There's an emptiness within people, a deep loneliness, a hole that's unfulfilled, a feeling of isolation and disconnection, an unhappiness they people can't seem to shake.
People have tried everything to fill that emptiness: relationships, family, work, money, religion, adventures, new experiences, sex, drugs, music, alcohol, gambling, food, power, knowledge, honour, fame etc. All these pleasures are fleeting and people remain unfulfilled.
Today, we're all immersed in the quality of selfishness, seeking to benefit ourselves. In this state, any pleasure we feel is fleeting and it quickly fades away. So we remain unfulfilled.
The reason we're unfulfilled is because we've been looking for love in all the wrong places. Love is about connection with others and we've been immersed in ourselves.
Love is when you seek to benefit others instead of yourself. This is the quality of bestowal.
The quality of bestowal is God's quality and God is love. If our internal qualities change from selfishness to bestowal, we'll become similar to God in quality.
In this way we'll connect to God in quality and we'll connect to each other in mutual responsibility - we'll seek to benefit others instead of ourselves.
When we taste this true connection, the connection with God and the connection with each other, we'll sense a new kind of pleasure, spiritual pleasure, and this pleasure comes directly from God Himself. This pleasure will fill us completely and the emptiness within us will disappear.
We're all one family and we have to start behaving like one family. We have to treat each other with respect, dignity, compassion and love. We have to seek to benefit others instead of ourselves.
Copyright © 2013, Carter Kagume. All Rights Reserved.
Thursday, August 8, 2013
Wednesday, August 7, 2013
The Truth Transcends Religion
The Truth transcends religion, it unites us together and it connects us to God Himself.
What is The Truth? The Truth is God Himself. The Truth is love. The Truth is the quality of bestowal/love of others/altruism.
The quality of bestowal transcends everything - religion, race, gender, sexual orientation, social status etc. When you seek to benefit others, you don't care if they're tall, short, black, white, Christian, Muslim, gay, straight, rich, poor etc. All you care about is their welfare and well-being.
Currently, we're all immersed in selfishness and we need to return to The Truth. Our internal qualities need to change from selfishness to bestowal and we need to seek to benefit others instead of ourselves.
The One True God, The Infinite God, The God of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob is the only one who can change your internal qualities. Ask Him for help and He'll change you.
In this way, we'll become connected with each other in mutual responsibility, we'll become genuinely concern for the welfare and well-being of one another.
Also, we'll become connected to God because our internal qualities will become similar to God's quality. God is love/bestowal and we'll become connected to Him in quality.
Religion plays a big part in society today. While in some ways it has a positive influence, it's currently immersed in selfishness and this has to change.
Religion Today - The Positive Sides
There are many positive things about religion.
Religion teaches people about God, about a higher power, about morality, ethics, right and wrong behaviour, good and evil etc.
Religion also provides comfort, it calms people down and it helps people cope. Also, people have a built-in need to connect to a higher power and religion provides that.
In this way, religion creates a deficiency for God, which gives God something to fulfill. There has to be a lack for there to be a fulfillment and by developing a lack for God, a deficiency is created for Him to fulfill.
Also, some religions talk about love, it's corporeal love, but nevertheless, it's a positive message of unity. Spiritual love/unconditional love/true love is seeking to benefit others instead of yourself.
The different religions also play a role in God's plan. Each one contributes to the arc-story of the journey of our internal qualities. Like actors in a movie, each religion shows how our internal qualities will change from selfishness to bestowal. Each religion is necessary because it tells a specific part of the story and together the different religions tell the full story. In this way, all the religions become united as one.
Also, everything on earth is organized and operated from above. Everything has purpose and meaning. You're in the religion you're in for a specific reason. If you accept that God manages everything, then you should accept everything that He manages. Don't criticize other religions, rather accept them because they're meant to be. Plus, they tell the story of your internal qualities so they're a reflection of you.
We are all one family and we need to start behaving like one family. Our focus should be on compassion, empathy, kindness, tolerance, respect, unity etc. We should stop focusing on those elements that divide us and keep us separated from one another.
The key message should be love: love God and do what He commands, God commands us to love one another and love is seeking to benefit others instead of yourself.
Religion Today - Immersed in Selfishness
Today, we're all immersed in selfishness, everyone's seeking to benefit themselves. And religion is also immersed in selfishness.
Selfish Religious Leaders
Religious organizations are run by leaders who are immersed in selfishness. These leaders seek money, privilege, power, praise, prestige, honour, adoration, status and other selfish personal profits and gains. They use God as leverage to pursue their own selfish ambitions.
Selfish religious leaders create and run selfish religious organizations, and the message they preach is also rooted in selfishness.
Today, there's a disconnect between religion and God Himself because God is the quality of bestowal and religion is immersed in selfishness.
As such, religious leaders need to change. Their internal qualities have to change from selfishness to bestowal, they have to seek to benefit others instead of themselves. All people need to return to God in quality.
Different Religious Organizations
There are so many different religious organizations today, each one preaching a unique doctrine, each one insisting it's right. This confuses everybody.
The different religious organizations become pitted against one another in a battle of who's right and who's wrong. This creates an antagonistic environment in the religious community that creates tension, stress and division.
The "holier than thou" mentality that permeates religion is rooted in selfishness. In front of God we are all equal, no one is greater than or lesser than his/her friend.
The different religious organizations need to focus on benefiting others instead of themselves. The quality of bestowal is about nullifying yourself to others, subjugating yourself to serve others and doing everything you can to make others happy.
Lack of Spiritual Nourishment
Religion doesn't provide true spiritual nourishment, which is why people remain unfulfilled even after they've performed all the necessary religious requirements.
The pleasure that people get from engaging in religious activities is fleeting and it quickly fades away.
We know that religion in and of itself isn't the answer because if it were, it would have set a tremendous example in society, offering absolute fulfillment and happiness.
That hasn't happened. Something's still missing and people still remain unfulfilled. There's an emptiness within people that even religion can't fill.
People are afraid to admit that religion doesn't fulfill them, they're afraid of what others may think, they're afraid that this may express doubt, or a lack of faith, or a sign of spiritual weakness, or that they're not true believers, or that they're lacking something others have etc. As such, people remain unfulfilled with religion, but they don't admit it.
There's an emptiness within each and every one of us that only God can fill. Only God Himself can fill that emptiness within and He fills it with Himself and with His Truth - that we should seek to benefit others instead of ourselves.
True spiritual nourishment and pleasure comes directly from God Himself because when we're in the quality of bestowal (seeking to benefit others), we become connected to God in quality. Spiritual pleasure is very intense and it's greater than all other pleasures combined. Rapture
Faith Versus The Truth
Religion is based on corporeal faith and there's a difference between faith and truth.
Corporeal faith is when a person believes in something blindly, without actually knowing it to be true. Someone tells them or they read it somewhere and they believe.
The Truth is when a person experience something personally, they know it to be true because they become it, they sense it themselves, they are it.
The Truth is the quality of bestowal, which is God's quality. When your internal qualities change from selfishness to bestowal, you become similar to God in quality. This isn't something that you believe, it's something that you become. You become The Truth.
Corporeal Faith Verses Spiritual Faith
There's a difference between corporeal faith and spiritual faith.
Corporeal faith is rooted in selfishness because believers seek personal profit and gain. They pray for God to give them a better life in this world and a better life in the next world. Either way, it's about what God can do for them. They're thinking only about themselves.
Spiritual faith is rooted in bestowal, it's not about what God can do for you, it's about what you can do for God.
What can you do for God? You can love Him by doing what He commands. God commands us to love one another, and love is seeking to benefit others instead of yourself. So spiritual faith is thinking of others, not yourself.
Corporeal Judgement Versus Spiritual Judgement
There's a difference between corporeal judgement and spiritual judgement.
Corporeal judgement is rooted in selfishness because people judge others. Corporeal judgement permeates religion because people interpret religious texts incorrectly, and then pass judgement on others. A person who judges others, feels more powerful than others and they feel greater than others. It gives them a sense of authority.
Spiritual judgement is not about judging others, is about judging yourself. You judge your own internal qualities, you scrutinize yourself. You judge your internal quality of selfishness and your internal quality of bestowal. You seek to be in the quality of bestowal in order to be in adhesion with The Creator and in order to benefit others instead of yourself.
Some people feel obligated to point out other people's sins - they think they're doing God's work, they think this is love and they think they're helping the sinners. Instead of trying to change others, we should focus on changing ourselves. We should seek to be in the quality of bestowal, benefiting others instead of ourselves.
Being Seen As Righteous
Some believers get trapped in a selfish quality of wanting to be seen as righteous. As such, they engage in religious activities only to be seen by other people.
You can set a good example for others by engaging in constructive behaviour that has a positive influence on others. However, in everything you do, seek to benefit others instead of yourself.
Fear of Disobeying God
Some religions perform a lot of rituals, ceremonies and services and some people are afraid that if they don't engage in these activities they'll 'disobey God'. These people become paranoid, obsessed and afraid of the consequences of not participating.
To obey God is to listen to Him and to do what He commands. God commands us to love one another and love is seeking to benefit others instead of yourself. The only thing you should be afraid of is that you haven't done enough to benefit others.
Fate
Faith it would seem, is sometimes a matter of fate. Many people are born into their faith because they're born into a certain environment that influences them accordingly. Even though they had nothing to do with their circumstances, they still develop an "I'm right and you're wrong" mentality.
We should accept that there are many things outside of our control. We should accept that God controls everything. Because He controls everything, we should listen to Him. God commands us to love one another, so we should seek to benefit others instead of ourselves.
Lack of Genuine Connections
The quality of selfishness permeates religious communities, which is why people don't feel genuinely connected to others. Instead, they may feel a sense of competition, they may feel judged and policed, and they may feel disconnected and unhappy.
The one thing that makes people happy is connection. We're social creates and we're happiest when we're connected in sincere, genuine and trusting relationships that make us feel safe.
Our internal qualities have to change from selfishness to bestowal, we need to seek to benefit others instead of ourselves. In this way, we'll become connected in mutual responsibility because everyone will be genuinely concerned for the welfare and well-being of others.
This will create a true connection between us and we'll become connected with God Himself. The nature of this pure divine connection will make us feel very happy.
Scripture Quoting
Pride
There are some people who know the scriptures inside out and they can quote scripture impressively. This may make them feel knowledgeable and intelligent; however, it may also lead to pride, because instead of benefiting others, they're trying to show others how much they know.
It's a good thing to know the scriptures and it's a good thing to share the scriptures; however, it's important to be mindful of the needs of others. So in everything you do, seek to benefit others instead of yourself.
knowing verses KNOWING
Knowing the scriptures may give people a false sense of spiritual connection. There's a difference between knowing the scriptures and KNOWING the scriptures.
If you're in the quality of selfishness, seeking to benefit yourself, you know the scriptures, but you're not actually connected to God because you're not in His quality of bestowal.
The scriptures talk about our internal qualities - how our internal qualities will change from selfishness to bestowal and how we'll return to God in quality. When your internal qualities change to bestowal, you'll KNOW the scriptures.
You'll KNOW the scriptures because you'll become what the scriptures talk about - your internal quality will become similar to God's quality and you'll become connected to Him.
Justifying Religious Positions
Some people quote scripture to justify their religious positions. However, people with contradictory positions quote different verses from the same book. Sometimes they quote the same verse with a different interpretation. This confuses everybody.
The reason this happens is because people interpret the scriptures incorrectly and they do so to suit their purposes. God Himself doesn't reveal The Truth to them, they come up with it themselves.
When scripture is interpreted incorrectly, it's full of 'contradictions'. When scripture is interpreted with The Truth (the language of our internal qualities), all contradictions disappear and one clear consistent, unified message appears: love God and seek to benefit others instead of yourself.
The Bible and The Quran
The Bible and The Quran are holy books filled with many mysteries that nobody can truly understand. (The books are actually talking about our internal qualities).
As such, people divide the books into two parts - the parts they 'understand' and the parts that they don't understand.
The parts they 'understand' they interpret to suit their purposes, and the parts they don't understand they dismiss with great reverence as being God's mysteries.
If some parts are God's mysteries, could it be that the parts they 'understand' have actually been misinterpreted?
God Himself is the only one who can reveal The Truth about The Bible and The Quran. Both books are talking about our internal qualities, how we'll change from selfishness to bestowal and how we'll return to God in quality. How we'll seek to benefit others instead of ourselves.
God Himself is the only one who can change our internal qualities, He is the only one who can reveal The Truth. Ask Him for help and He will change you.
Defending Religion
Some people defend their religious beliefs, and they do so for various reasons.
Defending God
Some people feel obligated to defend God. They take any criticism against their religion as a criticism against God.
God doesn't need anyone to defend Him, He needs people to listen to Him. God commands us to love one another. If we love Him we should do what He asks. We should seek to benefit others instead of ourselves.
Religion As An Identity
For some people, religion is a part of their identity. They take any criticism against their religion as a direct criticism against them. They defend their religion because they're defending themselves.
Our true identity is revealed when we connect with God Himself. We connect with God when our internal qualities become similar to God's quality, meaning when our qualities change from selfishness to bestowal and we seek to benefit others instead of ourselves.
When we seek to benefit others we reveal our true identify and potential, which is how much we can benefit others and society as a whole.
Religion As A Ticket To Heaven
Everybody wants to go to heaven and some people see their religion as their ticket to heaven. They take any criticism against their religion as a threat against this ticket, so they defend their religion.
Heaven is when you're connected to God, when your internal qualities become similar to God's quality and you seek to benefit others instead of yourself. If you do this, then you'll be in heaven.
Fear of Going To Hell
Some people are afraid of going to hell and they see their religion as their insurance policy. They take any criticism against their religion as a criticism against this insurance policy, so they defend their religion. Some religions control people by scaring them about hell.
Hell is a sense of feeling disconnected from God. True connection with God happens when your internal qualities change from selfishness to bestowal and you seek to benefit others instead of yourself. Your quality becomes similar to God's quality and you become connected with God in quality. The only thing you should be afraid of is not doing enough to benefit others.
Tests Of Faith
Some people expect to be tested in their faith. They take any criticism against their religion as a test, so they defend their religion to prove their strength of faith.
In this realm, the one question you're constantly being asked is, "How much do you love others?" This is the only question you're being asked, and it comes to you through various tests.
Loving others means seeking to benefit them, thinking of them instead of yourself. When we do this we'll become connected in mutual responsibility and we'll become connected to God Himself.
Emotionally Attached To Religion
Some people are emotionally attached to their material possessions, their houses, cars etc., and some become emotionally attached to their religion, so they defend their religion because they're emotionally dependent on it.
The only emotional attachment you should have is to God Himself. You shouldn't have any other emotional attachments. You should seek to be in the quality of bestowal, benefiting others instead of yourself.
Being in Control
Some people control every aspect of their lives, including the role religion plays in their lives. Any criticism against their religion is taken as an infringement upon their territory of control. So they defend their religion because they're defending their territory.
The only Being in control is God Himself. There is none else besides Him. We need to accept this, relinquish our personal control, listen to what He tells us and be in the quality of bestowal. God commands us to love one another and we should do so. We should seek to benefit others instead of ourselves.
Rights And Personal Choices
Some people enjoy their personal freedoms and they see religion as a personal choice and right. Any criticism against their religion is taken as an infringement upon their rights, so they defend their religion.
Corporeal freedom of choice is an illusion, it doesn't exist because we're all operated from above. True freedom of choice is between the quality of selfishness and the quality of bestowal.
True freedom is the quality of bestowal itself, when you seek to benefit others instead of yourself. Your true rights and choices are the many different ways you can find to benefit others.
Familiarity and Habit
We're all creatures of habit and some people become entrenched in religious routines. Any criticism against their religion is taken as a threat because it implies change, and they're afraid of change because it's outside their comfort zone. Also, some people may assume religious routines add to their connection with God and change would disrupt this connection. As such, they defend their religion.
We can't remain in the quality of selfishness any longer, we have to leave it. Our internal qualities have to change from selfishness to bestowal, we have to seek to benefit others instead of ourselves. The only habit we should have is seeking to benefit others instead of ourselves. The only thing that adds to our connection with God is finding new ways to benefit others.
Anchors And Wanting To Belong
Some people feel safe when they're anchored to something, e.g a job, family, and even religion, it gives them a sense of belonging. Any criticism against their religion is a threat against something they feel they belong to, so they defend their religion.
The only anchor we should have is God Himself. He is the only one we belong to, He is the only one who should make us feel safe. We connect to God by being in the quality of bestowal, seeking to benefit others instead of ourselves.
Summary
The Truth transcends religion, race, gender, sexual orientation, social status etc. The Truth, the quality of bestowal, connects us to one another and to God Himself.
Today we're all immersed in selfishness, but this has to change. Our internal qualities have to transform from selfishness to bestowal. We have to seek to benefit others instead of ourselves.
The One True God, The Infinite God, The God of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob is the only one who can change our internal qualities. Ask Him for help and He'll change you.
We are one family and we have to start behaving like one family. We have to connect with each other in mutual responsibility and be genuinely concerned for each other's welfare and well-being.
Copyright © 2013, Carter Kagume. All Rights Reserved.
What is The Truth? The Truth is God Himself. The Truth is love. The Truth is the quality of bestowal/love of others/altruism.
The quality of bestowal transcends everything - religion, race, gender, sexual orientation, social status etc. When you seek to benefit others, you don't care if they're tall, short, black, white, Christian, Muslim, gay, straight, rich, poor etc. All you care about is their welfare and well-being.
Currently, we're all immersed in selfishness and we need to return to The Truth. Our internal qualities need to change from selfishness to bestowal and we need to seek to benefit others instead of ourselves.
The One True God, The Infinite God, The God of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob is the only one who can change your internal qualities. Ask Him for help and He'll change you.
In this way, we'll become connected with each other in mutual responsibility, we'll become genuinely concern for the welfare and well-being of one another.
Also, we'll become connected to God because our internal qualities will become similar to God's quality. God is love/bestowal and we'll become connected to Him in quality.
Religion plays a big part in society today. While in some ways it has a positive influence, it's currently immersed in selfishness and this has to change.
Religion Today - The Positive Sides
There are many positive things about religion.
Religion teaches people about God, about a higher power, about morality, ethics, right and wrong behaviour, good and evil etc.
Religion also provides comfort, it calms people down and it helps people cope. Also, people have a built-in need to connect to a higher power and religion provides that.
In this way, religion creates a deficiency for God, which gives God something to fulfill. There has to be a lack for there to be a fulfillment and by developing a lack for God, a deficiency is created for Him to fulfill.
Also, some religions talk about love, it's corporeal love, but nevertheless, it's a positive message of unity. Spiritual love/unconditional love/true love is seeking to benefit others instead of yourself.
The different religions also play a role in God's plan. Each one contributes to the arc-story of the journey of our internal qualities. Like actors in a movie, each religion shows how our internal qualities will change from selfishness to bestowal. Each religion is necessary because it tells a specific part of the story and together the different religions tell the full story. In this way, all the religions become united as one.
Also, everything on earth is organized and operated from above. Everything has purpose and meaning. You're in the religion you're in for a specific reason. If you accept that God manages everything, then you should accept everything that He manages. Don't criticize other religions, rather accept them because they're meant to be. Plus, they tell the story of your internal qualities so they're a reflection of you.
We are all one family and we need to start behaving like one family. Our focus should be on compassion, empathy, kindness, tolerance, respect, unity etc. We should stop focusing on those elements that divide us and keep us separated from one another.
The key message should be love: love God and do what He commands, God commands us to love one another and love is seeking to benefit others instead of yourself.
Religion Today - Immersed in Selfishness
Today, we're all immersed in selfishness, everyone's seeking to benefit themselves. And religion is also immersed in selfishness.
Selfish Religious Leaders
Religious organizations are run by leaders who are immersed in selfishness. These leaders seek money, privilege, power, praise, prestige, honour, adoration, status and other selfish personal profits and gains. They use God as leverage to pursue their own selfish ambitions.
Selfish religious leaders create and run selfish religious organizations, and the message they preach is also rooted in selfishness.
Today, there's a disconnect between religion and God Himself because God is the quality of bestowal and religion is immersed in selfishness.
As such, religious leaders need to change. Their internal qualities have to change from selfishness to bestowal, they have to seek to benefit others instead of themselves. All people need to return to God in quality.
Different Religious Organizations
There are so many different religious organizations today, each one preaching a unique doctrine, each one insisting it's right. This confuses everybody.
The different religious organizations become pitted against one another in a battle of who's right and who's wrong. This creates an antagonistic environment in the religious community that creates tension, stress and division.
The "holier than thou" mentality that permeates religion is rooted in selfishness. In front of God we are all equal, no one is greater than or lesser than his/her friend.
The different religious organizations need to focus on benefiting others instead of themselves. The quality of bestowal is about nullifying yourself to others, subjugating yourself to serve others and doing everything you can to make others happy.
Lack of Spiritual Nourishment
Religion doesn't provide true spiritual nourishment, which is why people remain unfulfilled even after they've performed all the necessary religious requirements.
The pleasure that people get from engaging in religious activities is fleeting and it quickly fades away.
We know that religion in and of itself isn't the answer because if it were, it would have set a tremendous example in society, offering absolute fulfillment and happiness.
That hasn't happened. Something's still missing and people still remain unfulfilled. There's an emptiness within people that even religion can't fill.
People are afraid to admit that religion doesn't fulfill them, they're afraid of what others may think, they're afraid that this may express doubt, or a lack of faith, or a sign of spiritual weakness, or that they're not true believers, or that they're lacking something others have etc. As such, people remain unfulfilled with religion, but they don't admit it.
There's an emptiness within each and every one of us that only God can fill. Only God Himself can fill that emptiness within and He fills it with Himself and with His Truth - that we should seek to benefit others instead of ourselves.
True spiritual nourishment and pleasure comes directly from God Himself because when we're in the quality of bestowal (seeking to benefit others), we become connected to God in quality. Spiritual pleasure is very intense and it's greater than all other pleasures combined. Rapture
Faith Versus The Truth
Religion is based on corporeal faith and there's a difference between faith and truth.
Corporeal faith is when a person believes in something blindly, without actually knowing it to be true. Someone tells them or they read it somewhere and they believe.
The Truth is when a person experience something personally, they know it to be true because they become it, they sense it themselves, they are it.
The Truth is the quality of bestowal, which is God's quality. When your internal qualities change from selfishness to bestowal, you become similar to God in quality. This isn't something that you believe, it's something that you become. You become The Truth.
Corporeal Faith Verses Spiritual Faith
There's a difference between corporeal faith and spiritual faith.
Corporeal faith is rooted in selfishness because believers seek personal profit and gain. They pray for God to give them a better life in this world and a better life in the next world. Either way, it's about what God can do for them. They're thinking only about themselves.
Spiritual faith is rooted in bestowal, it's not about what God can do for you, it's about what you can do for God.
What can you do for God? You can love Him by doing what He commands. God commands us to love one another, and love is seeking to benefit others instead of yourself. So spiritual faith is thinking of others, not yourself.
Corporeal Judgement Versus Spiritual Judgement
There's a difference between corporeal judgement and spiritual judgement.
Corporeal judgement is rooted in selfishness because people judge others. Corporeal judgement permeates religion because people interpret religious texts incorrectly, and then pass judgement on others. A person who judges others, feels more powerful than others and they feel greater than others. It gives them a sense of authority.
Spiritual judgement is not about judging others, is about judging yourself. You judge your own internal qualities, you scrutinize yourself. You judge your internal quality of selfishness and your internal quality of bestowal. You seek to be in the quality of bestowal in order to be in adhesion with The Creator and in order to benefit others instead of yourself.
Some people feel obligated to point out other people's sins - they think they're doing God's work, they think this is love and they think they're helping the sinners. Instead of trying to change others, we should focus on changing ourselves. We should seek to be in the quality of bestowal, benefiting others instead of ourselves.
Being Seen As Righteous
Some believers get trapped in a selfish quality of wanting to be seen as righteous. As such, they engage in religious activities only to be seen by other people.
You can set a good example for others by engaging in constructive behaviour that has a positive influence on others. However, in everything you do, seek to benefit others instead of yourself.
Fear of Disobeying God
Some religions perform a lot of rituals, ceremonies and services and some people are afraid that if they don't engage in these activities they'll 'disobey God'. These people become paranoid, obsessed and afraid of the consequences of not participating.
To obey God is to listen to Him and to do what He commands. God commands us to love one another and love is seeking to benefit others instead of yourself. The only thing you should be afraid of is that you haven't done enough to benefit others.
Fate
Faith it would seem, is sometimes a matter of fate. Many people are born into their faith because they're born into a certain environment that influences them accordingly. Even though they had nothing to do with their circumstances, they still develop an "I'm right and you're wrong" mentality.
We should accept that there are many things outside of our control. We should accept that God controls everything. Because He controls everything, we should listen to Him. God commands us to love one another, so we should seek to benefit others instead of ourselves.
Lack of Genuine Connections
The quality of selfishness permeates religious communities, which is why people don't feel genuinely connected to others. Instead, they may feel a sense of competition, they may feel judged and policed, and they may feel disconnected and unhappy.
The one thing that makes people happy is connection. We're social creates and we're happiest when we're connected in sincere, genuine and trusting relationships that make us feel safe.
Our internal qualities have to change from selfishness to bestowal, we need to seek to benefit others instead of ourselves. In this way, we'll become connected in mutual responsibility because everyone will be genuinely concerned for the welfare and well-being of others.
This will create a true connection between us and we'll become connected with God Himself. The nature of this pure divine connection will make us feel very happy.
Scripture Quoting
Pride
There are some people who know the scriptures inside out and they can quote scripture impressively. This may make them feel knowledgeable and intelligent; however, it may also lead to pride, because instead of benefiting others, they're trying to show others how much they know.
It's a good thing to know the scriptures and it's a good thing to share the scriptures; however, it's important to be mindful of the needs of others. So in everything you do, seek to benefit others instead of yourself.
knowing verses KNOWING
Knowing the scriptures may give people a false sense of spiritual connection. There's a difference between knowing the scriptures and KNOWING the scriptures.
If you're in the quality of selfishness, seeking to benefit yourself, you know the scriptures, but you're not actually connected to God because you're not in His quality of bestowal.
The scriptures talk about our internal qualities - how our internal qualities will change from selfishness to bestowal and how we'll return to God in quality. When your internal qualities change to bestowal, you'll KNOW the scriptures.
You'll KNOW the scriptures because you'll become what the scriptures talk about - your internal quality will become similar to God's quality and you'll become connected to Him.
Justifying Religious Positions
Some people quote scripture to justify their religious positions. However, people with contradictory positions quote different verses from the same book. Sometimes they quote the same verse with a different interpretation. This confuses everybody.
The reason this happens is because people interpret the scriptures incorrectly and they do so to suit their purposes. God Himself doesn't reveal The Truth to them, they come up with it themselves.
When scripture is interpreted incorrectly, it's full of 'contradictions'. When scripture is interpreted with The Truth (the language of our internal qualities), all contradictions disappear and one clear consistent, unified message appears: love God and seek to benefit others instead of yourself.
The Bible and The Quran
The Bible and The Quran are holy books filled with many mysteries that nobody can truly understand. (The books are actually talking about our internal qualities).
As such, people divide the books into two parts - the parts they 'understand' and the parts that they don't understand.
The parts they 'understand' they interpret to suit their purposes, and the parts they don't understand they dismiss with great reverence as being God's mysteries.
If some parts are God's mysteries, could it be that the parts they 'understand' have actually been misinterpreted?
God Himself is the only one who can reveal The Truth about The Bible and The Quran. Both books are talking about our internal qualities, how we'll change from selfishness to bestowal and how we'll return to God in quality. How we'll seek to benefit others instead of ourselves.
God Himself is the only one who can change our internal qualities, He is the only one who can reveal The Truth. Ask Him for help and He will change you.
Defending Religion
Some people defend their religious beliefs, and they do so for various reasons.
Defending God
Some people feel obligated to defend God. They take any criticism against their religion as a criticism against God.
God doesn't need anyone to defend Him, He needs people to listen to Him. God commands us to love one another. If we love Him we should do what He asks. We should seek to benefit others instead of ourselves.
Religion As An Identity
For some people, religion is a part of their identity. They take any criticism against their religion as a direct criticism against them. They defend their religion because they're defending themselves.
Our true identity is revealed when we connect with God Himself. We connect with God when our internal qualities become similar to God's quality, meaning when our qualities change from selfishness to bestowal and we seek to benefit others instead of ourselves.
When we seek to benefit others we reveal our true identify and potential, which is how much we can benefit others and society as a whole.
Religion As A Ticket To Heaven
Everybody wants to go to heaven and some people see their religion as their ticket to heaven. They take any criticism against their religion as a threat against this ticket, so they defend their religion.
Heaven is when you're connected to God, when your internal qualities become similar to God's quality and you seek to benefit others instead of yourself. If you do this, then you'll be in heaven.
Fear of Going To Hell
Some people are afraid of going to hell and they see their religion as their insurance policy. They take any criticism against their religion as a criticism against this insurance policy, so they defend their religion. Some religions control people by scaring them about hell.
Hell is a sense of feeling disconnected from God. True connection with God happens when your internal qualities change from selfishness to bestowal and you seek to benefit others instead of yourself. Your quality becomes similar to God's quality and you become connected with God in quality. The only thing you should be afraid of is not doing enough to benefit others.
Tests Of Faith
Some people expect to be tested in their faith. They take any criticism against their religion as a test, so they defend their religion to prove their strength of faith.
In this realm, the one question you're constantly being asked is, "How much do you love others?" This is the only question you're being asked, and it comes to you through various tests.
Loving others means seeking to benefit them, thinking of them instead of yourself. When we do this we'll become connected in mutual responsibility and we'll become connected to God Himself.
Emotionally Attached To Religion
Some people are emotionally attached to their material possessions, their houses, cars etc., and some become emotionally attached to their religion, so they defend their religion because they're emotionally dependent on it.
The only emotional attachment you should have is to God Himself. You shouldn't have any other emotional attachments. You should seek to be in the quality of bestowal, benefiting others instead of yourself.
Being in Control
Some people control every aspect of their lives, including the role religion plays in their lives. Any criticism against their religion is taken as an infringement upon their territory of control. So they defend their religion because they're defending their territory.
The only Being in control is God Himself. There is none else besides Him. We need to accept this, relinquish our personal control, listen to what He tells us and be in the quality of bestowal. God commands us to love one another and we should do so. We should seek to benefit others instead of ourselves.
Rights And Personal Choices
Some people enjoy their personal freedoms and they see religion as a personal choice and right. Any criticism against their religion is taken as an infringement upon their rights, so they defend their religion.
Corporeal freedom of choice is an illusion, it doesn't exist because we're all operated from above. True freedom of choice is between the quality of selfishness and the quality of bestowal.
True freedom is the quality of bestowal itself, when you seek to benefit others instead of yourself. Your true rights and choices are the many different ways you can find to benefit others.
Familiarity and Habit
We're all creatures of habit and some people become entrenched in religious routines. Any criticism against their religion is taken as a threat because it implies change, and they're afraid of change because it's outside their comfort zone. Also, some people may assume religious routines add to their connection with God and change would disrupt this connection. As such, they defend their religion.
We can't remain in the quality of selfishness any longer, we have to leave it. Our internal qualities have to change from selfishness to bestowal, we have to seek to benefit others instead of ourselves. The only habit we should have is seeking to benefit others instead of ourselves. The only thing that adds to our connection with God is finding new ways to benefit others.
Anchors And Wanting To Belong
Some people feel safe when they're anchored to something, e.g a job, family, and even religion, it gives them a sense of belonging. Any criticism against their religion is a threat against something they feel they belong to, so they defend their religion.
The only anchor we should have is God Himself. He is the only one we belong to, He is the only one who should make us feel safe. We connect to God by being in the quality of bestowal, seeking to benefit others instead of ourselves.
Summary
The Truth transcends religion, race, gender, sexual orientation, social status etc. The Truth, the quality of bestowal, connects us to one another and to God Himself.
Today we're all immersed in selfishness, but this has to change. Our internal qualities have to transform from selfishness to bestowal. We have to seek to benefit others instead of ourselves.
The One True God, The Infinite God, The God of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob is the only one who can change our internal qualities. Ask Him for help and He'll change you.
We are one family and we have to start behaving like one family. We have to connect with each other in mutual responsibility and be genuinely concerned for each other's welfare and well-being.
Copyright © 2013, Carter Kagume. All Rights Reserved.
Sunday, August 4, 2013
What is Love?
In this realm, 'love' is about how someone makes you feel, it's emotional, it's psychological, it's about physical attraction, it's about hormones, it's about being with someone so you don't feel alone etc.
This isn't true love because you're thinking about what the person can do for you. We know it's not true love because of the growing divorce rates and the number of relationships that deteriorate.
Spiritual love, true love, unconditional love is about bestowal/love of others/altruism, it's about seeking to benefit others instead of yourself. It's about thinking of others and doing everything you can to benefit them.
The closest example in this world is how a mother cares for her baby. She does everything she can to make it happy. She doesn't think about herself, she thinks only about her baby.
Another example is if you like pizza and your friend likes spaghetti, you make spaghetti to benefit your friend, you don't make pizza because you're not seeking to benefit yourself.
We all need love and love is a two way street of giving and receiving:
- I seek to benefit you: so I give you love and you receive from me
- You seek to benefit me: so you give me love and I receiving from you
In this way we become interconnected and interdependent. Since I know that you need love and that love makes you happy, I seek to benefit you, I engage in altruistic acts towards you, acts that demonstrate my love towards you. And you reciprocate by doing the same for me.
In this way, we become connected with each other in mutual responsibility as we each seek to benefit the other. We become genuinely concerned for the welfare and well-being of each other.
This makes us happy in two ways: first, we feel love and second we feel connected with each other. The two things that make us happy - love and connection.
Love (seeking to benefit others) is a universal law, it is the law of nature, it is the law in the spiritual realm, it is the fundamental law in The Bible and The Quran, God Himself is love.
It is written, "Love Yahweh your Elohim with all your heart, with all your soul, and with all your strength." (Deuteronomy 6:5, NOGB)
Meaning, be in the quality of bestowal/love of others/altruism with all your desires and with all your thoughts. Seek to benefit others instead of yourself.
It is also written, "... you shall love your neighbor as yourself..." (Leviticus 19:18, NKJV) Meaning, seek to benefit others, your neighbour, instead of yourself.
Why would we engage in this behaviour? Why should we seek to benefit others instead of ourselves? For two reasons: one, to benefit each other and two, to make God happy.
How does this make God happy? How does this bring contentment to The Creator?
In several ways: first, God commands us to love each other, so by loving each other we demonstrate our love for God because we do what He commands. We do what He asks us to do because we love Him and this makes Him happy.
Second, when we benefit each other, we make each other happy and when we're happy, God is happy.
Lastly, when we seek to benefit each other, we not only become connected with each other in mutual responsibility, we become connected with God in quality. When we're connected with God in quality, we make Him happy.
Copyright © 2013, Carter Kagume. All Rights Reserved.
This isn't true love because you're thinking about what the person can do for you. We know it's not true love because of the growing divorce rates and the number of relationships that deteriorate.
Spiritual love, true love, unconditional love is about bestowal/love of others/altruism, it's about seeking to benefit others instead of yourself. It's about thinking of others and doing everything you can to benefit them.
The closest example in this world is how a mother cares for her baby. She does everything she can to make it happy. She doesn't think about herself, she thinks only about her baby.
Another example is if you like pizza and your friend likes spaghetti, you make spaghetti to benefit your friend, you don't make pizza because you're not seeking to benefit yourself.
We all need love and love is a two way street of giving and receiving:
- I seek to benefit you: so I give you love and you receive from me
- You seek to benefit me: so you give me love and I receiving from you
In this way we become interconnected and interdependent. Since I know that you need love and that love makes you happy, I seek to benefit you, I engage in altruistic acts towards you, acts that demonstrate my love towards you. And you reciprocate by doing the same for me.
In this way, we become connected with each other in mutual responsibility as we each seek to benefit the other. We become genuinely concerned for the welfare and well-being of each other.
This makes us happy in two ways: first, we feel love and second we feel connected with each other. The two things that make us happy - love and connection.
Love (seeking to benefit others) is a universal law, it is the law of nature, it is the law in the spiritual realm, it is the fundamental law in The Bible and The Quran, God Himself is love.
It is written, "Love Yahweh your Elohim with all your heart, with all your soul, and with all your strength." (Deuteronomy 6:5, NOGB)
Meaning, be in the quality of bestowal/love of others/altruism with all your desires and with all your thoughts. Seek to benefit others instead of yourself.
It is also written, "... you shall love your neighbor as yourself..." (Leviticus 19:18, NKJV) Meaning, seek to benefit others, your neighbour, instead of yourself.
Why would we engage in this behaviour? Why should we seek to benefit others instead of ourselves? For two reasons: one, to benefit each other and two, to make God happy.
How does this make God happy? How does this bring contentment to The Creator?
In several ways: first, God commands us to love each other, so by loving each other we demonstrate our love for God because we do what He commands. We do what He asks us to do because we love Him and this makes Him happy.
Second, when we benefit each other, we make each other happy and when we're happy, God is happy.
Lastly, when we seek to benefit each other, we not only become connected with each other in mutual responsibility, we become connected with God in quality. When we're connected with God in quality, we make Him happy.
Copyright © 2013, Carter Kagume. All Rights Reserved.
It Is Finished
When Jesus died on the cross He said, "It is finished!" (John 19:30, NKJV)
What is the meaning of "It is finished"? What is finished?
Our time of being in the quality of selfishness - is finished.
Our time of thinking only about ourselves with no regard for others - is finished.
Our time in exile, being separated from God - is finished.
Meaning, the pleasures that we got from being in the quality of selfishness, thinking only about ourselves with no regard for others, no longer satisfy and fulfill us. All these selfish pleasures have been depleted. It's time for something new.
Jesus was basically saying, our time in the quality of selfishness is over, it is now time to return to God, to return to the quality of bestowal/love of others/altruism.
In this way, we have to seek to benefit others instead of ourselves. We have to be genuinely concerned for the welfare and well-being of others. By doing this, we'll return to God in quality.
Copyright © 2013, Carter Kagume. All Rights Reserved.
What is the meaning of "It is finished"? What is finished?
Our time of being in the quality of selfishness - is finished.
Our time of thinking only about ourselves with no regard for others - is finished.
Our time in exile, being separated from God - is finished.
Meaning, the pleasures that we got from being in the quality of selfishness, thinking only about ourselves with no regard for others, no longer satisfy and fulfill us. All these selfish pleasures have been depleted. It's time for something new.
Jesus was basically saying, our time in the quality of selfishness is over, it is now time to return to God, to return to the quality of bestowal/love of others/altruism.
In this way, we have to seek to benefit others instead of ourselves. We have to be genuinely concerned for the welfare and well-being of others. By doing this, we'll return to God in quality.
Copyright © 2013, Carter Kagume. All Rights Reserved.
Thursday, August 1, 2013
A Letter To The Whole World - We Are One Family
From:
Carter Kagume
To:
The Whole World
Dear family,
The entire world is one family and we need to come together and connect as one. We have to put all of our differences aside and unite for our common good.
The world is going to go through a major transformation. Our internal qualities are going to change from the quality of selfishness, (where we seek to benefit ourselves) to the quality of bestowal/love of others/altruism (where we seek to benefit others).
The One True God, The Infinite God, The God of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob is the only one who can change your internal qualities. Ask Him for help and He will change you.
This transformation will affect each and every one of us and it will change our lives for the better.
Currently we're all immersed in selfishness, everybody's seeking to benefit themselves. You see the consequences of selfishness in all of society: families are breaking apart, our education system is faulty, businesses engage in unethical and immoral behaviour, our governments are corrupt, our communities are disconnected, the environment is in bad shape and people are isolated, alone and unhappy.
Systems don't exist by themselves, they are created and run by people. If the people who create and run them are selfish, then the systems are bound to fail, as is evident today.
The problems you see in society are only symptoms. The root problem is our ego, our selfish tendencies.
Our selfish behaviour has to stop because we can't keep living like this. We have to change our selfish egotistical ways, stop thinking about ourselves and start thinking about others.
We have to change our internal qualities from selfishness to bestowal/love of others/altruism. We have to seek to benefit others instead of ourselves.
By thinking of others, we'll become connected in mutual concern and responsibility, we'll become genuinely concerned for the welfare and well-being of others and all of society.
Connection is extremely important to us as human beings because we're social creatures. We're happiest when we're connected in sincere, trusting and loving relationships.
We all need love and love is a two way street of giving and receiving. We should all expect to receive love, but we should also expect to give love.
What does it mean to give love? Giving love means thinking about others, seeking to benefit others, being kind, compassionate, tolerant, empathetic, understanding, respectful and mindful of other.
If we all engage in this behaviour then we'll build trust between us, we'll feel safe with each other and we'll all feel included, as though we're a part of one family.
Also, we'll develop harmonious relationship in all systems - families, education, work, government, communities, the environment and all of society - because our priority will be to benefit others and we'll be genuinely concerned for the welfare and well-being of others.
Achieving this is possible, but only if we do it together. Everyone has a role to play because everyone can contribute in one way or another. We can all be heroes by participating in creating a society that's based on the values of love and mutual responsibility.
May The One True God, The Infinite God, The God of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob guide us, may He lead us and may He show us the way. God is with us and to Him we shall all return.
I love you, God loves you and remember, we're all one family. God bless you, God bless the whole world and God bless all of creation.
Carter
Copyright © 2013, Carter Kagume. All Rights Reserved.
Carter Kagume
To:
The Whole World
Dear family,
The entire world is one family and we need to come together and connect as one. We have to put all of our differences aside and unite for our common good.
The world is going to go through a major transformation. Our internal qualities are going to change from the quality of selfishness, (where we seek to benefit ourselves) to the quality of bestowal/love of others/altruism (where we seek to benefit others).
The One True God, The Infinite God, The God of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob is the only one who can change your internal qualities. Ask Him for help and He will change you.
This transformation will affect each and every one of us and it will change our lives for the better.
Currently we're all immersed in selfishness, everybody's seeking to benefit themselves. You see the consequences of selfishness in all of society: families are breaking apart, our education system is faulty, businesses engage in unethical and immoral behaviour, our governments are corrupt, our communities are disconnected, the environment is in bad shape and people are isolated, alone and unhappy.
Systems don't exist by themselves, they are created and run by people. If the people who create and run them are selfish, then the systems are bound to fail, as is evident today.
The problems you see in society are only symptoms. The root problem is our ego, our selfish tendencies.
Our selfish behaviour has to stop because we can't keep living like this. We have to change our selfish egotistical ways, stop thinking about ourselves and start thinking about others.
We have to change our internal qualities from selfishness to bestowal/love of others/altruism. We have to seek to benefit others instead of ourselves.
By thinking of others, we'll become connected in mutual concern and responsibility, we'll become genuinely concerned for the welfare and well-being of others and all of society.
Connection is extremely important to us as human beings because we're social creatures. We're happiest when we're connected in sincere, trusting and loving relationships.
We all need love and love is a two way street of giving and receiving. We should all expect to receive love, but we should also expect to give love.
What does it mean to give love? Giving love means thinking about others, seeking to benefit others, being kind, compassionate, tolerant, empathetic, understanding, respectful and mindful of other.
If we all engage in this behaviour then we'll build trust between us, we'll feel safe with each other and we'll all feel included, as though we're a part of one family.
Also, we'll develop harmonious relationship in all systems - families, education, work, government, communities, the environment and all of society - because our priority will be to benefit others and we'll be genuinely concerned for the welfare and well-being of others.
Achieving this is possible, but only if we do it together. Everyone has a role to play because everyone can contribute in one way or another. We can all be heroes by participating in creating a society that's based on the values of love and mutual responsibility.
May The One True God, The Infinite God, The God of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob guide us, may He lead us and may He show us the way. God is with us and to Him we shall all return.
I love you, God loves you and remember, we're all one family. God bless you, God bless the whole world and God bless all of creation.
Carter
Copyright © 2013, Carter Kagume. All Rights Reserved.
Who Is the Greatest?
The standards of greatness in this realm are opposite to the standards of greatness in the spiritual realm.
In this realm, greatness is determined by how much a person has, how rich they are, how many possessions they own, how talented they are, how smart they are, how much power they have etc. A great person is someone who is better than others, more important than others, more powerful than others, smarter than others, more talented than others, richer than others etc. Great people expect other people to serve them, they expect to be served.
In the spiritual realm, greatness is determined by how much a person can give to others, how much they can benefit others and how much they can contribute to the welfare and well-being of others. A great person is someone who nullifies themselves to others, others are more important than they are. Great people serve others.
Jesus explained this when He said, "If anyone desires to be first, he shall be last of all and servant of all." (Mark 9:35, NKJV)
The world is going to go through a major transformation. Our internal qualities are going to change from selfishness to concern for others. We're going to seek to benefit others instead of ourselves.
This transformation will also change the way we perceive greatness. The greatest people will be those who do the most to benefit others and society as a whole. The greatest people will serve others instead of themselves.
Copyright © 2013, Carter Kagume. All Rights Reserved.
In this realm, greatness is determined by how much a person has, how rich they are, how many possessions they own, how talented they are, how smart they are, how much power they have etc. A great person is someone who is better than others, more important than others, more powerful than others, smarter than others, more talented than others, richer than others etc. Great people expect other people to serve them, they expect to be served.
In the spiritual realm, greatness is determined by how much a person can give to others, how much they can benefit others and how much they can contribute to the welfare and well-being of others. A great person is someone who nullifies themselves to others, others are more important than they are. Great people serve others.
Jesus explained this when He said, "If anyone desires to be first, he shall be last of all and servant of all." (Mark 9:35, NKJV)
The world is going to go through a major transformation. Our internal qualities are going to change from selfishness to concern for others. We're going to seek to benefit others instead of ourselves.
This transformation will also change the way we perceive greatness. The greatest people will be those who do the most to benefit others and society as a whole. The greatest people will serve others instead of themselves.
Copyright © 2013, Carter Kagume. All Rights Reserved.
Wednesday, July 31, 2013
Taste And See That Yahweh Is Good
What does it mean "taste and see that Yahweh is good" (Psalm 34:8, NOGB)?
It means be in the quality of bestowal/love of others/altruism and see that the pleasure you feel from being in this quality, benefiting others instead of yourself, is good.
It means be in it, know it to be true/good by experiencing it yourself, do it yourself, sample it, taste it, feel it, sense it.
Our internal qualities have to change from selfishness to concern for others, we need to seek to benefit others instead of ourselves.
When we're in the quality of selfishness (seeking to benefit ourselves) we taste selfish pleasures. When we enter into the quality of bestowal (seeking to benefit others) we'll acquire new pleasures, altruistic pleasures.
Once we're in bestowal, we'll know what the pleasure feels like to think of others, look after others and seek to benefit others. We'll taste this new pleasure and it'll be good.
Copyright © 2013, Carter Kagume. All Rights Reserved.
It means be in the quality of bestowal/love of others/altruism and see that the pleasure you feel from being in this quality, benefiting others instead of yourself, is good.
It means be in it, know it to be true/good by experiencing it yourself, do it yourself, sample it, taste it, feel it, sense it.
Our internal qualities have to change from selfishness to concern for others, we need to seek to benefit others instead of ourselves.
When we're in the quality of selfishness (seeking to benefit ourselves) we taste selfish pleasures. When we enter into the quality of bestowal (seeking to benefit others) we'll acquire new pleasures, altruistic pleasures.
Once we're in bestowal, we'll know what the pleasure feels like to think of others, look after others and seek to benefit others. We'll taste this new pleasure and it'll be good.
Copyright © 2013, Carter Kagume. All Rights Reserved.
Tuesday, July 30, 2013
Protection Forces Need to End
Today, protection
forces, such as the military, the police and others, protect us from other countries and from other citizens.
We have a history of using, exploiting, abusing, mistreating and harming each other and we continue to engage in this behaviour, so these forces are still necessary.
We have to change our internal qualities from the quality of selfishness (seeking to benefit ourselves) to the quality of bestowal (seeking to benefit others).
If we change our ways, we'll stop harming others and all the protection forces will become unnecessary and will disappear.
The Bad
If you look at the history of mankind, it's been a brutal existence dominated by the quality of selfishness. People have sought to dominate each other resulting in endless wars and atrocities.
We don't trust each other and so we need to protect ourselves from each other.
While protection forces are now necessary, they are a drain on society because they consume monetary resources, employ intelligent people and use the best technologies, resources which could be best used elsewhere, to benefit society.
While protection forces create jobs, they come at a price. Soldiers, police and others put themselves in harms way, facing physical and mental harm, even death.
Hollywood has made spies and espionage seem glamorous, yet some of these people face cruel inhumane abuses, torture and even death.
All for what? This is humanity? This is who we are? This is the best that we can be? Do we really need to live this way, paranoid and in fear of one another? Do we need to subject protection forces personnel to harm and danger simply because we can't get along?
Some say they need protection forces as a defense because they don't trust what other countries or people may do. Others say they need protection forces as an offence to mitigate potential threats or to help others.
As long as we remain in the quality of selfishness, we'll continue to harm others. This behaviour has to stop.
We need to change our internal qualities from selfishness to bestowal/love of others/altruism. We need to stop thinking about ourselves and start thinking about others.
We need to seek to benefit others instead of ourselves and when we do this, we'll stop harming others. We'll build trust between us and we won't need protection forces to protect us from each other. We'll live in harmony with each other and with all of nature.
The Good
There are many positive things about the protection forces that could be used to benefit society.
Soldiers, police and others undergo specialized training that teaches valuable skills such as disciple, dedication, commitment, resolve, endurance, teamwork etc.
They also learn leadership, organization, time management, strategy, foresight, planning, logistics, working with goals, achieving results etc.
These skills and traits could be very helpful if they're used to benefit society.
We need to change our internal qualities from selfishness to concern for others, and seek to benefit others instead of ourselves.
We are all one family and we have to start living as a family. We have to stop fighting and harming each other and start looking after each other in mutual concern and responsibility.
No disrespect is meant to veterans, military personnel, police personnel or other people who have risked and/or continue to risk their lives for the sake of others. Only love.
The Answer
The only battle we should be fighting is an internal battle with our internal qualities. Our internal qualities must change from selfishness to concern for others, we should seek to benefit others instead of ourselves.
Only God Himself can help us, protect us and change our internal qualities. As it's written, "... Allah is your protector, and He is the best of helpers." (Quran 3:150, Sahih)
We should live a life that's based on mutual responsibility, cooperation, collaboration, connection and trust. We are one family and we need to look after each other.
History has shown that empires come and empires go, and what is gained today is lost tomorrow. Jesus said, "... all who draw the sword will die by the sword." (Matthew 26:52, NIV)
However, there is one kingdom that will reign forever and that is God's kingdom. As it's written about Yeshua/Jesus/Isa, "... he will reign over Jacob's descendants forever; his kingdom will never end." (Luke 1:33, NIV)
Copyright © 2013, Carter Kagume. All Rights Reserved.
We have a history of using, exploiting, abusing, mistreating and harming each other and we continue to engage in this behaviour, so these forces are still necessary.
We have to change our internal qualities from the quality of selfishness (seeking to benefit ourselves) to the quality of bestowal (seeking to benefit others).
If we change our ways, we'll stop harming others and all the protection forces will become unnecessary and will disappear.
The Bad
If you look at the history of mankind, it's been a brutal existence dominated by the quality of selfishness. People have sought to dominate each other resulting in endless wars and atrocities.
We don't trust each other and so we need to protect ourselves from each other.
While protection forces are now necessary, they are a drain on society because they consume monetary resources, employ intelligent people and use the best technologies, resources which could be best used elsewhere, to benefit society.
While protection forces create jobs, they come at a price. Soldiers, police and others put themselves in harms way, facing physical and mental harm, even death.
Hollywood has made spies and espionage seem glamorous, yet some of these people face cruel inhumane abuses, torture and even death.
All for what? This is humanity? This is who we are? This is the best that we can be? Do we really need to live this way, paranoid and in fear of one another? Do we need to subject protection forces personnel to harm and danger simply because we can't get along?
Some say they need protection forces as a defense because they don't trust what other countries or people may do. Others say they need protection forces as an offence to mitigate potential threats or to help others.
As long as we remain in the quality of selfishness, we'll continue to harm others. This behaviour has to stop.
We need to change our internal qualities from selfishness to bestowal/love of others/altruism. We need to stop thinking about ourselves and start thinking about others.
We need to seek to benefit others instead of ourselves and when we do this, we'll stop harming others. We'll build trust between us and we won't need protection forces to protect us from each other. We'll live in harmony with each other and with all of nature.
The Good
There are many positive things about the protection forces that could be used to benefit society.
Soldiers, police and others undergo specialized training that teaches valuable skills such as disciple, dedication, commitment, resolve, endurance, teamwork etc.
They also learn leadership, organization, time management, strategy, foresight, planning, logistics, working with goals, achieving results etc.
These skills and traits could be very helpful if they're used to benefit society.
We need to change our internal qualities from selfishness to concern for others, and seek to benefit others instead of ourselves.
We are all one family and we have to start living as a family. We have to stop fighting and harming each other and start looking after each other in mutual concern and responsibility.
No disrespect is meant to veterans, military personnel, police personnel or other people who have risked and/or continue to risk their lives for the sake of others. Only love.
The Answer
The only battle we should be fighting is an internal battle with our internal qualities. Our internal qualities must change from selfishness to concern for others, we should seek to benefit others instead of ourselves.
Only God Himself can help us, protect us and change our internal qualities. As it's written, "... Allah is your protector, and He is the best of helpers." (Quran 3:150, Sahih)
We should live a life that's based on mutual responsibility, cooperation, collaboration, connection and trust. We are one family and we need to look after each other.
History has shown that empires come and empires go, and what is gained today is lost tomorrow. Jesus said, "... all who draw the sword will die by the sword." (Matthew 26:52, NIV)
However, there is one kingdom that will reign forever and that is God's kingdom. As it's written about Yeshua/Jesus/Isa, "... he will reign over Jacob's descendants forever; his kingdom will never end." (Luke 1:33, NIV)
Copyright © 2013, Carter Kagume. All Rights Reserved.
Sunday, July 28, 2013
The Kingdom of God is Within You
"... the kingdom of God is within you." (Luke 17:21, NKJV)
What does it mean the kingdom of God is within you?
It means your citizenship in the kingdom of God is determined by your internal qualities.
God is love and love is when you seek to benefit others instead of yourself. If you think of others instead of yourself, you're in God's quality and God's kingdom, the kingdom of God.
Your internal qualities determine your proximity to God.
If you're in the quality of selfishness, seeking to benefit yourself with no regard for others, then you're considered far from God.
If you're in the quality of bestowal/love of others/altruism, seeking to benefit others instead of yourself, then you're considered near to God.
We need to change our internal qualities from selfishness to bestowal/love of others. We need to return to the quality of bestowal, we need to return to God in quality. Then we'll be in the kingdom of God.
Copyright © 2013, Carter Kagume. All Rights Reserved.
What does it mean the kingdom of God is within you?
It means your citizenship in the kingdom of God is determined by your internal qualities.
God is love and love is when you seek to benefit others instead of yourself. If you think of others instead of yourself, you're in God's quality and God's kingdom, the kingdom of God.
Your internal qualities determine your proximity to God.
If you're in the quality of selfishness, seeking to benefit yourself with no regard for others, then you're considered far from God.
If you're in the quality of bestowal/love of others/altruism, seeking to benefit others instead of yourself, then you're considered near to God.
We need to change our internal qualities from selfishness to bestowal/love of others. We need to return to the quality of bestowal, we need to return to God in quality. Then we'll be in the kingdom of God.
Copyright © 2013, Carter Kagume. All Rights Reserved.
Everybody Has To Change
Each and every person has to change from the quality of selfishness to the quality of bestowal/love of others/altruism. We have to seek to benefit others instead of ourselves.
People Have To Change
Our very nature, our internal programming has to change. We're running on a program called selfishness, where everyone is seeking to benefit themselves.
We need to change our internal programming from selfishness to concern for others, where we seek to benefit others instead of ourselves.
The quality of selfishness has created the society we currently live in - crime, corruption, inequality, depression, loneliness, unhappiness etc.
If we focus our attention on changing society, then we'll be focusing on the symptoms instead of the root problem. The root problem is the quality of selfishness.
If our internal qualities change from selfishness to concern for others, then all the symptoms and problems in society will disappear.
Society is governed by people and it can't change unless we change. Once we change, then society will change because the way we govern it will change.
Everybody Has To Change
Everybody has to change - rich, poor, blacks, whites, tall, short, men, women, adults, children, everyone has to change. We all have to return to the quality of bestowal and seek to benefit others instead of ourselves.
As it is written, "... for they all shall know Me, from the least of them to the greatest of them ..." (Jeremiah 31:34, NKJV). It is also written, "For the earth will be filled with the knowledge of the glory of the LORD (YHVH) ..." (Habakkuk 2:14. NKJV)
Today there's a major discrepancy between the rich and the poor, and there's an expectation that rich people should do more to help poor people. And rightfully so.
However, we're all immersed in selfishness, rich people and poor people, everyone's seeking to benefit themselves. Internal qualities don't change once you become rich. People get rich by being selfish and they stay rich by being selfish.
The selfish behaviour that you see in rich people today exists in all of society. It's just more apparent in rich people because it's so obvious that they have the means to give.
However, even poor people are selfish because they wont' share a piece of bread with their neighbour.
We can't expect rich people to be in the quality of bestowal while the rest of us remain in the quality of selfishness. We all have to change our internal qualities and seek to benefit others instead of ourselves.
Once our internal qualities change from selfishness to concern for others, and we seek to benefit others instead of ourselves, then we'll become a part of a single family that's based on mutually responsibility. In this way, society will change.
Governments, businesses, organizations, schools and families don't run themselves, they're run by people. If people change, then these systems will change.
No Coercion
This change is about our internal qualities and nobody can force you to change. You have to want to change. There is no coercion.
Communism
Communism failed for a number of reasons.
First, the system (though altruistic), was imposed on the people. People have to be willing participants in any system.
Second, the people themselves didn't change, they remained in the quality of selfishness. So there was a disconnect between the quality of the system and the internal quality of the people.
Lastly, the people who implemented and ran the system were rooted in the quality of selfishness and the consequences of selfishness manifested in the system - greed, corruption, unfairness, inequality, etc.
Capitalism
Capitalism is based on people's free willing participation in the system. However, capitalism doesn't work for a number of reasons.
First, people are motivated by money and because they're entrenched in the quality of selfishness, they seek personal profit and gain at any cost, even if it means engaging in unethical and immoral behaviour that harms others.
Second, capitalism benefits the people who have the traits necessary to succeed in an environment that's motivated by money. The people who don't have those right traits live in poverty, which is why you see a huge discrepancy between the rich and the poor.
Lastly, capitalism reinforces individualism, which makes people feel isolated and alone and leads to unhappiness and depression. We're social creatures and we need to feel that we're a part of a family and a community.
Summary
We all have to change, each and every one of us. We have to change our internal qualities from selfishness (seeking to benefit ourselves) to bestowal (seeking to benefit others).
In this way we'll connect with each other in mutual concern and responsibility. This will make us feel like a cohesive family because we'll look after each other.
We're social creatures and connection makes us happy. We thrive in a safe, trusting environment. Let's create this new society for each other so we can all live in harmony.
Copyright © 2013, Carter Kagume. All Rights Reserved.
People Have To Change
Our very nature, our internal programming has to change. We're running on a program called selfishness, where everyone is seeking to benefit themselves.
We need to change our internal programming from selfishness to concern for others, where we seek to benefit others instead of ourselves.
The quality of selfishness has created the society we currently live in - crime, corruption, inequality, depression, loneliness, unhappiness etc.
If we focus our attention on changing society, then we'll be focusing on the symptoms instead of the root problem. The root problem is the quality of selfishness.
If our internal qualities change from selfishness to concern for others, then all the symptoms and problems in society will disappear.
Society is governed by people and it can't change unless we change. Once we change, then society will change because the way we govern it will change.
Everybody Has To Change
Everybody has to change - rich, poor, blacks, whites, tall, short, men, women, adults, children, everyone has to change. We all have to return to the quality of bestowal and seek to benefit others instead of ourselves.
As it is written, "... for they all shall know Me, from the least of them to the greatest of them ..." (Jeremiah 31:34, NKJV). It is also written, "For the earth will be filled with the knowledge of the glory of the LORD (YHVH) ..." (Habakkuk 2:14. NKJV)
Today there's a major discrepancy between the rich and the poor, and there's an expectation that rich people should do more to help poor people. And rightfully so.
However, we're all immersed in selfishness, rich people and poor people, everyone's seeking to benefit themselves. Internal qualities don't change once you become rich. People get rich by being selfish and they stay rich by being selfish.
The selfish behaviour that you see in rich people today exists in all of society. It's just more apparent in rich people because it's so obvious that they have the means to give.
However, even poor people are selfish because they wont' share a piece of bread with their neighbour.
We can't expect rich people to be in the quality of bestowal while the rest of us remain in the quality of selfishness. We all have to change our internal qualities and seek to benefit others instead of ourselves.
Once our internal qualities change from selfishness to concern for others, and we seek to benefit others instead of ourselves, then we'll become a part of a single family that's based on mutually responsibility. In this way, society will change.
Governments, businesses, organizations, schools and families don't run themselves, they're run by people. If people change, then these systems will change.
No Coercion
This change is about our internal qualities and nobody can force you to change. You have to want to change. There is no coercion.
Communism
Communism failed for a number of reasons.
First, the system (though altruistic), was imposed on the people. People have to be willing participants in any system.
Second, the people themselves didn't change, they remained in the quality of selfishness. So there was a disconnect between the quality of the system and the internal quality of the people.
Lastly, the people who implemented and ran the system were rooted in the quality of selfishness and the consequences of selfishness manifested in the system - greed, corruption, unfairness, inequality, etc.
Capitalism
Capitalism is based on people's free willing participation in the system. However, capitalism doesn't work for a number of reasons.
First, people are motivated by money and because they're entrenched in the quality of selfishness, they seek personal profit and gain at any cost, even if it means engaging in unethical and immoral behaviour that harms others.
Second, capitalism benefits the people who have the traits necessary to succeed in an environment that's motivated by money. The people who don't have those right traits live in poverty, which is why you see a huge discrepancy between the rich and the poor.
Lastly, capitalism reinforces individualism, which makes people feel isolated and alone and leads to unhappiness and depression. We're social creatures and we need to feel that we're a part of a family and a community.
Summary
We all have to change, each and every one of us. We have to change our internal qualities from selfishness (seeking to benefit ourselves) to bestowal (seeking to benefit others).
In this way we'll connect with each other in mutual concern and responsibility. This will make us feel like a cohesive family because we'll look after each other.
We're social creatures and connection makes us happy. We thrive in a safe, trusting environment. Let's create this new society for each other so we can all live in harmony.
Copyright © 2013, Carter Kagume. All Rights Reserved.
Saturday, July 27, 2013
Israel And The Arab Nations Are Brothers
The world is one family.
One of the more prominent conflicts you see in the world today is the conflict between Israel and the Arab Nations, yet they're both brothers with many similarities:
Copyright © 2013, Carter Kagume. All Rights Reserved.
One of the more prominent conflicts you see in the world today is the conflict between Israel and the Arab Nations, yet they're both brothers with many similarities:
- They have a similar language. Both Hebrew and Arabic are written from right to left and share many similar words.
- Abraham is a patriarch in Judaism and Islam.
- Judaism and Islam are both monotheistic religions, they both believe in One God.
- Jerusalem is a holy place for both nations
- In The Bible, The Torah was given to Moses, The Psalms were given to King David and there were many prophets in the land of Israel. The message of The Quran was given to The Prophet Muhammad (pbuh) and it is intimately tied to the message that was given to the Jewish people through The Scriptures. If I were to guess, I'd say about 70% of the people mentioned in The Quran are Jewish, for example, Moses, David etc.
- There are many other similarities.
Copyright © 2013, Carter Kagume. All Rights Reserved.
God Broke, It's Our Job To Fix Him
What does it mean God broke? God Himself didn't break, but our connection with Him broke.
Our internal qualities changed from the quality of bestowal/love of others/altruism and we fell into the quality of selfishness. Now we think only of ourselves, with no regard for others.
As such we became separated from God in quality because God is the quality of love (seeking to benefit others) and we're immersed in the quality of selfishness (seeking to benefit ourselves).
There's a famous English nursery rhyme:
Humpty Dumpty sat on a wall,
Humpty Dumpty had a great fall.
All the King's horses and all the King's men
Couldn't put Humpty together again.
Our connection with God broke, and it's our job to fix it. As the nursery rhyme suggests, people have been trying to fix it for a long time and haven't been successful.
Well, times have changed.
Now we can finally fix our broken connection with God by exiting the quality of selfishness and returning to the quality of bestowal. We have to seek to benefit others instead of ourselves.
When our quality becomes similar to God's quality, we'll be reunited with Him. We'll return to God in quality and fix the broken connection.
We'll put Humpty back together again and the nursery rhyme will be:
Humpty Dumpty sat on a wall,
Humpty Dumpty had a great fall.
All the King's horses and all the King's men
Lovingly put Humpty together again.
Copyright © 2013, Carter Kagume. All Rights Reserved.
Our internal qualities changed from the quality of bestowal/love of others/altruism and we fell into the quality of selfishness. Now we think only of ourselves, with no regard for others.
As such we became separated from God in quality because God is the quality of love (seeking to benefit others) and we're immersed in the quality of selfishness (seeking to benefit ourselves).
There's a famous English nursery rhyme:
Humpty Dumpty sat on a wall,
Humpty Dumpty had a great fall.
All the King's horses and all the King's men
Couldn't put Humpty together again.
Our connection with God broke, and it's our job to fix it. As the nursery rhyme suggests, people have been trying to fix it for a long time and haven't been successful.
Well, times have changed.
Now we can finally fix our broken connection with God by exiting the quality of selfishness and returning to the quality of bestowal. We have to seek to benefit others instead of ourselves.
When our quality becomes similar to God's quality, we'll be reunited with Him. We'll return to God in quality and fix the broken connection.
We'll put Humpty back together again and the nursery rhyme will be:
Humpty Dumpty sat on a wall,
Humpty Dumpty had a great fall.
All the King's horses and all the King's men
Lovingly put Humpty together again.
Copyright © 2013, Carter Kagume. All Rights Reserved.
Friday, July 26, 2013
A new Motivator - Benefiting Society
Today, society is motivated by money. However, this strategy is flawed in many ways. We need a new motivator, how much we benefit society.
Motivated By Money
Today, people and business are motivated by money.
Also, we're entrenched in selfishness, which means we think only of ourselves with no regard for others. Selfishness leads to immoral behaviour such as theft, fraud, corruption etc., which ultimately harms people and the environment.
These two elements, being motivated by money and being entrenched in selfishness, leads to the toxic behaviour you see in some people and in some businesses today.
Toxic Business Practices
CEOs and managers are motivated to make profit because it affects their compensation and the share price of their companies. As such, corporate strategies are focused on increasing prices and decreasing costs.
Companies do everything they can to increase profits, leading to unfair practices, immoral behaviour, corporate theft and crime. Here are some examples of what some companies do to make more money:
Companies, motivated by money, engage in harmful, destructive and immoral behaviour and everyone (suppliers, employees, customers, the environment and all of society) suffers as a result.
Companies need to seek to benefit others instead of themselves and change their ways in order to have a positive impact on their suppliers, employees, customers, the environment and all of society as a whole.
Corporate Theft and Criminal Behaviour Has To End
Some companies have gotten really good at justifying their theft and other criminal behaviour:
An Unfair Advantage
It takes a certain kind of personality, a person with specific traits, to succeed in an environment that's motivated by money. The person has to be aggressive, competitive, driven, shrewd, intelligent, resilient, talented etc.
People who have those traits have an unfair advantage because they have exactly what it takes to succeed. People who don't have those traits are penalized unfairly - some never achieve any success so they live in abject poverty, an undignified standard of living.
Imagine if we set a different standard, that in order to succeed, you'd have to be able to dunk a basketball. People who are tall, athletic and competitive would have an unfair advantage because they'd have the traits to succeed. It doesn't matter how much I practice or train, I'd never be as good as them.
In this way, our current society rewards people who have the traits to succeed in an environment that is motivated by money. Not everyone has those traits, only a few people do.
As a result, you see a huge discrepancies in society between the rich and the poor, between the people who have the traits to succeed and the people who don't.
This inequality is very unfair because the people who have the traits to succeed have an unfair advantage over others.
A New Motivator - Benefiting Society
People who are aggressive, competitive, driven, shrewd, intelligent, talented etc., will remain that way, except they'll use their personal traits to benefit others instead of themselves.
In this way, they'll live up to their true personal potential - they'll have a positive impact on people and a greater impact on the world. As a result, society will reward them respectively.
If we seek to benefit others instead of ourselves, and if we become genuinely concerned for the well-being of society, business practices will also change.
Motivated By Money
Today, people and business are motivated by money.
Also, we're entrenched in selfishness, which means we think only of ourselves with no regard for others. Selfishness leads to immoral behaviour such as theft, fraud, corruption etc., which ultimately harms people and the environment.
These two elements, being motivated by money and being entrenched in selfishness, leads to the toxic behaviour you see in some people and in some businesses today.
Toxic Business Practices
CEOs and managers are motivated to make profit because it affects their compensation and the share price of their companies. As such, corporate strategies are focused on increasing prices and decreasing costs.
Companies do everything they can to increase profits, leading to unfair practices, immoral behaviour, corporate theft and crime. Here are some examples of what some companies do to make more money:
- Goods and services are overpriced because they move through a supply chain in order to reach the end customer. Each step along the supply chain seeks to maximize profits and as a result, the end price to consumers is unfairly high. (If companies seek to benefit others, goods and services will be priced just above cost because companies won't be motivated to maximize profits.)
- Some companies use activation fees, cancellation fees and other hidden fees and charges. (If companies seek to benefit others, fees based on exploiting others will disappear.)
- Some companies expect customers to give a 30 days notice to cancel a service, even if the customer won't be there to use the service. (If companies seek to benefit others, practices that exploit others will disappear.)
- Some companies make it difficult to terminate services, so charges keep appearing on credit card statements. (If companies seek to benefit others, practices that take advantage of others will disappear.)
- Some companies engage in usury, unfairly high interest rates. (If companies seek to benefit others, harmful practices will disappear.)
- Some companies use unfair contracts, locking suppliers and customers into unfair business arrangements. (If companies seek to benefit others, all trade will be fair.)
- Some companies use complicated contractual language that only lawyers can understand. How are you supposed to know what you're signing if you can't understand the language? (If companies seek to benefit others, contracts will be clear, simple, easy to understand and fair.)
- Some companies impose unfair penalties for breach of contract, even if the reasons for ending the contract were unforeseen, unavoidable and couldn't be prevented. (If companies seek to benefit others, business practices will be based on compassion and understanding.)
- Some companies use fine print, which nobody reads, to explains terms and conditions. (If companies seek to benefit others, underhanded practices will disappear.)
- Some companies set unfair quotas for their employees, expecting their employees to maximize profits and/or decrease costs, even if it means harming people in the process. (If companies seek to benefit others, their practices will be considerate of their suppliers, employees, customers, the environment and society as a whole.)
- Some companies pay their suppliers late because instead of paying suppliers, the money sits in the company's bank accruing interest. (If companies seek to benefit others, all payments will be made fairly and in a timely manner.)
- Some companies compromise on safety standards, potentially harming suppliers, employees, customers and the environment. (If companies seek to benefit others, all standards will be based on safety and quality.)
- Some companies intentionally create products that break, so customers have to replace them often. Others create services that require repeat visits, expecting the customer to pay each time. (If companies seek to benefit others, products will be built to last and services will provide permanent solutions.)
- Some companies engage in manipulative and fraudulent marketing practices. (If companies seek to benefit others, fraud and manipulation will disappear.)
- Some companies even perform a cost-benefit analysis and calculate the cost of human life. They calculate how much they'd pay if somebody was harmed or killed versus how much they'd profit. If there's a profit to be made, they proceed, even if they know some people will be injured or killed. (If companies seek to benefit others, this type of criminal behaviour will disappear.)
- etc.
- Some companies put pressure on their suppliers to decrease costs, potentially compromising the quality of goods and services. (If companies seek to benefit others, relationships with suppliers will be fair and equitable.)
- Some companies decrease the cost of their own labour by seeking cheap labour elsewhere (resulting in local job-loss), by decreasing staff (resulting in lay-offs and reduced hiring practices), by decreasing benefits to staff, by expecting staff to work longer hours and over-time (potentially resulting in over-worked and over-tired employees who are prone to accidents and mistakes) etc. (If companies seek to benefit others, relationships with employees will be harmonious.)
- Some companies seek to decrease the cost of their own materials, potentially compromising safety and quality. (If companies seek to benefit others, they will ensure their products and services are safe and of the highest quality.)
- etc.
Companies, motivated by money, engage in harmful, destructive and immoral behaviour and everyone (suppliers, employees, customers, the environment and all of society) suffers as a result.
Companies need to seek to benefit others instead of themselves and change their ways in order to have a positive impact on their suppliers, employees, customers, the environment and all of society as a whole.
Corporate Theft and Criminal Behaviour Has To End
Some companies have gotten really good at justifying their theft and other criminal behaviour:
- Some companies incorporate theft and other criminal behaviour into their policies, then defend their policies as if it's the law. I may have a policy to take $5 out of Trent's pocket every Tuesday at 5pm, but that doesn't make it right. Just because a company incorporates theft and criminal behaviour into their policy, doesn't make it right.
- Some companies notify you in advance of their theft and other criminal behaviour. They put it right in front of you: in the fine print, in an email notice, in a bill, a contract etc. They justify their behaviour by explaining that you were notified in advance, that you were given the information and that it's your fault for not reading it. I may give Trent a note telling him that I'll take $5 out of his pocket every Tuesday at 5pm, but just because I've informed him in advance, doesn't make it right. Just because a company notifies you in advance that they're going to steal from you, doesn't make it right.
- Some companies justify their theft and other criminal behaviour by explaining that they're trying to run a company. This is a poor excuse. You can run a company without stealing from and harming your suppliers, employees, customers and the environment.
- Some companies defend their theft and other criminal behaviour by explaining that it's an industry standard and that other companies are doing the same. Another poor excuse. Theft is theft, and criminal behaviour is criminal behaviour, even if everyone's engaging in it.
- etc.
An Unfair Advantage
It takes a certain kind of personality, a person with specific traits, to succeed in an environment that's motivated by money. The person has to be aggressive, competitive, driven, shrewd, intelligent, resilient, talented etc.
People who have those traits have an unfair advantage because they have exactly what it takes to succeed. People who don't have those traits are penalized unfairly - some never achieve any success so they live in abject poverty, an undignified standard of living.
Imagine if we set a different standard, that in order to succeed, you'd have to be able to dunk a basketball. People who are tall, athletic and competitive would have an unfair advantage because they'd have the traits to succeed. It doesn't matter how much I practice or train, I'd never be as good as them.
In this way, our current society rewards people who have the traits to succeed in an environment that is motivated by money. Not everyone has those traits, only a few people do.
As a result, you see a huge discrepancies in society between the rich and the poor, between the people who have the traits to succeed and the people who don't.
This inequality is very unfair because the people who have the traits to succeed have an unfair advantage over others.
A New Motivator - Benefiting Society
We need a new motivator: how much we benefit society, how much we contribute to the well-being of society. This motivator will be inclusive (benefiting everyone) instead of exclusive (benefiting a few).
If we change our ways from selfishness to concern for others, and we seek to benefit others instead of ourselves, we'll be motivated to benefit society and our reward structure will also change.
Society will reward people who benefit others by giving them praise and genuine appreciation. Those who do the most for society will be rewarded the most.
Instead of being motivate by money, we'll be motivated by how much we benefit society. Instead of being rewarded by money, we'll be rewarded by genuine praise and appreciation from society.
Instead of being motivate by money, we'll be motivated by how much we benefit society. Instead of being rewarded by money, we'll be rewarded by genuine praise and appreciation from society.
People who are aggressive, competitive, driven, shrewd, intelligent, talented etc., will remain that way, except they'll use their personal traits to benefit others instead of themselves.
In this way, they'll live up to their true personal potential - they'll have a positive impact on people and a greater impact on the world. As a result, society will reward them respectively.
If we seek to benefit others instead of ourselves, and if we become genuinely concerned for the well-being of society, business practices will also change.
All unnecessary and redundant goods and services that now exist solely to make money, will disappear.
Society will focus only on those goods and services that meet the basic necessities for life - food, water, housing, clothing, education and health care.
Goods and services will become affordable, priced just above cost because companies will no longer seek to maximize profits.
Companies will develop harmonious relationships with suppliers, employees, customers and the environment.
Summary
We need to change our ways from selfishness to mutual responsibility. We need to seek to benefit others instead of ourselves and become genuinely concerned for the well-being of others.
We need to stop being motivated and rewarded by money and start being motivated and reward by how much we benefit society.
In this way we'll develop harmonious relationships with one another and with nature.
Copyright © 2013, Carter Kagume. All Rights Reserved.
Thursday, July 25, 2013
We Need To Build Trust Between Us
The quality of selfishness is when people seek to benefit themselves and have no regard for others. People do whatever it takes to win, gain and profit, even at other people's expense.
The consequences of selfishness are obvious in our society. Our families are falling apart, our educational systems are failing, business practices are fraudulent, our governments are corrupt, the environment is polluted and the quality of society has deteriorated.
Our selfish behaviour has led to a lack of trust between us, and a lack of trust has led to our need to protect ourselves from each other:
- military forces protect our countries
- police forces protect our citizens
- keys to our houses, cars and other belongings protect our possessions
- passwords protect our accounts
- bars on windows, gated communities, padlocks, locks, etc.
Living this way creates tension, fear and unhappiness. It takes our time, energy, effort and money. It's exhausting and it's stressful.
We have to change our ways. We have to leave the quality of selfishness and enter the quality of concern for others. We need to seek to benefit others instead of ourselves.
If you're concerned about your neighbour's well-being, and you're doing everything you can to benefit them, you're not going to steal from them, exploit them or harm them in any way.
Your neighbour will automatically trust you because they'll see that you're seeking to benefit them. Also, your neighbour will seek to benefit you and you'll automatically trust them.
In this way, the relationship between us will change and we'll trust each other completely.
If we trust each other, we won't need to protect ourselves from each other. As such, society will change:
- military forces will disappear
- police forces will disappear
- we won't need keys for our doors, cars or other belongings
- we won't need passwords for our accounts
- no bars on our windows, no gated communities, no padlocks, no locks etc.
The whole world is one family and we need to start behaving like one family. We need to change our ways, from selfishness to concern for others.
We need to seek to benefit others instead of ourselves, and as such, build trust between us. If we trust each other, we'll live in harmony with each another and we'll be happy.
Copyright © 2013, Carter Kagume. All Rights Reserved.
The consequences of selfishness are obvious in our society. Our families are falling apart, our educational systems are failing, business practices are fraudulent, our governments are corrupt, the environment is polluted and the quality of society has deteriorated.
Our selfish behaviour has led to a lack of trust between us, and a lack of trust has led to our need to protect ourselves from each other:
- military forces protect our countries
- police forces protect our citizens
- keys to our houses, cars and other belongings protect our possessions
- passwords protect our accounts
- bars on windows, gated communities, padlocks, locks, etc.
Living this way creates tension, fear and unhappiness. It takes our time, energy, effort and money. It's exhausting and it's stressful.
We have to change our ways. We have to leave the quality of selfishness and enter the quality of concern for others. We need to seek to benefit others instead of ourselves.
If you're concerned about your neighbour's well-being, and you're doing everything you can to benefit them, you're not going to steal from them, exploit them or harm them in any way.
Your neighbour will automatically trust you because they'll see that you're seeking to benefit them. Also, your neighbour will seek to benefit you and you'll automatically trust them.
In this way, the relationship between us will change and we'll trust each other completely.
If we trust each other, we won't need to protect ourselves from each other. As such, society will change:
- military forces will disappear
- police forces will disappear
- we won't need keys for our doors, cars or other belongings
- we won't need passwords for our accounts
- no bars on our windows, no gated communities, no padlocks, no locks etc.
The whole world is one family and we need to start behaving like one family. We need to change our ways, from selfishness to concern for others.
We need to seek to benefit others instead of ourselves, and as such, build trust between us. If we trust each other, we'll live in harmony with each another and we'll be happy.
Copyright © 2013, Carter Kagume. All Rights Reserved.
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