dancingbottle

 

Not everybody has it, and for those who do, its size varies so much that we often wonder if it’s real. If you believe in carrying everything that has happened in your life or think you’ll be happy when you achieve your goals, you’re not alone in missing out on this holy basket. Our governing systems, social customs, traditions, personal relationships, and religions all teach us that we are responsible for making things happen; otherwise, they wouldn’t punish us for our bad actions. Religions often invoke God’s name, but in reality, they are the worst at punishing people for their sins.

When you learn that you are one hundred percent responsible for your actions, there is no room for accidents, belief systems, or your life story dictated by God. If this notion doesn’t make sense to you, give yourself a break by believing that we are not yet a finished product. We are evolving entities trying to reach our potential. If and when we get there, then and only then will we be able to see everything clearly. Until then, our religions, isms, and other governing systems should be our stepping stones. We should not hold passionate extremes in any human knowledge because it is not complete. Even our scientifically proven facts can change as we evolve. An evolving system or entity cannot have everything one hundred percent right for everyone, so if you are seeking a perfect medicine, governing system, spiritual system, or even a flawless partner, you will either die in the process or at least be alone or unhappy. You may have been taught, or even believe, that everything in life is done by you alone. However, you cannot do anything without the oxygen you breathe, so you do have help. If you believe everything wrong in your life is your or someone else’s fault, it means there is no room for the bigger picture in your life. That lack of belief means you don’t have the basket I am talking about.

Taking responsibility for your actions is one thing, but carrying all the burdens of the world on your shoulders or working all your life against the universe is another. The lines of limitations and mortality are often forgotten or at least blurred by occupied and focused individuals. The wisdom of a CEO is required to have a successful life as a whole. Any kind of knowledge and understanding that can help ease the difficulties of our mortal journey should be viewed as an asset. The holy basket has nothing to do with the religion you belong to; it has everything to do with your personal spirituality and how deeply you believe in God, or rather, the bigger picture. The power of your thoughts and attitude can help you visualize and materialize the holy basket to benefit and enrich this temporary journey. Believe even in the placebo effects of a belief system, just strain out the politics, and you will be happier regardless of religion. When you don’t understand something or if you don’t have control, just put it in the basket as “I don’t know” and carry on living. Remember, it’s like waiting for your train on the platform. If your train isn’t showing up, whatever you do while you wait is your life, so make the best of it. Don’t stop living just because the train is late.

Since this is my one hundredth post, I want to begin with a message rooted in Christian teaching, devoid of political motives or worldly affiliations. This is to highlight the powerful influence of political affiliations on spirituality, which has been, is, and will continue to be, a detriment to all religions.

A while back, I found an old Christian magazine called Awake!, dated December 22, 1988. I kept it because I wanted to write about an article I found intriguing, and now I finally am.

On page 22, there is an article titled “Religion and the World.” Page 23 poses a question that I will quote verbatim:

“Can a religion be approved by God when its clergymen bless men of war?”

The article goes on to assert that national rulers will ultimately destroy the religions of the world. The Bible points to this outcome. Throughout the centuries, false religion has been deeply involved in the political affairs of nations, even though Jesus said regarding his true disciples: “They are no part of the world, just as I am no part of the world.” (John 17:16) Because of hobnobbing with the world, false religion is depicted in the Bible as a prostitute, or harlot, who has not been faithful to God. A Bible prophecy says: “Come, I will show you the judgment upon the great harlot who sits on many waters, with whom the kings of the earth committed fornication.” (Revelation 17:1-2, 18)

This “great harlot” is like a woman caught selling sexual favors in return for high-level government influence. Her punishment fits the crime. God will cause a sudden, foreboding change of heart among her former lovers. The Bible explains that the kings, or political rulers of the world, “will hate the harlot and will make her devastated and naked, and will eat up her fleshy parts and will completely burn her with fire. For God put it into their hearts to carry out his thought.” (Revelation 17:12, 16-17)

End quote.

To some religious people, politics is a passionate pursuit, yet their religious leaders have long warned about its dangers. Today, the Pope has altered his message to adapt to changing times. When I look at American politics, the large crowds at Donald Trump’s rallies demonstrate that politics have twisted spiritual values. Regardless of his character and behavior, it seems he will become president. I can only hope he governs with wisdom and compassion, and that his previous actions were merely a means to an end.

Personally, I believe that if you are a Republican and a devout churchgoer, logically, you should support Democrats. Real spirituality lies in the values Democrats uphold, such as social help for the needy. Paying taxes to help those in need is noble and spiritual. If you have been taught that doing spiritual things is socialist, you have been misled by politics. It is hard to understand how spiritual values have been misconstrued as non-religious and non-spiritual.

If a system stands for the masses but destroys individual rights, it is against spirituality. We consume resources throughout our lives and pass on, yet our desire to accumulate never dies, even though our bodies do. I wrote an article called “Reciprocation,” where I explained that we believe we achieve everything ourselves, yet everything is done after we take a breath of free oxygen. Thus, reciprocation is a duty we all have. If paying a small part of your income is reciprocation, so be it. It is not just smart but necessary to reciprocate, as it is a matter between the individual and the source, not exclusively for other human beings.

Select and study any governing system, and you will find they predominantly violate individual rights, not because of spirituality but because of politics. Even if they claim to act in God’s name, harsh punishments for expressing opinions are common. Such systems control through fear, which is unacceptable and spiritually bankrupt. Injustice against even one person is against spirituality, especially when done in God’s name.

I believe these systems are worse than others because they use God’s name to control and violate individual rights, directly opposing spirituality. Other ruling systems are founded on politics and openly admit it.

I strongly believe religions should not be used as political systems because we cannot fully understand God with our limited brain capacity. Thus, religions should stay out of politics entirely. They will eventually have to align with political power, and spirituality will be compromised.

Another issue is that religions often conflict with today’s governing systems, particularly regarding equal human rights. Believing you are superior to non-believers or followers of another faith creates prejudice, preventing acceptance of equal rights for others. The state should uphold a constitution that provides equal human rights and considers prejudice and racism criminal behavior.

When people like Bill Gates, Bono, or Edward Snowden transcend religious and national boundaries for the greater good, they embody spirituality regardless of their belief system.

My writing aims to raise awareness and point out the errors we make, both as individuals and as groups.

Here is another quote from the same article about religion and the world:

“Stay neutral regarding worldly politics while looking to God’s Kingdom for the remedy.

Jesus commanded neutrality and pointed to God’s kingdom, saying: ‘My kingdom is no part of this world. If my kingdom were part of this world, my attendant would have fought that I should be delivered up [to an unjust death sentence].’ (John 18:36) Jesus also told the apostle Peter, when Peter took up a weapon in his defense: ‘Return your sword to its place, for all those who take the sword will perish by the sword.’ (Matthew 26:52)”

End quote.

If Jesus was against even picking up a sword, how did we get from there to the Crusades and modern-day religious wars? It’s all politics. Why do religions believe in harsh punishments for petty crimes, and why did it take two thousand years to stop judging homosexuals or divorcees? The teachings of Jesus about human rights have taken too long to effect change, and many black marks remain on the face of humanity due to religions.

Law and order should be based on equal human rights. Religions should let politicians do their job and stay out of political systems altogether, but the problem lies in our nature. I have been discussing the politics of the sense of belonging since I started this blog.

If our sense of belonging is tied to our physical core, it is influenced by our hormones, making our religious politics volatile. As individuals, we must make decisions beyond our physical urges. This higher level of living is something parents practice, balancing children’s enjoyment of life with control. Our leaders need to adopt this approach, but unfortunately, they often lead their populations into destructive behaviors driven by the politics of belonging.

I discussed this in an article called “Five Bucks.” When people pool their resources, they create politics, whether in a family, community, nation, race, or religion. Differences of opinion are inevitable, leading to politics.

Can religion and politics go hand in hand? I strongly believe and say no, because spirituality is about truth, and the essence of politics is twisting the truth. How can we keep religious groups out of worldly politics? Jesus tried and failed. It is up to us, as individuals, to make this change. If you are not in a position of power, it may be hard to see your influence, but even small contributions matter.

Even in personal relationships like marriage, the politics of power can emerge. Domination is more related to upbringing than genetics. When groups of people pool their resources, political parties form inevitably. Therefore, we need political systems with equal human rights and a clear constitutional mandate to prevent deviations from these rights. Populations worldwide are changing, with the internet playing a significant role. The nutraceutical industry has long criticized pharmaceuticals, and now pharmaceuticals are fighting back. We are caught between two large entities vying for control, using the politics of fear liberally. Liberals argue that once opened, the can of worms cannot be closed, yet leaders like Ayatollah Khomeini in Iran and the Saudi regime manage to do so. America, despite its imperfections, promotes democracy.

Despite its flaws, democracy is currently the best system humanity has. We are better off than under kingdoms, dictatorships, or authoritarian regimes, including religious ones. Injustice in the name of God is inevitable when ruling millions. A society’s constitution should be based on equal human rights, allowing individuals to challenge even the governing party in court for injustices.

A while back, someone posted a story on Facebook in Urdu, which inspired me to write this blog. I will try to translate it, but since there was no author’s name, I will quote it as “author unknown.”

And I quote:

“One day, a teacher told his students to prepare for an exam. He gave each of them a paper with some questions. When all the students received their papers, he said to flip the paper over and write about whatever was on the back. The students were surprised to see that nothing was written on the other side, except for a black dot in the middle of the paper.

Confused, the students did their best to write about the black dot. When they finished, the teacher collected the papers and read them aloud to the class. Every student had focused solely on the black dot.

After reading all the papers, the teacher explained to the silent class: ‘I am not going to grade these papers. I wanted to give you something to think about. None of you wrote about the white part of the paper; everyone focused on the dot.

In real life, we all focus on the black spots as well. Life is a gift from God, filled with reasons to be happy, like love and looking after each other. But we tend to focus only on the black dots—health problems, poverty, bad relationships, or unfulfilled expectations. In the face of life’s gifts, these black dots are insignificant, yet they have the power to cloud our minds. Look at life beyond these black dots. Appreciate every moment and blessing. Be happy, spread happiness, and encourage others to be happy.'”

End quote.

Profound wisdom, yet so simply expressed. I am taking it to the next level because I believe that God must take physical form to be helpful to the ordinary human individual. People who believe in God acknowledge that He created the universe and trillions of galaxies, yet they often ignore the importance of the individual, causing people to lose their self-respect. The significance of the individual can be recognized by observing dead planets, ghost towns, and desolate spots on Earth.

In answering someone’s prayers, an individual becomes an integral part of God’s plan. Yet, collectively, we fail to see, accept, or acknowledge the importance and responsibilities of the individual. The reasons are politically charged religions and the promotion of a sense of belonging that diminishes the individual.

Sure, God exists, but how does His existence benefit the individual and humanity as a whole? The answer lies within personal responsibility. Each individual must explore their spirituality rather than blindly following inherited beliefs.

If an individual plays a role in God’s work, why don’t we acknowledge it? The answer isn’t found in spirituality because we use politics to manipulate God. The individual, blinded by the political strength of belonging, cannot see clearly. The problem lies within the individual’s personal belief system.

When you stray from spirituality and follow the political arm of religion, you avoid questioning even nonsensical teachings because you’ve been told these are God’s words. I believe humanity and God are evolving entities. This evolution is evident when we look at our progress from the past to the present. However, religious extremism and nationalism persist, causing people to kill each other over ancestral knowledge.

Believing in God without doubt means accepting His will in all circumstances, not just when it suits us politically. We must stop harshly punishing people in God’s name and resist following religious leaders blindly.

If you believe in evolution, existing knowledge becomes a foundation for future growth, even in religion. From the beginning, knowledge has evolved, yet religious politics continue to incite violence. This happens because we egotistically cling to religious knowledge, separating ourselves from God and humanity. Instead of addressing problems as black dots, we try to solve everything with religious knowledge, even issues unrelated to spirituality. Seeking perfection should be a personal goal, ensuring black dots remain dots and do not become black holes that drain life.

As mortal beings, we cannot afford to sacrifice happiness for things we will eventually leave behind. When you let a dot become a black hole, you are being self-destructive. You must take charge of your life, balancing all aspects, including the sense of belonging and religious beliefs. Half-knowledge is dangerous, ruining you mentally and spiritually, robbing you of happiness.

Spirituality reflects the reality of God, existing beyond political boundaries, whether nationalistic or religious. Human beings are central to all actions, but nothing is achieved without the support of nature. For example, oxygen is beyond anyone’s control, and nothing can be done by a dead person. God’s work is performed by living humans, so as evolving beings, our knowledge must constantly change. This is why people follow different paths and belief systems, even within the same religion.

Sometimes we stick to the same path due to personal insecurities, even when changes come from God. The question of how much influence we really have arises. It’s easy to dismiss God’s existence to avoid straining our minds, but as mortals, it’s our duty to find happiness and contentment in this temporary life. A belief system helps us understand balance and responsibility, enabling us to reciprocate during our temporary stay. If you overextend yourself, you cannot be an effective leader of your own life. Confusion arises over how much is enough, so don’t let a dot become a black hole that drains your life.

Cultural traditions, trends, customs, and even religious duties can rob you of happiness and contentment instead of providing these precious jewels. Ultimately, the responsibility for a fulfilling life rests on the individual.

Adding happiness and contentment is crucial to a mortal life, as is transforming black holes into dots. This is your personal and spiritual responsibility. One day, my son wanted to play a card game called War, but I was busy. I suggested he play solo, using his left and right hands. When he started, he wanted one side to win, so I reminded him that both sides were his, and he needed to play fair.

Valuing yourself is the first step to living a balanced life. You are the CEO and the one connected to the source. You carry both sides within yourself, and it’s your job to balance them. Reciprocate while living for yourself because this life is temporary. Enjoy it while you’re alive. If you live your life like a worker bee, God might say that you had free will to do justice. If you failed to do justice to yourself, it was your choice. A group will always want you to be subservient, living like a hamster on a wheel. You can choose this out of a blind sense of belonging, but it is still your choice, and you can make yourself insignificant.

Remember, you are not a born sinner nor an insignificant entity. Do not become a sacrificial lamb for tradition, custom, or politically charged religious wars. You are alive to keep God alive and to help others. Each of us can help fulfill others’ prayers, and even if you get paid, you are maintaining God’s physical world.

If you are a religious leader, help others without preaching prejudice and hatred, which can lead to spiritual crimes. Be a person of God for all humanity, not just the chosen few. This selection has nothing to do with spirituality; it is pure politics. Preach spirituality and filter out politics, even if it is in the Quran or Bible. We must evolve with changing times. If we are killing each other, we are not understanding spirituality or are politically twisting it to fit our group’s agenda.

We cannot kill each other over a belief system because God physically survives through living human beings. Killing someone doing God’s work is against His will. Our knowledge must evolve to keep God’s world functioning, not destroy it. We all have the duty to advance our knowledge, turning religious extremism, nationalism, and racism from black holes into dots. Focus on the white page of spirituality, God, and humanity as a whole.

 

I am going to start this with a quote from Kabir:

“The drop in the ocean, everybody knows. The ocean in the drop, a rare one does.”

If you look at the human being spiritually, you will find that each and every one of us contains an ocean, even a vast space. This incredible machine, the human body and mind, has been undermined not only by political groups but by individuals themselves. This phenomenon has enabled us to achieve mathematically correct scientific feats, like traveling to space without wings and predicting storms to save lives instead of sacrificing to appease God. We have come a long way, and it is only the beginning.

If you, as an individual, feel insecure, it is not because of who you are but because of who you have been made into. If you wholeheartedly accept your mortality and believe in God, you lose all fears and related insecurities simultaneously, becoming a spiritual being who contains God within.

It does not matter where on Earth you are born or live. If you pass the test of being human, you are a first-class citizen of the planet. The present-day circumstances of humanity inspire me to state the truth according to the best of my knowledge.

Let’s start with India. If you are a Hindu nationalist or protectionist, you may think Kashmir is part of India. Yet India itself is a place where many nationalities and religions coexist, making everyone a first-class citizen. If someone is treated as a second-class citizen, it is against equal human rights, and the conflict is political, not spiritual. The same applies to Israel: if Palestinians are treated as second-class citizens, it is against equal human rights. If you are Shia or Sunni and have been fighting and killing each other for over a thousand years in a political war, you are prejudiced and do not believe in equal human rights; you need to get with the times. These conflicts have nothing to do with the spiritual side of religion. No killing is spiritual, even if called for by religious leaders. It is all about the politics of belonging and lost love.

Lost love is one of the biggest dead dogs of the problem (read: dead dog). It is a perpetual and constant component of our conflicts, fueling the fire of hatred and killings. It is not going to stop by the actions of political or religious leaders, because they are the cause of our passionate religious wars. It has to come from the individual, from the bottom up. If each of us starts to question the politics of our groups and stops fueling conflicts with emotional fire, there is a chance for peace on Earth. But before this happens, the individual must become a computer runner, not a computer or the data.

Each of us is born as a computer runner with the gift of a brand-new computer. Our families, communities, nations, and religions start to install data in us as our education, expecting us to take the identity of this installed data. For instance, if you are born Sikh, the elders want you to grow a beard, not cut your hair, and become a Sikh. If you are born into a Muslim family, you are expected to go to the mosque, pray five times a day, believe in God and Prophet Muhammad, and follow everything said fifteen hundred years ago. If you are born Christian, you are taught to believe in Jesus as the son of God and whatever he said two thousand years ago, and so on. This is all education, and education for an evolving human being is nothing more than data. The real identity is not even the computer itself; it is the person who gets a name after birth, the computer runner. This human being, who lives in a body (a computer), accepts knowledge as data, making them more than the computer and the data. This spiritual entity, taking physical form at birth, can be called a human being. But what is that spiritual entity? Since as individuals with single bodies that have limitations and mortality, we don’t feel strong and able, we tend to gather and feel strength in numbers. Our logic has been twisted with the politics of belonging to a group, yet it is one whole big entity or organism you can call God or the source. Just like our cells die and are produced in our bodies, we as individuals go through the same process as part of the body of God. Now, that is the identity of the entity. But when, why, and how did the individual lose that identity? If you, as an individual, can come out of the sense of belonging to your group and join humanity as a whole, you can easily feel the connection and understand who you are.

All human knowledge has been, is, and will be in an evolutionary process until we reach our God-given potential. Until then, we have been, are, and will be proven wrong over and over, regardless of our love and strong sense of belonging to our groups.

If you have passed a genetic test to be a human being, you are not just a computer but a computer runner, meaning you are a spiritual entity and a physical being simultaneously. You are above all the education and data you have been installed with. If you demote or reduce yourself to just the data, you will choose extremism and be passionate about your existing knowledge. Yet logically, you are an evolving entity. If you don’t believe me, just look around and see all the progress human beings have made.

When you fall victim to the politics of belonging or become enraged because of lost love, you let the data become your identity. This is where you become a drop in the ocean, a common knowledge. Yet you are the computer runner, the one who is spiritually aware and carries an ocean and even space within. I wrote a blog a while back titled “Five Bucks” (read: Five Bucks). That fiver is the ocean and even the space, yet it has been ignored by human populations and even by the individual.

I wholeheartedly believe if that fiver disappears, the number turns out to be zero. So regardless of what God possesses, it becomes insignificant. Thus, the human individual is the ocean in a drop. If you feel insignificant, it is not because of God; it is because of the data you have received. Your feelings of insignificance have everything to do with the out-of-control politics of belonging to your group. Every religion, nation, and “ism” of human population promotes the weakness of the individual so he/she can be controlled. In Christianity, some even preach that you are a born sinner. What does that do to one’s self-esteem? Contrary to that, try, test, and taste belonging to humanity as a whole. Live and let live with equal human rights. Then, and only then, will you feel your importance and know you are deeply connected to the source.

The problem is the data we collect from the beginning. Just look at the education systems of our nations. Every school in the world gives first education in religion and nationalism. Each group promotes that their way of living, whether traditions, customs, ways of governing, or worshiping, is better than everyone else’s in the world. This is the foundational cause of prejudice, an outdated political propaganda. Even religions are connected to the politics of groups, yet they should be the path to spirituality, God, and humanity as a whole.

I believe our group politics is causing chaos for God, humanity, and spirituality. Picture yourself as a cell in the functioning human body, where the brain says, “I am the one keeping the body alive and functioning.” It appears that way, but not quite. The heart jumps in and says, “I supply the life-giving blood, so I am the most important one.” Then the lungs say, “I give you oxygen, so without me, you can’t survive.” The liver and kidneys jump in and say, “We clean you up, so without that, you can’t function.” By then, the colon has had enough and says, “You are all full of it. I am the one supplying you the nutrition.” The arms and legs complain that they don’t like living in this bickering and chaos. This has been, is, and will be the status of humanity for a long time unless we put our act together and learn we need each other to create a functioning body. Whether you believe in God or not, whether male or female, gay or straight, black, white, brown, yellow, or belong to any nation or religion is not as important as being a human being.

Sure, God exists, but how does existence carry on and become useful to humanity? To find the answer to this question is an individual’s personal responsibility, rather than relying on what we have been taught or told.

If an individual is playing a role in God’s work, then why don’t we want to accept and understand that? The answer is not in religion but in spirituality, because as a group, we use our politics to use God. Since the individual is blinded by the political strength of belonging, he/she can’t see clearly. The problem lies in the individual’s personal belief system.

When you stray from spirituality and become a follower of the political arm of religion, you don’t want to question any knowledge because you have been told that these words are God’s words. Yet human beings are evolving entities, and the proof is in the pudding. Just look around—where we were, where we are today, and where we are going. Nothing is the same except religious extremism.

If you believe in God without a doubt, you accept and continue believing in God’s will. God forbid you stop punishing people and stop listening to the Mullahs or the priests. If you believe in evolution equally in all departments of life, the existing knowledge is the stepping stone for our future. Yes, it has been that way from the beginning, yet the politics of religion still leads us to kill each other over it. It is because we start to believe in our religious knowledge egotistically, and we separate ourselves from God and humanity as individuals.

As mortal beings, we can’t afford to sacrifice happiness over something we are going to leave behind. When you make a mole into a mountain for yourself and fall victim to being self-destructive, you have a duty to take charge and become the CEO of your life. You can rule all departments, including the sense of belonging to your nation or religion. Half-knowledge is a dangerous thing for a human being. It not only ruins you mentally and spiritually, but it also has the potential to rob you of happiness and health. Without health and happiness, nothing is successful, not even your religious belief.

Since spirituality is the reality of God, who exists regardless of the political boundaries of religion, I believe human beings are the cause and effect of everything good and bad in nature. But we can’t even move a finger or breathe without the help of nature. For instance, oxygen is not in anyone’s control, and nothing gets done by human beings if they are dead. So, God’s work is done by living human beings. That is why people have different paths—some on the bad to make people realize what good is, and the good to realize what bad is. Does this mean humans choose to be good and bad? Yes, it is ingrained within all of us, with the ability to choose. If you go to the core, you have a divided triangle: spiritual being and physical being. Since we are encased in three kinds of love: passionate love, instinctive love, and universal love, we fall victim when we are robbed of any kind of love. So, whatever dominates within the individual comes out.

Sometimes we want to stay on the same path while changes are coming from God. So, the discussion of how much say we really have begins. It is too simple to say that God does not exist, so some don’t want to strain their brains. Yet, as a mortal individual, it’s our duty to figure out how to live this temporary life with some happiness and contentment. That cannot be done without a belief system. A belief system helps us know the balance and responsibility to reciprocate during our visit. You can disregard the existence of God, but how would you disregard your personal decency related to the spiritual side, which helps you help others while you exist?

This “how much” can be confusing, so don’t make a mole into a mountain. It will suck the life out of you regardless of your belief system. For instance, cultural traditions, trends, customs, and even religious duties have the potential to rob you of happiness and contentment. So, at the end of the day, the responsibilities of mortal life rest on the shoulders of the beholder.

Adding happiness and contentment is fundamentally crucial and a personal responsibility of the individual because of mortality. Value yourself because you are the one who carries God within—or, I should say, the ocean, space, and everything in between. You are not a born sinner, nor are you insignificant, so don’t become a sacrificial lamb for any tradition, custom, or politically charged religious war.

You have a direct connection to the source. That is why you are alive. If you help others in any way, even if you get paid, you are keeping God’s physical world running. If you are a Mullah or a priest, sure, you are helping others, but preaching prejudice can lead someone to commit spiritual crimes. Be the man or woman of God who is for all mankind, or humanity equally, not for the chosen few. This selection has nothing to do with spirituality; it is purely political. So, preach all the spirituality you can and strain out the politics from your belief systems. Yes, even if it says so in the Quran or Bible. We all have to evolve with our changing times. Plain and simple, we just can’t kill each other over a belief system because we are an evolving entity. Our knowledge should evolve with time to keep God’s world working instead of destroying it. Collectively and individually, we all have the duty to wipe off the black marks of spiritual crimes committed by our ancestors. We need to clean the face of humanity from the politics of belonging to particular groups, join hands, and unite with humanity as a whole so we can individually and collectively reach our spiritual potential.

Our ability to think has been, is, and will be there forever, or at least until we die as individuals. Despite our awareness of mortality, our choices are often influenced by emotions and the politics of a strong sense of belonging. This makes me think that we are not even close to reaching our potential. If the ability to think is an evolutionary process, then the thought process and emotional awareness should be as well. Since there is a chance of being incorrect, our actions should never be influenced by passionate emotions. However, this has been and remains a reality of humanity. When emotionally charged, consequences take a back seat, and we become very dangerous. A knowledgeable and angered creature armed with guns and nuclear bombs can do real harm.

As humanity, we are going through a process of growth. For instance, we must pass the wax paper barrier. As a boy, I used to listen to sermons by Maulana Ajmal, a Muslim preacher in Pakistan. One day he said, “If I give you a paper and ask you to put your finger through it without ripping the paper, how will you do it? If you force your way through, you will rip the paper and miss the real knowledge on the other side. You have to use a pin to make small holes to start the process, which requires patience and persistence.”

Just like the process of learning in school or building muscles, you can’t learn or build muscles instantly by lifting weights heavier than you are ready for. If we keep poking little holes or digging gradually, we follow the path to learn more about ourselves and our potential. We now understand that this process requires constant struggle and drive to learn and adapt to a higher level of evolution. We may have made enough holes to peek through a finger-sized hole, but we still can’t see the whole picture, leading to many assumptions. To know everything, we need to be on the other side in person. Unfortunately, none of us can tell what is on the other side unless we are dead, and when we are dead, communication ceases for ordinary folks like you and me.

So, how can we learn about the other side without assumptions while we are alive? The only way is to pursue it with the patience of generations. If you are too liberal, you may rip the paper in eagerness, or if you are too conservative, you may stop digging out of fear of entering God’s territories, which I believe is against God’s will. Why? Just look at our makeup—every single cell suggests pursuing our potential. Despite conservative efforts, we are constantly evolving. Everything in the human body—physical, emotional, mental, psychological, or spiritual—improves and evolves with use and dies from disuse and stalling.

However, if you push too fast, you potentially rip the paper and understand nothing but your ego. Accepting the status quo without pursuing is also extreme. For an evolving human being, either extreme is wrong. We need constant digging and the drive to dig, but with the patience to grow and reach our potential. God is proud of His creation only if we reach our full potential, and it is our responsibility to pursue this potential to reach the level God intended for us.

The most confusing aspect of all religions is why an entity with the potential to evolve should stay within boundaries. If you look at the rules of any religion, you will understand what I am talking about. Personally, I believe all religious boundaries are either to control the population politically or to slow us down so we can evolve safely without ripping the wax paper. Either way, we are evolving, and political religious people don’t like it because they are losing control. If you follow the text but don’t believe in it, you may create more boundaries for yourself due to insecurity. A religious life should be lived with a spiritual belief system, logically removing fear and insecurities. However, instead of believing in God, people often become so controlling that they cross spiritual boundaries and commit spiritual crimes against innocent individuals in God’s name.

God’s wisdom is amazing. Just look at yourself and your free will closely. We have opposing senses like a sense of belonging and a sense of freedom, yet we also have free will, so the duty falls on the individual. With free will and curiosity in our DNA, we are bound to break boundaries, contributing knowledge from both sides. Followers preach maintaining the status quo, and curious rule-breakers dig deeper for more knowledge. It’s ironic that both contribute in their ways—one to slow down the other, creating a sacred rhythm so we don’t rip the wax paper. Who follows God’s will? This question has existed since the dawn of civilization, causing wars and extreme prejudice. Can one really break the boundaries created by God? I wholeheartedly say no, because God’s will for humanity is to evolve. No bird can fly into space, yet humans are there despite religious orders, because I believe our religions have been tainted with the politics of control benefiting belonging groups.

We will know more by digging into the present rather than assumptions from the past or future. What is on the other side? What is human potential? Where did we come from? What are we? Where does God exist? How does God’s work get done? Where do we stand? Where are we going? Why don’t we know everything? The biggest question is, why do we claim to know everything?

Looking at our history, we always claim to know everything, yet we are repeatedly proven wrong, leading to more learning and evolution. Understanding the evolutionary process will eventually answer every question, but we must dig and pursue our potential to use more of our abilities, installed in us by God. We are not learning new things every day; we are scratching the surface of our brain to dig deeper, as we came with that potential.

Real wisdom is not only in the Holy Scriptures; it comes from all directions, like rivers pouring into oceans as common sense knowledge, contributed by everyday individuals. For instance, I was watching a movie about Buddha. In one scene, Buddha was meditating on the riverbank for days without eating or drinking. A rowboat passed by with two people, one rowing and the other playing a string instrument. The musician said, “If you tighten it too much, it will snap. If you don’t tighten it, it won’t play.” Buddha heard this, stopped meditating, and ate. He learned something wise from an ordinary individual and preached balance from then on. We all have the ability to think and contribute common sense knowledge in everyday life, whether as poets, scientists, medical researchers, or in other educational fields. The purpose is the same: to help humanity.

All creatures follow a certain order of nature. They come to life, eat, sleep, reproduce, and die. This has been happening long before humans became aware of spirituality. I don’t look at time for answers like when we became aware or who started the awareness. What I really want to know is why. This “why” has answers from people with religious and scientific backgrounds, but definitely with assumptions. Assumptions are assumptions. We cannot claim with our limited yet evolving knowledge that we know everything. We have been killing each other over assumptions and continue to do so. For how long? Until the human individual evolves to be a CEO who can say no to the politics of belonging groups or until we all learn to belong to humanity as a whole. Until we overcome our prejudice and learn that every human being is a cell of God, and God lives through living human beings.

It’s mind-boggling that we advance technologically yet can’t figure out how to prioritize humanity over group politics. Looking back from a family pack to community, city, province, nation, race, and religion, growth is there but still tainted with competition and cutthroat group politics. If we take humanity to the level of our technology, we will grow and understand knowledge to help humanity where God exists. Thus, growing to that level, one starts to respect oneself as part of God and respects others as part of God. The very cause of prejudice can be eradicated within the individual by believing in equal human rights to help others and, in turn, helping oneself spiritually.

A dead squirrel on the road is a common sight. If you look for its hole, you will likely find saved nuts, useless to the saver but a treasure to the finder. We humans are supposed to be better than that, but our mortality makes us view life like a squirrel. Our world runs on business promotions and fear-based security. Even belief systems are tainted. If you want a spot in heaven, you must give money to the church or mosque. Security and control are big businesses that individuals are looked down upon if they don’t follow the masses. We are preached to live like squirrels instead of birds. Birds migrate north in the summer with no nest, no one waiting for them, just faith that there will be food. They find food daily, make nests, reproduce, and migrate back in winter. Total faith, opposite to the squirrel, yet both are extreme. Humans are above and beyond these creatures because we know we are mortal yet live in fear like squirrels.

I know I am an idealist, but if we take all resources from immobile securities, we can create a business large enough that the profit alone can feed millions of hungry people and reduce human suffering. Have a poverty tax or groups of people pooling money in an organized way so investments are not lost but profits go toward better humanity. Taxes have a bad rap because of enforcement, but our education system should teach us early that giving is reciprocating. Each of us is alive not because of our efforts but due to a miracle. Look above; the sky isn’t falling. Look inside and see harmony despite trillions of cells and bacteria. If you think you can will it, look around at those trying to survive disease. If you are alive, appreciate the free oxygen you breathe. We should all learn to reciprocate. Helping humanity is helping God because God’s actions are done through living human beings.

I don’t claim to have answers, but I know in my heart that every soul, every individual, is God’s spirit. We can’t see God, but we see each other. We must be careful with each individual we come across because each individual is God. Thus, humanity is one of the most important things we can work toward, no matter who we are, what we are, or what we believe in. This will always help us learn the truth from the other side and help us get closer to the truth. Ultimately, there will be no boundaries between us and God.

Our mortality should actually make us humble and generous, but we are far from it. Let’s look at it this way: we wear expensive jewelry, name-brand clothes, drive nice expensive cars, and what is the driving force behind it? For sure, it’s not our mortality. It is that powerful sense of belonging. Why do we suffer in private life with anorexia or bulimia even when we are aware of our mortality? What compels us to live in self-created extremes? Why does the individual have the need to impress others, fit in, or have a strong desire to be admired? It is that almighty and out-of-control sense of belonging.

God has equally blessed us all with free will; it’s what we do with it that differs. You can use free will to follow trends and reduce yourself to a squirrel, or go to the other extreme and become a reckless spender, or make sense out of it all. Use it to live like a mortal. If you can’t take it along, use it for yourself and remember: real human happiness is not only found in being selfish. If you can end someone’s suffering, you value yourself and become aware of deep and meaningful happiness. This knowledge has been around since the dawn of civilization, but we have always had sufferings to deal with. Each and every one of us has to do some soul-searching. Do we have to live under the powerful sense of belonging or go to the other extreme and become totally selfish? Or become a CEO with personal justice, ethics, and morals?

It’s ironic that we use a strong sense of belonging to become selfish, and a strong sense of freedom to become unselfish. For instance, with a strong sense of belonging, you want to be admired, looked at, and be impressive, so you do things to get everything others want. You strive to acquire gold, diamonds, etc. If you don’t give out, you hoard, and when it’s time to go, you leave it for your family, and that is, if you have any; otherwise, it goes to the government. That means you have lived selfishly but at a substandard life. If you have a strong sense of freedom, you don’t really care if you wear name-brand clothes or not, or if you have a nice car or not; you just live free of hoarding. If you have it, you use it to live larger. What makes one selfish? It is the ignorance of the knowledge of mortality, regardless of its reality.

In the core of human beings, there is humanity, but the insecurities we are wrapped up in, whether installed by parents or society, are not the question; it is the question of mortal living. Then there are social trends and personal responsibilities with loud inner voices. We become so occupied that we can’t hear anything else other than personal needs, sometimes to the point that we don’t care about the inner voices of humanity.

If you don’t see or value yourself, think and feel inadequate, you will let others put their colors or values in you, which makes you lose your identity. You will become a sheep who needs some outer force like the people of your belonging group to move you. God is not going to be out there for you, even if your belonging group believes in God. If you can’t find God inside you, you would be lost as an individual.

Since you are directly connected to the source, meaning God, you can’t be looking for God; just find your personal color and identity, and you will become spiritually aware, thus know God. Reciprocate during your living years instead of trying to secure a spot in heaven, which is after death. Logically, you are really useful to God while you are alive because even God needs to act physically through you to fulfill someone’s prayers.

Life is not just the functioning of the organism; it’s the purpose of it, and you can choose to live a purpose-driven life. The function of humans is to survive, feed the body, and start to look for purpose. Sex is for reproduction, self-sacrifice is to raise offspring so the constant and continuum of humanity and God are stable; after that, start to seek knowledge to better humanity, help mankind, and beyond.

What is that and where is that coming from? The reality is that it’s not what you see in space that matters; it’s your ability to see. If you seek God, don’t dig outside; it’s the inside knowledge you need more. It is not outside knowledge; it’s the ability of your brain to understand. How and what is only solved by curiosity, and where does curiosity come from? It is ingrained in you; you don’t just go to school to become curious. Major problem solvers did not learn from schools; they explored by going inside and digging into the brain to put things together.

 

A while back, I wrote a blog titled “The Love Triangle”; you may want to read it before this one so you can connect with the content. In that post, I discussed the three corners of love: Passionate Love, Instinctive Love, and Universal Love.

Love shields us from external problems or assaults that might influence our responses; these may relate to hormones or circumstances. These different kinds of love help form an individual’s identity. Our education systems have been flawed throughout history and even now in the present.

When equally divided, the core triangle emerges, which can be split into two sections. These two sides of the human individual constitute the personal core. One side, which I relate to the spirit, is the good side, and the equally important other side, which I associate with the animal side, could be seen as God or the Devil inside.

Interestingly, similar to my discussion, today on October 9, 2016, in the morning news, Dr. Lin, a medical contributor to the CBC, was discussing Thanksgiving. He mentioned a part of the human brain that he called the animal brain. According to him, this part of the brain gets stressed and triggers the release of stress hormones, which can cause hypertension. He connected gratitude and appreciation to lower blood pressure, noting that people who can internally reassure their animal brain that things are okay experience better health. He referenced some studies, although I didn’t catch all the details.

To bolster my argument, I must first explain the importance of love with its triangle. Passionate Love involves loving your partner and building a family. This passionate love gives rise to instinctive love, which extends beyond your children to encompass love for siblings, parents, other family members, friends, and neighbors—individuals with whom you share a special connection. When you begin to understand love through sharing with siblings, family members, or friends, you start to connect with those around you and give birth to Universal Love. This is where you become aware of belonging to groups like race, gender, community, nation, and religion.

I will delve into a strong sense of belonging to your groups shortly, but first, I need to explain this core concept.

These equally opposing sides of the individual make us all human beings, and both are equally legitimate and important for living a mortal life happily. If you favor one over the other, you are under the influence of flawed education because you are attempting to alter your identity. Always remember, genetically and spiritually, you are a human being—part animal, part spirit—not one or the other. You experience spirituality only while physically alive. All of God’s spiritual work takes physical form through human individuals making choices at the core. Someone’s prayers come to life through the interventions of other human individuals; thus, God also experiences a physical existence through living humanity.

For a personally successful mortal life, an individual must find peace at the core. It is crucial to center yourself, accept, and assume your identity as a human being. Only then will you find peace and contentment in a mortal life; otherwise, the awareness of mortality and fear of death can consume you from the inside out. You can follow religious stories and be kind to others; it’s spiritual, so I have no dispute with it. However, if you follow orders and commit spiritual crimes, I will question your core balance and responsibility as the CEO of your life—from the decisions you make to whether you know your identity.

If you are told that you are merely a spirit and should suppress your inner animal, as Christianity expects from priests, you may end up living in turmoil in the name of God. I absolutely dispute that notion. As I mentioned, even God experiences physical existence through you, so you are the CEO with the choice to decide before acting. You carry opposing forces within you, and both belong to you; your decisions can have harmful or rewarding effects on your life. Especially when it comes to mortality, you become even more important to yourself.

The name of my blog, “Who Flipped My Triangle,” asks you to consider how your sides can dictate who you are, independent of the politics of your belonging groups. The spirit and the animal both function with you being alive; without you, your good and bad sides disappear. As I mentioned earlier, if all human individuals were to perish, would God or the Devil matter? If they would matter to you, remember that you would not be there to understand what is good or bad. For the spirit to effectively function physically, it needs a functioning animal body, and you can turn the equation the other way around with the same results. Mathematically, it is correct, so it cannot be separated. If it were, we would cease to exist. What lies beyond existence has never been clearly described beyond religious assumptions like this one. Certainly, I assume because I cannot utilize my brain power to its fullest extent. Therefore, I won’t claim this as definitive. For humanity, it has never been definitive; we have been, are, and will always be constantly evolving. Therefore, being passionate about assumptions is simply wrong. Your sense of belonging may say otherwise, but you still have to balance your sense of belonging with the sense of freedom to live as a CEO.

 

Returning to the equally divided core triangle, I assume the good side as godly and the opposing side as devilish. Logically, the human individual cannot exist with only one of them; both must be part of this equation of existence. One cannot understand the value of good without the presence of bad, or bad without the presence of good. This means good and bad cannot exist without each other. However, the irony is that they both cannot exist without the individual who carries them in their core and has the power to choose and balance. This is why I believe that ideally or potentially, we are all born as CEOs. When we lose the powers of the CEO, our triangle is flipped by someone else, and we can become harmful to ourselves and humanity. Balance in the inner core is crucial for an individual’s health—whether it is related to spiritual, physical, psychological, or emotional health. As Dr. Lin puts it, there is a physical reaction to the way we think.

Returning to the sense of belonging, assuming the responsibilities of a CEO should enable you to enter the core and balance yourself. Yes, it is difficult to cross the boundaries of conventional or political knowledge of your sense of belonging, but since you use your free will all the time, you do have a choice. Whether you make these choices or not, the benefits or harms are not yours alone. Being balanced can also benefit humanity. Therefore, as a mortal, it is better to understand your true self. This liberation can enable you to deal with all kinds of personal problems.

If your education has brainwashed you to the point where you believe you are nothing more than your possessions (read: five bucks), your triangle has been flipped. You really need to understand yourself and your value in the grand scheme of life. Consider that you are aware of space not because it exists but because of your abilities to envision, see, and reach without wings or oxygen.

As I mentioned before, God and the Devil are two sides of you, and you choose which side to embrace and whether to create balance and assume the responsibilities of being human. Whether you are good or bad is not the question; it’s that you have the ability to choose. It’s akin to being a brand-new computer: your belonging group adds data, but you are not the data because you came with all the abilities before the data was added—thus, you are not the data. It is you who runs the computer and the data, which is why you have a name.

 

If you are under the influence of ancestral knowledge, your triangle needs to be righted, and only you have the power to do so. If you have been led to believe that you are just a spirit and being an animal is bad, imagine yourself in the top corner holding a pendulum. When dangling straight down, it sits in the center of the triangle, dividing it perfectly. The more you pull towards one side, the more it swings with equal force to the other side. Consider the scandals of priestly sexual behavior—they have taken vows to be godly men. Despite religious education promoting goodness and godliness by suppressing the animal inside, look around the world and see the pendulum swinging forcefully. Men of God commit spiritual crimes or devilish acts in the name of God, and their sense of belonging, personal justice, ethics, and morals have been lost to the winds of prejudice.

Considering the importance of the animal side and the role of hormones, we all are born with nipples regardless of gender, yet male bodies do not require them. As fetuses, we all start gender-neutral and develop based on hormone presence.

 

I watched a Discovery Channel program about wolves where protective hormones were released when pups were born—not just in the parents but in the entire pack. I connected this to observations of hormone fluctuations among fans during soccer matches. During a match between France and Italy, Italian fans’ testosterone levels rose when their team scored and dropped when France scored.

Where am I going with this? I believe the sense of belonging is related to our physical selves—crucial but ultimately under individual control. As humans, we are born with the responsibilities of a CEO, and innocent lives have been lost these days in the name of God simply because we’ve stopped accepting responsibility as individuals.

Sense of belonging creates suicide bombers and extremism. Therefore, our actions require more education for individuals to understand the effects of our chemicals. It’s not that these chemicals are inherently good or bad; they are essential for our existence. However, we need to evolve to comprehend the problems related to our hormones, or I should say, the animal side. Understanding this would help in dealing with perpetual and uncontrolled stress, negativity, and enjoying mortal life to the fullest.

 

From physical aging to related health issues—whether physical, emotional, psychological, or eventually spiritual—our problems can be linked to hormone suppression or a lack of spirituality. From beer-throwing fans to wars and related killings without guilt, our individual behaviors are connected to our unchecked sense of belonging. Chemical reactions, whether in wolves, sports fans, or a population’s respect for their armed forces, belong to this sense of belonging. Political bias, regardless of the right or wrong of belonging groups, points to personal imbalance to the extent that an individual cannot or will not stand up against wrongdoing within their group.

 

Only when an individual evolves to the level of a CEO can they understand the chemical connections and refrain from reacting like an animal. Thus, understanding inner balance helps in understanding one’s true self. The extent of influence one has in their lifetime is related to this core balance. If you feel you’re doing everything, you’re partly right, as you must consider external and internal insecurities. You cannot take all the credit nor blame yourself entirely for failures or shortcomings. Recognizing the assistance received throughout life and one’s efforts to maintain balance are crucial; otherwise, one risks disrupting inner peace.

 

Living a mortal life without any faith makes it challenging to face this life bravely and enjoy the benefits of placebo effects. While one cannot be wholly fatalistic or gamble all on the concepts of heaven and hell, the benefits of faith help navigate difficult times with hope, reducing anxiety and depression. When religious individuals assert that God will assist, it holds true only when one truly believes in God and takes equal responsibility for their life’s changes. Our upbringing as entities with educational backgrounds significantly affects our well-being as individuals.

 

To truly comprehend the causes of the benefits and harms of our education, we must seek inner balance to become a CEO. We need to evolve individually from our animal instincts. While hormones influence our passionate actions, we often attempt to justify them with the politics of our belonging groups. Concepts of right and wrong, ethics, and morals are taught by these groups under their respective rules, with nationalism and religion dominating our views on right and wrong. This is why humanity struggles in global assemblies like the United Nations, where Russia’s repeated use of veto power disregards innocent lives lost in Syria. Our sense of belonging isn’t to humanity but to our political groups, influenced by our animal instincts. Until we evolve from this internal struggle as individuals, we continue to imperil lives in the name of God.

 

Based on our education, we often fail to assume personal duties or responsibilities as human beings belonging to humanity. Instead, we align ourselves with packs of people following the politics of nationalism and religion, which often promote prejudice. It falls on the individual to evolve from ancestral education and embrace the modern changes in humanity. Belonging groups shouldn’t dictate the politics of humanity because it contradicts their existence.

 

This path may seem insecure and vulnerable, but becoming a CEO of your life allows you to delve deep into your core, achieving balance to address external problems. By dispelling false fears of mortality and living as mortals, one can achieve personal principles of justice, refusing to commit spiritual crimes at the behest of belonging groups. Our problem lies in failing to connect our hormones with our sense of belonging. Individuals aren’t taught who they truly are or what their capabilities are. It’s time to understand more about free will, cutting the umbilical cord (metaphorically), and genetics. Despite our differences, we all share Earth as our home, yet ancestral education has divided us with political boundaries stemming from our sense of belonging.

 

Change is underway—from global warming to internet-connected cell phones, international banking, free trade, human rights, gay marriage, abortion, assisted suicide, and everything in between. These are clear signals to align with humanity. All groups are like body parts, not the entire body; thus, individuals must understand these differences. At a deeper level, spiritually it’s about God, and physically it’s about humanity; everything else is political. Should one align politically or spiritually, or balance both to become a true CEO?

 

Politics often masks the truth to achieve desired ends. Many religions and nations seek control over individuals, often at the expense of spiritual truth. While choosing politics is a personal decision, opting for spirituality brings inner peace. If this truth holds value for you, align with humanity because genetically, you’re born human, irrespective of color, race, or gender. Inner balance prevents extremes that can lead to feelings of superiority or inferiority—a spiritual flaw, not an asset. For instance, suppressing strong animal desires to conform to a sense of belonging may lead to inner turmoil and health issues. Conversely, overly controlling spiritual desires can lead to looking down on others who cannot, which is also a spiritual flaw.

Inner peace during our lifetime is one of the most important treasures for any human being. Life can become a living hell if we persist in living without happiness and contentment. It’s a heavy price to pay for materialism, control, and security. Mortality is an unchangeable fact, and depending on one’s education and life purpose, the knowledge of mortality can be crucial.

We are a combination of both animal and human sides. No one can choose one side exclusively; attempting to do so leads to an unbalanced life. A successful human life is found in moderation, not in extremes. With free will, an individual must find a balance, dividing their time and efforts to keep both sides happy and content.

Living in total deprivation might make one a selfless and admired individual, but self-care is equally important. Living with inner conflict is like choosing to be a head of a department rather than a CEO. Inner conflicts cannot be overpowered by strict regimes. We must ask ourselves: Is living a mortal life, unhappy and torn apart from within, worth the struggle?

If practice made us perfect, our societies would be crime-free, priests would not be convicted of sexual crimes, and war crimes would be a thing of the past. Instead, we continue to be plagued by crimes that even other creatures would be ashamed of.

The root cause of our failure as social beings is our constant pursuit of extreme control, driven by the awareness of mortality. This awareness should help us understand ourselves and our mortality, allowing us to balance all aspects of our lives. Instead, it tears us apart individually and is a significant cause of political wars.

Using free will wisely makes you a CEO of your life. As a human, you shouldn’t pretend or try to be something else. No other creature tries to change its identity. Animals might change color for protection or hunting, but they accept themselves as they are.

Humans are often unhappy being human. We constantly try to change ourselves according to trends. Dark-skinned individuals want to lighten their skin, light-skinned individuals want to tan, short people want to be taller, thin people want to gain weight, and heavy people want to lose weight.

Humans are neither animals nor angels, so what are we?

If you start to see your life as a gift or blessing, wisdom will begin to reveal itself. Free will gives you a choice, and if you choose to please others at the expense of your own happiness, you must ask yourself what this is doing to you internally. If you are not torn apart inside, it’s great—you can live your life serving others. But as you do so, personal expectations develop. If they are not met, you will face resentment, and the animal inside of you will rip you apart. Balance is crucial, as rejecting personal responsibility and ignoring your animal side leads to inner turmoil.

Our teachings often emphasize extremes, leaving no room for questioning due to the strong sense of belonging and conditioning within our groups. This fear of being shunned while having suppressed desires to question leads to inner conflict. Nobody else sees or connects this to social ills, so the individual suffers alone.

Nature created us as human beings, and to experience physical life, part of us functions like animals. This is legitimate, regardless of ancestral beliefs or current thoughts. No one has been able to change this fact of life. There is no reason to feel inferior for having animalistic desires; this is part of our makeup. Free will exists to balance our everyday lives, despite inner turmoil. Inner conflict arises not from nature’s wisdom but from societal knowledge and education about control and conformity.

If you feel like eating something unhealthy but refrain to avoid obesity or societal judgment, you are controlling yourself, becoming more human and less animal. One might think that such practices should lead to better physical shape and evolved humanity. Yet, we see more obesity, depression, anxiety, and unhappiness today despite our knowledge. More people are torn apart, willing to harm themselves because they dislike being out of control and judged by society.

Inner peace is elusive even among the best of us. How can we achieve it? The answer lies in self-reflection. Stand in front of a mirror and look into your eyes, asking yourself if you are happy or sad and why. Often, individuals with limited knowledge have low self-esteem, desire to fit in, and seek admiration from others. If you feel this way, recognize your body as your vehicle and yourself as the driver. The body’s functioning is a miracle, and we should be thankful to be alive.

Ask yourself if your free will, animal, and human sides are in balance. If not, find the cause. The cause lies in how you use your free will and become the CEO of your life, questioning everything, including what your belonging groups have taught you.

We follow what is preached to us, mistakenly believing that God wants us to kill the animal inside to become angels. This is not true. We are created as human beings with conflicting senses and free will. This perfect wisdom allows us to evolve and reach our potential. We learn new things every day, proving that we are not a finished product and that our knowledge is not complete.

I believe God created us with more potential than we realize. There is a divine spark in each of us, spiritually connected yet physically separate. Believing that our knowledge is complete is egotistic and ignorant, rooted in politically charged senses of belonging.

Inner peace and harmony reveal our decent side. By using free will to balance our senses and desires, we manifest divinity. Otherwise, we manifest our insecurities, leading to control and spiritual crimes against our own kind.

Instead of creating balance, we often go to extremes, thinking it feels right. This suppression of the animal side leads to uncontrollable outbursts. Achieving inner peace is not about extremes; otherwise, Buddha would have found it through hunger alone.

In a movie about Buddha, I remember a scene where he meditates by a river. Two men row by in a boat, one playing a string instrument. The musician stops and tells the rower that if the string is too tight, it will snap; if too loose, it won’t play music. Upon hearing this, Buddha stops meditating to eat. This illustrates that inner peace is found in balance.

Inner peace is divine wisdom, and it is our responsibility to find it for ourselves. It is the key to justice for both our animal and human sides, helping us accept our humanity. While few achieve divine powers through extreme hardship and sacrifice, most fail and become torn.

Ordinary individuals who attempt extremes end up in turmoil, losing inner peace. Strict rules create chaos. Extremely religious individuals without inner peace can become hypocritical, acting out animalistically. Human societies have always had crime, and a percentage of people will always be seen as criminals. However, it’s not black and white. Avoiding extremes is crucial.

Conservatives and liberals constantly debate, but when taken to extremes, it indicates an inner crisis. All religions preach tolerance, yet we often get caught up in competition, neglecting inner peace. Peaceful individuals radiate peace, benefiting society in the long run. Social politics must allow individual strength. A group’s strength depends on the strength of its individuals.

Strings of Power

When we use free will, we are given numerous strings to pull, each affecting some part of our life. We often misunderstand this power, thinking we are the only ones pulling the strings. We forget who gave us the strings and the ability to use them. Our power depends on the oxygen we breathe, and every breath relies on countless factors. Recognizing this vulnerability makes us humble, while the pride of pulling the strings can lead to greed for power.

Everything we do depends on multiple factors. We must look beyond our immediate power and understand the source of our abilities. Spirituality teaches humility and belief in something greater. This is why spirituality is consistent across human societies, despite the ego-driven politics of sense of belonging.

Religions should abandon politics and focus on spirituality. Belief in God should transcend worldly setbacks, acknowledging that human understanding is limited. We must dig into the past for the benefit of the present and future, not to create more problems and unhappiness.

Our societies have changed rapidly, from gay marriages to physician-assisted suicide to equal human rights. The past should inform the present and future, not dominate them. Living in the past or future can make today a dead experience, adding up to a dead life. The present is the most controllable time.

Responsibility of the Individual and Society

A starving person stealing bread is at fault, but so is the community that failed to provide. Survival trumps all laws, orders, and beliefs. Ethics and morals are luxuries of the well-fed. When preaching control, remember that the speaker’s stomach is full. A hungry person discards all knowledge—social, religious, or spiritual—in favor of survival. We must evolve individually and as societies to fulfill our responsibilities.

If you or a loved one needs medical help, the community should support you. If not, you should take necessary steps. Community and individual are interdependent, each responsible for the other. If community rules devalue individuals, imbalance arises, ultimately harming the community.

Law and order, social systems, religion, and spirituality are joint responsibilities. Spiritual values, often mislabeled as socialist, should guide religious individuals, yet many vote against these values. True spirituality supports universal healthcare and poverty relief, not political agendas.

Religious people should logically follow spiritual values, yet many align with conservative politics, which contradicts these values. It’s time to think spiritually, not politically. Spirituality transcends religious politics, focusing on belief in God and humility in the face of human limitations.

Digging into the past should benefit the present and future, not create conflicts. Our ancestors did their best with their knowledge. Using the past to destroy the present or future is unwise. Human societies are constantly evolving, and today’s knowledge will be outdated in the future.

Live in the present, use past knowledge wisely, and aim for a better future. Human advancement depends on learning from history, not reliving it. Balance is crucial, avoiding extremes and focusing on inner peace and spirituality for a harmonious life.

 

After all, we are mortal, so we die regardless of our rights and wrongs. Criticizing someone’s life relates to our prejudiced side, making us think we are better than others and therefore right. Why and where does this kind of thinking come from? Our parents instilled the knowledge they learned from their parents and so on, so certain societies promote and preach that they are right and everyone else is wrong. Thus, we are taught prejudice from the very beginning.

Now, honestly look around the world and find me even one society that is free of prejudice. From the smallest to the largest, from the least populated to the most, they all preach two things to their young ones: nationalism and religion. Both openly fan the flames of prejudice, even in communist and socialist countries. If each and every one of us grows up with prejudice as our first education, how can humanity exist without conflict? To me, it falls on the shoulders of the individual. As a group, we are all victims of an out-of-control sense of belonging. Therefore, if countries or religions talk peace, we will never achieve it because of our sense of belonging.

The problems faced by individuals as they grow up are related to being torn apart by conflicting knowledge, learned prejudice, and the desire to grant equal human rights to all due to inner spirituality.

If one is right, that means others are wrong. This argument has persisted since the beginning of human individual awareness. Yet, we all have been and are mortal. Even our societies are to some degree mortal. Some may last longer than others, but even empires collapse.

With our evolving knowledge, our rights and wrongs trade places over time. Just look at the social advancements of humanity. We don’t burn witches, don’t kill homosexuals, don’t buy and sell human beings, and racism is a crime in advanced societies. Yet, we still have a long way to go to deal with prejudice.

Why so much passion in our wars related to nationalism and religion? At the heart of our conflicts is our prejudice-related sense of belonging. If one can overcome this, they can choose humanity over nationalism and spirituality over religion. But how far are we from this as individuals? If you personally ask yourself this question, you will often end up choosing your belonging group because you don’t want to be on the wrong side of your group.

This is the decision-making time for us all to start overriding politics and learn to lean towards humanity and spirituality instead of religion and nationalism. Historically, they have brought out the worst in humanity and failed to help us evolve spiritually.

Today, whether it’s Snowden, a football player, or other athletes who show signs of defiance against societal norms, they receive both hate and love from their belonging society. This is because a segment of the population thinks beyond the boundaries of their sense of belonging. Normally, we follow the politics of our groups, but these days people are standing up for what is right. They are not afraid to state their opinions. Things have been changing rapidly, but this is not new. States, races, and religions have been at odds for a long time for political power. These days, awareness of spirituality and equal rights has been emerging as a power with the potential to override all other powerful entities because it is evolving from within the individual.

As I said, it has the potential. But how far are we from this awakening? That is anyone’s guess, because the politics of belonging usually ensnares us all. As individuals, we are taught to compromise our personal principles when it comes to our religions and nationalism.

As the number of politically educated and spiritually evolved CEOs grows, our politics will change for the better.

These days, the general population can call a religious radical a radical even if they belong to our own religion. Would we be able to overpower religious extremism? This question is harder to answer because I believe religion and music touch individuals in a similar way where one can dance, so if one gets carried away with the rhythm and can’t think rationally, the only way to change individual behavior is to understand the power behind it, and that power is spirituality.

Spirituality crosses the lines of all human education learned from belonging political groups, so it is highly individual. Therefore, the individual must be educated in that zone. You can earn all the degrees and become a master of human knowledge, but when it comes to sense-of-belonging-tainted religious politics, there is very little hope for one to stand for equal rights for all.

Social injustice is at the heart of all conflicts and social ills like prejudice, racism, and inequality. When it comes to equal human rights, they should be for all human beings, not just for some exclusive group. If you believe and choose that your religion or nationalism is right, never forget about spirituality, humanity, and equal human rights, because you don’t want to do to others what you don’t like done to you.

This is a simple principle yet the hardest to find in politically tainted religious groups. Remember, humanity and spirituality are where God resides, so the real belonging is to belong to humanity, which is above and beyond groups. Spirituality means everything to do with humanity, which should be the essence of all religions. But these days, with all our wars, the essence appears to be the group politics that breed and preach prejudice.

Hypothetically speaking, as babies, we start with less than one horsepower. As we grow, we gain the strength of ten or more in the prime of our lives. As we age, we start to lose strength, one horsepower at a time, coming full circle to less than even one horsepower. To play the game of life successfully, one must understand their personal horsepower. If you have ten horses, you can do anything at peak performance, but as you lose horses, if you don’t adjust accordingly, aging can be tough to deal with.

The simple truth is that you can’t play at a ten-horse level with fewer horses. If you have five, you must adapt to that level or pay the price, as a mortal life should be driven by the wisdom of balance. Being humble at the peak of life and appreciative of your abilities in low times is not easy, but the wisdom of balance is available to everyone, allowing for happiness even during times of loss. This is a choice we all must make.

From an individual to a collective level, we need to look at life as mortals because that is what we all are, and no one can or should deny that. The stories of religions, past heroes, and opposing entities say so. From Moses, Jesus, and Prophet Muhammad to Genghis Khan, Alexander the Great, and Hitler, and even the Roman Empire and the British Empire, they all had their time. The rise and fall of good and bad entities, becoming part of history, is a clear example of mortality.

History shows that we forget even the best humanity has to offer. So why do we do so much for our belonging groups? The reason behind all individual actions is the out-of-control and imbalanced sense of belonging, which denies the individual’s personal identity. This phenomenon needs more understanding. We need to look at individual life as a personal project connected to a larger picture while remaining humble so our actions don’t harm others in our lifetime or after we pass, for the sake of future generations. Even today, we kill each other over differences sown thousands of years ago.

As individuals, we are transitory entities with far-reaching impacts on others, yet we lose importance as time goes on. History shows the impacts, yet people are too busy with their survival to notice, because of the hard life.

We can’t have total control and security because of our mortality. Whether God is in the front or back seat of your life’s car, God is needed. We need help regardless of the number of horses we have, especially when we have less horsepower, like a baby needing its mother or a dying elder needing family, friends, or compassionate strangers with higher horsepower.

We naturally help each other because someone instilled that ability in all of us. This decency is a spiritual asset, potentially in all of us, regardless of our belief system. Whether you believe in God or not, you must realize that knowledge is incomplete. Sooner or later, you will find yourself needing more knowledge. If you have room to learn more, you can’t be overly passionate or sure about your existing knowledge, even if it comes from holy books. It’s important to evolve according to the present demands of time; otherwise, it’s ignorance. Ignorance is ego-related, and ego is one of the children of an uncontrollable sense of belonging, which has nothing to do with spirituality, God, or humanity—it is strictly related to group politics.

You can respect your ancestral knowledge, but you are the CEO of your personal life with free will, which places significant responsibilities on your shoulders. Watch out, because you have the potential to commit spiritual crimes against humanity in the name of your race, gender, nation, religion, or even your perception of God. If you want proof, just look around in history and even today while history is being made.

You don’t want to be on the wrong side of spirituality and humanity. Always choose compassion over passion, and spirituality and humanity over racism, nationalism, and religious extremism.

If you don’t believe in God and harbor anger against God or people, come out and say so. But denying something you don’t know or understand is egotistic. You may have more horsepower now, but you will lose it as you age, just like everyone else, and eventually, you will need help—unless you end your life, which would be unwise because it shows a lack of hope. Hope and God go hand in hand; if you have hope, you know God, whether you like it or not.

If you look at human conditions worldwide and even around you, wherever you are, you will see people at different levels of health, finance, and happiness. Interestingly, you don’t have to be rich to be happy, or in better health to be richer and more content than others. There is always someone worse off or better off than you out there. Why would God put people in misery?

The answer is difficult, but it’s all in the attitude and perception of the individual. Understanding human attitude in difficult times has been, is, and will be a quest for psychologists and religious scholars. But one thing is clear: we are all different. If you find yourself unhappy, just look at the blessings you have and ask yourself why, again and again, until you reach a conclusion.

If you feel that your life needs to be perfect and you lose happiness and contentment over it, you have placed yourself in a never-ending, unwinnable situation. You should look at it not as a disease but as a condition that has the potential to rob your own happiness and contentment out of your temporary life. Not a good place to be as a mortal. If you see yourself in this shattered glass mirror with a hard-to-understand picture created for you, and especially if you spend your whole life in this mode, you need to understand the meaning of mortality and your belief system about God. In this condition, you not only set yourself up but also set up God for failure. When that happens, you look at God without personal responsibility for reciprocation. You may expect God to do everything for you but won’t even reciprocate for the blessings of the oxygen you breathe to experience this mortal life.

If you can’t be happy during the tests of this life, how can or would you be happy in the afterlife? Unless you learn through life experiences and change, you can’t be happy, even in your perceived heaven.

It never is about what you have or don’t have; it’s always about your attitude towards what you have or don’t have. Human happiness is highly dependent on the individual’s attitude, knowledge of self, and the kind of happiness they seek. Understanding oneself helps to describe the causes or reasons for the right or wrong attitude, and that knowledge helps to discover the differences between core and surface happiness.

If you feel poor, you don’t have the power, whether it’s physical, material, or spiritual. Your happiness will become dependent on the stuff you are lacking. For instance, being physically poor will make you feel sad only when you compare yourself to others who can do and achieve more than you can. Sure, it can make one sad, but it also has the potential to inspire one to start working out, take physical activity classes, or start working on oneself to excel in whatever you can be good at. It’s a matter of attitude: you either start to improve yourself or feel sorry, blame God for your limitations, and get worse by staying in a sad situation. These limiting feelings can rob one’s happiness unless one takes responsibility to adjust their attitude and take charge to become a CEO.

The Ladder of Horizon

Picture yourself climbing a ladder with many people doing the same thing. Being competitive, we all want to be on top and ahead of everyone else. You struggle to climb one step at a time, hoping to get higher than everyone else. When you reach a point where you can’t climb any more regardless of your struggle and strategies, and nothing works, you feel frustrated, unhappy, and angry because you have lost control. If you continue to be unhappy and frustrated, you can drive yourself to illness related to unhappiness. It’s time to look down to see how high you have climbed. Sure, there are thousands of people above you, but there are millions or even billions who want to be at the level you already are, and yet you are still unhappy. The kicker is that you can spend your whole life trying to climb the ladder of horizon but run out of time. All along, while you are too busy climbing, your life is passing you by, and then you fall regardless of the height you have climbed because of mortality. You can enjoy the climb with enthusiasm and appreciation or spend your life in frustration while it passes—it’s all in the attitude. If you have knowledge of other people’s comfort, happiness, and financial success, only then do you start to feel good, bad, inadequate, sad, or weak.

The saying “we all are in the same boat” is not correct because each and every one of us is, and potentially can be, a CEO of his/her life. If everybody were in the same boat instead of on the ladder, things would be different. This ladder is a fact of life, and we need to understand it individually. There will always be levels of life you will have to climb, but remember one thing: you will personally run out of time. Watch out for trends, friends, and the sense of belonging, as they can help rob you of your own happiness and contentment right out of your mortal life. That, my friend, is your only valuable treasure—you can’t afford to sacrifice it.

Collectively, we have experimented with communism and failed miserably because it goes against the nature of a CEO. It is deeply related to the flawed and political sense of belonging, which is extreme without the balancing sense of freedom. I am a believer in personal freedom, but I also understand the needs and power of belonging. It’s not one or the other; it is the individual creating balance with the triangle from the top down: the individual, the sense of belonging, and the sense of freedom.

Since we all have been blessed with different abilities and potentials, it is human nature to either strive to reach personal potential or to be content with whatever we have. In either case, both religions and communism attempt to rob you of your personal potential so that power can remain in the hands of governing elites.

You can spend all your life energy losing weight, making money, or climbing higher to reach a certain bracket, while life passes you by. How many people are above or below you is not the main thing. You are the CEO of your life, responsible for all departments. Therefore, never compare yourself to just one side. Compare yourself to both sides for inspiration from those above you and for humility and appreciation of your blessings from those below you.

As I said, when we compare, we need to compare both sides so we can carry on and be happy at the same time. There is always someone worse off, and even the richest person can lose health and wealth at any moment. Champions lose to up-and-comers. There is no guarantee for the richest or the strongest to have it all. You can be rich without health, or you can be strong without wealth. The responsibility is on your shoulders to look after all departments of life.

Comparing both sides is crucial because people on a higher level should incentivize you to work hard and never give up, while those below you should give you satisfaction, appreciation, happiness, and contentment about your present status.

Material happiness is connected with a strong sense of belonging because we all want to fit in, be admired, or impress others to gain respect and feel good about ourselves. Putting others on a pedestal and yourself down as a doormat all the time is a sign of low self-esteem, personal weakness, and disrespect—these are flaws unless intentional for spiritual reasons. Why is others’ approval so important to you that you work so hard you acquire stress-related health problems and sacrifice core happiness for surface happiness?

Core happiness is a powerful phenomenon; it can even confuse highly educated individuals. Spiritual happiness is core happiness because serving others touches us all at our core, providing happiness and contentment.

Genetically, we are driven to work together. Our identity depends on others’ approval, yet God created each of us as a completely independent and competent CEO. The happiness department is not so confusing when you understand the responsibilities of a CEO.

Working for humanity can bring you core happiness, just like a mother looking after her baby willingly sacrifices her sleep and everything else to gain powerful feelings of nature. Ingrained powerful nature has every creature dancing for the feelings of core happiness. We are all compelled to do our job regardless of education level. Seeking happiness is wise, but it is wiser to understand it like a CEO who knows the difference between surface and core happiness.

Regardless of intelligence level, everybody is trying to achieve happiness because deep inside, we all know about mortality. Personally, I think accumulating happiness should be the top priority of a mortal life because no other treasure can match fulfillment. The confusion between types of happiness is not easy to sort out.

What is an illusion and what is real for the individual? Especially when the sense of belonging clashes with the sense of freedom, it can cause confusion about what is right and wrong even for the highly educated. That is why it’s crucial to become the CEO of your life, so you can sort everything out and do justice to all departments of life, including recognizing the power you hold as an individual. Know that you can balance people, yourself, and even God. Know that nothing works without others. God’s light cannot be lit without people, and without the individual, there are no people. (The triangle of human, God, and people.)

The power of nature is so strong that we follow it helplessly. Just like all other creatures, we follow these orders as well. For instance, reproduction continues despite all self-control, laws of the land like China’s, or the fear-based tactics of religions. Wedlock or not, kids keep coming.

Naturally, we have opposing senses. The sense of freedom is just as powerful as the sense of belonging. Wars have been, are, and will be fought for both senses.

The sense of belonging can overpower anything an individual thinks or feels. The recent dispute about standing, kneeling, or sitting during the national anthem is a classic case of being torn between belonging to a nation, race, religion, or humanity as an individual.

Your mirror has been presented to you as shattered by group politics, so you must become a CEO to see your real self. If you keep looking in the cracked mirror, you will never see how you really look. The sense of belonging is exclusively and above all for humanity as a whole, especially if you believe genetically you are a human being.

Remember, you are the one who has to see through the mirror, even if it’s cracked. You have to look into it with a personal belief system so you can take responsibility for reciprocation. If your image is distorted, you will hoard all human resources to one percent and live a politically divided life riddled with wars and social crimes against yourself. Helping others is not a democratic or political thing; it is a spiritual thing. Paying a little tax to help others, even in far lands regardless of differences, is a spiritual duty. You can’t have Islamic, Hindu, Jewish, or Christian charities; that is one hundred percent political. If you want to give to charity, it should be spirituality-related, and spirituality has no religion, race, gender, or nation. You just have to be able to see with corrected lenses, vision, or simply fix the cracks in the mirror so you can see the human being.

We have come up with self-denial and several religions for civilization. We have learned about boundaries, manners, etiquette, ethics, and social rules. All the knowledge to prevent pregnancies and the weapons for abortions, even the threat of AIDS and death, could not stop humans from following nature.

We create rules against anything just for people to break them. Since the dawn of civilization, we have been struggling for control as a society and as individuals. If we were to be successful, by now we should have been. Society should be crime-free, and individuals should be superhuman, with total control of their actions.

Population would be in control, and for sure, there would not be any wars. Just by looking at history, you can see that regardless of wars, the population has always been out of control. Like the spider, humans are reckless enough to keep reproducing. Whether it’s AIDS or God, the drive behind our nature is so powerful that you can’t stop it by fear of self-destruction or death.

The connection with nature is not as clear as we think it is. We need to learn more about ourselves to understand the power and wisdom of the animal inside every human.

If you have inner peace instead of struggle, you will be able to see how you act like a puppet. Whether it’s rules of society or competing nature, at the end of the day, you are the one responsible for your actions and inner peace.

Becoming a responsible CEO can and should help you understand the contradictions of the cracked mirror and find solutions for this temporary life and whatever is beyond. Sure, you can have a society with a lower crime rate by imposing strict punishments, but you always run the risk of human rebellion due to oppression. The truly disciplined human being is the CEO who creates balance between the inner man and the beast to achieve inner peace. With inner peace, one can understand and respect nature yet have a say in everyday life to achieve happiness, health, and success as a mortal being.

 

Unfortunately, it’s not new, but especially these days, there is turmoil all over the world. Humanity is riddled with wars driven by a sense of belonging to groups or ideologies. Conservatism and liberalism are at odds, yet both are important to set the rhythm of progress.

You can vote against the hijab or burkini or choose human rights, but it takes individual education to make an informed choice. You might make a decision out of a sense of belonging to your group, but is that just? This is a question we all should ask ourselves, yet we don’t. As an individual, your personal sense of justice relates to the principle of “don’t do to anyone what you don’t want done to you.” This was tried in Canada by conservatives in court, but human rights prevailed. Logically, if you put these issues in legal systems, human rights would and should come out on top. The real problem is not the belief system itself but the individual’s extreme passion, which blinds them to justice and tarnishes human education.

The beneficial aspects of belief systems can’t be discussed due to the politics of group belonging. The human journey toward secularism and democracy has been long, with religions pointing in their direction but failing to follow through because of political control.

If we all think secularism or democracy is better than religious systems, we should focus on justice and human rights instead of our group affiliations. Tolerance and human rights are the essence of democracy and secularism. Choosing extremism makes us no better than other extremists.

When an individual engages in discrimination, it is against human rights and thus cannot be right. In all human conflicts, both sides believe they are better, leading to group prejudice.

Prejudice is an infection humanity has suffered from for a very long time. No religion or governing system has cured it, so it is time to start from the bottom up by educating individuals. In conflicts, the real victims are individuals, and it is individuals who stoke the fires and burn in them due to personal loss of love. Thus, it is only the individual who can provide solutions to our conflicts.

Nationalism and religion have been at odds for a long time, but today their conflicts are boiling over. Chemical weapons have been used, and nuclear weapons could be next if we don’t start prioritizing humanity over our groups. This can’t happen unless ordinary men and women take charge, educate themselves, become the CEOs of their lives, balance the politics of belonging with a sense of freedom, value this life over the afterlife, and understand the pain of others’ love losses.

A sense of belonging can tear one apart, especially when the individual is uneducated and unable to call the shots for themselves. If you look around, you will see people doing the opposite of their religions’ teachings in the name of nationalism, committing treason or crimes against their nations in the name of religion.

The problems lie within individuals, so the key to solving these problems is also within individuals. You can drop all the bombs, throw money at the problem, or sweep it under the rug and close your eyes, but it won’t be solved unless individuals are educated. Gather all the money or even create a new poverty and education tax to treat the whole world as one and choose humanity over nations or religions.

This is the time when individual education is most needed because neither religions nor nationalism will back down due to their egotistic sense of belonging. There have been attacks on schools and universities because, God forbid, if individuals get educated, they might not join the wars. That is exactly what is needed: individuals must take the wind out of the sails of warships to stop conflicts. It is the individual who must stand up against the powerful sense of belonging to groups. They must choose humanity over nations or religions.

We all carry a personal sense of justice regardless of race, color, gender, nationality, or religion. God has blessed us all, and each and every one of us possesses free will. It’s high time to use it in the name of peace for humanity.

As an individual, you could be called an infidel and blamed for treason, but if you are an educated CEO of your life, you can balance the sense of belonging with the sense of freedom. Deep inside, you know that the only way to truly belong is to belong spiritually to humanity as a whole.