Knowledge of Self: Who Are You Really?

“We are actually God Beings having a human experience.” -LeVar Burton

     This coming September marks thirty years since I have had Knowledge of Self via knowing 120 Lessons. If you are unfamiliar with what 120 Lessons are here is a video that I shared about The Origin of 120 Lessons and How They Function. Yet and still, knowing this information is just part of my process of gaining Knowledge of Self, as there are many paths of enlightenment. Knowledge is more than just knowing a bunch of facts, having a lot of information, using AI to make intelligent-sounding social media statuses/comments, or posting our personal library online to look smart. Knowledge is awareness; consciousness that comes from the root word "know." When we use the phrase "Knowledge of Self" it begs the question what part of Self do we need to know? In order to do that, we need to first identify The Self. Is the Self our name? Is the Self our nationality, ethnicity, age, or gender? Is the Self our race or religious/non-religious ideas? Is the Self our language, accent, diet, or temperament? Is the Self the car that we drive, our career, income, relationship status, or the clothes that we wear? Is the Self the neighborhood that we live in, our medical and family history, hobbies, or future aspirations? Is the Self our physical body? And if we define the physical body as "ours", what is the Self that owns this physical body? These are "my hands", "my eyes", and "my brain" creating this article, yet what am I that owns these hands, eyes, and brain? Those are big questions that many people have never asked or explored. At the root of all of these parts of ourselves is awareness. Awareness, consciousness or knowledge is the essence of our identity, and it is infinite and intangible. That awareness, consciousness or knowledge is The Self that underlines these multidimensional, multilayered, and multifaceted aspects of who we are as sapient beings. LeVar Burton simply described this idea as, "We are actually God Beings having a human experience" during a recent Wild Card Interview with Rachel Martin. I would take it a step further by saying that as beings, we are also created with the same matter or star dust that created the physical universe. Our atoms, which are the building blocks of matter and everything that exists within the universe, is the same or undifferentiated. 

We Are Star Dust

     When we start to ponder the above questions about identity, we began to take ourselves to the "ledge" of what we "know" by exploring the limits of our thinking. And this thought process is often rooted in a westernized segregated thinking that betrays the wholistic thinking that classical and indigenous Black/Brown civilizations conceptualized and integrated this into our societies as first world people and the fathers and mothers of civilization. Knowing this ledge or limited thinking is the path of Knowledge [know + ledge = knowledge]. In order to ask "questions", it requires us to be on a "quest" [quest is the root of question]. The further we question and explore, this leads us to the conclusion that The Self, as infinite and intangible awareness/consciousness, it underlines the multidimensional, multilayered, and multifaceted aspects of who we are as sapient beings. It's a dichotomy because The Self is simultaneously many things while at the same time one. This is what is meant by the word individual; we are an indivisible [inseparable] duality. Knowledge of Self is a never-ending inner journey to explore the multidimensional, multilayered, and multifaceted aspects of who we are. The purpose of that exploration it is align with our infinite ability to elevate our consciousness, quality of life, sense of purpose, and relationships to others and this planet. This journey requires us to learn about our family, their stories, and how we got here on the map of human geography. It requires us to assess our diets to see what is best for us. It requires us to reexamine the things that we have embraced as principles, values, and social norms. It requires us to go places and expand our lived experiences by seeing something new. It also requires us to be studious by committing ourselves to learning about the past, what is presently happening, and considering how we can positively shape the future. It requires us to better understand the planet and our relationship to its animate/inanimate objects. These, and many other lifelong considerations, are a part of this journey of Knowledge of Self.

     In this journey of Knowledge of Self, there three things that always happen:

1. We learn new ideas.
2. We confirm some things that we always knew.
3. We learn to get rid of old ideas.

     Every single thing that we experience fall within these three categories, and every category requires change. Sometimes that change is easier than others. I remember starting to learn how to identify unhealthy ingredients in packaged foods. Not eating those ingredients was easy. The hard part was oftentimes not having a reference guide in hand to look up ingredients while standing in a grocery store aisle; cell phones and Google did not exist at this time. Some of us find it hard to change our attitudes or habits about things that we always knew were right or wrong. I've known women who had a difficult time leaving an abusive relationship even though they knew it was the right thing to do. Sometimes it is easy to get rid of old ideas, sometimes it is not so easy. This self-diagnostic process helps us elevate our consciousness, quality of life, sense of purpose, and relationships to others and this planet. It is through this journey that we become more aware and empowered to share that knowledge with others, which may include how we were able to change our attitudes and habits.

 Endogenous vs Indigenous

     Endogenous means originating within or an inward origin. Indigenous means originating in an outward place. As awareness/consciousness incarnated within a physical form, we are endogenous before being indigenous to any place. The mind [intangible] proceeds the body [tangible]. Anything that has an outward manifestation first originates within. This includes our audible voice. Before anyone can hear what we are thinking or what we are saying, it is first internally communicated through the inner voice. That voice that you are presently hearing inside of your head as you read this sentence is the inner voice. That voice, that we call the inner monologue, internal dialogue or self-talk, is the non-audible inward expression of awareness/consciousness. Where did it come from?   

     The inner voice that we hear inside of our head, that usually sounds like our voice, is not ours. We learned to claim it as ours. It’s actually a combination of ideas from different voices that we have heard throughout our lives. Some of those ideas that we claim are good, some are not. Some are louder than others. The journey of Knowledge of Self is also about processing and unpacking those ideas that we have identified with and claim as our inner voice. Because that self-talk which eventually manifests itself in how we talk about ourselves and others. A person who has low or vacant esteem, who always talk negative about themselves, has been socialized through a combination of negative ideas from different voices that they have heard throughout their lives. Children how have been told their entire lives that they are bad, ugly, or stupid, often adopt that idea as a part of their identity. That is sometimes the loudest voice that they hear inside of their head. And sometimes it requires more than religion, Supreme Mathematics, retreats, programs, psychedelics and etc. to change that. Sometimes people need therapy to help them process and unpack those negative ideas that we have identified with and claim as their voice. All of this is a part of one's journey of Knowledge of Self. Negative self-talk betrays and neutralizes the infinite potential of The Self. If our idea about who we are is limited to our career, relationship status, appearance, religion, etc., we fail to acknowledge the multidimensional, multilayered, and multifaceted aspects of who we are as sapient beings. It's like having a gift to create visual art within us and never acknowledging or exploring it. Most people have numerous gifts and abilities that they never explore(d) because they don't acknowledge that they are essentially multidimensional, multilayered, and multifaceted. They only identity with parts of who they are, not the whole.

     Now, just because we do acknowledge this and consider ourselves to be on a journey of Knowledge of Self, it does not automatically mean that we know what to do with what they are learning. That requires wisdom. It is being aware of what we now know, and having the consideration, courage, consistency to use it. There are things that we learn about ourselves, and about others, that require us to change our relationships. That is not always easy. Imagine being in a relationship for many years that you always thought was true, then one day you find out that it was a lie and you were being cheated on. Imagine that this was your relationship to yourself, and one day you discover that you've been cheating yourself. You've been cheating yourself all of these years with ideas that betray your ability to elevate your consciousness, quality of life, sense of purpose, and relationships to others and this planet. Most people are not happy when they find this out. In fact, they become angry at themselves and others who they feel/believe set them up to be cheated on. Everyone who is on the journey of Knowledge of Self experience this kind of heartache. It's traumatic, and everyone doesn't recover from it. Some people stay heartbroken and vow to never associate with certain people, places, or things that trigger this trauma. I know people who had a traumatic academic experience, and their reaction [not response] to that trauma is anti-intellectualism. As anti-intellectuals, they became obsessively skeptical of anything academic and consistently smart shame and show disdain for people whom they believe are educated. It can take people a lifetime to recognize that has not been the wisest way to address this trauma. Sometimes recognizing this lack of wisdom requires therapy. 

     Wisdom is using right discernment [judgment] to apply what we know about ourselves, others and the world around us. As sapient beings, this is one thing that separates humans from animals. With a more advanced brain architecture, we possess a consciousness that enables us to think abstractly, solve complex problems, and experience life through self-aware sensory perception. While animals can demonstrate wisdom, humans have the ability to demonstrate supreme wisdom or a higher degree of discernment. That is, humans who are on a path of enlightenment. Historically speaking, when humans have not had a path of enlightenment, we see a decline of civilization and descent into a primitive state as evidenced in The Dark Ages. You can also see this evidenced in the Information Age where we still see a decline of civil discourse, civic engagement, and civilization even though the exponential growth in technology allows people to access more information than ever before. We see people who would rather produce hours of content talking negative about people, places, and things that they don't like instead of investing that same time and finances to create positive solutions. The irony is, some of these people claim to have Knowledge of Self; which shows a clear disconnect between What We Teach [knowledge] and What We Will Achieve [wisdom]. There can be a number of reasons for this disconnect and someone's inability/unwillingness to create positive solutions. Sometimes the problem IS the actual solution. And to solve some problems it may require us to delicately walk back across a fragile bridge that we burned. I can only imagine the level of humility, courage and consideration required to do this. I also understand that there must be some lessons in this to help us become wiser. 

     All of us are on a journey in life and will face challenges, that sometimes appear insurmountable. Some of those challenges are people, places, and things along the landscape and we will need the mental fortitude [knowledge] and skills [wisdom] to address them. The stories that we tell ourselves, the stories that others tell us, the stories that we agree/disagree with and how we use them either aligns with or betrays The Self's ability to meet those challenges. Those stories either align with or betrays our ability to explore The Self's multidimensional, multilayered, and multifaceted aspects of who we are as sapient beings. Our sense of identity is a fundamental part of that self-work. In a number of Surahs within the Quran, the Arabic phrase "Kun fayakūn/Kun Faya Kun" (كن فيكون) is used which means "Be and it is!" In the book of John 1:1 we read, "In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God." If we think and tell ourselves that we can't, we won't. Regardless of the support and encouragement that is available to us. If we think and tell ourselves that we can, we will. Regardless of the lack of support and discouragement. Each day is an opportunity for us to be better and do better for ourselves, others and the planet. How we choose to ultimately see ourselves will determine what we do. 

Peace,

Saladin

Goddess Mathematics... and a whole vibe

     For some time now there has been an idea floating around dudes who say that the black woman is God, or who call women a Goddess, are emasculated simps pandering for sex. There is also the idea that women who call themselves a Goddess are maneaters; disappearing Delilahs who throw yoni egg-like smoke bombs after snatching a man's soul. Actually, those are just some of the colorful images that I envision when I hear the Goddess mythos. If you ask some folks, this mythos has created more destruction within our family units than the crack era. Why? Well let's examine it.

       If God is truly omniscient, omnipotent and omnipresent how can you add to that? What is there to know beyond being all-knowing? What power exists beyond all-power? What can be present beyond that which is all-present? The word Goddess implies that there is a knowing, power and presence beyond the all-knowing, all-power and all-present capacity of God. It suggests that there exists a "feminine" domain of all-knowing, all-power and all-presence that a Goddess uniquely inhabits. While you would be hard pressed to find this seemingly contradictive idea reconciled within our classical and indigenous societies, there is a place for it within Greek Mythology, along without many other ideas..., among the Twelve Olympians. For example, this idea of an actual God not being truly omniscient, omnipotent and omnipresent is illustrated by Hades being a limited God who rules the underworld, Athena as a limited Goddess who rules wisdom and warfare and the limited God Poseidon ruling the water. Zeus, the so-called king of Gods and ruler of Mount Olympus, is also limited in his power; a monster [Typhon], child of Gaea, was capable of puttin' hands on him. So when I see and hear so-called Gods [or Goddesses] simultaneously claiming omniscience and ignorance, omnipotence and flaws, righteousness and debauchery I know exactly where these contradictions come from.

Mythology is the story of our Social Psychology

    When you study the psychodrama within Greek Mythology and struggles between the Twelve Olympians, with titans, monsters and humanity, it becomes clear that their idea of omniscience, omnipotence and omnipresence is not the same as we taught it within our classical and indigenous societies. Even when the Greeks defined a deity as such, there always existed some Achilles' heel. Even though Greek philosophers saw and studied glimpses of omniscience, omnipotence and omnipresence from the Khemetians [Egyptians], under their own Grecian power they never evolved the capacity to arrive at our conclusions or conceptualize a Monotheistic view of the world on their own. What this shows is Greek society, and their western society progeny, were not and have not been invested in the same self-knowledge pursuit as our ancestors. Their pursuits have been primarily colonial, imperial and material. Mostly external, segregative and limited in scope. This is why their history, and the history of their western progeny, is traditionally written as a bloody timeline of war, violence and conquests. Study the history of any European society and America. The most significant events that tell the psychodramatic story of that nation are dates of warfare, conquest and destruction. That timeline not only defines the overarching mythos of that nation but it also defines the collective psychology of its people. While there are many great things to learn about Greek Mythology and its society, its illustrations of deity is one of the most dysfunctional mythos we have ever learned.  

     It is important that I briefly expounded upon this because many of us have unknowingly adopted Grecian and other Eurocentric mythos without critically examining them. Without this scrutiny, many of us have just superimposed Five Percent, Khemetic, Moorish, Christian, Hebrew, Muslim, Yoruba and other ideas over the top of Grecian and other Eurocentric principles and values that we fundamentally embrace. Outwardly we may wear the clothes, speak the language, eat the foods and even choose partners that appear to represent the black/brown culture we claim, yet inwardly we are not that person. As a Five Percenter, this is why some of us could make misogynist-toned statements like, "women can't rise above equality" or "a woman don't have a mind" as if we are measuring one another vertically... Sadly, this is also why some Five Percenters have jumped on the Kevin Samuels bandwagon, faithfully "liking" and repurposing his rhetoric as if their knowledge degree in the Student Enrollment now reads, "Who is the Original High Value Man?" 

     As men and women we are congruent and complimentary, not conflicting and competitive. A woman represents our equality, and equality has two words in it; equal and quality. When you are of equal quality this means that you are "of the same nature [value]." That is not a vertical assessment of a woman's relationship to a man, it is a parallel or even assessment. By nature we are one and our oneness is necessary to create life and the future of humanity. What is greater than that essential bond? Think about the mindset of a woman who believes that she is more or less than that shared essence. Think about the mindset of a man who believes that he is more or less than that shared essence. Consider how a "battle of the sexes" perspective negatively influences our sense of self-worth and shapes the psychodrama in our relationships, families and community. 

     When women refer to themselves as a Goddess I have always wondered what they actually mean and why their body cast archetype is rarely expressed as Hottentot Venus or women with a Lizzo WHR [waist-hip ratio]. They seem to be based upon Gal Godot... You would also think that a Goddess uniquely does something that a female, woman, grandmother, auntie, mother, wife, daughter, Queen and the Earth cannot do. The word "Goddess" is an honorific title prefixing a woman's quality/characteristic. It is used to represent the deification or divine expression of qualities that females, women, grandmothers, aunties, mothers, wives, daughters, Queens and the Earth already possess. In other words, there is no Goddess in and of herself. It must be a divine expression of some quality or characteristic; such as a Goddess of Wisdom, a Goddess of Motherhood, a Goddess of the Hunt, a Goddess of Death and etc. More often than not, the everyday woman uses the word "Goddess" cosmetically and absent of any real substantive function or qualities, especially on social media. And yes, the same can be said about Gods. Many of us know an ignorant a** dude named Knowledge, a foolish Wise or a criminologist named Power. In both instances some of these lofty titles just sound and look good yet lack any real expression of divine qualities and characteristics.       

     Within our Five Percent language and worldview there is no word or concept of Goddess. We recognize the divinity of women without the need to Grecianize her. For years there have been some Five Percenters, men and women, who have strived to campaign for its acceptance. Some have even tried to canonize a sarcastic comment that Allah once made when he said a young sister was a Goddess because she was more of a God than the young brothers who were around him. Some folks took that literally. However, this Goddess push among small pockets of people has never gained any real traction within the Five Percent Nation. Those advocates either find themselves on the fringes of the Five Percent quietly keeping these sentiments to themselves or boldly sharing these acultural ideas online. 

A throne on a "dais"; an elevated 

platform where important people sit

   As Five Percenters we have various words and concepts that divinely express what females, women, grandmothers, aunties, mothers, wives, daughters, Queens and the Earth already are. Historically, yes "his"-storically, some men have misogynistically sought to destroy divine expressions of women. Some women have taken on the same crusade and promote misandry. There are those who are very deliberate and calculated about this and some who are simply blind, deaf and dumb to how divisive these ideas are. Whether deliberate or ignorant, none of these separatist outlooks are in the best interest of our people and the human family as a whole. If someone chooses to call themselves a God or Goddess, my perspective is, "show and prove it." Not to me personally, show and prove it IN, not to, the world. Don't tell us that you are the God this or the Goddess that. Do something with these so-called divine expressions -which does not include posting shallow videos/images/quotes online. If we are who we say that we are, that would truly be a benefit to our families, communities and environment.           

Peace,

Saladin