Tuesday, September 4, 2012
Nguzo Saba & Ma'at- Balance in all things
Greetings Sistas! Hope all is well an blissful in your world as it should be. If it's not make the adjustments to ensure that it is so.
Today's topic is balance. A sisterfriend of mine introduced me to this VERY important concept a few years ago and it has become a type of mantra for me. Indigenous cultures understood balance to be a very real part of life. Most original people believe that good and "bad", light and dark, positive and negative all have a right to exist in the universe; not only do they have a right to exist, but they are essential to the universe.
Let me give you another example. One day in the early spring, you decide to take a walk in the woods. You put on some comfortable clothes and shoe and set out on your journey. The birds are chirping and the breeze brings the freshness of spring. You walk off the path through some fallen leaves and suddenly you feel a horrible pain in your lower leg. When you look down you see a snake and realize that you have been bitten. You will probably go through a range of emotion and feelings. Among these feelings will probably be fear, anger, and confusion.
Now, let's be the snake. It's early spring and you've just come above ground from your warm den beneath the earth. You're still feeling a little sluggish and you are SO HUNGRY. You are moving really slowly, because you are low on energy as you haven't eaten in months. You hear something coming toward you. Wow, this animal is big. It might want to eat you! You can't move fast enough to retreat back to your hole so you have to defend yourself or it might kill and eat you! So you strike out. It's the only defense you have.
I realize that many of you will still try to hold on to the tradition of just hating the snake and wanting be the victim. At the end of the day, the snake is not bad or evil. It was defending itself against your big foot that was about the smash it, because you didn't have the knowledge to know how to safely go through the woods in early spring. You should always rustle the leaves with a long stick in front to give anything dangerous time to move out of your way. This is balance. Not being so narcissistic that you think that the world revolves around you. We are a part of a universal and diverse community and the mixture of all of us brings balance to the world.
The Nguzo Saba or Seven Principles are the cornerstone of Kwanzaa, which happens to be my favorite holiday. Please read more about it here. The Seven Principles are:
I gave you the first part. Now, I would ask that you look for the something called The Laws of Ma'at, The Negative Confessions of Ma'at, The 42 Laws of Ma'at, or any other combination of those words. Tell me what you found and what you think of what you found.
Today's topic is balance. A sisterfriend of mine introduced me to this VERY important concept a few years ago and it has become a type of mantra for me. Indigenous cultures understood balance to be a very real part of life. Most original people believe that good and "bad", light and dark, positive and negative all have a right to exist in the universe; not only do they have a right to exist, but they are essential to the universe.
Let me give you another example. One day in the early spring, you decide to take a walk in the woods. You put on some comfortable clothes and shoe and set out on your journey. The birds are chirping and the breeze brings the freshness of spring. You walk off the path through some fallen leaves and suddenly you feel a horrible pain in your lower leg. When you look down you see a snake and realize that you have been bitten. You will probably go through a range of emotion and feelings. Among these feelings will probably be fear, anger, and confusion.
"Am I going to die? That snake is EVIL! Why did this happen to me? I didn't do anything to that snake. I was just walking along minding my business."
Now, let's be the snake. It's early spring and you've just come above ground from your warm den beneath the earth. You're still feeling a little sluggish and you are SO HUNGRY. You are moving really slowly, because you are low on energy as you haven't eaten in months. You hear something coming toward you. Wow, this animal is big. It might want to eat you! You can't move fast enough to retreat back to your hole so you have to defend yourself or it might kill and eat you! So you strike out. It's the only defense you have.
I realize that many of you will still try to hold on to the tradition of just hating the snake and wanting be the victim. At the end of the day, the snake is not bad or evil. It was defending itself against your big foot that was about the smash it, because you didn't have the knowledge to know how to safely go through the woods in early spring. You should always rustle the leaves with a long stick in front to give anything dangerous time to move out of your way. This is balance. Not being so narcissistic that you think that the world revolves around you. We are a part of a universal and diverse community and the mixture of all of us brings balance to the world.
The Nguzo Saba or Seven Principles are the cornerstone of Kwanzaa, which happens to be my favorite holiday. Please read more about it here. The Seven Principles are:
These are another way to bring balance. If you go to the website you will have see a more in depth explanation. They have a very reparative quality that could literally heal out community if they were followed on a daily basis and applied consistently in our lives.UnitySelf DeterminationCollective Work & ResponsibilityCooperative EconomicsPurposeCreativityFaith
I gave you the first part. Now, I would ask that you look for the something called The Laws of Ma'at, The Negative Confessions of Ma'at, The 42 Laws of Ma'at, or any other combination of those words. Tell me what you found and what you think of what you found.
Wednesday, August 29, 2012
Ekaabo! Welcome
Welcome to Daughters of Healing Water. I am so excited that you have come to check out my blog and more excited about this journey that we are about to begin together.
As I sit here for the second or third time I have to admit that I am scared. To be honest I feel quite nervous. You see, this is a dream for me. It's my way of changing my community and my world for the better. Maybe I should back up a little.
My name is Ifasayo Morenike Egunjobi. I know, it's quite a mouthful since most of us are not use to the feel of an African name rolling off of our tongues. Here is the phonetic pronunciation Ee-fah-shah-o Moh-ren-nee-kay Eh-goon-joh-bee. I would tell you my "government name", but that might tempt you into asking me if you can call me by that name. ; ) Names are very important. They speak to our destiny and are a prayer when they are spoken. I a married homeschooling mother of 2, a natural hairstylist, consultant, undercover writer, student, and teacher. I love life. I mean I REALLY love it. I take every opportunity I can to really experience it using all of my senses. This seems to be something of a lost art form that we need to get back to.
I have been on a journey for quite sometime. Only lately have I discovered, at least in part, what this journey is about. I've started to see clearly what my purpose it. Sure I've had hints dropped along the way, but I was never really sure. I knew I wanted to work with the youth, specifically girls. I need to work with girls because of the things I've been through in my life, and more importantly the things I've healed myself from in my life. In the last 4 years I have learned to heal myself and others in many ways. One of my favorite ways is by talking. I LOVE talking, but I love listening even more. Once I started listening, I found that I knew what that person needed and then I was able to enjoy helping them attain the healing.
Daughters of Healing Waters is a cipher of girls/women that will allow healing to take place in a safe environment. Healing will take place a multitude of ways such as writing, dance, art, research, critical thinking, talking, share, and more. We will use every tool we have at our disposal to heal our hearts, minds, and bodies.
Oh! I almost forgot to tell you why I chose the name Daughters of Healing Water. Water is always a representation of the feminine when we look at the universe. We are all born from a womb filled with water and most creation stories begin with water in order to "birth" the world. Since everyone in this group will be female that makes us daughters. Now to the healing part. There is a saying that goes: Enikan ki bomi sota or water get no enemy meaning that no one can make an enemy of water. Fela Kuti has a song by the same name. You may want to check it out. Water is healing, cleansing, and refreshing. Like everything in African tradition it also has another side people can drown in water or it can flood your land. Unlike other elements even if water does something you don't like you are still going to drink it and bathe in it. Water is ALWAYS viewed as healing. Just as women have ALWAYS been viewed as healers. This group is to help us to return to our place as balanced women. This group is to help our daughters now what it looks like and means to be a woman. A community, nation, and race are only as strong as it's women. That's why we are Daughters of Healing Water.
I look forward to growing and flowing with you! Odabo! Bye!
As I sit here for the second or third time I have to admit that I am scared. To be honest I feel quite nervous. You see, this is a dream for me. It's my way of changing my community and my world for the better. Maybe I should back up a little.
My name is Ifasayo Morenike Egunjobi. I know, it's quite a mouthful since most of us are not use to the feel of an African name rolling off of our tongues. Here is the phonetic pronunciation Ee-fah-shah-o Moh-ren-nee-kay Eh-goon-joh-bee. I would tell you my "government name", but that might tempt you into asking me if you can call me by that name. ; ) Names are very important. They speak to our destiny and are a prayer when they are spoken. I a married homeschooling mother of 2, a natural hairstylist, consultant, undercover writer, student, and teacher. I love life. I mean I REALLY love it. I take every opportunity I can to really experience it using all of my senses. This seems to be something of a lost art form that we need to get back to.
I have been on a journey for quite sometime. Only lately have I discovered, at least in part, what this journey is about. I've started to see clearly what my purpose it. Sure I've had hints dropped along the way, but I was never really sure. I knew I wanted to work with the youth, specifically girls. I need to work with girls because of the things I've been through in my life, and more importantly the things I've healed myself from in my life. In the last 4 years I have learned to heal myself and others in many ways. One of my favorite ways is by talking. I LOVE talking, but I love listening even more. Once I started listening, I found that I knew what that person needed and then I was able to enjoy helping them attain the healing.
Daughters of Healing Waters is a cipher of girls/women that will allow healing to take place in a safe environment. Healing will take place a multitude of ways such as writing, dance, art, research, critical thinking, talking, share, and more. We will use every tool we have at our disposal to heal our hearts, minds, and bodies.
Oh! I almost forgot to tell you why I chose the name Daughters of Healing Water. Water is always a representation of the feminine when we look at the universe. We are all born from a womb filled with water and most creation stories begin with water in order to "birth" the world. Since everyone in this group will be female that makes us daughters. Now to the healing part. There is a saying that goes: Enikan ki bomi sota or water get no enemy meaning that no one can make an enemy of water. Fela Kuti has a song by the same name. You may want to check it out. Water is healing, cleansing, and refreshing. Like everything in African tradition it also has another side people can drown in water or it can flood your land. Unlike other elements even if water does something you don't like you are still going to drink it and bathe in it. Water is ALWAYS viewed as healing. Just as women have ALWAYS been viewed as healers. This group is to help us to return to our place as balanced women. This group is to help our daughters now what it looks like and means to be a woman. A community, nation, and race are only as strong as it's women. That's why we are Daughters of Healing Water.
I look forward to growing and flowing with you! Odabo! Bye!
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