The Psychological Change That Turns The World Around
Question: Why
does Baal HaSulam write that the transition to bestowal is nothing more than a
psychological problem? Then, what is so difficult about this?
Dr.
Laitman's Answer: The psychological problem consists of
beginning to relate everything that happens to you as an intentional external
influence. Only afterwards will all the worlds connect together. However, for
the time being it poses a psychological problem for us.
We
need to try to detach slightly from ourselves, as though looking at and
evaluating ourselves from the side. (Drunk people sometimes experience a
similar sensation of double vision.) We should continuously analyze ourselves
and say that everything happening in our heart, mind, and life in general is
the Creator who fulfills, controls, and plays with us. "I" is not I, but His
game, and I am watching this myself.
I
have no other choice. I am completely driven by the inner fulfillment, which He
gives me. However, He gave me an additional point from which I could look at
myself and say, "Everything I think and everything I feel comes from Him."
Question
(continued): How does
one rise above this state?
Dr.
Laitman's Answer: You need to demand that He change your
nature. The Creator gives you special, external circumstances all the time, and
you need to ask Him to change the circumstances within you (your properties)
and bring them into agreement with the external ones (the Creator's
properties).
Suppose
we enter a place with particular external circumstances which we are unable to
stand. Usually in this case, we wish to change the environment to suit us. A
"psychological change," however, is understanding that instead of changing the external
circumstances, we need to change ourselves to match the external circumstances,
since the externality cannot be changed. We can transform ourselves to resemble
the new environment, and then we will feel comfortable in it. This is a
psychological change, a new approach to the changes that humanity is going
through today.
Even
now, like during all previous times, we wish to change the environment that
surrounds us and to arrange the world according to how we understand it. Now however,
we have begun a different program, and this world (the Creator who arranges all
this) now demands that we ourselves begin to change in the direction of the
Creator.
New
circumstances emerge around me: Darkness comes into the world; everything
contracts, becoming more confusing, unclear, and scary. But rather than
asking to change the world around me, I need to ask Him to change me.
-from the1st part of the Daily
Kabbalah Lesson 5/28/10
Prescription For Depression: The Light That Reforms
Question: Many people in the
world now suffer from depression; they don't leave their homes for months, and
require psychological help. What can help them?
Dr. Laitman's Answer: Depression is the
most common illness in the world today. Only one remedy can be advised for it:
the Light that Reforms.
No psychologist can help in this regard, because the rampant depression is due
to the Creator being revealed to us in the opposite form.
Previously, each of
us felt as one small person around which the world was revealed in different
layers of our egoism:
layers 1, 2, and 3. As our ego grew bigger and bigger, we developed in
accordance with it by creating a new environment, a world of new technology and
social relations. This is how we developed over the course of our entire
history, stage by stage, 1 - 2 - 3, toward wealth, honor, and knowledge.
Today we have come
to the fourth level, which is a special one. At this level, what is being
revealed is the Creator, the quality of "bestowal," and not our developing ego,
our property of "receiving." This is the fundamental difference of our era,
which is the era of revealing the Creator.
Previously, nature
(the Creator) forced us to develop, that is, to grow and become smarter, more
knowledgeable, understanding, and powerful. But now human beings have completed
their development at the level of this world. People are recognizing the pointlessness
of new discoveries, and everything gradually fades, including the development
of science, space research, and so on. We have completely depleted ourselves.
Today, in contrast
to this, the Creator-a new nature-is revealed. And here we need to proceed in a
different manner. We cannot enter a new state with our egoism; we will only
harm ourselves. We need to realize that a completely new approach has begun,
and neither our strength nor advanced technologies and scientific discoveries
can help us.
Suddenly we will
discover that all the systems we built in this world have stopped working. All
the former goals (money, power, knowledge, family, education, and culture) have
lost their value. Darkness and despair are appearing in the world, but this is
because the Creator, the Force of bestowal, is being revealed in it. We don't
want it, since it cancels out our egoism, our nature, and all our desires!
It is like a child
who runs around wanting to play, and suddenly he is told "That's enough. Now
you have to give and love. Go play with your little sister." This is contrary
to his nature, and hence his life becomes dark; he immediately loses all his
energy.
Therefore, we can
understand why people are sitting around depressed, unable to leave their homes
for months at a time. Antidepressants are the most popular medicine today.
However, the only medicine I can advise is the Surrounding
Light.
-from the1st part of the Daily
Kabbalah Lesson 5/28/10
Kabbalah International
