Gye-Nyame Journey Media

  The MisUsed Resource Great Imani: We have hit the final day of Ujamaa and it has been an exciting and trying week, but we have made it and we will continue building in the weeks to come. I once again want to stress my Gratitude ( the M-7 principle for the principle of Ujamaa) for those that take the time out of their busy schedule to read these blogs. I know that time is precious so I will continue to bring content that you can use as well as think about. I have to always remember as well as you do,  that the goal should be to always bring as much value as possible. Since we are striving to free ourselves first internally then manifest that in the world, I want to look at the misused power of Imani. Imani is the principle that talks about  Faith , Belief, and Trust. These are principles that have rode with our people and boosted us up when we needed it. Now is the time for us to talk about this resource and how it is being misused and possibly how we can direct it toward helping us

  Great Imani: It has been a very busy few days. I am working at the Ohio Alliance Of Black School Educators (OABSE) conference here in Columbus, Ohio. It took more time that I expected but it was worth it. It is great to hear about all the work that is going on with schools, especially when it comes to Black children. "Imani - a collective force rooted in community" I was trying to record my show but my daughter wanted to take a long walk in the woods in the dark. So I accepted her challenge and we ended up going four miles. Needless to say after the long day, and the evening into night walk, I was exhausted and would have not been able to give yall my all. I am bringing this up because it was a lesson in it about Imani. My daughter was excited to go for our walk but as it started to get dark, the excitement started to turn into fear. Before the sun totally disappeared she was running around picking flowers, running ahead of me, and lagging behind. As the darkness solidified

  Great Imani: "Let us look at Imani through the lens of Kujichagulia" Yesterday we spoke about the power of Kuumba and how it was unleashed when we were able to define our purpose. Now we are going to continue that conversation by traveling to the other side of Kuumba. Ladies and Gentlemen a present to you the principle of Imani. For us in Gye-Nyame Imani is the basis of the Nguzo Saba, which means that if we want to unleash the power of our principles we have to start with Imani. "Imani means faith in self, family, community, and our people" For today's post, I want to look at Imani through the lens of Kujichagulia, and ask what Imani is. Imani means faith, and in the Kwanzaa tradition it means to believe with all our heart in our people, our parents, our teachers, and the righteousness and victory of our struggle. Faith in general means a strong belief or trust. In the context of Kwanzaa, it means the belief that we can be self-determined, self-authored and s

The meaning of Imani means ‘faith’ or ‘belief’ and it is the seventh principle of the Nguzo Saba or Kwanzaa. Imani signifies faith in yourself, your people, the community, and your Creator. Imani is often seen as confidence, trust, and self-belief. In order to have faith in others and to believe that there is a higher power that governs our lives, we must first believe in ourselves. This principle encourages us to become self-reliant and responsible for our own actions. We must not fear failure but instead use it as a stepping stone to success. There are always new challenges that lie ahead and you should be prepared for change and willing to adapt. We should be proud of who we are as individuals and communities and have faith that we can overcome all adversities by being creative, resourceful and persistent. While some may not share the same beliefs, having faith in others is still an important aspect of life. When we are able to put our trust in those around us, this allows us to hel

Revolutions & Revolutionaries don't just happen. It takes a combination of hard work and faith to become one. And it also takes a great storyteller, someone who understands history and knows how to craft the story that will pull us all together as a tribe, and hold us together as a nation. Do you have some around you like this? Are you someone that can craft a story that holds people together? This requires someone that can see where we are and have faith in our ability to move beyond it. This person is a perfect mixture of Kuumba and Imani walking in our world. Today we are on Kuumba, looking through the lens of Imani, the faith in the stories we tell ourselves. Hopefully you are telling stories that will move you beyond where you are now, and that won't keep you stuck. If you need help with this type of thing you need to check us out here at GNJ.Media ... Follow

Reciprocity is the act of returning something to someone who has given you something. In Gye Nyame culture, reciprocity is an integral part of daily life. To  understand why, one must first understand that the Ujamaa concept does not exist in isolation; it is at the very heart of our belief system and culture. Ujamaa requires reciprocity from everyone throughout the community which includes both giving and receiving within it. No other element or quality can be found in our system without it being regarded as lacking in some way if there was no reciprocity involved with it. The individual members of our community are taught that when they receive something, they must return the favor so that they are experiencing a balance of giving and receiving throughout their lives. This balance then allows us to experience an overall sense of harmony throughout our group which is necessary for us to function together in peace and tranquility since our group members recognize that they will be depe

Imani is the 7th principle in the Nguzo Saba. In Gye-Nyame 7 is the number of study rest and perfection. Imani  is also interchangeable with the principle of trust and harmony in our system. That may not mean much to many, but it is a very powerful number in our culture. There are many factors that go into our ability to have faith in ourselves, but this is essentially the foundation for an individual's success. "I believe in myself and my ability to succeed." The first component of that statement is an expression of Imani. The second component is an expression of Ujima (collective work). There are many ways we can choose to express Imani, but only by working together can we truly achieve greatness. We cannot escape the fact that we are all connected. We all have a purpose here on Earth; it may be to educate, or love, or entertain, or heal—but whatever it is, we have all been given gifts that will allow us to fulfill our purpose. And when we work together as a collective

Imani is the foundation of so many other principles. We can't discuss Umoja without Imani—and we can't celebrate Kujichagulia without Imani, either. Yesterday, we touched on the importance of Imani when it comes to Umoja, and today I want to jump into this discussion with Kujichagulia. Self Determination is a powerhouse in itself but like the other principles it leans on Imani. In order to exercise the power of Kujichagulia we have to have faith in ourselves. This is why it is important to really take the walk through Imani and gain all the lessons that accompany this principle. Once we have worked on the Imani in ourselves we can now leverage its power and move to the next level. We can extend our Kujichagulia from us to things around us. For those new to Gye-Nyame, kujichagulia is much deeper than the words self determination. Kujichagulia is about the ability to define. Once we have established Kujichaguilia within we can now start focusing this power out into the world. Joi

For any type of Umoja to happen in our lives, we must first be unified within ourselves. This requires a high level of faith and trust in yourself. The strength of your Imani is the foundation of the Umoja principle. Umoja can take place on multiple levels. There is internal unity, which means you are unified within yourself; and there is external unity, which means that you work with other people and form a union. Internal unity is essential because it allows us to build strong relationships with ourselves and others. External unity can be defined as how well different groups can work together for a common goal or purpose.  The Imani principle turns on the light of Umoja, it shines so bright that it will help you see yourself through the eyes of great love, self-respect, and compassion. It will also help you see others through the same light, they too become worthy of your respect and love when you have activated Imani before attempting to connect with them.  Internal Umoja helps us g

I’m in a room of people and I see the strongest black woman I have ever met. She walks with the stride of an African queen and the smile of an angel. She is intelligent, beautiful and powerful beyond measure, but for some reason she does not believe that she is worthy. She does not believe that she deserves to be free from the shackles of systemic racism, or that she deserves to be treated with dignity and respect. This woman believes her destiny is in the hands of everyone but herself. She has lost her faith in her ability to positively impact her own life. This woman has lost sight of the power that lies within her. The power to do anything, be anything, and create anything she desires. This woman needs to regain her faith in our Ancestors, their ability to influence events in our favor, the power of our Kuumba to shape, mold, and protect our lives, and above all else, she needs to regain her faith in herself. For it is this faith that will instill confidence in the actions we take t

The principle of Imani is all about faith. In the Nguzo Saba, faith is defined as: "To believe with all our heart in our people, our parents, our teachers, our leaders, and the righteousness and victory of our struggle." Imani is the strongest bond you can have with your tribe. It's about trusting that you're on the right path for yourself, even when it's hard to see—and knowing that others are working hard to help you get there. Here are seven ways we've found to strengthen your relationship with Imani in your tribe: 1. Have faith in yourself—believe in your own strengths, and in your ability to find strength when you need it. 2. Have faith in your family—believe in them, believe they will support you and be there for you. Believe they are doing the best they can. 3. Have faith in those who came before you—know that those who came before you are still working hard to make things better for you and your community through their work on this earth and beyond it.

In today's podcast I want to talk about trusting yourself. We are all so worried about what others think of us that we lose sight of who we are and our abilities. The more you work on mastering your ability the more you understand that it doesn't matter what other people think. You can create the life you want to live regardless of what others may say or do. When you trust in your ability everything else will falls into place. You will stop worrying about others and feel empowered to make the changes that need to be made for yourself. The best part is once you can trust in your ability it will become easier and easier until one day you wake up and realize that life is not half as bad as it seemed before. Trust in your ability to live a better life. Follow Listen to "Imani Toast - Learning To Trust in Your Ability" on Spreaker.

 The thing about faith is that it is invisible. It’s not tangible, but we all have it. Sometimes we need to remind ourselves of the faith we already have. When I was younger, I had a hard time with this. I wanted to know why things happened, and why certain people were born or died. And then I learned that some questions are better left unanswered. Faith itself is the shield around us that protects us from those things we don’t understand. Faith isn’t just about believing in something you can’t see; it’s about believing in yourself and never giving up on your dreams. It’s about fighting for what you believe in and staying strong when everything seems to be going wrong. On todays show we are going to discuss keeping the Faith, Come on in and join us.... Follow Listen to "Imani Toast - Keep The Faith" on Spreaker.

 

Peace FAM: On this powerful day of Imani, I was hit by the thought of feelings. I know the power of feelings when they are properly directed, but I have been held hostage by them as well. Often times we find that how we feel about some task will freeze us up, and stop us from doing certain task. We have to learn to push past how we feel on some of our quest, because our feelings are helping to hold us back. It is human instinct to want to stay comfortable, we seek comfortable position, and we thrive in predictable situations. Even if the thriving is moving us on  a long train ride to destruction. We hang on to old habits even though we can see that they are making us obeist, lazy, sick, miserable, and etc.. We have to be willing sometimes to jump over how we are feeling and get things accomplished. This is a tough process but often for us to make break throughs we have to do this. Our feelings are a guidance system, not a ruler that should command our lives and limit our actions. Fea

Peace FAM: As usual we start off with the toast that goes on for a while, because I go into one of my rants about the importance of entrepreneurship in our community. I took time to salute my sister Ayisha for her creation of Almillikah Hair & Body Butter  (visit her site for more info). I have been saying that one of the major businesses that we need to take over in our communities is the "Ash business", there is no other group that uses as much lotion as we do and we need to stop purchasing these types of products from others. we need to turn this product into an engine for economic growth. If we just capture this one industry we would possibly create hundreds if not thousands of jobs, create trade relationships with African countries, and have money circulating in our community. We must remember that money is the blood of a community. As long as the blood is flowing in the body (community), the body is healthy, but if for some reason blood begin to flow rapidly out

Peace Fam: Today me and the girls just had fun, but we were able to discuss the concept of faith in the process that you are practicing. Faith, and trust are important in the process of Selfmastery. Two of the Ten virtues of Maat stress these concepts: "Having faith in our masters ability to teach us (or reveal) the truth." "Having faith in our ability to assimilate the truth" Being able to invest our trust in the process that we are following is paramount, and we have to begin to practice this principle, so that we can move to the next level of our development. Take some time and evaluate some of the processes that you working in your life, and the ones that are worthy to continue, because you have seen the fruit in your life, as well as in other live's, and begin to invest trust in them. View video and feel free to leave comments. me and my daughters wish you Peace, Power, Joy, and 1hunidyears. Brother ha2tim

Peace FAM: I have been pushing heavy on the breathing and will continue to do so family. The breathing exercises that I am sharing and talking about will change your life. On this powerful day of Imani I discussed the retention of the breath. Family, breathing right not only contributes to your physical health it helps you with the other 4 parts of your being. I am stressing this in the blog, 21 Day Nguzo Saba Challenge , and especially those in GNJ's Warrior training (coming soon). Breath is the key that helps unlock the trauma, correct the body, clear the mind, and provide us with the energy needed to build the culture that a nation can spring from. I am saying that how we breath set us into a rythm that will either put us in time with oppression, or  freedom. Most of us are breathing in the rythm of slavery, and oppression. Now let's look at the retention of the breath. When you consciously hold your breath you are making an effort to take control of your your being. Bre

Peace FAM: It is good to be up, and writing on this great day of Imani. Today we toast the ancestors, go through our regiment, discuss Black seed oil, and trusting a process. This is one of my better videos, so I want ruin it by extra verbiage on the blog. Check it out and get the message.

Peace FAM: We will continue to talk about self deception today, and how our misdirected Imani can hinder our growth. I didn't get to talk about the placebo and nocebo effect, but these play a major part when we start discussing Imani and SelfMastery. Knowing about these can help you break through some of the illusion that have been erected to prevent you becoming the best you. Those of you in GNJ and those of you taking the 21 Day Nguzo Saba Challenge need to look both of those terms up, and begin to apply them to life. Nuff Said Peace, Power, Joy, and 1hunidyears