Opinion (Professor Klaus Schwab, from the World Economic Forum): “Over the last three years, the world has been engulfed by political, economic and, particularly, financial crisis management. We have lost sight of the fundamental transformation that the world is undergoing and of where conventional modes of decision-making have become outdated. What we clearly need are new models for global, regional, national and business decision-making which truly reflect that the context for decision-making has been altered – in unprecedented ways.

“Let me outline the four new models I consider ‘musts’ if we are to successfully push beyond the current impasse in addressing the critical challenges.

“First, a new model is needed to account for the fundamental power shifts that have already and are continuing to take place. I am thinking not only of the seismic shifts of geopolitical and geo-economic power from West to East and from North to South, but also of the need to integrate new non-state actors who want to have their say and the capability to do so. Power has become much more distributed.

“Thus, we need new models where governance processes on all levels integrate these newcomers in the most collaborative way. In the old world, it was hard power – hierarchical power – that was decisive. Then came soft power – the capability to have a convincing message. But today, we need to integrate empowered newcomers in what I call ‘collaborative power’ – the capability to exercise collaborative power will determine the future on the business, national, regional and global levels.

“A second new model is needed to acknowledge that we live together in a multicultural, multi-ethnic and multi-religious world. Prevailing values will have to increasingly accommodate diversity with substantial challenges for national and individual identities. We will only make lasting progress by recognizing that we are different but interdependent. Thus, we have to cultivate a much greater feeling of regional and global togetherness.

“A third new model is needed to seriously address the social impact of globalization and the new wave of technological innovation. Growing inequities within and between countries and rising unemployment are no longer sustainable and are triggering social protests, as witnessed throughout the world. We must rethink our traditional notions of economic growth and global competitiveness, not only by focusing on growth rates and market penetration, but also, equally – if not more importantly – by assessing the quality of economic growth.

“How is growth to be achieved in the future? How sustainable is it and at what cost to the environment? How are the gains distributed? What has become of the family and community fabric, as well as of our culture and heritage? The time has come to embrace a much more holistic, inclusive and qualitative approach to economic development, based on the ‘stakeholder’ and not on a pure ‘shareholder’ concept.

“We need a fourth new model for job creation. The global economy is growing more slowly, productivity is still making substantial progress and unemployment is skyrocketing. We also know that hundreds of millions of people will enter the job market in the next decade. In addition to the productivity increases driven by greater resource efficiency, the industry model is changing and moving upscale, where fewer people can produce much more value.

“The key to mitigating a catastrophic situation is to provide young people with the capability to create their own jobs: to move from the pure concept of unemployment to the concept of micro-entrepreneurship. This will require fundamental changes in educational systems, nurturing a societal spirit of entrepreneurial risk-taking, allowing true gender equality – to integrate the other half of hidden talents – and making innovation and the support of innovation a key imperative in public and private life. The success of any national and business model for competitiveness in the future will be less based on capital and much more based on talent. I define this transition as moving from capitalism to ‘talentism’.

“I have outlined only four of the new models that form part of the great transformation regionally and globally to illustrate that we are at a historic inflection point. In Davos, we will discuss many more aspects of the great transformation, particularly how they create new business models.

“To respond to the expectations of the young generation, we have to provide them with the hope and confidence that they will not have to pay for the mistakes and excesses of the present generation. There is a tipping point where velocity, interconnectivity and complexity become so pervasive that the whole system collapses, regardless of whether certain elements at the surface have been addressed.”

Comment: Frankly, I have heard a lot of enthusiastic feedback about this lecture, but, after reading it, I became disappointed. Doubtless, it is necessary to do the following:

1. Develop a new economic model of rational consumption

2. Distribute the limited amount of work that will remain after the economic bubble bursts and with the excessive production capacity

3. Create a system where people are occupied with integral education and upbringing, rather than with production activities

4. Restructure welfare and social relations upon the new meaning

 Until we begin to implement these objectives, the crisis will not leave us. After all, it reveals the flaws in our system.
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In the News (from EurekAlert): “Researchers at London School of Hygiene & Tropical Medicine and Oxford University estimated that soaring stress brought on by job losses could prompt a 2.4% rise in suicide rates in people under-64 years of age, a 2.7% rise in heart attack deaths in men between 30 and 44 years, and a 2.4% rise in homicides rates, corresponding to thousands of deaths in European Union countries, such as the UK…..

“The report also suggests that in poor countries, where investments in active labour market programmes are much lower or virtually non-existent, the death toll brought on by the financial meltdown would be much worse….

“The study, entitled The public health effect of economic crisis and alternative government policy responses in Europe: an empirical analysis was written in the wake of concerns that health might suffer as a result of the financial crisis….

“’Financial crisis causes hardship for many ordinary people, but it does not have to cost them their lives,’ social epidemiologist David Stuckler, who led the research said.”

Comment: Educating people toward a new lifestyle, rational consumption, and necessary production will lead to a healthier population. Otherwise, while we reach the same results against our will, forced by nature, through recessions and bankruptcies, the number of deaths will increase.
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Question: Public opinion is a very powerful educational tool. How can we use this tool in groups in integral upbringing? What do we encourage? How do we bring out the desired behavior which corresponds to integrality?

Answer: We take time during discussions and conversations to show examples of correct and incorrect behavior and interactions; we analyze the motives, the different subconscious and conscious incentives, ones that are instinctive and conscious: instinctive being those that come from nature, and instinctively acquired from the environment during the upbringing process when habit becomes second nature.

We try to separate all of this, explain where it comes from, why it comes from the past society in which we grew up, and why we now need to change, and especially why we need to change and reeducate our children.

But if the children continue to be educated in the same environment with the same adults, it will be another several generations until they change. What can we do to change our children now? To do it we are the ones who need to change first.

I think that the interactions between parents and children, love for children, the desire to give them a good new world is a very strong factor of influence on the adults. And it must impel us to make a change so that we do not just play at, but we will actually build a good society for our children.
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From a “Talk on Integral Education” #7 12/14/2011

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It is not by mere chance that we find ourselves standing opposite each other with nuclear bombs. Everyone hides a few thousand behind his back, in addition to all the types of weapons that fill satellites in space, and which are ready to fire off as soon as there is an order. Not by coincidence do we experience such aggravation and sorrow. All this is meant to bring us to the realization that we have no choice, and if we wish to reach a good life, we need to turn our relationships around completely.

In the middle, between love and hatred that lives among us, is the crisis! This crisis tells us, “You will not be able to survive on this planet if you don’t turn your hatred into love!” That is, if you don’t begin to trust each other in matters that pertain to atomic bombs, banks, and everything else, and if you fail to see this system as round and integral, since that is in fact precisely how it is whether you like it or not.

Understand that you simply have no other choice with the form in which this analog, integral, and completely interconnected system works that is filled with deadly weapons and hatred, you have to turn yourselves around! Otherwise, you will be left without as much as a slice of bread.

It no longer is just some personal problem that we can brush aside. You simply will not be able to provide the most essential things for survival.

The financial crisis is causing millions of protesters to come out to the streets now. The country itself could be very wealthy, such as Germany or the United States, but due to complete indifference toward each other, it will be impossible to provide a normal life for people who are jobless. They will go to the streets and destroy the whole country.

It doesn’t matter how much money and food resources the nation has hidden away. With the lack of sharing between us, we have a world where half of the population is dying of hunger, and half is throwing out more food than would be necessary to feed the other half. And they cannot come to a consensus with each other because they don’t think about each other.

Therefore, we see that we will not make it without reaching universal love. However, this word has already acquired a certain impure connotation, meaning sexual, false, or naive. Therefore, we can talk about complete mutual partnership: penetrating into another person’s desires, understanding what he needs, filling his necessities, and having concern for him. We must achieve this; otherwise, life on earth will come to an end.

If this is the general law of human survival, how can we begin to live in accordance with it? I need to organize all the thousands of desires that I have in order to not use them only for my own sake but to take into account the interests of others in each of my desires.

I need to be connected with the whole world. I don’t need to know what every person looks like, but there should be a feeling in me that we are all together and I am taking care of every person as though I am taking care of myself. I pour myself a cup of tea, and I worry about everyone else also having a cup of tea. And if others have no tea, to the extent that they desire it, I too will not take any tea for myself.

It is like a mother who cannot take care of herself until she feeds her child and ensures that he is full, healthy, and happy. She simply is unable to think about herself while he lacks something. We need to learn to reach this opposite state from the state of complete egoism.
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From KabTV’s “A New Life” Episode 6, 1/3/12

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Opinion (from Kommersant): “Valentina Matviyenko, Speaker of the Russian Federation Council: ‘Xenophobia, incitement to hatred on ethnic, religious, and social grounds, is creeping around the planet; the popularity of associations and parties whose members often hold Nazi views is on the rise.’

“Ralf-Rene Weingärtner, Director for Human Rights and Anti-discrimination, Council of Europe: ‘We are seeing right-wing extremism on the rise of the EU and Russia. These groups are linked through the Internet, so the threat of international racism is real.

“Nikolai Kabanov, The 11th Saeima member, Latvia: ‘Saeima of Latvia is considering a bill that will allow those who fought the Red Army… to receive benefits and higher pensions. The Lithuanian authorities were criticized for sanctioning the neo-Nazis marches.’

“Oleg Tsarev, people’s Deputy of Ukraine from the Party of regions: ‘The situation in Ukraine is not less alarming: The ultra-nationalist party ‘Freedom’ is in the parliament.’

“Tatiana Zhdanok, a Latvian member of the European Parliament: ‘In Europe, there is already at least one neo-Fascist regime: Prime Minister of Hungary Viktor Orban has limited the freedom of the press, made a change of judges, and abolished the independence of the Central Bank and ombudsmen. Now the Hungarian Jews live in an atmosphere of fear. Some countries would like to equate communism with fascism.’”

My Comment: It is natural, and Kabbalah predicted this. If we do not move towards correction, we head towards the third world war.
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We are witnessing a brand new and fascinating phenomenon: Our society is becoming integral. It’s no longer just about banks and industries establishing partnerships all over the world, exchanging raw materials, merchandise, food and so on. Today even the world’s cultures and education systems are merging into a single, universal blend. All these elements are interconnected and interdependent in every way.

It’s no accident that modern media has made it possible for us to stay abreast of everything that’s happening in the world. In and of itself the knowledge doesn’t necessarily mean anything, but it already makes us dependent on one another. If this dependence exists in a good, tight family, then it’s for the benefit of all, as it gives confidence and pleasure. But if it’s not a good dependence, then the family falls apart.

The problem is we quite simply cannot divorce one another, precisely because we’re united on the global scale. We may hate and reject one another, but we’re entirely dependent on one another at the same time. Nature has imprisoned us on this earth, this tiny surface, and we have nowhere to run from one another.

With each passing day our interdependence grows stronger. When people or nations conflicted in the past, the worst they could do is kill one another. Today, however, if we begin to fight, we will take down the whole world with us, as the modern weapons at our disposal will destroy all living things. It follows that we are entirely dependent on everybody else in all aspects, both good and bad.

This is a big problem because our ego feels no fear and refuses to compromise in any way. The ego grows and develops, but our reason does not evolve with it. As our weapons grow in destructive force, we remain filled with envy, thirst for power, cruelty and the like. This mutual hatred clouds our minds, and if it continues we could easily end up destroying everything.

We see that nature is bringing us to greater mutuality and interdependence, which we cannot escape, like a family that cannot get divorced. So what do we do about it? We must find a solution. And the solution is both clear and unequivocal: to restore peace “in the family,” in our home, between all nations and all people. This mustn’t be done via aggression, but in a way where everyone does their part with complete integrity.

By actualizing this one solution, on which our survival hinges, we will undoubtedly see exactly how to organize everything in the world and the relationships between us with the globe living as one society. We will realize what everybody needs to complement everybody else. We will know how to educate ourselves, the “grown-up children,” and the actual children, the next generation, to make it easier for them to enter into a good, warm, gentle world. We will know how to make sure that no one will be able to stir humanity against itself going forward.

Many scientists are talking about the fact that the world has become round due to its interdependence, that we cannot run away from one another, and that, on the contrary, our interdependence is constantly growing moment by moment, day by day. They warn us of the dangers of adopting policies of protectionism and isolation in an effort to disconnect one nation from another.

The reason is that such attempts oppose the process we’re undergoing from the time we became human to this day. Looking at human history, it’s clear that any attempts to go against the laws of nature have never been successful, and that’s putting it mildly.

This behavior is tantamount to knowing but not observing the laws of physics; the upshot is that I cause immediate harm to myself. All the technology, science, and wisdom we have compiled amounts to us learning to follow the laws of nature. We upgrade our tools of research to discover more of nature’s laws with the aim of using them for our benefit.

The better we know nature’s laws, particularly those that pertain to the environment, society, humanity, and human and social psychology, the better we’ll be able to actualize them in our relationships, and the more we will gain thereby. The only other option is to initiate a “divorce” and all that it entails which means a world war, which could be the end of all mankind on earth.
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From KabTV’s “A New Life” Episode 1, 12/27/11

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Question: When young people, a man and a woman, are making their plans for the future, they dream about the way they’re going to live. Could spouses discuss the ideal picture of an integral family in an integral education group so that everyone could contribute their own vision to it?

Answer: This is useful even today. When creating an image of an ideal family, we need to understand our egoistic nature and have a completely objective attitude towards it. If I can objectively open up to my group, to “dissect” myself before it, and in addition, the group could also explain to me from its point of view who I am and otherwise, then by understanding the viewpoints, habits, and motivations of one another, all the things given by nature and instilled in us, then we would attempt to rise above that into a completely new system of mutual relationships.

We wouldn’t try to break each other because we are creating something mutual: that which is comfortable and good for us. And all our negative inner egoistic impulses would conversely automatically transform into unification above them.

We begin to see that if this egoism of ours didn’t exist, then we wouldn’t have been able to enter into contact with each other. But thanks to the fact that we build this common superstructure above it, the egoism is actually our partner, friend, and helper, acting seemingly against us while in reality demonstrating that precisely through resistance to it, by turning it inside-out in our mutual relationships, we create a new family, a new anti-egoistic society.

Egoism plays a crucial role in this society because without it, we wouldn’t be able to achieve anything. It is the very fabric of nature intentionally instilled in us. What differentiates a person from an animal? It is precisely the fact that year after year, generation after generation, egoism grows within man. By using egoism, except in the opposite direction, we create mutuality between us: Instead of repelling us, we come closer; instead of rejection and hatred, there is love. Everything is contained in this.
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From a “Talk on Integral Education” #6, 12/14/11

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Not by chance is human society becoming more compressed, closed, and homogeneous. Apparently, this is a natural process programmed in our development. We can observe this from aside, study, and analyze it, but this is a fact. It does not matter whether we like it or not, but there is a certain process of development of our nature that we must undergo, and these forms must be revealed.

Therefore, we have no choice, and obviously, we have to build a more connected, friendly, warm society, based on mutual support and participation. All the ancient sources, religions, and beliefs say that in the end, we have to come to love.

People who live in nature, far away from people, say the same thing. They feel love coming from nature and its concern about everything that is contained in it. And we, relating to each other egoistically, looking through our own egoistic perspective, do not notice this love.

I once talked with Jane Goodall who lived in the jungle for about 17 years among chimpanzees; she received the Nobel Prize for her research. I asked her what the most important thing she learned from the feeling of living among the chimpanzees in the jungle where there were no other humans, and if they were ready to accept her as one of their own. And she replied: “Love, this is what I felt among them. Although they are always trying to sort out problems and seem to shout, but this is only to awaken love. And I began to discover the same thing in the trees, forest, sky, earth ….”

Dr. Jane Goodall and Dr. Michael Laitman, Arosa Forum, Switzwerland

She made such a discovery even though she does not have a sentimental character. A person, who arrived from a U.S. concrete jungle and lived for so many years in the jungle, slowly revealed that the whole nature is filled with love.

And here we really are facing a huge problem. All religions, beliefs, and various spiritual practices speak with one voice that a human being must achieve universal unity, if not love, at least good relations, without which humanity simply cannot continue to exist.

To do that, we go through this process in order to feel the need, to want to come to love, to develop new relationships. It is impossible to force one to love! I can pay money to buy anything except love. It is possible to purchase a polite attitude for money, but love is a very special feeling, separate from all other human emotions!

For example, I feel that you have become important for me because through you I learn, understand, and attain something new in life. You become dear to me as much as the subject that I want to get with your help. Thus, a good relationship is built between us.

We may enter into such relations with each other when we need to establish trust. Because I need you and you need me, there is trust between us, to the extent that I can rely on you. But if suddenly someone comes who will pay more and bring you more content and pleasure, all your trust and loyalty disappear.

That is why, we now find ourselves in an unusual situation. Our development has led us to feel that we depend on each other and are required to establish good relationships with each other, to the extent that we should love one another! Otherwise, we will not have the correct trust that is needed to achieve a good life today.
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From Kab TV’s “A New Life” Episode #6, 1/3/12

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Question: When we start talking about current global problems during the lesson, many of our friends take it negatively feeling that we are “missing” part of the lesson. I feel that this attitude should be changed. Without current affairs we have no right to exist. If we are not relevant people won’t hear us out.

Answer: This is also true. Baal HaSulam wrote about the Jerusalem Kabbalists who studied Kabbalah like mathematics and didn’t realize that it’s about the connection among us, about how to correct the broken vessel. Today we discover the shattering of the common soul of Adam HaRishon (First Man), and so the wisdom of Kabbalah is revealed to us in order to correct the shattering.

If we don’t examine the current events from this perspective, then why should we study the wisdom of Kabbalah? Clearly we study only for this reason. Missing the lesson means that I come out of the lesson and throughout the whole day I have nothing to hang on to so that my life won’t go by aimlessly. If my wisdom isn’t connected to real “substance,” it disappears. Even if I feel important, that I have acquired something, and that I understand something, it’s only an egoistic filling, nothing more.

Therefore, if someone thinks that we are talking about current problems just to pass the time, then he shouldn’t come here. After all, he is here thanks to the relevance of these current affairs. Only because of this was each of us brought here so that he would contribute to the correction of the world. But if a person sets himself another goal, he can leave. We don’t need him.
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From the 4^th part of the Daily Kabbalah Lesson 2/1/12, “Introduction to the Study of the Ten Sefirot”

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Question: Suppose the program to educate the unemployed is accepted. How long will it take until we begin to see changes in our country?

Answer: A couple of weeks. Of course, it depends upon the number of people who will study, but the changes will be rapid. Imagine how many hours a day a person will take part in the integral education course. This in itself will evoke great changes in him. At the same time he will be under the strong influence of the environment: millions of people who study daily from their homes, in community centers, in schools in the afternoon…this will be their main occupation, apart from the necessary part time job.

It would be enough if this lasts for several days in order for a great force to be revealed. If you hold such a day all over the country, you will immediately see the changes, and you will see how the people cut themselves off from the old life style and connect to the new one.

The changes will take place at once and in every area of our life: in crime, drugs, litter in the streets, etc. Think of how much can be saved just on municipal services alone. Even the number of sick people will diminish. We will undoubtedly feel this in everything.

Moreover, the entire economy will change too. Will we, the people, keep on buying goods in such monstrous quantities? Will we continue to subsidize the producers and the middlemen that inflate the prices? Will we pay five dollars for cottage cheese that hardly costs one dollar? We will sift out all the redundant things and leave only the necessary ones.

So you may ask: “And what about the taxes? Where will we get the money for social security and for defense?” You will see that there are the means for that. It’s wrong to build an economy on an endless cycle of enormous sums of money, from which the government takes a percentage of for itself. Just look at this ridiculous structure that produces not only goods but papers too.

The economy will be different. You need to provide security? Please, take the people and act. Everyone gets exactly as much as they need to lead a normal life. And all the rest goes to supply the needs of different systems, not financially but rather in the framework of sensible necessities.
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From the 4^th part of the Daily Kabbalah Lesson 2/1/12, “Introduction to the Study of the Ten Sefirot”

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