October 21, 2024
July 8, 2008 at 10:09 pm · Filed under Articles, Global Warming, Kabbalah Today
Global Warming—So What!?
Article in Kabbalah Today Issue 15
With the abundant information available to the mass public today, everyone knows about global warming and climate change. But as it turns out, knowing and caring do not always go hand in hand. Read the Full Article >>>
The more we know about global warming and the threats it poses—the less we seem to care! A recent survey of 1100 Americans, conducted by scientists from the Texas A&M University, showed that “The more informed one is about global warming, the less one feels personally responsible for this problem and the less one is concerned for global warming” (Risk Analysis, Vol.28, Issue 1, Feb 08). In total contradiction to what we would expect, research shows that the more actively the media publicizes the problem, and the more informed we are, the less concerned about it we become!
Kabbalah – The Antidote to Indifference
Perhaps our indifference can be attributed to the fact that no one has been able to offer any viable solutions for the impending disaster, or maybe it’s because we feel too overwhelmed by the overabundance of disturbing facts. Hence we choose to simply push the problem aside, for the time being. But clearly we cannot ignore it when it begins affecting us personally—for example, when you happen to be that person in New Orleans whose entire family is wiped out by Hurricane Katrina.
Because of the global nature of the problem, any one of us can be next—so why don’t we care?!
Kabbalah explains it very simply: What’s preventing us from thinking soberly and effectively about the problem is our cunning, narrow egoistic perception. It blinds us from seeing the broader perspective, from being able to evaluate the full gravity of the situation. Moreover, our ego blinds us to the fact that we are causing this to ourselves, and are therefore able to prevent it! Read the Full Article >>>
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July 4, 2008 at 3:44 am · Filed under Daily Lessons, Free Will, Society, Video
From the Daily Lessons – In following video, Rav Michael Laitman, PhD talks about freedom: what it is, what it isn’t, and where freedom can be found. He deals with the question “What does it mean to be free?” asking “What is free in you?” and explains how to attain a different kind of nature, and acquire the ability to exercise freedom against everything constraining us.
Video: Where Can True Freedom be Found Today?
Download this Lesson: wmv video | mp3 audio [54:02]
Additional Sources:
Videos
*Where Is Our Freedom?
*Upbringing – an article by Rav Michael Laitman, PhD
*Society’s Approval is the Greatest Reward – An Interview between Michael Laitman and TV anchor Lev Novozhenov
*Influence of the Environment – a post on Laitman.com – Michael Laitman’s Personal Blog.
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June 27, 2008 at 1:35 pm · Filed under Articles, Kabbalah Today
Mankind’s Growing Hunger
Article in Kabbalah Today Issue 15
The current food crisis has been declared a ‘silent tsunami’ in recent headlines. Kabbalah explains the root of the problem, and shows us how to avert this growing threat.
Actually, food shortages are nothing new—they have shaped civilizations since the days when Pharaohs ruled Egypt. In the past 50 years alone, famines in Africa, North Korea, China, and Cambodia have claimed millions of lives. So why are world leaders today so alarmed by the current situation?
In Pharaoh’s time, a famine in Egypt didn’t affect tribes wandering the plains of America. In contrast, today’s crisis ripples across the entire world. Global food prices have risen 83% in the past three years, making it almost impossible for the world’s poorest nations to feed their people. More than 70 countries spanning every continent are now facing critical shortages. Moreover, famine is no longer limited to third world countries. Even developed countries like the United States are facing soaring food prices that are impoverishing the once-comfortable middle class. This time, hunger is truly global. Read the Full Article…
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June 6, 2008 at 7:22 am · Filed under Articles, Zohar
Zohar means Radiance, and The Book of Zohar is the fundamental book in the wisdom of Kabbalah. It is the key enabling one to reveal the spiritual part of the universe, hidden to our five senses, and the Upper Force that governs everything and brings everything into being.
It was written by Rabbi Shimon Bar Yochai, or Rashbi, a great Kabbalist who lived in the 2nd century CE. Rashbi attained all the wisdom that was to be recorded in The Book of Zohar while hiding from the hostile Roman authorities in a cave in Northern Israel. Together with his son Rabbi Elazar, Rashbi spent 13 years living in this cave, eating fruits of a carob tree and drinking water from a nearby source. In that time, the father and son had attained all the degrees of the spiritual world, and were able to feel the Upper Force or the Creator with utter clarity. Read the rest of this entry »
November 19, 2007 at 12:01 pm · Filed under Meditation
Question: For several years now, I have been practicing Kabbalistic meditation. I took some courses on the subject and I’m using a book by Rabbi Chaim Vital for this purpose. But lately, I’ve been reading in your paper that there is no such term as “Kabbalistic meditation.” How is this possible if Rabbi Vital writes specifically about that term?
Rav Michael Laitman, PhD: First, note that no such term as “meditation” or anything like it appears in even a single authentic Kabbalah book. Additionally, the fact that all kinds of courses and study groups say that they practice “Kabbalistic meditation” doesn’t mean that this actually exists in Kabbalah. All the writings of Kabbalah, including those of the Ari—which were written by Rabbi Chaim Vital—explain one simple thing: the whole of Creation is made of a desire to enjoy. That desire can only be in one of two states: corrupted—with an intention to receive for itself, or corrected—with an intention to give, to love others.
Question: What does this have to do with Kabbalistic meditation?
Rav Michael Laitman, PhD: In the process of the correction of the soul, a Kabbalist uses a method called “three lines.” This method is built on a simple procedure: first, the Kabbalist “takes” part of the corrupted (egoistic) desire, called “the left line” and subsequently corrects it, using the force of the spiritual Light, called “the right line.” In doing so, the Kabbalist builds a “middle line” within the soul, and thus advances in spirituality.
Because this work concerns changing one’s intention from reception to bestowal, it is called “work in intention” or “intention work.” One who is not proficient in the wisdom of Kabbalah misinterprets the term “work in intention” and attaches it to terms that are completely foreign to Kabbalah, such as meditation.
Taken from the article “Ask the Kabbalist” in Kabbalah Today Issue 9. Read the Full Article
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