~MONDAY MORNING MOCHA~

About two weeks ago, I was walking on campus and as I was getting ready to cross the street, a lady was turning the corner and nearly ran someone over right in front of me! On top of that there was an old man, following closely behind the guy that she almost hit. Now I know that us VCU kids walk with no fear when we are on campus, daring people to hit us, but this woman was way out of line because the pedestrians had the right away. When I got to the parking garage the old man that was crossing the street got into the elevator with me. He looked at me, shook his head and said, “Where’s the Love?” So simply stated, but those three words carried so much impact on that day.

On black Friday, I was out shopping with my aunt when the same thing almost happened again, except this time it was to me. We were crossing the street to go into a store and after looking both ways I proceeded to cross the street. All of a sudden my aunt starts pulling me across the street in a running fashion and I notice she is hurrying us along because a car was flying through the parking lot and nearly about to hit us. Only because I was with my aunt, did I not curse that young girl out. I did turn around and stare her ass down and she just looked all silly. I couldn’t believe it! I was so hot! She was really about to hit us!

I mean, was she in such a hurry that she was willing to run us over to get to where she was going? Was she trying to hurry us along in her own way? Or was she just racist and purposely trying to run my aunt and I over? But even worse, why did I let that get me so worked up? I mean I was ready to pull her out of the car and beat her down (although I would never do that, I’m a lover not a fighter), but it got me to that point where those images flashed in my mind! 

I just don’t understand why people are so angry at each other! If you don’t like your situation don’t take it out on the next person. Most likely they are in the same situation as you. Or can at least identify with what you’re going through. Love comes with first respecting yourself as an individual. And until we can learn to love ourselves for who we are as individuals we will never be able to respect and love one another. And until we are able to love one another, we will never be able to WORK TOGETHER to change our situation. We’ll all go on continuing to exist as individuals, divided and conquered, and unable to change our situation for the better.

I don’t even have anymore words, the old man in the elevator couldn’t have said it better, “Where’s the Love?”

What Do You Think Wednesday

Is the public school system killing creativity?

Thoughts??

~Monday Morning Mocha~

My boyfriend and I went to see 2012 yesterday. I love “end of the world” type movies because they usually make me think. So I was excited to see how the story would incorporate the ancient Mayan prophecy of 2012. I enjoyed the movie, the story line was pretty good and the special effects were awesome. But the movie left me questioning the ancient prophecy itself. So when I came home I jumped on the computer and did some research on the actual prophecy and what it predicts. What I found out was that the prophecy does not predict complete and total destruction of the human race. What it predicts is the age of transition, or the end of the current World Age Cycle that we are in. We are living today in the cusp of the Mayan end times, the end of a galactic day or time period spanning thousands of years. One galactic day of 25,625 years is divided into five cycles of 5,125 years. You see the Mayans’ time and calendar was based on the stars and the cycles of the universe, not our limited calendar year of an earth cycle.

The Great Cycle of the Mayan Long Count calendar ends on the winter solstice of 2012 A.D. Following Mayan concepts of cyclic time and World Age transitions, this is as much about BEGINNINGS as it is endings. In fact, it was considered by the ancient Mayans to signify the creation of a NEW World Age. We are almost at the end of the fifth and final 5,125 year cycle! In the movie and in the media, like always, they are using fear to convince us into thinking that the world is about to end through complete destruction. And that the human race is under the threat of becoming extinct. But this just isn’t so. What they were predicting was an age of transition between the current world age to the new world age. The Mayans prophesied that from 1999 we would have 13 years to change our conscious attitude to stray from the path of self-destruction and instead move onto a path that opens our consciousness to integrate us with EVERYTHING that exists.

Rather than something to fear, the 2012 prophecy should be viewed as a wake-up call. A call that we should change our destructive ways and become more respectful of life and realize that we are part of a greater WHOLE. The old world mentality, founded in separation, greed, ignorance, and unconscious consumer materialism, has reached dangerous peaks. We are at a point where our planet can be either renewed or ravaged and our attitudes and actions will determine how harsh or mild the changes will be. So the question then becomes, what can we as individuals contribute to the new world age?

This is a crucially important moment for humanity and for earth. Each person is important. If you have incarnated (or reincarnated, as I like to believe) into this era, you have spiritual work to do balancing the planet...The greatest wisdom is in simplicity. Love, respect, tolerance, sharing, gratitude, forgiveness. It's not complex or elaborate. The real knowledge is free. It's encoded in your DNA. All you need is within you. Great teachers have said that from the beginning. Find you heart, and you will find your way. Let go of the fear, that’s why they keep it instilled in us, because FEAR corrodes the MIND.

“When the power of LOVE overcomes the love of POWER the world will know peace.”

~Jimi Hendrix

THOUGHTS, questions, answers??

Feel Good Friday

I wrote this poem several years ago...I hope you enjoy, feel free to comment and/or ask questions...HAPPY FRIDAY!!

THE CONVERSATION

by AliaShardae

SHE knows who I am and knows my capabilities

SHE understands my potential and all that I aspire to be

SHE knows the greatness in me

SHE knows my deepest thoughts and has heard my loudest cry,

And unto her I could never lie

SHE demands that confidence emerge from ME,

SHE challenges me to face my deepest insecurities

SHE allows me to see the evils of this world and also

How things used to be

SHE tells me that in a past lifetime I was a very intelligent, powerful Nubian Queen

SHE shows me how Europeans have destroyed this world

And exploited my people over countless decades

But, SHE also ensures me that SHE makes no Mistakes!

“But why?” I ask, “Why have my people suffered so long? Did we, as a people, do something wrong?”

“NO” SHE answered “but you are living in a world predicted by my prophets’ songs.”

SHE said, “It is time for a REVOLUTION and I choose YOU!”

I replied, “There is no need for further explanation, I know what I have to do.”

“And what is that?”

“I must go tell them the knowledge of YOU!”

“Yes, tell them that I am YOU and YOU are ME”

“I will tell them that the GREATNESS of YOU, GOD, lives within ME!”

What Do You Think Wednesday

Why do we fall for the “Bullshit?”

I often look at my daughter, the author of this Blog, and I’m amazed at the things she does and says. I see in her as a strong and beautiful Black woman and I realize that she understands. And that surprised me until I remembered she is my daughter.

Thank you dear for the opportunity to share my thoughts on your Blog.

Now, to the topic at hand. Why do we fall for the “Bullshit?” The simple answer is we love the bullshit. But what do we mean by “Bullshit?” In my hood it means a lie, a story or something that is not true.

For an example, we know Santa Claus is not real but yet it is the number one retail sales time of the year. It is also the time when the most alcohol and drugs are consumed and when the most people commit suicide. We go into more debt and become more stressed during this time of the year. All because of some “Bullshit.”

There is also no such thing as Thanksgiving. When they sat down to dine that day, the white man was planning to take the whole country while pretending to be friends with the Native Americans. Thanksgiving? No! “Bullshit.”

Plus, there are only tricks and no treats. In fact, the damn treats are tricks themselves. Look at what we eat. Most of what we eat is killing us because we eat a bunch of “Bullshit.” We eat the pigs’ feet, ears, ribs, brains, colon (chitlins), nuts (testicles), and ass. The same goes for the bull/cow and we can include the tongue. Throw in the chicken, duck, horse, snake, rat, alligator, and for some the dog and cat. From the sea we eat the “bottom dwellers.” All of the scavengers: shrimp, clams, crabs, scallops, lobsters, oysters, and catfish. What do they do down there on the bottom? They keep the waters clean. They’re nature’s sewer system. And you wonder why most of us are sick and overweight? It’s the “Bullshit.”

On to Independence Day, another “bullshit” holiday. In 1776 when that fine document was being crafted and signed, my people were on the plantation and were not included in it. Well, that’s not quite true. We were in it but we were in it as three-fourth human beings (or property to the slave owners). More “Bullshit.”

Let’s not forget Easter when we eat eggs laid by rabbits and we celebrate/remember the day Jesus was reportedly killed and the three days later rose from the dead. But these dates change almost every year. Some years they are in the middle of April. Some years they are in the last part of March. Do we really know? I couldn’t peddle this in the hood if I tried. It’s all “Bullshit.”

Finally, I know some will say Christmas is not supposed to be about Santa Claus but about the birth of Christ. They will argue that man has taken this holy day and commercialized it. Some may even say they agree with me that Santa Claus is Bullshit but not Jesus’ birthday. My only response will be how can we tell when a bull shitter is not bull shitting? Our government/society feeds us all these lies, what makes you think you should believe some and not the others. After all, everything that we know we’ve been told by the bull shitter. So how can we tell the “Bullshit” from the truth?

I’ll leave you with this: if the bull shitter was telling us the truth about Jesus Christ he wouldn’t be a bull shitter because if you are really with God then you can not “Bullshit,” because God means the “Truth!”

~Monday Morning Mocha~

I'm baaaack! Sorry guys, had to take a break last week, school was kicking my ass!

So anyway, I was watching a very interesting documentary this weekend called Zietgiest. It was explaining how our Earth’s resources are not as depleted as we may think. We are just led to believe that our resources are limited because the big corporations are trying to control the market. You see, if an oil company has consumers and the public believing that resources are low, mostly likely demand (for that product) would go up. If demand is high, this allows corporations to raise prices because consumers think the supply is limited! What we aren’t being told is that much better resources (other than oil, etc.), exist and have existed for a while. These are resources that are unlimited and save the earth from the pollutants that are released into the atmosphere every day from the burning of fossil fuels. But large corporations won’t market them because they can make more money from creating this idea of SCARCITY (or that our resources are “limited”); Thus, allowing corporations to essentially control the marketplace. If we were able to harness and use the power of light energy from the sun or wind energy it becomes an unlimited resource and thus makes it harder for corporations to control. It has been proven that we are able to harness and beneficially use such unlimited resources such as wind and solar energy.

We’ve put our lives into the hands of these big corporations. They provide us with what to eat, wear, and all of the other “basic necessities” of life. We don’t know what to do without them and they capitalize off of that. The owners of these big corporations care nothing about you and I. They look out for themselves only and they will stop at nothing to maximize their profits. When will we wake up and realize that we are slaves to these corporations. It’s just the modern day version of slavery. We have to work to support our way of life. And our “way of life” exists all because these corporations tell us all the material things that we “need”.

But what can we do? I know I feel helpless at times. I admit that I am just as materialistic as the next person. (We're all self-conscious I'm just the first to admit it. -Kanye West) We’ve been so conditioned and trained since birth to want “things”. But it starts with changing your perceptions and opening your eyes to the realities of the world. Every day is a struggle for me to break my love for my materialistic things (clothes, shoes, purses, nail polish, etc.). So I challenge you to take the journey with me of breaking this cycle. Half the things that we want, we don’t really need. And most of the time you only want that nice purse or the new jordans just to impress the next person. And for what? Why should you care what anyone thinks of you…We all know this, yet we still continue in our shallow, materialistic lives, while so many people in the world are starving….So let’s work on just obtaining the things that we NEED and not the things that we WANT. Hey, it’s a step, right??

Below are clips from the documentary, if you can't watch it at work, please watch it when you get home. This documentary really puts things into perspective......Your Thoughts???

FEEL GOOD FRIDAYS!!

So, we've made it through another week!! HAPPY FRIDAY!!! On the way to work, I heard one of my favorite songs of all time and it literally brought tears to my eyes!! Stevie Wonder's "As" has to be one of the deepest and most beautiful love songs ever! Please read the lyrics, you will discover in them parts of the song you never really heard before...Hope you have a great Friday and a safe Weekend....PEACE!




Stevie Wonder Lyrics: "As"

As around the sun the earth knows she's revolving
And the rosebuds know to bloom in early May
Just as hate knows love's the cure
You can rest your mind assure
That I'll be loving you always
As now can't reveal the mystery of tomorrow
But in passing will grow older every day
Just as all is born is new
Do know what I say is true
That I'll be loving you always

Until the rainbow burns the stars out in the sky---ALWAYS
Until the ocean covers every mountain high---ALWAYS
Until the dolphin flies and parrots live at sea---ALWAYS
Until we dream of life and life becomes a dream

Did you know that true love asks for nothing
Her acceptance is the way we pay
Did you know that life has given love a guarantee
To last through forever and another day
Just as time knew to move on since the beginning
And the seasons know exactly when to change
Just as kindness knows no shame
Know through all your joy and pain
That I'll be loving you always
As today I know I'm living but tomorrow
Could make me the past but that I mustn't fear
For I'll know deep in my mind
The love of me I've left behind Cause I'll be loving you always

Until the day is night and night becomes the day---ALWAYS
Until the trees and seas just up and fly away---ALWAYS
Until the day that 8x8x8 is 4---ALWAYS
Until the day that is the day that are no more
Did you know that you're loved by somebody?
Until the day the earth starts turning right to left---ALWAYS
Until the earth just for the sun denies itself
I'll be loving you forever
Until dear Mother Nature says her work is through---ALWAYS
Until the day that you are me and I am you---AL~~~~~~WA~~
~~~~~AA~~~~~~~AA~~~~
Until the rainbow burns the stars out in the sky~~~~~AA~~~~
~~~~AA~~~~~~~AA~~~~~~~~~AA~~~~~~~YS~~ALWAYS

We all know sometimes lifes hates and troubles
Can make you wish you were born in another time and space
But you can bet you life times that and twice its double
That God knew exactly where he wanted you to be placed
so make sure when you say you're in it but not of it
You're not helping to make this earth a place sometimes called Hell
Change your words into truths and then change that truth into love
And maybe our children's grandchildren
And their great-great grandchildren will tell
I'll be loving you

Until the rainbow burns the stars out in the sky--Loving you
Until the ocean covers every mountain high--Loving you
Until the dolphin flies and parrots live at sea--Loving you
Until we dream of life and life becomes a dream--Be loving you
Until the day is night and night becomes the day--Loving you
Until the trees and seas up, up and fly away--Loving you
Until the day that 8x8x8x8 is 4--Loving you
Until the day that is the day that are no more--Loving you
Until the day the earth starts turning right to left--Be loving you
Until the earth just for the sun denies itself--Loving you
Until dear Mother Nature says her work is through--Loving you
Until the day that you are me and I am you--
Now ain't that loving you
Until the rainbow burns the stars out in the sky
Ain't that loving you
Until the ocean covers every mountain high
And I've got to say always
Until the dolphin flies and parrots live at sea~~AL~~~WA~~~AYS
Until we dream of life and life becomes a dream-Um AL~~WA~~AYS
Until the day is night and night becomes the day-AL~~~~WA~~AYS
Until the trees and seas just up and fly away-AL~~WA~~~AA~~~~~
Until the day that 8x8x8 is 4~~~~~AA~~~~~~~AA~~~~~~~AA
Until the day that is the day that are no more-AA~~~~AA~~AA~~~AYS
Until the day the earth starts turning right to left-AL~~~WA~~~A~~~AA
Until the earth just for the sun denies itself-~~AA~~~AA~~~AA~~~AYS
Until dear Mother Nature says her work is through-AL~~~WAYS
Until the day that you are me and I am you
Until the rainbow burns the stars out in the sky
Until the ocean covers every mountain high
Until the dolphin flies and parrots live at sea
Until we dream of life and life becomes a dream
Until the day is night and night becomes the day
Until the trees and seas just up and fly away
Until the day that 8x8x8 is 4
Until the day that is the day that are no more
Until the day the earth starts turning right to left
Until the earth just for the sun denies itself
Until dear Mother Nature says her work is through
Until the day that you are me and I am you

*What Do You Think Wednesday*

I got a chance to see "This Is It" over the weekend and I must say that it was AMAZING. It really gives insight into the mind of the late great Michael Jackson. It shows his creative genius at work and his personality jumps out here and there, though I wish it had been more. I have no doubts that this concert would have been amazing! I truly believe that he would have out done himself again! One of the main parts that stands out to me in the film, was when they wanted him to test the mechanical trolley (for lack of a better word) that took him out over the audience. When it took off, Michael let out a "Weeeeeee". It was so cute, my heart melted! He truly was a kid at heart...When I walked out of the theater, I couldn't help but feel depressed. I'm not really sure why I felt this way...maybe because I was left longing for more...or maybe because I knew that there would never be another MJ and his creative genius was not truly appreciated while he was here. Whatever the case, I walked into that theater a person appreciative of MJ's work, and emerged a true FAN. It's undeniable that his music really is timeless and it transcends generations...In the words of MJ, "It's all for love, L.O.V.E., love"...So, if you had a chance to see the MJ documentary, "This Is It", what did you think? Did it bring you closure?

~Monday Morning Mocha~

For your Monday Morning Mocha this week I am going to take a break and let three of my favorite poets/teachers speak to you...hope you enjoy, have a productive Monday...peace!