Gye-Nyame Journey Media

  A True Sucker Move This is a tale of enslavement, and as sad as it is I have to make sure that my readers get the point. Please realize that this horse was a slave long before he took the man as his partner. The horse fell prey to the Unbalanced passions that we often talk about in Gye-nyame long before the bit was placed in his mouth. He led himself toward destruction and sacrificed everything because he was not seeing clearly. The most unfortunate thing about this whole story is that I witness this behavior on a daily basis. We have people willing to slow dance with destruction rather than take a moment to really think about the ramifications of their actions. I have seen people destroy and attempt to destroy organizations that serve the community for something as petty as the horse’s grievance in this tale. Just like the horse, these people don’t realize until it is too late that they have sold their souls. Man it is like watching a car crash in slow motion. You know the result yo

  Know Yo $#!+ This is a key lesson that I hope that you get. If you have been reading these posts then you are someone that wants to make improvements to your current life. This means that you need to work on becoming a master of something. Preferably something that you can offer to your community that they need. But before you put up your shingle please make sure you know what you are doing. There is absolutely nothing wrong with being an apprentice to someone that can guide you on the path to becoming a master. Because what we have out here now is all of of sudden everybody knows everything. You have all experienced it. People who last week working at the electric company and that you have known for years, have all of the sudden become a financial guru. I know yall know what I’m talking about and I am throwing shade. But as one of the Ancestors said ‘ When you throw a rock into a pack of dogs the one that got hit is the one that yelps”, if you are yelping excuse my rock. These insta

  Loyalty, Loyalty, Loyalty This story touched my heart because loyalty is one of the pillars in Gye-Nyame Journey. This seems to be a dying thing  in these modern days and times. Sometimes I feel that everyone is for sale. But this story gives me hope. I know that it is about a little dog but to know that even back in the days of Aesop they had some of the same issues gives me hope.  For those of us seeking freedom and justice, loyalty can go a long way, and it is a practice we need. As the documents flowed out about all the leaders that were assassinated and imprisoned during our freedom struggle. We come to find out that every last one of them had traitors in their midst. It is kind of scary when you look at what people actually received for betraying our people. You would think that they would receive the world but just like judas they received a bag of minor currency. Loyalty is a valuable trait and if you can find the right person or tribe to practice it with you will truly be bl

  Sometimes The Enemy Looks Like You This folktale spits a hard truth into our face, that many will find hard to head but my friend please get it. Do not allow the look of someone or the feelings of familiarity fall upon you in all situations. Just because someone looks like you and have all the right lingo does not make them your ally. History is riddled with the bodies of those that were betrayed by familiarity, and this story throws this up big time. The dogs in this story were sweet-talked to a sour death at the hands of their new partners. Many of us up to this day are being “got” by the same trap. We listen and hear all the words, we don’t pay attention to the body language, hell we don’t even look at the history. We just believe that everything is going to work out. But as old and hopeful as I am in my life I have learned that if it sounds too good to be true, then it is. We are living in a dangerous time where many wolves are able to broadcast their messages over the internet,

  You can’t Be Fooled If You Know Who You Are Here we are with another story about the ass. I told you that the ass provided much material for Aesop, and has produced many nuggets of wisdom for us. The ass in this story demonstrated I believe a lesson that we all need to get. Now remember I am looking at this folktale through my lens, my view is not the only view as you will here in the attached video or podcast. This is a story that touches on the maxim that states “Know Thyself”.  In this story unlike the last time we met with the ass, this ass knows who he is and his lot in life. He appears to have harmonized himself with it. Rather than wasting time and energy to run with the old shepherd, this ass appears to have made a choice that lined up with who he is. The lesson for all of us is to take time to learn about us. Know who we are, where we are, and then make decisions from that point. I know many people will disagree with me on this point, because they will say that the ass shoul

  Are You feeding Your Heart Or Your Stomach The folktale we will look at here is important because it focuses on one of the unbalanced passions (this is what we call them in Gye-Nyame training) that has destroyed more lives and broken more homes than any other vice. We are talking about greed. Striving to get more than you deserve and in many cases more than you could use. Greed is a deadly vice that will keep you hungry in the midst of a cornucopia. I have personally felt the sting and seen its actions in my life. Greed will constantly whisper “more” to you and if you have not been taught to recognize it,  it will lead you to ruin. We can see greeds effect all around us, and we can hear it in the speeches of politicians, and business persons. The constant move toward growth, and expansion is nothing but one of the disguises for greed. In Gye-Nyame we describe this as an unbalanced passion. Because at times there are moments for greed, but we must be fortified in our other principles

  Know Your Enemies In war it is very important to have scouts. These are soldiers or warriors that go ahead of the normal troops, to get an idea of what the enemy has waiting for their army. The scouts job is to gather information about the enemy and bring it back to their leaders so that they could more effectively deal with future battles. Do you have scouts in the world. I promise after this folktale you will be trying to get some. We are looking at the folktale (fable) called “The Bowman & the Lion” and the lesson that I learned pretty much sticks with the moral of this story “be on guard against men that can strike from a distance”. This is very important in all aspects of our lives. Many of us are being hit by the arrows of enemies that we didn’t even know we had. These arrows have been set on autopilot, and are triggered by us trying to get in spaces that were not designed for us. We can see these arrows flying in business, certain fields of work, in real estate, in laws, e

  The Unnoticed wealth Within (Lessons from an Ass) The ass is a beast of burden that Aesop frequently uses to teach lessons. This one strikes me as important, and I believe my  take on this story may have not been the original lesson, but I am sure that it will help many of those that take the time to read. In my tribe one of the first things that we strive to do is to get people to start learning not only their peoples history, but we push them to learn about their family history. Our goal in doing this is to help them develop a pride for what their personal family's history adds to the total mosaic of African and world history. Many of us, I believe, feel that our family has not added to the timeline of world events. We believe that our personal family's history should be shunned and put to the side because it is not important. That is the farthest we can get from the truth. Our family’s history is what made us, and if we would take the time to look at some of the great thin

  To Thine OwnSelf Be True I actually did not pick this fable as my first choice, but it just happened to be the first one that I relistened to when I was putting my playlist together. It popped up and I gave the discussion a listen and it blew my wig back. Please understand when I do my shows I rarely go back and listen to them. Most of the time I press the button and go, and after the show I move to the next one. You see, I was taught content was king, and for almost 8 years I would create a show a day. In fact on some days I would do as many as 3 shows a day. In 2022 I decided to change how I did content because doing all this creating and not making headway in social media began to wear on me. Don’t get me wrong I had built up a group of supporters who understood what I was doing, and supported me every step of the way, but I was nowhere near where I had hoped to be. When I started this journey I had planned for this to be my retirement gig, and that through GNJMedia I would be abl

  Breaking the Cycle  Great Nia Great day FAM, we have made it to the day of Nia in the week of Nia, and now we have to look at Nia through the eyes of Nia. Wow, I didn’t think about this until I sat down on my keyboard and started pounding out this blog. The Purpose of purpose. Why do we do what we do? Are you living a life on purpose or are you living on accident. Do you Know why you are doing and pursuing what you are doing and pursuing? Sounds like stupid questions, but many people when asked can not answer these questions outside of using the term “I have too”. Many of us are trapped in a cycle of accidents, and don’t know how to get out! So here is where we continue the process. Looking at the ways in which we can break the cycles that we are presently in. If you have started building on the ideas that we have been sharing for the last few weeks, you will eventually begin to see changes within yourself, and eventually you begin to affect the environment that you are in. Remember

My father was a different type of dude. He often referred to stories to teach me important life lessons, many of them I didn't understand until after he passed away. This story is one of those, and has proven to be the best so far. On my 18th birthday my father did not show up for my birthday party, but instead asked me to meet him at a coffee shop the day after. Being upset about him missing another major event in my life I showed up with an attitude. When I entered the coffee shop he was sitting at a table alone drinking and reading a book. I approached the table and took a seat, but he didn't immediately notice me. I sat quietly brooding, planning my verbal assault on this man that I felt never really paid any attention to me. Finally looking up at me, and smiling. " I'm glad you came, happy belated birthday." He said reaching his hand out in a gesture of peace. I shook his hand and for some reason my anger subsided, and he began to giggle. "Your 18 y