Is it correct that the more an activity requires us to rise above self-love, such as through self-annulment, the more effectively it allows the Reforming Light to work? If so, what happens if our self-annulment is actually driven(or unconsciously driven)by fear, habit, the desire for approval, or simply conforming to the group? Does that still attract the Reforming Light, or can there be a kind of self-annulment that is not truly above self-love and therefore does not contribute to correction?

thanks

Helen

[Helen]

I see your point now. the spiritual Shabbat is the state that you are STILL in bestowing, constantly bestowing, there is no change in your quality and no change in movement, it’s like no time and space. therefore it’s like resting? correct?

Separately, setting aside the idea of Shabbat, I have another question about our preparation period. Is there value in sometimes becoming inwardly still, not reducing the efforts in the work, but quieting our own analyses and impulses so we can better discern which thoughts and desires we should follow? Since all thoughts come from the Creator, yet not all are meant to be acted upon, and often they contradict with each others. can constantly chasing every thought and impulse actually make it harder to recognize the direction the Creator wants us to take? it feels like you need to take those rests for your mind and heart, to allow you to hear the voices of the point in the heart.

[Author]

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