Occultism also known as mysticism or transcendentalism is an age-long vocation which probably ushered the beginning of enlightenment and human civilization. Occultism is a field of knowledge that aims to demystify, understand and explain mysteries or things that are inherently esoteric.
Since the Renaissance period, Occultism as a field of study or a system of practice has diminished in relevance among men and today it merely represents an endangered part of the ancient wisdom with some of its treasures lost to modernism and postmodernism. The sentiment and indignation often shared by some of the few surviving occultists and the modern initiates of the system is that enlightenment and civilization which is now generally associated to science is actually a corollary to demystification which is the traditional focus of occultism.
The divide between science and occultism arguably centres on the methodologies of both vocation rather than on their philosophies. Occultism centers on psychical method and science on systematic method. However, both vocations share a common purpose, and that is to advance the frontiers of knowledge and develop the state of humanity.
Unlike science whose evolution has been traced to the Renaissance or the Cartesian era, the dissection of the root and etymology of occultism is invariably accompanied by controversies. Several accounts that have traced the origin of Occultism reference different eras lived by the founding fathers of the different schools of occultism. However, the common belief is that occultism derived its essence from when man became conscious of his environment and identified his place in the cosmos.
But exactly when man became conscious of his environment is another focus of discussion entirely — it is as a matter of fact a question that curiously evades most attempts that have been put forward to answer it.
Many scholars have been disgusted by how berated and relegated to the background occultism has become today despite the beauty and contribution of the system to humanity. Mohammed Abdelbaki, a scholar from north Africa remonstrated:
“it’s unfortunate that occultism has come to be cast in such dark shadows, because it truly is a place of wonder and offers opportunities to enrich and embrace life in many ways.
“The key to understanding the realm of the occult is to approach it without fear, bias or desire to use it for unscrupulous reasons. It is a world of multifaceted possibilities, like a beautiful gemstone that reveals a different view of the world at every angle” he said.
From an entry level job in Diamond Bank to teaching electronics in Carnegie Mellon University, besides everything, these two things have worked for me: becoming Visible and demonstrating Thought-leadership (“the expression of ideas that demonstrate you have expertise in a particular field, area, or topic”).
Yes, as 2023 arrives, I want you to upgrade your professional playbook and become more visible in your professional community. And as that happens, showcase that you sabi (you know). Of course, showcasing that you sabi does not make you proud neither does it mean you know it all. It simply means that you are telling people that you know something, and available whenever someone with that capability is required.
Until people can recommend you in your absence, your career will not advance. And how can they recommend you when they do not know that you know? Get out of that timid mindset and write (or make) your first professional article (or video). LinkedIn, Facebook, corporate newsletters, newspapers, etc can host them.
In 2023, invest time to deepen the archives of your thought-leadership and scale your webinality
The following are some suggestions on how to build a professional online persona. It is establishing your web personality (webinality) to explain that person you are.
Presence: Open at least one social media or blog account.
Specialize: Define an area of interest and build around it. A five-minute online search should reveal what you represent. You need to differentiate yourself and showcase your core skills and unique capabilities to potential hiring managers.
Accuracy: Always remember that once that post goes online, you may not control who sees it. If you lie on your accomplishments, your classmate or co-worker is just an IP address away from challenging it. Make it accurate – always, otherwise, you will destroy your persona.
Comprehensive: While blog should be short, once in a while, develop comprehensive articles in your field and post them online. It could mean expanding a class project you worked on, adding more contents, and fully proving your expertise. Half-baked contents will not take you too far.
Judgment: What you post or share online defines who you are. Your profile defines you – values, interests and reliability. For employers, they want reliable team leaders and you must not offer less in your web personality.
Vertical Integration: Seek to connect with people ahead of you professionally while building a horizontally network.
Generosity: Share and exchange good ideas. Invite people to your network and be generous to promote good ideas from others. Write professional reviews on books, journals and articles. In no distant time, people will reward you.
Policy Matters: If you are working, ensure you adhere to policies on using the company’s name online. There is a threat that you could be a source of data leakage that can hurt competitiveness. Your profile must not be another portrait of your employer – you must be wise to separate both, where necessary.
Continuity: Professional online branding is a continuous work-in-progress that requires constant tune-ups of networks, contents and profiles. It must be constantly nurtured.
Let Humans Speak for You
Work is inanimate and does not talk; only humans do. Until you make it easier for humans to speak on your behalf, your career will not thrive.
If your boss is the type who does not like to share accolades, here is what to do: draft a lesson learned report, put your name and share with everyone – and politely ask for feedback for the final report. By then, the words are out on who did what.
When humans speak on your behalf, besides the vibes from your “work”, you will experience a massive acceleration on your leadership and professional ascent. Make it happen in 2023.
Comment: This is a million dollar advice. Even in the corporate world, it is not necessarily the ‘best’ employees but the ‘visible’ ones that get ahead of others.
Our offerings and contributions must not only be good, they must be properly positioned for visibility. Respond to requests to undertake ad hoc tasks, speak up, ask intelligent questions and make useful contributions at workplace meetings. Seek for and embrace opportunities to attend high level and networking meetings. Showcase your knowledge and work portfolio. When you know you will be known.
Hermetism is a brand of occultism whose name derived from the name of its founder, Hermes Trismegistus — a highly regarded sage of a much ancient Egypt who was immortalized as the “scribe of the gods”. According to oral tradition, Hermes lived in the same era as the biblical Abraham and it is believed that Abraham derived some of his mystic knowledge from the teachings of Hermes.
It was recorded that Hermes lived three hundred years in flesh, and after his demise, the Egyptians defied him and made him one of their gods, under the name of Toth. The people of the ancient Greece also made Hermes one of their many gods, addressing him as “Hermes, the god of wisdom”.
Trismegistus literally means thrice-great or the greatest-great. In the ancient lands, the name of Hermes Trismegistus was revered and often interpreted as the “fount of wisdom”. In modern dispensation, the term ” hermetic” is often used in a sense to mean “secret” or “sealed” so that nothing can escape.
Thus, the followers of Hermeticism are trained to observe the principle of secrecy. They strongly operate with a belief of not casting ‘pearls before swine’ or giving meat for babes. In other words, the hermetic followers do not believe in giving or preaching the truth to a people or a world that is not ready to accept or receive the truth. Hence, the following hermetic aphorisms:
“the lips of wisdom are closed except to the ears of understanding”.
“milk for babes and meat for strong men”
The All
The philosophical foundation of Hermeticism is the overaching influence of “the all” in the cosmic intelligence. The all is the ever-working mind and the universe represents the mental activities in the mind (of the all). The all is described as the substantial reality underlying all outward manifestations or appearances of things — it is the spirit which in itself is unknowable and indefinable. It can only be thought of or considered as a universal infinite living mind.
The Seven Principles
Underpinning the Hermetic philosophy are seven principles and universal laws, namely; mentalism, correspondence, vibration, polarity, rhythm, cause and effect, and gender.
Mentalism. The principle of mentalism presupposes that all aspects of the material universe, including the socio-economic state of man and the basest things, such as, matter, energy and ions, are manifestations of a mental process and therefore are of mental nature. This principle is the basic of Hermeticism and it guides the practices of both the teachers and the students of the vocation.
“He who grasps the truth of the mental nature of the universe is well advanced on the path to mastery. Without this master key, mastery is impossible, and the student knock in vain at the many doors of the temple” Kyballion.
Correspondence. The principle of correspondence holds that all the levels of existence share a set of identical laws even though each level has its unique law(s). Thus, a mastery of one level of existence, with respect to its law(s), could aid the mastery of another level of existence. This principle presupposes the aphorism,
“as it is above, so it is below”.
The law of correspondence is what is being used by the great masters to move from the known to the unknown. The magical effect of this principle is said to be used to uncover the veil of Isis, the river goddess of the ancient Egypt.
Vibration. The principle of vibration explains the evolution and involution of things to and fro the material and the spiritual spheres of existence. The principle holds that nothing is at rest or constant except that everything is ever on the move. A thing or being that apparently lies dormant has a lot of activities or processes going within it. These activities or processes, mental, spiritual or neurological, influence the state of the being.
Polarity and Rhythm. The principles of Polarity and Rhythm go hand-in-hand. Polarity entails two opposing extremes of the same nature, and Rhythm simply means an episodic movement between these opposing extremes, such as movement between happiness and sadness, optimism and pessimism, coldness and hotness, loudness and quietness, high and low etc..
Cause and effect. The principle of cause and effect explains the order in what may seem a mumble-jumbled world. Every event or occurrence has a cause. Thus, chance or luck is but a name for a cause not yet recognized. The ultimate cause of things is the all which is the cause of its ownself. Hence, it is pointless inquiring beyond it.
Gender. The principle of gender presupposes that all things worthy of knowing exist in complementary pairs, comprising the masculine and the feminine substances which are pivotal to procreation, regeneration and recreation of the same substance. This principle implies that for every ying there is a yang.
Together the seven Hermetic principles summarize Hermeticism as a system based on the mastery of the material universe through subjugation or manipulation of laws by conscious application of higher laws. The highest law is “the all”. Mastery of laws and proximity to the all depends on one’s level of mental transmutation.
Hence, according to the three initiates and veiled interpreters of the Kyballion, a compilation of Hermetic maxims, axioms and precepts, “the transmutation of mental vibration to another, rather than changing one kind of metal to another constitute the art of Hermetic alchemy”.
“From old Egypt have come the fundamental esoteric and occult teachings which have so strongly influenced the philosophies of all races, nations and peoples for several thousand years…. From her secret doctrines all nations have borrowed”. — the three iniates and veiled interpreters of the Kyballion.
Resource:
The Three Iniates. 1908. The Kyballion: A Study of the Hermetic Philosophy of Ancient Egypt and Greece. YOGEBOOKS, HOLLISTER MO.
I do not believe in new year resolutions. Yes, it is an illusion to think that switching of a digit from 2022 to 2023 will deliver a new outcome, when you have not investigated, and resolved, to fix and deepen what matters: processes. One of the greatest victories in life is the victory over time, and that time is allocated to all of us, equally (24 hours in a day). Time, even in its limitless form, is the most scarce resource out there. Until you can win over it, via your processes, you cannot resolve your future.
Leave new year resolutions, focus on resolving your daily and weekly non-optimal processes. Buy an exercise book. Every Sunday night, take 10 minutes to list important things you want to get done in that week. Then every night before you go to bed, or if you prefer, early in the morning, list important tasks for the day. As the days go and the week passes, cross-out the completed ones. Keep optimizing those processes, keep improving on how you execute the tasks, and track these two indicators: quality and speed
In most things in the professional domain, those who can deliver high quality outcomes at the shortest time thrive. So, you must keep improving your processes while reducing the time required to execute tasks.
If you blog, how can you take 30 minutes to put that content over 2 hours without loss of quality? If you send a management report, how can you beat the deadline with high quality results, and demonstrate that you are ready for more responsibilities? Those simple resolutions will make the mountain-size new year resolutions irrelevant. Happy new year ahead!
It is not uncommon in Nigerian politics for candidates to be charged in court for various irregularities in their certificates prior to and after winning elections. Many Nigerians are also aware that politicians are winning cases in various courts. In all of these cases, the media has a significant impact on shaping people’s perceptions of the actors and other stakeholders, whether positively or negatively. Of course, the media cannot be told not to construct perceived reality, but it must do so in ways that do not cause unnecessary panic or chaos.
In this piece, our analyst looks at recent news about the ongoing Osun State Election Tribunal. The Tribunal was inaugurated after the former governor, Alhaji Isiaka Gboyega Oyetola, approached it with the claim that there was excessive voting in the state’s 2022 governorship election and that the current governor, Senator Ademola Adeleke, is unqualified to hold the office because he previously forged his secondary school certificates.
According to their editorial philosophies and owners’ interests, Nigerian media have frequently used different frames to report proceedings at the Tribunal, with these allegations serving as the main focus of their reporting. According to our analyst, these reflected in the Tribunal’s recent coverage by Premium Times, The Guardian and The Nation.
Information has it that “Olorunyomi is the co-founder, CEO, and publisher of the Nigerian newspaper Premium Times, which today is one of the most trusted newspapers in Nigeria and a standard for African investigative journalism.” The Guardian was established in 1983 by the entrepreneur Alex Ibru, assisted by Stanley Macebuh, a top journalist with the Daily Times newspapers. For years, the ownership of The Nation has been in secrecy. However, several information indicate that the newspaper is owned by Senator Bola Ahmed Tinubu, former governor of Lagos State.
The three newspapers differ and slightly align in their production approach, from the headline to the lead construction. Premium Times employs explicative headlines, whereas The Guardian and The Nation employ judgmental headlines, which have the potential to mislead readers. In other words, the two newspapers use click bait features that are related to information pollution, particularly misinformation (see Exhibit 1).
Premium Times appears to be more neutral than others, according to our analyst, because of its approach to representing the witness, Mr Bunmi Jenyo, and the new governor. For example, while The Guardian and The Nation believe the new governor is guilty of certificate forgery, Premium Times maintains a neutral position by including earlier information from a court that discharged the governor from the certificate forgery case. This is conspicuously absent from reports in The Guardian and The Nation (see Exhibit 1).
Premium Times
Governor Ademola Adeleke on Thursday presented an album of photographs of himself kitted in graduation gown before the Osun State election petition tribunal in Osogbo.
He accompanied the album with academic certificates and transcripts of Atlanta Metropolitan State College and Pen Foster High School which the governor claimed he attended in the United States.
A certified true copy of a judgement of the Appeal Court that discharged Mr Adeleke of an accusation of forgery was also presented before the tribunal.
The academic credentials and court judgement were brought to the tribunal by Bunmi Jenyo, a personal assistant to the governor.
Mr Jenyo appeared as a witness before the tribunal, claiming that the photographs of Mr Adeleke in a graduation gown were taken on the day of his graduation with a diploma on 6 May, 2021.
One of the allegations by the petitioners challenging Mr Adeleke’s victory in the 16 July governorship election is that he forged the academic certificates he presented for the election.
But when cross-examined by Akin Olujimi, SAN, counsel to the petitioners, Mr Jenyo said he attended the graduation ceremony in the U.S. and also took pictures with him at the ceremony.
“I traveled to the United States for the graduation. I arrived at the airport on 6th May, 2021 for the graduation and I have my passport here as evidence,” he said.
“I was part of the people in the photographs taken on the day of the graduation. The second respondent is also in the photograph. I attended the graduation ceremony,” he added.
“I have been a friend to the second petitioner for 10 years. Since our friendship, the second respondent has not been convicted for submitting forged certificates or documents,” he said.
“My duty is to keep his personal documents. He authorised me to come to the court with the documents that I presented.”
After Mr Olujimi said he would reserve his objection on the international passport of the witness as tendered for evidence till final address, the tribunal chairman, Tertsea Kume, admitted his Nigerian passport as exhibit.
Source: Premium Times, The Guardian, The Nation, 2022; Infoprations Analysis, 2022
The Guardian
The Chairman of the Osun State Chieftaincy Affairs Review Committee, Revd. Samuel Bunmi Jenyo, who claimed to be a Personal Assistant to Governor Ademola Adeleke, has said the governor obtained his degree in 24 days. Rev Jenyo said Adeleke obtained his Diploma Certificate in Penn Foster High School on 16th July, 2021 and degree from Atlanta Metropolitan College on 9th of August 2021.
Jenyo made the revelationlast Thursday while testifying before the Justice Tertsea Kume-led tribunal at the resumed hearing of the petition filed by former Governor Adegboyega Oyetola and the All Progressives Congress (APC) against the declaration of Ademola Adeleke as the governor of the state.
Oyetola and the APC are challenging the declaration of Governor Adeleke on two grounds: over-voting and eligibility to run in view of alleged inconsistencies in his certificates.
Rev. Jenyo tendered Adeleke’s certificates, bearing Penn Foster High School and Atlanta Metropolitan State College. He also told the Tribunal during the cross examination that though he has never worked in any of the institutions purported to have been attended by the Governor, part of his responsibility as Adeleke’s Personal Assistant was to keep the governor’s personal documents, thus giving him access to his certificates and academic details. The witness also said that though his International Passport does not show he attended Adeleke’s graduation in US, he submitted that he attended the Graduation ceremony. After the Cross examination, Adeleke’s counsel closed his case.
Subsequently, counsel for PDP, Alex Izinyon, SAN, also opened his case and told the panel that he would not be calling any witness but would be relying on the evidence of the two other respondents. He then tendered some documents and closed his case.
It will be recalled that when Governor Adeleke was contesting in 2018, he claimed to have registered for GCE O’ Level in 1981 but had F9 in English Language and was recorded absent for other subjects. At the time, too, his profile on the website of the National Assembly also indicated that he was a holder of a Diploma Certificate in Criminology from Jacksonville State University (JSU), where he purportedly graduated from in 1986. But upon his return from abroad this year to contest the July Governorship election, the governor claimed that he had a diploma awarded to him mid last year, and that the said certificate qualified him for a B.Sc. in Criminal Justice, from the Atlanta Metropolitan State College in the United States. And he claimed to have obtained the degree barely 24 days after getting the said Diploma certificate (Delayed additional value with guilty frame)
The Nation
THE Chairman of the Osun State Chieftaincy Affairs Review Committee, Reverend Samuel Bunmi Jenyo, who claimed to be Personal Assistant to Governor Adeleke, has said the governor obtained his degree in 24 days. Rev. Jenyo said Adeleke obtained his Diploma Certificate in Penn Foster High School on 16th July, 2021 and degree from Atlanta Metropolitan College on 9th of August 2021. Jenyo made the revelation on Friday while testifying before the Justice Tertsea Kume-led tribunal at the resumed hearing of the petition filed by former Governor Adegboyega Oyetola and the All Progressives Congress (APC) against the declaration of Ademola Adeleke as the governor of the State.
Oyetola and the APC are challenging the declaration of Governor Adeleke on two grounds: over-voting and eligibility to run in view of alleged inconsistencies in his certificates. Rev. Jenyo tendered Adeleke’s certificates, bearing Penn Foster High School and Atlanta Metropolitan State College. He also told the Tribunal during the cross examination that though he has never worked in any of the institutions purported to have been attended by the Governor, part of his responsibility as Adeleke’s Personal Assistant was to keep the governor’s personal documents, thus giving him access to his certificates and academic details.
The witness also said that though his International Passport does not show he attended Adeleke’s graduation in US, he submitted that he attended the Graduation ceremony. After the Cross examination, Adeleke’s counsel closed his case. Subsequently, counsel for PDP, Alex Izinyon (SAN), also opened his case and told the panel that he would not be calling any witness but would be relying on the evidence of the two other respondents. He then tendered some documents and closed his case.
It will be recalled that when Governor Adeleke was contesting in 2018, he claimed to have registered for GCE O’ Level in 1981 but had F9 in English Language and was recorded absent for other subjects. But upon his return from abroad this year to contest the July governorship election, the governor allegedly claimed that he had a diploma awarded to him mid last year, and that the said certificate qualified him for a B.Sc. in Criminal Justice, from the Atlanta Metropolitan State College in the United States. And he claimed to have obtained the degree barely 24 days after getting the said Diploma certificate (Delayed additional value with guilty frame)
