“Papa, we saw the plane going down in the water. I was, in the water, I could hear people talking, but I couldn’t see anyone. I was in the dark, I couldn’t see a thing.” Bahia Bakari told her father Kasim Bakari while lying in a hospital bed describing the recent crash and her survival of the Yemenia Air flight that went down in the Indian Ocean.
We recently witnessed the death of Michael Jackson at age 50, a sudden death that took the world by surprise. Friends and I have discussed his sudden demise and during these conversations the idea of those that have died are dead and not conscious of anything. A view held by many that espouse certain religious faiths. I don’t happen to believe those that have died are incapable of discerning what is happening in the world they physically departed. Our world is built on the material and the non material, the spiritual if you will.
The thought that we are born, live and then die to nothingness can give those of ill will a license to do all manner of wickedness and can look forward to no possibility of after physical death repercussions. Could it be that we are to live and “sleep with our fathers” as the bible states it? I have often wondered how profound this could be since the very same bible speaks of King Saul having the Witch of Endor call forth (conjur) the prophet Samuel, who is able to hold a conversation with Saul. The Ancient Egyptians apparently believed in, and studied life after physical death. Even, advising the proper words to speak to maintain your consciousness after entering the nother (nether) world. Should we have such great confidence in their ability to build the most precise and everlasting buildings, learning systems, mathematics, geometry, poetry, philosophy, magick and civilization, but find their concept of life after death a fable?
You will have to decide for yourself what you really feel and think about such. Yemenia Air flight 310 had 153 souls on board as it left Yemen, the last leg of a trip from Paris for Coromos islands in the Mozambique Channel north of Madagascar. All parished but little 14 year old Bahia Bakari, who could not swim, but hung onto a piece of debris for 13 hours being comforted by voices in the water with her. If all 152 perished in the crash, who were the voices she heard in the dark?
This next on goes out to the whole AfroSpear and especially to the brothas Brotherpeacemaker and The Black Sentinel. Though they are singing out Diallo, you can replace the name with Sean Bell or Oscar Grant and the song becomes timeless.
This next video is not for the faint of heart. The imagery and symbolism may be too much for your senses. Otherwise if you are full of Mind, then please feel feel free to check the next video.
Reggae music is one of my favorite forms of music. I’m sure you can see this for yourself upon visits to this site. I was attracted to reggae because of the positive messages in the music and the inspiring words so often sang on behalf of the less fortunate in our communities and our world. Not only do reggae artist sing for the uplift of humanity, but many other artist contribute vocally to our betterment. Even today’s gospel music is producing artistes and songs that are taking on a world view in the lyrics. But things seem to be going the opposite direction. I’m aware not all people listen to reggae music, but shouldn’t the fact that these words being sang, like prayers, into the realm of the unseen, begin to produce a better society?
Words are the seeds of creation, a song enhances the creative process. The bible teaches that in the beginning was the Word. Many traditions teach that the Creator sang a song of creation and the sound became light. So then, with so many songs of Love/Enlightenment/Uplift being spread around the world why are we not beginning to see healing? Why are we seeing such malicious violence being wrought on humanity? Is it fear producing such actions? Are we living in such times that we really have succumbed to the (M/L) formula? Material over life-love.
Two things have recently occured in my life that causes me to think, to really ruminate on the idea of words of power being sung into the ethers. One is a news event coming out of Jamaica and the other is a personal event I’m experiencing. Back in April of this year a news story was released in the Jamaica Observer, noting that nearly one million people in Jamaica are squatters, living in over 700 squatter camps across the tiny island of 2.7 million people. What was even more startiling was the fact that the ministers in Parliament expressed surprise about the news reported by Dr. Horace Chang to Parliament. Jamaica is not some sprawling metropolis where the Ministers of Parliament can drive and live without ever seeing such living conditions. How can they express surprise at a living situation that’s been going on for years? This expresses the basic comtempt for their fellow Jamaicans and fellow human beings. Squatting occurs in the land where reggae music was born and grew. Those in charge and in goverment on the island must be plagued with fear of “not enough” overwhelming, the calls of songs for unconditional love for its people. Bob Marley sang “…the brotherly love, the sisterly love I feel this morning, this morning.” I wonder where that feeling went.
Fear of “not enough”, not only tears nations, towns and communities apart, but destroys families. In recent years I have experienced a family memeber dying and the result has been the destruction of what seemed to be inpenetrable love. Yet, these deaths have opened a sleeping volcano of greed that I thought didn’t exist within he hearts of these family members. This most recent death has exposed the fearful heart of a loved one, causing a chasm to develop within the family. How could one that expressed so much love of family, express so much love for his god, now expose himself as such an expert liar and possible thief? Apparently, this being, is no better than the beings he arrests and sends to prison. No better than the liars, thieves, murderers and rapist he holds in so much contempt. Maybe Sigmund Freud was correct when he said police officers and criminals are twigs off the same branch.
In any event we must continue to sing songs of uplift for humanity. Sing songs of unconditional love like prayers going into the unseen for a better tomorrow, for a better day. I am determined not to succumb to fear. I will continue to do as one Bob Marley songs suggests “…Flee from hate, mischief and jealousy.” Fear is manifest in many ways including anger, stealing, hate, rape, glutoney, mischief, jealousy and much more. Fear is a mind killer. I guess some family members feel their need superseeds the needs and wants of others much like a drug addict in the need of drugs. Their fear is expressed in their addiction, as we know a junky will lie, cheat and steal what they know is not rightfully theirs.
Recently I have been ruminating on the mind. I read a couple of post at Tai Chi Heartwork on the mind and I found them very interesting and something to be considered if one is a practitioner of Tai Chi or Yoga. Most often, those of us that do practice these forms will bring the mind of our disciplines into everyday situations when dealing with the general public or even in our work environments.
Simply, the population seems to have come to a stop in learning
While concentrating on mind, I’ve noticed that there seems to be no growth in mind, in mind concepts and in mind precepts in our general population. In other words it seems people are “set in their ways”, not looking to grow mentally anymore, as if they have reached their peak and seem to believe that they know all they need to know.I’ve recently had several conversations with people close to me and we all expressed the current level of mental expansion going on around us and we all agreed that there seems to be some sort of mind stagnation. Simply, the population seems to have come to a stop in learning. Has stopped expanding the mind.
Expanding the mind as I have come to experience, is not just learning or gaining new information, but examining that new information. Taking the time to, dissect and reassemble that information to gain a full understanding about what’s being conveyed, or to raise questions about the new information to verify its validity.
People have come to believe they are masters
I am wondering what has happened? How have we allowed ourselves to become so repulsed by the extension of knowledge and wisdom. I no longer have the desire to put myself into social situations where I have to, essence, dumb myself down to participate in that social setting. I find it utterly amazing to speak to people and find they haven’t the foggiest idea about simple things in life around them.
It seems people have come to believe they are masters, and no longer students. When I have questioned people about their beliefs on various topics they will give the apparently false response that they don’t have all the answers. I call it false because they’re not in search of any additional information on the topic, they just stay right where they are in whatever knowledge they have. Without searching out further information and stagnating where you are, exhibit’s the actions of one that is now master. But, this exposes the false concept of a master.
The more you know, the more you don’t know
A master is an unrelenting student that knows and understands the more one seeks to master their craft, knowledge, wisdom, form, or style, an unending ocean spreads before them ever widening and deepening. Aristotle ventured to say “the more you know, the more you don’t know.” When you look at that statement you find that Aristotle was well aware that there is a vast ocean of knowledge to be navigated, waters that are chartered and uncharted
Just a vessel, that’s what women are. Just a vessel. This is what I was taught when it came to women and their role in society as set forth by some archaic value system intimated by the Bible. I was taught that woman is a “help meet” for man nothing more. But, how could she be ”just a vessel?” Not really someone to be appreciated other than the value of being “just a vessel” even if the value of both, a vessel and a “help meet” were met? Logically, this didn’t set well with me, but what was I, a child, looking up to the men and women that reinforced this belief within my child mind to do? I could not question their biblical interpretive authority.
When I look at my mother, seeing how she held this belief inside, yet knowing that some how this couldn’t be true continued each day to birth something new into the lives of us children. That she, who changed diapers, washed clothes, created delicacies from ordinary victuals and soothed the pains that the world heaped on her, her children and her husband, was viewed as” just a vessel’”, knew in her heart that this just couldn’t be right. Yet, she never questioned this mindset. So, now I’ve questioned for her and concluded that this vessel must be a holder of much much more and not just an empty container, “just a vessel.” I have to wonder if the purveyors of this point of view really could convince us that a “just a vessel” was without content, without bounty within the vessel. I wonder how a “help meet” could be of much help being empty. Wouldn’t she, the vessel, have to have a plethora of tools including hope, love, joy, science, mathematics and agricultural skills to be a “help meet” worthy of helping? Just a vessel.
Just a vessel. An empty vessel? Surely not. But what else could this “just a vessel” possibly contain? We know she had to have excellent culinary skills, and psychic wisdom enough to ascertain the secret of fire to take her culinary skills to the next level. But, what else? I was listening to the Warren Ballentine show (just one of many radio programs I listen to throughout my day being the radio talk show junky I am) the other day and he repeated a long held belief. He said ‘…without women, this world would be nothing.’ Nothing. I wondered if he realized, as I did, that he was saying that without women this world would be NO THING? In essence this world would not exist. It would be not a thing, it wouldn’t be.
“Just a vessel” conceived us, held and carried us, maintained us and delivered us to this place they (the vessels) conceived and brought to fruition the place we call the world. Without woman or more specifically the wombed man, wombman, woman, there would be no world. “Just a vessel” really should be taught and reinforced as THE vessel. The carrier of life. The dreams of generations yet unborn will be physically carried by THE vessel and birthed by THE vessel. The bringer of life. Our vessel, Mother. My mother, my throne. My mother my Heaven. My mother my life.
I don’t want those that are without child to believe that she is not Mother. Mother is a Divine essence beyond child birth.
I found this most interesting. The mind is the opener of all things. Mindset will guide the structure of its creation. So then, what is Mindset? Steven Moore presents a very indepth look at the function of mindset, where it is and how it functions From Tai Chi Heartwork
Mindset
Different activities demand different mindsets. A mindset is the state of mind induced when mental activity is focused on a particular location within the brain. So, thinking concentrates mental activity into the frontal lobe – hence the furrowed brow and heavy craning head of the inveterate thinker…Read More
