Amel Hilmi
University of Massachusetts Amherst
Humans are wired to love; it is within human nature to immerse oneself in love,
and for one’s spiritual awareness to prosper they must acknowledge the enormity
of love in their lives. It is found in both the grand and mundane, whether it be
through the birth of a child or lending someone a pencil. However, as the human
race has expanded, it has grown increasingly difficult to find love in those who
rule over our society; instead, it has become shockingly easy to lose one’s self
in the grandeur and shallow workings of materialism, superiority and power. With
this obsession on physical “success”, a great deal of humans have fed a
disconnect between their physical beings and astral selves. It is not an option
to allow spiritual ignorance to continue to exert damage upon the structures of
our society.
We are often asked how to better ourselves and in turn ameliorate the world
around us; in most (if not all) instances, this question is presented as an
impossibility: how can the behavior of an individual have the potential to
impact society as a whole? In Thiaoouba Prophecy, Thao describes how
Michel “belong[s] to a civilization that has taken a wrong turn”, going on to
describe the elitist systems of current human civilization and the distorted
behaviors and exertion of superiority upon specific groups of people
(referencing the Holocaust). The hatred that is now so easily found within the
ranks of humans is a direct product of the separation between ourselves and our
roots in nature; while we have been taught to believe that the ways of the
world’s rulers are correct, it is our responsibility to push ourselves outside
of the conditions and expectations constantly enforced upon our minds. I have
found the novel Thiaoouba Prophecy to mirror the novel Life of Pi
by Yan Martel, in the sense that the journey presented to the reader is not
necessarily meant to be questioned in its reality; it is impossible to discern
whether Michel’s journey is ‘true’ or not. Perhaps ‘true’ is not the right word,
for the sense of his journey is true in the purest form; it is the meaning of
his travels that should be pondered upon, and taken to heart. When one reads
this novel, they are provoked to take a second look at their way of life, and
truly open their eyes to view the cracks and flaws in how humans have decided to
embark in the supposed ‘growth’ of society.
Technology mirrors the human brain, and as such it is only natural for the
continuous growth of technological advancements to have the potential to uphold
spiritual expansion. On September 10th, 2003, the Department of Defense released
confidential documents surrounding the human brain and its connections to
various planes of existence, titled “Analysis and Assessment of the Gateway
Process”. Within these writings, there is a consideration of the “character of
the material world in which we have our physical existence in order to
accurately perceive the raw stuff with which our consciousness must work”; the
state of the human mind, being and consciousness is likened to “the universe
which surrounds [man], nothing more or less than an extraordinarily complex
system of energy fields”. The universe is shown to be a a complex amalgamation
of interacting energy fields, and it is the holographic nature of the universe
we reside in that gives us the blessing of transcending the physical plane and
growing aware of our existence as conscious beings of intertwined energy. The
connectedness between every human mind within the conscious plane demonstrates
an undeniable harmony and familiarity between not only mankind and the universe,
but also between every member of mankind itself; as such, it is our
responsibility to align ourselves with each other. This does not mean we must
agree upon everything, as not only is this merely impossible, but it would
squelch the uniqueness and originality of each human. Rather, it indicates that
empathy is deeply, inherently human and an incredibly powerful force that has
the potential to alter the course of humanity as a whole. Many have strayed from
a path of love and emotional collaboration and destructive consequences have
been unleashed, from war to extreme hunger to the destruction of our own
environments. I have found that there are severe misconceptions on how to attain
a state of spirituality; in hopes of opening their eyes, many have delved into
the world of hallucinogenic substances with the misguided belief that they have
reached enlightenment. Spirituality cannot be falsened, and the severity of
forcing one’s mind into a warped spiritual state through the use of substances
is often ignored and dismissed as unimportant; for one to truly be able to use
their free will to spiritually align themselves with their goals (and the goals
of humanity), drugs cannot be used to push forward this experience.
You ask of me how to better the world; I could tell you to cure world hunger,
eradicate war and provide safety for every member of mankind. It is true, if not
blatantly obvious, that these actions would exponentially improve the state of
the world- after all, how can somebody be able to live in complete peace while
knowing that millions of fellow men are suffering? Empathy is a powerful gift,
after all. However, there is a failure to consider the bounds of reality; it is
easy to state the obvious with good intentions, but it is significantly harder
to acknowledge the limits presented to you when attempting to make change. For
one to instigate meaningful change, they must be aware of how to utilize their
individuality in a way that promotes both personal goodness and wellbeing as
well as goodness found within collaboration. As Ayn Rand’s writings profess,
individuality can often be mistaken for selfishness, when in reality it is
individuality and personal free will that breeds selflessness and the desire to
aid mankind and push our society to the foundations towards which it belongs.
As a mathematics major, I was drawn to this field of study not only because the
universe had blessed me with a profound love of numbers, but also due to the
intense connection between mathematics and spirituality; many often separate the
subjects of STEM from those of spirituality, which is often rather associated
with the arts. In reality, the workings of the human mind and man’s
consciousness is tightly linked with the world of numbers. I desire to use my
studies of mathematics to delve deeper into the studying of the functioning of
our minds in hopes of being able to understand how man is able to perceive the
information presented to him, as well as how the binary systems of processing
within our brains is linked to our higher selves. In the end, these studies will
hopefully move past understanding and be able to provide me with information
that allows me to aid others on their natural spiritual journeys, and ground
those around me with spirituality, nature and love.
I hope that many more will read the novel Thiaoouba Prophecy and be gifted with
its knowledge; I am sure that the lives of every person can be put on the path
of love and goodness if it is willed.
Thank you for this beautiful opportunity.
Runner-up of A Better World" Spirituality and Technology Advancement Scholarship for 2022