Kabbalists of all times have studied humanity’s problems and analyzed what separates us from the global, locked, cosmic, harmonious picture: “What makes the human nature so unique? What specific properties does it have? How can these qualities be reformed? What motivates such transformation?”

Kabbalah explains how we should go through these cyclical changes internally, assisting one another according to a certain principle, a particular algorithm, in order to gradually come to greater equivalence with nature, to dive deeper within to discern the qualities that oppose it, and to correct them by following a specific sequence.

Moreover, a person isn’t supposed to make any corrections in himself or herself. We need to correct the connection between us, and only then will we achieve harmony.

At this point, another peculiar detail arises: Basically, I must accept myself exactly the way I am. A great number of people spend time psychoanalyzing themselves: “I’m good for nothing, lazy, greedy, jealous, and so on.” Leave your specifics alone; it doesn’t bother us. All of it will fall into place if you begin aiming at good connection with others: inter-relations, mutual understanding, and interdependence.

If I start analyzing, experiencing, and building our relationships correctly, I will suddenly discover (which is truly remarkable) that all qualities exist within me: the most disgusting and terrifying, such that I am ashamed to admit them even to myself. And I’ll suddenly see that I need them, require them, in order to receive from and give to the others and in this way to be an integral part in this enormous, closed organism.

It turns out that all our desires, such as theft, deceit, envy, hatred, rejection, and taking advantage of others, all these internal impulses we were born with are absolutely necessary to us. Therefore, don’t even think about undertaking such self-correction! It is a big mistake I see our world group making more often than not.

All you need to work on is our interconnection. Don’t criticize a person’s flaws: He or she has none! The flaw lies solely in the connection between us and nowhere else!

This is what we call “guarantee,” a property that the wisdom of Kabbalah so strongly focuses on. When we start studying, we begin to establish a connection between us, and this intention has to precede every endeavor: mutual contact, mutual responsibility to be connected with each other, and the need to discover this inner connection among us.

Parallel to this, we study Kabbalistic texts. We don’t know what is happening to us while we are studying them, and neither do we know what they describe. We simply read about our future corrected states described by Kabbalists. In a similar manner, a little child instinctively picks up a toy because nature pushes him to play and grow. So do we play with each other in the group, as if in this way we are building a correct model.

But as a result, while we are reading about it, we as though draw the higher state upon ourselves, like a child who is playing with a toy car, construction set, or a puzzle. We intentionally give him all kinds of tasks in the form of a game, while he earnestly strives to solve them as his nature dictates him.

So should we motivate ourselves and inspire each other, by being each other’s example and talking about how important it is. In the end, everybody should get stimulated by the others, by their enthusiasm, by their intention to draw closer, unite, and be in internal, well-coordinated harmony.
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From the 5th lesson at the Moscow Convention, 6/11/2011

Filed under: Conventions, Group Work, Inner Work | 3 Comments →