How to MEET our obligations

I’m driving pass the local High School recently just as Summer School was letting out and it looked like a regular School Day. I couldn’t believe how many children were registered! As a form of general conversation I often ask the youth I come into contact with, "Are you going to Summer School?" and many of them shamefully say, "Yes", usually for Math, Science, and Language Arts. Through one of my close Associates who works for the School District, I also learned that many youth were turned down for Summer School because too many were already registered. Now what surprised me most was the large number of youth who are in Summer School this year for… drum roll… Gym. Yeah, that’s right "GYM"! Who fails GYM?! If the only thing you’re passing in School is ‘The Office’ so you can go to Lunch, and then ‘Gas’ after you eat it, something is terribly wrong with that picture… Aside from the obviously low pay our Teachers get and the poor Curriculum, there’s a serious level of apathy I cee in today’s youth I didn’t cee growing up. I mean, I’m sure some of us were apathetic because I, and my entire Science Class, went to Summer School in 8th Grade for fooling around all year. Yet I have never even fathomed the type of apathy that would have youth, who are not overweight, going to Summer School for Gym. -smh-

Anyway, this serves as one of our biggest challenges for us as Adults, yes even those of you who have taken the initiative to Home School "your" child(ren). Home Schooled children undoubtedly come into contact with other youth who go to Public, Private, and Charter Schools, and apathy is as catchy as pink eye at a daycare. So in otherwords, the youth are ALL of our responsibility regardless where we live it, and even if we don’t have any children of our own. Part of our responsibility is to help encourage our youth to develop a greater passion for learning, growing, and utilizing the resources available to them to help shape "their" destiny -key word being "their". I mention "their" simply because if the youth cannot relate or cee a personal interest in it then it won’t mean anything, even when it’s the truth. The youth are the Ambassadors of the future whether they’re prepared or not, and if we aren’t actively making our contribution to help them solve present day problems, we’re adding to future our problems. So how can we, as Adults, help them MEET the expectations of bringing about a greater World than the one we were given responsibility for keeping? Well here is a simple formula I want to encourage you all to apply with the youth, starting with the youth in your own Family, extending to your Community, and then elsewhere.

MEET

M - Make a commitment to be a part of the solution, not the problem. I’m sure many People could relate about the apathy amongst our youth b.u.t. how many of us are actually doing something about it? Are we really committed to cee our youth do better or content with ceeing them frustratingly on a quest for fire? Once our word is bond, that bond will be life, and we should be willing to give our life before our word shall fail, just like we do with anything else we feel/believe is important to us.

E - Examine the reasons for the apathy our youth are experiencing. This means to listen! As Adults many of us are so involved in talking at, talking above, talking around, and talking about our youth that we rarely take the time to actually listen to their concerns, which are legitimate I might add. Listening means taking the time to find out what they think, like, feel, cee, and believe WITHOUT adding our two cents, cutting them off, or telling them what to do. When was the last time you too the time to listen to an Artist who’s lyrics they quote better than a Preacher quotes Bible verses? What was the last movie you went to cee that they counted the minutes, seconds, and hours down to when it comes out? How many times have you actually asked the youth about their day and what’s going on with them and mean it? The Generation Gap we cee is really a Communication Gap, and until we learn how to listen, it will be impossible to (re)establish the relationships with our youth to help close this Gap. If we’re honestly not listening to them, why should they listen to us anyway? -shrugs- We can't ask for what we're not willing to give...!

E - Explore goals/interests that you both share. This establishes a level of Social Equality because now you’re no longer -total- strangers. If you both can’t stand broccoli, watch WWE, enjoy reading, or didn’t like how Bella treated Jacob on Twilight, or any number of things, that’s common ground to build on! Because you’ve already started to really listen to what they think, like, feel, cee, and believe, now you’ve begun to be exposed to things you may have never heard about and even start developing a real interest in. My prejudicial opinion of Drake was that he was W.A.C.K. until my oldest Queen put me on to him; we bumped his Album all Summer a couple years ago. When I first heard about ‘The Pack’ Rapper named Lil B and his BasedGod Movement from some of the youth, I didn’t hesitate to learn what this is about, and because I follow up with them about various things I obviously don’t understand, they don’t hesitate to teach me. Because I’ve learned to "preserve the best part for myself and not be concerned (not care) about the poor part" (1/1-14) when it's appropriate, Yes there are some things I’ve found that are in common with how I cee Life, and these are the things that have helped further solidify our relationship. Now when I cee other youth and talk with them about it, they welcome me as a Newborn, after of course they first look at me like, "Who initiated you into our Society?" Lol If there is no common ground, you can’t build with anybody, especially the youth.

T - Think outside of your box for solutions. When it comes to addressing the apathy our youth have towards Self/Academic Education, and some things that our youth may think, like, feel, cee, and believe that aren’t positive/productive, we have to be creative. We have to come up with solutions that are a Win-Win situation for us both. For example, one day one of my Queens tried to put me onto Nicki Minaj and instead of me throwing up, I told her she wasn’t as nice as Lil Kim. Obviously she disagreed, so we pulled up Youtube on our laptops and went song for song between Nicki and Kim, critiquing both lyrics and technique. There were some songs Nicki got her on and others Kim won, yet that wasn’t my determined idea. In time I discreetly began to sneak MC Lyte (whom she already knew about), Isis, Rage, Bahamadia, Heather B.,Yo-Yo (who she thought was super wack), Boss, and other MC’s in there in order to expose her to other Female Artists. The Win-Win situation in this case was both of us considering something different; thinking outside of the box! How’s that for creativity? Lol Sometimes we have to be even more creative than that, and the "determined idea" (24/1-40) is to agree upon something you’re both willing/able to live with. Some Adults go amongst the youth with this chip on their shoulder like it’s all about what they’re going to teach them -with no respect or consideration for their choice to listen and learn, just like we have. Just getting the youth to consider what you have to offer, just like them getting you to consider what they have to offer, is a huge accomplishment. This is a major contribution to closing the Communication Gap between Generations.

Before we can even strive to tackle the problems going on outside, we have to first address the problems going on inside. Summer School is only the out-side effects of problems going on inside our Families and Communities. Some of the apathy the youth have is simply a mirror reflection of our apathy as their Parents, Guides, Community Leaders, and Elders. If you’re not passionate about something then the youth definitely won’t be inspired by you. The reason I expressed the above formula (MEET) was to demonstrate how this is an interactive endeavor. Why? Because we grow together! And some of you probably thought that we’ll solve these problems going on with youth within our Families/Communities by sharing wisdom from our front porch like robins feed baby birds. No, you may have to play video games, go sledding, play soccer, and do other things the youth do. If you’re not committed to them, in action, why should you expect them to be committed to you? Once we’ve committed ourselves to helping our youth grow and develop, we’ll better position ourselves to MEET a brighter future for us all. By becoming more involved in their lives, our lives, we will better equip the youth with the tools necessary to bring about change. So I challenge all of you to help and continue to help our youth grow into the responsible stewards of a future World. The more they cee and get the encouragement from us to do better, they will. You did! -smile-

Peace!

Stagnation...

Contradictions with True Self Identification

When a person comes into KOS (Knowledge of Self), we go through a process of reevaluating our Philosophies on Life. We begin to question ideas/beliefs we’ve held about God, Family, Relationships, Diet, Education, Entertainment, and everything else that represents one’s way of life (Culture). As we reevaluate these Philosophies there are three things that happen to us:

1. We learn that there are some things in our Philosophy that are still valuable/true.

2. We learn that there are some things in our Philosophy that are no longer valuable/true.

3. We learn new Philosophies on life that are valuable/true that we may have never heard before or never considered much.

This reevaluation process brings us to a valley of decision each time we question an idea/belief. When we began to learn about the health issues that come along with eating pork and pork by-products, we had to make a decision about our diet. Some of us stopped immediately, others took some time to stop consuming it, while others still chose not change their diet at all. Because this is a process, there are still ideas/beliefs People are dealing with that do not completely coincide with KOS, myself included, and these are called ‘CONTRADICTIONS’ (an incompatibility/inconsistency between two or more propositions). This is the importance of our reevaluation process and Building with one another; we are constantly learning the right ways to resolve these contradictions for the purpose of positive growth & development. In the 13/1-40 we learn that a small percentage (10%) of Caucasians that represent the Wealthy/Elite within the Dominant Society we live in "continues daily to teach" the masses of People many of these contradictions in order to "make -mental/physical- slaves out of all they can, so they can rob them and live in luxury" (12/1-40). Because ‘they continue daily’ to inundate us with ideas/beliefs that contradict our Philosophy on Life, we are constantly in a state of psychological, socioeconomic, physiological, and agricultural warfare. There are two types of People who are dealing with these contradictions; those who are striving to do something about it, and those who’re aren’t striving to do something about it.

Those who are striving to do something about it are actively involved in ways to resolve what they honestly acknowledge as a contradiction. If they smoke cigarettes they’ll be honest about what they’ve chosen to be addicted to and if they’re not involved in some type of program, they’ll be showing clear behavior/signs towards quitting. Those who aren’t striving to do anything about it are still in love with these ideas/beliefs and don’t want to give up these contradictions. If they smoke cigarettes they won’t be honest about what they’ve chosen to be addicted to and won’t be involved in any program or show any clear behavior/signs towards quitting. As a matter of fact they’ll often try to justify why they do it by making illogical statements like, "I’m not hurting anybody but myself", as if they have no relationship/responsibility to a collective that will be effected by their sickness or physical death, "I do what I want in my own Universe", again, as if they have no relationship/responsibility to a collective that will be effected by their choices, and "Just because I smoke, it doesn’t make what I’m saying not true or me any less of a God!", which is essentially right & exact, because it doesn’t make what they’re saying untrue, it makes them untrue for choosing to justify doing the complete opposite. While the former perspective of doing something about our contradictions is a natural part of growing up, and the reason why we Build with eachother; to help elevate, the later perspective of not doing something about it is not natural, and the reason why we Destroy.

One of the biggest contradictions I cee, particularly amongst Gods and People who claim to identify themselves with/as The Supreme Being, is how they also hold fast to Philosophies like "I’m only human", "No one is perfect", "That’s just how I am", "You made me do it", "We all fall short or make mistakes", "I can’t", etc… Either we truly cee ourselves as having no limitations with infinite potential (Supreme), or deep down inside we really believe we’re only human and everybody makes mistakes. Either we have this Supreme ability to rise above and respond to any circumstance, or we don’t! Those who are still secretly in love with ideas/beliefs that contradict a Godly Perspective, become Cultural "Traders"; trying to use illogic, justifications, and rationalizations to make "interpretations" (28/1-36) of what clearly doesn’t coincide with this way of life. The bottom line is this: Regardless of what we’re into or may choose to do that is a contradiction towards growth & development, are we striving to Build or Destroy, Elevate or Degenerate?

In regards to proper Identification, once we decide to identify our Self with/as The Supreme Being, there are certain ideas/beliefs we can no longer accept as true, and contradictions we cannot live with. Why? Because certain ideas/beliefs reflect the mentality and procedures of someone who doesn’t identify themselves with/as The Supreme Being. If you’re really The Supreme Being, then how can somebody "make you" mad or make you do anything for that matter? If you’re really The Supreme Being, then how can you claim to be a Libra and that’s just how you are? If you’re really The Supreme Being, then how exactly do you, The Supreme Being, actually have flaws and make mistakes? None of this adds up and there is no way to reconcile any of these Philosophies because they completely contradict eachother. On one hand we claim to have unlimited access to all Omnipotence and Omniscience, yet on the other hand we’re claiming to be only human.

In closing, I want to encourage those who are reading this to be diligent in reevaluating the words/concepts we use because many of them reinforce ideas/beliefs that completely contradict how we claim to cee ourselves. For People who don’t subscribe to the idea that they are the True & Living God, it’s fine for them to make declarations like "We all make mistakes" and "Nobody’s perfect". That directly coincides with how they cee themselves. B.u.t. for us, that’s not alright. If we subscribe to the idea that we are the True & Living God, then we don’t make mistakes. We make choices that may not have been the most allwise, right & exact. Therefore, we do not accept mistakes as who/what we essentially are; they’re learning Lessons to show forth and prove our power to transcend them. Why? Because we are essentially perfect; "undiluted, mixed, or tampered with in any ‘form’ [circumstance]" (9/1-14). Therefore, we do not accept the idea/belief that "Nobody’s perfect"; every situation we’re faced with is a perfect opportunity to demonstrate how "Allah is God, always has been and always will be", because the limited conditions [circumstances] we are temporarily going through can never be Supreme over us! (38/1-40)

Peace,
Saladin

Maat: Truth, Justice, Order, Morality, Righteousness, Reciprocity

Righteousness (Right-Justness)

Within The NGE, we do not subscribe to the idea of being 'a subject to' or 'immobilized by' “the unexpected”. We identify our True (Essential) Self as Infinite Potential and “rightfully” hold the power to transform any and all circumstances; based upon what we choose to do, and how we choose to respond (not react) to these circumstances. The 24th Letter in the Supreme Alphabet is ‘X’, which means “The Unknown”. This only means ‘not known’ or that there is a lack of experience (2) in dealing with a certain cultural (4) phenomenon on our part. According to the 1/1-40, “we write History or Koran in advance” and “there is no Mystery God” (10/1-40). This is especially true when we’re actively writing/charting a plan and give “our word is bond, bond is ‘life’” to others involving the manifestation of this plan (11/1-14). In otherwords, as Infinite Potential, we are not subjected to the whims of Society, we are not only human, we are not helpless, we are not enslaved to habits/tendencies, and we are not imprisoned to our feelings, personal desires, and sentimentalities. We teach that the Operating System of The Universe is Mathematics and Mathematically speaking, everything in this System is based upon what is ‘Just’ (Fair) and ‘True’: AKA “Righteous”. The True (Essential) Self being The Author of this Operating System means that our Nature (Essence) is likewise “Righteous”; “His (and Her) own Self is ‘Righteous’…” (14/1-36). Even wrong is based upon what is “Right”, and according to our 38/1-40, the Devil and the chaos (aberration/deviation) surrounding him, was ultimately made by God to serve a “Righteous” purpose: “To show forth and prove his (God’s) Power that he is allwise and ‘Righteous’…” So as “Righteous” People, our bottom line must be to make the “Right” choices (“allwise”; ‘right discernment/judgment’). It's also important to understand that the “Right” choices may or may not include our personal feelings, our individual desires, or our sentimentalities. Living in a Hedonistic Society that constantly bombards us with ideas about gratifying our senses, identifying solely with our emotions/feelings, and defining our Self according to the form/flesh, many People have a very difficult time distinguishing what they personally feel from what is “Right”. In terms of “Righteousness”, what we feel, our individual desires, or our sentimentalities are only as valid as their ability to coincide with what is ‘Just’ (Fair) and ‘True’. Sometimes we may feel deeply about what’s Right and everything works out Right. Other times we might really desire something for ourselves (and others) that’s unfair/unjust, and doing what’s Right isn’t working out well. This is what distinguishes the Integrity of the Righteous and those who are lacking in Righteous Integrity (Integrity is: a sense of justness, and consistency with our word, actions, values, methods, principles, etc.). When confronted with situations that question our feelings, personal desires, and sentimentalities, are we going to do what’s ‘Right’, or try to justify doing what we really wanted/feel? So whether we may perceive/believe something to be “the unexpected”, it does not suspend the “expectation” and Law of Righteousness, nor does it change the “expected” Integrity of our word as being a bond, and that bond being life. In otherwords, just because we find our Self confronted with a situation that appears “unexpected”, we are still “expected” to make the Right choice -especially when that choice involves a consensus and affects the livelihood of others.

Some time ago I posted on my FB Page about going to The Annual Father/Daughter Dinner Dance with my youngest Queen ‘Aziza’ who was graduating from the 8th Grade. I attended the Dance with my oldest Queen ‘Asiyah’ so this meant a lot to me and I made sure that I was there! Although I planned, it did not go as expected… Once I got there, I found out that a dress was made for Aziza via her Mother, and I didn’t cee it until the day of the Event. Long story short, I definitely didn’t approve of this type of dress (and heels) for my 13 year old daughter, which Aziza was also uncomfortable with. All of my feelings about being there with her, my personal desire to cee my Queen happy, and my sentimentality about the significance of her Graduation all weighed heavy on my Mind. I discussed my stance, I strived to make some other arrangements b.u.t. her Mother was determined to follow through with her investment. Eventually, I chose to sit it out. Yes I “felt” bad, yes her Mother was mad because she got the dress made, and yes my Queen was upset that I was probably the only Father not there. Since my decision, I have since received a couple Modifications to my Support Order in the Mail via her Mother, and Aziza has just started building with me again after just a week ago. Emotionally, this wasn’t an easy decision for me at all, yet it was the ‘Right’ decision to make as a standard bearer of ‘Righteousness’ and maintaining my degree of Integrity in regards to what I know to be Just and True. When this so-called “unexpected” situation arose, I kept my word (Integrity) as bond and bond as life “regardless to whom or what” (11/1-14).

There have been situations in my Life where I wasn’t as fortunate to do what was ‘Right’ (Just and True). Instead, I chose to identify with how I felt, go according to my individual desires, and ignored my reasoning in order to be sentimental. In all of these situations where I chose to do what I wanted/felt -especially when it involved making personal sacrifices or considering others who had a voice in the situation, I paid for it. Why? Because since “Righteousness” is about doing what is ‘Just’ and ‘True’, our choices either reward or penalize us. At one time I ‘felt’ like a Woman would never lie on me in Court and I’m paying for it, literally. I once had a strong ‘desire’ to do everything within my power to educate someone, who didn’t want to learn, and almost lost my physical life in the process. I’ve also been too ‘sentimental’ about fulfilling the needs of Fatherless children and ended up being positioned/propositioned by their Mothers.

In regards to ‘Right’ as it relates to LOVE, HELL or RIGHT: LOVE is a Virtue that gives context/clarity to our feelings, desires, and sentiments yet ultimately transcends them. It is the highest degree of Understanding (Comprehension/Cognition/Clarity) between People. HELL is like ‘a tempering fire’ of experiences all Relationships go through, in order to remove it’s impurities and unveil the true substance of their bond (unity). This is the testing grounds of their individual forms/flesh that appear to separate them; where their bond (1 Mind) experiences the drama/conflict of duality (2 Forms/People), in order to Cee (3) above these physical veils. Then and only then will we reveal what’s ultimately RIGHT; ‘Just’ (Fair) and ‘True’. LOVE is a reciprocal process which demands that individual considerations and sacrifices be made in the interest of what’s ultimately RIGHT ‘Just’ (Fair) and ‘True’ for the collective. This process can be like HELL because in a Relationship we’re called upon to be considerate of others and make sacrifices above our personal feelings, desires, and sentiments. Like fire, how we handle this ‘friction’ is what ultimately determines if we shape/mold (forge) our Relationship into the ‘Divine’ work of Art it was destined to be, or ‘Destroy’ our Relationship and turn into nothing more than smoldering Ashes. We can’t receive unless we are willing to give, we cannot be felt unless we are willing to feel, and to get to it, we must be willing and courageous enough to go through it. And if “Righteousness” is our bottom line, then no weapon formed against us, our Relationships, or our endeavors will/can prosper… “regardless to whom or what” (11/1-14).

So in conclusion, I want to emphasize the fact that living out Righteousness, and also doing what's Right in a Relationship is not a walk in the park. WE WILL be called upon to make choices that don’t coincide with how we may have ‘felt’ about things our entire life. WE WILL be called upon to sacrifice our personal ‘desires’ in order to do what is fair, and WE WILL be called upon to do what’s right in the face of what we are ‘sentimental’ about and really don’t want to give up. As Righteous People, making the ‘Right’ choices in these situations is the greatest example of our allegiance to what we know to be ‘Just’ and ‘True’. This exemplifies the Integrity of a Person whom we can truly depend upon, respect, trust, and find security in because even in situations that appear to be the most “unexpected”, you can still “expect” them to do the ‘Right’ thing…

Peace,
Saladin