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Creating a Great Culture – Part I By Richard Kieninger Introduction In the latter part of 1973,
my Teacher John instructed me to build another community in Texas,
reinforcing my Teacher James’ earlier similar instruction. The purposes of
this additional community are to assist in the tasks of disseminating
Brotherhood information; to help build the Island of Philadelphia; to create
an environment where members can practice the teachings of the Brotherhoods
in a democratic setting while minimizing negative outside influences; to
preserve technology and establish a highly cultured Lemurian civilization;
and to preserve those aspects of contemporary and past cultures which are
known to be conducive to civilized relationships while selectively
eliminating those things that are useless and disintegrative. It is to the
last two purposes that this article is devoted. The Ultimate Frontier states, “The time has come for men and women who
hold high the ideals of civilization to separate from the matrix of present
world society and to create a refined way of life. Men must gather up their
courage and make of their environment what they wish it to be.... and it
[Adelphi] is charged by the Brotherhoods of scientist-philosophers with the task
of helping men and women to be everything they can be.” (9th ed. p. 270-271)
“Adelphi became the next step up towards the participants’ eventual
acceptance into Philadelphia in the Pacific by becoming the place where the
culture to be carried to the island is being developed.” (p. 267) Gathering of Like-Minded Citizens Not everyone will live in
Adelphi prior to living in the Nation of God. The majority of Citizens will
come from all over the world and go directly to the Island, as they will
already be Initiates or higher. Many of us, however, need a safe, nurturing
environment until then in which to develop ourselves to Initiation, and
hence, Citizenship in the Nation of God. After Philadelphia is formally
declared to be the Nation of God, those who have not yet elevated themselves
to Initiate level can continue to live in Adelphi with the expectation of
eventually making it to the Island. Creating the Environment Developing an environment
which makes for a stable, advanced civilization involves consciously creating
a great culture. Interim communities can function as an exceedingly stable
environment within which the individual family can flourish. They quite
naturally provide a setting for what is effectively an extended family
situation. The children are secure within the overall framework of many
people to whom they can relate and love, and the parents are part of a social
group where they can find support and many compatible friendships. Sharing
and cooperative effort are integral parts of the Lemurian Philosophy, and
this means that husband and wife are intimately a team in rearing their
children, and the whole community closely shares that responsibility with
them. Intentional communities can provide valuable relief valves from the
pressures that have evolved within the nuclear family and its people can
combine an atmosphere of freedom and love for the benefit of future
generations of happy, stable, productive Citizens, young and old alike. Standards for Citizenship And just as the
Brotherhoods will limit Citizens of the Nation to those who are at least of
First Degree, local communities must also maintain minimum standards for
membership. A resident will find the environment of like minded individuals
to be more conducive to personal development than living outside the
community. Indeed, one finds great value in living in true community, whether
or not he achieves Initiation by the end of his present lifetime. Much
knowledge can be gained which will benefit him in his next lifetime, and he
can contribute his skills in building a growth-engendering culture. We need
the wisdom and experience of the older generation; indeed, for a community to
serve all of its members, it needs individuals and families at every stage of
life. Characteristics of a Healthy Culture First, we will discuss some
of the characteristics of a healthy culture. We will use some quotes from
four books to help draw comparisons: a study of the Yequana tribe of
Venezuela in which Jean Liedloff describes the need for continuity of culture
in her book The Continuum Concept[i];
Stanton Peele’s suggestions for healthy community in his book, The
Diseasing of America, Addiction Treatment Out of Control[ii], Christopher
Alexander’s study of the physical characteristics involved in building a more
human community in A Pattern Language[iii]; and The
Ultimate Frontier by Eklal Kueshana. Then we will catch a glimpse of the
future civilization as it will be in the Nation of God. Natural Birthing In The Continuum
Concept, Jean Liedloff speaks of the need of every infant to have a
complete in-arms phase in order to have proper psychological development In
this in-arms phase, the baby is in physical contact with its mother from
birth until by its own direction it lets the mother know it is ready to
explore the world by creeping and crawling. Common Language “.... .it can be of value
to try to track down some of the qualities a culture would need to have, in
one form or another, if it were to suit the requirements of the continua of
its members. For one thing, it would need a language in which the human
potential for verbalizing can grow. As mentioned by Jean Liedloff, a common
language is needed, first of all. As mentioned in The Ultimate Frontier, “In
the Lemurian Empire there was one language and one government. (84) In the
Nation of God, people arriving from other nations will be taught English so
that all citizens will be able to communicate easily. A child ought to be
able to hear adults speaking to one another and he should have contemporaries
with whom to communicate on his own level of interest and development It is
also important that he always have associates slightly older than himself so
that he can have a sense of where he is going before he gets there. This will
lend familiarity to the content of his growing interests, so that he can
adopt it smoothly when he is ready. “In the same way, the
activities of a child need both companionship and example. A society that
does not provide them will lose in the efficiency of its members as well as
in their well-being.” Generational Continuum “A sure sign that something
is seriously missing in a society is a generation gap. If the younger
generation does not take pride in becoming like its elders, then the society
has lost its own continuum, its own stability, and probably does not have a
culture worth calling one, for it will be in a constant state of change from
one unsatisfactory set of values to another. If the younger members of the
society feel the older ones are ridiculous, or wrong, or boring, they will
have no natural path to follow. They will feel lost, demeaned, and cheated,
and will be angry. The elders, too, will feel cheated and resentful at the
loss of continuity in the culture and suffer a sense of purposelessness along
with the young. “Families should be in
close contact with other families, and everyone, during his or her working
life, ought to have the opportunity for companionship and cooperation. A
woman left alone every day with her children is deprived of social
stimulation, and she needs emotional and intellectual support the children
cannot give. The result is bad for mother, child, family, and society. . . .
But whatever the main house activity is, it should be done primarily by and
for the grownups, and the children allowed to join in without unduly
disrupting it in this way, everyone will be behaving in a natural, unforced
way with no strain on the parents’ part to confine their minds to a childish
level, nor upon the children to try to adapt themselves to what an adult
believes is best for them, thus preventing their own initiative from
motivating them smoothly and without conflict. “Children ought to be able
to accompany adults wherever they go. In cultures like ours, where this is
largely impossible, schools and teachers might learn to take fuller advantage
of the tendencies of children to imitate and practice skills on their own
initiative rather than have them ‘taught.’ “The number of people who
live and work together should vary from a few families to several hundred
people, so that the individual would be interested in maintaining good
relations with all the people with whom he deals. The knowledge that one will
continue to associate with the same people is a strong motive to treat them
fairly and with respect, as in country communities or small villages together
as a society. The human animal cannot really live with thousands or millions
of others. He can have a relationship with a limited number only, and in
large cities it can be seen that among the throngs, each person has a more or
less tribe-sized circle of work and social associates.” (Liedloff p. 138-141) Learning the Rules of the Culture “A baby tends more every
day toward learning his people’s culture. He begins at this time to
distinguish between his father’s and his mother’s roles in his life. His
mother’s remains steadfastly what all people’s roles have been until now:
that of a giver and caretaker who expects nothing in return but the
satisfaction of having given. His mother cares for him simply because he is
there; his existence is reason enough to guarantee her love. Her
unconditional acceptance remains constant, as his father emerges as an
important figure interested in his developing social behavior and his advance
toward independence. His father’s approval is manifest when he earns it; his
mother’s love is unconditional. The father’s constant love maintains the same
character as the mother’s but has an overlay of approval contingent upon the
performance of the child. Thus, nature ensures both stability and incentive
toward sociality. later, the father will distinguish himself more and more clearly
as the representative of society and guide the child, showing by example what
is expected, toward choices of behavior appropriate to the particular customs
in which he will participate.” (Liedloff p. 81-82) Basics of a Conducive Physical Environment Christopher Alexander’s
classic work, A Pattern Language, describes in detail physical
principles which his research has shown contribute to making a healthy human
community. We will very briefly explore a few of these. By utilizing considerations
such as building houses in clusters of homes, with each cluster containing a
home for an elderly person or couple, a home for a young couple, a home for a
young family, a home for a middle-aged couple and a home for a retired
couple, the generations have frequent opportunities to benefit one another.
Young children desperately need the gentleness and wisdom of the elderly, and
the elderly then feel necessary. Indeed, in this way persons in each stage of
life have others in the subsequent stages to learn from. Having work sites within
walking distance of homes makes it possible for a man to be home for lunch
and maintain frequent contact with his family. Also, children may ride their
bikes along prepared paths which run adjacent to work areas and observe work
in progress; teens may also apprentice under masters and learn skills at an
early age, thus focusing their high energy constructively. And, as in Colonial
America, having cafes and taverns nearby for residents to drop in and discuss
governmental concerns enables citizens to stay on top of community issues. Martin Buber describes the
need for successful community building eloquently: “The unavowed secret of
man is that he wants to be confirmed in his being and his existence by his
fellow men and that he wishes them to make it possible for him to confirm
them, and not merely in the family, in the party assembly or in the public
house, but also in the course of neighborly encounters, perhaps when he or
the other steps out of the door of his house or to the window of his house
and the greeting with which they greet each other will be accompanied by a
glance of well-wishing, a glance in which curiosity, mistrust, and routine
will have been overcome by a mutual sympathy: the one gives the other to
understand that he affirms his presence. This is the indispensable minimum of
humanity.” Life in 800 A.A. The Elder Brothers have
given us a glimpse into the Nation of God as it will have evolved eight
hundred years after Armageddon: “The first thing you notice
about the Industrial City is the superb health and well-being of everyone you
encounter. Their relaxed, ready smiles and lack of anxious haste bespeak an
inner calm and serene orderliness. Indeed, the frantic bustling which results
from poor planning or careless oversights is even absent from the flow of
vehicular traffic. There is no impatient honking of horns or screeching of
tires. The quiet and peace is undisturbed by strident voices, roaring buses,
or overhead aircraft This is due in large measure to the universal peace of
mind of the Citizens operating the vehicles and also because the engines to
move private and public vehicles are designed to be essentially noiseless. At
any rate, the presence of birds is brought to your attention by being able to
hear their song instead of being overwhelmed by noise. “The city has no buildings
higher than seven stories and there is considerable space between structures.
Grass, flowers and trees grow everywhere around the buildings. This is a
place where people are immersed in a beautiful garden setting. The people
obviously are closely allied with the earth instead of masonry and pavement
in this horizontal city. The air is pure and scented with the flowers and
greenery; and although you are in one of the greatest industrial cities on
the continent, nowhere is there a trace of smoke to mar the sky or soot to
begrime the buildings. Energy sources no longer include the burning of fossil
fuels or the use of atomic energy. Solar energy for generation of electricity
and heating has long ago been perfected, and silent electric cars add no
pollution to the air. Aircraft are propelled by magnetic motors and lifted by
antigravity devices. “The residences of
different colored stone are set in spacious lawns, and the coordinated
landscaping around them creates an overall, park-like setting. The homes are
ample and beautifully designed by the commonwealth, which also owns them.
They are rented to workers, managers and executives alike, who live side by
side in these comfortable neighborhoods. The highest executives and factory
machinists experience no class distinction between themselves. All are
Initiates or of higher Degrees in the Brotherhoods, and their personal
proficiency in their chosen fields makes all of them qualified experts. They
are Citizens; so their understanding of the complexities of government,
economics, science, and life in general is on a par. There is no cause for
‘keeping up with the Joneses’ among these well-adjusted people. They are too
happy in being what they are and doing what they like to do for them to be
concerned with their neighbors’ method of contributing to the commonwealth
for remuneration. The kind of deep respect each person has for the skill and
precision of his fellows’ work lends naturally to mutual acceptance and lack
of feelings of smug superiority over others. “All cities follow the same
general layout whether it is Industrial, Educational, or Governmental. They
are all limited to a maximum of 250,000 population, except the city which is
the seat of the national government. The mart is the central feature of each
city and town and takes the place of today’s downtown shopping center and
outlying shopping malls. “The mart contains all the
city’s food stores and service and repair shops as well as the city’s
theaters and restaurants (unless there is a hotel). If one wishes to buy an
automobile or an apple, he goes to the city’s one mart. The mart is a service
by the government to provide all the goods of the nation to every consumer at
the lowest possible cost “You note in viewing the
city that the industrial sites are scattered throughout the residential areas
so the employees can walk to work down tree-lined streets. Each neighborhood
also has a combined primary and secondary school within walking distance of
the children’s homes. This reduces vehicular traffic and adds a sense of
leisure to the day’s schedule. The workday is about six hours and the average
workweek is two days; therefore, three times as many employees can find work
in the same factories, offices, and mart during the six days that they are
open for business. This yields far higher efficiencies in both labor and
plant The twelve-hour workweek leaves much more time for personal study, rearing
children, and interpersonal relationships. The quality of manufactured goods
is such that major items usually outlast the life of the buyer. Homes leased
by the commonwealth are designed to be functional for thousands of years. It
is therefore not necessary for the people to work for so much money to pay
for replacement of these items; and the fact that there is no borrowing or
interest charges anywhere in the nation makes everything far less expensive.” What Is Culture What is culture? In a
general context Webster’s New World Dictionary defines it as “the
training and refining of the mind, emotions, manners, taste, etc. and the
result of this; the concepts, habits, skills, arts, instruments,
institutions, etc. of a given people in a given period; civilization.” One
way to understand culture is to identify and name the traits that are
practiced by a group of people. Comparing and contrasting the resulting
packages of characteristics, from different groups of people, is evidence
that there are other ways of doing things besides the ones with which we are
familiar. So a culture can be created by deliberately studying and deciding
which behaviors a group of people wish to incorporate into their society as
indicators of mutual respect and predictability of behavior. Other important
factors in creating a great culture are the proper rearing of children and
the physical considerations involved in construction, as the foregoing
examples demonstrate. In the next issue, we will explore how an economic
system can either create freedom for its citizenry or quickly become a means
of totalitarianism. A Culture of Violence A look at our present
society will quickly illustrate the lack of culture. In American society, sex
when pleasurable is regarded as immoral and unacceptable, but sex with
violence and pain is moral and acceptable. Our entertainment media clearly
demonstrate this attitude. Questionnaires given to college students reflect
our acceptance of violence and the child-rearing methods that produce violence.
The students who have relatively negative attitudes toward sexual pleasure
favored physical punishment and pain to build strong moral character in
children, felt that violence is necessary to solve our problems, enjoyed
sadistic pornography, found alcohol more satisfying than sex, got hostile
when they drank alcohol, and often got “uptight” about being touched. A
society will support behaviors consistent with its values and mores; and
since America is competitive, aggressive and violent it supports the use of
alcohol, which facilitates the expression of violent behavior, and it rejects
marijuana, which actively inhibits violent-aggressive behavior.
Significantly, people who have loving, well-integrated personalities use
neither of the above drugs. Eroticism in our culture seems to be a necessary
adjunct to aggressiveness, for eroticism seems closely related to violence.
Further, a person with the ability to love and to feel comfortable with
enjoyment of body pleasure is not attracted to eroticism. Numerous studies of
juvenile delinquents and adult criminals have shown a family background of
physically abusive parents. The degree of their deprivation of physical
affection can be inferred from their history of neglect and abuse. A study of
parents who abuse their children were invariably found to have been deprived
of physical affection themselves during childhood and that their adult sex
life was extremely poor. Almost all the women who abused their children had
never experienced orgasm. Why are Americans so
violence minded and anti-socially aggressive? Some observers like to point
with pride that the “natural” aggressiveness of the white man has made him a
“master” in this “hostile universe” and has led him to subdue nature’s
resources and the “backward races.” Yet the Lemurian Empire prospered for
50,000 years without war, power politics, or economic pressuring of others. Stanton Peele writes a
scathing description of behavioral attitudes in the United States: “Defenses
for murder have now been based on bad diet and eating junk foods, watching
too much television, and taking medications or ceasing to take them.... All
of this suggests some future point when no one can ever be convicted of a
crime, since everyone has some kind of disease defense for their actions, and
those who cannot mount a defense based on some disease will, ipso facto, be
obviously mentally incompetent to stand trial! It is also important to
reflect on what these various defenses for misconduct and mayhem tell us
about our attitudes toward taking responsibility for ourselves and others.
PMS and postpartum depression are explanations for why we mistreat those
closest to us because we feel bad. These defenses seem to describe a
completely self-gratifying universe where a bad mood or sexual urges are
grounds for maiming or molesting children, and where the law and psychiatry
try to justify society wide failures at the exercise of self-control. “The hallmark of a
civilized society is that people learn to restrain their impulses in line
with the needs of their communities, neighbors, and families—a basis for
civilized dealings that psychology and psychiatry paradoxically are now
systematically undermining. We are in the process of rejecting the idea that
people can be responsible for their behavior when they are in a bad mood We
often see that how we word things reflects bow we experience them. What does
it mean to call people ‘suicide victims’ and to say others suffer from
‘alcohol abuse’ rather than saying that they have killed themselves or abuse
alcohol? Misusing the language in these neo-Orwellian disease formulations is
the surest sign that we are deceiving ourselves in preparation for living in
a desolate social universe that we decry but cannot change.” (220-221) Dr.
White mentioned that only two generations are needed for a culture to
collapse from its citizens’ compounded selfishness and crudeness. (TUF, 9th
ed. P. 173) Jean Liedloff notes, “Some
of the most exasperated and contrary’ children are those whose antisocial
behavior is really a plea to be shown how to behave cooperatively.” (xv)
Abraham Maslow, in his Toward a Psychology of Being, “Psychological
Data and Human Values,” states: “Research findings are rare, but there is now
available a large store of clinical and educational experience which allowed
us to make a reasonable guess that the young child needs not only
gratification; he needs also to learn the limitations that the physical world
puts upon his gratifications, and he has to learn that other human beings
seek for gratifications, too, even his mother and father; i.e., they are not
only means to his ends. This means control, delay, limits, renunciation,
frustration-tolerance and discipline. Only to the self-disciplined and
responsible person can we say, ‘Do as you will, and it will probably be all
right”’ Moving Toward Peaceful Coexistence Though we can understand
the reasons our society tends to produce individuals far removed from their
natural continuum, and hence are unsocial, hostile creatures, we can,
nevertheless, according to Stanton Peele, choose to behave in ways that are
social and respectful. The pressure to act in less than social, respectful
ways may be great at times because of our faulty rearing. As it is now,
behavior is superimposed from without. Ideally, when a child is born into a
healthy culture, good behavior is internalized from good examples, and one
does not have to exercise as much will in order to be a healthy social
creature. As we incorporate into the community even more of the systems that
make for greater sociality, the pressure to change our behaviors will
lessen—he customs will be internalized naturally from infancy on. We know we
cannot mandate that we love each other; what we can do is establish a system
that allows us to treat each other with respect. And we cannot even say that
all people will actually respect each other at all times; however, we can
follow this system of guidelines and behave as though we have the
utmost respect for each other. Customs and Manners Are Teachable The backgrounds of
individuals in Western society can vary enormously; their manners (or lack of
them) and ways of communicating with one another can be so diverse as to seem
at best confusing and at worst hostile to one raised differently. We have no
clear code of right and wrong, no consistent customs that demonstrate
respect, in fact, we’ve come to the point where we excuse every kind of
behavior and hold no one accountable for their misbehaviors. In Colonial
America, there were social pressures put on each other to act according to
the customs of the society. In Mutant Message Downunder[iv] author Marlo
Morgan relates the example of how such pressure to act socially is conveyed
early on in the Australian Aboriginal culture. If a young child, for
instance, attempts to take another’s toy, all the adults become quiet and
stare at the misbehaving child. The child immediately receives the clear
message that his behavior is not acceptable in the tribe. Contrast that with
what we are likely to witness happening in our society—perhaps a
remonstration to the objecting child: “Now, Johnny, learn to share.” “We have before us a day to live, and we know that
live it we must. We can choose either to live it in joy or in misery;
why not choose joy?” Leo Buscaglia Since people, arriving into
the Nation of God, will be coming from varying cultures around the world.
They will appreciate having a clearly delineated and continually demonstrated
system of behavior, as well as a common language. This system will become
immediately clear to our children and future generations as they are born
into it. Sense of Self and Sense of Community In determining the criteria
to be placed on our behaviors and what is expected of each member of the
developing culture, it is natural to be concerned that we may lose our
individuality and uniqueness in the process. In The Continuum Concept, Jean
Liedloff explains, “One tends to view foreign or exotic peoples as having
fairly uniform personalities, and primitives perhaps even more so. But of
course this is not the case. Conformity to the local mores gives a certain
similarity to the behavior of the members of a society, but in the more
continuum-correct society, differences among individuals are freer
expressions of innate characteristics, since the society has no need to fear
or try to suppress them.” (p. 143) The further the degree of departure from
the natural continuum one is, the more unsocial is his behavior, so that
society will place greater and greater restrictions on his freedom to express
himself. It would appear that rather
than suppressing individuality, having predictable mores and codes of
behavior in fact make it more possible. Even the Archangels, diversity of
personality is present, because They have high regard for the cooperative
spirit Disrespectful or manipulative behaviors never occur among Them. Concepts of Culturation Mrs. Liedloff further
states that the social behavior of a child develops among expected influences
and examples set him by his society, and he feels impelled to do what he
perceives is expected of him by his fellow humans; the fellow humans let him
know what they do expect, according to the culture. Yet there is plenty of
room for differences, individual or tribal, without transgressing the limits
determined by the society. (p. 27-28) Child Raising Another consideration is
the critical need for properly educating women in the how-to’s of rearing
children. There are many techniques of child rearing given by the
Brotherhoods and since confirmed by Glen Doman, Dr. Raymond Dart, and Maria
Montessori. The methods have been tested and repeatedly proven to work. Mrs.
Liedloff points out: “What is useful to observe is that a society of socially
motivated individuals will live by the dictates of its culture and can be
relied on to do so. The antisocial, or criminal, character does not develop
in people whose continuum expectations have not been disappointed.” (146) Marriage The long-term coupling of
men and women into a state of marriage has its foundation in the natural
psychological and physiological needs of human beings. The legal and
religious sanctioning of those couplings is manmade and subject to wide
swings in style and custom. The mode of nurturing and socializing the
offspring has been subject to many different attitudes and theories about
child rearing over the centuries and in various cultures, but the scientific
investigation of the real nature of learning and psychology will lead us to
eventually know how to help unfold the most enlightened, happy and fully
functioning Egos in fulfillment of the human potential. Breast Feeding Europeans regarded breast
feeding as swinish and filthy until encouragement to nurse one’s own child
was introduced into England in the eighteenth century. Twenty centuries of
separation of the mothers from their children made for a very remote
relationship between parents and child; and high infant mortality under these
circumstances helped keep European population low. Raising a Child with Love The Brotherhoods inform us
that the proper rearing of children is essential to the progress and
maintenance of a high level of civilization. Based on millennia of
observation and experience in Lemuria and other advanced cultures, it becomes
obvious that only highly developed individuals can comprise a highly
developed civilization. It is mandatory that if a culture is to produce
Initiates in large numbers, it must devote much of its attention and energy
to the maximization of the potentials of each succeeding generation. Each
child must receive optimum support and training if he is to be
neurologically, emotionally and psychologically fulfilled and have the best
chance at becoming intellectually bright and creative. His intelligence is
directly proportional to all these factors. From The Ultimate Frontier, “A whole new way of rearing children must
be encouraged by you to prepare them from infancy onward for deep marital
satisfaction and sublime contentment as adults. These new rearing practices
should put an end to antisocial aggressiveness and the desire for power over
others, which breeds the drive for money and materialistic possessions. The
inborn human drive to please others and receive pleasure, which society has
labeled as evil, is being strictly suppressed in children through shame and
punishment. This puts people at odds within themselves for a lifetime.” (TUF
9th ed. p. 257) Toward this end, a recent
concept, the “helping” mode of child rearing was introduced. Here the parents
are encouraged to let the child’s physiological and psychological needs as
they emerge determine what guidance and assistance is to be given. Both
parents are fully involved in the child’s life as they work to empathize with
and fulfill his expanding awareness. Children are not struck, scolded or made
to feel guilty. This involves an enormous amount of time, energy and
discussion on the part of both parents, especially for the first six years.
Helping a young child reach his daily goals means constantly responding to
him, playing with him, tolerating his experiments, interpreting his emotional
conflicts, and providing the objects and services specific to his evolving
interests. It is already evident that this results in a child who is gentle,
sincere, never depressed, not peer imitative, and is strong willed and not
intimidated by authority. Although our Creators
endowed our cortex with fabulous potentials, and our environment is full of
beneficial stimuli, and our civilization has harnessed an incredible wealth
of information, our cortexes still are not developed to full functioning.
That is because a child’s brain requires full development of each
neurological stage as prerequisite for proper development of the next higher
stages of the human brain, but our culture is not attuned to the needs of
infancy and has traditionally, but hopefully unintentionally, subverted
children’s growth. Only by fully developing a given stage of a child’s brain
growth is the next stage allowed to develop richly and well; poor development
of or injury to one stage means that the next stage (and, consequently, all
higher stages) can only develop poorly. Jean Ledloff’s studies underscore the
need of human infants to have a complete in-arms experience with its mother, then
be permitted to creep and crawl freely. Glen Doman’s work further backs this
up. The neurological
development of a child’s brain is obviously influenced by the kind of body
pleasures or pains he experiences from early infancy on, and these will tend
to predispose him to a lifetime of either pleasure orientation or violence
proneness. A child’s early sensory experiences of frequent cuddling and
prompt attendance to his needs produces low anxiety and a pleasure oriented
disposition later in life. Deprivation of cuddling and the administering of
physical punishment results in high anxiety with its attendant neurotic
armoring against feelings and violence proneness. Our Creators intended for us
to be fully in touch with the Earth and consequently in touch with our
interior selves instead of being alienated and anxious castaways on our
journey through incarnation. Our bodies and brains contain all the tools by
which our Egos can achieve internal unity and deep communion with others.
Adelphi is evolving more humane and loving methods of rearing and educating
children to the end of returning our erstwhile stifled individuality,
productivity, creativeness, and interpersonal relationships to the God-given
inheritance it is our right to have and to enjoy. Enlightened self-direction
by everyone is the Brotherhoods’ goal. People need to be reawakened to this
goal, for this promises final rejection of the ages-old, dangerous practices
of spirit mediumship, witchcraft, drug usage, and dietary extremism which
have been touted by promoters to produce spiritual enlightenment but end
instead in entrapment and despair. (TUF 9th ed. p. 270) Violence-Raised Children Seek Violent Experiences It is not TV and movie
violence that is at the root of our sickness—this merely reflects our open
acceptance of violence as a basic value of our society. Sociologists,
psychologists, and anthropologists have consolidated their researches to
demonstrate that the deprivation of physical pleasure in children and
adolescents is a major ingredient in the expression of physical violence
which persists through their lifetimes. The unaffectionate manner in which
parents rear their children and the social prohibitions against adolescents
finding love and physical pleasure among their peers are at the seat of
violent behavior. Laboratory experiments with animals show that pleasure and
violence have a mutually exclusive relationship—the presence of one inhibits
the other. Among human beings, a loving, pleasure oriented personality rarely
displays violent or aggressive behaviors, whereas an aggressive personality
has little ability to tolerate or enjoy sensuously pleasing activities or to
experience love (as differentiated from sexual desire). Of course, it would be far
superior to have a culture which does not impose negative and crippling
attitudes in the first place but a person must deal with himself in the here
and now. There is much practical psychology that he must learn thoroughly,
and with this knowledge institutions passing down unhappiness and
ineffectualness to their children. A Vision for Success We are finding that the
Brothers send the information and the people to help implement the
information as we’re ready for it. It seems at times that not a day passes
between the moment we determine we are ready for the next step and the
“teacher” appears. We can think of nowhere else on the planet where the
opportunities for such an exciting adventure exist. It is a well-rounded adventure,
full of challenges and rewards. By having specific
guidelines of manners, customs, and behavior and thereby taking
responsibility for our words and actions, we are beginning the work on
ourselves, which in turn gives our children and newcomers clear-cut examples
to go by. We are learning healthier ways of interacting as couples and
neighbors. We are promoting the best we know in child-rearing, such as giving
infants a complete in-arms phase, breast feeding, and allowing timely
creeping and crawling opportunities. Parents are taught the best we know in
child education and nutrition so that children’s brains have every
opportunity for ideal development toward high intelligence and emotional
maturity. And we are building our community physically in ways which promote
life and sociability. If these are your aims as well, you may wish to join a
community of like-minded people. [i] Liedloff, Jean. The Continuum
Concept. Addison-Wesley Publishing, August 1985. [ii] Peele, Stanton. Diseasing of America, Addiction Treatment Out of
Control. Lexington Books, 1989. [iii] Alexander, Christopher. A Pattern Language. New
York: Oxford University Press, 1977. To fully appreciate how critical it is
to take the time to plan and discuss the physical layout of roads,
neighborhoods, government buildings, cafes, lakes, etc., we encourage you to
check this book out from your library. It is also available for sale at major
bookstores. [iv] Morgan, Marlo. Mutant Message Downunder. MM Company, P.O. Box
100, Lees Summit, MO 64063, 1991. |
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