Question: How can Kabbalah help confront the economic crisis?
Michael Laitman: Well, in terms of application, it's very simple and it applies to everything that we have in this world.
First of all, by studying the force that exist around our world, which is this kind of conclusive or inclusive force of nature, which is what we call God, but it’s actually a physical nature force, but one that is higher than our own nature because it is all about love and giving. And that’s why we don’t feel it because we’re opposite from it.
But when we begin to come closer in our nature to that, and that’s what Kabbalah teaches us, then we begin to employ that power on ourselves. It gives us a chance to permeate it. And then, it’s expressing all of our actions in family and education of children in the way we perform our jobs and in the professions that we study to.
And I learned a lot of things through it because we learn how this force kind of dresses in matter, how it acts in the inanimate, in the plants and animals and people. It helps us understand all of life systems, political systems, economical systems, psychological ones, human relations, family relations, how to have a better education where culture comes from, say, now, for example.
Now, in my current visit to New York, I met with psychologists, musicians. Just today, we met Moby, politicians, and people who really engage in every area of human engagement. And I find that it have a lot to talk to them about. And I see that they got something to say to them and they have something to add to me. And with my experience in all the places in the world that I’ve come to and engage with people, we, later on, have a lot of work with people from all walks of life and any fields of expertise.
This comprehensive knowledge about the force of nature, which Kabbalah adds to us, we can add it. It’s like a spice that you add to every way of life and especially to education. Because our problem is that if we could educate just a single generation in the right way, they would educate their own kids correctly in the right way. And Kabbalah explains how we can approach education in a way that brings them up as good people.
And I’m very happy that; actually, precisely, because of the current crisis that is affecting the whole world, people are finally beginning to be more attentive and to understand that the main problem is human education, to stop using our egos so wildly like, for example, the financiers and all those folks.
And I can see that it produces good results, actually. Let’s hope that we will see our children and grandchildren having a better life as a result.
Michael Laitman: Our whole world should behave basically as it does. You just have to add a few corrections to it.
Kabbalah says that before we have now coming to the state in the evolution of our egos over the generations and now that we’ve evolved to a state where we’re all kind of closed in together. It’s like cogwheels all tied together, working together. And that’s the state of the whole world right now and it will be even more so.
So we need to learn what is a cybernetic closed system, what kind of laws apply in it, by which formula we have to manage our lives right now. The result is, and that was my first profession, biocybernetics. In such a system, you cannot succeed if you have no consideration of the entire system.
But how can I be considerate of 7 billion people? It’s very simple. What we learned from the science of system biocybernetics and from the wisdom of Kabbalah, you have a very simple formula. Every person, every business in the world from this stage onwards can succeed only on condition that it works without any surplus profit, only when it needs to sustain itself in a kind of normal way. Only in this way can we move forward.
I’m hopeful that, at one time, economists will understand it and, especially, those who are in business just because they won’t have a choice.
Because either we learn it out of troubles and crisis or we will see using science and Kabbalah, both of which speak of the same thing. But there’s a very basic simple formula.
You have a business, you got to pay your employees, you got to pay your insurance, you got to pay your own salary, you got to pay for pension and for holiday, for whatnot, and for vacations but that’s it, not more than that. Leaving nothing that is surplus profits. The rest will come back to you in a negative way.
That’s the law of closed systems, which humanity, today, is kind of emerging into. You’re going to have to learn it in the coming years and let’s hope we learn it not out of troubles but just by obtaining it, perceiving it.
Recorded on: May 7, 2009.
Discuss
Staci Collier on June 2, 2009, 11:02 AM
The more we begin to live in line with mother nature and understand that we need its resources, the sooner I believe new developments will begin to surface that will lead us to greater sources. The more you can align yourself with anyone or anything – the better the relationship between the two will be. That goes for people, mother nature, technologies, etc. Alignment and becoming an integral, harmonious part of the entire working system is what yields success.
I think that we’re all so focused on our gadgets, new technolgies, the Internet, etc. that we are loosing our focus on the big picture. If we, as a society, can begin to collectively align ourselves with the big picture – we will begin to see our quality of life increase in opportunities, awareness, work-life balance, etc. We need to begin to develop ways to operate in alignment with nature, rather than continually pillaging it without restoration. We need to close the loop and come full circle – become a part of it naturally. It’s like being part of a team – being a team player.
Our future progress will depend greatly upon our ability to evolve as human beings and as a society – to begin thinking “we” instead of “me” and then acting accordingly.
Truth on June 3, 2009, 9:32 PM
Today we are already much more interconnected compared to only 20 years ago. Technology helps a lot. People participate in social networks, online businesses give us the opportunity to easily do business with virtually any part of the world. Countries form alliances (e.g. the EU, several countries participating in the hunt of pirates off Somalia, joined efforts to combat terrorism,….). There are also a lot of joined efforts on the environmental front and last but not least the global effort to stem the economic crisis.
This trend will continue but it takes time. Rome wasn’t built in 1 day either.
tim hall on June 3, 2009, 10:26 PM
I fully agree with Staci. We are witnessing the capitalist way of life starting to fail economicaly, socialy, and in the stabalization of human life (food, water, clean air). We were taught to succeed as individuels in our educational systems. We were falsely taught that to have a better life, you need to capitalize over others.
However, I do not agree with Mr. Laitman’s view that one should give up all earned excess wealth. If someone chooses to work harder to have a more quality life, then they should possess a more quality life. We have balance problems. If a person wants a larger foot print on the earths natural resources, they should pay more. If one has more deliveries, they should pay more for the roads etc. The balance and how much extra one has to pay could be formulated by calculating the future expansion of sustainable living people on earth and tacking on a 15% padding. Another words an airline ticket would cost you $900. no matter how many times you fly. The big screen would have an environment tax upon purchase.
Any sort of religious belief or law should be completely replaced by agreed laws that are in line with a majority of moral values and a continued sustainable quality life for all. This would include laws and trade agreements involving slave or unequal labor throughout the world.
It is quiet possible to achieve these things without any religious direction. However, it must start at the very most local community and move outward. With the advancement in visual communications we have been taking one step forward and two steps back. We have achieved the ability to discuss our ideas among more people but we have lessoned our ability to take appropriate action by becoming less physically connected.
Understand that the more we physically intermingle, (local parks, bowling leagues, coffee vendors, massive transit) the more we learn to trust one another and make better decisions. Once we can get back a physical community, we possess the skills to expand on it and save the world from the up and coming fight for potable water and natural resoures. Like Staci said, we have to stop thinking in a box. We have to think we. We the people of our street. We the people of our community, our state, our country, our earth.
Truth on June 4, 2009, 3:54 PM
However, I do not agree with Mr. Laitman’s view that one should give up all earned excess wealth. If someone chooses to work harder to have a more quality life, then they should possess a more quality life. We have balance problems.
Absolutely Tim ! There is enough for everybody on this planet. What we need is a system that somehow manages to provide all the basic needs (shelter, food, health, eductaion and safety) for every single person on the planet. We don’t need a society based on “altruistic communism” as suggested by Laitman but a society that is not only in balance with itself but also with nature.
It is quiet possible to achieve these things without any religious direction.
Again, a fullhearted YES. Religions, the way I see it, provide answers to questions sience is not able to answer yet. The more answers science can provide over time, the less need for religions we will have. Eventually, religions will not be more than a cultural heritage.
We have to think we.
That’s inevitable anyway. If we don’t do it, humanity is not likely to succeed in the long run.
tim hall on June 4, 2009, 7:34 PM
Expanding on this we thing a bit.
I think that we can all agree that internet has greatly improved intelligence. We might also agree that with the recent failed economy that people are rethinking a lot of issues. (How we spend earned money, how we relate to one another, how we use credit, what is important in life.)
We can agree that there are internet sites cropping up that discuss and even sign petitions and other sorts of agreements to send to governing officials. Some of it works and some fail. But to truly make change in society, the scattered nature of the internet is not serving us well.
Change is best developed from ground up or from center out, where folks realize good change in a community and choose to copy it. In many ways, we had better physical community in the past (before suburbia sprawl.) But we lacked the easy communication of the internet to help move it along. Now we have the device but no physical community to apply it to.
This summer I am building a community web site for my immediate community. Unlike community sites in the past, it’s main concern will be community events. (scheduled family days at the park, organizing bowling leagues, bike rides, walks, etc.) To pull it off, I will have to knock on about 500 doors to find one or two recruits. But once I get a few successful events, I think it will take off on it’s own. The web site will promote participation in creating new ideas. It should automatically lead to folks discussing community changes and getting things done, more sharing, and saving time, money, and ecological footprint. If it succeeds it will be adopted by others. What do you think? Any suggestions?
Truth on June 5, 2009, 3:34 PM
Tim, the question that comes immediately to mind is: What is your overall goal ? What do you want to accomplish with your initiative ?
You should have a S.M.A.R.T. goal (specific, measurable, attainable, realistic, timely)
tim hall on June 5, 2009, 4:40 PM
Truth, Thank you for your interest.
The overall goal is to help people understand one another and realize all the things that they have in common and begin making community based decisions. After that, my job is done. They will expand from there.
Measurable: The success would be measured by the number of activities that they start participating in and how well they put to use their community web site.Number of hits on their site. How they choose to organize and build there site.
Attainable: It could be attainable if enough folks are ready for a life style change. The web site has to be very thought out and have good reasoning for every element. There is a factor of luck involved and that is happening across a few talented leaders. Hoping for at least one Dennis Kucinich.
Realistic: Social change never sounds very realistic untill it happens. All I can do is put it out there and see if I get some leaders.
Timely: Of coarse this is the appropriate time, while folks are thinking about how they can make their lives better without all that money and credit to go around. It would have to take hold the first nine months or it would continue to fail.
tim hall on June 5, 2009, 5:55 PM
Truth, My greatest adversaries are fear, children’s sports, and prime time T.V., in that order.
The fear part has to be acknowledged and dealt with up front by explaining why folks are afraid of one another and why they are afraid to change lifestyles. This will not be easy. It cannot be mentioned on the web site. It has to be delicately and creatively explained in person at the door (short and sweet). Followed by the benefits for getting involved. Generation X will most likely be the least participants. But never excluded.
One would be a fool to go up agaianst children’s sports. But one could organize events to take place after a sporting event, at the same or close by location. One could also try and access their web site. Or find other ways to turn the neg. into a pos.
Prime time T.V. is similar where you would be fooling yourself to think you could compete with Dancing With The Stars, American Idol or the Play-Offs . But you could include a discussion board for those popular entertainments. “The idea is to build relationships among locals.” Also by promoting a list of upcoming events at the school or any other established events, might pic up the attendance that was lost by the fall of local newspaper. Another words, making sure folks are informed of their surroundings.
Most established clubs, churches, local business owners, schools, etc. would be approched, and asked to participate.
Always open to ideas please! Thanks
Truth on June 5, 2009, 7:02 PM
Tim, aren’t clubs, churches, kids sports organizations, etc. all groups where people come together and can interact with each other ?
Did you think what benefits you are going to “sell” to your potential audience ? People usually only make a move if there is something in it for them.
Are you pulling that off alone ? If yes, you got yourself quiet a challenge…lol
You will have to be careful with the group size as well. If groups get too large (more than 50-60) efficient communication between the group members breaks down.
Since I don’t have a lot of info about your project, I prefer not to comment too much ;-)
tim hall on June 5, 2009, 9:22 PM
Truth, Thanks
Yes clubs, churches etc. are places of interaction. That is why I would want to access them. They have interaction experience. The church people don’t interact on social issues as much as they used to. The sports mothers probably do it the best. But there are a lot of folks who just vegetate in front of the T.V. or internet.
Yes, it is a hard sell. I am trying to sell the fact that if you become more involved in your community, you receive a better life. Yeah, what better life? It is more fun to bowl on a league than watch American Idol. It is more fun to have a cook-out at a local park full of people than sitting on your own deck. By naturally meeting more people in your community, you have a better chance of discussing community needs. I am selling the idea of having a web-site where folks can discuss things, ask each other questions, talk about their kids, school, jobs,(leads) ect. and possibly put a face to it. Taking down the likelihood that a person five blocks away will flip you off for making a mistake while driving. This is where I need the most help. I can’t ask them to read sociology books nor bore them with explanations. Help!
Yes, I have no choice other than to start it alone. My assets are: I am not afraid of people. I know how to inject humor and be quiet convincing. I am educated in visual communications and can build a very functional and attractive web site. I have read a number of books relating to the subject. Knowing my audience is what I do for a living. I have never had a job where I was not the leader. I realize that I cannot come across as a politician or religious promoter but as a community organizer. I live in the most diverse community possible. Ethnically, Socially and Financially.
“The group size”, I can handle through the web site by directing interest groups together. For instance there are a lot of fisherman in our community that don’t know each other exist. Their are musicians, artists, sports lovers, readers, golfers, hunters, knitters the list goes on. The idea is to get these folks to physically meet and figure out their own fun. I know how typical community web sites are done and have even worked on one. However, this one will be different in that it’s main function is to get folks out of their homes and into the community by choice of their own. I may even have to knock on the same doors twice. I may have to go fishing and join a bowling league. One of my long term goals is to have neihborhood coffee venders in carts. This pulls Joe home owner out to speak with others, creates local jobs, saves time and gains a free community watch. The people will realize these opportunities once they become a community.
If we continue to stay inside our fine trimed lawns and gingerbread houses communicating with large plexiglas rectangles, we will fail as a sociaty.
Truth on June 5, 2009, 9:58 PM
Hi Tim,
nice project ;-) Do you live in a city or town ? In other words, how large is your target group ?
I think if people come together and are able to maintain a conversation that’s already worth a lot. As you say, there are just too many couch potatos not interacting with anybody at all beside their remote our computer mouse.
If you could get people to come together and do something useful for society it would be even better.
You apparently watched Laitman’s clips here. Although there are problems with Laitman and his organization Bnei Baruch, the overall idea he is selling is a valid one.
It’s about unity. We as humanity reached a point where everybody cares only about himself instead of all working together for one common goal. So anything that gets people together and interact as a group is a first step into the right direction. It’s not easy but surely worth trying ;-)
tim hall on June 5, 2009, 11:13 PM
Thanks Truth,
Yes, unity is what I am after. I live in a large metro area. I can concentrate on a third of my township at a time. Taking the most middle class first. Achieving the whole township would make great news and reverberate throughout the city.
As far as doing common good, it is the nature of humans to do common good once they come together. We have witnessed some of that already with the electronic media. If I can successfully put a face with it from a base level, I can make it very solid.
For someone like yourself, all that would be necessary is a knock on your door and just simply say check out your new community web site. You would obviously log on and start asking questions, and conversing with similar interest in your community. But for folks that work hard all day and run their kids to sporting events all evening, what do I say to them? I know now, I have to do quiet a few interviews. I can’t assume what these people will think.
Thanks for your help structuring. If you have any ideas please thcustom@sbcglobal.net
Truth on June 6, 2009, 11:21 AM
Hi Tim, let me know as soon as your site is up and running. Maybe looking at it additional ideas come to mind ;-)
Have a great weekend.
Truth Seeker on July 10, 2009, 1:03 PM
Truth Seeker on July 10, 2009, 1:05 PM
Truth, you sound more like a Truth Seeker…:)
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