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Uncomfortable Truths: Stop Coddling and Reclaim Your Power

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Uncomfortable Truths: Stop Coddling and Reclaim Your Power Walking across a parking lot, shifting from a vehicle to the school, I couldn’t help but notice the discomfort lurking beneath our everyday interactions. Even while I was in the midst of my Ramadan fast—a practice that sharpens the mind and spirit—I felt compelled to address a deeply ingrained issue in our society: the idea that we must make everyone feel comfortable at all times. The Comfort Conundrum We’ve been conditioned to believe that ensuring everyone’s comfort is not just desirable but essential. However, when it comes to confronting anti-blackness and reclaiming our space, this comfort becomes a barrier rather than a bridge. Too often, we allow those who would undermine our strength to settle in too easily, softening our resolve. It’s time to shed the notion that we owe anyone an easy ride. The Unyielding Call for Accountability There’s a powerful message echoing from the words of John Henry Clark: we owe nothing b...
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Embracing Purpose and Self-Determination: A Journey towards Self-Mastery with Gye-Nyame Journey Tribe

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 Embracing Purpose and Self-Determination: A Journey towards Self-Mastery with Gye-Nyame Journey Tribe Greetings, beloved Gye-Nyame Tribe and extended family! As we gather under the principles of Nia (purpose) and Kujichagulia (self-determination), we set the sails on a voyage of self-realization, purpose, and unlocking our true potential. Please, join me on this deep-dive into the "Purposed Self" and the wisdom that lies at its core. Honoring Our Ancestors First, let us acknowledge our roots through the age-old ritual of pouring libations for our cherished Ancestors. This sacred act connects us to our lineage, infusing our lives with empowerment, and constantly reminds us of their profound influence on our journey. In this moment, let's uplift their spirits and express our heartfelt gratitude for the paths they've paved for us to prosper. The Power of Purpose Our journey begins with the heartbeat of our discourse - the rhythm of purpose. Purpose is our compass, infus...
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Economic Determination: The Key to Empowering Our Tribe and Nurturing the Next Generation

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Economic Determination: The Key to Empowering Our Tribe and Nurturing the Next Generation Hello, esteemed tribe members and extended family! As we embrace and celebrate the potent principles of Ujamaa (Cooperative Economics) and Kujichagulia (Self-Determination), we find ourselves at a significant juncture, a moment where we can influence not just our own economic trajectory but also that of our tribe and broader community. Today, we'll delve into the profound intersection of economic determination and youth development, guided by the age-old wisdom, "If the young are not initiated into the village, they will burn it down just to feel its warmth." Inculcating Economic Determination: A Collective Responsibility A thriving economy isn't created in isolation. It's a communal endeavor that demands the active participation of all, particularly our young ones. By immersing our youth in the dynamics of economics, we're empowering them to become catalysts for economic...
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Dont'T Let Them Get Comfortable

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  Don’t Let Them Get Comfortable I am surprised the fox is just now coming around in my selection of folktales. Those that don’t know the fox in Aesop fables is in every role, from the bad guy, to the hero, to the instigator, and traitor. This animal is the trickster that you find on every content and in every story tradition on this planet. (My fault he was the bowman and the lion tale) In this story format which you run into maybe a few more times in reading Aesop. The fox is introduced to something new. He has never seen a lion,and he is terrified. But as time goes on he eventually begins to talk to him and finally becomes comfortable around him. Since Aesop stresses I think it is one that we need to cover. For some reason aesop feels that he needs to warn us against allowing people to get comfortable around us. In fact in another story that we eventually cover this comfortableness leads to slavery. I believe that the message is that in our dealings never let people get too comf...
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Experience Matters

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  Experience Matters I love this story because it stresses the power of experience. The mother is looking over her chicks and raising them up and from her bag of experience she not only taught them a powerful lesson, but also those of us who read the story. The moral of the story is “Self help is the best help” which is a powerful statement on its own, but the lesson I learned from the story was take time and learn from your elders. The lark in the story through observation had learned the ways of man. Through her observation she knew exactly when to flee. Even though her young ones were ready she knew that they had time to put more weight on, and eat before it was too late. This type of experiential learning is not only a lesson for the young, but is also a lesson for the old. Are you an elder that can present the young with good advice because you have truly observed the world and participated in it. Are you giving sound advice to the young so that they can build up their mental ...
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Stand Up, But Be ready To Fight

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  Stand Up, But Be ready to Fight Seeking what is yours in the court of an oppressor never works out well. This story reminds us of this. I think that it was stories like this that really made me fall in love with Aesop. He showed that if you really want something that requires you getting permission from others you have to be willing to fight. Freedom can never be given it has to be snatched out of the hands of oppressors. This story does a much better job of demonstrating this because in this story the lions make a reply to the poor hares.  I can see the hares going to lion universities integrating into their system, and still be hunted as prey. Learning the ways and laws of lions, but after all that they end up being shut down by the simple  fact.  What is crazy to me is the rabbits were not seeking separation, they simply were asking to be treated equally, by the lions and other animals. But this request was out the question because the one thing that rabbits nee...
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  Don’t Lose What You Have For Imaginary Gains Here is another folktale about losing ourselves in pursuit of something that is not ours, and truly can never be. We to birds that were gifted with the ability to sing, that became enamored with the neigh of a horse. When I first heard this one I could do nothing but laugh because I had been caught in situations like this.  The swan and kite in the story fell in love not necessarily the sound of the neigh, but they may have fell in love with the sense of pride in which the horse did it. I believe that they confused the two. They really wanted the pride that the horse put behind the neigh, and not the neigh. Many of us get caught in this trap. We confuse the exterior with the internal and think that we want what the other person has. We begin to imitate, but we don’t get the same response that the original received. It is hard for us to understand that “it is not the close that makes the man, it is the man that makes the close”....
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A True Sucker Move

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  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 resul...
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Control Your Kuumba, Or Your Kuumba Will Control Your Life

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Control Your Kuumba, Or Your Kuumba Will Control Your Life Great Kujichagulia: Today we will look at controlling our Kuumba. Kuumba is a powerful tool, but we have to exercise our Kujichagulia in dealing with it. Our ancestors' first rule upon entering a temple as a disciple was control of thought, but for us it is control of our imagination. Time and time again I have witnessed people creating their own hell that spills out to everyone around them. These people have plenty of Kuumba but lack the kujichagulia to control their creation. This comes from the luxury that our ancestors labor, blood, sweat and tears have created for us, more free time. We have people wasting this powerful resource to play mind games with themselves. They sit at home, offices, coffee shops, etcConcocting fuckery that usually takes a hold and causes confusion.   “Kuumba is a powerful energy that lets each of us create. But we need to use our kujichagulia to control it.” Our Imagination is like a horse...
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Breaking The Cycle

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  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. ...
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Unified Purpose

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  Unified Purpose Great Umoja: Oh my goodness! We have made it into the week of Nia, and now she has to be our focus this week. I love the principle of Nia, because Nia gives or should give us our “WHY”. Hopefully you have found your Nia, and are moving in it. If not, hopefully we can help you with that during this week. We can at least put it on your mind so that you can start attracting her to you. Family, I need to stress the importance of asking questions during this week. When we ask questions, and we are genuinely looking for answers the Universe responds. We might not like the answer we get, or may not even understand it at that time, but It answers us. So, if you have not identified your Nia, this is the week to practice a lot of humbleness and ask questions. “Our Nia is the reason why we wake up in the morning, and doing our Nia is what allows us to live out of wholeness. That's why doing your Nia is so important in life.” We are on Umoja today and I want to focus on the c...
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How To Use Your Kujichagulia (Finding Your Way)

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  How to use Self Determination Kujichagulia is my favorite principle, because it exposes us to the power of defining. As you know I am a kuji baby, but even with that, I have to pay homage to the principle of the week (Ujamaa). This is the principle that deals with cooperation and resources, but Kujichagulia helps us identify what our resources are, how they can be used, and how they can and should be protected. Self Determination helps us decide as a group what borders we need to create on the community and tribal level. The same applies to our personal boundaries. These are important because it allows us to form unique identities that allow for separation. This separation allows us to distinguish between things. When we can distinguish we can take ownership. Now, many people are against this idea, but it is essential for us to understand this in the modern world. This is the foundation of Nation building. Once again the source is in Kujichagulia. Once we are able to identify the...
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