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Unlocking the Power of Honor: A Guiding Light for Our Tribe's Future

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  Unlocking the Power of Honor: A Guiding Light for Our Tribe's Future In a world where words often lose their meaning amidst the noise, "Honor" stands tall, embodying a profound truth that resonates deeply within the soul of our community. As we navigate the complexities of modern existence, it's essential to return to the roots that define us, leveraging the timeless principles of Honor, Loyalty, and Sacrifice to forge a path forward. This exploration isn't just about understanding a concept; it's about redefining our collective destiny through the lens of integrity and truth. As a community committed to empowerment and personal growth, we dive deep into the essence of Honor—dissecting its impact on our lives and our interactions with each other. This isn't just an article; it's a manifesto for those ready to embody the true meaning of Honor in their lives, propelling our tribe towards unprecedented heights of unity and strength. The Core of Honor: H

Building Your Tribe

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We are on Ujima  today which we know to mean collective work and responsibility. Collective is one of the keys to this principle tying the idea of resource; we can say that the collective is the focus for today. Tribe building is a skill in putting people & the resources they bring together. Of course before we get into bringing different people together, we first have to take the inward journey of putting the parts of ourselves together. We have to recognize the resources we put on the table. Let’s once again take a look at the 5 parts of ourselves that make up the whole that we are, and be able to maximize their power so that we can pull the best out of our external tribe. Yep, we have an internal tribe that we will have to work with composed of our: Intuition - This is the ability to understand something immediately, without the need for conscious reasoning. This part of ourselves plugs us into a larger reality, and gives us access to information without having to go through the

Respect Your imani

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  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

Collective Nia

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  Great Nia: Today we will be talking about the combination of Ujima and Nia. We are going to come at this from the angle of "Collective Nia '' and Our responsibility toward it. Once again I want to take the time to thank those that are supporting our efforts. We are here trying to build up "Collective Nia'' within our tribe and it is not an easy thing. We all have our lives that require many of us to deal with a myriad of things that constantly steal our focus. Sometimes it can seem as if we are in a land of the walking dead, because some people just don't get it. Believe me I understand so we try to bring you information on a daily basis so that you know that you are not alone. Be on the lookout for announcements about our events, and trips. If you ever want to come out you are welcomed. By the way I know that I have a few writers out there that have some things to say, feel free to email me and I will gladly publish it in our eMag. I also don't want

Quit work to Start your WORK

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  Great Ujima during this third Ujima in 2022: I am excited to be able to reach out to all of you and build in the way that we do. Waking up this early and hitting this keyboard has been a mixed blessing. I guess all blessings are. Strange how the world seems to work like that. Hey... That thought moved us into what I want to talk with yall about this morning. Work, that dirty word that we have learned to associate with early mornings or late nights. Work, the place we go to be abused and missed used. Work, that hamster wheel that we have sold our most valuable asset to run on powering someone else's dream. I know y'all may be waiting for me to unleash some secret that is ingrained in the Nguzo Saba that can free you from the drudgery, but.... Naw I can't. There is no cure for it. We have to work, as a matter of fact I am writing this to encourage you to continue doing so, but what I am going to point out for you is that you may be working too much for the other team, and n

Collective Kujichagulia

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  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

Kujichagulia - It's Time To Talk About The Responsibility Part Of Ujima

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Great Ujima: It is time to discuss Ujima from the standpoint of Kujichagulia, and today I want to look at the responsibility part of this principle. We Know (at least those who have been listening) that Ujima in Gye-Nyame is Umoja in action. Ujima works because responsibility is exercised, but let's take this day to look into the idea of responsibility. Responsibility is the ability to be in control of our actions and words, it is a state of being accountable for one's actions and words. There is a deep level of self-respect and self-love that comes with responsibility. A responsible person knows who they are, they know who they are, they know where they are going, they know what they want, they know why they want it, and they know how to get it...in other words responsibility gives us power. Many of us do not want to take responsibility, but the reality is that we are responsible for our actions and non-actions. The lack of responsibility breeds anger, frustration, confusion,

Umoja in Motion (Sample)

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Ujima is nothing but our Umoja in motion. What I mean is that everything that the definition of Umoja calls for is used in motion and in action through the principle of Ujima. The first part of this principle calls for us to build and maintain our community together and to make our brothers' and sisters' problems our problems, and to solve them together. We have an obligation to each other if we are going to be successful in life, because no one person has all the answers, no one person knows how to solve all the problems. The second part of this principle calls for us to remember our past, so we don't repeat it. We should know that there were others before us who had a lot of good ideas about how to solve different kinds of problems. We can learn from their mistakes, too — so that we don't have to repeat them. That's what history means. Now we need to gather the lessons recognize what we have and move into the future boldly. We can no longer be held back by the ill

A Look At Our Current Reality - Reaching Umoja

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Unity is important, because it helps us to see that we can be like the branches of a tree — each with our own unique size, shape and position. But when we come together as one strong trunk, great things happen! We can help others in so many ways. Think about all the times you have been helped by someone else — a parent or older sister; perhaps a teacher at school — maybe even someone you don’t know! Now think about the times when you have helped others — when you have encouraged your little brother to persevere through his homework; or maybe when you took care of stray dogs in your neighborhood. Lastly, think about how helping other people makes you feel inside. It’s good for them and it’s good for us too! You may not realize it but helping others is part of Unity. By doing this we make each other stronger. We lift each other up, and Life becomes easier for everyone concerned. And when we live Life this way then everything works better: families get on better; communities work better t

The Imani Of The Collective (sample)

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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

How Kuumba Is Important For Buildin' Collectives (Sample)

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The principle of Kuumba is important when it comes to building collectives. Creativity is the use of imagination or original ideas to create something; inventiveness. When it comes to building a collective, this means the use of creativity that allows the invention of stories, rituals, ceremonies, initiations etc.. That allows for the building and maintaining of a collective. Kuumba also means to leave your community more beautiful and beneficial than you inherited it. When it comes to the building of a collective this means leaving behind stories, doctrine and legacies that help the next generation build on their foundation. This includes sharing resources such as books, journals and other materials that help build on the foundation you started. Kuumba has also been used in its literal sense which is to make something happen because someone wanted it to happen or is making an effort that makes it happen. This can be seen in social movements as they are often made up of people who want

The Tribe Is Changing (sample)

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We are in the midst of another change here at GNJMedia. I personally had to rethink how I was approaching the process of sending out information. I started to understand that I was putting out too much content too fast. I have heard that some people are getting "Ding fatigue" and don't even look at what I post. Nevertheless We are building a collective to bring you information that can aid you in your personal development, as well as keep you informed about the world and the Tribe. We are striving to set an example for others that are trying to build within their communities. This is why we do what we do here at GNJMedia. Our goal is to inform the masses of knowledge and wisdom that has been kept from us, to discover new things, and build the next generation of leaders. We are living in a time where it appears people have become too scared to think for themselves, and we strive to empower everyone we come into contact with. We are here to share our truths of what we have

You Are Not

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Let's talk about what you are not on this Ujima day. Many of us have been caught within the mask we have to wear to survive, and we have worn them for so long that we have forgotten that they are masks. Our belief becomes so strong that we start to believe that people's reactions to the mask we wear is actually a reaction to us. When in fact they are actually reacting to what we are pretending to be. You are not your job, you are not your car, you are not how much money you have in the bank. You are not your problems. You are not your age. You are not what other people think about you. You are not your past. You are here now, and everything else is just a thought and a story. You are what you choose to be right now. You can choose to drop the mask and start being yourself right now or you can choose to keep wearing the mask and keep pretending until it kills you (literally). Come over to GNJMedia and learn the definition we use for the Self: Follow

Tribal Calling (sample)

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We've all heard people speak about their personal calling, the vocation that has screamed out into the world at them. But tonight I want to spend some time looking into your tribe's vocation. What has your group been called to bring and share with the world? I believe that this is a great topic for Ujima. We are in a time of great turmoil, but also of great potential change. We are witnessing an explosion in technological advancement and scientific discovery, but we're also seeing a rise in violent nationalism and extreme political tribalism. The question of who gets to control the technology and knowledge being created is wide open, but what does seem evident is that the current systems of power have no intention of giving up that control anytime soon. There's only one way for us to take back control over our shared future: WE NEED TO ORGANIZE AND ACT AS TRIBES! Learn more at>>>> Follow

5 Ways A Collective Can Help You Soar

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 My goodness I fall out from covid and wake up in a world where it seems like the idea of tribe is more needed than ever. Not only for protection, but also to keep us motivated in these crazy times. On this Ujima day let us remember that it is the collectective that can help us soar. Here are 5 but not the 5 you still need to get on that email list: 1. A tribe provides motivation and support for your inner truth 2. A tribe can help you hone your message 3. A tribe will provide a safe place for you to practice your new craft 4. A tribe can help you generate ideas 5. A tribe will hold you accountable Follow

The Science of Why You Should Not Spend Energy Being Jealous

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When I was a kid I was always angry at the kids who got better grades than me. It wasn't their fault they studied harder and did their homework. They earned those good grades with hard work, not because they got lucky. Anger is a useless emotion, but one that we all experience. As a child I couldn't understand why I had to suffer so that some other child could succeed. But as an adult sharing my information online I've learned about getting results regardless of whether someone else is getting in my way. I know that when it comes to trying to be the best, most of us have the same problem. We're trying to be better than somebody else. We're trying to get in front of someone else, so that we can be seen and we can succeed. And if you compare the stories of great success with jealous people who haven't accomplished what they want, you'll find that they don't line up. You don't get results by being jealous or angry. Those emotions are only useful when th

5 Reasons To Create Life Drills

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 Great Ujima: We are constantly talking about the quote "The best life is achieved with engagement with systematic processes", but now let’s look at setting up these systematic processes and why. To make it simple, the process that our ancestors used to describe is basically a drill, and a drill is a practice. In other words, when we discuss life on this level, you can think of it like taking a martial arts class. You aren't just reading a book, getting the knowledge from an instructor, and then expecting to do well in combat. That's not how it works! You take class after class after class: you get your butt kicked over and over again until you finally figure out what your instructor was trying to teach you all along. Then you go back to class and practice some more until it becomes second nature. One of the biggest issues we see with people trying to do their own thing is that they spend hours studying and planning before finally putting anything into practice. This