The stages of spiritual knowledge

My take on the stages of spiritual knowledge from my anecdotal evidence.

Note, some people go through these stages faster than others, some may skip stages, some may combine them, and some may do them in a different order, or even regress. For some this process is tumultuous, for others, it's moderate. I don't think God punishes us for not following a set time frame, or order, but I do know that God appreciates one's effort to attain it, consciously or subconsciously.

Stage 1 (Childhood) - The default state of being connected to God, in which, society and community either educates us to deviate from, or strengthen.

Stage 2 (The Rebellion) - The period in which hedonism becomes important. Often defined by sex, drugs, traveling, dating, partying, accumulating wealth, "keeping up with the Joneses". One is often in competition during this phase.

Stage 3 (Opening consciousness) - The period of inner exploration, questioning, sorting out. One may have a sudden stirring interest in religion(s), history, metaphysics, conspiracies, or fighting for a cause.

Stage 4 (The Father/Mother as the Sacred Child) - This is the final stage, in which the knowledge from all previous stages get affirmed, yet become secondary to everyday life matters, both mundane and important. Also, the Fatherly and Motherly instinct takes over, even if one chooses not to have children. One often finds the serendipitous feeling of opening their consciousness in everyday activities. They become hardwired into the mind, accepted and appreciated without much overt excitement. Despite the lack of overt enthusiasm, the potency is just as powerful, or more. An activity such as drinking a cup of coffee becomes an affirmation of one's connection to God, and get's added into one's bank of accumulated wisdom. One becomes like a child again. If you've ever spent time around elderly people, you can feel their level of spiritual mastery shining brightly like the sun.

Peace and hope you found something interesting from this small write-up.

Movie Idea

Premise: 

A group of Scientists try to experiment on a Gorilla, and the Gorilla winds up trapping the scientists in the facility and running the same experiments on the scientists. 

Here's the catch: The Gorilla never has one experiment run on him, nor does he or she talk, or even use sign language, the gorilla just presses all the right buttons at the right time. Gorillas look like they always plotting something, and for an animal that can probably rip the arms off the strongest man alive, they move comedically lazily

I'd make it a comedy/horror mix, kind of on the same vein as a Jordan Peele film. 

Pyramid Theory

 My theory: The Pyramids were a conduit for psychic power. 

    This is purely anecdotal, because today we still don't know what these structures were used for, and how they were built.

    I believe the biggest quest of humanity is gain an agreed-upon moral code. Earlier in this quest, we didn't have such strict rules, opening the door to a worst-case-scenario becoming the norm interpretation. This can be based upon the evidence we have, as left to us by our Ancestors, in hieroglyphs and tombs, and in temples showing slavery and human sacrifices. As a species we had to fight to get simple moral codes such as "you shouldn't kill" written into into our laws ,and we also had to get the practice of ritual human sacrifice written out of our laws. Modern gangs, and the advent of modern warfare is subconsciously still associated under the moral leadership of a system that says ritual human sacrifice "is not ok". We can't imagine the rules and lack of the rules in a World that says it is.

    Lets look at psychic with an emphasis on the Latin root "Psych" as a basis for that word, or the textbook definition which includes matters of the mind. I'm not referring to the kind of psychic power we associate with in mythical portrayals, such as with cleverly illustrated lines, and figures like Professor X tapping his head. I'm talking about the kind that's cultivated. Explainable, but still tangible. 

    With the right promotion, one can give any icon power, look at the logos we use and what we associate them with, from religions to gang signs. Look at all the different shapes and how they can trigger an emotion by simply being viewed, because of their association. 

    Roll up on them pyramids back in the day if you bad. Imagine seeing those mysterious shrines, in their active state in real life. Think of the impact of seeing the tallest man made structure(s) in the World in ancient times, standing tall like a futuristic fortress, a perfectly aligned, triangular, smooth, crisp geometrical shape, one shining with a gold light, made even brighter at the top with a gold tip. This is thousands of years before BC, mind you. Consider the fact that only until the last 100 years has humanity been capable of producing a weapon strong enough to remove them, so that icon ruled symbolically, and physically as a permanent fixture of human achievement and empire. And there might have been more than one, considering the time period.

   Keep in mind these magnificent triangles also represent the dark, the light, the cosmic, the organic, the military, wealth, law, language, the "workforce", the scientific World, the artistic World, the human body, the mind, the soul, and even sex. That's dominion over every aspect of a person's existence, the literal result of a societal pyramid scheme, with an easily-brandable, indestructible icon to match. Iconography to the extreme. This is the same triangle found in every human-created, and organic shape in the World with Mathematics, in the Golden Ratio, which the pyramids also align with. It's also in alignment with the sun, the moon and the stars. 

    The kingdom of which these pyramids sat, were ruled by the Pharoahs, who were sent from the Gods for this very purpose. In his heyday, Michael Jackson had the power to make people faint with just his presence, voice, and moves. Again, I define this as a kind of psychic power. We all know the methods, talent, and promotion he used to achieve it; they're not mystical, magical, but they're tangible, and its results were magic on the stage. I think that's the last time we will see a human whose presence can cause such a visceral reaction from people. We also know of people who produce similar, but lesser, reactions, such as the Pope. The Pharoahs were the spiritual leaders of the Kingdoms, so they were like Popes, and maybe even the Michael Jacksons, but they were also leaders of the monarchy, ruling in matters of military, justice and civility.  That level of leadership opens the historical possibility of the Pharoah of the time being a King or Queen that's well respected and feared, or a tyrant, simply feared and more feared. 

    Back to the Gods. The Gods hold domain over the ruler of the Kingdom in which these mystical objects reside in. Some of these Gods are represented by people wearing animal masks, or are just animals. That brings up interesting forms of worship. Consider the likelihood and potential implications of people warring over individual Gods. The pyramids could have represented this energy. You may agree or not agree with modern religion, but ain't nobody dying over no alligator, hippo, cat or falcon. With the religious implications of the Gods in play. The Pharoah being linked with the complex would be akin to Vatican being in DC with the US President being Pope also. 

    I can picture the pyramids holding so much power, some people went crazier and crazier as they got closer to them. Others might have fainted upon sight, like one having a religious experience. Maybe they tried to absorb this energy somehow. The builders were probably years ahead in something we struggle to understand. I think it had to do with matters of the most untapped resource in terms of successful efficacy throughout time, the human mind. 

That's just my theory. God bless.  

Dent 

Still...

 

Still not for the s**ts. 

I'm not for a Militant solution, not just because I stand for peace, because ain't no way in HELL we gonna win in a firefight against trained racist armies and militias, ESPECIALLY not in 2022.....regardless of how many guns are out here, regardless of what people say in entertainment. We can't even come together at public event without some s**t popping off, like that's an admirable quality of a unified movement.

But I will defend myself. 

#BlackLivesMatter 

Love has 3 parts to it: affection, trust, respect.

Respect is the foundation of love. One can respect someone and not love them. I differ from the philosophy of "you have to earn my respect". I respect everyone by default. People may take actions to lose respect, but it's always there. For instance, I respect the US justice system, regardless of whether I consider the laws just or not. I respect it because there are legitimate and very real consequences for not adhering to it. 

Trust is also default, but its more limited in scope, and it requires going through more doors to unpack. One can trust someone in the small capacity they share, such as in business, one can trust that a colleague will finish their work, but it may not extend past the business paradigm. 

Affection, however is the aspect most associated with our modern understanding of love. Affection comes in many forms, romantic affection, affection from a family member, affection from a friend, or just emotional affection overall. I carry emotional affection for everyone by default, that's the essence of empathy, but it's shown and used sparingly. For me to transcend default affection towards someone requires a strong showing and feeling of respect and trust that motivates me to move forward. 

Love isn't all hugs and kisses or hallmark cards, love is also the feeling of working together towards a common goal for the goodwill of the whole. 

Love

The illusion of sexual power and its stronghold on the male psyche.

One of the biggest takeaways from the sexual revolution was the focus on Women's empowerment, and Male rehabilitation. A large component of this rehabilitation was concerned with not objectifying Women, and also respecting Womens choices. 

What was was missing was a look into a prominent hyper-macho, male virtue that there is value in being able to perform well sexually, and there is value in having many partners, many different examples of sexual experience, or any sexual experience at all. 

This pathological, mythical male virtue is so prominent in our culture, it has almost become custom. This custom is found all around the globe, from recorded history to the modern World. Today it's found in many different facets of everyday life, it's found in music, its found in the idolization of the "player" figure, and its one of the key components in the "Alpha Male" philosophy.  

Historically and presently, there is no evidence that those who possess or possessed sexual prowess have progressed our civilization foward any more so than those who haven't.

There is also no scientific evidence that those who possess sexual experience and prowess have better mental and physical health than those who don't. There is an exception to this. A potential deterrent to good health from someone with limited or no sexual experience can come from external sources in our culture: from embarrassment, humiliation and feelings of inadequacy, from peers, partners, and often popular media. Are these reasons proof that the problem lies in the lack of experience itself, or the problem is in the reaction to it, from society, from a partner, or even from the inexperienced person themself? Are there people with limited to no sexual experience who see themself as accomplished, confident and "Manly" as those who have it? If so, where is their representation, or the promotion of the virtuous value of their choice in popular culture? We do however, have "the 40 year old virgin", as a comedic punchline strong enough to form the premise of a movie. Why do we find that concept something to laugh at? Why is there a culture of "incels", people who feel they have to aggressively, and often disrespectfully weild their virginity against others? 

If we are look at sex as a commodity from a business framework, or as sex as the basis for a formal artistic institution, then experience and performance would be legit. For some people, it's a source of personal pride. In the field of sex work, it's certainly legit. In love however, it means nothing. Love isn't dependent on sexual prowess or experience. Sex is but one thread of pleasure in the endless, infinite fabric of satisfaction that love encompasses.  

Black Love and how it can re-shape the World. - Part 1 - Suffering

As Black people in America, we tend to hold social and cultural facets of other races to a higher regard. This is most prominent in relation to White people. We also obsess on our negative, destructive facets to the point of often falling into damaging self-fulfilling prophecies. This is a result of generations of mental colonization, false programming, and brainwashing by racism.

I was reading the book "Salvation: Black People and Love" by Bell Hooks and she brought up an interesting point. She says "There should be an entire body of work, both serious scholarship and popular material, focusing on Black self-love." 

I found this very interesting and I wanted to expand this idea outside of self-love, to also include community and family love. In the next installment of this post, I'm going to create a small, abridged list of facets of social and cultural life we should celebrate. These facets aren't part of the popular, dominant culture, yet they promote a holistic sense of identity and understanding of the world around us.

For part one of this two part post, I want to write about these facets in light of the Black condition. The truth is that many of these practices exist because we sit at the lowest social strata in this country. We are this way because we suffer. Some see this suffering as an unnecessary obstacle, one that should be shunned, regardless of its output, while others see it in a Biblical paradigm, nurturing our highest, fullest, most God-like self. 

While I agree that we shouldn't have to suffer, I tend to lean more towards the religious, spiritual understanding because I can't simply erase the scars, or ignore the impact generations of suffering has had on me, my family, and my people's existence. What was done has been done. There's no going back. 

I don't necessarily see suffering as a the most extreme, destitute form of disenfranchisement, physical pain or imprisonment. That form of suffering does exist and it can be horrific, but its one of many forms of suffering. In its most rudimentary, yet still spiritually potent form, it can be that nagging feeling that something is wrong that needs to be fixed. Its not something that one looks for either. I try not to walk into suffering or repeat the patterns that cause suffering, that's the action of a psychopath. That's self-destruction. The suffering I'm referring to is the epic internal and external conflict known as "the struggle", that we deal with by being Black. Suffering is a great teacher, whose lessons are applied, preserved and updated.

Picture suffering as a man-made garden. The plot of land that was cleared to tend to this garden is the object of suffering. The land with its original growth now gone is the sufferer. 

One can let that land sit vacant in the hopes that new growth will sprout by itself, which may lead to at best, a renewal of what was there before, or at worst a dead patch of land. This is the suffering that occurs with no follow up. Victims often experience this. We have repeatedly experienced this cruel roll of dice throughout history. 

One may also plant seeds and never tend to it again, creating a growth that may find a way to form an organic symbiotic relationship at best, or a parasitic relationship at the worst. This is akin to shallow advice with no follow ups, ineffective legislation by government authorities, or moral platitudes often eschewed by the Church with no practical means of action to accompany scripture. We to have also suffered in this more complex dice game. 

Another option is continuously preserve, tend to, and update the garden with new cyclical growth by rotating crops, plants and trees, creating a sustainable source of energy and a psychological refuge that promotes a sense of harmony and feng shui. This may create an entirely new ecosystem, or a fruitful source of nourishment for a village, or even the World on a macro level. 

To apply this ecosystem metaphor to the Black experience is to refer to the ongoing social, psychological, and economic work performed at the community level. When we are at our best, we do this with spectacular results. 

What are some of the ways we do this?

Stay tuned to part 2 for more:

 :)

Read this book!

Mind Your Own Business!!

Mind your own business!!

Minding ones own business is not only the best morally just action, its the best action for ones own mental health. 

Of course there are situations where one has to tend to others, such as when someone has given the express permission to engage in another person's affairs, such as being a supervisor, teacher, parent, guardian, or doctor. There are also situations, especially in the age of social media, where one may have chosen to publicly disseminate portions of their own personal affairs. 

Otherwise, someone else's personal affairs should be of no concern to you. 

Synyonyms that pyschologically align with minding my own business, and keeping my nose where it belongs...

 

Success 

Joy 

Happiness 

Peace 

Tranquility 

Satisfaction 

I find when I stray from minding my own business, I become more stressed, less lucid, less able to think on my own, and more prone to error. 

Why I Choose Nonviolent Over Violent Revolution

Why I choose Nonviolence Over Violent Revolution

I'm just as much a student of Malcolm X as I am MLK. I am a fan of the original Black Panther Party. I'm also a card carrying member of the Hip Hop generation, which has branches extending from the militant arm of the Black Power movement.

I believe nonviolent doesn't refer to being unprepared and defenseless. I draw inspiration from the sense of urgency, duty, and creative expressions of anger from the more militant Black movements, however the militancy isn't the primary guiding factor in my philosophy. I believe that the idea of violent revolution, in its reasoning, steers the mind to the final destination of committing violence against one another. It subtly incentivizes hurting others, keeping that action as an unspoken goal that looms over everything, taking precedence over the actual goal of the revolution itself. This hijacking of the mind can easily lead one to dehumanize whom they seek to commit violence against, and create or obsess over "Us Vs Them" scenarios, even when they don't exist.

I was watching a speech by MLK towards the end of his life and was very inspired by his resolve. This particular speech happened when his popularity dropped significantly, as he became more unpopular with White people for his anti-War position and unpopular with many Black people who began to toss aside his peaceful philosophy of revolution in favor of more militant solutions. In a speech he stated very passionately, "If every negro in the US turns against nonviolence, I'm going to stand up as a lone voice and say this is the wrong way!" He was heckled, and insulted by many who were working towards the same goal of civil rights and Black self-sustainability, but he didn’t back down.

To stand firm in his convictions in the face of that much opposition is courage on a level I cannot possibly understand, but I will try to make sense of his rationale. I think MLK was a prophet that though far beyond his time.

Consider this:

War is a terrible facet of humanity where violence is the primary method of resolution. Veterans who return from wars often have PTSD. War can corrupt and damage your thinking process, it can cause trauma that accumulates and becomes self-destructive if not healed. Even the most clear-headed military leader is showing a level of mental acuity that's only measured in response to a situation of extreme duress. Trauma takes a toll.

How does one build in this paradigm?

How does one fellowship in this paradigm?

How does one innovate in this paradigm?

How does one have the clarity to see opportunities as they arrive in this paradigm?

How does one trust in this paradigm?

In this paradigm, the mind is stuck in fight or flight mode, made even worse in situations where its not called for. This mindset becomes an obstacle to build community, an obstacle to open-mindedness, an obstacle to creativity, free thought is stifled. Lucid, logical thinking can easily become prone to paranoia, obsession, rumors and fallacies. It leaves the mind vulnerable, not at its full capacity, not at its full strength. Its too easy to create conflict and discord where there is none.

In todays America, violent "Us Vs Them" mindsets have created an epidemic of paranoid people convinced that someone is out to get them, convinced to the point they will commit horrific, despicable actions against others with the rationale that there's a war going on, despite any evidence to the contrary.

Yet there are also factual instances of conspiracies and unwarranted aggression against people with no just cause, instances if left unchecked can threaten us all. So how does one deal with this? That's a hard question to answer.

I don't know. I know this, I believe in preparation, planning, de-escalation, protection over escalation and becoming the aggressor.

Dr. Martin Luther King Jr lived by the Biblical decree of "Love thy enemy". I believe this decree doesn't have to be some feel-good quote in which brings up imagery of flowers, hugs and romantic relationships. You can love someone and never have to see them again. You can love someone and angrily let them know how frustrated you are with them, and how you refuse to accept or respect their behavior. You can also love someone and aggressively incapacitate them if the situation calls for it. I think the term "love" has become triggered, because its so overused in our society. There's also respect. IMO, respect is a subordinate to love. You cannot respect what you don't love in some way, even if it isn't love with a capital "L". I think a clear and universally agreed antithesis of love however is dehumanization. Some of the worst violations of the preservation of the sanctity and safety of life, some of the worst atrocities committed come from people who dehumanize others. The path to dehumanization begins with "Us vs them", and that is further extended with the thought of committing violence against one another.

I could attempt to explain the logic behind the statement "violence begets violence", how violence is mostly akin to putting out a fire with grease, and how violence on a large scale in todays era of super-power weaponry could lead to assured mutual destruction, but I'll leave that for another post. I will say this, I believe MLK was a prophet who saw the modern day storm coming, and was well ahead of his time. Some might say his methods are outdated, but I feel they are as relevant as ever. Through his historical example, today, in 2022 and beyond, I choose nonviolence over violent revolution.

"I feel that organized nonviolence resistance is the most powerful weapon that oppressed people can use in breaking loose from the bondage of oppression. Non-cooperation with evil is as much of a moral obligation as cooperation with good" - Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.

MLK on Non-violence

Republicans 2022

Non political word association game with current day Republicans.

First words that come to mind: 

Rude, Arrogant, Paranoid, Disrespectful, Childish, Deceitful, Shameless 

Putin

Putin:

- The KKK and all these White Supremacy groups in America fear him cause he don't care about the West, or America.

- Nazis and all these European right wing White Supremacist groups fear him cause he don't care about Europe. Theyll try to act they're on his side, but deep down they know they'll get disposed of too, and he got a bigger ally that don't care about none of that to his East

Muslim extremists probably scared because he don't care about Islam, or got no problems nuking places in the Middle East. He the type to appease someone til he's tired of them. 

The always controversial Isreal probably thinking 3 times about riding with him cause you know he ain't running with no Jews, he turn they iconic flag to the sickle and hammer too.

45 too busy kissin his a** truly believing he won't get stabbed in the back. His supporters probably the only ones who can't see his betrayal plans.

If ran a Cartel I might support 45 in the hopes to cause chaos and $$ more drug money, but now 45 supports Putin and Putin don't give a f**k about no Latin American country or city, he'll nuke they a**ess too, once again deal with them until he gets tired of em. They kiss Putins a** and it's Conquistador 2.0, Comquistador! 

Finally I know somewhere there's some Black people somewhere in the diaspora who think they riding with Putin too, the same ones who would get caught hi-fiving the KKK cause they giving out money or something, looking up to them like role models, smiling like gullible fools, which may be entertaining to him until......yeah Putin ain't racist either right?

BTW, Putin ain't strength, he failure. He the worst kind of failure. The kind of failure that will endanger us all because he's too uncontrollable and explosive, plus once again he got a bigger ally, bigger Fish, who has the RESOURCES to contain him, probably plotting the same stuff against him or worse.

Bidens plan is probably the best plan. When you dealing with a fool with that much power, you can only take the MLK approach and hit him where it hurts him the most, his wallet. 

Lawd have mercy!