The first and second parts of this article were published last month. This installment is focused on the theme of "Awakening the senses."

The golden slumber

It is a giant, numbing society. Filled with the synthetic juice to direct all to consume unrequired comforts. Restricting an elevated motion. Instead, shepherding the middle and lower classes towards a passive flow. A circular shape revisiting familiar frustrations, inescapable irritations, and draining the inner drive. As though they are trapped at the airport watching the same suitcases motioning on a conveyor belt. A surrounding sounding the same whereby everyone wants to look the same. Encouraging everyone to consume what everyone else is devouring regardless of quality.

All suppressing their madness with the rationale they are blessed to be pampered. Its logic derived from fear. Not merely of being denied whatever they want, however they desire it, and whenever they need it. But truly afraid of revealing their lunacy. Terrified of trotting out their darkness because of an acknowledgement based on the stipulated terms and conditions. A quid pro quo of keeping calm and carrying on in exchange for unrequired comforts. Discussions of how they are quietly suffering from the mundane, how their loved ones are struggling to cope with the pressures of the day, how the injustices plaguing the existence of those around them, the vanishing of common sense, the deterioration of morals and ethics, the corrupt nature of their leaders, and the mutation of nature, all in front of their eyes, are suppressed under the trash funnelled through traditional and social media. Inculcated through promoting the inconsequential.

All servicing the greater good of the Untouchable Elite. To distract the masses with empty events that don’t nourish the soul. That doesn’t stimulate the senses beyond the exploration of the 3 Fs. A strategy so simple in its execution there is no wonder why there is an animosity that lives in permanence. A hatred directed at the disappointment from others for their failure to unite, act, and evolve beyond this imposed limitation. You can hear the idiocy from those who speak for their deep attraction to fame, their salivating thirst for fortune, and their blinded taste for junk. They reek from this pampering. Their juvenile stench lingers like a baby’s diaper. They are unashamed as to how empty they feel. A complete disregard for their ancestors. Those who sought the love of knowledge. Those who enjoyed treating their senses with quality. Those who championed building off one another in the pursuit of a greater understanding.

The Golden Slumber is an era where hedonism is paced with an unrelenting immediacy. Bingeing for pleasure to quell the aches and pains. Pursuing the trend of branding their identity to place their values and beliefs up for sale. The Golden Slumber is artificial but abundant. It exists through those who choose to float without reflecting in the stream. Shielding themselves from the chaos all around them. Ignoring the nano, micro, and macro injustices enveloping their spirit and surroundings. You do not need me to offer you a concrete example. Read back the sentence before last and reflect. Count how many injustices you could think of in a minute and ask yourself what the amount you would be willing to accept is. None is the only answer. Only a zero-tolerance policy will help you reach the truth. The problem remains that the longer the middle and lower classes dull their senses, the more difficult it is to break above and beyond the limitation.

The familiarity is contagious. A silent and deadly virus killing the collective’s faith in humanity. It is incumbent on those who recognise this humanicide to invite those who smell that there’s something fishy going on. Who hears that people don’t sound altogether? Who spit out the junk, leaving a sour taste in their mouth? Who can see that the landscape is decaying? Who feel an urgency to reclaim humanity from the ideology of the Untouchable Elite. Let us awaken those from this Golden Slumber. Let us attack their senses by adhering to the values and principles from which there is a mutual understanding. To create an alternative society where we replace the artificial limitations and are guided by our natural fundamental human rights.

The space invaders

Landscapes are bound to breed rebels. Contrarians who want to invade the peaceful setting with their noise. A desire to douse rooms with nastiness, to spray streets with putrid filth, to flip the peaceful disposition of our world into chaos. The trolls, scammers, liars, hypocrites, and corrupt are attached to their ego. They take sinister delight in delivering discomforts. Utilising social media as their preferred playground because they feel a degree of security given the distance. The internet’s noble concept of connecting people, sharing thoughts, ideas, discussions, resources, and information for the sake of pursuing knowledge is polluted. A clear directive to litter it with a campaign aimed at restricting people to focus solely on the 3 Fs.

Every application, once popular, is inundated with get-rich-quick promotions. Easy tips to gain followers to promote the individual’s brand. And artificial pornography luring souls to quell their loneliness with immediacy. What is obvious but often overlooked is that all social media and dating applications aren’t offering what they advertise. They don’t want all of you to be rich, to have fame, and to find sexual fulfilment. They want to starve you and give you hope of reaching the 3-Fs. The Untouchable Elite assign their minions to dangle that carrot all the while knowing they will never fully give it up to a majority. They will feed that carrot to a few and recruit them to be walking billboards. Case studies and testimonials proclaiming that you, the sleepwalking middle and lower classes, can be an Untouchable Elite minion too. You too can win in this limited game in the Untouchable Elite’s sandbox.

Social media has invaded our space to the detriment of independent thought and mental well-being. So much so that the “poor,” the lowest of the lowest class, are affected by the glamorisation perpetuated by everyone above them. Whereby they passive-aggressively act out by seeking the middle and lower classes and giving them a taste of their deplorable living situations. The poor want you to smell how bad it is for them. They will invade your spaces in vinegar sweat-soaked t-shirts and allow their unwashed fragrance to destabilise your senses. Unfortunately, no one cares about the poor, and they feel it every day. They are the disregarded and yet essential to preserve the pampered lifestyle of the lower, middle, and Untouchable Elite.

I have witnessed it in every country I have visited and tested this theory. I would wear a blazer and give off the appearance that I belong to the middle class. But in truth, I would categorise my economic standing as middle lower class. I cannot afford $500 dinners, but I have an office job. I sit among the middle class and commute with some of the poor. So, when I ride the metro in a clean blazer presenting an image that I am not what I represent, I attract the passive aggressiveness. The poor would stand close to me in the metro when there is ample room in the carriage to stand anywhere else. And this occurs all the time, and, in every instance, without wasting any time, I would direct them to stand in the empty spaces. And they respect the instruction without acknowledging me in the eye. Because they know what they are doing, and I smile because the pattern is consistent. They invade the space because they are fed up with not having room to breathe.

Traditional and social media infest the landscape with desires that are inconsequential to the natural fundamentals which people want to champion. All the values stated in Part 1 (goodness, clear communication, understanding, authenticity, trust, justice, truth, respect, love, and peace) are the actual nourishment. Peace being the ultimate carrot. Instead, our consumption is toxic and endangering our collective health. The anger, animosity, hostility, and disregard have colonised society. We do not practice goodness because of the high probability that the outcome is futile. We do not exercise good speech because the nasty talkers aren’t held accountable. Therefore, we are living in spaces where we choose not to understand each other.

Thankfully, Allah (or whatever name you choose to attribute to the highest power) has created this planet wide enough for you to find a tranquil space. To operate and invite all those who will never sell their values. Their price is their life. They are the fighters who will slip but stand right back up. They are those who want you to remind them, should their ego get carried away, to recentre and balance the fragile sensitivity of their being. To remind them that you are on the same page, that you share the same sentiment, and want to live within a mutual understanding. And expand that sphere of mutual understanding. Because you have no doubt that the path to the Home of Peace begins with you accepting inner peace. It is the only way for you to walk beside those who have acknowledged their mortality. Those who have detached themselves from the nano and micro absurdities and nonsensical frustrations that wish to invade the space. And those who believe that, in this life and the next, peace embodies the juiciest of all the carrots.

The unboxing effect

The unboxing refers to existence. We are born with an avalanche of boxes crowding our space. The senses spiking from all the optical, oratory, fragrant, tactile, and palatable delights bestowed by Allah (again, replace the name with one that you identify as the All-Mighty power). It is overwhelming but manageable through discipline. To have the asceticism in practicing the goodness and applying clear communication. Establishing an understanding to be trustworthy. Seeking justice in pursuit of the truth. Being respectful with the will to love.

All to pave a way towards the ultimate undeniable want: peace. The unboxing starts with the self and is relayed onto those with whom you have formed a meaningful connection. If you should so choose, you can extend the courtesy to colleagues, first-time interactions, tourists, one-time visitors, your community, district, city, country, region, and world. The skill lies in articulation and recognition. Having the ability to accurately communicate and recognise that not everyone’s senses are ready to receive what you desire to unbox.

This is where new-age terms such as trauma dumping, love bombing, toxic positivity, and other trendy phrases have been approved to be employed in social settings. It’s an articulation to signal a resistance to witness the unboxing. It also could be a signal that the unboxing is careless in its unveiling. Due to the intensity attributed to nostalgia. The nostalgic box has desired, unwanted, and unwarranted items that attach themselves viciously to the ego. This attachment stems from the traumas suffered during childhood, resurfaced during adolescence, and revisited in adulthood.

Usually, leading the self towards a destructive path. Coping mechanisms, encouraged by society, only place a wet plaster on the problem. The optimal way to no longer be affected as intensely by nostalgia is to detach completely. By calibrating the mind to acknowledge, embrace, and let go of all the shame and grief that occurred prior to this moment. Once you have established a surer footing, you are able to look back on your nostalgia. To visit it where you set it free and no longer feel as intensely as you did back when you were deeply attached to it.

You are probably craving a concrete example at this point. I shall offer one in the three stages I mentioned. Children who suffer in their parents’ divorce. In addition to witnessing their despise and hatred for one another during the first phase, the children are in attendance, soaking in the meltdown of each parent. Viewing how their characters handle a rupture. In my case, the prolonged animosity delivered a frailty whereby I sought isolation. In one instance, my mother being comforted by my younger brother in the living room, I took the decision to retire to my room before 8 pm. I wished my mother a good night. Turned away, and my motion halted by a yell. A phrase that will never escape me: “You are leaving me too!” As a 14-year-old, the guilt forced me into acting in an unknown landscape.

A territory not covered in the French school textbooks. I reassured her and comforted her tears by gently fibbing that I wanted to sleep. Obviously, I simply wanted to escape the tension rather than confront it. That memory, among numerous others involving all my family members, friends, lovers, and colleagues, triggered a desire to forget. In adolescence, I had the coping mechanism of alcohol and hash. And in adulthood, I became attached to forgetting through abusing those substances. The path resulted in an obsession to destroy my mind. But through a divine act and a reaffirmation of being attached to what I value. The 9 core values that guide me to the tenth. I have acquired the discipline to choose and want to be constructive. To fight in the escalation towards the Home of Peace. Aided by the best of friends and many teachers, brothers, sisters, aunts, uncles, and accountants (those who hold me accountable) along the way. I have accepted that I am a perpetual student learning to minimise the blow from the slips and lessen the intensity of nostalgia.

In the present social landscape, I am repeatedly receiving confirmations that people are not disciplined enough to control their destructive attachments. The middle and lower classes are not ready to construct a path to the unknown. I do not fault them given the mechanism of distractions enforced by the Untouchable Elite. But some of the blame should be bestowed on the victims and on myself. For our inability to clearly communicate that we adore being good, that we cherish being understood, and desire to be trusted. That we love to be just and thirst for the truth. That we want to earn respect and spread the love.

To find peace within by untangling the cluttering of our past. By simply stating, “It happened, and I will make sure that if it happens again, I will not crumble into the destructive abyss.” To be attached to what we value. No matter how difficult the circumstances might be, for it will lead us to the undeniable and truest of wants. And you will realise that all the boxes still invading your space won’t be as valuable. You won’t label them as urgent or give them a life-or-death attribution. You will have the peace of mind, the clarity, the conviction, and the confidence to know when, what, and whom to unbox. It is in that instance when you are saying without verbalising that you are inviting them to unbox too. To strengthen and expand the mutual sphere of understanding. To unbox and display your effort. All of it as a case study and testimony of the work you’ve done to carry on and fight on.

The sixth sense

Intuition, insight, and deeper awareness are the components of the sixth sense that are pertinent for this manuscript. To awaken the sixth, the openness to interpret and articulate an understanding of the five senses must be established and active. It’s a fostering of an ability to read between the lines, to hear what is being said but not verbalise, to assess and translate what is being touched, to identify manure’s aroma, and to be knowledgeable of what the vessel is tasting. Again I admit, manure’s aroma is an unnecessarily abstract way of simply saying bullshit. If your senses are tuned to a frequency where they can uncover camouflaged deceptions, lies, frauds, and scams, then it is possible to trust your intuition and achieve insights leading to a deeper awareness. Doubt and insufficient knowledge limit the trust.

Through disciplined practice and an openness to accurately analyse experiences, doubt will be minimized. To reach a plateau of undeniability within the application of your sixth sense, you must calibrate to determine what is real and fake. What is profound and shallow? What is valuable and inconsequential? Questioning: Why am I entrenched in a pull towards the empty? Why am I stuck in the junkyard of absurdities? Why am I not pushing the rubble obstructing my motion? Attaining a deeper awareness that is unquestionable can only be accomplished with a mature acceptance.

That the first step of existence begins with the love for the pursuit of knowledge. Understanding how to apply everything that is within and all around us. Trusting that the Creator has bestowed upon us the totality. All the natural fundamentals guiding us to attain our most beautiful selves. I often wonder what society could feel like if the collective mastered the sixth sense. I picture the calming piano keys resonating in our minds. Gazing at a natural landscape, whispering relief to our spirit.

Breathing the cleanest air, tasting the sweetest of the mend, and feeling at peace. I would like to know what this unknown would look like in your mind. Would you share this sentiment or fight me on it? I implore you to explore. Push beyond the limitations and adapt to a newfound land. And then continue to explore until we are together discovering the nature of peace. Then let us again explore some more on how to construct in that unknown state of mind. To build, cultivate, nourish, and hold each other accountable in this alternative sandbox.

The campaign strategy

I will outline a draft intended on awakening the senses of the middle and lower classes to reclaim their faith in humanity and collectively pursue a path to peace. Only through an overwhelming force by outnumbering and presenting a unified front in terms of values, principles, morals, and ethics will this initiative topple the existing hierarchy. A structure designed by the Untouchable Elite to enrich themselves and impoverish everyone else. Their method of dulling the senses through the limitation of the 3-Fs will be vanquished. Given they are in control and outlined the settings of this game, it is only fair that we adhere to their rules.

Acknowledging that it is they who want a binary landscape. It’s black or white. “With us or against us.” Whereas those who agree with the sentiment outlined in this manuscript want to live in the grey. Where peace lives in the acceptance, understanding, and application of nuance. To be victorious, we must rise above their juvenile tactics, limited thinking, and their brutish methods. Making more of an effort to cleanse the land of their corrupt, hypocritical, and destructive inclinations. The collective’s (middle and lower classes, and poor) propaganda must be richer in quality and attacking the senses.

First to generate an awareness, then to condition the souls through consistency, and finally a call to take on their arms and fight. Through the inculcation of the 9 values listed in this manuscript, we will attain the tenth. It requires a gargantuan collective effort made easy if the soldiers in this fight are consistent in their delivery and engage in battle with the confidence in their field of expertise. The more souls who experience an awakening from the Golden Slumber, the more likely it will be accomplished. The battleground takes place in the landscape of traditional and social media. The influence will lead to an anticipated resistance engineered by the Untouchable Elite.

The first wave will be weighted and forceful. But will weaken steadily and gradually. Because the collective won’t be bought. The collective does not put up “for sale” signs. The collective will not disappear because the 9 values are embedded at the forefront of their nature. Once the waves are puddles and eventually evaporate, there will be policy shifts from lawmakers who are trustworthy and just. The Untouchable Elite will be replaced with the Respectable. Those who preach goodness, clear communication, understanding, authenticity, trust, justice, truth, respect, love, and peace.

The propaganda to influence the walking asleep (middle and lower classes and the poor) takes the form of films and documentaries, music and poetry, visual arts, podcasts and audiobooks, soundscapes, interactive installations, workshops and activities, wearable messages, aromatherapy and scents, cultural experiences, thematic restaurants and coffee & tea shops, ethical sourcing, recipes for change, nature integration, and much more. All in the spirit of improving well-being and sustainability, fostering a deeper understanding and appreciation, increasing awareness and knowledge, connecting emotionally and empathetically, and creating a path to discover the great unknown (peace).

The methodology must be structured, but the application requires spontaneity. The element of surprise and the relentless will be too overwhelming for the Untouchable Elite to resist. I must stress that I do not have in mind all the propaganda initiatives, for they take on varying shapes and platforms depending on the array of the collective’s expertise and the situational context of the battles. But the collective’s initiatives will have to penetrate the senses to have hope for success. And evoke an organic pull. To be aligned on the sentiment of wanting to construct a path to peace.

Conclusion

I have composed a reminder. A recollection of what we value. This is an outline of my perception of the present social landscape. And an invitation to those who share the sentiment to build on this draft. To challenge the discourse. To disagree with the articulation and method. To be constructive. To garner momentum and motion. To reflect, discuss, and act. I am taking this step and extending a hand for those to use their skills of expertise. To assist in the paving of our mutually desired path. To live in this sphere of mutual understanding. To lead by example and encourage all to walk alongside. To consistently make the effort and prioritise our will to achieve and realise the unknown. And experience what peace feels like. Imagining the nature of our breakthroughs and accomplishments. How they would look, sound, feel, taste, and smell. What it would be like for the collective to be at peace and for our world to function during that time.

The possibilities are enticing. To the sons and daughters of the collective, let us go then, you and I. Let us fight to reclaim our faith in humanity. Let us remind each other of our values when we spike and lose sight. Let us slip and pick ourselves off the floor. And should we fall deeper in a hole that is too steep to climb out. Let us jump in with you because we have a map that will guide us both out. And let us make this existence worthy. This is our dearest urgency. To accept the invitation to the Home of Peace.