Umbilical cord

We need to create a balance within the individual so that their group’s politics cannot corrupt them. This individual is my ideal chief executive officer (CEO). If we let ourselves be treated like cattle, we cannot realize the potential that God has in store for us.

A sense of belonging is a legitimate and powerful aspect of our lives. Each of us has duties and responsibilities as we grow up, serving while receiving from the society we belong to, or, as I should say, the group we belong to. Just as a newborn’s umbilical cord is cut—a natural, undeniably logical fact and a real sign of independence—our physical umbilical cord is severed, but the invisible cord belonging to our groups is hard to separate from. As individuals, we grow to become part of the working machine, especially concerning the politics of group belonging.

As I said, cutting the umbilical cord is a natural, undeniably logical fact, so each of us should be able to be an independent CEO. How many of us are the real CEOs of our lives? Are you a CEO who chooses to belong to humanity as a whole instead of exclusively to a group? Would you change your way of thinking if I make sense to you?

Since we are all produced and built the same way, we are all mirrors. If you look at me with prejudice, racism, and hate, you are looking at yourself in the mirror, seeing the same thing. There is counter-prejudice related to racism present all over the world as well.

Turning the other cheek is a mythical reality. In the real and practical world, it is hard to find people who would turn the other cheek for you. Most of the time, you get what you see in the mirror. If you are full of hate, prejudice, and racism, you can’t possibly see the opposite in other people.

I talk about human jewelry: wear your compassion, forgiveness, sacrifice, and love so we all start to see humans adorned with what separates us from other animals. Wearing these jewels would make you see your personal reflection in others, not because they don’t have the jewelry, but because of what you feel inside, you see in others. For instance, you may carry anger because of the circumstances or the story of your life, and you see anger in all people. If you carry love, you may see love in all. It is not what others carry that matters; it is about what you carry inside.

If you don’t trust yourself and feel insecure, you will not be able to trust others, and your lack of trust and personal insecurities will only harm you. It is not what goes on outside; it is all about what goes on inside of you. There is a lot more in your hands than you have been led to believe.

Personally, I think some people feel better about themselves by joining a group of like-minded people, a sports team, a religion, or a nation. Some people feel better by following and taking on a cause, while others feel better by opposing it all. Whether it’s related to the sense of belonging, ego, or deeply seated inferiority complexes and self-esteem issues, one has to understand self-related issues and take charge to balance the sense of belonging with the sense of freedom because the natural umbilical cord has been cut.

The strength of the belief system, the amount of passion, and the desire to be right are simply measured by the sense of belonging. Lack of or disregard for a sense of freedom is a sign of self-disregard and inner imbalance of the individual. As evolving organisms, being imbalanced can influence individuals to rob themselves of happiness, even if they are aware of being mortal. The collection of these individuals in one place can be downright destructive and dangerous. If we all individually learn to deal with our inner demons, we can potentially and actually solve our collective problems. That is why I believe in strengthening the individual so we all can become the CEOs of our lives.

My logic against prejudice and its origin is to work against the politics of the sense of belonging, which gets the best of us. Yes, it even got our Prophets. Regardless of our level of spirituality and evolution, we as nations, races, religions, and even genders can’t get around prejudice because, right from the start, leaders of our families, communities, and even our religious leaders sowed the seeds of prejudice. For instance, they taught that if you join us, you somehow become better than others and will go to heaven.

By joining a larger group, an individual may get some temporary false self-esteem, security, and hope but become entrenched in believing they are better than others. To me, this is the foundational flaw of the education system, which has been and still is costing us dearly. As humanity, we are still paying the price of prejudice with blood and can’t come out of it.

I blame our past leadership styles and politics for today’s problems. I may not blame the Prophets because of their spiritual education but I blame our past and present religious leaders who let their group politics override spirituality. To cause for yesterday’s, today’s, and hopefully not for future killings because I have expectations, at least from the holy and the wise, to foresee the future implications of their teachings. Our religions talk about humanity but most of the time under their umbrella. Personally, I think it’s highly political, yet religion should be strictly spiritual and just. We should leave politics and logic to our governing systems.

Humans came together because of their social nature and the need for security, but in the process, they gave up many crucial elements of their individuality. In return for their contribution to society, society protected and provided for them. As populations grew, the need drove groups to move towards regions with more comfort and resources. This need for resources and security has existed as long as societies have, and migration still goes on. Yet, people still mark their territory just like less evolved beings or other animals. We have nearly two hundred countries with conflicting factions within the same countries, races, religions, and nations. Nowadays, conflicts are even found between genders. It may appear that we have improved and evolved from our past, but the death toll is an ongoing and consistent process.

Today, if one looks at societies, the people in them seem molded and brainwashed to follow ancient customs and traditions. Every society judges others and finds them inferior just because previous generations thought so. One set of extremists thinks that since they pray to God and make sacrifices, they will go to heaven, and others who do not will go to hell. The other set of extremists thinks it is regressive even to think about the existence of God. Both sides try to mold their young ones to follow the same way of living they have followed for thousands of years, even if it has been destructive, barbaric, and against the evolutionary nature of human beings.

An individual is not able to judge whether something is right or wrong because of their society’s commonly accepted views and their personal strength of the sense of belonging. That is the fundamental cause of prejudice in an individual’s life. This flawed education system of societies has haunted people for thousands of years, yet we still want to follow the path our ancestors have carved for us. We follow it not because it is right or wrong, but because of our strong sense of belonging.

If one has to live in a society, its rules have to be followed. Here, a person does not even value their own views. For instance, the liberated women of the West would never want to be like the women in the East because of their way of living. Similarly, women from the East would think being wild and liberated is against their values. Both sides look down upon each other because of their upbringing, education, and the sense of belonging influenced by their respective societies.

Social influences have the potential to dictate personal values, so there is little focus on personal happiness and contentment. This makes it dangerous for an individual, especially if the individual is mortal to begin with.

Who is right or wrong has always been the cause of our problems, which is why we have been fighting and killing each other. If you look at it logically, we have been fighting each other and killing innocents because of our ego. Since ego is not limited to the individual, it has its tentacles collectively in all societies as well. It is a proven fact that humans are evolving entities, and our knowledge is constantly evolving. Thus, claiming present knowledge is complete and ultimate is egotistic, especially when it comes to religion.

Once, I picked up a Christian magazine, ‘Awake,’ dated April 22, 1993, to read about religion’s role in wars. The article began with this quotation: “There have never been a people that did not have some form of religion.” The line was from ‘The World Book of Encyclopedia,’ 1970. Yet historians Will and Ariel Durant wrote: “War is one constant of history.” So, are the two constants, war and religion, related? Indeed, throughout history, they have been inseparable. On the next page was a quotation by Anne Fremantle from her book, Age of Faith: “Of all the wars men have waged, none have been more zealously undertaken than those on behalf of a faith. And of these holy wars, none have been bloodier and more protracted than the Christian Crusades of the Middle Ages.”

Recently, I was reading Time magazine and found a quote I feel is important. In the issue of April 25, 2011, Jon Meacham has an article headlined “Is Hell Dead?” He quotes Rob Bell, a pastor at Mars Hill Bible Church: “When we get to what happens when we die, we don’t have any video footage. So let’s at least be honest that we are speculating, because we are.”

The individual has been domesticated by their belonging society. The individual has suffered. They have been made to feel inadequate and dependent. They have been taught that God, religion, politics, and society are more important than themselves. When one becomes part of a group, one automatically becomes inferior and leaves behind what God has created them to be, robbing themselves of the privilege God has given them.

One must understand that the Creator created things universally, like oxygen, water and food as the necessity for all living beings. Especially when it comes to being a human being, we all know that not only do we need oxygen, water and food we also know our aging and mortal nature as well. Therefore, we all may look different but we need everything the same way to live. So, regardless of our looks, we have been given the same rights and freedom to live according to our capabilities. Since the umbilical cord of the individual has been cut at birth, an individual can’t be limited to a group, so we have developed societies and nations. If we belong to any particular religion or race, we are taking away our right to belong to humanity and the right to live our individual life freely.

An individual has to recognize their importance in the larger scheme of life, they have to know that they are the one who convert spirituality into physical actions to be meaningful..