Unpack: To undo or remove the contents from (a box, trunk, etc.). To remove (something) from a container, suitcase, etc.. To unburden, as the mind; reveal. To decipher or discern.
Sometimes it is not about the baggage we carry. We all carry some kind of baggage. In some instances, we have not unpacked that baggage, that is the issue. What further complicates this is that many of us have never learned how or where to start unpacking that baggage. I am eternally thankful to have had the kind of parents who at least exposed me to this sense of self-analysis and some of the psychological skills to unpack some of the baggage that I've accumulated over the years. I am also grateful for the cultural perspective of the Five Percent and those who have assisted and still assist me along my journey. My family dynamics coupled with knowledge of self has given me an excellent foundation to accurately look at myself, the world around me and my responses to that world.
I've shared on many occasions that my Ole Earth [Mother] was like the Oracle from The Matrix with a Richard Pryor sense of humor. She went to college in her mid forties and became a Social Psychologist in three years as a wife and mother of seven children. One evening while I sat at the kitchen counter doing my homework and she sat at the table doing her homework she called my name. As I lifted my head to look at her she slowly removed her glasses and lifted up her thick textbook from the table and said, "This is the white man's bible. You better learn everything you can about it." I was a teen at the time and clearly heard what she said yet I was not at a place in my growth and development to understand or appreciate the depth of that statement. In fact, it often took me years to grasp some of the things she shared. Not because I was blind, deaf or dumb, sometimes I just did not have the life experiences as reference points to assess what she was saying. For example, as a preadolescent she would often say, "You have to study their family dynamics" in regards to girls. "You're going to be getting with her whole family so you better know what you're getting into" she would add. THAT went right through one ear and right out the other. Again, not because I was ignant. I just didn't know what to do with that and yeah, I didn't ask. It took me decades to understand the importance of those statements.
As the Five Percent, unbeknownst to even some of us, we have many self-analysis tools in our cultural chest to start unpacking or discerning who we are. Religions provide some self-analysis tools as well but how many people actually identify and use them? Not many, for various reasons. With all of the problems in this world, and potential solutions, our human family can greatly benefit from such tools.
So when I say "tools", what do I mean in regards to the Five Percent? Well one of the most obvious are Supreme Mathematics. As principles of life, Supreme Mathematics are like instruments or psychological and sociological tools that are used to carry out a particular function. What function? Civilization and Righteousness. I say civilization and righteousness because none of the Supreme Mathematics represent or even imply something that is dishonorable, immoral or malevolent. For example, devil is not a principle in Supreme Mathematics. In fact, devil is neither in our Supreme Alphabet. This is to say that as Five Percenters our cultural worldview or what we fundamentally teach is not emphasizing the obvious shortcomings, failings and deficiencies of someone outside of us. We don't overlook that, we explicitly cover shortcomings, failings and deficiencies within the context of our lessons [120]. And these lessons highlight periods of time where learning occurred for our people, sometimes in relationship to shortcomings, failings and deficiencies. In terms of psychological and social orientation, Five Percenters advocate a strength-based approach towards living and assessing who we are. This means that we concentrate on our self-determination and inherent strengths, not what would be considered deficits. This orientation is reflected in our language, with the specific words and phrases we use such as knowledge, wisdom, understanding, "Peace God" and "True I Master Equality [Time]", and even in the righteous names we choose for ourselves such as Divine, Queen, Wisdom, Supreme and etc. Our emphasis is on who we are, and what we need to do as standards of civilization and righteousness, regardless what others choose to do. We don't ignore what others do. For us, it's about what we choose and how we choose to respond to situations, all while maintaining our civilization and righteousness. In fact, here is a series on Supreme Mathematics I've started to
The above paragraph doesn't describe a cake walk. It describes a daily effort to be consistent and concise about how we positively see ourselves and how we responsibly attend a society that doesn't have the healthiest view of humanity. Those who seek to address this issue have their approaches, whether its religious, secular, spiritual or metaphysical. As the Five Percent, we have ours. Some approaches or even tools are similar among the human family, some are not. Supreme Mathematics are not witch hunt materials, nor are they inquisition devices. They are life principles that serve as self-analysis tools to start unpacking or discerning who we are. As we grow and understand these principles deeper, we also become a greater resource to those in our family, community and city who need to be rightly guided. The process of unpacking is removing the contents that are within, not putting something inside. Some people incorrectly think that gaining KOS [Knowledge Of Self] is the process of depositing something inside of them. That is part of it, yet one must first assess their available space. Meaning, we must take time to unpack what needs to be unlearned before having a capacity to learn anything. Part of an Educator's responsibility is to assist that person in identifying available space and how to make room to receive something. Sometimes that may mean a referral to a professional. This unpacking process is not something that's done on a weekend retreat, a 3 hour lecture, a few meetings, a rally, an event or a relationship. This is a continual process of assessing ourselves, sometimes with counseling. The custom of building with one another by asking, "How do you see today's mathematics?" and "How do your see today's degree?" is a part of this self assessment process. It's not only done to test or challenge what another Five Percenter knows and understands; because nowadays there are many who claim to be us but they are not. It's done because Five Percenters are scientists of life and building is the oral presentation of one's work/research to other members of our scientific community for peer review. Answering questions such as "How do you see today's mathematics?" and "How do your see today's degree?" give members an opportunity to mutually share their work/research. And just like any scientist, upon review of that work/research, if something needs to be added on or taken away, we go back to the lab and make the appropriate adjustments. In fact, here is a series I started on Supreme Mathematics to demonstrate how these self-analysis tools can be used: Supreme Mathematics Series
Unpacking our identity or unburdening the mind to decipher or discern who we are requires more than Supreme Mathematics. If we haven't first committed ourselves to honestly assessing and removing the unnecessary contents within, we will be without -even while holding Supreme Mathematics. The same goes for people who hold fast to the bible, koran, other books or philosophies about life. The daily inner work is what manifests the outer reality. All of these tools are only as valuable as our ability to use them. And we cannot successfully use them if we have no room where to put them.
Peace,
Saladin
