You Must Desire to be on the Wavelength of Spirituality
When we want to be impressed by something, whether emotionally, intellectually, or otherwise, we must be on the same “wavelength” with it and thus possess the same quality. For example, to detect radio waves, the receiver must produce the same wavelength, and only then can we detect the wave on the outside.
Your Senses Are Currently Opposite to Spirituality
Nature’s overall force is a “desire to give,” to bestow, to impart abundance. conversely, our nature is one of “desire to receive delight and pleasure,” a desire to enjoy for ourselves alone. Our nature is self-centered; it is how we were made, as Kabbalah tells us. In other words, we are in contrast with the upper force, opposite from it, and hence we cannot sense it.
Is there anything we can do to sense it? We cannot destroy our nature and our will to receive, nor do we need to. We should continue with our lives as usual, and at the same time acquire new tools of perception.
Absolute Giving Is the Single Property of Spirituality
But where can we find such an instrument that will supplement us with the new nature—to give—in addition to our original nature—to receive? Here, the wisdom of Kabbalah comes to our aid. At the moment, we are receivers. We absorb. And if we do give something to someone, it is only after we have calculated that it is worthwhile for us to do so. Our nature prevents us from giving without receiving something in return. It simply denies us the energy to perform an act that does not yield profit.
We are willing to give $50 if we receive $100 in return. We might also give $80 in return for $100. But if we try to give $101 in return for $100 it is impossible. This modus operandi is true not only with money or an act toward others, but for anything, as Baal HaSulam explained it:
It is well known to researchers of Nature that one cannot perform even the slightest movement without motivation, without somehow benefting oneself. When, for example, one moves one’s hand from the chair to the table, it is because one thinks that by putting the hand on the table will be more enjoyable. If he did not think so, he would leave his hand on the chair for the rest of his life without moving it at all. It is all the more so with greater efforts.
Baal HaSulam, “The Peace”
True Altruism Exists Only in Spirituality
Even people who assist other people more than most, such as volunteers at hospitals or elsewhere, do it only because, at the end of the day, it gives them pleasure.
Baal HaSulam explains that within humanity, there are always up to ten percent “natural born altruists.” Such people respond to others a little differently than most. They sympathize with others and feel their pain as though it were their own, and this feeling compels them to try to help others. Naturally, this altruistic inclination rests on a self-centered basis that requires correction, too, but it is hidden from the eye, as studies in behavioral genetics demonstrate.
Kabbalah Is the Method That Can Help You Change Your Properties
Since we ourselves are incapable of changing or own inherent nature, we need a special, practical method that can help us, by drawing the help of the Upper Force on us, to rise above our original qualities and acquire a second nature.
The Wisdom of Kabbalah is this practical method, and in the right environment we are all capable of putting it into practice.
“How to Develop Your Ability to Experience Spirituality” is based on the book, Unlocking the Zohar by Dr. Michael Laitman.
Image: "light" by seyed mostafa zamani.
