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According to Professor Holl (African History expert appointed by UNESCO to be involved in the multi volume ‘General History of Africa’) external behavior can have such a significant impact on a person’s mental life and mental development that s/he does not think about the future anymore, but only about daily survival.
This introduction sets the tone for our choice of Transformation Philosophy.
1. Habits, responses to external stimulus or environment, control over emotions, are all based on ingrained belief systems and thinking patterns. More on this in future blogs, so stay tuned.
2. I saw a WhatsApp video clip in which an African American whilst in Mexico left his bag with personal effects and lots of money in a restaurant. He realised this a few hours later and rushed back to find that the owner had kept it safely for him. He says in the video that though he loves Africa very much, this is one quality he has found wanting in many African countries – honesty. WHAT A SHAME ON US.
2.1 People campaign for public office not to serve, but to enrich themselves in the next political term.
2.2 The African Union talks about rooting out ‘the evil of corruption’ and yet their staff have complained about corruption and dictatorial practices from management. Whether true or false, why allow any shadow of doubt to be cast on such an institution or its management?
2.3 Our own citizens are in cahoots with non-Africans to economically exploit our resources leaving us with an environmental and ecological problem. For instance foreign nationals being involved in illegal gold mining in Ghana and desolating the environment are causing havoc with support from locals.
You might say these are examples of greed and that it is human nature. So what about the Mexican mentioned above? Do you think the Chinese would allow you to mess up their environment? OK, lets leave this one for now.
3. What about the time you wanted to get access to exam question papers or answer sheets instead of studying for that exam which you dreaded? Let me make ‘access’ very plain; I am talking about stealing, bribing or doing whatever is illegally necessary. Is this an example of greed?
4. The African labourer who immediately his boss leaves, finds a tree to sit idly under. But he will risk deserts and seas to become an economic ‘slave’ and classless person in a strange country, where he works very hard with or without supervision. We need to talk about these things.
It is our belief that the above examples are not mere SYMPTOMS OF NORMAL HUMAN BEHAVIOUR. They expose deep seated problems which are a result of wrong MINDSETS. They are not necessarily endemic in other races.
Mindsets can be changed and there are various techniques that can be used to effect this change without causing mental health problems as a result.
Dr Caroline Leaf is a South African neuroscientist specializing in cognitive and metacognitive neuropsychology. Since the early 1980s, she has researched the mind-brain connection, the nature of mental health, and the formation of memory.
She says “The minute you are aware of something, it is weakened, if it is weakened it is changeable”
She believes we have ‘toxic thoughts’ and that these actually induce a physical change in our brains and control our thinking. Toxicity can be reversed!
We will interact extensively with experts such as Dr Caroline Leaf and finally (hopefully with their support) develop a MODEL that will bring change in the African mindset one at a time and eventually the envisaged transformation.
The collation of relevant information will be done here so this Narrative will be about information, research and expert opinion on changing mindsets.
We will then develop the MODEL as part of the Intention Narrative.
How this will be rolled out will be explained in the ‘Implementation Narrative’.
Let us together examine this issue of change in mindset, the different ways we can effect it and get the voices of experts and those with experience to be involved in and with this. Enough of the rhetoric, let’s work this out and JOURNEY TOGETHER.
