The 3rd lesson in the Free Kabbalah Course is an investigation into our perception of reality, examining the questions: Who am I? What is reality? And why is it even important to know the answers to these questions? What would that give us access to?

Let’s just think about this word “I” or “me.” Think about how many times each day you say or think these words: “I want …” “I think …” “I’m doing …” “I’m having …” “I’m giving …” We always think in terms of “me in relation to my surroundings.”

So defining this “me” that you’re constantly referring to is a fundamental question about life. Is it my body? If I’m hungry, is it my stomach? Is it this brain that thinks or this heart that pumps? Or is it something deeper?

And not only “I” or “me” but also the other part of the question: All these things I seemingly perceive as being outside of this “me,” for instance this computer, this text, this table, other people … I’m always identifying objects and people that I observe.

The 3rd lesson in the Free Kabbalah Course starts defining what is behind all these objects and people, getting into a deeper investigation of this “I” and the reality that this “I” perceives. It will overview science’s evolution on this topic through Newton, Einstein, and quantum physics, and reach what Kabbalah says about it, and what that means for us today.

Now is the last chance to sign up for the Winter 2012 semester of the Free Kabbalah Course. Registration closes on Wednesday, January 18 – the same day as the “Who Am I? What Is Reality?” lesson.

Sign Up For The Free Course Here »

Image: The virtual classroom at the Bnei Baruch Kabbalah Education Center, where the second lesson took place

Tonight, the second lesson of the Free Kabbalah Course took place, which provided an introduction and context to learning The Zohar, the seminal book of Kabbalah.

One of the main points in the first two lessons has been understanding individual and collective human evolution through 4 stages of desire – inanimate, vegetative, animate and speaking – where we developed through food, sex, family (inanimate level of desire), money (vegetative level of desire), honor, control, knowledge (animate level of desire), and how today we have reached a desire for an unknown, unfelt connection that we cannot pinpoint, called “the desire for spirituality” (speaking level of desire). It is precisely this new desire for connection appearing today that on the one hand is causing us to make all kinds of global connections between us, while on the other, feel more and more distant and alone. It’s the era of more crisis on every level of life:

• Personal – increasing depression, suicide, drug abuse and loneliness
• Social – increasing social unrest, gaps between the rich and the poor, poverty and unemployment
• Global – increasing security threats and future outlooks of much more limited energy and resources
• Ecological – increasing ecological disasters: hurricanes, tornados, floods, earthquakes, tsunamis, wildfires, and increasing extinctions of species

In the lesson, the instructors elaborate on this development and what characterizes our era, setting the scene for the revelation of The Zohar and the wisdom of Kabbalah in our era, which come specifically to fulfill this new desire for spirituality awakening in humanity.

This desire is characterized by all the above crises, but more internally, the desire is expressed as fundamental questions about life, about the person, society and existence: “What is the meaning of life?” “Who am I?” “Why am I here?” “What is the reason for all the suffering in the world?” “Where did we come from?” “Where are we headed?” and so on.

All of the above crises are in order to awaken these questions in us, and the wisdom of Kabbalah was made for one purpose only: to provide the path that answers these questions in the form of a clear perception and sensation, one that doesn’t exist in our present outlook on reality.

Registration to the Free Kabbalah Course is still open until January 18, so it’s not too late to sign up, download the first lessons, and continue with the course. Sign Up Here »

It’s no coincidence and it’s not by chance that the world is going through a transitional era of global connectivity. While on one hand, worldwide interconnectedness is causing a lot of confusion and problems, on the other hand, it embodies a change that had been foreseen and written about in the seminal book of Kabbalah, The Zohar.

The Zohar was written to be opened and used specifically in our era, when humanity transitions into an integral, global entity. It speaks of the deep connection that binds all people as one grand organism. By reading The Zohar with a specific intention and under certain conditions, people are provided with the ability to discover deeper levels of connection among themselves and with nature.

This Sunday’s [January 8, 2012] lesson of the Free Kabbalah Course is all about The Zohar, discussing:

• What is the context to which The Zohar fits into our lives today?
• What does The Zohar give us access to?
• And why is The Zohar being studied so widely today?

If you haven’t yet signed up for the Free Kabbalah Course, then you may still do so. Enrollment for this Winter 2012 course will be open for a little bit longer, so you can sign up, download the first lessons, and continue with this Sunday’s Zohar lesson and the rest of the course, as well as enjoy all the free materials and the connection to 1,000s of students worldwide in the virtual classroom and the student forum. Sign Up For The Free Course Here »

See you on Sunday!

Image: The virtual classroom at the Bnei Baruch Kabbalah Education Center, where the first lesson took place

Tonight, people from all around the world gathered in the global classroom at edu.kabbalah.info to participate in the first lesson of the Winter 2012 Free Kabbalah Course.

As BBEC instructors explained what Kabbalah is, who it’s for, what its goal is, and why so many people are discovering it today, through relating to dozens of questions sent by participants, the classes evolved into discussing:

• Why people should attain a higher level of reality? What does it give them?
• How people are engaged in an involuntary, perpetual chase for pleasure, which is never completely attained
• How this perpetual chase for pleasure is the root cause of every problem in the world
• What is the source of this perpetual pleasure hunt?
• How a desire to receive pleasure is at the source of everything we do, and the whole of our evolution
• The connection between humanity’s evolution and an individual’s development

…and much more.

Image: Diagram of humanity’s & an individual’s evolution of desires, taken from the lesson

Below is just a small sample of the questions asked, many of which were answered, many of which couldn’t be answered due to lack of time, but which everyone in the course can ask and get answered in the student forum if it’s missed in the classes.

We look forward to seeing you in the second lesson this coming Sunday, January 8, on The Wisdom of The Zohar, Kabbalah’s principle text.

If you haven’t signed up yet for the course, or if you know anyone who you think would also enjoy this course, enrollment will remain open for a few more days, so it’s not too late to sign up, download the first lessons from the lesson archive, and continue with the course! Sign Up Here »

Here are the questions 🙂

Marisha from Denmark:

How can you say that giving a person begging for money is not really giving? Please explain.

Scott from England:

What do I do with egoistic desires?

Tiago from Brazil:

What does Kabbalah say about human evolution? Are we products of nature’s evolution or are we really divine beings that have forgotten their divine state and have to relearn that state again while being in contact with this material world?

Nicholas from England:

Who or what is ‘the Creator’?

Dorothy from Wirral, UK:

Is the goal of Kabbalah to become one with the Creator?

Wagner from Brazil:

I know this is not just charity. What is this “bestowal” according to Kabbalah?

Claudia from Long Beach, California:

Does “pleasure” in Kabbalah mean all of our life pursuits, except for divine love?

Scott from England:

So if I give food to a homeless person, without looking for a thank you in exchange, would that be bestowal?

Alexis from Argentina:

Is Kabbalah mainly about true love?

Eline from The Netherlands:

Is there any way to get rid of egoism? Let’s say, if I bestow, isn’t my primary goal to feel good myself?

Mafalda from Lisbon, Portugal:

Should we consider an accident as having been predetermined?

Game Seam from Montreal, Canada:

Can Maslow’s hierarchy of needs help us attain the upper reality?

Medina from Sweden:

How did the writers of the Kabbalah books you use come to “find” these laws, and furthermore, how do they work?

Simas from Lithuania:

Why is this law good to some people, and bad to others, if everyone wants to be happy?

Game Seam from Montreal, Canada:

But what reality do we need to know exactly? There are so many things to know in life and I’m afraid to not be able to know the whole reality before I die.

Dev from Jamaica:

You speak about suffering. Most suffering is caused by fear. How do I get rid of fear?

Steve from Detroit:

So would it be feasible to say that the Creator even fulfills our negative desires & sufferings, that we may come to have a strong desire for Him?

Dan W. from California:

Can an individual reach the end on his/her own or is the end something we reach together?

Leighton from Missouri, U.S.A:

So is Kabbalah mainly about acquiring consciousness?

Nadine from Colorado Springs:

Does the root, the cause affect us individually or the world as a whole?

Ron from Canada:

Has anyone reached the end?

Michael from NY:

Are we saying that pain suffered by an individual or society is predetermined to bring them closer to the path of understanding and thus “true” happiness?

Larry from Thessaloniki, Greece:

I haven’t understood yet what’s the difference between the Kabbalah we study here and the Kabbalah that’s known as a religious belief with red strings protecting you etc. …?

AlphaHelix from New York City:

What of the situation where the premise with respect to the will to procure something is not based on personal desire but on the will to accomplish or procure a thing in order that it might function as a tool to further a societal/communal goal?

Medina from Sweden:

But if I feel negatively about this and Kabbalah says everything’s predetermined, does that mean that I am not supposed to be enlightened?

Ivan from Moscow:

Can Kabbalah be combined with other studies?

Maria from Mexico living in France:

What does Kabbalah or you feel about using drugs to get nearer to the Creator?

Scott from England:

Do I need to reject anything given to me from the Creator? Are they not gifts?

Leighton from Missouri, USA:

If we start the study of Kabbalah late will there be another life to continue with it?

Alexander from Sweden:

Why do some people get more things from the Creator than others?

Vicki from Australia:

So what hope do we have? Are we just playing out a role?

John from Yardley, Pa. USA:

Is dissatisfaction is the first step toward spirituality and relationship with the Creator?

Elyahu from US:

If your desire is to give to others so that they succeed then the pleasure is not cancelled. Do you agree?

Kara from Australia:

How do I know if I study Kabbalah and attain its knowledge, that I won’t still feel empty?

Siavash from Iran:

What kind of causes makes roots too effect in reality?

Simas from Lithuania:

Why do I need to know about the upper roots? What does it give me? And how can Kabbalah change my life?

Ephraim Sean from Toronto, Canada:

Why does the Creator create some people with mental disability? Is that also predetermined?

Maria from Mexico living in France:

What situation or feeling led you to study Kabbalah and really can you understand the “meaning of life” when you are so young? Have you suffered a lot? I am here because I can not stand this negative world any more. I have searched for years.

Alka from USA:

How old is Kabbalah? Has it been updated to be current today?

CM from Canada:

Is pollution and genocide in this world caused by roots in the upper worlds?

Eline from The Netherlands:

Could you elaborate on the root; is the energy outside our limited reality the same energy as we have here, or is it a different energy?

Filip from Amsterdam:

What does ‘above reason’ mean?

Aura from Washington State:

What has Kabbalah got to do with our purpose?

Guido from The Netherlands:

Can we influence the upper root as well? Or is it “only there” to be studied?

Michael from Naples:

Does “the root” pertain to God?

Lorne from Canada:

This implies that we do not have free will, as everything is predetermined. Is this correct?

Dave from Portland, Oregon:

I feel increasingly alienated by American society today. Iis this a normal evolution? Will I become more tolerant as my spiritual understanding grows?

1000s of people worldwide have signed up & are getting ready for the Free Kabbalah Course starting this Wednesday, January 4. There are still places to sign up & get ready for the course.

The introductory lesson coming up on Wednesday, January 4 will be tackling 4 fundamental questions about the wisdom of Kabbalah:

• What is it (and is it not)?
• What’s its goal?
• Who is it for?
• And why is it getting so popular today?

You will also have the ability to ask the instructors whatever you like, get your questions answered live, and connect to a worldwide virtual classroom of fellow students.

Also, as a special last week bonus leading up to the course, you will get a free copy of the eBook Bail Yourself Out: How You Can Emerge Strong From The World Crisis by Dr. Michael Laitman immediately upon sign up.

Go here to sign up!