History - Poem

History

Religions that orchestrated slavery
Fathers of holy crusades and jihads
Look upon my affection for Olokun
With contempt and arrogance.

Yet they are:
Converters fond of swords
Inciting with salvation and hell-bound hysteria.
Either/or, with us/against us strategy.
Referring to faithful devotees as
Devil worshippers
Polytheists
Savages
When the wars of the world
Lay on THEIR heads.

Never did we send missionaries to your lands
To convince you of your woeful state
Trading companies that traded nothing
Only siphoning every resource of dollar worth
Nor soldiers with bloody eyes to cart you away.
Though your lifewalk
Is one cover in demons
We never cursed your choices.

Even now, we smile to see some of yours
Finally swingin limbs
To capoeira and yoga
Delighting to find you seeking insightful
Ancestral communion
And making offerings to Nature.
Laughing when you speak of it all
As new.

Proclaiming discovery again.

This is what we offered at the coasts
Of Hispianola, the borders of the Sudan,
Outside the temples of Egypt.
-before you loaded your guns
and perched your Bibles and Korans high;
using shackles like handshakes.

We remember in bondage serving Portuguese princes
And Arabic sheiks.
a brainwashing taking hold
now, seeing our own countrymen fight
for the interests of your gods and lands.

We say ever so gently

We did not know who the devil was
Until we met you.

10:51 PM - 1 Comments - 2 Kudos - Add Comment

Quick Meditation Tips

• Through the nose, not the mouth. Those little hairs are there to keep air pollutants out of your system. You will notice there are no hairs in your mouth. lol
• Only the lower stomach should be moving. If your shoulders are going up and down you are attempting to breath from your chest, which is incorrect.
• I shouldn't hear you. Your breathing should be so quiet that it only emits a soft whisper that can be heard one to two inches from your face. Anything louder than that is not forced breathing.
• Exhales are longer than inhales. If it takes you about 3-4 seconds to fill your lungs then it ought to take you about 6 seconds or more to empty them.
• It's not a race. Deep breathing should feel like floating over water. You should relish each moment like a bite of sweet fruit.
• Hold your perenium for one second after inhaling. The perenium is that muscle that you learned to use so you wouldn't go "potty" on yourself in preschool. Inhale, hold the perenium for one second and then slowly exhale. This also trains the muscles associated with sex and the mind. Once mastered you should experience better concentration and deeper meditation (and longer intercourse sessions. lol)
• Meditation is not used to "think out obstacles" it is used to visualize yourself already having solved them. If you are broke, visualize yourself with money. Don't try to figure where the money is coming from, just see yourself with it. If you are depressed see yourself happy, communicative and unaffected by setbacks.
• You will not be able to clear your mind. If you are new, focus (not look, just focus) on the space between your eyes. Work your visualizations. If your mind strays just refocus again. Do not get angry. Do not get disappointed. Have no feeling about it either way. Forgive yourself a thousand times because it is a part of the process. You may go in and out of focus a thousand times and its okay. Over time it will stop. Maybe a week. Maybe a month. Maybe a year. Don't worry about when it occurs. Just know that it will. All effort leads in that direction. You are actually causing yourself more harm by getting upset when it occurs than when the act itself happened.

10:05 PM - 0 Comments - 0 Kudos - Add Comment

Winter Solstice, Drugs and Elders
Current mood: hopeful

I would like to remind everyone of the upcoming Winter Solstice which begins on Dec 21 2005 1:35 PM EST. This is a very important time of the year, as it indicates a shift in energy, from active to dormant. IT IS A TRADITIONAL AFRICAN CUSTOM TO ACKNOWLEDGE THE CHANGING OF SEASONS AND DO SPECIFIC RITUALS, CEREMONIES AND PERSONAL SPIRITUAL PRACTICES THAT HELP US ADJUST AND TAKE ADVANTAGE OF EACH OF THESE YEARLY CHANGES. Here is one suggestion:

When Winter Solstice arrives, you should spend more time indoors with your Deity and Ancestral Spirits and in particular your Spiritual Intuition or True Self. During the winter months meditate and visualize (not verbalize) what you would like to accomplish in the spring, summer and fall months. See yourself DOING those things and visualize yourself EXPERIENCING success in those endeavors. If you know how to do divination be sure to make sure your goals are in harmony with your Destiny.

The best time to begin your meditations is 7:00PM until the sunrise. You may have been taught an alternate time in the evening to begin your meditation session or specific hour blocks by an expert meditation instructor. These times that your instructor recommended are ideal for you, use them.

I used to organize group Winter Solstice meditations. I can not say enough good things about this kind of group dynamic.

Meditation, Alcohol and Hallucinogens
You should never begin a meditation with a full stomach or if you are under the influence of alcohol or a natural hallucinogen. Only trained spiritualists should be using or recommending hallucinogens as a part of a spiritual practice.

While we are on the subject of hallucinogens and drugs.. IF you use natural hallucinogens, you should have your practice .. via a divination reading with an initiated Priest of an indigenous spiritual tradition. If you are doing the right thing you should have nothing to be worried about, Deity or Ancestral Spirits will confirm that this practice is it okay for you.

11:05 AM - 1 Comments - 2 Kudos - Add Comment

6 Indigenous African Religions (Spiritual Cultures) Practiced in West
Current mood: satisfied

Afrikans in America no longer have to enslaved, bound, confused, colonized, pimped or exploited by the religions of people that would orchestrate genocidal events like the Maafa (Transatlantic Slave Trade). Free your mind, and your Spirit will follow

6 Indigenous African Religions (Spiritual Cultures) Practiced in West

Togo/Ghana/Benin -- Vodun/Mami Wata

Haiti -- Vodou (Voodoo)

Yoruba - Orisa/Santeria etc..

Africa/USA influences. Orisa'Ifa (Indigene)
(try to practice as close to african as possible)
Africa/USA. Anago
(try to practice as close to african as possible)
USA/Africa. Oyotunji
(will not accept any ethnicity except for African, including latinos etc. try to practice as close to african as possible)
Cuba. Lukumi /Santeria
Brazil. Candomble / Umbanda
Trinidad.Sango Baptiste

Central Africa/Pan-American -- Kongo / Palo Mayombe

Ghana/Togo -- Akan

Nubia/Kemet (Egypt) -- Ausar Auset Society

(A spiritual system that stems from "classical" African history, not "traditional" Africa for you history buffs. Resurrected in 70s/80s in USA, but has roots in Africa. Deemed only legitimate manifestation of Kemetic spirituality in world, as it is only system that can actually invoke and possess its priesthood with Kemetic deities and speak in ancient tongues during this period.)

Caribbean/ Central Africa -- Obeah

6:26 PM - 3 Comments - 4 Kudos - Add Comment

Loving Assata
Current mood: working

It's not so often that one of your greatest heroes is even alive. So many of us are drawn to people that gone. We loved "that one song" or we appreciated that "great book" - reflections often made after we know we won't get anymore greatness from them. This is not the case with Assata. She is still very alive and despite the efforts of the Federal Pigs, she is very safe.

Assata Shakur was a prominent Black Panther and Black Guerilla Army member that was charged with the murder of a New Jersey State Trooper although all the evidence indicates that she was critically wounded by the policeman's "pre-emptive gunfire" and was unable to hold, much less fire a weapon. After giving birth to a child in prison, and determining that her fate, and her justice would have to be taken, rather than given unbiased by the judicial system she worked to break out of prison. She now resides in Cuba despite numerous cash awards for her capture. Her autobiography will be a classic in African-American history forever.

A few years ago I happened to make friends with a group of people that were operating www.assatashakur.org and decided to help. We rebuilt the site, eventually making it the largest repository of all things Assata. We eventually were allowed to run official statements issued directly from her legal team and advocates here in the States. Its been both an honor and a pleasure. What's even better is that unlike my love for Fannie Lou Hamer or Malcolm X, my love for Assata can mean something right now. By supporting the Hands Off Assata Campaign I can help keep her free. And she in return she can continue to give more greatness to the world.

Every month we sponsor the Official Assata Speaks Monthly Action Alert Campaign which asks 5,000 Warriors around the world to join forces in addressing issues of social justice which range from natural disaster and prisoner rights to decent housing and police brutality.

5:48 PM - 0 Comments - 0 Kudos - Add Comment