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Conservatism, Reaction, and the Elder's Responsibility: A Message to My Age Grade

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Conservatism, Reaction, and the Elder's Responsibility: A Message to My Age Grade Great Day, Fam. This one right here? It’s not for everyone. If you’re not at or approaching Eldership—defined in our tribe as about 55 years old and up—you might not feel all of this. But if you’re curious, or if you’re one of those younger souls already walking with wisdom, you’re welcome to keep reading. This message is for the Elders. For those of us who should know better. And yes—I’m including myself. Let’s Start With the Mirror I’ve got to confess something. I’ve been guilty. Guilty of being reactionary. Guilty of falling into the trap of conservatism. Guilty of romanticizing the past. Guilty of looking at our young people and calling them “soft”—as if we were born warriors, as if we didn’t have to become who we are through fire, failure, and guidance. Many of us Elders are stuck in a loop. We remember only the highlights of our youth—the toughest times we survived, the boldest moments ...
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Unleashing Ujamaa: A Journey Towards Shared Prosperity Through Collective Effort and Personal Expectations

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  Dear Tribe and Extended Family, Today, as we dive headfirst into the enlightening week of Ujamaa, we are presented with an incredible opportunity to embrace and celebrate the power of collective responsibility and cooperation. Honoring Our Ancestors But first, let us pause for a moment. A moment to honor and uplift our Personal Ancestors through the sacred act of pouring libations. Through this ritual, we connect with their wisdom, strength, and resilience. We acknowledge the interconnectedness of our past, present, and future. It is an intimate moment where we remember that we stand on the shoulders of giants. The Essence of Ujamaa Ujamaa, a principle deeply rooted in the Swahili language, encapsulates the spirit of cooperative economics. It illuminates the path towards our economic prosperity, guiding us to understand that it is not solely reliant on the circumstances around us, but is strongly influenced by our individual and collective expectations. To achieve the remarkable,...
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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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Economic Unity: Embracing Ujamaa for Collective Prosperity

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  Greetings, Gye-Nyame Tribe and extended family! Today, we come together to celebrate the powerful principle of Ujamaa, as we embrace the spirit of economic unity. Ujamaa, the fourth principle in our Gye-Nyame Journey Self Mastery System, is a guiding light that illuminates the path towards collective economics and community building. Understanding Ujamaa - Cooperative Economics for Collective Prosperity Ujamaa, a Swahili term meaning cooperative economics, emphasizes the importance of economic unity within our tribe. It calls us to come together, pool our resources, and support one another in building sustainable and prosperous communities. Ujamaa teaches us that our economic success is intricately linked to the well-being of our tribe, and that by uplifting each other, we can create a foundation of shared prosperity. Beyond Financial Transactions - Fostering Economic Interdependence In the Gye-Nyame Journey, we apply the principles of Ujamaa by fostering economic interdependence...
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Igniting Prosperity: Unleashing the Power of Economic Faith

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  Welcome, dear Tribe and Extended Family! Today, I invite you on a transformative journey. We're setting sail to explore the confluence of two profound principles from our cherished Gye-Nyame Journey Self Mastery System: Ujamaa and Imani. They are two powerful currents that, when they converge, form a forceful wave called Economic Faith. This wave has the power to propel us all towards a shore of abundance. Imagine a world where your wealth is my wealth, where your success ripples through our community, echoing into a symphony of collective triumph. This is the essence of Ujamaa, a Swahili concept embodying 'cooperative economics'. It's more than just a principle. Ujamaa is a heart-beat, a rhythm to which our society should dance, celebrating gratitude and reciprocity. Gratitude is the music that acknowledges and appreciates the harmonious contributions of others. Reciprocity is the dance that creates a balanced exchange of resources, ensuring no one is left behind. To...
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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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#NguzoSabaChallenge 4

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  #NguzoSabaChallenge 4 Great Ujamaa: We have embarked on a journey, and took this Imani week to talk about the #NguzoSabaChallenge, of course staying true to the game and making sure we talk about the principle of the day. Speaking of the principle of the day, we are on the principle of Ujamaa. Ujamaa to us is the green key to the whole system. It was the way that Ujamaa lined up in our system that let us know that the Ancestors were with us. Ujamaa in our system aligns with gratitude, reciprocity and the color green. I would also throw out the hermetic principle that it lines up with but that might be a little overkill. So Let’s look at the spiritual resources that are opened up when we apply ourselves to this system.  "If we apply ourselves to the principles tied to Ujamaa in a revolutionary way and use the resources that are opened up to us, we can build the kind of world that our Ancestors would have wanted for us." In the #NguzoSabaChallenge system we introduce the user...
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  Creative Economics Great Nia: Let's start this conversation by using some of our crystalized wisdom that has made it to us from our Ancestors, we will be using the idea of Sankofa. Sankofa for those who are new to this journey is the Akan symbol with a long necked bird stretching its head back to grab an egg off of its back. This is defined as going back and fetching it. It for us is cultural wisdom, and I want to reach back and remind you that wealth for us traditionally was in the people, and believe it or not it still is! Nothing of value is found, created, shaped, molded or whatever can be done to it without the touch of a human being, or groups of human beings.   “Wealth exists in the people and we need to reclaim that value,  to help us build pathways for real wealth.” The smart phone you are reading this article was made and created through a process hundreds of individuals through their combined effort was able to put together. The components that were put ...
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The Family Pyramid

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  The Family Pyramid Great Ujamaa: Continuing in the line of the discussion that we have had all week, I want to remind those that have been reading up to this point about the “The Family Pyramid”. You are sitting at the pinnacle or sat at the top of this pyramid at least until you had your own children. Now I want to explore what makes up this pyramid. This pyramid is made up of your living family, and your Ancestors. Your whole life is built upon those who came before you. Now I want to ask a simple question, what does that mean? Don’t just move by this question! I want you to really break down what this means for you, that the building blocks for all parts of your being are built upon those who came before you. In a sense others have sacrificed so that you can be on top, and you are now (metaphorically) standing upon them. Do you have a responsibility toward them? Is your life adequately reflecting the fact of your position on the pyramid, or are you just breathing air and hopin...
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The MisUsed Resource

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  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 towa...
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