tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-38413803194578005452024-03-12T21:19:37.799-07:00.::Re-Genesis::.Re means again and again. Genesis means the origin, the coming into being. The birth or to be born. Genesis=origin, beginning, creation, generation. Therefore, Re-Genesis is the Re-Birth. The Re-Creation and Re-generation. It is the death of my former self and the Re-Birth of my true self.Genesishttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08162354206923801618noreply@blogger.comBlogger52125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3841380319457800545.post-80763827255897024842011-06-09T21:31:00.000-07:002011-06-09T21:31:01.634-07:00"Moon Time"<strong>As women raised up in religious, patriarchal and misogynistic societies, we are taught our bodies are shameful, we are the center of sin, we are “unclean.” Our “moon time” or menstrual period are to be hidden. We are ashamed, embarrassed… Such a potentially spiritual time is degraded. </strong><br />
<strong>There was a time when a woman’s moon time was celebrated. The blood isn’t brought about through violence - peaceful blood - so it is holy. It is different. </strong><br />
<strong>Female blood has a remarkable potency in the ritual imagination of Africans. For example, among many people, the menstrual blood of a woman is considered sacred and has the power to ward off evil spirits. Some view the ability to shed blood as an example of the unique fertility of a woman. There are others who see the divinity in the special powers of women. In African religion, each sex can operate as the vessel of the spirits and there are both priests and priestesses who serve at their shires or temples. However, the sex of the minister is not an indication of the sex of the divinity </strong>(Kwabena Faheem Ashanti in the Encyclopedia of African Religion, Volume I)<strong>. </strong><br />
<a name='more'></a><br />
<strong>In the Asante tribe of Ghana when a girl/young woman gets her first period, she is treated like royalty; A big celebration is thrown in her honor. The !Gwi of southern Africa celebrate menarche by decorating the body of the young woman with intricate patterns. </strong><br />
<strong>In the past, the Yurok people of California believed that a menstruating woman should be separated from the other members of the community since she had such incredible powers. It was thought that the bleeding time should not be used for daily living, but for prayers and worship. At menarche a girl was taken to a menstrual shelter where she performed secret rites and took a special bath. She was given special clothes and ate only certain foods. Though this practice is no longer common, some Yurok women are careful to keep their tradition alive.</strong><br />
<strong>The Oglala Sioux people of the North American prairies have a long history of revering the menstruating woman as a powerful being. The newly menstruating girl would traditionally undergo a purification ritual and undertake instruction from a holy woman. She would be compared to the sacred Mother Earth, yet her power was also considered to be dangerous if the proper rituals and instructions were not given. But once these conditions were met, her holiness was considered to extend to the entire tribe, not just to herself. </strong><br />
<strong>After these rituals, the young woman was told: “You are the tree of life. You will now be pure and holy, and may your generations to come be fruitful! Wherever your feet touch will be a sacred place, for now you will always carry with you a very great influence.”</strong><br />
<span class="note">(Serenity Young, <em>An Anthology of Sacred Texts By and About Women</em>. New York: Crossroad, 1993, p. 231)</span><strong>. </strong><br />
<strong>Some cultures, like North American whites (and anyone linked to Christianity), call menstruation a “curse.” Other people, like the Ebrié of the Ivory Coast in Africa, think it’s a curse if a young woman should <em>lose</em> her periods. Some agricultural communities, however, use menstrual blood to bless their crops. Some scholars believe that all religious celebrations and rituals first began with the celebration of menstruation. Menstrual blood was considered by ancient cultures to be one of the most sacred substances since it, like the blood of childbirth, is the only kind of blood that’s not linked with death and dying – but with the potential for new life.The root word for “ritual” comes from a Sanskrit word that means “menses.” This links menstruation with the very origins of religious rituals </strong>(1997 by Kathleen O’Grady and Paula Wansbrough)<strong>.</strong><br />
<strong>“Menstrual blood is the only source of blood that is not traumatically induced. Yet in modern society, this is the most hidden blood, the one so rarely spoken of and almost never seen, except privately by women, who shut themselves in a little room to quickly and in many cases disgustedly change their pads and tampons, wrapping the bloodied cotton so it won’t be seen by others, wrinkling their faces at the odor, flushing or hiding the evidence away. Blood is everywhere, and yet the one, the only, the single name it has not publicly had, for many centuries, is menstrual blood. ”</strong> (Blood, Bread & Roses, How Menstruation created the world, Judy Grahn)<strong>.</strong><br />
<br />
<strong>“Several Native American cultures consider women in menses to be at the HEIGHT of her powers. For instance, the Lakota tribe would not permit a menstrual woman anywhere near warriors or healers. They believed that menstrual blood was so powerful that just the presence of such power would weaken the strength of warriors and interfere with a healer’s ability to heal. The menstrual blood serves to purify, to cleanse, renew, and it prepares the woman for higher spiritual accomplishments. The Yurok, and Lakota tribes practiced monthly rituals by retreating into MOON lodges with other menstrual women. There they celebrated the power of their menstrual blood. </strong><br />
<strong>We all come from the same mother (the Great Mother). She is the wise woman. We all return to her embrace, her bloody-rich womb place, when we die. Every woman is a whole/holy form of her, able to be whole/holy mother of all life, able to be whole/holy destroyer of life. Her power is her blood that flows and flows, her blood which is life and gives life. Every woman’s menstrual blood and birth-time blood is a holy mystery. </strong><br />
<br />
<strong> What are the blood mysteries? Why are they central to the understanding of the Wise Woman tradition.</strong><br />
<br />
<strong> Blood mysteries teach that menstrual blood and birthing blood are holy blood, power blood, healing blood. The blood mysteries teach us to remember that life and healing come from and return to woman, to the wise woman, to the woman who bleeds and bleeds. And does not die.</strong><br />
<br />
<strong> Blood mysteries reveal that menstrual (moontime) blood and birth blood are so holy, so full of potential, so full of the void, that they are to be used only to heal, to heal by nourishing. Holy woman-blood is nourishing blood, blood of love, blood of abundance, blood that heals the earth.</strong><br />
<br />
<strong> Blood mysteries recall the immense power of the bleeding woman. Power enough to share in great nourishing give-away from mother to matrix, give-away of nourisher to nourisher. When we bleed into the ground (in reality or fantasy) our power regrounds as our blood flows through the personal root chakra and into the earth </strong>(<a href="http://www.susunweed.com/Article_Blood_Mysteries.htm">http://www.susunweed.com/Article_Blood_Mysteries.htm</a>)<strong>.</strong><br />
<strong>Hera’s first Temple - the Heraion of Samos - was a sanctuary on the Southern region of Samos. Research has revealed many of construction phases, the first dating to the 8th century BCE. The religion of Hera included menstrual rituals to follow the cycles of the moon and every four years the Goddess Hera was celebrated at the games & feast of the Heraia, where only women ran races. Runners were selected from three age groups representing the phases of the moon. These special games, Carl Kerényi believes, originated what became the Olympic Games.</strong><br />
<strong><em>Pre-Olympian Myth:</em> On the day of the new moon, women of the city walked together to the river Eleutherion (ελευθεριον - freedom) - the Water of Freedom. They bathed and then gathered branches from the lygos bushes, which they laid in a circle. With the blessing of Hera, the lygos encouraged the flow of their menstrual blood that would complete the cleansing. As evening approached, they called upon the Goddess in Her appearance as the Moon. Or as Carl Kerényi has called Her “the spellbinding moonlight of Greece”, the “origin of all things”. Gradually Hera drew forth the blood of purification and renewed fertility </strong>(<a href="http://www.goddess-pages.co.uk/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=400#ixzz1OqNl4gMN">http://www.goddess-pages.co.uk/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=400#ixzz1OqNl4gMN</a>).<br />
<strong>An examination of the Hebrew reveal that words for earth - a<em>damah</em> - and human/man – a<em>dam </em>- can be traced to the actual root word: <em>dam</em> meaning blood<em>. </em> It is also important to note that unlike English, in the Hebrew language nouns are divided into feminine and masculine gender and interestingly both words (mother) earth (adamah) and soul(nefesh) are in the feminine gender </strong>(<a href="http://www.goddess-pages.co.uk/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=400#ixzz1OqO13B1n">http://www.goddess-pages.co.uk/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=400#ixzz1OqO13B1n</a>).<br />
<strong>This is a small collection/throwing together of information on the sacredness of our menstrual/moon time. More to come. </strong><br />
<strong>The purpose of this post is to shed light on our power, our beauty, and our divinity. We are not vessels of sin. We are not unclean. We are not lesser. We are not cursed. We are not weak. We are the direct opposite of all of these things. Embrace YOU. Love YOU. Appreciate the divinity and uniqueness of divine womanhood. </strong>Genesishttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08162354206923801618noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3841380319457800545.post-27927325175479121862011-05-18T12:21:00.000-07:002011-05-18T12:22:43.978-07:00Facebook Convo on "God" and Christianity<b>The original post said: </b><span class="messageBody">no human has the power ,knowledge or insight to predict the end of the world... ppl let weak minded ppl around them influence there faith in believing foolish things...they said the world was going to end on new years 2000 but it didn't happen.. soooo do your own research read the bible and believe the word of god and not man made myths and prediction</span><br />
<b><span class="messageBody">My first response: </span></b> <span data-jsid="text">But... If man wrote the Bible, you're still depending on the words, myths, and predictions of man to tell you when the world is going to end... <br />
<br />
And people ALWAYS think the world is going to end. They've been saying that for thousands of years, yet...</span><br />
<span data-jsid="text"></span><br />
<img _mce_src="http://assets.tumblr.com/javascript/tiny_mce_3_3_3/plugins/pagebreak/img/trans.gif" class="mcePageBreak mceItemNoResize" src="http://assets.tumblr.com/javascript/tiny_mce_3_3_3/plugins/pagebreak/img/trans.gif" /><br />
<br />
<b><span data-jsid="text">Someone responded to the original post (her name is Shannon): </span></b><span data-jsid="text">^The bible was written by men who were given words to write straight from the holy spirit the bible is our guide to direct us and let us know of things to come but there is no where in the bible that says when jesus is coming back no man<span class="text_exposed_show"> knows the day or the hour it also warns the people of earth about false christ that would reveal themselves in the last days and it warns you not to believe or follow them pray to god that he gives you direction and understanding of his word so that you may not be lost</span></span><br />
<a name='more'></a><b><span data-jsid="text"><span class="text_exposed_show"> My response: </span></span></b><span data-jsid="text">Shannon, what I would like to know is, what proof is there that these words were given by a "holy spirit?" What proof is there that there is a holy spirit? And if it's given by a "perfect" being, why is the word so flawed?</span><br />
<br />
<b><span data-jsid="text">Shannon's response: </span></b><span data-jsid="text">@makeda read 2 timothy chapter 3:verses 16- 17 thats your proof also Galatians 5 18-25 </span><span data-jsid="text">And also Romans chapter 8 verses 6 and 7</span><br />
<br />
<b><span data-jsid="text">My response: </span></b><span data-jsid="text">@Shannon Um... The Bible doesn't prove the Bible exists... </span><span data-jsid="text">You need actual evidence and support. If your only proof of the Bible is the Bible, then you have no proof at all :-/</span><br />
<br />
<b><span data-jsid="text">Shannon's response: </span></b>@makeda Well im sorry but if you believe that the world will end May 21 and that the bible doesnt exist then you need to get your self together but it sad that satan has people brainwashed and God provides clear answers to all your ques<span class="text_exposed_show">tions in his word (1 timothy chapter 6 verses 17 -21) i pray that we all get ourselves together so when the day of judgement comes we will be ready to meet our saviour and i also pray that anyone who reads these comments get a clear understanding of biblical truth</span><br />
<span data-jsid="text"></span><br />
<br />
<span data-jsid="text"><b>Original poster's response: </b>@Fmajor @makenda yall are truly lost... i guess y'all are really ment for each other and its sad to stay that makenda really brain washed fmajor..smh.. so i guessing y'all believe that man was mad from air particles or we evolved from apes.. its higher power out there which is god..</span><br />
<br />
<b><span data-jsid="text">My response: </span></b> <span data-jsid="text">... What proof is there that Satan exists, Shannon? I mean, what tangible evidence do you have? I don't believe the world is ending May 21st, lol. People believe that? <br />
<br />
I think religion is what has people brainwashed. <br />
<br />
And still, no one has given any proof of anything they are asserting as fact/truth. Personal belief is fine. The problem is when you assert this as FACT without giving any proof of it.</span><br />
<br />
<b><span data-jsid="text">My response: </span></b><span data-jsid="text">@Original poster I also think it's sad that you think so little of Fmajor that you think I brainwashed him... Rather than thinking he has a mind of his own and came to his own conclusion about Christianity. <br />
<br />
Also, I'm curious to know what<span class="text_exposed_show"> the hell you're talking about? Air particles? Really, Drew? Lol. But this isn't about what I believe. This is about people calling something true with no proof of it. <br />
<br />
What proof do you have of a higher power? Now, I'm not actually saying there isn't a higher power. What I AM saying is that Christianity is a man made religion--as are all religions--and there is no proof that Christianity is the true way, that Jesus existed, etc.</span></span><br />
<br />
<b><span data-jsid="text"><span class="text_exposed_show">Shannon's response: </span></span></b><span data-jsid="text">@ MAKEDA AND FMAJOR IF YOU DO NOT BELEIIVE THERE IS A God look at yourself in the mirror your are a God given miracle you were created for a purpose to be pleasing in God eyes i do not know you guys but i love you enough to say that God is<span class="text_exposed_show"> real i am a living testimony and i am also not perfect or proclaim to be holier than thou God is still working on me and its a minute by minute process i just pray that you guys just have a little faith and curiousity to try God atleast just once and see what he does for you believing in man will get you nowhere and believing in this evil world will def get you no where now im not tryna make a alter call or anything like that it just bothers me that satan has influenced man to believe that he isnt real and that God isnt real its a spiritual warfare out here guys and if we do not pay attention we will be lost.</span></span><br />
<br />
<b>Someone responded (His name is Damany):</b> <span data-jsid="text">Ok, for all the non believers of the bibles devine truth consider this. Even something as simplistic as a garment (Dress, shirt, pants, etc.) had to be designed by someone superior. So when you consider that, how could you think that something as complex as the UNIVERSE has NO original designer? You'd be a fool to believe that "Stephen Hawking" bs.</span><br />
<br />
<b><span data-jsid="text"><span class="text_exposed_show">My response: </span></span></b>Shannon, I love you enough to respect that, that is your personal view. I don't have a problem with you being Christian. I have a problem with people saying that Christianity is the true way or that their god is THE god. You existing is not proof of that. If that is your argument, anyone from any religion could use that as proof of their god. <br />
<span data-jsid="text"></span><br />
<div class="text_exposed_root text_exposed" id="id_4dd416511b3017a63173569"><span class="text_exposed_show"><br />
And I have a problem with you assuming I've never "tried god." I did "try god" for most of my life... And I decided to get off the pipe, lol. <br />
<br />
And you say you're becoming better? Becoming better is YOU making a conscious effort to be better. It has nothing to do with any "god." <br />
<br />
I'm far from lost. I understand where you're coming from, but your whole message is condescending... And you still don't give any real proof of anything you're asserting as truth! Just because there is "evil" in the world, doesn't mean "satan" is a real being. Just because you can't explain the world, life, your existence, etc. doesn't mean "god" is a real being. <br />
<br />
And many people are Christian, but they suffer, they die, they starve, they are homeless, etc. Since when does believing in Christianity or the god of it mean anything? Job was god's most faithful servant. He was the most righteous man of his time... Yet GOD made a bet with the devil and allowed him to be tortured by the devil.</span></div><div class="text_exposed_root text_exposed"><span data-jsid="text"></span><br />
<div class="text_exposed_root text_exposed" id="id_4dd416511b9fc3b53474404"><span data-jsid="text"></span></div><div class="text_exposed_root text_exposed"><span data-jsid="text"><br />
</span></div><div class="text_exposed_root text_exposed"><span data-jsid="text"><b>@Damany</b> Lol. You know, people come up with all these "deep" analogies, yet still offer no proof. As I said previously, you not UNDERSTANDING THE UNIVERSE does not by default mean that your mystery god exists. Wtf does fashion even have to <span class="text_exposed_show">do with this? What evidence--aside from "look at the universe!"--can you give me that "god" exists? <br />
<br />
What evidence can you give me that YOUR god is real? What evidence can you give that Christianity is true? <br />
<br />
And you call what Stephen Hawking said is "b.s." I could easily say that the bullshit the bible says is b.s... Wait, I just did. <br />
<br />
The bible is a book of myths... And many of those myths are found in stories older than the bible. Anyone who believes a man was born of a virgin, a man was swallowed by a big fish and lived, the world was flooded in 40 days and 40 nights, woman was made from a rib... Anyone who believes that is out their damn mind. <br />
<br />
And any god who is like the god of the bible--cruel, jealous, immoral, murderous--even IF "he" was real, I would have no desire to worship THAT nigga.</span></span></div><div class="text_exposed_root text_exposed"><span data-jsid="text"><br />
</span></div><div class="text_exposed_root text_exposed"><span data-jsid="text"><span data-jsid="text">Again, I'm not DENYING there is a "higher power." I am saying that no one can actually PROVE that there is one. <br />
<br />
And I am saying that religion is bullshit.</span></span></div><div class="text_exposed_root text_exposed"><span data-jsid="text"><br />
</span></div><div class="text_exposed_root text_exposed"><span data-jsid="text"><b><span data-jsid="text">Shannon's response: </span></b><span data-jsid="text">God is real ,Satan is real, pull the wool from over your eyes an<span class="text_exposed_show">d see what is happening all around you there is only onew ay to get to Heaven(and yes it does exist)and that is through Jesus Christ (john 14:1 Let not your heart be troubled you that believe in God believe also in me (jesus)in my father's(God) house there are many mansion,if they were not i would'nt have told you i go to prepare a place for you, and if go to prepare A PLACE FOR YOU(THE WORLD) i will come again and receive you unto myself that where I live you may also live. You have to believe @makeda satan was an holy angel named lucifer who was kicked out of heaven with a third of the angels because he wanted to be God. See the beauty of God is that he gives all beings angels included the right to choose he doesnt demand that you worship him or obey his principles ,but if you love him then you would live how he wants you to, see lucifer a.k.a satan knows that God is real and uses his power to redirect your attention off of (get of the pipe) of the love of Christ .Satan is the biggest hater out there and wants you to believe that salvation isnt real and figment of someone's imagination. I read this status and i had to comment i started to think well maybe people are ignorant, but then i was reading the comments and people generally do not know what is going on and bound to happen in this world, and i couldnt hold the truth in any longer im putting uo a link please register im not in a occult or anything I'm a seventh day adventist and we beleive in biblical truth not science or man's interpetation of the bible( <a href="http://www.beyondmay21.com/" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">www.beyondmay21.com</a>)</span></span></span></div><div class="text_exposed_root text_exposed"><span data-jsid="text"><b><span data-jsid="text"><span class="text_exposed_show"><br />
</span></span></b></span></div><div class="text_exposed_root text_exposed"><span data-jsid="text"><b>My response:</b> <span data-jsid="text">Saying evil exists is not a valid argument for saying "god and satan are real." And telling someone to "pull the wool from over there eyes" isn't helping get your point across when YOU are the one who is a SHEEP and Jesus is your she<span class="text_exposed_show">pherd. Flocks follow. They don't think. Saying "yes, heaven exists" is not valid, either. Where is heaven located? Have you been there? Do you know someone who has been there? Have they told you about it? Do they have proof they went there? <br />
<br />
Again, Shannon, I stress that the Bible is NOT evidence that the Bible is truth. You need evidence OUTSIDE of the Bible--credible evidence--that validates it as truth. <br />
<br />
Also, where in the Bible does it say that about the devil/satan and "a third of the angels?" <br />
<br />
And god does demand that you worship him, actually. He demands it by threatening you with hell. It's like god is saying, "You can do what you want, but I'll still allow you to suffer for eternity if you don't do what I want you to do." <br />
<br />
You make a lot of assumptions and prove your own ignorance when you say others are ignorant, when clearly my ability to think critically and for myself is far greater than yours. You don't believe science, but you believe the bible. <br />
<br />
Also, you say "I don't believe in man's interpretation of the bible." MAN WROTE THE BIBLE! And your interpretation or your pastor's interpretation, that is STILL relying on MAN'S INTERPRETATION. <br />
<br />
And I know you're not in OCCULT. You're in A CULT.</span></span></span></div><div class="text_exposed_root text_exposed"><span data-jsid="text"><br />
</span></div><div class="text_exposed_root text_exposed"><span data-jsid="text"><span data-jsid="text"><i>Quick question: </i>Do you believe EVERYTHING that's in the bible? Do you agree with everything that's in the bible? And this question is for all of the christians reading this and/or commenting.</span></span></div><div class="text_exposed_root text_exposed"><span data-jsid="text"><br />
</span></div><div class="text_exposed_root text_exposed"><span data-jsid="text"><span data-jsid="text">The only reason people don't want to believe in the word is because its an inconvenience to how they want to live their life. I am nowhere near "Good" I just refuse to be an idiot and pretend its not there.</span></span></div><div class="text_exposed_root text_exposed"><span data-jsid="text"><br />
</span></div><div class="text_exposed_root text_exposed"><span data-jsid="text"><b><span data-jsid="text">Damany's response: </span></b><span data-jsid="text">The only reason people don't want to believe in the word is because its an inconvenience to how they want to live their life. I am nowhere near "Good" I just refuse to be an idiot and pretend its not there.</span></span></div><div class="text_exposed_root text_exposed"><span data-jsid="text"><br />
</span></div><div class="text_exposed_root text_exposed"><span data-jsid="text"><span data-jsid="text"><span data-jsid="text"><b><span data-jsid="text">My response: </span></b></span></span>God's way of "free will" is like me holding a gun to your head and saying, "You can make whichever choice you want... If you choose choice A (which is following me and doing what I say for the rest of your life), I'll reward you with a billion dollars. If you choose choice B (which is you get to choose what you want to do with your life), I'll shoot you in each arm, each leg, your stomach, and then I'll shoot you in the head." Who in the hell would choose choice B? </span></div><div class="text_exposed_root text_exposed"></div><div class="text_exposed_root text_exposed"></div><div class="text_exposed_root text_exposed"><span data-jsid="text">Lol. You just refuse to be intelligent and think for yourself, Damany. You offer proof of nothing and resort to indirectly insulting people who don't believe in superstitions.</span> <b><span data-jsid="text"></span></b><br />
<div class="text_exposed_root text_exposed" id="id_4dd416511cd425831535716"><b><span data-jsid="text"><span class="text_exposed_show"><br />
Biblical god rules by fear, not love, not mercy, not morality. FEAR and cruelty.</span></span></b></div><div class="text_exposed_root text_exposed"><b><span data-jsid="text"><br />
</span></b></div><span data-jsid="text"><div class="text_exposed_root text_exposed"><span data-jsid="text">Also, I live my life how I want, and it's STILL a moral life. Morality and goodness is not dependent on religion or "god." I'm pretty sure that--aside from worshiping "god"--I live a more Christ-like life than many people who are Christians. </span></div><div class="text_exposed_root text_exposed"><br />
</div><div class="text_exposed_root text_exposed">Also, it is CHRISTIANS who pick and choose parts of the Bible that they want to follow and don't. They choose the parts that give them warm fuzzy feelings, but they when something they don't like comes up, they have excuses: "Oh, that's not the right context." "You don't take that literally." "God didn't mean that, he meant this." </div><div class="text_exposed_root text_exposed"><span data-jsid="text"><br />
Anyone who thinks the bible is the origin of morality or that being Christian makes you moral is a total fuck-tard and a waste of my time... Clearly, they are not my intellectual equal. </span></div></span></div></div>Genesishttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08162354206923801618noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3841380319457800545.post-79135024169943351092011-05-11T20:27:00.000-07:002011-05-13T13:43:56.889-07:00My Hair Care Regimen<b><i>"When you go through all your life processing and abusing your hair so it will look like the hair of another race of people, then you are making a statement and the statement is clear."</i>--Assata Shakur</b><br />
<b>A lot of people ask me what I do to care for my hair, and I've been promising to do a blog on it for a long time... So, I'm finally getting around to it, lol. So, let's get started. </b><br />
<b><img src="http://media.tumblr.com/tumblr_ljc8j7gxNY1qaumzb.jpg" /></b><br />
<a name='more'></a><br />
<b></b><br />
<b>My haircare products: </b><br />
<ul><li>Suave naturals daily clarifying shampoo</li>
<li>Suave naturals conditioners (any scent I like)</li>
<li>Alberto VO5 conditioner (any scent I like)</li>
<li>Giovanni 50:50 balanced hydrating-calming conditioner</li>
<li>Jamaican Black castor oil</li>
<li>Coconut oil</li>
<li> Black Soap</li>
<li>Oyin Handmade Burnt Sugar pomade</li>
<li>Carol's Daughter Mimosa hair honey</li>
<li>Carol's Daughter hair balm</li>
<li>Carol's Daughter loc butter</li>
<li>Denman D7 brush</li>
<li>wide-tooth comb </li>
<li>three prong hair clips, hair chopsticks, bobby pins</li>
<li>ACV (apple cider vinegar)</li>
<li><span class="bodyTextEmphasis">Organix <span class="bodyTextEmphasisItalic">Nourishing Coconut Milk Conditioner</span></span></li>
<li><span class="bodyTextEmphasis">TreSemme <span class="bodyTextEmphasisItalic">Smooth and Silky Conditioner</span></span></li>
<li><span class="bodyTextEmphasis"><span class="bodyTextEmphasisItalic">Any conditioner that says for dry/damaged/permed/color-treated hair</span></span></li>
</ul><b>Before we go into my haircare method, I'd like to share how I started my natural hair journey... </b><br />
<b>I went natural about a year ago. Before that I would press and flat-iron my hair almost everyday. Because of my super-curly hair texture, I had to in order to keep the curls and waves at bay. It would take me a<i> minimum</i> of 2 hours--without stopping--to achieve that, and as soon as I stepped outside, the roots would start waving up and my ends would get rough. If I even<i> looked</i> at water my hair would become this half straight, half fluffy mess. I finally found this flat iron that helped put an end to that. For about six months I could flat-iron my hair and it would stay. It would even hold pretty well in humidity. </b><br />
<br />
<b>One day I wanted to wear my hair curly--just to change it up--and my curls wouldn't quite curl right. In the shower I had noticed that when washing my hair, the straightness hadn't gone away completely. </b><br />
<br />
<b>I was killing my hair, destroying my natural curl pattern. When I realized that, I stopped. I let my sister and mom pick through the things they wanted and tossed out the rest. </b><br />
<b>I started wearing my hair curly again, but I didn't know how to maintain it, so I mainly wore it up, or just in a fluffy type of style, because my curls had zero definition. I would wash my hair, let it dry, then brush out it out into a bush. This was the only style I could do that looked good and wasn't heat-styled. </b><br />
<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left; margin-right: 1em; text-align: left;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEizj4ImLgpGDFF9XKnrREB8MHAPoF4dXIi52_zdu-xSoABhn8NOdm_mYZArO5BG1LIjqSkt8vQIwrQJQ0fEJRvwqFQzghRJpWRXED5HfCwyORX4S9BeZjSS0Ti9eD6PK3065NoVx5xu7Mo/s1600/157008_1399613245041_1673596810_769688_1434590_n.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="226" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEizj4ImLgpGDFF9XKnrREB8MHAPoF4dXIi52_zdu-xSoABhn8NOdm_mYZArO5BG1LIjqSkt8vQIwrQJQ0fEJRvwqFQzghRJpWRXED5HfCwyORX4S9BeZjSS0Ti9eD6PK3065NoVx5xu7Mo/s320/157008_1399613245041_1673596810_769688_1434590_n.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">One of the only pics of my puffy hair style that I have.</td></tr>
</tbody></table><br />
<b></b><br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
<b>I love this style and still do it occasionally (sorry for the blurriness!), but doing it daily was causing too much breakage. I needed something for my curls! I began researching natural hair and found a lot of great information, but a lot of it consisted of expensive hair regimens. Most natural hair products--though wonderful products--are a tad on the expensive side. They have to be. The ingredients are more expensive, the businesses are usually small, so the cost of making the products is higher. That means higher prices for the buyer. I'm not knocking that. I understand, but as a single mom, I needed something more affordable. So I kept looking, but I'd buy those products when I had extra money (and I still do, because I support Black-owned businesses). I finally found information on "co-washing," which means you stop using shampoo and only use conditioner. I started doing this and it was great for awhile, but the products I was using started building up. I started using ACV and Suave naturals daily clarifying shampoo. This eliminated the build up in my hair. </b><br />
<br />
<b>Shortly after that, I found a new curly hair method, and that is the one I currently use and am going to tell you all about! Doing this method has stopped breakage, made my hair healthier, given my curls beautiful definition, and promoted growth. The products I listed are the only products that I ever use. Honestly, the only ones I need are the conditioner, shampoo, brush & comb. The others (like the pomades, balms, etc.) are just to switch it up now and then. They are not required. </b><br />
<b>What is required are your washing conditioners, ACV or Suave Naturals daily clarifying shampoo, and your combing conditioners, your wide-tooth comb or your denman brush. </b><br />
<br />
<b>The process, when reading it, seems like a lot, but my hair regimen went from 2+ hours a day to less than an hour per day, one or two days a week. You just have to get the process down for yourself :) If I could, I'd do it for you the first time, so you could have a good demonstration!</b><br />
<b> You need to find the conditioners you like best. Suave naturals, white rain, Alberto VO5 are all great, light <i>washing conditioners. </i>These replace your shampoos. Giovanni 50:50 (silicone free), Organix nourishing coconut milk, Herbal Essences totally twisted, <span class="bodyTextEmphasisItalic">TreSemme anti-Breakage Vitamin b-12 & gelatin, </span><span class="bodyTextEmphasis">TreSemme <span class="bodyTextEmphasisItalic">Smooth and Silky Conditioner, these are great <i>combing conditioners</i>. These replace your hair products. You do not wash these out. </span></span></b><br />
<br />
<b><span class="bodyTextEmphasis"><span class="bodyTextEmphasisItalic">Washing my hair: I wash my hair once or twice a week. The longest I go without washing is two weeks. Curly hair does not require washing everyday or even every other day (unless you have more of a caucasian hair type, then everyday, every other day, or every third day may be best for you)! Frequent washing strips hair of the moisture is so desperately needs, and shampooing (with harsh shampoos) strips out too much of the natural hair oils. It takes days to get those back... To wash my hair, I shampoo first. I do not scrub my hair and I don't use my nails on my scalp. This damages the scalp, so don't. I put shampoo at my ends and rub it in gently, then I put shampoo at the roots and rub my scalp firmly with my fingertips. I work the shampoo from scalp and roots to the rest of my hair. After rinsing out the shampoo,</span></span></b><b><span class="bodyTextEmphasis"><span class="bodyTextEmphasisItalic"> I take my rinsing conditioners and work them through my hair the same way. I let that sit while I do the rest of my shower. After that, I rinse it. If I need to, I do it again. If I want to wash my hair while I'm not showering I do the same method, except when it's time for the conditioner I put a heat cap on for about 10-15 minutes. Then I rinse it. I do a deep conditioning treatment once a month, by the way. </span></span></b><br />
<br />
<b><span class="bodyTextEmphasis"><span class="bodyTextEmphasisItalic">I do not comb or brush my hair in the shower unless I absolutely have to. Combing in the shower causes a lot of breakage. If you're going to do it, do so gently and with PLENTY of conditioner in your hair. I do not towel dry my hair. If you want to towel dry your hair, I recommend you buy a <i>devatowel</i>. I may gently squeeze bit of the water out, but towels rub hair, damage ends, cause frizziness, and hurts the definition of the curls. Once I'm done washing my hair, I put in my combing conditioner. I put in A LOT of it, too. You need to play around and see how much works for you. I usually use the Herbal Essence or Giovanni conditioner. My hair is semi-coarse, very fine strands, spiral curly, and thick. If your hair is like mine, these conditioners work well. Heavier conditioners, like the recommended TreSemme conditioners, weigh my curls down. Which is fine, but sometimes I want my curls to have more body. If you have a less coarse hair texture than mine, a lighter conditioner should work for you without weighing your hair down. </span></span><span class="bodyTextEmphasis">These conditioners may be better for you: Nexxus <span class="bodyTextEmphasisItalic">Hydra Sleek Silken Smoothing Conditioner, </span></span><span class="bodyTextEmphasis">Nature's Gate <span class="bodyTextEmphasisItalic">Organics Fruit Blend Fortifying Conditioner</span></span> (Grapefruit & Wild Ginger), <span class="bodyTextEmphasis">L'Occitane<span class="bodyTextEmphasisItalic"> Verbena Daily Use Conditioner. If you have a very coarse hair texture, super thick hair, and kinkier curls, I would suggest TreSemme's conditioners. They were a bit heavier and weighed my medium-coarse hair down. Try it and see :) </span></span></b><br />
<br />
<b><span class="bodyTextEmphasis"><span class="bodyTextEmphasisItalic">Now it's time to comb/brush: I section my hair in half and pin one side up and out of the way. I take a small section from the loose hair and pin the rest up. I comb/brush the tips and work my way up to my roots, gently combing/brushing the tangles out. This makes the hair easier to comb/brush with less struggle and damage done to the hair. I am not saying to back comb your hair. I am saying instead of combing the roots first, you comb the tips, then the middle, then the roots. It's much easier and gentler on the hair. I do this process to both sides of my hair. After combing, brushing, I may add a little more water and conditioner. Now it's time to define my curls. You need to find which method is best for you. </span></span></b><br />
<br />
<b><span class="bodyTextEmphasis"><span class="bodyTextEmphasisItalic">I have found three methods that work great on my hair:</span></span></b><br />
<ul><li><b><span class="bodyTextEmphasis"><span class="bodyTextEmphasisItalic">Method 1: After combing my hair out, I "scrunch" my hair by running my hands through it and gently bunching sections of hair in my hands (</span></span>cup your hair in the palms of your hands and scrunch in an upward motion).</b></li>
</ul><b><span class="bodyTextEmphasis"><span class="bodyTextEmphasisItalic">I use this method when I'm in a hurry. This method usually produces good definition, but not as good as method two. This method is good for people with less coarse hair textures and looser curls. This method is also good for people who have really long hair, because it takes less time.</span></span></b><br />
<ul><li><b><span class="bodyTextEmphasis"><span class="bodyTextEmphasisItalic">Method 2: After combing my hair out, I part my hair down the middle again and pin one section up and away from the rest of my hair. I take one curl and "pinch" it from the root to the tip. I place the curl between my index finger and thumb, and run my fingers down the length of the curl. I do this with each curl. This produces great curl definition. This is great for any curly hair type, I think. It takes a little longer than method one, but it's still pretty quick. I do it in about 30 minutes. It produces this: </span></span></b></li>
</ul><b><span class="bodyTextEmphasis"><span class="bodyTextEmphasisItalic"><img src="http://media.tumblr.com/tumblr_ljc4ldP28c1qaumzb.jpg" /></span></span></b><br />
<b><span class="bodyTextEmphasis"><span class="bodyTextEmphasisItalic">VERY defined curls, body with no frizziness. </span></span></b><br />
<ul><li><b><span class="bodyTextEmphasis"><span class="bodyTextEmphasisItalic">Method three: Method three takes a little more time than method 2, which means it takes the longest of the three methods. If you have short hair, this method won't take too long, and it will give you beautiful, perfectly defined curls. </span></span></b></li>
</ul><b><span class="bodyTextEmphasis"><span class="bodyTextEmphasisItalic">This method takes me maybe roughly an hour to do. With method three, I take each curl, "pinch" it (as in method 2). After pinching a curl, I twist it around my finger. I'm not saying to wrap it around your finger. I start at the roots and twist my finger down the curl. This produces a lot of body and the best curl definition. The only problem I have with this method is that due to my hair length (longer than waist-length), this method makes my hair tangle more quickly, so I have to wash my hair sooner than usual. I don't have a picture for this. Sorry. I've been told that the curls look more like locs when I do this method. I leave the excess water in my hair, but there is a method if you're concerned about that. I haven't tried it, but here it is: </span></span></b><b class="whb">Gently scrunch your hair with a t-shirt, paper towels, or a micro-fiber towel to remove excess moisture, as a generic terrycloth towel will make your hair frizzy</b>.<br />
<br />
<b><span class="bodyTextEmphasis"><span class="bodyTextEmphasisItalic">That's it! That's my hair regimen. I got it from Teri Laflesh's book "Curly Like Me." Another book I've heard good things about is "Curly Girl" by Lorraine Massey. </span></span></b><br />
<br />
<b><span class="bodyTextEmphasis"><span class="bodyTextEmphasisItalic">Be patient with your hair. </span></span></b><span class="bodyTextEmphasis"><span class="bodyTextEmphasisItalic"> </span></span><b>It takes 2-6 weeks for your hair to adjust to the no shampoo and it may even look worse at first. Hair is a long-term project and it may take a couple weeks for it to regain its health after being stripped of moisture for years by shampoo.</b><br />
<span style="font-size: large;"><b><br />
</b></span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;"><b>Peace, Love, and Natural Hair! </b></span>Genesishttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08162354206923801618noreply@blogger.com10tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3841380319457800545.post-49154622801341334192011-03-11T20:54:00.000-08:002011-03-11T20:54:15.976-08:00Captain Cudjoe<div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: large;"><strong>Dauntless Maroon Chief of Jamaica</strong></span></div><strong> Nothing is further from the truth than the popular belief that the African in the New World was in love with slavery and submitted calmly to it. The fact is that he rebelled against it from the United States to Argentina times without number. </strong><br />
<strong> This is especially true of Mexico, Cuba, Haiti, Surinam, the Virgin Islands, Brazil, and Venezuela. Among the most valiant of these Negro rebels were the Maroon Negroes of Jamaica, West Indies. For 140 years they defied the white slave holders and finally forced them to seek a treaty of peace. <a name='more'></a></strong> <br />
<strong> The greatest of the Maroon leaders of this island was Cudjoe, an illiterate, ragged, barefooted, undersized, and unshapely Coromantee. Of seemingly inexhaustible energies, Cudjoe possessed all the qualities of a born commander. He defeated the British in every encounter, and had he </strong><strong>been able to get arms and ammunition, he would doubtless have done to them what Dessalines did to the French in Haiti, that is, drive them form the island. </strong><br />
<strong> The slaveholders seemed powerless against his attacks. Before planing a raid on their plantations, he had his spies mingle freely with the slaves in the markets and on the plantations, learning when to strike and where, then sallying out by night and even by day, he attacked with such deadly thoroughness that he left in his wake burnt mansions and cane fields and the bodies of the whites and their faithful slaves. With the arms and ammunition thus obtained, he staged other raids. </strong><br />
<strong> By 1730 he had grown so strong that some of teh old English settlers thought it best to abandon their plantations and return hom. It was commonly said, "General Williamson [the British Commander] rules Jamaica by day and Captain Cudjoe by night." </strong><br />
<strong> At last the government decide to make a supreme effort to capture him. It built forts and outposts near the Maroon settlements and brought in hundreds of Central American Indians to track down teh rebels. At the same time a force of 1000 soldiers white and black, under Captain Lemelia, was sent against Cudjoe. </strong><br />
<strong> But Cudjoe was equal to the occasion. Sending one of his spies to tell the British that he would be found at a certain distant spot, he marched stealthily down the mountains to meet the enemy and took up a position overlooking a deep pass thorough which the foe had to come. </strong><br />
<strong> Dividing his force into four parts, he stationed one of each high up on the extremities of both sides of the pass.</strong><br />
<strong> Captain Lemelia, believing Cudjoe to be many miles away, came on with relaxed vigilance. Tired from dragging the cannon uphill, his soldiers straggled into the pass. Cudjoe, waiting until the narrow pass was filled with men, signaled to his own men at the entrance to fire. A hundred British fell, struck in the back. When the others turned int he direction of the fire, Cudjoe's men at the other end again struck the enemy in the rear until the shooting from all sides of the rocks became general. This crisscross fire coming from everywhere so demoralized the foe that abandoning guns and supplies, they fled down the mountains. </strong><br />
<strong> Cudjoe during the next four years continued his victories but the superior arms of the slaveholders began to tell at last. They attacked on of his camps on a high mountain and killed nearly everyone. </strong><br />
<strong> This made him decide to move to another part of the island and take his women and children with him. To screen this bold move, he left men around the old camp to blow horns and discharge guns to make the enemy think he was still there. So successful was he that it was not until months later when he had staged another raid on the part of the island to which he had gone that the truth was known. </strong><br />
<strong> For another four years the tornado that was Cudjoe raged, leaving slaughter and destruction in his wake. Once more the government, in desperation, planned an expedition against him. Every able-bodied man on the island was pressed into service, but when the expedition was about to start, someone asked who would protect the women and children if all the men went off. What would happen if the slaves seized the occasion to revold? The Jamaican slave could not be trusted. <em>As for the faithful slaves, the Maroons hated them even more than they did the whites,</em> and they were likely to be struck down by some unseen hand at any time.</strong><br />
<strong> Faced with this dilemma, the governor, Sir Edward Trelawney, decided there was but one course: to seek a treaty of peace with Cudjoe. He sent Colonel Guthrie with a mission to offer Cudjoe independence and a tract of land...</strong><br />
<strong><img _mce_src="http://media.tumblr.com/tumblr_lhxgyeNoKe1qaumzb.jpg" src="http://media.tumblr.com/tumblr_lhxgyeNoKe1qaumzb.jpg" /></strong><br />
<strong> And so peace was made. Cudjoe and his men were given a large grant of land free from all taxation in perpetuity, and permission to hunt anywhere on the island, except within three miles of a white settlement. </strong><br />
<strong>References</strong><br />
<strong>Dallas, who also fought against the Maroons of Surinam, describes the Jamaica Maroons, thus: </strong><br />
<strong> "In their person and carriage, the Maroons were erect and lofty indicating a consciousness of superiority. Vigor appeared upon their muscles and their emotions displayed agility. Their eyes were quick, wiled and fiery, the whites of them appeared a little red, owing, perhaps, to the greeness of the wood they burned. They possessed most, if not all, of the senses in a superior degree. They were accustomed to discover from habit in the woods objects which white people of the best sight could not distinguish, and their hearing was so wonderfully quick that it enabled them to elude their most active pursuers. </strong><br />
<strong> In character, language and manners, they resembled those Negroes on the estates of the planters that were descended from the same race of Africans, but on closer inspection displayed a striking distinction in their personal appearance, being blacker, taller, and in ever respect, handsomer. </strong><br />
<strong> "They were seldom surprised. They communicated with one another by means of horns, and when these could scarcely be heard by other people, they distinguished the order the sounds conveyed. It is very remarkable that the Negroes had a particular call upon the horn for each individual by which he was summoned from a distance as easily as he would have been spoke to had he been near." </strong><br />
<strong>The descendants of the Maroons still live in their towns on the island, all except the Trelawney Maroons, who revolded in 1796 and were transported, 500 of them, men women, and children, to the cold climate of Nova Scotia, Canada. Later most of them were shipped to Sierra Leone, Africa. But descendants of these Maroons are still to be found in Nova Scotia, mixed with the American Negroes who aided England in the Revolutionary War. </strong><br />
<br />
<strong>Dallas, R.C., <em>History of the Maroons</em>, 2 vols. Longman and Rees, 1803</strong><br />
<strong><em>Proceedings of the Governor and Assembly of Jamaica in Regard to the Maroon Negroes</em>, 1796</strong><br />
<strong> Brymer, D., Royal Society of Canada, <em>Proceedings,</em> 2 series, Vol. I, Sec. 2. Ottawa, 1893</strong><br />
<br />
<em>I read this story to my son tonight out of "The World's Great Men of Color, Vol. 2," by J.A. Rogers. I decided that I am going to routinely post one of these stories. <strong><br />
</strong> </em>Genesishttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08162354206923801618noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3841380319457800545.post-38394047963830771992011-03-07T15:24:00.001-08:002011-03-07T15:24:40.478-08:00.::Sacrifice::.<div class="caption"><strong>I’m currently reading this excellent book on tarot and voodoo. In it, the author speaks of “sacrifice.” Sacrifice is taken from the Latin <em>sacer</em> (sacred) and <em>facere</em> (to make), so the literal meaning is to <em>make sacred</em>. In (Euro) Western culture sacrifice takes on a different and, as usual, corrupted meaning. The western understanding of sacrifice is about <em>giving up, </em>relinquishing, etc. Sacrifice is often looked at as a burden, a punishment… Sacrifice is also associated with death, rather than the sacrality of sacrifice. <a name='more'></a><strong></strong><br />
</strong><br />
<strong>When we are in relationships, we consider ourselves to be sacrificing or giving up something(s) for the person we’re with. In reality, we aren’t giving up something, we are offering up something in order to make sacred our relationship, and to strengthen and deepen our bond to the other person. We offer up that thing in order to receive the blessings that will surely come from our sacrifice. Westernization has us thinking only of what we can take, what we can add on to our “wealth,” what we can appropriate for ourselves… And never what we can give, what we can sacrifice. When we sacrifice, we feel as if we are losing something. It is this spirit that also blocks the Universal blessings that come through sacrifice. </strong><br />
<strong>Our greatest gifts and blessings often come after we have sacrificed. Sacrifice makes room for the blessing.</strong><br />
<strong>Peace and Love.</strong><br />
The title of the book is <em>The New Orleans Voodoo Tarot</em> by Louis Martinie and Sallie Ann Glassman</div>Genesishttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08162354206923801618noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3841380319457800545.post-18686212010145473262011-03-07T15:23:00.001-08:002011-03-07T15:23:24.340-08:00.::Tarot::.<strong>I bought two tarot decks recently, and I <em>love</em> them. I have been doing personal reading for myself with them since around 2 or 3 this morning off and on. It astounds me how precise and accurate they have been on life situations. I do not think tarot is for everyone, but for me they are proving extremely useful. My readings have yielded amazing insight and more. </strong><br />
<strong><strong></strong><strong>People commonly misunderstand things such as tarot because people water down and abuse ancient practices. They make them commercialized and cheap, then wonder why it doesn’t work or isn’t accurate. If you approach the practice with an open mind, sincerity and respect you will be amazed at the accuracy. Again, it isn’t for everyone. Each of us has a different tool that speaks to our intuitive power. You just have to find yours. I’ve also found cowrie shells to be useful for myself. Soon I will start using my I-ching sticks. </strong></strong>Genesishttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08162354206923801618noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3841380319457800545.post-18627318502624531272011-03-07T15:20:00.001-08:002011-03-07T15:20:32.072-08:00.:;Racism::.<strong>I do not acknowledge racism as coming from all people. I define racism as white supremacy, and my idea of racism is borrown heavily from such people as Dr. Frances Cress Welsing, Dr. Joy DeGruy Leary, Dr. Amos Wilson, and others. People may say, “Well, you’re just using their definitions,” but I would ask those people who taught them their definition? My definition is inspired by them, yes, but I’ve thought over it logically, rationally, and come to my own conclusion. Most people just accept the definition they’re given. <a name='more'></a></strong><br />
<strong><strong></strong></strong><br />
<strong>To me, racism isn’t me not liking a person based on their skin color. That’s prejudice. I am pre-judging them based on their skin color. But then again, Caucasian people have a history of doing horrible things like oppressing and enslaving other races, stripping other races and cultures of their heritage, establishing a system of global white supremacy, convincing the world that black people are bad people, etc., etc. And this blog is not saying that all Caucasians are bad people and do horrible things. <br />
<br />
Racism is the combination of hating another race and enslaving them: Mentally, physically, spiritually, economically, culturally, nutritionally, and in any other way they can. That is racism. It’s when my hatred adversely affects the lives of others. The only racism with the power to do that, currently, is white supremacy. <br />
<br />
There is a reason Blacks, and other “minorities,” being “racist” is called “reverse racism.” The reason is that their “racism” is a reaction to the racism they were already dealing with. No one calls self-defense “reverse violence.” Why? The person defending themselves was the victim. So a Black person, or other minorities (but mainly Black), is actually them reacting to the racism they face GLOBALLY.</strong>Genesishttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08162354206923801618noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3841380319457800545.post-28190041697849949692011-01-15T11:17:00.000-08:002011-01-15T11:17:13.563-08:00.::MLK Day::.<b>The Martin Luther King, Jr. that is n<i>ever</i> quoted.</b><br />
<br />
<object height="385" width="480"><param name="movie" value="http://www.youtube.com/v/HlvEiBRgp2M?fs=1&hl=en_US"></param><param name="allowFullScreen" value="true"></param><param name="allowscriptaccess" value="always"></param><embed src="http://www.youtube.com/v/HlvEiBRgp2M?fs=1&hl=en_US" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" allowscriptaccess="always" allowfullscreen="true" width="480" height="385"></embed></object><br />
<br />
<b>Rest In Power, warrior. </b>Genesishttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08162354206923801618noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3841380319457800545.post-36299852860282757292010-11-09T13:20:00.001-08:002010-11-09T13:20:55.355-08:00.::Grow::.<h3 class="UIIntentionalStory_Message"><span class="UIIntentionalStory_Names" data-ft="{"type":"name"}"> </span><i><span class="UIStory_Message">You make me want to vibrate higher... Your light intensifies my own, and forces me to grow... Growing can be painful, you know? But I welcome it... And I thank you...<a name='more'></a></span></i></h3><i><i><span class="UIStory_Message"><img src="http://media.tumblr.com/tumblr_lbi9alpqlz1qaumzb.jpg" /></span></i></i>Genesishttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08162354206923801618noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3841380319457800545.post-14103065988920473162010-10-28T00:56:00.000-07:002010-10-28T00:56:44.897-07:00.::Ancient Practices: Trepanning::.<b>What is <i>trepanation</i>?</b><b> Trepanation is one of the world's oldest, surgical procedures. It is possibly <i>the</i> oldest. </b><b> Trepanation is the practice of drilling a hole in the skull as a physical, mental, and/or spiritual treatment. It was practiced by many of the most ancient cultures, ranging from ancient Egypt to Meso-American cultures. Some of the information gathered from ancient cultures indicates they believed that trepanning could cure a number of things, including mental disorders. </b><b>Trepanning was also performed on infants*. <a name='more'></a><b></b>When we are born, we are born with two, soft spots: One at the crown or top of the head and one a little farther back. These soft spots are called <i>fontanels</i>. <b><b>It is true that the soft spots make it easier for them to pass through the birth canal, but there is other information on the soft spots, or at least some very interesting things to consider. </b></b><br />
</b><br />
<b> </b><br />
<blockquote><i><b>"...Consider the infant's outlook—the unselfconscious wonder, the joyful spontaneity. This, claims Hughes (who performed self-trepanation), was the natural result of a brain at optimal pulsation, the conditions for which could be pinpointed at the crown of the skull—the fontanel, to be precise, the so-called soft spot enabling the head to squeeze through the birth canal unharmed.</b></i></blockquote><b> The key to Huges's theory was that when the child aged, the soft spot sealed over, partially suffocating the membranes surrounding the brain and inhibiting what Huges lavishly termed "brainbloodvolume. " Hence the heightened perceptions, the unfettered imagination, the pure joy—all of it duly faded into adolescent oblivion as the egoistic, neurosis-ridden mind of adulthood set in." Now, when trepanation is performed, the bone does grow back. It is just measurably thinner than the bone that was removed, allowing more flow.</b><br />
<b><b> </b>Here is some more interesting information for you. Hopefully, you see the correlations. </b><b><i>Chi </i>and <i>prana</i> are the same thing, just different names by different cultures. </b><b></b>Prana or Chi<b> is the <i>Life force</i>. This unseen energy exists everywhere in the universe in great quantities.</b> <br />
<b>Prana (प्राण ) is the Sanskrit for "vital life" (from the root "to fill", cognate to Latin plenus "full"). </b>Prana <b> enters the body through the top of our head (this is the reason there is a hole in the skull of unborn embryos).The major Prana flow runs through the center of our body looking like a tube. From there it flows into eight main centers known as Chakras. This is an Indian Sanskrit word meaning "turning wheel", due to the look of these complex energy flows. According to the early Egyptians/Kemites, there are thirteen chakras as they relate to different energy centers. Another definition of prana is the life force that operates the sensory, motor, and physiological mechanisms of the body. When this current is completely withdrawn, the body dies. Partial withdrawal of the life force from the muscles results in relaxation; greater withdrawal, numbness and anesthesia; profound withdrawal, paralysis and immobility; full withdrawal, death. </b><br />
<b>Chi or qi is the circulating life energy that in Chinese philosophy is thought to be inherent in all things; in traditional Chinese medicine the balance of negative and positive forms in the body is believed to be essential for good health. Another definition is that chi or qi is the primordial energy which is the basis for the universe and everything in it. It is the matrix out of which matter and energy are formed, and is expressed as the <i>life force</i> in all living things. Different from Spirit (<i>Shen</i>), it is an energy field that permeates and nourishes all living things.</b><br />
<b>When we are children, we have an abundance of prana or chi, and as we age, that diminishes. Could this be, in part, a result of the sealing of our soft spots?</b><br />
<b>The following quote from Peter Halvorson, who is the founder and director of the <i>International Trepanation Advocacy Group</i>. He has lived with the procedure for over thirty years. He is responsible for initiating the ITAG pilot study at a private Mexican clinic.</b><br />
<blockquote><i><b>"...it's known as 'opening the third eye. With trepanation you can willfully and deliberately accelerate your brain metabolism. You have a higher level of consciousness."</b></i></blockquote><span class="sub_abstract_label"> </span><i>*There is no evidence of any neurological impairment among indigenous groups who practiced cranial deformations in newborns.</i><br />
<i>*<a href="http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/15711831" target="_self" title="Artificial Cranial Deformation">http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/15711831</a></i><br />
<b>I just wanted to share some information with you that I found quite interesting. More to come.</b><br />
<b>Peace, Love, and Elevation.</b><a href="http://www.itsmyurls.com/MentalOrgasm" target="_blank" title="My Links"> http://www.itsmyurls.com/MentalOrgasm</a>Genesishttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08162354206923801618noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3841380319457800545.post-47920391448323230822010-08-06T18:51:00.000-07:002010-08-06T18:51:40.008-07:00.::Kanye West's Power::.<object height="303" width="480"> <param name="movie" value="http://www.youtube.com/v/L53gjP-TtGE&hl=en_US&fs=1?color1=0x3a3a3a&color2=0x999999&border=1" /><param name="allowFullScreen" value="true" /><param name="allowscriptaccess" value="always" /><embed src="http://www.youtube.com/v/L53gjP-TtGE&hl=en_US&fs=1?color1=0x3a3a3a&color2=0x999999&border=1" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" allowscriptaccess="always" allowfullscreen="true" width="480" height="303"></embed> </object><br />
<br />
<i><b>Kanye West's Power video. Enjoy.<a name='more'></a></b></i><br />
<i><b><i><b></b></i></b></i><br />
<i><b></b></i><br />
<b>[chanting] </b><br />
<b>I'm livin' in that 21st century. Doin' suhm mean to it. Do it better than anybody you ever seen do it. Screams from the haters. Gotta nice ring to it. I guess every super hero need his theme music. No one man should have all that power. The clock's tickin', I just count the hours. Stoppin' trippin. I'm trippin' off the power. [man's voice: 21st Century Schizoid Man] The system broke and the schools close, the prisons open. We ain't got nothin' to lose... Everybody, we rollin'. Huh? Everybody we rollin'... With some light-skinned girls and some Kelly Rowlands. In this white man world, we the ones chosen. So good-night, cruel world. I'll see you in the mornin'. Huh? I see you in the mornin'. This is way too much, I need a moment. No one man should have all that power. The clock's tickin', I just count the hours. Stop trippin', I'm tippin' off the power. 'Til then, fuck that... The world's ours. We livin' </b><br />
<b>[chanting] </b><br />
<b>[man's voice: 21st Century Schizoid Man] </b><br />
<br />
<i><b>Ok, bear with me. Lol. I'm just putting some ideas out there... So I see Heru and what looks like more Roman or Greek columns, but we know where they got everything from... So no surprise there. Is that Aset and Nebhet? I see the cow horns <span class="text_exposed_hide">...</span><span class="text_exposed_show">of Hathor. I see water bearers... Perhaps reference to the age of Aquarius? The water is flowing upwards. In fact, anything that falls is falling upward... Symbolizing ascension, perhaps? The shifting, growing consciousness...?</span></b></i><br />
<i><b><span class="text_exposed_show">The woman in front of Kanye is on his left with her left leg crossed over the right. The feminine principle. She has wings like Aset, Ma'at and Nebhet. They're the only winged goddesses. It was pointed out to me that she has four wings, like a cherubim. A guardian angel. </span></b></i><br />
<i><b><span class="text_exposed_show">When they banged their staffs, the one at the top dropped her white cloth or her veil maybe. Her eyes never open... The albinos guardians' robes/cloths slowly slide off of their bodies (this is the only item that doesn't fall upward). Isis Unveiled... A saying of Isis is that no man has ever seen her unveiled. Also, the two albinos guarding the entrance have no female or male genitalia. They're sexless, though obviously female. Androgyny? </span></b></i><br />
<i><b><span class="text_exposed_show">Everything in the picture (nearly everything) had two... Showing balance... Maybe... If you watch closely,</span></b> <b>Kanye is slowly moving forward and there is something in his right hand. There's a halo above his head. Then a sword goes into the halo.</b><b> This is the sword of Damocles, which comes from the legend of Damocles and Dionysius. The story goes that the powerful and authoritative Dionysius II offers to switch places for the day, so that Damocles could witness what it was like to have fortune and power. At a banquet, Damocles is waited on like a king, only to notice a sharpened sword hanging by a single horse-hair, directly above his head. At that moment he realized the gamble of having wealth and power was not worth it to him. </b></i><br />
<i><b>There is a woman to the right who appears from the top of the image. She pulls a curved dagger out on Kanye (it appears). Two figures that appear to be male are jumping through the air with their swords aimed at Kanye. The one on the right of Kanye is obviously male. The one to the left may be female. Perhaps showing the masculine and feminine principles within himself being at war... If it's two men, they're made to look very different... Which would still be an illustration of the two opposites within him being in struggle. </b></i><br />
<i><b>Suddenly, everything but Kanye and the two figures that appear to be attacking him disappear. </b></i><br />
<i><b>At 1:26, it looks like the masonic compass or a pyramid has formed in the sparks right at the bottom of his feet. </b></i><br />
<i><b>There's lights/firecrackers/puffs of golden smoke sparking on certain points of the picture. The clouds in the background very much resemble wings or robes... </b></i><br />
<i><b><span class="text_exposed_show">I don't know what to make of it, but it is full of symbolism and very interesting... I couldn't even begin to list all the symbols found here. <br />
<br />
The lyrics are just as important as the imagery...</span></b></i><br />
<i><b><span class="text_exposed_show">Peace and Love. More to come.</span></b></i>Genesishttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08162354206923801618noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3841380319457800545.post-78503649058132420292010-07-28T00:00:00.000-07:002010-07-29T08:06:12.202-07:00.::Late Night Musing::.<em><strong>My sudden urge to take you by your face and kiss you passionately until your mouth professes it's love for me and your knees buckle beneath you... As your heart rate quickens, your body gets hot and certain parts engorge... Until you ache for me to explore you... How surprising this urge is to the both of us...</strong></em><br />
<em><strong><br />
</strong></em><br />
<em><strong>And even though I'm feeling shy... The thought of your tongue entering my mouth and my tongue succumbing to yours is making me want to throw caution to the wind... As I stare at your lips, your jaw, your neck... I'm tempted to dial your number and whisper and moan into the phone and arouse you to the point that your hands become my hands and explore you... Slowly... Boldly...</strong></em><br />
<em><strong>Your hands become my hands and my thoughts become your thoughts...</strong><strong> But I'll also let my hands become yours... It's better if we both participate.</strong></em>Genesishttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08162354206923801618noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3841380319457800545.post-22892879855700924122010-07-25T09:47:00.000-07:002010-08-11T18:52:44.979-07:00.::We Want Lasers::.<a href="http://www.petitiononline.com/Beaming/petition.html">http://www.petitiononline.com/Beaming/petition.html</a><span class="status-body"><span class="status-content"><span class="entry-content"> </span></span></span><br />
<object height="28" width="335"><param value="http://www.divshare.com/flash/audio_embed?data=YTo2OntzOjU6ImFwaUlkIjtzOjE6IjQiO3M6NjoiZmlsZUlkIjtpOjEyMDkwMDQ4O3M6NDoiY29kZSI7czoxMjoiMTIwOTAwNDgtODEzIjtzOjY6InVzZXJJZCI7aToxNzAyNzMwO3M6MTI6ImV4dGVybmFsQ2FsbCI7aToxO3M6NDoidGltZSI7aToxMjgwMjcwMTE3O30=&autoplay=default" name="movie"></param><param name="allowFullScreen" value="true"></param><param name="allowscriptaccess" value="always"></param><param name="wmode" value="transparent"></param><embed wmode="transparent" height="28" width="335" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" allowscriptaccess="always" allowfullscreen="true" src="http://www.divshare.com/flash/audio_embed?data=YTo2OntzOjU6ImFwaUlkIjtzOjE6IjQiO3M6NjoiZmlsZUlkIjtpOjEyMDkwMDQ4O3M6NDoiY29kZSI7czoxMjoiMTIwOTAwNDgtODEzIjtzOjY6InVzZXJJZCI7aToxNzAyNzMwO3M6MTI6ImV4dGVybmFsQ2FsbCI7aToxO3M6NDoidGltZSI7aToxMjgwMjcwMTE3O30=&autoplay=default"></embed></object><br />
<br />
<a name='more'></a><br />
<br />
<i><b></b></i><br />
<i><b></b></i><br />
<i><b>I think I'm Malcolm X... Martin Luther... Add a King... Add a Junior... </b></i><br />
<i><b>Couple'a bible verse, couple sunnahs... </b></i><br />
<i><b>An AK-47, that's a revolution. </b></i><br />
<i><b>They gon' think I'm Tupac, Bob Marley... Fela Kuti, Marcus Garvey. </b></i><br />
<i><b>Them the real ones, light a lighter for 'em.</b></i><br />
<i><b>Let 'em know, that I'm ridin' for 'em.</b></i><br />
<br />
<i><b>Gon' give me some... A lil' mo' beat.</b></i><br />
<i><b>Call ya friends around, then call the police.</b></i><br />
<i><b>I'm ridin' with my flo, take up fo' seats. </b></i><br />
<i><b>So, I'm gon' ghost-ride, but with no sheets!</b></i><br />
<i><b>One man by myself, even then I'm fo' deep.</b></i><br />
<i><b>Like hotel pools, that's fo' feet.</b></i><br />
<i><b>These niggas like them rooms... So suite.</b></i><br />
<i><b>Price line... So cheap!</b></i><br />
<i><b>I'm a cell phone, they some room keys... I'm some shell toes, they the shoe strings. </b></i><br />
<i><b>I turn 'em off, I take 'em out... I'm Reverend Run, with the laces out.</b></i><br />
<i><b>My Adi-das... So adios... All day I dream, like I'm comatose. </b></i><br />
<i><b>That your ship's sinkin', and I'm so afloat. I'm T-pain, I'm on a boat! </b></i><br />
<i><b>Not the slave one, Di caprio's either. Here the waves come, they started in the bleachers.</b></i><br />
<i><b>Some swag surfin', the pools gettin' deeper. You still suite, though, Here come the room keepers.</b></i><br />
<i><b>Ok, I'll be the strings, you be the shoes. But guess what? (What?) Now they Jimmy Choos!</b></i><br />
<i><b>I wear the pants, you wear the (?). Your shit meows... My shit ahhhhhhhhhhhhh-ooooooos!</b></i><br />
<i><b>I gotta 5th flo', call me brotha man. Africa the set, yeah that's the Motherland.</b></i><br />
<i><b>For that BP, I shed 50 tears... In Nigeria that oil been spillin' for like 50 years.</b></i><br />
<i><b>50 years?! Hell nah! Hell yeah! I'm tryin'a tell y'all.</b></i><br />
<i><b>At this rate, niggas gon' lose. Can't search for water or grow ya own food. </b></i><br />
<i><b>Tell me what's gon' happen, when them stores close... And they ain't gon' open up, no mo'?</b></i><br />
<i><b>That's the realest shit... Yeah, you gon' feel that... Hunger's your enemy, but you can't kill that.</b></i><br />
<i><b>Nigga, wake up! Don't join the army. Kill ya own peoples, but fear Illuminatis.</b></i><br />
<i><b>And they ain't even real... Or are they? But you wouldn't even know, because you partay... </b></i><br />
<i><b>Too fuckin' much.</b></i><br />
<i><b> If you start to doubt me, they already in yo mind and comin' out yo mouth. </b></i><br />
<i><b>It's not a trick... Nigga, it's a trap! Survival of the fit, is what they aimin' at.</b></i><br />
<i><b>And niggas ain't fit, fat as hell. Fat in mind, body fat as well.</b></i><br />
<i><b>Who use most the drugs? Americans. What's in Afghanistan? HEROIN!</b></i><br />
<i><b>You think that's by mistake? They can stop that. Don't think you safe, though, because you not black. </b></i><br />
<i><b>Greed is color blind, so I'm color blind. They gon' fuck with yours, soon as they done with mine.</b></i><br />
<i><b>They say I try to hard, verses overwhelm. I learned most of this, from niggas in the jail!</b></i><br />
<i><b>Where you think I'm from? I'm from the streets, nigga. Triple OGs told me to teach, nigga!</b></i><br />
<i><b>And that ain't made up. Nope! That's a fact. They say that gangsta shit, is the shit I rap. </b></i><br />
<i><b>Look who I attract, look at my inner circle. Bunch'a street niggas, and a couple Urkels. </b></i><br />
<i><b>Look at my fanbase, oh yes! Fuck what "Pro" say... Look at this protest!</b></i><br />
<i><b>Where they do that at?! Who they do that fo'?! </b></i><br />
<i><b>My (?) is movin' bad and things is movin' slow?! NO!!</b></i><br />
<i><b>You talkin' revolution on public radio. Catch me down in Houston, sittin' on them 84's. </b></i><br />
<i><b>Tre, what's up? ABN, got ya back nigga, sink or swim! </b></i><br />
<i><b>Free Chilly-Chill! </b></i><br />
<i><b>Shake off yo' masters... </b></i><br />
<i><b>Pray to God... </b></i><br />
<i><b>Build yo Mind Faster... </b></i><br />
<br />
<i><b>I think I'm Malcolm X... Martin Luther... Add a King... Add a Junior... </b></i><br />
<i><b>Couple'a bible verse, and some sunnahs... An AK-47, that's a revolution. </b></i><br />
<i><b>I'm Tupac, Bob Marley... Fela Kuti, Marcus Garvey. </b></i><br />
<i><b>Them the real ones, light a lighter for 'em.</b></i><br />
<i><b>If you ain't know, I'm ridin' for 'em.</b></i><br />
<br />
<i><b>FNF UP! LASERS!!!!!!! </b></i><br />
<br />
<a href="http://media.tumblr.com/tumblr_l63fp8Mt2b1qaumzb.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://media.tumblr.com/tumblr_l63fp8Mt2b1qaumzb.jpg" /></a><i><b> </b></i>Genesishttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08162354206923801618noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3841380319457800545.post-11493412570773027712010-07-13T10:11:00.000-07:002010-07-13T10:11:43.280-07:00.::The Sacrality of the Phallus::.<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiUzQBMDhkt7tQPFKQlQrBVzyg5H4-Qf47Rp-JBXt7T4xicRojxRwiEzRpxnkpau0lW2EjJjiFz-mFDmIqNZYDqaGyjYWaB5pSZ5rnE6YrvY7aRJ5TWhA90AgPVyxCuk_Uep_LreMnVooV-/s1600/obelisk-luxor-thebes.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiUzQBMDhkt7tQPFKQlQrBVzyg5H4-Qf47Rp-JBXt7T4xicRojxRwiEzRpxnkpau0lW2EjJjiFz-mFDmIqNZYDqaGyjYWaB5pSZ5rnE6YrvY7aRJ5TWhA90AgPVyxCuk_Uep_LreMnVooV-/s200/obelisk-luxor-thebes.jpg" width="132" /></a>During yoga today, a thought that I've always had was articulated more eloquently in my mind. I'd like to share it with you all. It's about the sacrality of the phallus. I hate the word "penis" and "vagina," so I say phallus and yoni.<br />
<a name='more'></a><span class="status-body"><span class="status-content"><span class="entry-content">During my session, I started to think about how we treat the phallus as less sacred and less worthy of protection than the yoni. Alot of brothas treat their phallus' like Cosco samples. Not all, but most... So HUSH.</span></span></span><br />
<br />
<span class="status-body"><span class="status-content"><span class="entry-content"></span></span></span>Men and women feel the woman's body is something sacred and she shouldn't be as sexually open as men are, due to her body being "holy." Even some <a href="http://the-regenesis.blogspot.com/2010/04/what-is-consciousness.html">conscious</a> people place more importance on the womb and act as if the phallus is not sacred or even all that important... <br />
<br />
I cannot agree. For one, man and woman are two halves of a whole. Yin and yang. Sun and moon. Seed and soil. Isis and Osiris. Shiva and Shakti... Etc, etc. They are halves of the whole. Now, how can my reflection or that which I reflect, how can the completions of one another be any less sacred than the other half of the completion?<br />
<br />
The argument is that the women hold life in themselves. True indeed! We are the life bearers and sustainers. We nurture life. But... Men bring new life. Men give life to the womb and the womb brings that life into physical existence. Our womb is the sacred portal from one realm to another. But if the phallus is less sacred, how could I<i> ever</i> let it enter into<i> my</i> sacred place?<br />
<br />
That's just like how the hebrew israelite men (that I've met) treat black women as lowly, worthless beings... Yet they still want 2 have sex with us and need us to bear their children. I ask them, "Why would you lay with something that is beneath you? Why would you waste self on something lowly and disgusting?" There's never a real answer for that. *smirks*<br />
<br />
Now, the same goes for those who think the male body is less sacred than the female's. How could you allow a lesser being to enter into a sacred place? Contradiction.<br />
<br />
We constantly say and are constantly told how we must be careful who we allow to enter our temple... But how often is the man told to be careful whose temple he enters?<br />
<br />
Our ancestors certainly never disputed the sacrality of the phallus... So all of you "Kemetic" people/followers who deny it, again... Contradiction.<br />
<br />
Peace, Love and Elevation. More to come.<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhxzqBEZ9-1-EBVTnA_XCMFLtv-w0sGDrjg6I8eokkdEvJjre28M543EdjIEB7v9LX6f1LN9MyKRJe6krUIDUESHQmJkL7elPeA1QskkzVMxDdTSuWflVYpQkzjluliMAzhGeNocSQbk7K7/s1600/COegygeziraobel.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhxzqBEZ9-1-EBVTnA_XCMFLtv-w0sGDrjg6I8eokkdEvJjre28M543EdjIEB7v9LX6f1LN9MyKRJe6krUIDUESHQmJkL7elPeA1QskkzVMxDdTSuWflVYpQkzjluliMAzhGeNocSQbk7K7/s640/COegygeziraobel.jpg" width="446" /></a></div>Genesishttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08162354206923801618noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3841380319457800545.post-34287209075708958202010-07-09T16:52:00.001-07:002010-07-09T16:54:05.798-07:00.::Glass People::. (First Draft)<span style="font-size: large;"><i>Would it be cliche to say how I see right through you?</i></span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;"><i>You're a clean window with no shutter nor blinds... And I can see the workings of your mind and the shallowness of who you are...</i></span><br />
<a name='more'></a><br />
<span style="font-size: large;"><i>I see these fragile glass walls, you've build up in defense... The easily smashed crystal fence.</i></span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;"><i><img src="http://media.tumblr.com/tumblr_l5b050wvm51qaumzb.jpg" /></i></span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;"><i>Yeah, I see right through you...</i></span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;"><i>Honestly, you're damn near invisible...</i></span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;"><i>Real recognize real... And you look like a stranger or something like that...</i></span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;"><i>You and all this glass, I'd hate to be on the inside of you when it all gets smashed...</i></span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;"><i>Broken glass and bloody tears... What took years to make takes only a second to break...</i></span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;"><i>One solid rock of truth... And there's nothing left of you...</i></span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;">You glass person.</span>Genesishttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08162354206923801618noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3841380319457800545.post-71335126336281046512010-07-03T18:14:00.000-07:002010-07-03T18:14:13.634-07:00.::Teach Them in the Way They Should Go::.As I watch my son grow, I see how our relationship changes. I allow our relationship to grow and change with his growth. I understand that as he grows, our relationship cannot stay the same or it will impede his progress/growth. <br />
<a name='more'></a>A lot of parents--particularly single mothers--try to keep the relationship the same. Whether it be consciously or subconsciously, it happens. This type of relationship is bad for both parent and child. It's dysfunctional and it affects the child's growth and future relationships for the worse.<br />
<br />
As your child grows, the relationship must evolve. When they are a child, you are the authoritarian, disciplinarian, guardian... You are in control.<br />
<br />
But once the child becomes an adult, you transition from authoritarian to adviser, confidante, etc. This is a necessary change. The being who was your child, is no longer a child and no longer dependent upon you. They will make decisions for themselves and while they may consult you, they may or may not heed your advice.<br />
<br />
They will make mistakes. They will slip and fall... When they hurt, you will hurt... But all of this is necessary for their growth. It is their path and you cannot travel it for them. You must allow them to be who they are and do what they're supposed to do.<br />
<br />
A lot of times, we think we know what they're supposed to do. No one can decide their path, but them... Just as you chose your path. Trust that you raised and trained your child well.<br />
<br />
<i>"Teach them in the way they should go and they will not depart from it."</i><br />
<br />
Such a beautiful scripture, and so much truth in it. All we can do is equip our children with the proper tools to navigate their path. <br />
<br />
Mother birds will fiercely protect their babies. Even giving their own life so the baby can escape. When baby birds are ready to go off on their own, mother birds teach their babies to fly and let them venture out on their own. They don't try to keep the baby bird from testing their wings. If need be, they'll push the baby bird from the nest and make them fly on their own.<br />
<br />
We cannot enable our children. We must encourage their growth and their independence. I see so many single mothers hindering their sons. They make their sons dependent on them and make them their man (not in an incestual way). This is all so unfair to the son. They become each other's crutch... Neither has built the muscles to walk on their own... Many never do.<br />
<br />
As our children grow, so must the relationship. Don't be sad for the change. Welcome and embrace it. It doesn't mean your child loves you any less. It means they have taken the teachings you taught them and applied them. Give thanks.<br />
<br />
More to come. Peace, Love and Elevation.Genesishttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08162354206923801618noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3841380319457800545.post-74863208006660771772010-06-29T12:18:00.000-07:002010-06-29T12:19:27.954-07:00.::Random Thoughts On Detachment::.<b><span class="UIStory_Message"><span style="font-size: small;">I'm striving for detachment. That doesn't mean I disconnect myself from the world and those in it. As a Mother of Civilization, how could I possibly? What it does mean, is that I do not let the things of the world effect me to the point I am burdened and I lower my vibration. It means that I focus on freeing my being.</span> <span style="font-size: small;">Detachment frees the self. </span></span></b><br />
<a name='more'></a><b><span class="UIStory_Message"><span style="font-size: small;"></span></span></b><br />
<h3 class="UIIntentionalStory_Message" data-ft="{"type":"msg"}"><span style="font-size: small;"><b>I let go of ego and am not ruled by emotions. I am not ruled by "wants." I realize that I own nothing and no one. Not even this body. I have to return it to the earth one day. Realizing this, I "cling" to nothing. That doesn't mean I don't love, care or feel. It means I do not "cling." Cling, to me, means an OVER-attachment to a thing or person. I <span class="text_exposed_show">am miserable without that thing or person. I can love you and care for you without it affecting my ability to function normally and be happy. That's detachment. Make sense? Pardon self if I was rambling... This just came to me. Peace and Love.</span></b></span></h3><span style="font-size: small;"><b><span class="text_exposed_show">We're taught (in this "western culture") that<i> detachment</i> is something bad. We hate the word and it's negative connotation... But in other cultures (such as Buddhism), detachment is not a bad thing. It is good and healthy. It is what <i>"frees your spirit." </i> </span></b></span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-size: small;"><b><span class="text_exposed_show">*sighs*We're all so lost.<i> </i> No wonder our people are all in a state of confusion. Mentally, emotionally, spiritually and physically confused and <i>malnourished. </i></span></b></span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-size: small;"><span class="text_exposed_show"><b>That's all for now. More to come. Peace, Love and Elevation. </b></span><b><span class="text_exposed_show"><i> </i></span></b></span>Genesishttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08162354206923801618noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3841380319457800545.post-91715049496555432132010-06-17T20:52:00.000-07:002010-06-17T20:52:27.768-07:00.::Creation::.<i><b>"How wrong it is for a woman to expect the man to build the world she wants, rather than to create it herself." —Anais Nin</b></i><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgJCfNneewyqas9Zbb83NcCXXL8kat4HnONuXE4mgFxJSNBPQ2hKpAy7sGwvPe6uD0bRLQAbUFXZBd0Qk280BIMGCwg3O2P8-Y5GCTFeT854urwcck1tO_FVEAZDggO-LtPXZChdT7YMJbh/s1600/hand-in-space.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgJCfNneewyqas9Zbb83NcCXXL8kat4HnONuXE4mgFxJSNBPQ2hKpAy7sGwvPe6uD0bRLQAbUFXZBd0Qk280BIMGCwg3O2P8-Y5GCTFeT854urwcck1tO_FVEAZDggO-LtPXZChdT7YMJbh/s400/hand-in-space.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>Genesishttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08162354206923801618noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3841380319457800545.post-12223321334061108952010-06-05T17:51:00.000-07:002010-06-05T17:51:32.134-07:00.::Post-Racial America::.<b>I constantly hear and read people referring to this as "post-racial America." People try to tell me how the issue of race is over, blacks should "get over it," and how we should all embrace and love one another. <a name='more'></a>People act as if we should stop talking about race. I say, we'll stop talking about it when it stops being an issue. As white supremacist hate groups grow and crimes against "minorites" by police officers rise (and they get away with murdering us!), how can anyone who is in their RIGHT MIND, call this post-racial America? </b><br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjpZfYWPfVBL0bleNLciyFBTY1TcZk1r50-qXPvDb6I9ZB_m8lS2ujqS5Snvknw8451v0PIDRaf0le9k8sZjE2GLdh9XaYBt67nke7tYKJHMlE2nTmdolotalw9wWTtvrlLCxQYFvf1S2If/s1600/amd_diallo-horz-vert.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjpZfYWPfVBL0bleNLciyFBTY1TcZk1r50-qXPvDb6I9ZB_m8lS2ujqS5Snvknw8451v0PIDRaf0le9k8sZjE2GLdh9XaYBt67nke7tYKJHMlE2nTmdolotalw9wWTtvrlLCxQYFvf1S2If/s320/amd_diallo-horz-vert.jpg" width="274" /></a></div><br />
<br />
<b>These are just a TINY FEW people who have suffered from police terrorism. As you can see, the brutality--the terrorism and racism against melanated people knows not gender nor age. What happened to these people and others like them--and what is continuously happening--are not isolated incidents but rather examples of a long line of black people--especially black males--who face the prospect of police terrorism on an everyday basis. </b><br />
<br />
<b>As I said previously, with</b> <b>white supremacist hate groups growing and crimes against "minorites" by police officers are on the rise, how can ANYONE who is in their RIGHT MIND, call this post-racial America? </b><br />
<br />
<b>Not to mention the "blame the black man" crimes... Like the one that happened last year. That caucasian woman (Bonnie Sweeten of Pennsylvania) said her and her daughter were abducted by two, black men. </b><br />
<br />
<b>Caucasian people can afford to "just forget." We "minorities," unfortunately, cannot. How can we forget when we're being killed at this alarming rate? With cases like Oscar Grant, Sean Bell, Aiyana Jones and COUNTLESS OTHERS, how can we just forget about it?</b><br />
<b><br />
</b><br />
<b>We'll stop talking about race when it stops being an issue... An issue that we are being killed over. </b>Genesishttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08162354206923801618noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3841380319457800545.post-19309279667316891062010-05-29T17:09:00.001-07:002010-05-29T17:09:40.147-07:00.::Self Hatred and Natural Hair::.<img src="http://media.tumblr.com/tumblr_l2yo0cKzPL1qaumzb.jpg" /><br />
<br />
<b>Natural hair is a big issue for sistahs (Actually, the whole issue of self-hate is a big issue). I use to keep far away from the topic of natural hair, because sistahs would damn near take my head off about this one.</b><br />
<br />
<a name='more'></a><b>I was always told things like, "You have good hair, so you don't understand" or "Your hair is already long, so you don't get it." The general consensus is that I shouldn't have a damn thing to say on the topic of perming, pressing, coloring and weaving. So, when the issue of hair came up, I would keep silent.</b><br />
<br />
<b>Little did they know, I have struggled with my hair. I had self hate issues and still struggle with it at times. It wasn't until last year that I went totally natural. I never got into the perming, but I would always flat iron or press my hair. If my hair wasn't straight, I didn't feel pretty.</b><br />
<br />
<b>The issue of hair and all things related to self hate, is an issue that I feel very strongly about. Recently one of my beloved sisters told me that I shouldn't be quiet about it. So, I started speaking out. I got quite a few angry tweets & comments and lost quite a few permed, gelled, weaved followers. I won't lie, I was happy to see the blonde wigs go.</b><br />
<br />
<blockquote><br />
<b>.::My Personal Struggles With Self-Hate::.</b></blockquote><br />
<b>I have struggled with my hair since I was very young. I've been through hell because of my hair. My mother didn't know how to do my hair, so I had to learn how to do it for myself. I was in my early teens when I started learning... So until then, my hair looked CRAZY. I remember in 2nd grade, I had a caucasian woman for a teacher that hated me. She would constantly make little remarks about me. She always made it a point to single me out. I remember one time this artist came to the school to do our portraits. He traced our silhouettes. When the day came that they were laminated and ready to be passed out, she held them in her hands. Before she came to mine she said to the class, "We'll know which one Rachel's is by her hair" and she gestured to her head, making motions that my hair was big and crazy. She laughed as she said this. This wasn't the first nor last time she singled me out in an attempt to ridicule my blackness. </b><br />
<br />
<b>Growing up, I didn't really see the beauty in myself. I hated my nose, my hair, my skin, my hips... The first few years of my school life, I lived in a small, predominantly caucasian town. In that town, hips and butt automatically meant fat. I remember hiding my body with baggy clothes and wanting desperately to have straight hair. I did everything I could to keep my hair flat-ironed. I would flat-iron and press my hair to the root, often burning my scalp. I would hold the flat-iron there as long as I could, even withstanding the burn of the flat-iron. It hurt, but nothing hurt more than going out of the house without my hair straight. </b><br />
<br />
<b>In high school, it was the same story. </b><br />
<br />
<blockquote><br />
<b>.::Dating and Natural Hair::.</b></blockquote><br />
<b>I didn't wear my hair natural too often. And when I did, I had found a way to make my curls appear less tight and to weigh my hair down so it wasn't so big. I remember this one guy I was dating didn't like my natural hair. This is how I found out:</b><br />
<br />
<b>I was talking about not pressing my hair for awhile, because I thought my hair needed a rest. His reaction was a bit unexpected. He flat out told me that he doesn't like my hair curly and that I look better with straight hair. He told me that he likes me with straight hair and since I'm his girl, I should do what he likes. Everything in me rebelled against what he said, but because of my self-hate, I gave in. I didn't feel pretty without my straight hair, so I didn't have the strength to refute what he said.</b><br />
<br />
<b>The second time this happened, it wasn't with a guy I was in a relationship with, but it was a guy I cared for very much and had been talking to for a minute. His words were, "I like the straight hair better. You look good with straight hair, but I can deal with the poofy. I can deal with it." Wow. Deal with it? That was my thoughts. It hurt my feelings, but I never said anything.</b><br />
<br />
<b>The third time was with my ex-husband. He indirectly said that I was only sexy when my hair was straight.</b><br />
<br />
<b>All these things, as well as others, fed my self-hatred. I NEVER wanted to wear natural hair. When I look back, I've spent thousands of dollars over the years. I bought this one flat iron that was close to $200 dollars. It worked like magic. Not a single wave could be seen once I used it. I think this is the flat-iron that actually changed my curl pattern to a looser curl pattern. It could heat up to 400</b>°.<br />
<br />
<b>Not only have I spent thousands, but I've done so much damage to my hair. I've actually had parts of my hair burnt out before. Burnt hair is one of the worst smells I have ever smelled. </b><br />
<br />
<blockquote><br />
<b>.::The Excuses::.</b></blockquote><br />
<b>I've had many excuses as to why I won't wear my hair natural. None of them are valid. I don't care what any permed out, weaved out sistah says. My favorite excuses were, "It's easier to manage", "It takes less time", "My natural hair doesn't look good", and a whole mess of others. Easier to manage and takes less time? False. It takes more work to make it straight and maintain it than it does to work with what I have naturally. It doesn't look as good? False. Why wouldn't the hair I grow naturally look as good? It isn't that it doesn't look <i>as good</i>. It's that it doesn't look <i>as white</i>.</b><br />
<br />
<b>No matter how you try to flip it, we equate straight, more caucasian looking hair with good hair. And we equate kinky, curly, more "black" looking hair with bad hair.</b><br />
<br />
<b>In the Dominican Republic, the words for curly/kinky hair <i>is </i>"bad hair". <i>Pelo malo. </i>Most Dominicans deny their blackness and deny that it's self-hatred. Perms, hair straighteners and skin whiteners are very popular items in the Dominican republic. </b><br />
<br />
<b><i>"Nearly all Dominican women straighten their hair, which experts say is a direct result of a historical learned rejection of all things black."</i></b><br />
<br />
<b>Quote from a Dominican woman: <i>"If you're working in a bank, you don't want some barrio-looking hair. Straight hair looks elegant," the bank teller said. "It's not that as a person of color I want to look white. I want to look pretty."</i></b><br />
<br />
<b>Pretty, for them (and for so many of us across the globe), means LESS BLACK. </b><br />
<br />
<b><i>*side note* Barrio, </i>in this context, would mean "ghetto". See how universal that "ghetto" nonsense is? Ghetto (to most people)=black. Nevermind that it originally was meant to be used towards Jewish people.</b><br />
<br />
<blockquote><br />
<b>.::Dissociation::.</b></blockquote><br />
<b>Our people all across the globe are taught to dissociate themselves with anything and every thing black. Our people are taught that black=bad. If you're born outside of Africa and the US, you're given an "out". This is especially true for blacks born in "latin countries". Or rather, places where the Spaniards and the Portuguese came in, took control, oppressed and enslaved indigenous peoples.</b><br />
<br />
<b><i>"I always associated black with ugly. I was too dark and didn't have nice hair," said Catherine, a dark-skinned Dominican-American college student spending a semester here. "With time passing, I see I'm not black. I'm Latina.</i></b><br />
<br />
<b><span class="status-body"><span class="status-content"><span class="entry-content">You call yourself latino/latina, dominican, spanish, indian, burnt indian, singed, toasted... Anything BUT black. Black=bad. </span></span></span></b><br />
<br />
<b><span class="status-body"><span class="status-content"><span class="entry-content">And the same way "black=bad", "white=good." </span></span></span></b><br />
<br />
<blockquote><br />
<b><span class="status-body"><span class="status-content"><span class="entry-content">Eurocentric Ideals of Beauty</span></span></span></b></blockquote><br />
<b>The hours spent on hair extensions and painful chemical straightening treatments are actually an expression of nationalism, said Ginetta Candelario, who studies the complexities of Dominican race and beauty at Smith College in Massachusetts. And to some of the women who relax their hair, it's simply a way to have soft manageable hair in the Dominican Republic's stifling humidity.</b><br />
<br />
<i><b> "It's not self-hate," Candelario said. "Going through that is to love yourself a lot. That's someone saying, ‘I am going to take care of me.' It's nationalist, it's affirmative and celebrating self."</b></i><br />
<br />
<b>If you cannot see the madness in this statement, I don't know what to tell you. To put yourself through physical pain to alter your appearance in order to achieve less black looking hair is indeed self-hate. </b><b>To destroy your hair in an attempt to meet the Eurocentric beauty standard</b><b> </b><b>is not celebrating self. You're celebrating Eurocentric ideals of beauty. </b><b>You are--through your actions--saying that black is ugly, crude, not good enough. You're saying that YOU are not good enough. </b><br />
<br />
<b>We are a people in a state of insanity. We are so entrenched in self-hate, in denial of self-hate and in denial of self. </b><br />
<br />
<b><i>"You wake up in the morning and comb your oppression, you attach and wear your oppression on your head."--Al Sharpton</i></b><br />
<br />
<b>When you're straightening, coloring and weaving your hair, my beautiful, black sistah, what are you really saying to the world and to yourself? When you get that straight, silky, blonde fur--I mean hair--what are you <i>really </i>telling the world about black beauty? Think about it. </b><br />
<br />
<b>Peace, Love and Elevation.</b><br />
<br />
<b>*notes from the Author* I started writing this blog yesterday, when I was going back and forth with the idea of flat-ironing my hair again. I have been totally natural (no more flat-ironing and pressing) since toward the end of last year.*</b><br />
<br />
<b>*quotes from Dominican women were taken from the miamiherald.com*</b><br />
<br />
<b>http://www.formspring.me/Truizms</b><br />
<br />
<b>Next Blog on Hair: "Since I've Been Natural"</b>Genesishttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08162354206923801618noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3841380319457800545.post-10297438412727481072010-05-25T20:43:00.000-07:002010-05-25T20:43:31.440-07:00.::Dr. Ivan Van Sertima::.<b><img height="1090" src="http://media.tumblr.com/tumblr_l3095rmg0a1qaumzb.jpg" width="546" /></b><br />
<i><b>Ivan Gladstone Van Sertima</b></i><b> (26 January 1935 - 25 May 2009) was a historian, linguist and anthropologist.<br />
</b><br />
<b><b></b></b><br />
<a name='more'></a><b><b></b></b><br />
<b></b><br />
<b>This man was brilliant. Sertima made tremendous strides in showing and proving our global history. This man is to be honoured.</b><br />
<object height="364" width="445"> <param name="movie" value="http://www.youtube.com/v/PnCGvOlTEzQ&hl=en_US&fs=1&rel=0&color1=0x3a3a3a&color2=0x999999&border=1" /><param name="allowFullScreen" value="true" /><param name="allowscriptaccess" value="always" /><embed src="http://www.youtube.com/v/PnCGvOlTEzQ&hl=en_US&fs=1&rel=0&color1=0x3a3a3a&color2=0x999999&border=1" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" allowscriptaccess="always" allowfullscreen="true" width="445" height="364"></embed> </object>Genesishttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08162354206923801618noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3841380319457800545.post-37017037225794305752010-05-22T10:17:00.000-07:002010-05-31T22:54:39.631-07:00.::The (Mis)Educational System::. Part I<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjwwHpn0De5ECpjwE8EAzE_GlicF3BX5t599LQ29K8y2K2tfI6vlvbVvA2T4PQbpPyIWe76ioTOEFdduGieo26Z4xQ6wBnaneb-qa4498U4Q-L-Qbc7OShXVyShHNB7a-zmSQ9gcTNry2zX/s1600/82780205.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="213" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjwwHpn0De5ECpjwE8EAzE_GlicF3BX5t599LQ29K8y2K2tfI6vlvbVvA2T4PQbpPyIWe76ioTOEFdduGieo26Z4xQ6wBnaneb-qa4498U4Q-L-Qbc7OShXVyShHNB7a-zmSQ9gcTNry2zX/s320/82780205.jpg" width="320" /></a><b>Today I read an article about how Texas is going to do some reforms and corrections with the state's curriculum. Initially, I thought this was going to be good news. Oh, how wrong I was. The proposal comes from the state board's conservative members. As we all know (or should know), is that Texas is a state that is conservative, caucasian male dominated. Changes in Texas public school's curriculum often influences and changes the U.S. public school's curriculum as a whole, due to the great number of students Texas has. In this and many other ways, Texas is very powerful. </b><br />
<a name='more'></a><b>What the Texas school board is proposing to do is rewrite history... Again. The conservative members claim that there has long been a <i>liberal bias</i>, and that they are correcting this long-standing bias in education. This time, they want to re-write history in a way that would trivialize slavery, even more than they have already done. With the new "corrections", slavery would now be called the <i>Atlantic Triangular Trade</i> (I'm surprised they don't try and take it out altogether. Surely, that will be next on their agenda). We'll come back to this in a moment. </b><br />
<b><br />
</b><br />
<b>Other corrections include diminishing the role of Thomas Jefferson </b><b>principal author of the Declaration of Independence - in history courses because of his belief in the separation of church and state. Most people think that the U.S. was founded upon Christianity, when in fact, a lot of the "founders" were against the merging of state and church. The new curriculum would emphasize and exaggerate the role of religion in America's founding, as well as promoting the superiority of the capitalist system. </b><b>Texas is attempting to re-write history to make the "founding" of the U.S. more in line with their Christian beliefs. Is this not an extremists way of thinking? </b><br />
<br />
<b>Another correction the Texas school board is pushing is to drop references to a landmark court case that barred schools from segregating Mexican American students. Texas would like to maintain it's racism and intolerance, but not its reputation for racism and intolerance. I'd like to take this moment to mention Arizona's ban on "ethnic studies." It is well-known that anytime people say "ethnic", it refers to non-white people. Let me tell you of this ban: </b><br />
<blockquote><b>Gov. Jan Brewer signed into law a ban on ethnic studies in the state's schools. The legislation was specifically targeted at high schools in the Tucson Unified School District with courses in Mexican American studies. Critics of those courses said they were used by activists in Tuscon to incite hatred, particularly of whites. </b><br />
<br />
<b>A fact sheet for House Bill 2281 gives the purpose of the bill <a href="http://www.azleg.gov/FormatDocument.asp?inDoc=/legtext/49leg/2r/summary/s.2281ed_caucus-floor.doc.htm">(House Bill 2281)</a>: </b><br />
<br />
<b> Prohibits public schools from including courses or classes, which promote the overthrow of the U.S. government or resentment towards a race or class of people, and specifies rules pertaining to pupil disciplinary proceedings are not to be based on race, color, religion, sex, national origin or ancestry. </b><b></b></blockquote><blockquote><b>The law has certain exceptions, such as for native Americans, for instance.</b></blockquote><blockquote></blockquote><b> That info was from an article. Exceptions for Native Americans, yet they fail to realize that "Mexicans" ARE natives. But that is a whole other blog. The bill is clearly targeting any history that is not "white history". I will come back to this, as well. </b><br />
<b><br />
</b><br />
<b>The amendments also cast the United Nations in a critical light, with students asked to evaluate whether the UN and its committees undermine US sovereignty - a common refrain for conservative Americans. Ironic that they are so opposed to the undermining of their own sovereignty, while simultaneously, undermining the sovereignty of the people. This is not unexpected, though. The same people who were writing the declaration of independence and speaking of "liberty and justice for all", are the same people who owned slaves and denied liberty and justice to our enslaved people. </b><br />
<br />
<b>In regards to their promoting this corrupt, capitalist system, the Board insists that capitalism will only be referred to as <i>"free enterprise system"</i>, largely because of the negative connotations of the word capitalism. They are concerned with connotation. Not reformation. </b><br />
<br />
<b>You see, the concern isn't with making actual corrections. The concern isn't with truth and true historical fact. The concern is with "prettying" and "dressing" up the truth... Or omitting it and manipulating it completely. Terms like <i>"free enterprise"</i> and <i>"Atlantic Triangular Trade"</i> don't properly convey what they truly are. It dresses up horrors and atrocities in pretty pink ribbons and bows. It makes these caucasian conservatives more <i>comfortable</i>.</b><br />
<br />
<b>What is<i> miseducation</i>? </b><b>Miseducation: 1. to be educated improperly. 2. to be given false knowledge and force fed it as fact. 3. To be stripped of all self knowledge and taught you're other than your own self.</b><br />
<br />
<b>The public school system is meant to indoctrinate, assimilate and mentally enslave non-white children. Non-white children are taught that they have no significant contributions to history. They are not taught nor encouraged to be self-sufficient, self-sustaining and self-defending. When black children go to school, the curriculum is not relevant to them. Therefore, they become disinterested in education. They may even act out. That is when they are labeled retarded and put in the special needs or remedial learning classes. This is mental enslavement! </b><br />
<b> </b><br />
<b>Malcolm X said, "If you think you've never done anything, you can never do anything." Caucasian children go to school and learn that they are great, their ancestors were wonderful pioneers and bringers of civilization. They learn nothing of the true horrors their ancestors have done. They learn nothing of the legacies their ancestors have stolen. They don't learn that their ancestors are CONQUERORS. They learn they are explorers, discoverers, etc. Thus, caucasian children are taught to be great... Meanwhile, non-caucasian children are taught nothing of the greatness of their ancestors and their history. </b><br />
<b><br />
</b><br />
<b>We have integrated schools, yet we have no integrated curriculum. We have a country that wants to be racist and oppressive, but it doesn't want to be looked at as racist and oppressive. They wish to shield their filthy ways. This is why we're kept apart from their social equality.</b><br />
<br />
<b> School systems are set up to protect the interests of white America. As is the police force, but again, that is a whole other blog. Our children are still being taught that Columbus DISCOVERED a land that was ALREADY inhabited! Our children are taught this was the first contact with these native people, when in reality, our people are the ones who showed Columbus this land. We had already established trade routes and colonies here. We were natives to this and every land. </b><br />
<b><br />
</b><br />
<b>Yet history (HIS-story) would have us believe that our history starts with slavery. And many of us do think this. A lot of us on a subconscious level. Through their school system, our self hate is strengthened. Our confidence in ourselves and our people is shattered. Those in power understand that Knowledge is Power. Knowledge of Self is supreme power. They cannot allow that. It would be VERY bad for business... Oh and you best believe the U.S. is a business. And you're property (but again, this is a whole other blog). I digress...</b><br />
<b><br />
</b><br />
<b>Now, even limiting our history to slavery isn't enough. They now want to make us forget any of us ever were enslaved. That would completely erase their responsibility for the state of non-whites in America and the world over. </b><br />
<b><br />
</b><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjkpJ87Yh7nRRw53ptFnwMSqiVM5S-pFvaoOPDA67JBBkHNiOf2kS0I5cgZNvaimE6luibYvJisFwBv0qi4cLPIwB76kp5AUGn4vlO757GmyC64PKE5YuyZn3bu9Mi28HsWypYhEpG_c9ze/s1600/338037420_b740ce3bf4.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="222" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjkpJ87Yh7nRRw53ptFnwMSqiVM5S-pFvaoOPDA67JBBkHNiOf2kS0I5cgZNvaimE6luibYvJisFwBv0qi4cLPIwB76kp5AUGn4vlO757GmyC64PKE5YuyZn3bu9Mi28HsWypYhEpG_c9ze/s320/338037420_b740ce3bf4.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><b>The public school curriculum needs reform. It needs to be completely torn down and rebuilt. As does many things in this country. But as I stated earlier, it is NOT in their best interest to teach us to be fuctional, productive, self-sufficient, self defining people. </b><br />
<b><br />
</b><br />
<b><i>"... The creation of a slave mentality was an integral part of the development of this nation."</i>--Dhoruba Bin-Wahad</b><br />
<b></b><b><br />
</b><br />
<b>This is precisely why we need our own schools, or some way to combat the (mis)education our children will receive in the public school system. We cannot keep begging those who want to oppress and kill us for justice, freedom, liberty and fair treatment. We must take it. We must do for self. We're more concerned with integrating than we are with elevating. We are more concerned with "white-black" relations, than we are "black-black" relations. Or ever "black-brown" relations. All non-whites are suffering from lack of a Knowledge of Self and all are being indoctrinated, misinformed, assimilated, desensitized and (mis)educated. </b><br />
<b><br />
</b><br />
<b>This is all for now. More to come when I write part II.</b><br />
<b><br />
</b><br />
<b>Peace, Love and Elevation.</b>Genesishttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08162354206923801618noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3841380319457800545.post-79633214868268530642010-05-13T07:42:00.001-07:002010-05-13T07:42:33.598-07:00.::Late Night Musings and a Streetlight::.<p><strong> </strong></p><p><strong>Isn't it funny how something so seemingly trivial can spark deep thoughts...? </strong><strong>Across the street, diagonal to my bedroom window, there's an orange streetlight. I love the the glow of it and the way sneaks and peaks in through my blinds... <br /></strong></p><p><strong><br />
<p><strong><a name='more'></a></strong></p></strong></p><p><strong>A pale orange glow is cast on whatever it touches... The light's pattern is striped, because it reaches within and around the blinds, but some of the light is blocked by the blinds...</strong><strong><img src="http://media.tumblr.com/tumblr_l2d3wmyBmO1qaumzb.jpg" /></strong></p><p><strong>Tonight, I lay on my back looking at that light... Watching the light dance across my blinds, my bed myself and the floor... The wind blows the trees, causing them to sway... The leaves cause the light to dance, as the leaves sway around and in front of the light... </strong></p><p><strong>I reach my hand out to touch the light, but instead, my hand meets with the cool, smooth window... I run my hand along the window... Deep in thought (</strong><strong>Strange how distance is perception...)</strong><strong>... I place my middle finger over the light, covering it... The light glowing around my fingers... <img src="http://media.tumblr.com/tumblr_l2d3kp9Vck1qaumzb.jpg" width="450" height="450" /></strong></p><p><strong>He's a lot like this light... So close, yet so far... So intimate, yet so distant... He is with me, yet not...</strong></p><p><strong>His mind travels to meet me... My mind travels to meet him... And we meet somewhere in between... Elevating above this realm and connecting somewhere in the Cosmos... Possibly somewhere among Pleiades... <img src="http://media.tumblr.com/tumblr_l2d30uc3qr1qaumzb.jpg" /></strong></p><p><strong>Hmm... Funny how distance is perception... You see, we're only as close as our spiritual connection... </strong></p><p><strong>But still... I wish you were here next to me... Physically... </strong></p><p><strong>Funny how something like a street light could spark such thoughts...</strong></p><p><strong>.::To be continued::.<br /></strong></p>Genesishttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08162354206923801618noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3841380319457800545.post-18659414473204013212010-04-27T22:45:00.000-07:002010-04-27T22:45:56.438-07:00.::Dark Skin::...::Light Skin::..<b>I'm sick of darker skin being considered less attractive. I'm sick of darker skin being the punch line of jokes. I'm sick of dark skinned girls feeling they have to do more, just to "compete" with their lighter complected sistahs. <a name='more'></a>I'm sick of back handed compliments like "she's cute for a dark skinned girl". I'm sick of light complected feeling a false sense of superiority to their dark skinned sistahs. I' sick of brothas acting as if light skin is to be coveted over the beautiful, pure darkness of the darker skinned sistahs. I'm sick of being treated as if I don't know what being black feels like, because I am a lighter complexion. I'm sick of the looks I receive from self-hating, dark skinned sistahs. I'm sick of sistahs' worth being summed up to their body parts. Ass size, hip size, breast and thighs... I'm sick of our bodies being exploited and our minds, our self respect and pride being torn down and trampled under the feet of our brothas who are supposed to be our protectors. I'm sick of feeling like an outcast or a misfit with my sistahs. I'm sick of the favoritism that comes with being light-skinned... Though I assure you, as soon as I make it clear that I am PRO-BLACK, any favoritism is quickly taken. And I GLADLY give it back. I'm sick of sistahs feeling unworthy, not good enough... </b><br />
<br />
<b>Sistahs, do you know why they keep you down? Do you know why you're the lowest? It is because we are actually the HIGHEST... And they don't want us to reclaim our throne. Sistahs, we are the beginning of life. We are the carriers of life and the portal through which life is brought into the physical existence. We are the sustainers... The first teachers. That is why it is so imperative to keep the black woman down. That is why it is so imperative to assure that we hate ourselves, so that we can teach it to our children. They feel it while in our very womb...</b><br />
<b> </b><br />
<b>Sistahs, dark, light, medium... You are BEAUTIFUL. You are the Mother of All things. You are beautiful. I want you to tell yourself that everyday. Remind yourself how beautiful you are. If no one else has told you how beautiful you are, sistah, I'm telling you. You are beautiful. You are the reflection of the universe. You are the crown, the throne and the sceptre. You are the Queen of Heaven. You are the Isis. The Auset. The Ishtar. You are Supreme and Divine. My sistah, I love you. Even when my brothers and sisters don't love themselves, I LOVE YOU ALL!</b><br />
<br />
<b>Peace and Love. </b>Genesishttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08162354206923801618noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3841380319457800545.post-90210422177562084762010-04-26T14:19:00.000-07:002010-04-26T19:14:43.833-07:00.::My Fasting Journey::.<b>Peace, loves. The title of this blog is <i>My Fasting Journey and Some Helpful Info: Part I</i>. I'm writing this blog to start discussing my journey with fasting. What is fasting? Fasting is a form of abstinence. You're abstaining from food. </b><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://i665.photobucket.com/albums/vv13/goddess-isis/fasting.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="236" src="http://i665.photobucket.com/albums/vv13/goddess-isis/fasting.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><b></b><br />
<a name='more'></a><b></b><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div><b>And just as there are many different ways of fasting, there are many different reasons to fast. Spiritual reasons, health reasons including weight loss, detox... Everyone's reason is different. And there are as many benefits (more, actually) as there are reasons. I started my fast on a whim, which is the same way I became a vegan. I woke up on day and decided I wanted to do it (this summer will mark one year of me being a vegan and I LOVE it). </b><br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://i665.photobucket.com/albums/vv13/goddess-isis/juice-fasting.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="http://i665.photobucket.com/albums/vv13/goddess-isis/juice-fasting.jpg" width="316" /></a></div><b>I am doing a juice and water fast. I drink filtered/distilled water (plain & </b><b>with fresh squeezed lemon)</b><b>, vegetable and fruit juice from my juicer, and store bought when I have to . Today is day nine of my fasting. My goal is two weeks, but upon the completion of two weeks, I may extend it to three. It is important to know that there are many different ways of fasting and you can do it as long or as short a time as you choose. If you're new to fasting, you may want to start with a 3 day fast and work your way up. Start with even ONE day, if you have to. Do what is best for you and make a realistic goal. As I'm writing this, I'm realizing that keeping a journal of your fasting journey is a great idea, as well. </b><br />
<b><br />
</b><br />
<b>The first day of my fast was the hardest. I was SO hungry, my stomach kept growling like I had a damn dog in there or something. But, I had my mind made up. I hadn't ate since 12 pm the day before, so I was very hungry, lol. The second day was hard, but I noticed the actual hunger pangs weren't as bad. The third day, I experienced a bit of light-headedness and nausea, but it went away. I also noticed my body was ridding itself of waste. By the third day, I noticed I had more energy. Each day of my fast, I get a little calmer and I have increased energy. As I go on, the hunger pangs grow weaker and weaker. My want to eat is more mental. I won't even be thinking of eating, until I smell someone's cooking or I am cooking for my son. What do I do for hunger? I meditate and/or do yoga in place of hunger. If it gets too bad, I will drink fruit or vegetable juice. I strive to not use juice after 7p.m. (since I don't eat after 7, I figure what I am using in place of meals, I should use the same rule. This is my personal choice. I have no reason other than I think it's best for me. What greater reason is there than that? Lol). </b><br />
<b><br />
</b><br />
<b>While fresh juice is best, the reality is that not everyone can afford to do fresh juice. Do what is within your budget. Do the next best thing. Get store bought juices that have the least amount of additives. I do a combination of fresh and store bought, because I have to work with my budget. I look for the juices that have no added sugar, color, etc. Absolutely NO lemon juice from concentrate! Lemons aren't too expensive and what you pay for lemon concentrate, you can spend on a bag of lemons. You can squeeze the lemons yourself. </b><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEikpIzziNchUOKWX98iOU0qLj7BZIyyRRhrT_U2Jje9QEiqEV8uR75PtlNMAsXWCMEp7Hk94lGVkVemr3FZfNuZpxQSHGOPY0NRnuYPbHj58ynP9ENtJY1OEAnxfjk6LFd0wBe_6rFnrEum/s1600/lemon-water.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEikpIzziNchUOKWX98iOU0qLj7BZIyyRRhrT_U2Jje9QEiqEV8uR75PtlNMAsXWCMEp7Hk94lGVkVemr3FZfNuZpxQSHGOPY0NRnuYPbHj58ynP9ENtJY1OEAnxfjk6LFd0wBe_6rFnrEum/s320/lemon-water.jpg" /></a></div><div style="text-align: left;"><b> Lemon water is cleansing for your body. Lemon is an antiseptic, making it great for detox. What is detox? <i>Detoxification</i> and it is a natural and continuous process your body uses to purify itself of harmful substances.</b><span style="font-family: 'Century Gothic'; font-size: 10pt;"> </span><b>I drink room temperature water with lemon. It's good to warm the water a bit or drink it at room temp, because the temperature of the water makes it easier to break down and flush the toxins out of your body. The reason it is easier on the body, is that your body doesn't have to do the work of warming the water up. And the warmth opens the cell structure. Make sense? Lemon water can help to clear mucous out of your system and get your digestive tract activated for the day.</b><b> So, at the very least, drink a glass in the morning. As you can see, lemon water is very beneficial. Even if you're not fasting, it would be good for you to start including this in your diet. Lemon water is also good for the liver and kidneys. It cleanses toxins and improves function. </b></div><div style="text-align: left;"><b><br />
</b></div><div style="text-align: left;"><b>Back to my fasting journey. Now, by the fifth day, my body was adjusted to not eating. I still was getting urges, but I recognize them as mental and not physical. Which is what most hunger is. We only think we're hungry. We eat more out of habit than out of hunger. In truth, (most) people love food. If we weren't meant to enjoy food, we wouldn't have taste buds. The problem isn't that we enjoy food. The problem is that we <i>live to eat</i>, rather than <i>eat to live</i> (By the way, you should definitely read <i>How to Eat to Live</i>, by the Honorable Elijah Muhammad). We eat food that has little to no nutritional value, so our bodies react by needing more and more of it. When we eat the right foods, our hunger and our body is satisfied.</b></div><div style="text-align: left;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: left;"><b>Now, throughout the fast, I was still doing regular exercise (cardio, etc). It didn't have any adverse effects, until the 6th day. I was stressed, which gave me a headache, then I worked out. That made my headache even worse, I became fatigued, light-headed, and nauseous. If you're going to fast, strive to maintain calm and steer clear of stress. Stress, fasting and exercise do not mix. </b></div><div style="text-align: left;"><b><br />
</b></div><div style="text-align: left;"><b>Also, I've been striving to get to bed at a "decent hour". When fasting (and really you should always do this, but especially during fasting) you should be very careful to get your rest. You cannot fast and miss out on sleep/rest. On days when I don't sleep as well, symptoms like hunger pangs, nausea, etc are more likely to happen. </b></div><div style="text-align: left;"><b><br />
</b></div><div style="text-align: left;"><b>Now, by day nine, I noticed increased energy, improved mood, better emotional balance, skin improvements, mental clarity, increased concentration. I feel more in tune with myself and my surroundings. Also, my libido is growing stronger (that is in part because of the exercise/working out), but because of the balance and harmony I'm experiencing within myself, that is remaining in check. Lol. Now, these benefits are what helps to keep me motivated. That and the knowledge of what I'm doing for myself. </b></div><div style="text-align: left;"><b><br />
</b></div><div style="text-align: left;"><b>If you're vegan or vegetarian (a no lacto no ovo vegetarian) and you're fasting, you're giving your body time to concentrate all of it's energy on healing, cleaning, purging, purifying itself. If you eat meat and dairy, you're giving your body time to digest all of the rotting meat and waste that has built up within you. Once it's done that, it can start healing and cleansing. Fasting allows the colon or intestinal tract to release much of the stored waste that sits in it and rot and decay which plays a pivotal role in colon and rectal cancers. When we fast, it allows for the colon to shrink back into shape. When the colon shrinks back into shape, one of the results is less of an appetite.</b></div><div style="text-align: left;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: left;"><b>As I </b><b>said, the benefits of fasting are MANY. It cleanses your blood, your lymphatic fluids, your colon, liver, kidney... Most importantly, it cleanses your mind. When your bodily functioning is optimal, so is your mental functioning. </b></div><div style="text-align: left;"><b><br />
</b></div><div style="text-align: left;"><b>So, this was my first blog on fasting. Hope you enjoyed it and I hope you learned a little (or a lot) from it, as well. My next blog on fasting will be at the two week mark... So look out for that!</b></div><div style="text-align: left;"><b> Peace, Love, and Elevation. </b></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://i665.photobucket.com/albums/vv13/goddess-isis/juice_bowls.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://i665.photobucket.com/albums/vv13/goddess-isis/juice_bowls.jpg" /></a></div><br />
<i><b>"Fasting will bring spiritual rebirth to those of you who cleanse and purify your bodies. The light of the world will illuminate within you when you fast and purify yourself. What the eyes are for the outer world, fasts are for the inner."</b>--<b>Mahatma Gandhi, 1869-1948 </b></i>Genesishttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08162354206923801618noreply@blogger.com1