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Showing posts from December, 2013

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Ujamaa: Moving Beyond Survival to Shared Prosperity

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Podcast Episode: https://www.spreaker.com/episode/the-green-harvest-of-the-we--69434400 In the Gye-Nyame Journey, we speak often of moving away from the toxic cycle of BSG (Blame, Shame, and Guilt). One of the most practical ways to break that cycle is through the application of Ujamaa , or Cooperative Economics. Economics is often seen as a cold, distant field of numbers. But in our community, economics is deeply personal. It is about who we trust with our hard-earned resources. When we practice Ujamaa, we are asserting our Self-Determination (Kujichagulia) on a collective scale. We are saying that we have the power to create our own systems of support. The Practicality of Ujamaa: Intentional Spending: Look for ways to keep your dollar within the community for as many "hops" as possible. Shared Resources: Can you pool resources with others to start a garden, a business, or a youth program? Mentorship: Sharing your professional "secrets" is an act of Ujamaa. Wea...

The Magic Hour

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The idea of starting this show came from a conversation I had with one of my brothers. This was long before the internet was in our pockets and shaping our lives the way it does today. We made a plan to create a internet radio station called "GyeWeb Radio", that independent artist could use to promote their music. We wanted to provide a venue for the unheard artist to air and promote their skills. The ultimate goal was to help independent artist build a fan base outside of the main music industry and develop a revenue stream to support what they do. We felt that the industry was choking the life out of Hip-Hop, and we had a grand plan to save it. Unfortunately the cost at this time would have been in the 10's of thousands of dollars. With the financial crisis looming and by getting caught up in the "Great Real-Estate Hustle" we didn't have the money to finance the project. Fast forward about 10 years and now with the advancements in the internet and the dev...

Humbleness As A Tool

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I have noticed that many people lack humbleness, I guess that this principle has been dismissed as something that is old fashion and has been thrown on the scrapheap of history. Humbleness, I have found to be a necessary weapon of a warrior. Humbleness is one of the major principles that need to be honed and sharpened in the old and young.  How can you learn if you have no humbleness? Yes high self esteem is important, but for some reason humbleness has been removed from the concept of esteem and replaced with false pride. In order to learn we have to be able bow our heads, close our mouths, and open our two ears. There is no learning without a humble heart. In order to learn we have  be willing to admit our ignorance about a situation. Admitting ignorance requires humbleness which  is important and can not be done by someone who has confused pride with self esteem. Admitting ignorance to someone or an institution is the first step to being able to gain the knowledge the...