The Religion of Being

By Lucian Simon Ionesco

Throughout the history of humanity, we have witnessed the emergence of great figures who have influenced the progress of our society through their contributions to the most diverse fields. 

Although initially seen as unattainable, unique, and unrepeatable beings, Their success does not lie in luck, supernatural issues, or being people with unique traits, but rather in the mentality they developed and the knowledge and learning they acquired. 

Knowledge has always been the main tool for success; with them, you can get from the banalest things like money to within a couple of our years. 

With the knowledge and the mentality with which we see the world, we can deconstruct ourselves and become the best version of ourselves. Acquiring habits, attitudes, and ways of acting that allow us to achieve the objectives that are important to us. 

Fortunately, with time and the evolution of communication channels, knowledge has become accessible. You are now about to verify it since you will find in this the indicated tools to improve on a personal and professional level and in your interpersonal relationships. 

It is important to note that theory is useless without action, but we will discuss it later. What is important for now is to determine an intention and define your goals to know which of the strategies below are the most suitable for you. 

 

When you are done reading this book, you will have gained a lifetime of experience in just a few short hours. The stories are interesting to follow, and the challenging concepts have been made easy to understand. So get ready to broaden your horizons and adjust your expectations because you are in for one hell of a ride! Are you ready? Add this to your cart to get started!

• Language: English
• Publisher: Editorial Atelerix Creative Quill
• Release date: Dec 1, 2022
• ISBN: 9798215732373

Lucian Simon Ionesco

I'm 51-year-old; I have a degree in psychology, specializing in motivation and mental disorders.I'm a Brazilian Christian, and I define myself as straight, and I'm a vegetarian. I grew up in an upper-class neighborhood. I was raised by my father and my mother, having left when I was young. I'm currently single. My most recent romance was with an artist called Ophelia Dana Phillips, who was 12 years older than me. We broke up because Ophelia felt Lucian was too busy for the relationship. My best friend is a chorus actor called Keira Morales. We get on well most of the time. I also hang around with Glenn Rees and Arran Davis. We enjoy worship together. I have decided to start my work writing since currently, due to the pandemic, I require an additional income. With the support of the Atelerix publishing house, I want to start giving my general knowledge about everything I have studied in my city to swim all this time. I hope that you fully recognize my writing and support me, especially if you have a loved one you can support with my knowledge; I will be more than happy to support me with a review of my book.

Book preview

INTRODUCTION

Throughout the history of humanity, we have witnessed the emergence of great figures who have influenced the progress of our society through their contributions to the most diverse fields.

Although initially seen as unattainable, unique, and unrepeatable beings, Their success does not lie in luck, supernatural issues, or being people with unique traits, but rather in the mentality they developed and the knowledge and learning they acquired.

Knowledge has always been the main tool for success; with them, you can get from the banalest things like money to within a couple of our years.

With the knowledge and the mentality with which we see the world, we can deconstruct ourselves and become the best version of ourselves. Acquiring habits, attitudes, and ways of acting that allow us to achieve the objectives that are important to us.

Fortunately, with time and the evolution of communication channels, knowledge has become accessible. You are now about to verify it since you will find in this the indicated tools to improve on a personal and professional level and in your interpersonal relationships.

It is important to note that theory is useless without action, but we will discuss it later. What is important for now is to determine an intention and define your goals to know which of the strategies below are the most suitable for you.

CHAPTER 1. STRATEGY AND TACTICS

W hen you have understood the Path of Strategy, there is nothing you cannot understand.

Miyamoto Musashi.

THE BOOK OF THE FIVE RINGS.

STRATEGY

War is of vital importance to the State; It is the domain of life or death, the path to the survival or loss of the Empire: it is necessary to manage it well. Not to reflect seriously on everything that concerns you is to show a guilty indifference regarding the conservation or loss of what is most dear to us, and this should not happen between us. SUN TZU (The Art of War).

In the early hours of August 2, 1990, Iraqi troops began their invasion of Kuwait. Within a few hours, the UN. Condemned the unprovoked Iraqi attack. The US, supported by a coalition of 29 countries, began planning a massive military response.

On January 17, 1991, the Coalition forces began Operation Desert Storm to liberate Kuwait. The actions began with mass airstrikes against strategic targets throughout Iraq. The land campaign began on February 22. After a hundred hours of the offensive and after the morale of the Iraqi forces collapsed, on February 25, Kuwait was liberated.

At all times, the head of the Coalition Forces KNEW what he had to do, COULD do, and WANTED to do.

These three words in capital letters are vital for any strategy or tactic and, in general, for any action we undertake. Let's meditate on it. It is useless to know and want to defeat someone if we cannot do it because we lack the means or are not allowed to in any circumstance. In the Yom Kippur War, the Israel Defense Forces began taking heavy losses in both men and land. The Egyptians had conquered the entire peninsula at Sinai and threatened to wipe out the rest of Israel. On the northern front, on the Golan Heights, the Syrians looked as if they were going to sweep up the Israelis and throw them into the sea. Within a few days, the situation was reversed: the Jewish forces had crossed the Suez Canal, and nothing prevented them from reaching Cairo.

They were also 50 km from Damascus in the North without any Syrian military units blocking their advance. Israel wanted and knew how to defeat these two enemies. But I can't. In support of its Arab allies, the Soviet Union made some very serious threats (including nuclear war) that forced the Jews to stop their offensive dead. They wanted to, they knew, but they could not defeat their enemies.

Let's look at another example. Hannibal defeated the Roman armies at Cannae. He had previously defeated them in other battles. No Roman forces were left between the Carthaginian forces and the capital, Rome. Hannibal could and knew how to take Rome, but he did not want to end the war with the enemy's total defeat.

He paid dearly. The Romans took advantage of the time Hannibal and his army wasted wandering around Italy. With a landing in Carthage, they made Hannibal return to battle to defend his territory. Ultimately, the Carthaginians lost the war. Rome did not make the same mistake as Hannibal: he destroyed his enemy and never bothered him again. Another lesson we can learn is that Hannibal knew how to win battles but did not know how to win the war. Hannibal dominated tactics; in strategy, the Romans won.

It may happen that you can and want to win, but you don't know. General Custer of the US Army, waged against the Indian nation, had superior means to the Sioux that he wanted to destroy. He did not mention that the latter knew how to beat him and that the US Cavalry made a series of mistakes attributable to the incompetence of General Custer. All his riders died with their boots on, but they died because they didn't know how to do their job. Years later, the Indian nation was defeated and practically destroyed physically and morally. They have not become an enemy of the Yankee Cavalry again, although the theme has given rise to many Wild West movies. However, that is another issue that separates us from what interests us.

Next, the most general concepts of strategy and tactics will be exposed. In general, it focuses on the political-military facet. However, if the concept is grasped, these ideas can be applied to any facet of our lives, from solving personal problems to managing companies and highly complex organizations. It must be made clear that they are only very simplified general ideas as a prologue to a topic of great interest to achieve success in any task we set out to do.

EVOLUTION OF THE STRATEGY

Victory in war is a way of preserving nations that are about to perish and perpetuating societies that will die; failure in war consists of losing territory and seeing sovereignty threatened. This is why military affairs must be examined. However, those who enjoy militarism will perish; and those who covet victory will suffer misfortune. War is not something to be enjoyed; victory is not to be an object of ambition.

SUN BIN (The Art of War II)

Strategy as science moved out of the military sphere into the civilian sphere because of history, the ever-closer union of war and politics, the cultural exchange between different civilizations, and the current scientific and technological revolution.

The first observations on this art and science come from the Greco-Roman civilization, and its maximum representative was Julio Cesar. In turn, Sun Tzu and his disciple Sun Bin appear in China, whose texts are still in force.

Centuries later, in the Renaissance, Nicholas Machiavelli wrote his book The Art of War, in which, based on the experiences of the ancient campaigns of the ancient Romans, he establishes recommendations on how to wage war, the organization for the armies, the use of weapons, as well as explaining the influence of geography and politics in warfare. El Príncipe is by the same author, where he addresses this issue from another, more political perspective. A few years later, Miyamoto Musashi emerged in Japan, with his Book of Five Rings providing an original vision of strategy that remains in force in 21st-century Japan.

In the 19th century, one of the modern strategy models emerged: Carl Von Clausewitz. In his work De la Guerra, he systematized the knowledge accumulated until then about war and its technique. His thought influenced the contents of the 20th century, and today he still has concepts in force.

Other strategists with current influence are Liddell Hart, Mao Tse Tung, Fuller, Collins, and the Frenchman Beaufre.

DEFINITION, PURPOSE, AND MEANS

It is not reasonable for someone who is armed to willingly obey someone who is unarmed, nor for the unarmed to feel safe among armed servants, since -for there may be disdain in the one and fear in the other - it is impossible for them to act correctly together. For this reason, a prince who does not concern himself with the art of war, apart from the calamities that we have already mentioned, can never be appreciated by his soldiers or neither trust them...

NICOLAS MACHIAVELLI (The Prince)

Definition of Strategy Strategy

can be defined as the science and art of conceiving, using and conducting means (natural, spiritual and human resources) in a specific time and space to achieve and/or maintain the objectives established for an ultimate goal.

Purpose of the Strategy

The purpose of the strategy is to achieve and/or maintain the objectives set, making the best possible use of the means available. A strategy is classified as good if it manages to achieve the planned objectives and if there has been an economy of means. The objectives can be offensive, defensive, or simply stay in the current situation. Reaching or maintaining objectives implies breaking the will of the adversary. This is a decision. The decision is, therefore, the achievement of the objectives at the expense of the adversary's will and the external and internal factors that intervene in said decision.

Means of the Strategy Means

are understood as all the material, spiritual and human resources available to implement a decision. The power that can be disposed of is a function of their means to achieve their objectives.

STRATEGIC MODELS

Victory - the purpose of combat - is then a consequence of the moral capitulation of the enemy and will be the result of:

1° The increase in the physical loss of the adversary. (through combat) 2° The increase in moral loss. (as a result of the combat)

3° The public confession of these disadvantages, manifested by the abandonment of the primitive project. (capitulation or defeat) KARL VON KLAUSEWITZ (Of War)

We have already seen that it is essential to WILL, BE ABLE, and KNOW, or what is the same: will to win, freedom of action, and ability to execute. Depending on the degree of each of these components that we have, the following modalities of action can be used:

Direct threat: our means are very powerful, the objective is modest, and there is ample freedom of action. The mere threat of these media can lead the adversary to accept the conditions we impose and restrict their freedom of action.

Indirect pressure:

●  Our means are scarce to constitute a decisive threat.

●  The objective is modest.

●  The freedom of action is limited.

More or less threatening actions of a political, economic, or psychosocial nature must be carried out.

Successive actions: our means are scarce, the objective important, and the freedom of action reduced, and achieving the strategic objective will be sought through a series of successive actions. Direct threat and indirect pressure can be combined with actions of force limited in space and time.

Prolonged Total Struggle: our freedom of action is great, and the means available are scarce. The enemy is forced to wear himself out through a guerrilla fight that will require a lot of effort that he will not be able to sustain indefinitely.

Frontal Fight: our means are powerful, the objective is important, and the freedom of action is reduced. It will try to achieve the strategic objective through a rapid and violent conflict (lightning war).

STRATEGIC PRINCIPLES

The annexation of a small country by a large one, or of a large one by a small one, are things that happen regularly. It is common for a progressive but weak country or phenomenon to be destroyed by another retrograde but strong country or phenomenon.

MAO TSE TUNG (On the prolonged war)

Principles are understood as the base, foundation, or fundamental reason on which one proceeds, being the strategy of an action that must be based on the constants of human action that are summarized in WANTING BEING ABLE AND KNOWING. Willing is an act of will; power is an act of freedom, and knowledge is an act of ability. For this reason, there are three strategic principles:

WILL TO WIN

It implies faith in victory and tenacity to achieve the objective, even at the cost of adversities that may arise. The will to win answers to what I want to do.

FREEDOM OF ACTION

It is the power to freely choose the strategic maneuver, the means to be executed, the assignment of missions, and guide the implementation according to the situation; It is the free faculty to decide, prepare and carry out, despite the will and actions of the adversary. Answer the questions How can it be done? Who can do it? It implies preventing the adverse maneuver and directing one's own towards the objective. You should always seek to preserve your freedom and deprive your adversary of his.

IMPLEMENTATION CAPACITY

It is the adequacy of the means available to all the elements involved in the conflict. The proper use of resources in time and space is the economy of effort.

THE STRATEGIC DECISION

Since the first political purposes vary greatly in the course of the war and the end, they can be completely different precisely because they are determined by the results and the probability of events. KARL VON KLAUSEWITZ (Of War).

All strategic action always consists of three variables: time, space, quantity, and quality of the material and moral means that define a situation. The essential thing is to maintain your freedom of action, deny the adversary and maintain the initiative.

The Space: It is the area where strategic action will be developed. The space can vary, expanding or reducing, even reaching the point of not being able to identify it, as in the development of an irregular war, since this is a war without fronts in which the two sides are intermingled.

Time: it is decisive and can be for or against one. It is closely linked to the principle of freedom of action, and this factor implies effectiveness and efficiency in applying resources to achieve the precise objective.

Material and moral forces that define a situation: Considering time and space, one's self and adverse material and moral forces are evaluated to decide what to do with ourselves. Forces can be concentrated, dispersed, economized, increased, or reduced.

The maneuver factor

There are two types: offensive maneuvers and defensive maneuvers. Some are actions, and others are reactions to the adversary's actions. Maneuvers offensive are: attack, threaten, harass and chase. Maneuvers defensive are: defend, stop, channel and counterattack. In both cases, deception and simulation are used.

TYPES OF STRATEGY

Moral factors are the most important issue in warfare because the effects of physical forces are completely merged with the effects of moral forces and cannot be separated.

KARL VON KLAUSEWITZ (Of War)

Direct Strategy

This means reaching the objective by the use of force. The confrontation will be made from strong to strong, and the decision must be made in the main theater (Clausewitz).

The Indirect Strategy

Inspires the forms of conflict that do not directly seek the final objective through the frontal confrontation of forces but through less direct procedures of the political, economic, and social order. It implies making the best possible use of limited freedom of action and obtaining decisive success despite the limited means employed.

This strategy prioritizes the non-use of force before; on the contrary, the social aspect is of special weight when it comes to ideological struggles where the population is the fundamental objective.

SUBDIVISION OF THE STRATEGY

The strategy is always one by itself, but for its study and according to which facets of the conflict it can be subdivided into:

General Strategy

It is the shell that surrounds the hardcore that is politics. Without politics, there is no strategy; therefore, the latter is subordinate to the former. The role of the strategy is to define the mission itself and the combination of the various specific strategies: political, economic, social, and use of force.

Particular or Specific Strategy

It is each of these particular strategies that the grand strategy has conceived, so it is directly subordinate to the first. Distribute and combine the tasks of the actions carried out in the different branches of activity of the field considered.

Operational Strategy

At this level is the point between the concept and the execution: what is wanted or should be done and what makes the tactical conditions possible. The operative strategy aims to unite the objectives chosen by the particular strategy with the possibilities determined by the tactics or techniques of the considered branch.

Logistics Strategy

It is in charge of producing, maintaining, and supplying the necessary material means to have all the necessary power and successfully face the conflict to achieve the desired objective. The logistics and operational strategy complement each other since neither is worth anything without the other.

TACTICS

Smart governments and generals with knowledge of military science must prepare first; then, they can achieve success before fighting, so they don't lose a possible success achievement after fighting. For this reason, when the warriors leave successfully and return without being wounded, they understand the art of war.

SUN BIN (The Art of War II)

If we can say that strategy is the science and art of winning war, it can be said that tactics study how to win battles.

The strategy would be how to win a championship in a sport; the tactic would be to do everything possible to win a game of that championship. An intermediate branch joins it, and it has already been commented that it is called the operational level. We will skip over this level since it does not affect the approach of this book at all, and it would deviate from the topic it deals with. There are some tactical principles, which, although they are also of strategic application, are in the tactics field where they acquire their greatest value. They are security, surprise, the economy of means, the concentration of force, taking advantage of success, and flexibility. All these concepts will be explained in detail below.

Security

It consists of guarding against the actions that the adversary can carry out against us. It must always be applied in any circumstance. In 1941, the Pearl Harbor naval air base in Hawaii was attacked by Japanese aircraft. As a consequence of that attack, a large part of the US fleet was, and it was sunk in the port itself, which marked the beginning of the war in the Pacific Ocean for the US. There was no security measure at the said base, resulting in a total disaster. On the Jewish holiday of Yom Kippur in 1973, the forces that garrisoned Sinai were with a means of a third of the usual. The Egyptian attack against these positions was overwhelming, and they fell within hours of the attack. Security was below the minimum level that the situation recommended.

Surprise

Attacking the adversary at the moment and place least expected by him. It also consists of using means unknown or unexpected by it. In World War II, the allied armies landed in France through Normandy when Germany expected the landing in Calais. The action was carried out in the place least expected by the enemy. We have already commented that the Egyptians attacked the Jews on their national holiday, Yom Kippur, at the least expected moment.

In China's Three Warring States period, a general made a night attack on a far superior enemy camp. For this, he used two thousand oxen to which he lit torches on their horns. Behind them, the drums began to beat. The roar of the drums added to the stampede of the maddened animals, instilled panic and chaos, devastating the camp and the enemy forces. The enemy employed unexpected means.

Economy of means

You must attack with the tightest means possible; other resources may be needed at another time and place. Always leave a reserve for unforeseen situations. It is convenient to study the means we assign for each action in detail.

Guerrilla warfare is the clearest example of an economy of means. With few forces, you can harass and defeat many superior forces. There are plenty of examples of this in history.

Concentration of efforts

It is the concurrence for the same purpose of all the elements involved in an action, be it offensive or defensive. It is materialized through the application at the opportune moment in time/space of a power superior to that of the adversary. On the contrary, it is convenient to divide the enemy forces so that they do not end up concentrating their means. Once divided, our means, which will be superior, can be launched against a part of the adversary that will be easily defeated. In this way, a small force can overcome any superior force.

Taking advantage of success.

It consists of maintaining the momentum of the first successful actions to benefit from the reduction, already achieved, of the adversary's power or to nullify and unbalance his possibilities of action or reaction. Any partial success must be monetized.

In the German invasion of France in World War II, the Germans managed to pocket at Dunkirk what was left of the French army and the entire English army in France. If success had been taken advantage of, they would have seized or destroyed said forces. However, they were allowed to go to England so that, once recovered, they were used on other fronts against Germany.

FLEXIBILITY.

It is the ability to modify the initial provisions to adapt to changes in the situation. It requires open-mindedness and simple plans with alternative solutions. Maintaining a reserve of assets is a basic recipe for exercising tactical or strategic flexibility. No plan will be able to foresee exactly the various situations that may arise when we face an adversary.

No plan resists the first clash against an adversary, and you always have to modify it or carry out a new one. It is convenient not to blindly cling to the initial provisions due to the changing situation as the combat unfolds.

If you take your own country's weapons supplies but take food away from the enemy, you can be well stocked with weapons and supplies.

Those who win all the battles are not professionals; those who make the armies of others render impotent without fighting are the best masters of the SUN TZU Art of War (The Art of War).

CHAPTER 2. SELF

"T hose who control themselves will have no difficulty governing effectively. He who does not know how to govern himself will find it impossible to order the conduct of other men.

Confucius. ANALECTS.

SELF CONTROL

The wise control themselves in actions, words, and thoughts, and they are well-controlled.

DHAMMAPADA

To be able to practice everything that is exposed in this book, great self-control is necessary. You'll need it to play this fascinating Great Game, and you'll need it to know how to break your opponents' self-control.

We will discuss the irrational ideas that make human beings lose self-control and how to avoid falling into them. Of course, by knowing how to control yourself, you will know how to lose yourself. And knowing how you can lose will make other players you care about have no self-control.

Then, we will introduce you to a part of you that is usually a great unknown: your mind. Knowing it, you will be able to better understand others, and knowing that others, you will have a good point of support to leverage in the direction that interests us.

The fundamentals of concentration will be exposed, proposing some simple exercises (apparently). Elementary relaxation and breathing techniques will also be discussed.

Finally, you will briefly know meditation. Surely you think that it is very complicated, requires a discipline from the Far East, and is explained in strange and esoteric terms. Nothing further than that, you will be surprised by how simple it is and how beneficial it is. By the time you finish reading it, or perhaps while you're reading, you'll get there.

DEFINITION

Happiness: A big cat sees how a kitten tried to grab its tail and asks: Why do you do it? And the kitten said: Because I have learned that the best thing is happiness, and my tail is happiness the big cat replied: I also know that my tail is happiness, but I have realized that when I chase it, it escapes me and when I am doing what I have to do, it comes after me wherever I go

HINDU TALE

Emotional self-control is the ability that allows us to control our emotions ourselves and not that they control us, removing the possibility of choosing what we want to feel at every moment of our lives.

We are the actors or makers of our