The current events taking place throughout the world — most prominently the social and economic consequences of the coronavirus pandemic; and the social unrest sparked from a deep sense of systemic racism, being expressed through mass protests and riots — … Continue reading The Crucible of Universal Affliction
Two weeks ago, the United States once again had a presidential election, its 58th in an uninterrupted series held every four years since George Washington, predictably to occur in yet another four years. During the 1912 presidential election, ‘Abdu’l-Bahá … Continue reading ‘Abdu’l-Bahá’s Post-Election Talk
Just a few thoughts from one of the contributors to this blog. A document titled “One Common Faith” writes: Religion is religion, as science is science. The one discerns and articulates the values unfolding progressively through Divine revelation; the other … Continue reading A video on science and religion
THE CURRENT STATE OF THE HEALTH CARE SYSTEM Our current model of health care places the provider, in many cases the physician, as a gatekeeper to access to health. For whatever historical, political, social, or economic reasons this came about, … Continue reading HEALTH EMPOWERMENT
Reality is vast. Yet, action requires knowledge. So over time, we have created systems of practice and knowledge by which we can understanding reality and effectively do something. Clearly, then, the way in which minds are training within systems, and … Continue reading Evidence Based Practice
The Word of God dictates the dynamics of civilization over history and dominates the destiny of events. It is our privilege as souls and individuals to participate and contribute to the inaction of God’s Will in the history of humankind as it … Continue reading Baha’u’llah’s Solution for Religious Fanaticism
Humanity is on the threshold of the crowning stage in its evolutionary history – its collective maturity, characterized by a unification of the entire human race, manifest through a new world civilization which has achieved a dynamic coherence between the … Continue reading Re-Birth of the Clinic
Howard Colby Ives was a Unitarian Minister in New York who became a Bahá’í after encounters with ‘Abdu’l-Bahá. Howard was also a smoker. When ‘Abdu’l-Bahá visited New York, Howard was not in the best of health, having some lung difficulties. … Continue reading ‘Abdu’l-Bahá’s Advice To A Smoker
It would be unrealistic to adhere to a retrogressive and romanticized notion of a “simple” life, in which technology is non-existent, and humanity subsists in some type of passively blissful coexistence with nature. It overlooks at once the inter-personal needs … Continue reading Technology: Good or Bad?
Friends, listen up. The end of the 20th century discloses to the eyes of humanity a vista of stupendous opportunities and grave perils. Allow me to explain. Some of the more striking phenomena are those associated with globalization, a designation … Continue reading Globalization: Good or Bad?
In the field of emergency medicine, there is an idea called “door-to-balloon” or “time-to-cath”, which is the amount of time that has elapsed from the moment a patient who is having a specific kind of heart attack walks into the … Continue reading Is Primary Care Actually Effective?
The Baha’i International Community was shocked to hear of news that Iran’s Revolutionary Guards have begun excavation in a historically important Baha’i cemetery in Shiraz. The site is, among other things, the resting place of ten Baha’i women whose cruel … Continue reading Destruction of historic Baha’i cemetery underway in Shiraz by Iranian Revolutionary Guards
Paragraph#: To the Baha’is of the World 1 – 3 years down. 2 to go. 2 Movements reinforced by youth conferences. 2000 Programs of growth (PG) remain of the goal.2 – 3000 PG’s. Many simple lines of action; some intensified … Continue reading Ridvan 2014 Message Summary
The most significant initial contribution of Local Assemblies to the processes of growth was providing encouragement to the believers. This was particularly effective when an expansion of vision had resulted from the participation of Assembly members in the institute process … Continue reading Houston LSA Chair Enjoys Med Center Junior Youth Group, on Sunday April 13th, 2014
Human nature has been misinterpreted. We are not selfish and competitive by nature, but rather, altruistic and cooperative. The entire history of humankind’ s past represents only a stage in its infancy. The entire history of its adolescence is yet … Continue reading Maturation of Species: History, Human Nature, and World Peace
The Problem . ARTIFICIAL SCARCITY is a term used to describe the condition in which masses of people are deprived of their bare necessities, while wealth, resources, and infrastructure exist in sufficient proportion to provide for all. The amount of … Continue reading Artificial Scarcity & The Baha’i Faith
RESIDENT: Patient is a 62y M who presented with shortness of breath, cough, and fever, diagnosed with pneumonia by chest X-ray in the emergency room, and is now, hospital day two, in the intensive care unit on broad-spectrum IV antibiotics … Continue reading What was the patient’s pulse?
“In clusters at an early stage of development, it is possible to work with a core group of believers—say five to ten—and by giving them a vision of the framework, assisting them to make plans, and accompanying them in teaching … Continue reading Intensive Program of Growth
from a guest author: A friend and I recently had a fairly common exchange about which show was better – Community or The Office. I argued for The Office, because in my opinion, it’s more accessible by a larger … Continue reading The Price of Exclusivity
A continuation of a conversation on Facebook, prompted by the quotation below, in which thoughts about these two links were asked… http://www.usdebtclock.org – US National Debt Clock xkcd.com/980/huge/ – xkcd: Money Chart “Tell the rich of the midnight sighing … Continue reading The Midnight Sighing…
All too common diseases, the vast majority of which are preventable and becoming more prevalent, are not befitting the inherent nobility of a human being. The imperative of health care is to empower patients with the knowledge, the insights, the understanding, … Continue reading Thoughts on Health Care
A recent study by Oxfam provided some striking data regarding growing disparities of wealth and poverty within and between countries around the globe: 50% of the world’s wealth is now owned by 1% of the population. This richest 1% has 65 times … Continue reading “Concentrations of Wealth” by Michael Karlberg
Click Here to download a word document of the Houston Neighborhood Reflection Gathering Agenda. Compiled by youth serving in three focus neighborhoods around Harris cluster, the agenda represents the questions that arise from experience by those laboring shoulder to shoulder, not in the abstract, with animators and junior youth in the field of service. Please reflect on these agenda items as a teaching team, prepare responses on the basis of your shared experience since the last reflection gathering, and divvy up the topics amongst your team members to encourage universal participation. Thoughtful reflections, stumbling blocks and how they became stepping stones, beautiful … Continue reading Houston Neighborhood Reflection Gathering Agenda
Accumulation of wealth at one pole is, therefore, at the same time accumulation of misery, agony of toil, slavery, ignorance, brutality, mental degradation, at the opposite pole. Along with the constantly diminishing number of the magnates of capital, who usurp and … Continue reading Marx, Baha’u’llah, and Suffering
Humanity is a whole, single organism, and may be likened unto the body of a human being, also a whole and single organism. Likewise, the embryological processes that led to the development of the human being are therefore the same … Continue reading Embryonic Humanity
In its 28 December message, the Universal House of Justice states that the first milestone, signifying the emergence of a programme of growth, is marked by an initial flow of human resources into the field of action, where “junior youth … Continue reading Envisioning the First Milestone
“Throughout the world, across all classes and social groups, there has been a ready response from youth who are invited to examine the forces shaping their society and their role in contributing to its constructive transformation through service as animators … Continue reading Releasing the Deep Reservoirs that Young People Possess
90 days after the completion of the Houston leg of the Historic 95 + 19 youth conferences around the world, a reflection gathering for youth was held in Houston (Harris County) cluster to reflect on experience gained through action based … Continue reading Reflection Gathering
One can analyze in the tumultuous evolution of the life of humankind one thread, among others, that has been present and steadily advancing for thousands and tens of thousands of years. Perhaps human history can even be conceptualized as a … Continue reading A Final Step in Humanity’s Evolution
Reflection on Junior Youth Group and Children’s Class 11/9/2013 After our expansion phase, which consisted of scouting 6 different neighborhoods in the Houston medical center area, and gauging the receptivity of indigenous populations to participating in the Junior Youth Spiritual … Continue reading Consolidation Phase
In the Junior Youth Workbooks the protagonists of the story provide an archetypal character to which every junior youth participant who studies the story can relate–they see themselves occupying a similar physical stage of development and social status, enjoying the same … Continue reading Multiplying Core Activities
For the majority of the world’s inhabitant’s, living with injustice is a reality of daily life. Living with inferior opportunities, inadequate resources, and systematic prejudice doesn’t stop at the front door of people’s homes. It finds expression in the domestic … Continue reading Recognizing The Kibomi Within all of Us
A rhythm of community life gradually emerges commensurate with the capacity of an expanding nucleus of individuals committed to Bahá’u’lláh’s vision of a new World Order. As a program of growth is being brought into existence, an emergent community spirit begins … Continue reading An Expanding Nucleus
Since the time that the call was raised, 1996, a year that has come to be regarded as ‘Turning Point’, the Baha’i community has re-organized itself along a path being defined by a process of systematic learning based on an … Continue reading Believing in the Process
Invariably, opportunities afforded by the personal circumstances of the believers initially involved—or perhaps a single homefront pioneer—to enter into meaningful and distinctive conversation with local residents dictate how the process of growth begins in a cluster. What happens next follows no … Continue reading Occupied with the Greatest Undertaking
A few days ago passed the 120th anniversary of the first mention of the Baha’i Faith in the Western hemisphere. At last, the spiritual forces released by Baha’u’llah’s Revelation had an “initial conversation” through which they could be channeled. Many … Continue reading 120 years of discourse
Putting aside, for a moment, the truth that young people are characterized by having a “desire to bring about constructive change”, by having “a capacity for meaningful service”, by having “all the hope in their hearts that, through strenuous concerted … Continue reading 10% of Humanity’s Population is Young People in India
In the 1 July 2013 Message of the Universal House of Justice, that beloved Body draws a connection between an individual’s engagement in the process of civilization-building and that individuals own personal development. The Letter states, “You, however, are aware … Continue reading The Reality of Coherence
For thousands of years, beginning with the birth of the family – the smallest unit in the scale of human organization – humanity’s evolution has been characterized by a process of integration, which although far less spectacular than the parallel … Continue reading The Power of Truth
A ‘prescription’ is that which is laid down as a rule, an order, a precept. A ‘description’, on the other hand, is a statement that indicates and notes observations. Common to both words is ‘script’, which denotes a law or … Continue reading A De-scription Pad
The worldwide Baha’i community is dedicated to a systematic long-term process of learning how to translate the principles of the Revelation of Baha’u’llah into reality and engaging more and more people in an “exploration of reality that gives rise to … Continue reading From the Animator to a World Civilization
The Baha’i world has been learning how to use an education program to raise capacity in individuals and populations to take charge of their own spiritual, social, and intellectual development and to build communities that understand the dynamic coherence of … Continue reading Pedagogy of the Empowered
Recently, a gathering took place in which friends from diverse backgrounds, ages, geographies, and experiences came together to explore participation in discourse. Coherence, it seemed, was the key. The weekend began with a study of a message of the … Continue reading Coherence in Conversations
Authentic solutions to the problems of the world, products of an unjust social order, begin with a sea change in public loyalties. An expanding mass of popular support for a new center of authority and legislator of values, which occupies … Continue reading Authentic Solutions
This past weekend, nearly forty individuals gathered together for an exploration of participation in discourse. (See post, Discourse: Session at Bosch) The aim was to connect everyday conversations – those with neighbors, with friends, with co-workers, with family, with parents … Continue reading Collective Reflections
“In the young people of the world, then, lies a reservoir of capacity to transform society waiting to be tapped. And the release of this capacity should be regarded by every institute as a sacred charge.” “In an age consumed … Continue reading Advent Youth Conference
The top 10 US tax deductions, credits and exclusions ensure that over $12 trillion in tax revenues will be granted to multinational corporations over the next decade. The tax loopholes have been written into the tax code by a bought-and-paid-for Congress … Continue reading Tax Code 101
“The reality of man is his thought…” The world is in a state of oppression. This is not an unknown fact – any media source will recount the various expressions of social disintegration throughout the world. The riots in Turkey, … Continue reading Which brand are you?
According to Abdu’l-Baha, wealth inequality, can be attributed to the “extreme greed and rapacity of the manufacturers and industrialists.” He furthermore identifies the root cause of income disparity as the defunct operations of the legislative branch of government: “The principal … Continue reading Abdu’l-Baha on Economic Policy
About a century ago, in the free world, the ruling classes became aware they couldn’t control the population by force any longer, the spirit of the age was shifting and violence only bred further civil disobedience. Too much freedom had been won … Continue reading Colonial Coercion vs. Corporate Consumerism: Replacing the Stick with the Carrot
The economic recession is linked to a recession in democracy. If we continue this way, we will be ruined by class warfare and the wrath of global warming. We must seek a different way of living that is based not on maximizing how much we can buy but on maximizing values important to life. True happiness is a transcendent experience, not inherent in material things. Groundswell in grassroots spirituality holds the solution. Countless small actions of unknown people are the foundation for those great moments that ultimately enter the historical record without mention of the people that created them. Change is made in such ways. … Continue reading Prophecy And Policy
Partisanship is a bane to effective governance. Identifying with a political party exacerbates a bitter partisan divide that threatens the very fiber of social order and governance. Motivations of civil servants should be only the good of all people and … Continue reading Double Cure: Eliminate Parties and Campaigning
The spiritual planetary civilization that is destined to be born out of the current international, humanitarian, and moral chaos will carry with it a shining jewel of accomplishment – the establishment of absolute equality between female and male sexes. Within … Continue reading Prioritizing Women: Exigencies of Equality in an Age Transcending Patriarchy
Since the housing market crash of 2008 we have heard it said that the economy is recovering. Who, I wonder are the people who are actually recovering? Let us look into what the facts say. The top 7% of wealthy … Continue reading Money, Lies, and Spiritual Solutions
Science is in its infancy. It will evolve, change, and grow until it achieves a more mature form. To date, the human experience suffers from an underdeveloped understanding of the nature and scope of the scientific enterprise. Those who suffer … Continue reading The Structure of Future Scientific Revolutions
Paragraphs: 1- “The Book of God is wide open, and His Word is summoning mankind unto Him. Incline your ears, O friends of God, to the voice of Him Whom the world hath wronged, and hold fast unto whatsoever will exalt His … Continue reading Summary Ridvan 2013 Message: Growth and Discourse, A Dynamic Coherence
Those who wish to make a positive impact on the world are faced with a paradox born of the very privilege that motivates them to help others. They are at once the beneficiary of oppressive structures and their product. Insofar as they … Continue reading Inside Those Suffering Eyes: The Us and Them Dichotomy
It seems like development projects in the 70’s thought of themselves as Agent Smith showing up at the beginning of the Matrix where the local police are having trouble dealing with Trinity. The extent to which he thought he was … Continue reading Development: a Critique
Development as an enterprise will fail until it studies the inter-penetration of reason and faith, the same way that students who memorize by rote repetition will always be 2nd best to the genius who understands the essence of composing music. Just ask … Continue reading The Scientist Believer
1. I feel like science is that family that screams at each other all saturday night long waking up the whole neighborhood and then shows up to socialize at a local potluck pretending like nothings wrong and acting like no … Continue reading 5 Aphorisms on Science, Religion, and Development
People have been inquiring as to the connection between the concepts of the circulatory system and the beauty of language. The human cardiovascular system is the symbol for justice in the world of nature. The means of distribution and circulation … Continue reading The Circulatory System and the Beauty of Language
When articulating social action, there are certain words that are used – namely, lines, areas, and spheres. One can view an individual’s action as a “point”. As a series of actions by individuals progress over time and become harmonized, united … Continue reading Dimensions of Social Action
Global prosperity will result from the establishment of universal justice. The establishment of justice in turn depends upon the progressive unification of the peoples of the world into a single community, one family, functioning like the fingers of one hand. … Continue reading Planetary Unity, Universal Justice, Global Prosperity
Please join us June 14-16th for a weekend of study of the Messages from the Baha’i World Center. This session is a space to build capacity to participate in the prevalent discourses of society. The Universal House of Justice has asked the … Continue reading Discourse: Session at Bosch
It was said: “It hath been forbidden you to carry arms unless essential” “beyond that which is necessary to insure the internal security of … countries.” Good “people need no weapons of destruction, inasmuch as they have girded themselves to reconstruct … Continue reading Weapons – A Statistical Update
The sequester decreased federal investments in national infrastructure resulting in lay-offs and more unemployment. Only 88k jobs were created in march — the least jobs created per month in the past 9 months. The Labor Dept report showed that the U.S. Postal Service, for example, lost 12k positions. The pace of job growth this year is slower than its pace last year. Effects of the sequester are expected to continue mounting well into spring. The economic recovery was gaining momentum before the arbitrary and unnecessary cuts to government services took place. Congress legislated the sequester as a means of motivating … Continue reading Trickle Down Fail
National and Regional Training Institutes throughout the world offer a course called Ruhi Book 5, “Releasing the Powers of Junior Youth,” designed for the training of “Animators” who mentor youth between the ages of 11 and 14 years. Ruhi Book 5 builds the capacity of Animators to develop in junior youth the mental structures to weigh the world’s problems in the balance of advanced moral reasoning. It equips them with noble moral principles, together with the linguistic, mathematical, scientific, and social skills requisite for translating them in practice into their community, society, and institutions. The resulting moral framework developed in … Continue reading Releasing the Powers of Junior Youth
Corrupt incentives drive people’s contribution to the public discourse. Politicians, businessmen, financiers, are all guilty. The discourse no longer represents an honest viewpoint of reality, the dominant slogans on TV and radio are a designed smoke-screen to hide the real structure, decision-making, and motives at play in the world of economic policy, legislation, and campaigning. The derangement in economics, political deceit, and social manipulation is reaching unrecognizable proportions. Popular culture is responsible for making itself gullible to such influence. Our society nurtures a desire to be entertained from childhood, cultivating generations eager to be led by priests, politicians, advertising, pop idols, and whoever proves … Continue reading New World Order
The global economy is now in a downward spiral, unemployment is at record highs in country after country, national debt is paralyzing governments, incomes have stagnated for a majority of workers — suddenly the question emerges from Marx’s grave: has … Continue reading Marx: From Beyond the Grave
The spike in income inequality in the U.S. in recent decades is due to systemic injustices at the level of policy and institution structure for over 40 years. Incomes for the bottom 90 percent of Americans grew by an average of … Continue reading What Do You Call Capitalized Gains But Communized Losses?
I didn’t know it was called capitalism to work for someone else’s money. I thought capitalism was the harder you work the more money you earn. In fact, i was told communism is what we call it when you work … Continue reading What is the Definition of Capitalism?
GDP has doubled in the past 30 years, yet workers wages haven’t even kept up with inflation, let alone increased. The 1.9% increase in wages was surpassed by inflation in 2012 marking the 40th consecutive year that wages have declined below their … Continue reading Are You Working for Someone Else’s Money?
Assault rifle ban dead in the Senate. Monsanto protected from lawsuits by congressional legislation. 50 K-12 schools closed in Chicago while corporate profits at all time high. Yet, Obama speaks in Israel on the topic of youth laying the path … Continue reading Monarchy AND Democracy?
No one looks for the source of economic problems in spiritual matters. Likewise, no one looks for solutions to economic problems through spiritual means. Unemployment is the self-claimed most important economic problem of the day, and yet, the fact that … Continue reading Unemployment and Religion
Dow Jones is at record high; corporate profits are too. The real estate crisis is over, but most people in the united states still seem to be in financial difficulties. Household incomes in absolute dollar amounts are at a decade-low … Continue reading Capitalism vs Corporatism
Poverty is as ineradicable as the house-fly! The misguided conviction that material resources exist, or can be created by scientific and technological enterprise, to entirely eradicate poverty is a myth of global scope. Social scientists are hardly necessary to uncover the reason … Continue reading Poverty and Revelation
For decades, the Universal House of Justice has been nurturing the development of the Baha’i community in Iran, guiding them through their persecution and assisting them to recognize the significance of their sacrifice and their opportunities to serve. A few … Continue reading Framework that Shapes the Baha’i Approach to Political Involvement
Plato reflects on the Role of Economics in Society: If global development is to be governed by spiritual principles, the role it assigns to the generation and application of knowledge must be reevaluated. Materialism, whether cogently defined or hidden in implicit assumptions, has little choice but to place economic activity at the center of human existence. In one way or another, all other processes of social life end up subordinate to economic activity, deriving the greater part of their significance from the contributions they make to material comfort and wealth. Specifically, knowledge, which is too often confused with information, acquires … Continue reading The Role of Economics in Society
Topic Outline: (by paragraph) Summary Youth Saviors 95 Conferences will be Convened Carpe Diem (Seize the Day) ¶1 Summary Civilization as we know it is characterized by a culture of rational self-interest and a value system that encourages individual benefit. Decisions regarding … Continue reading Ninety-Five Conferences will be Convened
The Islamic Republic of Iran has arrested and imprisoned the head (Shahin Negari) of the university designed to provide education for Iran’s 1 million strong Baha’i community who are denied access to higher education in that country. The Iranian government has … Continue reading Baha’i, Iran, Kafir!
Some facts are based on principle, others follow from empirical evidence. The economic and social order of the industrial world no longer considers universal welfare the object of its deliberations and actions. This has been, in part, the result of … Continue reading In the Masses Lies the Key
As beings of praxis, human beings differ from animals, which are beings of pure activity. Animals do not consider the world; they are immersed in it. In contrast, human beings emerge from the world, objectify it, and in so doing can … Continue reading Scholars and Servants
Achievement, we know from experience, requires the expenditure of material means. Social and economic development, albeit with a spiritual and transcendent intention, is no exception. Antithetically, there are many societies, some of whom may consider themselves servants of the best interests … Continue reading Utilizing Material Means
The development of a just society requires universal participation. Why? Why is this the case? If you’d like, respond with your thoughts below. Surely, there are many of reasons. Three come to my mind at the moment. They are related … Continue reading Justice and Universal Participation
So long as woman is maintained in the prison of objectification and her worth set by superficial conceptions of beauty–international unity and peace, and economic prosperity, will remain beyond the grasp of human achievement. The uniting power of a more compassionate … Continue reading Gender Equality and the Economy
“…Should anyone deliberately take another’s life, him also shall ye put to death…” The world of man is a terrifying place. A world constructed on violent notions of masculinity. A world where power is the only rule, and law is … Continue reading The World of Man: The Rape of Women
Some people think education is an act of depositing facts, in which the students are the receptacle and the teacher is the banker. Instead of communicating, the teacher issues lectures and makes deposits which the students receive and memorize. This … Continue reading Education and Liberation
Mental illness is not responsible for mass shootings. Removing guns from society would prevent mass shootings, but guns aren’t responsible for mass shootings. A desire for mass suffering is at play. What causes the desire for mass suffering? Much of … Continue reading Mental Illness and Collective Responsibility
If other people were carrying guns in the Newtown massacre they would have been able to intervene and stop the mentally ill killer — Or so the argument by gun owners goes. The reason why this argument is false is that mental … Continue reading Guns and Moses
Fire arms enable tragedy in a way that no other technology does. Where guns are absent, tragedies and destruction are less. Where people possess fire arms, homicide, suicide, and mass shootings are more prevalent. Why do we need guns? We don’t. We enjoy guns … Continue reading Don’t Regulate Guns: Arm the Children!
Disproportionate access to education and employment opportunities for a privileged minority deprives society of the labor and intellectual potential of the masses. From among the privileged, certain members may seek to join the struggle for social transformation towards a more … Continue reading Kings
Disproportionate access to nutritious diets, quality housing, industry-recognized education, employment opportunities, and healthcare services would not in itself sow the seeds of rebellion were it not for the possessiveness of the privileged over their resources. Selfishness towards privilege is engendered through fear of having to … Continue reading Economic Mirages
In discourse, thought, reflection and action are intimately interdependent. Action is coherent only when it is not merely rote but also consultative, that is, when it is not dichotomized from reflection. Reflection, which is essential to action, is implicit in the … Continue reading Spiritual Re-Education and the Power of the Masses
Paragraph#: 1. Learning sites and associated clusters (31 in total) contain half the current junior youth groups and participants. 2. Universal youth response to serve as animators. Ruhi 5 releases reservoirs of commitment to social change. Program expands beyond resources within Baha’i community. 3. Benefits … Continue reading Summary of 14 November Message
Extreme socio-economic inequalities of access and opportunity result in privileged vs. oppressed classes. The oppressed, over time, adapt to the structure of domination under which generations languish and become resigned to it. The status quo of the social order is maintained by … Continue reading Empowerment, Oppression, and Social Order
Our theory of economics is predicated on the assumption that people and wants grossly outnumber opportunities and resources in our society. This is why competition is the basis for our economic system. Biology is as much a testimony to this … Continue reading Economics and Human Nature
People say they want an end to violence. What they mean is, they want their opposing party to yield in deference to their will. Everyone wishes for world peace, but so many who wish continue to exacerbate conflict and contention. … Continue reading Ideology, Service, Change: Is Peace Possible Without Sacrifice?
Today it seems that the message for change is articulated by people who believe in the unity of races, equality of genders, and institutional intervention on behalf of social and economic justice. These people also hold that the unity of mankind is a … Continue reading Unity, Communism, and Change: The Principle, the Boogie-Man, and the Future
One hundred years ago today, a sixty-six year old traveler from the East, an exile and prisoner since the age of nine, with no formal education, in broken and failing health, having never faced a public audience, and unfamiliar with … Continue reading America’s 1912 Election
Decades have come and gone and our busy lives, cluttered with diverse daily drives and enjoyments, have advanced in age, irreparable choices have been made, courses set, and moral decisions cast in the stone of opportunity cost. Billions have come … Continue reading Shadows of the Mind: Disorganized Activism, Conducive to Change?
How great is our capacity for change? The endpoint of our progress is as difficult to imagine as space travel is to cavemen. Social reform will outpace our technological ingenuity. Freedom fighting at present is dwarfed by the liberties of … Continue reading Spring Showers onto Hard Earth: Prevailing Theories of Human Nature, Alterable?
Every intelligent mind that evaluates the causes for global warming concludes that human-induced green-house gas emissions are responsible for Earth’s atmospheric average temperature increases. The only people who disagree with this are fringe scientists and few in number. For mysterious … Continue reading Climate Change and Political Partisanship: Why is the Truth So Divisive?
Paragraph#: 1. Abdu’l-Baha’s Temple-ground piercing Centenary. Diverse participants then and now. 2. Divine civilization beyond mere adjustments to present order. 3. Erroneous assumptions of human nature, justified by failings, disallow spiritual potential. 4. Imprisonment enables sympathetic hearts. 5-Year Plan (5YP) … Continue reading Summary: Ridvan 2012 Message
Human nature has been misinterpreted. We are not selfish and competitive by nature, but rather, altruistic and cooperative. Human societies to some extent actually represent an anomaly in the competitive theory of the jungle. Humans demonstrate a detailed division of … Continue reading Economic Theory: Competition, the Key to Prosperity?
Paragraph#: 1. 10 new Regional Councils (RC’s). 5-Year Plan messages foundation of action and study. Familiarity with dynamics of growth increases with core activities. 2. Dichotomy of neighborhood and centralized children’s classes (CC) transcended. 2 Junior Youth learning sites. Expansion/consolidation primary task of RC’s. … Continue reading Summary of August 9th Message
http://educationunderfire.com/ More than ten thousand souls were slain, and a great multitude of women and children, left without protector or provider, dispersed and confounded, they were trodden down and destroyed. This occurrence was brought about by the arbitrary decision and … Continue reading Lamps of Truth and Purity
The universe is pregnant with these manifold bounties – bounties mysteriously emerging from the intricate interplay between the micro-cosmic visions of various actors on the world stage, each pursuing their own selfish advantage, and yet all mysteriously contributing to the … Continue reading The Universe is Pregnant
Discourse on the following topics has brought these themes to the point of being reconceptualized. Certain foundational principles have emerged and crystallized from ongoing discourse. Principles we now believe in in a new way are: 1) Unity of all Humankind 2) … Continue reading Discourse and Politics: Blood in the Arteries of Governance
Is it possible that a “debate” leads us, the listeners and watchers, to truth? Can a mode of dialogue such as contestational or confrontational debate assist others and people interested in the issues to discover the truth or learn more … Continue reading Can Debate Lead to Truth?
The endowment which distinguishes the human race from all other life forms is summed up in the reality known as the human spirit, or the rational soul. Of this soul, the diverse faculties of the mind constitute its most brilliant … Continue reading Progressive Revelation: Historiography and Civilization Dynamics
From agencyandchange.com http://agencyandchange.com/2012/10/19/discourse-on-religion/ . Continue reading A New Discourse on Religion
Identifying aspects of political discourse that is partisan in nature and to be avoided is challenging and will call for a higher caliber of insight and self-mastery as issues become increasingly engrossing and complex and as noble ideologies arise to prominence within the context of … Continue reading Post-Partisan Politics
Our goal is to participate in discourses of importance to society at all levels of stratification, from informal discussions on internet forums and attendance at regional seminars, to the dissemination of insightful statements and relationships with government officials. It is … Continue reading Surgical Politics
Red was painted the sky of man’s grey history, blood rained from clouds heavy, pregnant with the neglected structures and individualistic anachronisms that is our society. Individualistic rhetoric carried over from biological sciences went unquestioned as it is introduced into … Continue reading Rise of a New Dawn
One of the most fundamental characteristics of human nature is a soul’s desire to explore reality and search for meaning in the universe – the mind longs to understand. Language is the medium by which we can think about and … Continue reading The Beauty of Language
Three Protagonists and the Life of Society Prosperity is the goal for mankind. As individuals and as a collective. To govern large groups of individuals congregated into a collective, as in a metropolis or a rural village, as in a city … Continue reading Beyond Political Partisanship
Considering how difficult it is to judge objective statements about social reality, it is even more challenging with spiritual reality. However, spiritual reality exists, human language can attempt to describe it, and therefore, it is possible to make objective statements … Continue reading Objective Spiritual Reality
The physical and material aspects of our complex reality are not the only ones with objectivity – the human mind is able to make objective statements about all of reality, including social and spiritual reality. As an example related to … Continue reading Claims About Social Reality
Notwithstanding that all social conventions, including language, are built from shared understanding that are to some extent ontologically subjective, they are not completely arbitrary. Language – as well as social reality – is built upon objective reality itself. Words and … Continue reading Objectivity and Reality
In understanding the role of objectivity in language, two types of statements have been presented – personal preferences, which are entirely subjective; and social conventions, which are subjective in their creation or existence yet objective in their influence and knowledge. … Continue reading Language as Social Convention
Objectivity – another desired quality of the language of science – is a term loaded with connotations and interpretations; it’s rarely a straightforward concept. It helps to contrast it with subjectivity. An entirely subjective statement is one of personal preference, such as “daffodils are the prettiest kind of flower” – this might be a consensus among a large group of people, but is not in universal agreement. Something that is in agreement with others is not necessarily objective, nor is it necessarily truth. There are certain things, however, that are somewhat objective because of their agreement amongst individuals. Social conventions … Continue reading Social Conventions – Objective or Subjective?
The statements of a language that seeks to be rational must also be internally consistent. Obviously, premises and claims cannot contradict each other, otherwise, truth could never be sought, and reality could never be adequately assessed. The importance of consistency … Continue reading Consistency
In addition to clarity, another important characteristic of the language of science is rationality. Again, as language informs thought, using rational language helps create reasonable thought. And because words and thoughts influence actions, a language that seeks rationality will translate … Continue reading Rationality
Human beings understand reality through conceptualization. For material and concrete objects, language naturally defines them easily. As concepts become more abstract – such as regarding the social and spiritual reality – this becomes more and more difficult. The language of … Continue reading Clarity
All human beings are endowed with certain basic spiritual capacities – derived from the soul, which is the element of the individual that is responsible for spiritual nature. Chief among these capacities is that of intellect, consciousness, the power of … Continue reading The Concept of a Concept
Reality has physical and spiritual dimensions. Indeed, the world civilization that beckons humanity is one that will achieve a dynamic coherence between these two requirements of social life. If reality is more complex than just the physical universe, then a … Continue reading Language and Civilization
The advancement of civilization – the theme of this blog – is achieved through action. It occurs through building capacity in individuals, institutions, and communities to work towards a prosperous world civilization characterized by a dynamic coherence between the material … Continue reading Words, Thoughts, Actions
When one examines social structures, processes, and relationships, one can identify numerous factors that influence them all. Yet one that is a never-changing and ubiquitous factor upon which ultimately depends the efficacy of civilization-building is the individual – the values, … Continue reading Building the Capacity to Build Capacity
Continuing the discussion on governance and some principles that it is informed by, the last post on consultation leads to a key attribute that should characterize effective governance. We know that human society is diverse, that its dynamics are becoming … Continue reading A Learning “State”
The practice of consultation has been a theme of multiple posts on this blog. It is, obviously, a vital concept for governance, for it is the operating expression of justice in a way that empowers. As the last post pointed … Continue reading Consultation and Governance
The idea of humanity as one, interconnected, interdependent, social body implies that each person is born into this world as a trust of the whole. The role of governance, then, comes as an exercise of the power of collective trusteeship. … Continue reading Alternative Elections
As has been a central theme throughout the discussions on this blog, our current stage of human history is defined by global interdependence. All forms of government and organization that divide one group against another are simply outdated, ineffective, and … Continue reading Oneness, Justice, and Governance
As we can clearly see around us, governance stands in need of reconceptualization. At this moment in history, when humankind is in a transition phase, and when changes are occurring at accelerated rates, the development of just and effective forms … Continue reading Assumptions Underlying Governance
How does the conception of power from the last few posts shape thoughts regarding governance? Currently, because our society’s structures and relationships are dominated by self-interested expressions of power, governance is viewed as a set of regulations and rules of … Continue reading Governance and Discipline
Historically and currently, the relationship between power and knowledge has been strained and complex, to say the least. Recently, “modernism” – which has constructed systems of knowledge around truth-claims about social reality – has come into critique by “post-modernism” – … Continue reading Beyond Modernism and Post-Modernism
Operating under the assumptions that human beings, by nature, are cooperative and not competitive, and that there are spiritual sources of power that can unleash the latent capacities of individuals towards contributing to the advancement of civilization, the model of … Continue reading Neuromuscular Power
With the understanding that the human being is a potential instrument for the expression of spiritual powers and capacities within social realty, just as a lump of iron has the potential for the expression of magnetic forces within the physical … Continue reading Structures of Contest
Spiritual sources of power and capacity are relatively more intangible than material sources; they nonetheless exist and exert influence just the same. One way to discuss their dynamics and learn how to draw upon them is to use the analogy … Continue reading Spiritual Magnetisim
The conventional analysis of the role of power in society has only focused on material sources of power. The discourse of this blog acknowledges that civilization has both a material and spiritual dimension, that science and religion are complementary systems … Continue reading Spiritual Sources of Power
The development of a world civilization requires a transformation such as humanity has not yet experienced – both of society and of human consciousness. Questions naturally arise, then, regarding the power necessary for this change: who wields it, how it … Continue reading Power as Capacity
Capacity building requires forums in which space has been created for learning about the betterment of society. Open forums for discourse can accompany and assist undergraduate students through their four years of university studies. Through an ongoing cycle of study, consultation, action … Continue reading Discourse, Education, and the Collective
That one who generates knowledge can be likened unto a scout evokes images of walking a path, which perhaps can be an analogy to the process of generating and applying knowledge. Let us expand on this analogy. Firstly, walking a … Continue reading Walking a Path
Having explored the nature of knowledge and its generation, thought must now be given to the nature of one who generates knowledge, a seeker of knowledge, a scholar. How do we view those who have or seek knowledge? Revelation and … Continue reading Scouting the Truth
Like all false dichotomies, an approach to knowledge that is either absolutist or relativist is not helpful nor enlightening in efforts to generate and apply knowledge towards the building of a just and prosperous world civilization. A few previous posts … Continue reading Reconciling Relativism and Truth
Earlier in this blog, there was a post on the concept of latency. This concept helps us further understand an approach to knowledge that transcends foundationalism and relativism. If one considers the biological development of any organism – embryo to … Continue reading Relative Latency
This online forum for discourse shares content that is inspired by the Writings of the Bahá’í Faith. Learning how to apply what is written to reality, however, remains a formidable task. In order to accomplish this, capacity must be built … Continue reading Circle of Participation
Previous posts’ discussion on the concept of consultation shed some initial light on transcending the false dichotomy between objectivisim and relativism. Some knowledge has a foundational basis, that has an existence beyond the human mind, and through consultation, we can … Continue reading Consultation and Objectivism / Relativism
Medical treatment of drug addicted patients involves assessment of abuse, addiction, and tolerance. Consumerism is an addiction. Commodities, physiques, and sensations are its drug of choice; corporations the drug lord; advertising the dealer. The mystique of the unknown first lures an unsuspecting customer in. … Continue reading The Stimulus of the New
The history of epistemology and society’s current views of knowledge have been and are plagued by a perennial and pervasive false dichotomy: tension between objectivism and relativism. That is to say, people in every sphere of social life divide themselves … Continue reading Beyond Objectivism and Relativism
Human nature is endowed with the capacity to unite together in groups. This unity is the result of forces that bind individuals together, whether these forces are generated by love, fear, ideology, culture, religion, interest, etc; and the capacity for … Continue reading A Unifying Center
In reference to human potential it has been said, “Regard man as a mine rich in gems of inestimable value. Education can, alone, cause it to reveal its treasures, and enable mankind to benefit there from.” . Education is a … Continue reading Education: The Driver of Social Transformation
Wisdom – the unification of knowledge and action – is a spiritual capacity of every human being. The origin of an individual’s wisdom is the acknowledgement and embodiment of the teachings of God through the Manifestation of God. The Manifestation … Continue reading Wisdom, Science and Religion
Knowledge is distinct from information. Facts are the raw materials of knowledge – just as brick and wood do not, in themselves, constitute the building itself but are shaped into a structure, so is knowledge a structured system. The system of … Continue reading Information, Understanding, Wisdom
Any minority pursuing development on behalf of the collective foists its values onto, and often disturbs, the very population it purports to serve. Subsuming collective prosperity to their personal values of progress, and sacrificing the participation and engagement of whole segments of … Continue reading Truth, Civility, and Consultation Part III
A culture of learning that operates through study, consultation, action, and reflection, depends on empowerment and capacity building on the level of both the individual and the institutions of society. Individually, all are responsible to participate in the generation and … Continue reading Global Learning
The history of philanthropic movements recounts many instances of people who believe in noble ideals and strive to fulfill their vision of what they think the world ought to look like. One may reasonably ask however, whether what they considered … Continue reading Truth, Civility, and Consultation Part II
Unity and Truth are closely related. If two people argue about a matter both are wrong about it. Prevalent assumptions hold that truth can be known and should be sought by individuals. Alternate epistemologies hold that truth should really be pursued as … Continue reading Truth, Civility, and Consultation Part I
An approach to the generation and application of knowledge within a learning mode occurs through a process of study, consultation, action, and reflection. Science and religion are the two systems of knowledge and practice that strive to describe reality, and … Continue reading Study, Consultation, Action, Reflection
Certain habits of thought also need to be fostered in connection with a culture of learning, often at odds with current society’s tendencies – three will be mentioned. It is clear that society increasingly speaks with slogans. To be able … Continue reading Habits of Thought
The choice to adopt assumptions with the intention of operationalizing them does indeed entail challenges – overcoming habits of mind, resisting corrosive social forces, understanding the dynamics of change, etc – however, the journey hardly stops there. These assumptions need … Continue reading A Culture of Learning
Beyond the highly propagated fragmentation of science and religion in current thought, and the resistance to reconceptualize these complementary systems of knowledge and practice, there are, in general, voices that resist change, especially at the level of principle. They refuse to believe that the … Continue reading Conscious Choice
Currently, there are some who resist the reconceptualization of science and religion. They fragment science and religion, and dismiss one for the other, claiming that only one or the other has led to humanity’s successes. How often is it that we hear religion caricatured … Continue reading Fanaticism and Ridicule: Science and Religion
The last post mentioned some equivalent basic assumptions that underly science and religion as systems of knowledge. All of these assumptions or articles of faith cannot be empirically proven, but rather, their validity is shown over time as they are … Continue reading Fruits of Assumptions
There are commonalities between science and religion as systems of knowledge that help conceptualize them as complementary and reciprocal. The first is that they both derive from assumptions and articles of faith. Religion assumes the existence of a Divine and … Continue reading Underlying Assumptions
The advancement of a civilization aiming to achieve a dynamic coherence between the material and spiritual dimensions of reality recognizes that science and religion are the two reciprocal knowledge systems that impels its advance. History gives rare, yet significant instances … Continue reading Crisis of Knowledge
Developing our latent capacities requires self-knowledge about our nature and purpose – both individually and collectively. Knowledge of self and of civilization cannot be separated, as each individual exits in a social context and influences their environment, while it is … Continue reading Truth and Beauty
All human beings have spiritual capacities that can be revealed to contribute to humanity’s development and betterment. This process of empowerment occurs through access to knowledge, both self-knowledge and knowledge of reality. This knowledge is in two repositories of science … Continue reading Science and Religion
One fundamental feature of a development process that recognizes the material and spiritual requirements of social reality is capacity building. In fact, development can almost be seen as synonymous with building capacity. The people themselves are the protagonists of their … Continue reading Capacity Building
The processes of development have adopted values driven by economic growth, values that often view all things as means to a narrow-minded end, values that reduce an individual’s identity to a producer, consumer, and coveter of goods, values that reduce … Continue reading Exploitation and Oppression
Today’s vision of betterment is dogmatically materialistic. The interpretation of reality that progress equals economic development, and that people’s happiness would only be the result of better health, food, education, living conditions, etc., has consolidated itself to become the deciding … Continue reading Materialism
The advancement of civilization is propelled through increases in knowledge, as has been mentioned multiple times in previous posts. Every human being is a protagonist of humanity’s maturity, and all can contribute through a process of building on their latent … Continue reading The Centrality of Knowledge
Humanity will mature as each member is allowed to contribute to its advancement. Every human being has talents and capacities, the development of which is the right and duty of the individual, and the creation of environments that foster this … Continue reading Trust and Nobility
How does the body’s cardiovascular system determine blood flow in a way that transcends the limitations of unfettered individualism, which places value on the organ at the expense of the organism, on the one hand; and suffocating collectivism, which confuses … Continue reading Cardiovascular Justice – 2
Once again, principles applied in our social reality can be informed by the analogy of the human body. Justice, on one level, should govern decision-making processes. One example of collective decisions is the distribution of resources – the economic system. … Continue reading Cardiovascular Justice – 1
This term, “civilization”, has been mentioned repeatedly. In fact, the stated purpose of this blog is to contribute to the discourse on the advancement of civilization. Perhaps we could all share thoughts about our relative understandings of what civilization is. … Continue reading Civilization
Relating the issue of equality of women and men to justice protects women from becoming oppressors themselves. The challenge is not simply to provide women equal opportunity to participate in the present racially, economically, and politically oppressive social order. In … Continue reading Intersection of Justice and Equality
Equality of men and women is a fundamental truth about human nature, not a social utility that is agreed upon, regardless of the motive. This equality is based on the reality of a human being – spiritual reality – which … Continue reading Half the Human Race
Just as the physical world has laws and functions in ways that reveal underlying patterns, so the spiritual world has laws and patterns that can be observed and understood. We can observe that justice only emerges where there is love. … Continue reading Love, Power, Justice
Up to this point, many spiritual principles and qualities have been mentioned, in multiple contexts, and to various degrees. What is important to note, as more and more will be mentioned, is that virtues do not exist in isolation, but … Continue reading Moderation
Viewing justice as a latent potential of the human soul liberates us from the guilt which can so easily disempower the protagonists of social transformation. In the same way that our physical capacities emerge over time, such as the ability … Continue reading Justice and Human Potential
Knowledge of human nature is essential in championing the cause of justice. Ontologically, human beings are dual-natured – there is capacity for egoism and altruism, competition and cooperation; in short, there is a lower/animal nature, and a higher/spiritual nature. Self-interested … Continue reading Champion of Justice
Let us take advertising as an example of social forces that cause oppression through distortion of self-knowledge. Advertising, a euphemism for propaganda, mutilates our conceptions of reality. Images presented to youth, at a time of rising self-awareness, present unattainable goals … Continue reading Advertising
One of the major causes of injustice and oppression is lack of knowledge and perpetuation of ignorance. This is done through words, actions, and policies of self-interested governments, leaders, corporations, media, clergy, etc. They seek to retain their power; and … Continue reading Oppression
Current society, quite understandably so, has a fear of imposed conformity in the name of unity. History has repeatedly given examples of oppressive systems under the disguise of unity – feudalism, castes, communism, fascism, theocracy, nationalism, and authoritarianism. This legitimate … Continue reading Fear of Uniformity
Current human rights philosophy maintains that personal prerogative defines social structure, and individuals can refuse any moral ties that they haven’t chosen. Institutions are seen as necessary insofar as they interface common interests of atomistic individuals; they simply provide procedures … Continue reading Rights and Duties
With the understanding that justice requires the spiritual dimensions of human existence to be taken into account in discourse in order to stay relevant to humanity’s real needs, let us turn to the issue of human rights. What are the … Continue reading Source of Human Rights
Both extremes are to be completely avoided; the first of accepting everything one reads – this is the state of being an easy prey to eloquence and dazzling and elaborate presentations of those who pretend to know or actually are … Continue reading Justice and Discourse, Part II
As a community of discourse we need to ensure that we develop the ability to read and examine other people’s views and thoughts on a given subject with fairness. This does not mean that we never reach conclusions or continuously consider new or … Continue reading Discourse and Justice, Part I
Where does the concept progress come from? Who sets its parameters? What do we have to do to know we are achieving something worthwhile? Without thinking about these questions we end up thinking about progress in a way that does … Continue reading Definitions of Progress and Global Development
In the collective life of humankind, justice manifests as a compass in decision making, protecting resources from being diverted towards extraneous values, and protecting groups of people from the oppression of a vocal and seemingly-powerful minority. Justice cannot, then, be … Continue reading Approaches to Justice
Ideals are wonderful as they are, but what really can we say are the practical implications for speaking or believing in a principle as lofty as the spiritual concept of ‘Justice’? Are its implications for social and economic development really as … Continue reading Defender of the Interests of All Humankind: Justice
The roots of justice are in the human soul. Justice is a faculty of the human soul, a spiritual capacity that, like others such as love, reason, and mercy, can be nurtured through education and training, or ignored and left … Continue reading Justice: a Spiritual Capacity
Justice is the ruling principle of social organization, and the advancement of civilization depends upon its universal application. Conceptions of justice have been explored for centuries, and today, are highly numerous and variable. In our current crisis of civilization, confusion … Continue reading Justice in the Context of Oneness
Dr. Michael Karlberg is a professor of Communications at Western Washington University whose work centers around the advancement of collaboration and mutualism in human relations. In his TEDx Talk, Dr. Karlberg challenges the assumption that human nature is inherently competitive … Continue reading Beyond the Culture of Contest
The concept of the oneness of humankind provides an ideological foundation upon which humanity can understand its own reality in a way that conduces to its prosperity and harmony. It is an ontological truth of reality, a teleological end and … Continue reading Freedom
Humanity’s social life is evolving towards fruition of a world civilization. This process is propelled by two complementary systems of knowledge and practice – religion and science. Both of these systems advance human insights into the same reality. Both use … Continue reading History of the World, Part 4
That certain evolutionary processes are teleological in nature, meaning they are driven by an intrinsic purpose, brings up to the concept of latency. The characteristic of latent potential is common to all organic bodies – plants, the human body, and … Continue reading Latency
The next point regarding our perspective of history is that there is purpose in creation; in other words, evolution is understood as a teleological process. Characterizing evolutionary processes with this word – meaning that it is directed by an intrinsic … Continue reading History of the World, Part 3
All things evolve and develop along a path, unfolding towards maturity along a spiritual journey. The richest repository of this potential is human civilization progressing from ancient times until the modern age. The present era has seen the emergence of … Continue reading History of the World, Part 2
In previous posts, we read about various fragmented and incoherent conceptions of the individual and her or his relationship to society. We also looked at an example of the evolution of conceptions of the individual over a historical perspective. The … Continue reading History of the World, Part 1
The socio-spiritual phenomenon beginning circa 33 AD inaugurated an era of ever-deepening emphasis on the social reality of the individual, in terms of her or his status and rights, merits and responsibilities, and origins and opportunities. The various religions of … Continue reading The Rise of Christianity and Individualism
The region known as the ‘west’ comprises a minority of the population of the globe. The west influences global trends and determines national agendas disproportionately. China and India comprise vaster quantities of human souls than the west. Chinese and Indian … Continue reading Rural Life and Industrialization
In addition to individualism and individuality, here are two more examples of fragmented social theories on the conception of the individual: anarchism and socialism. Anarchism’s view places the individual as the source of inspiration, and values freedom for the people … Continue reading Ideological Either-Or
Individuality consists in the inner feelings and essential subjectivity of the human condition. Individualism on the other hand is a politico-economic doctrine instating rights and privileges of persons. The former is empirical fact; the latter, a cornerstone of anglo-american political theory and … Continue reading Individualism and the West
The previous post’s mention of various views about human nature, incoherent and fragmented in and of themselves, are also incoherent and fragmented in their application towards different domains of life. One individual, as an example, who claims self-interested notions of … Continue reading Questioning Fragmentation
There are multiple models of human nature that have been claimed on various levels throughout the ages, and regardless of whether they are religiously or philosophically associated claims, social models employed by policy makers, rhetorical assertions used to group rationalize … Continue reading Caricatures of Human Nature
Today’s consumer culture, a byproduct of the cult of the individual’s materialistic religion, is unapologetic as it reinterprets every aspect of human history and behavior within its single-minded view, as it imposes its ideology through a cultural hegemony, as it … Continue reading Consumer Culture
Society is plagued by a cult of the individual that has gone so far as to see association with other human beings merely as a means through which an individual acquires commodities that satiate his private desires. Presuppositions of the … Continue reading Cult of the Individual
Oneness reconceptualized across spatial and intergenerational dimensions informs social policy and institutions. Re-structuring according to principles of reciprocity, cooperation and interconnectedness engenders profound ramifications for the relationship binding the individual and society. All humans are molded by their environment, some … Continue reading Collective Transformation and the Individual
Following the last post’s foundational conviction that society should be organized according to the principles of reciprocity, cooperation, and interconnectedness, that oneness is the operating principle of civilization – as well as following a previous post’s idea that oneness is … Continue reading Oneness through Time and Space
We are in disagreement with self-interested conceptions of human nature and competitive social models. These tend to derive from a materialistic reduction of reality. Humankind’s future does not rest in their espousal, regardless of how popular they may seem at … Continue reading The Human Body and the Body Politic
Millions of systems exist in the universe we inhabit, from the sub-atomic systems of electron cloud probability to the cosmic flotation of great planets in the field of super novas. Systemic organization is molded on foundational laws and axioms that … Continue reading Systems and Transformation
The analogy of the human body to the body of humanity provides important insights to the nature of human society and the relationship between the individual and the collective, as well as into the principle of oneness itself. Yet, the … Continue reading Oneness as an Ontological Truth
Beyond emotions of levity, what does it mean in practicality to generate policy based on our conception of the entire human species as a unified organic whole? As some readers have pointed out, the analogy of the human body as … Continue reading Questions on Oneness
Universal scope and jurisdiction must be afforded any institutions necessary for the construction of a planetary civilization that deems for itself laws and order conducive to global prosperity. Educational systems and mass communication media must become conduits for the dissemination … Continue reading Oneness and Order
In the context of twofold transformation, then, human beings have a twofold purpose. We were created to develop our potentialities, and we are created to contribute to an ever-advancing civilization. In reality, these purposes are one. It is service to … Continue reading Purpose as Service
Human beings have a two-fold moral purpose: to develop our own personal spiritual attributes (such as love, kindness, wisdom, generosity, and intelligence) as well as to contribute to the social and institutional progress of an ever-advancing civilization. Some strands of … Continue reading Twofold Transformation
Social Organization initiated distinctly with the consolidation of the institution of family life, moved in stages successively through simple structures of clan-based and tribal existence to the eventual emergence of a diversity of forms of urban society, coming to rest … Continue reading Social Organization Progressively Expands and Integrates
What is true in the archetypal life of an individual human parallels the structure and life of our global civilization. Our species comprises an organic whole that occupies the seat of the crown of creation as the leading edge of … Continue reading Society Parallels the Individual
The human body is the one analogy that points toward a convincing model for the organization of a planetary society. There is no other model that mirrors its complexity or prosperity upon which we can rely. Human society is not … Continue reading The body of humanity
The bedrock of a strategy that can subsume the world’s population in assuming responsibility for our collective destiny is the consciousness of the absolute oneness of humankind. Deceptively simple though it may be, the concept that humanity constitutes a single … Continue reading Consciousness
At this critical moment in the history of humanity’s social evolution, the diverse people’s of the world need a more coherent vision of society that can guide the advancement of civilization. This need can only be met through the voluntary … Continue reading Oneness
achieving coherence 