“Every imperfect soul is self-centered and thinketh only of his own good. But as his thoughts expand a little he will begin to think of the welfare and comfort of his family. If his ideas widen still more, his concern will be the felicity of his fellow citizens; and if they widen still more, he will be thinking of the glory of his land and of his race. But when ideas and views reach the utmost degree of expansion and attain the stage of perfection, then will he be interested in the exaltation of humankind. He will then be the well-wisher of all men and the seeker of the weal and prosperity of all lands. This is indicative of perfection.”(´Abdu’l-Bahá, /Selections from the Writings of ´Abdu’l-Bahá/, p. 68)
ONENESS—and the GRAND DILEMMA
All bodies of knowledge and inspiration—whether secular, religious or scientific—point to the reality that we and all living things are essentially ONE, interconnected on many essential levels. With that realization (and “wokefulness”)—a reality which has dawned on many in this information age interconnected through global communications, transportation and technologies that have shrunk our world into a neighborhood, as well as our interactions with and research into all species of living things—comes a great responsibility. That is, to honor our ONENESS, in all its diversity, as we learn more about it and each other, and protect it (i.e. our very existence) from those who have not yet awakened to it nor truly entered this age of enlightenment and “coming of age”, still stuck in the childish adolescence of extreme isolationism, self-centeredness, greed and division. In fact, the solution to all of our world’s pressing problems—poverty, war, famine, climate disaster, violence, pestilence, inequities—lies in the recognition of this reality of our ONENESS and policies enacted by our leaders based on this reality. THERE IS NO OTHER EQUITABLE AND SUSTAINABLE SOLUTION!
What do we mean by ONENESS? Though we celebrate our diversity, respecting and savoring our essential oneness is paramount ; there is no superior race, group, religion, nation, sexual orientation, or gender among human beings, and we live in harmony with all living things—the mineral, plant, and animal kingdoms. Anything which harms one, harms all. Summed up in this quote from MLK: “In a real sense all life is inter-related. All men are caught in an inescapable network of mutuality, tied in a single garment of destiny. Whatever affects one directly, affects all indirectly. I can never be what I ought to be until you are what you ought to be, and you can never be what you ought to be until I am what I ought to be…
This is the inter-related structure of reality.”
The Grand Dilemma: Pathways to ONENESS
MLK also said that in order to get to this ultimate goal of ONENESS and “network of mutuality”, “we as a nation must undergo a radical revolution of values.” All of the great visionary Prophets throughout the ages have voiced that same call. Herein lies the “grand dilemma”: Few, if any, of our leaders, at all levels of society, have a realization of the true nature of our ONENESS and these essential principles and values, hence are powerless to enact policies to bring about the necessary changes. In fact, most are stuck in the childish adolescence of division and “otherness” rather than ONENESS. So, the only way to accomplish this “revolution of values” is a revolution—whether man, God (or Higher Power, as you understand it), or nature made. Either way, it is bound to be a series of catastrophic and violent upheavals (which we are already beginning to see, via climate change events, mounting violence, and social strife)—with the necessary force to jolt awake the leaders and multitudes who are asleep. And this we pray for—however, another part of the “grand dilemma” is that we have children and grandchildren who will suffer the consequences of these upheavals—so what to do? Go back to a deep sleep? No, can’t do that once awoke—so, we can only teach them, and others in our intentional communities beyond family members, survival skills and help provide an escape plan, and pray for the best—with the knowledge and faith that once this purge and purification is over the world will be better, for all. (Note: these are the skills and preparations which will be taught in our Global Woke Institute )
In the meantime, and while awaiting this great purge and “correction”, the other great dilemma in this “inter-related structure of reality” is that many of my actions, like those of every American, may directly or indirectly adversely affect people in developing countries, keeping them enslaved and in poverty. If you recall in the movie “The Box”, when its recipients press the button they will receive large sums of money, however in exchange an unknown person will die. That is almost exactly how our capitalist, materialist system works—in order for us to have even the smallest luxuries beyond basic needs fulfilled, countless others have to suffer in backbreaking labor and poverty, not even able to feed themselves and their families, with innocent children dying from malnutrition and other preventable maladies. Our military enforces these conditions wreaking havoc worldwide at the behest of our corporations motivated only by profits. Our carbon footprint per capita is among the highest in the world, causing once lush lands to become deserts and their inhabitants refugees. Many of the products we import and buy are produced by child slave labor. What can one who is awokening to these facts and pursuing ONENESS do? First awareness, then action. Besides pushing policies and reforming systems which address and reverse these gross global inequities, including defunding the military industrial complex, in one’s personal life we can become relative minimalists—that is, using material means to fulfill basic needs only, and reducing our individual and family carbon footprint and waste output. This will also help us prepare to survive the coming upheavals. As Gandhi said: “Live simply so that others may simply live.” (Note: These are the skills and practices which will be taught in our Global Woke Institute ) Also, here are some major steps you can take right now to prepare yourselves and to actually start working towards our major goals:
1) Join the global movement which is already changing the world GLOBAL CITIZEN.
2. A must read and really one of the main “textbooks” of this Institute is the book by Ezrah Aharone “The Sovereign Psyche: Systems of Chattel Freedom vs. Self-Authentic Freedom“ (We will be compiling an abridged version and posting it on this website, so stay tuned but in the meantime you can order and/or read excerpts from the book by clicking on the title.)
3. Join the continental revolutionary movement, Symbiosis, “a confederation of community organizations across North America, building a democratic and ecological society from the ground up.“
4. Join the main organization exposing and trying to end America’s violent, militaristic, and terroristic foreign policy Win Without War.
5. Check out our Global Woke Institute video-casts and podcasts
6. A must watch: The Real MLK https://youtu.be/AJhgXKGldUk
This is the real MLK which most Americans conveniently forget, speaking of the third “triple evil”, militarism, beyond civil rights and racism , calling for human rights for ALL PEOPLES OF THE WORLD and the cessation of American imperialism, terrorism and warfare around the world, and the fact that American racism and poverty will never end here until we end the greatest evil of American militarism against the poor and people of color of the nations of the world.
In this section, you will find links to other stories and resources relating to your Global Citizenship. Also, in the About You section of this website you will find more activities you can engage in on your path to fuller wokefulness.
Win Without War (Join us at https://winwithoutwar.org ) The human costs of U.S. forever wars are further revealed every day. 2022 provides a critical opportunity to push Congress to close the door — and we will, with your help. Our devastating bomb-first, authorize-later approach continues to treat Iraq, Syria, and so many other countries as the killing fields for U.S. proxy wars — regardless of the human costs. The result has been the deaths of thousands — many of them children — and there’s been shockingly little accountability. Azmat Khan’s recent exposé in The New York Times documents this tragedy across deployments in Iraq, Syria, and Afghanistan.[1] With the growing public awareness of this toll, the pressure is mounting for Congress to act — because Congress is how we stop this. For decades, they have ceded their authority to the presidency, but Article 1, Section 8, Clause 11 of the Constitution makes it crystal-clear that Congress has the SOLE authority to declare war.Now, the dominoes are lining up: the House overwhelmingly voted — with bipartisan support — to repeal the 2002 Iraq war authorization, a key blank check for endless war earlier this year. We need to push like hell to get this bill across the finish line in the Senate — and it’s a fight we CAN win. The good news is, the Win Without War team has never seen so much bipartisan momentum on the Hill to rein in rubber stamp authorizations for endless war. So we’re doubling down on our visionary campaign to End Endless War — and we need your support.Activists like you fuel our work, but fewer than 2% of people reading this will give. Our team has run the math, and it turns out that if everyone gave just $6 we could fund our entire End Endless War campaign next year from just this email alone.Right now, the United States has war-footing in almost every continent: Operation Inherent Resolve in Iraq and Syria, and thousands of U.S. troops patrolling Africa across Chad, Kenya, Mali, Niger, Nigeria, Somalia, and South Sudan. That doesn’t even include the U.S. planes and drones, filling countless classified skies, that have been documented killing thousands in Pakistan, Somalia, Yemen, and beyond.And president after president has abused two congressional authorizations (AUMFs) passed after 9/11 to justify almost all of them.A glimpse of what that looks like for the people on the ground?The U.S. military killing as many as 64 women and children huddled against a river bank in Baghouz, Syria, March 2019A U.S. drone strike in Kabul, Afghanistan, this August, that killed Zemerai Ahmadi and nine family members, including seven children. 16 civilians killed, including three children, in a January 2017 strike in Mosul, Iraq.This is the heartbreaking reality of our forever wars. And it’s no accident. Our system is geared towards war and violence because of the power of weapons contractors, because voices of impacted people are silenced or locked out, and because U.S. policymakers have, for too long, looked the other way.2022 could change everything. That’s why we’re ramping up our work to move into this next crucial phase of our campaign — and we need you with us:Seven years ago, we named our goal to build a progressive foreign policy focused on justice, safety, equity, and peace in a visionary campaign: END ENDLESS WAR. The debate about our nation’s post-9/11 wars has never been the same, and now we are SO close to achieving this incredible milestone — if we make 2022 our biggest year yet.Thank you for working for peace,Faith, Amisha, Stephen, and the Win Without War team.
Why the Ukraine Crisis Is the West’s Fault:
Everywhere we go in our quest for world domination we screw things up and millions die or are harmed, and then we blame the victims and invent other perpetrators, when we are really at fault. Here are some articles which clearly explain how we are to blame for this current conflict and the resulting misery of millions:
https://www.newyorker.com/news/q-and-a/why-john-mearsheimer-blames-the-us-for-the-crisis-in-ukraine
https://www.globalresearch.ca/strategic-thinkers-warned-nato-expansion/5774142
https://www.globalresearch.ca/former-yugoslav-fm-us-nato-expansion-root-cause-ukraine-war/5774087
HOW WOKE AM I--REALLY ??? 