Meditations on Philosophy Podium
Pornographic Values of Modern Society
by Kasabez Maakmaah
I PEEKED INTO the Philosophy Podium and the first thing I saw was a bush proverb, "Tell me your goal and I will tell you if you are a fool." I now see as particularly foolish the modern, colonised man's goal of achieving the highest levels of pleasure.
To gain dominion over so much of humanity, while comprising only a small fraction of the human population, the Gerka (Greek) descendants had to divide us against each other. As their techniques of colonisation became more sophisticated, the colonisers discovered that mental enslavement is more effective than physical enslavement.
The Gerka colonisers began to impose on/upon humanity the same individualistic values that allowed them to place their ambitions for power above the preservation of the world and humanity. Among these values is the pursuit of sexual pleasure. The human instinct to have sex is necessary for survival, but as with any human activity, balance is required to avoid self-destructive indulgence. Colonial culture has ranked sex as the premier objective of the modern human and so uses sex to promote everything and uses everything to promote sex.
However, with the pursuit of sexual pleasure comes the reality of boredom. The same pleasurable act becomes less pleasurable with each repetition. The excitement we feel when we first meet our partner diminishes into boredom; and the difficulty of maintaining a harmonious relationship begins to outweigh the pleasure that we're having. As this situation continues, the individual who makes pleasure a priority will begin to seek other people to fulfill the desire.
This observed tendency to become bored with our partners is in conflict with the colonial value of monogamy. Monogamy is validated by the idea that the sexual pleasure one can provide to another person should not be experienced by anyone else. However, when sex with our partner becomes boring, we begin to look elsewhere. One of the main reasons almost all colonial marriages are failing is that their main objective is sexual pleasure. Recently, many colonised youth have completely abandoned the ideals of monogamy and fidelity and are fast adopting the new concept of a "friend with (sexual) benefits. This friendship supposedly comes with no obligations to fidelity.
Colonised youth with this mentality will see having children as an obstacle and so use protections against pregnancy and also against STDs.
With pleasure as a worthwhile goal, the structure of modern sexual relationships make sense; however, pleasure seeking has contributed to the almost complete destruction of the family structure. In households with only one par-ent, the children are vulnerable to the influences of colonial society, especially through the media which the single parent then uses to keep children occupied so that the parent's pleasure seeking can continue uninterrupted. The media then conditions the children to pursue the goal that the system has set for them. They are bombarded with images and lyrics promoting sex from beforeA Zulu man and his four wives in South Africa.They themselves can even speak. These children will then seek their first opportunity to have sex even before their reproductive organs are mature enough to function.
In sharp contrast, the traditional Kemetic family structure, which includes polygamy, is designed to build a stable family unit in which each individual is supported and has a place. This is because there is a group of individuals working together with the strength and harmony of the family unit (not pleasure) as their priority. In this structure, many adults work together to raise the children; and the older children are responsible for the younger children. This structure ensures that each family member is fully involved in supporting the family. Members of this family are able to provide their collective strength to the support of the community and culture. Procreation is valued as a responsibility that every person has in passing on the gift of life that they have been given.
The Gerka coloniser system has convinced today's humans to abandon their responsibilities to their families and pursue a fleeting illusion of happiness. Pursuit of this illusion is often a lifelong distraction from a focus on the human quality, spiritual growth and harmony with existence that civilized humans have always set as their priority. The force of destruction has a face; and we can see it in the mirror every time we make our own gratification the priority in our lives. Because we think we are intelligent, we should take the time to assess our goals.
Understanding the Dialogue of Energies
by Tashara Osei-Agyeman
WHILE READING CHAPTER sixty-one of the Philosophy Podium, I was bombarded with many thoughts and questions. The idea that life as we know it is held together by something so dynamic and yet invisible to us. Not only that, many of us live our lives and never even feel our connection with the Earth and the cosmos. Any of us who do feel some sort of connection don't know what it is nor how to honour it or cultivate it because of the society we live in.
After reading this chapter on the dialogue of energies (which introduces the energy lines sent and received by the Earth as it communicates with other planets and stars), my first thought was that nothing else matters. Only what is necessary to maintain harmony should be our focus. Then I thought that since we have societies and countries that are on the path of self-destruction and out of harmony, we are about to lose a lot of people. The Earth has begun the process of shunning those who are closed off to its Bayuali energy. The people no longer bother with true spirituality and harmonising with the Earth or the cosmos; so the process of destruction has begun to occur on a larger scale. All of this technology, television, internet, etc. that we think is moving us forward into the future is really drawing us further away from our source and destroying our future. All this extreme technology is coming about because we are disconnected from the Earth and we have lost our sense of purpose.
It also occurred to me that supporting life requires a more complex system of expression from the cosmos. Or, seemingly, how the universe and other planets must simplify or create more stable forms of life (rocks, mountains) - things that take longer in their process of becoming in order to support the life that cycles faster or more frequently. That being said, I can see why it might be intentional that there is no surrounding planet that has life like Earth. The Earth needs a stable Yenu (expressions coming from other planets) to balance all the movement/growth/frequent cycles it has going on.
I hope that I am not overreaching or speculating, but these are the initial thoughts I had after reading about the dialogue of energies. But to bring things closer to self, the concept of the Yenu as (the dictatorial energy) has been rather difficult for me to internal-ize. The idea that the energy I am receiving from the cosmos and the environment around me is more influential on me than the energy I express and feel within myself has been a little confusing to me. So, I've been looking for examples in daily life to make it more personal and allow it to make more sense to me.
One thing I realised is that this body, this human form of mind responds to things constantly that I cannot even see. Things like the air I breathe, things I smell and the sound waves I hear. I cannot see these things; but there isn't a moment in my life that I am not receiving messages from these invisible things but they truly dictate how I move about my day. So, how much greater is the Yenu energy I am receiving?
I am an expression of the Earth. Also, I understand that the Bayuali energy I receive from the Earth is dictated by the Yenu energy from the cosmos so l play a role in this dialogue of energies. Therefore, I have to be accountable for myself and do what I need to do to stay in harmony with the Earth. I need to be able to adjust and re-adjust.
This colonial system has led us to believe that we are individually in control of our own lives, and that our sense of who we are should come from our jobs or what material things we own. The fact is that in this system, without the knowledge of the dialogue of energies, I could live an entire lifetime and never once acknowledge my connection to the Earth. That is very sad.
Reading this article has left me with a greater sense of purpose. When I think of all the things I try to balance in my life but seem to fail miserably at doing most times, I see how delicate it is to keep them in balance and how easily they can be thrown off balance. I am glad to know that a higher power is in charge. The balance in my life can simply be thrown off by one of the children being sick, my phone not working, or even just being hungry. Any little thing in my life can take my attention off of the big picture and cause me to lose sight and upset the balance I am trying to maintain in my life.
Balance is a very difficult thing for me to maintain. Being a mom, wife and worker outside of the house, I am constantly being pulled in many directions. It is very difficult to meet the needs of children, husband work and myself. Balancing all these things seems impossible most days. I find myself getting very frustrated. Because it takes so much effort to maintain this balance, I can only imagine the effort the Earth makes to keep things in harmony.
CIVILIZATION CONSPIRACIES: EGOIST, HEROES, AND LIBERTY
by Belinda Woods
I am sure we can all agree that everything has energy, even words have energy. A couple of years ago I came across a documentary entitled "The English Language Words, The Spell that Cursed African People" by Dr. Yaffa SIV El Bey. This documentary was very telling. It revealed English is a language of purposeful confusion. Many of the words we use in English have original meanings that are the opposite of how we use them today today. So when we use various such words, we are really sending energy into the universe that is contradictory to what we think. Master Naba shows us clear examples of this type of deliberate confusion in the Philosophy Podium. When I heard the word egoist I think of something negative; when I hear the words heroes and liberty, I think of something positive. But upon analysis of the chapter "Civilization conspiracies: Egoist, Heroes, and Liberty, we see that the original definitions carry different connotations.
For example, modern definitions of liberty are, "The condition of being free from restriction or control. The right and power to act, believe, or express oneself in a manner of one's own choosing. The condition of being physically and legally free from confinement, servitude, or forced labour". These sounds pretty reasonable to my colonial mindset. I want liberation; I want to be free to do what I want to do, when I want to do it.
The MTAM education shows us that we must always look below the surface of things. So when I researched the root of the word Liber further on the internet, I kept getting directed to the word Erastus which means to erase. I found a gay comic superhero named Liber. I also found the word connected to the Greco-Roman "God" of the grape harvest, winemaking, ritual mad-ness, ecstasy and theatre. This "God" was considered an outsider "God" with uncertain origins. This "God" is a liberator whose music and ecstatic dance free his followers from self-conscious fear and care, and subvert the oppressive restraints of the powerful. Those who participate in his mysteries are possessed and empowered by the "God" himself. So when we equate liberty with freedom, we see the original definition shows freedom from what. You have to give it to the colonisers: they hide all of their dirt in plain sight.
This country (USA) was founded on the concept of liberty and justice for all. This country offers anyone just that too. Liberty to do anything you want to do. There is no forbidden territory. For the right price, you can do anything you want to do in the USA.
No matter how twisted, bizarre, satanic, disgusting, unethical, illegal or just plain wrong, with a few clicks, you can find in it all on the internet. And, if you just believe in the right savior, you can do all these things and be forgiven with no consequences.
I must admit, I struggle with this M TAM education daily. I now understand there are consequences to all of my thoughts, actions, and deeds. I can't just do what I want to do based on my intentions. I can't break commandments without consequences; I will be held accountable for it all. But because I am very corrupt, I sometimes tell myself, I have done so much dirt, what is the point of cleaning myself if I have to do it all over in another lifetime. I tell myself there is no possible way to live by these commandments;
I don't even understand them. These commandments were written for a different time and for more wholesome people. "Are these commandments to be taken literally? And whom do they apply to?" I ask. In my heart I know the answers; but because I want the easy road, I try to find an excuse to go back to the way it I used to be before I was exposed these Kemetic teachings.
Even when I came to this education, I was looking for liberty and freedom. I have been searching for peace of mind, tranquillity, serenity and bliss. I want to meditate at my leisure by candlelight. I want to take nature walks on the beach and feel the presence of the Gods. I want to wake up to the chirping of birds. I want to walk on water. These were my ideas of spirituality. It sounds very liberating, but as my tearcher, Matiati Hasati, reminds us, there is nothing liberating about spirituality. It is hard work, it is an uphill journey. I guess it's that hard because there are countless layers to this challenge; and only I can be the one to pull back each layer. There are no free passes. No breaks for single moms. No handouts. No considerations for ignorance. And no savior Gods who will carry all my burdens because I pray, sing, and dance for him. The work is gruelling, overwhelming at times and constant.
Being black in America, we have made it our rally cry to fight for liberty and freedom at any cost. Countless women, men, and children have suffered and died to remove the chains of slavery from our physical bodies. Countless political movements have been spear-headed to demand equality and freedom. But when you think about it, what have we been fighting to be free to do? We want to be full-fledged Americans and accepted as equal partners in crime. It is weird how the same people who were brought here against their will have fully adopted the American way, and now with a black president, we proudly stick our chests out as though we achieved a victory. I admit that I voted for Obama, not because ! thought my life would improve in any noticeable way, but for symbolic reasons. A black president would give the downtrodden inspiration, I thought. This was also an opportunity to stick my tongue out to the racists who thought the world would end if a black man became president. Obama was my symbolic hero; but that was simply another well calculated distraction.
Most of my heroes have been freedom fighters; and you guessed it, liberators. Now I find there is no need for me to keep striving to be a hero. But this is what I have been fighting for all of my life. So, has all of my life been a waste? What do I do with the rest of this incarnation? I want freedom; I shout "By any means necessary!" I pump my fist! What do I do with this black panther tattoo? This has been my symbol to the world, demonstrating how committed I am to fight this system we find ourselves victim to. I eagerly awaited the next REAL revolutionary movement in which I could participate to free my brothers and sisters. Truth be told, I am a revolutionary sista in the struggle, down for the people as long as the protest is over before it gets too dark outside... I have to be at work in the morning.
On the flip side, I can't even imagine being an egoist in the true sense of the word. I think of the egoist who died instead of submitting to the new political authorities. I have never been this committed to anything. When life gets too hard, it's been easier to quit or submit than to keep climbing uphill. That's what I've learned here in America. Get a new job if the demands are too strenuous; find a new mate or two if the one you have isn't living up to your high standards. Hire someone to do all the crap you don't want to do, hopefully an immigrant on the cheap. And spiritually, you can customise your own belief system that fits you just right. I've done all of this and more.
I thought this spiritual journey was going to be full of bliss. I came to M'TAM education because I wanted my life to get easier. Instead, I've been presented with 77 things that I should not do, most of which are so far from my paradigm that they are hard to conceptualize. I am still secretly waiting on an ancestor, Deity, priest, hat tenee (elder M'TAM initiate) -- someone to tell me what I should be doing with my life. The only response I consistently get is to be good. That's it. Just be good. Is this what you call spirituality? Where are the scented candles and incense? This was supposed to be a nice serenity class I was taking on a leisurely Saturday afternoon.
Hard work isn't mentioned in the fine print; trust me l've double checked. Aren't we supposed to get gold plated plaques with our new names engraved in gold at the end of this? What do you mean graduation is just the beginning?
Once, during one of our study sessions, I was venting similar emotions about feeling as if my life has been turned upside down. It was quickly pointed out to me by one of the hat tenees, that "No. Your life has been turned right-side up". This education is so simple and humbling. So when I am depressed, frustrated, and lonely, I stop seeking those liberating feelings of ecstasy that I used to imagine I would find and instead seek emotional control. When I am confused between miseducation and ancient wisdom, l practice developing a clear mind. When I am doing things required by the education that I don't fully understand, I implement humility. When I am exhausted and pulled in countless ways, I must develop strength of character. When I want to retreat to the easy road, I must be honest. This life is a test. Every decision I make is a test to be good or to be evil; there is no in-between. Life is a struggle. Every day that I have another chance to just be good, I must thank my ancestors, thank Master Naba, thank the priests, thank the hat tenees, thank my teachers, thank the entire Kemetic community.