A Thought is an Upshot of the Desire
Baal HaSulam’s Shamati article #153 “A Thought is an Upshot of the Desire” has been added to Bnei Baruch’s website. We are posting the complete article here, as well links to related lessons and materials.
A Thought is an Upshot of the Desire
A thought is an upshot of the desire. When someone thinks about what he wants, he does not think of something undesirable. For example, a person never thinks about the day of his death. On the contrary, he will always contemplate his perpetuity, for this is his desire. Thus, one always thinks of what is desirable.
However, there is a specific function to the thought: it intensifies the desire. The desire is still; it does not have the strength to expand and take action. Yet, when one thinks and contemplates a matter, and the desire asks of the thought to provide some counsel and advice to carry out the desire, the desire thus grows, expands and performs its actual work.
It turns out that thought serves desire, and desire is the “self” of the person. Now, there is a great self, or a small self. A great self dominates the small selves.
He who is a small self has no dominion whatsoever, and the advice is to magnify the self through the diligence of the thought on the desire, since it grows to the extent that one thinks of it.
And so, “in His law doth he meditate day and night,” for by persisting in it, it grows into a great self until it becomes the actual ruler.
View a classic lesson given by Rav Michael Laitman, PhD on “A Thought is an Upshot of the Desire” (12 August, 2004): wmv video | mp3 audio | MS Word | HTML
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