Affecting Nature
Q: What is the connection between ordinary science and Kabbalah? Is the objective of that science to help man better utilize the corporeal laws of nature, as with physics and chemistry, or perhaps even discover new laws?
A: Neither! Kabbalah teaches man to aim his thoughts and desires correctly in order to best relate to his environment. It tells him how much his thoughts, and specifically the way he relates to what happens around him, affect more than his physical acts. The stronger the means and the force, the deeper they are hidden.
We begin to discover that nature feels how we relate to it. For example: a plant feels if a person next to him is good or bad. If an animal wants to eat it, the plant does not react because it was created for just that purpose, it is inherent in it. But if a person thinks negatively about it, although the plant might be treated well with water and care, it still withers.
Scientists have recently begun to see that the result of an accurate experiment depends on the person who performs that experiment, meaning, the results of a concrete physical experiment depend on who performs it. We all press the same button, but we will get different reactions.
Q: So what is the right way to affect nature?
A: An act by which a person can affect the world, apart from a physical act, is called an “aim.” If we learn to think correctly, we can instruct nature to perform useful acts through our thoughts. But in order to know how to influence the world, the entire reality, there is a great deal to learn. And just as in any other science, not everyone is willing to study that much in order to succeed.
People are unhappy in our world, although they all want the opposite. But in order to be happy, one has to know what to do in order to feel good. We should know that our very existence affects our world in one way or another. Therefore, the more we do, the more we should learn about the effect of our actions.
Q: Will a person who has not yet learned how to influence the world correctly suffer during one’s studies?
A: When we begin to study Kabbalah, our approach to nature changes entirely, because nature relates to man according to his aims and not his actions. Therefore the most important thing is to try and aim right.