Posts

Showing posts with the label define

Featured Post

The Subtraction of Umoja: Why Building the Nation Means Shedding the Armor

Image
The Subtraction of Umoja: Why Building the Nation Means Shedding the Armor Let’s stop lying to ourselves right at the front door. We’ve been heavily programmed by a hyper-individualistic simulation to believe that growth is always about adding more. We’ve been told we need to stack more titles, collect more individual armor, and hoard more personal validation before we are qualified to stand together. It’s a beautifully designed trap. The matrix wants you isolated in your own personal silo because a single twig is easily snapped. Our ancestral algorithm teaches us a completely different math: via negativa—the power of subtraction. True Umoja (Unity) isn’t realized by doing more; it’s realized by what we choose to shed. We have to scrape off the thick, suffocating buildup of blame, shame, and guilt that keeps us locked in states of being Mad, Sad, or Scared. That heavy baggage makes us toxic to the very people we claim we want to build with. The Lesson of the Seven Sticks: Separate an...
Post a Comment
Read more

Collective Kujichagulia

Image
  Great Kujichagulia to all my Kuji born out their: "Umoja in motion (collective work and responsibility)" We are looking at Kujichagulia today through the marvelous principle of Ujima. For those new to the journey, and to remind the old heads Ujima means collective work and responsibility. We teach within Gye-Nyame that Ujima is Umoja in motion. Today let's look at the power of a collective, which is a group that pulls together to accomplish a goal. Now let's imagine that they collectively focus on defining their world, or bringing it close to home,redefining their world. What type of changes could this collective bring about? "Gye-Nyame Journey has already put this into motion , by redefining the day" Kujichagulia as we saw last week is strong on defining the world, and since we are in the week of Ujima I believe that it is appropriate for me to call on our collective to start to redefine the world that we are in. Using our collective thought power to resh...
Post a Comment
Read more

Defining Defining

Image
Great Kujichagulia; We are in a Kuji week and today is Kujichagulia day. I guess this means we need to take a deep look at defining. We have to take time and break down so that we can know exactly what we are doing when we exercise the power of Kujichagulia. When we define something we are stating or setting forth the meaning of a thing. We are also saying how something will be referred to or perceived in some context. We also determine what is important about an object and what is incidental, contingent, or unintended about it (1). Defining can be both difficult and easy depending on the situation you find yourself in. We are defining who we are and what we stand for. The dictionary definition of Kujichagulia would be: self determination. Most people believe that this is associated with the right to make decisions concerning one's own person or affairs. Some think of it as self-rule. There is no doubt that there is much debate on the real meaning of Kujichagulia (self-determinatio...
Post a Comment
Read more

The Key To Unity Is Defining What It Is

Image
Growing up, I remember hearing people talk about the importance of unity. Now, as an adult, I hear it more than ever before. But the thing is, I know that unity isn't achieved by talking about how important it is; it's achieved by actually being clear on what it looks like and then going out and creating it. What does unity look like to you? Have you taken the time to think about it? Does your tribe or collective have a clear mission statement that has been agreed upon by everyone? Or are you blindly following some vague idea of what “unity” should be? I'm not saying that we shouldn't have our own individual opinions and beliefs. What I am saying is that if we are trying to create change in our communities and in this world, we need to be clear on what those beliefs are so that we can actually work together toward a common goal. And if you've ever seen a group of people talking about how important having a single unified vision is, only to turn around and do somethi...
Post a Comment
Read more