Monday, December 22, 2025

Khazaria and the Forgotten Christian-Jewish-Muslim-Confucian Alliance

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Khazaria and the Forgotten Christian-Jewish-Muslim-Confucian Alliance

Rising Tide Foundation

Dec 22

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Today’s age of imperial geopolitics has made it difficult for many people to appreciate the cooperative traditions in history that gave rise to the great discoveries and progress of humanity’s experience. From the ancient Silk Road uniting the east with the west in trade and cultural exchange for hundreds of years to the 7-9th century alliance of Christian, Jewish, Muslim civilisations, history has proven that humanity is much more than a Hobbesian animal- perpetually prejudiced to others, intolerant to differences and greedily “looking out for number one”.

Although this misanthropic view of human nature has been carefully amplified by generations of imperial gatekeepers of history, philosophy, anthropology and sociology, the fact is that it is no more true than the theory that the earth is flat.

Both theories (ie: “flat earth” and “Hobbesian beast-man”) both have the effect of crippling the powers of creative reason in the minds of its adherents, undermining the maturation of conscience in the hearts of its believers and has kept humanity chained to sets of ideas that act as self-regulating barriers between our “material selves” on the one side and our higher potentials for discovery and self improvement on the other. “Stay within your limited field of activity” says the master to its slaves, “and never dream of venturing too far outside your proscribed limits”.

In this Rising Tide Foundation lecture, Matthew Ehret introduces the story of the little known Turkic kingdom of Khazaria which converted to Judaism in the mid 8th century and which served as a keystone of the Tang Dynasty’s Silk Road revival as well as intermediary between the beautiful ecumenical alliance of the Abbasid Dynasty’s great Caliph Haroun al Rashid and the Carolingian Dynasty’s leader Charlemagne.

Within this class, the question is treated: how and why did this civilisation and broader ecumenical story get scrubbed out of history? How did the Venetian empire and other vestiges of the corrupt Roman Empire reorganise itself after Rome’s collapse and successfully undermine this peace of faiths by unleashing years of Crusades, Mongol invasions, inquisitions while simultaneously engineering a new bankers’ dictatorship after the 13th century that became a dominant force of evil in the world? How did such artists as Shakespeare, Christopher Marlowe and Schiller expose this side of the empire within their works in later years?

This lecture is part of a larger series entitled “The Renaissance Principle in Universal History” and follows the previous week’s lecture “Life at the End of an Empire: St Augustine’s Fight to Save Platonic Christianity” can be viewed here:

The Rising Tide Foundation (RTF), a non-profit based out of Montreal, Canada, dedicated to the rigorous re-examination of Universal History and the principles governing the cyclical appearance of Renaissances and Dark Ages in human civilization.

Consider supporting our work by subscribing to our substack page and Telegram channel at t.me/RisingTideFoundation.

Rising Tide Foundation

Dedicated to the enhancement of cross-cultural understanding and dialogue between east and west.

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Sunday, December 21, 2025

Discipline Is the Language of Self-Respect

Most people treat discipline like a chore. A burden to bear, a necessary evil on the path to success. But that perspective misses the truth entirely.

Discipline is not punishment.

Discipline is self-respect in action.

It is the physical expression of how seriously you take your own word.

When you tell yourself you'll do something: Wake up early, train, make the call, write the message…and you follow through, you reinforce an identity of reliability. You prove to yourself that your promises matter.

That creates confidence on a cellular level.

Confidence doesn't come from affirmations or applause. It comes from evidence. The lived experience of keeping commitments that no one else sees.

Discipline is the language you use to communicate with your future self.

Each act says: I can count on me.

And that changes everything.

Because most people can't. They overcommit, delay, rationalize, negotiate with themselves. Every broken promise (even a small one) chips away at self-trust. Eventually, they no longer believe their own words. They say they'll change, but their subconscious knows better.

This is why people chase motivation: They need emotional fuel to replace the trust they've lost in themselves.

But, you don't need motivation when you have respect.

You don't negotiate with yourself when you respect yourself.

Discipline is simply the habit of choosing what you said you would do…especially when the mood has changed.

Every small act compounds into identity.

Every repetition builds quiet certainty.

Discipline sharpens your mind, but more importantly, it cleans your spirit. It removes the noise, the chaos, the guilt that comes from knowing you've let yourself down. It replaces it with calm authority.

This is why the most composed people you know also tend to be the most disciplined.

They aren't rigid…they're aligned.

Their lives are organized around standards, not feelings.

And that's what creates presence. The sense that someone lives by their own internal code.

Discipline is not about control.

It's about devotion to the person you said you'd become.

Keep your promises.

Earn your own respect.

The rest will follow.

Your coach,

-James Michael Sama

P.S.: If you're looking for a private advisor to help you develop these qualities, let's talk.

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Thursday, December 18, 2025

A conversation I don't usually have in public...

Most of what I share here is distilled.

Short reflections. Clear direction. Ideas meant to land quickly and stay with you.

But every so often, someone sits across from me and asks the longer questions.

Not the polished ones…

The real ones.

I was recently invited onto the Say That Podcast and the conversation went deeper than I typically go in writing.

We talked about why modern men are so confused about what healthy masculinity really looks like.

Why high performers often feel strangely unsettled once they "win." (Success and fulfillment are very different things).

How presence, identity, and decision-making change when you start operating at a higher level.

The importance of authenticity and blocking out the noise of what everyone else is doing.

It was an unfiltered conversation. Thoughtful. Grounded. Personal in places.

If you have ever wondered how I think about these things in real time, this episode gives you that window.

You can watch and/or listen by clicking here.

I will be back with our regular Secret Weapon insights on Sunday. We'll be discussing how discipline is a form of self-respect.

Until then, consider this an open door into a longer conversation.

James