Come Together

There are so many ways and reasons we separate ourselves from one another it's quite sad, tragic even. We use race, ethnicity, religion, age, income, education, height, weight, looks, celebrity, power, status even geographical location as reasons to separate ourselves. There is enough that is unique about all of us to make us special so we don't need to divide ourselves into categories. We are ONE. I hear enough people talking about recognizing our oneness, but I see very few of them actually behaving as though they believe it. Rapper Chubb Rock once had a song called "Treat 'Em Right" where he said, "sign an autograph you might make a new friend." He was talking about artists/celebrities giving time and respect to their fans who made them popular, but I think this could apply to everyone. Signing an autograph = giving people a chance to show you how great they are because you might make a new friend.

All of those things I listed above that we use as reasons to separate are just parts of a person's story, and some of it may not even be accurate. There could be a lifelong connection that you would cherish with that person you've chosen to ignore, exclude, and judge. I see it, and experience it far too often. No one knows the capacity of a person's heart and mind until one takes the time to find out. I've been judged in one glance. They see a woman of African decent with dreadlocks dressed humbly, rate my looks and guess at my age and already they have a profile of me. Most of the time people are wrong. I've dated men that people couldn't see why I was attracted to them (mostly because they thought they knew my "type") I told them to talk to them, you'll see what I see. On these social sites, "celebrities" never respond to their adoring fans who buy their music or see their movies or read their books. I've worked around "celebrities" before, they're just people. CEOs and other wealthy or so called powerful people put themselves on pedestals to separate themselves from "regular" people. Bob Marley once sang "The biggest man  you ever did see was just a baby."

We miss out on a lot when we divide ourselves. Challenges and struggles could be easier, there could be more joy, compassion, and understanding. But we build these walls out of fear. What is it that we fear? Rejection? Heartache? Maybe we just fear having to be kind because that's too much work and takes too much time. Separation causes isolation and alienation which leads to loneliness and despair. Isn't there enough in this world causing that without adding to it?  It's time we come together and get through life together as ONE in deed and not just in words. "So pull out your pen, sign an autograph you might make a new friend." ~Chubb Rock.  LOVE and Light

Make Way for a Positive Day

Holidays always make me think of the lonely, poor, and downtrodden. It may sound dark, but all of the excess, the gifts, the food, the decorations, makes me wonder what people who have no family or friends, or who can't afford the overpriced goods are doing. I know for some, it's difficult to watch all of the good cheer when life is so challenging for them. Staying positive in the face of trials can seem impossible, but this is exactly when we need to kick the positive vibrations up a few notches.

Think of the universe as the ocean. There are waves coming in and out, up and down. Some waves are surf able, some are barely noticeable ripples. But waves have crests (peaks) and valleys, and they keep moving. But what causes waves? Wind. The size of the wave depends on the velocity of the wind. Think of our energy as the wind. Positive energy is like increased wind speed. So the more positive your energy, the bigger your crest will be. When we're in the valleys of life, we just need to increase our positivity to get out. I know some of you think this is a bunch of new age nonsense, but it's just a metaphor for something I have found to be true.

How does one increase positivity when everything seems to be going wrong? You've heard it before, gratitude. I think when most people hear this, they think, I'm thankful for what I have, but I'm not more positive. If you take the time to actually sit and make a list of everything for which you have to be grateful, even the barely noticeable ripples, you'd be surprised how quickly a smile will appear on your face. For instance, if I just look at a picture of my nephew, it brings me joy. I think of the fun times we have together and the sweet and precocious things he says, and I'm almost laughing! The process of listing every little thing, makes us really think about all of the good and positive things and people in our lives.

Taking time to do things that make us feel good or bring us joy is a must. As you know, music does that for me. Music is so powerful it's mystical. It increases brain function, it causes the body to move (at least for me), and it can often change your mood, thoughts, and outlook. There are even certain tones that can change brainwaves! Music is a gift, it definitely goes on my list. Writing also helps me. I may not be the best writer, but I tend to express myself better in writing, and it helps me change negative energy into positive. When I write this blog, I try my best to be positive, so it forces me to find a positive way to express whatever negative thoughts I may be having. Writing, then, becomes therapy.

One of the biggest ways to gain positivity is to take the focus off of ourselves, and put it on others. When you realize there are those much worse off than you all around the world, you should be grateful. Once you decide to try to help make life even the tiniest bit better for someone else, positive energy returns because you are fulfilling your purpose here on earth, to serve your brothers and sisters. Have I told you before that we're all connected? Helping others, then, is helping yourself. I encourage everyone to remember the lonely, poor, and downtrodden, everyday, but especially during the holidays, even if you are one of them yourself. We're in this together. Love, light, and positive energy.

Going With My Gut

I was reading an article on instinct, reason, and intuition from a theosophy perspective (Theosophy-Religious philosophy or speculation about the nature of the soul based on mystical insight into the nature of God.- yes, I'm a bit of a nerd). It described instinct as "the facility acquired by life-forms through repeated experiences gained through transmigrations, in their respective kingdoms" while reason is "faculty of the lower mind and its instrument, the physical brain...always tinged with desire, and is limited to the physical senses...it is therefore liable to err" and finally intuition "is the direct cognition of truth in all things. It is the highest spiritual faculty in man but lies dormant as long as man remains in bondage to the senses and the mind." My conclusion of the relationship of the three is this: instinct is what we have learned from past experiences, intuition is what we know in our gut, and reason sometimes gets in the way of both.

In the recent past, I have made some decisions based on intuition. I ignored my instinct to stay with what I knew, and I had no experience to show I was moving in the right direction. I'm still waiting to see if I've made the right decisions on some things. I truly believe in the spiritual aspect of intuition because it is often much stronger than my instincts or reason. I have, however, ignored my intuition reasoning in such a way to keep my comfort level on track. That's a fancy way of saying "out of fear." I realized later that I missed out on some great opportunities as well as needlessly endured unpleasant situations, all because I ignored my intuition. The thing that bothers me most is that when I made these decisions, I had a very strong feeling that I shouldn't or should do it. The phrases "go with your gut" and "follow your first mind" keep ringing in my head like giant church bells.

The odd thing about reason is that it is supposed to be rational, logical. But I see now that reason can often be a way we talk ourselves into or out of something depending on what we desire. Intuition is the important faculty. People talk about a woman's intuition as though a man doesn't have it. I don't know if a woman's intuition is stronger than a man's, but I do know that mine is very strong so I have to stop ignoring it. When you ignore your intuition, you start to question whether or not you are capable of making the best decisions for yourself, at least I do. Other people also get into your head with their own reasoning because they are suspect of spiritual matters. When we listen to their reasoning, we're ignoring the gift given to us by the Creator, or universe, or whatever higher power to which one ascribes.

So what brought this on is I ignored my intuition again and missed out on an opportunity I have been waiting for.  I won't let this experience cause me to question my judgement. Instead, it has reinforced my belief that my intuition on certain things are correct. I think intuition is the light on a path to our blessings, and although I don't think we can miss our blessings, only postpone or destroy them,  it is my intention to follow my spirit from now on. I suggest you do the same. Love and Light.

Change, the Missing Link

As I'm sitting here studying the remnants of broken chains in the waste basket (I never use that term because I don't care for waste, but it seems appropriate here) I see photos, cards, mementos of the past. I'm also surveying the unlinked chains of what could be the future. They don't look dissimilar. There are also photos, some framed, perhaps prematurely, and mementos signifying promises of memories to come. I am reminded of how much of a constant change is in life. Chains and change are inextricably linked.

I've always been a fan of change, so much so that I used to change the furniture in my bedroom and living room around every few months. As I got older, and better employed, my furniture became more substantial. Being a single woman living alone, that kind of change doesn't happen much anymore. I started changing hairstyles every few weeks, probably to compensate, but then I grew dreadlocks.  I realized that as we get older, life's dealings become more substantial and so do the changes. Families are formed, careers flourish, bank accounts get bigger (a little bigger) children grow. Changes then have a bigger impact than the sofa being by the window.

Many people are resistant to change. They grumble about restructuring on the job, some stay in bad relationships. There's even a commercial for baby clothing with a slogan "If they could just stay little till their Carters wear out." So now we don't even want children to grow. Being resistant to change is about fear. People are afraid of the unknown. But remember what fear is : (F)alse (E)vidence (A)ppearing (R)eal. Changes happen everyday, every second, and the world hasn't ended yet. Change is necessary for progress, and although not all change is what we would like, we can't pick and choose the changes we want. Children need to grow, learn, make memories, form links of their own. Without change, careers don't advance, love doesn't grow, life doesn't progress.

As this country, the world, is sitting (literally) on the precipice of change, we seem to be in a waiting period. Maybe that's what people find most frustrating about change, the anticipation. I think of it as a building time, a period of preparation. Perhaps what we think of as waiting, is actually the change slowly beginning. It took a change in resolve to decide to unite and make a stand, as is happening  around the globe. Bonds, or links are being formed, clarity is being gained, and I'm sure quite a bit of self realization is happening. At this thought, I am brought back to the chains around me whose links have either been broken by change, or will be formed by it. I'm a little nervous about letting go of some links though they have served their purpose, and of connecting to new links whose purpose I have yet to learn. I find it to be at once sad and exciting, and definitely necessary. Love and light.

What You Don't Know About Hunger

When you think of world hunger, what comes to mind? Africa? Children with distended bellies? Drought? Well there is so much more to know about world hunger. Let me share some facts with you.


What is Hunger?


There are different manifestations of hunger which are each measured in different ways:




Under-nourishment is used to describe the status of people whose food intake does not include enough calories (energy) to meet minimum physiological needs for an active life.
 
Malnutrition means 'badly nourished', and is characterised by inadequate intake of protein, energy and micro nutrients and by frequent infections and diseases. Starved of the right nutrition, people will die from common infections like measles or diarrhoea.


Wasting is an indicator of acute malnutrition that reflects a recent and severe process that has led to substantial weight loss. This is usually the result of starvation and/or disease.


Who are the hungry?

• There are 925 million chronically hungry people in the world
• Over half are in Asia and the Pacific and about a quarter are in Sub-Saharan Africa.
• 60% of them are women
• 1 out of 4 children in developing countries are underweight
• 65 percent of the world's hungry live in only seven countries: India, China, the Democratic Republic of Congo, Bangladesh, Indonesia, Pakistan and Ethiopia. 
•  More than 70 percent of the world's underweight children (aged five or less) live in just 10 countries, with more than 50 per cent located in South Asia alone

Why are people hungry?                                         

• Poverty              
• High Food Prices                                          
• Inadequate access to food
• Climate change
• Social exclusion
• Low investment in agriculture

Did you know?

• Rural women produce more than 55% of all food grown in developing countries
• Women make up a little over half of the world's population but in many parts of the world, especially in Asia and South America, they are more likely to go hungry than men.
• There is enough food in the world today for everyone to have the nourishment necessary for a healthy and productive life.
• 
  These men significantly reduced hunger and poverty in their countries: John Agyekum Kufuor & Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva (click and read how they did it)     

What can we do?
Call and/or write your congressmen and senators and ask them to support funding for hunger programs in the Fiscal Year 2012 budget. (No there isn't a budget yet. We have until November 18, 2011)

Find their contact information here  and here

Now you know. There's no need for hunger, so let's get rid of it.

Don't Box Me In

When I was a little girl, I remember my brother and I playing in a big box pushing each other around. (We were easily entertained). My brother then put the box over me and sat on it. I freaked out. This was the beginning of my claustrophobia. I knew even then that I didn't like being stuck in a box. Although I have my claustrophobia in check now, I'm still struggling to get out of boxes. People are not content with allowing others to be and evolve into who they were meant to be. It seems to be much easier for some to categorize, box, and label people in order to know how to deal with them accordingly. This hinders ones from truly being themselves and living freely. Even if a person lives his or her life the way he or she pleases, those who object or who cannot accept it either cause a disagreement, annoyance, or separation. So why do we feel the need to put people in boxes?

I was recently told by someone who has known me all of my life that my spirituality may be what turns my friends off and that I haven't been dating because I am too socially conscious. Now, this was ridiculous to me because it would seem to me that those qualities would be appealing to people, at least the people I would want to hang out with. But I know that what she was really saying was that it was a turn off for her. Yes, I have become more spiritual and socially conscious as I have gotten older, but those aren't the only facets to my personality. Yet, she has put me into these boxes as if I couldn't be more, as if she didn't know more. Perhaps the real issue is that she is unable to deal with those aspects of who I am and so they stand out to her. But she is not the only one who puts me in a box.

When I walk into a room, it's like filling out one of those "optional" surveys you see on job applications. Immediately people see African American and female. So now I'm put into the boxes of what that means to the observer. They see my dreadlocks, or my head wrapped, and now an entirely new box appears. Then they will ask a slew of questions to find out what other boxes they need to put me in: how old are you? what do you do? where did you go to school? where are you from? what's your religion? (when I tell them love is my religion they bring out the "coocoo" box). Once they're done surveying me, they think they know me. Then, they find out I'm rasta, vegan, and don't drink and they throw out all of the other  boxes and bring out new ones. But they still don't know who I am, and they will never learn if they insist on deciding before they interact with me or communicate with me for any length of time

They say you only get one chance to make a first impression. Well, a first impression is not always the entire truth, and sometimes not the truth at all. Some of my closest friends are people whom I didn't care for when I first met them. I either gave them a second or third chance, or it was forced upon me, and when I got to know them, I realized I was wrong. Youth go through this all of the time. Adults assume they don't know about certain things because of their age. I have learned from them that wisdom doesn't come from age but from experience, observation, listening, and learning. Some youth have experienced and seen a lot. So I let them show me who they are. If only everyone would do the same for each other.

India Arie sang, "I am not my hair, I am not my skin, I am not your expectations no. I am not my hair, I am not my skin, I am a soul that lives within." Remember, humans are multi dimensional beings with many different experiences, moods, desires, and abilities. We are souls, and souls are very complex because it takes a lifetime to shape them. So I say stop being Fed Ex and throw away the boxes. Enough employers and government agencies want to categorize us, we don't need to do it to each other. If you only know one side of a person, try getting to know other sides before you decide who they are. Better yet, don't decide who they are, just accept them.  Lastly, be your authentic self and refuse to get into the boxes people create for you. Love and light.

Food: Rx for Health

As I'm fasting today for World Food Day, I reflect on my relationship with food, both past and present. Being raised in a household with a southern (U.S.) grandmother and mother, there was no shortage of tasty food for my pallet. But what is good to you is not always good for you. My mother always told me to clean my plate because there are "children starving in Africa." To my dismay, this is still the case. This thought taught me not to waste food, unfortunately, it also taught me to eat too much. Food was my best friend. She comforted me, celebrated with me, brought me closer to people, and helped me fill a void. But I took advantage of food, I took her for granted. I thought I could manipulate her by consuming as much of her as I want in any form and she would always be my friend. Then one day, she turned on me. She gave me gallstones and started me on a journey that would change my life.

People don't realize that food has been rebelling against us for  mistreating her for years. The things we do to food is reprehensible. We add chemicals and additives, we abuse animals farmed as food, we prepare food in unhealthy ways, we serve it, at least in America, in gluttonous portions, we abuse food. She began rebelling, much like people in America and the world recently have: occupation. We aren't even aware that food is occupying our bodies and refusing to leave. Even as our scales begin to tip and our waistlines grow wider, we are unaware that food is waging a rebellion. Because we haven't listened to her, she has gone to the next level: causing disease. In this country diabetes, especially childhood diabetes rates are way up. Heart disease, high blood pressure, high cholesterol, cancer, are all diseases that can be linked to the amount of or types of food we eat. Yes, food is livid, and we'd better start listening to her demands.

Four years ago, after I had my gallbladder removed, I began to make amends with food. I wanted to repair our relationship because I need her. I became vegan and started using organic foods as much as possible and I looked to food for healing. I only use medications when absolutely unavoidable because now that food and I are besties again, she let me in on a little secret: she's a healer! I already knew that in her natural state she could provide me with all the vitamins, minerals and vital nutrients I need to stay healthy. But she also has healing powers. When I got pneumonia, tea made with thyme was the only thing to help me breath. Ginger helps me with digestion, onions relieve nasal congestion, and garlic is a natural antibiotic. There are many fruits, vegetables and herbs that are not only healing, but also prevent disease. I have included links to sites that show you which foods are good for what ailment or disease.

A year ago, three years after I had my gallbladder removed, I awakened one morning to a familiar pain in my abdomen. I had no gallbladder, so it couldn't be another gallstone attack, but it certainly felt like it! In the emergency room, they were sure it was an ulcer. I wasn't convinced, so I went to see my doctor who scheduled me for an endoscopy. I asked the nurse if she could find a natural remedy for my pain so she went on the Internet and saw a doctor had recommended cabbage juice for his ulcer patients. I had a juicer so I was ready to try it. Sure enough, an ounce of cabbage juice eliminated my pain immediately. For a week I only drank cabbage juice and fruit smoothies because I felt like food was stacking up in my stomach. Oh no, I thought, food is turning on me again. What had I done to her this time? Turns out, it was a wayward gallstone that had blocked my bile duct. Ok ok, food, I learned my lesson the first time!

I've learned to respect food. I no longer live to eat, I eat to live. I let food do her job. I make sure she is organic, healthily prepared, and I only have her in moderation. She, in turn, gives me vital nutrients, energy, a strong mind, and pleasure. Instead of avoiding her or manipulating how I eat her, I eat healthy meals and snacks and she helps me lose weight and stay healthy. When I am sick, I go to Dr. Food first. I am grateful for the relationship I have with food now. I wish everyone could have the same relationship. Food is our friend, a friend we can't live without. If we treat her right, she will treat us right. Listen to her demands. Love and light, and good eating.

http://www.juicing-for-health.com/healing-foods.html

http://www.fatfreekitchen.com/foodsthatheal.html

http://www.healingfoodreference.com/