“Life is mirrored back to us through our perspective; disease is not real; everything can heal.”

— Jaime Tanna, July 9, 2009, Energy Therapy: Developing Body-Mind-Spirit Consciousness

Ancient Philosophies, Biblical References  to Word-Thought Forms and Being

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a few Words…

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Our freedoms are chained to our past or transformed and freed by our consciousness! Our prosperity is held by our thoughts! Our health is contained in the memories of our bodies! The power of Forgiveness liberates the heart to enter into a new dimension of being. It frees us up to take on new creativity, embrace new people and relationships, and experience love on a much higher frequency. This understanding transmits intracellular energy in the form of neurotransmitters from the brain to our nerves, cells, hormones,  to the organs, and ultimately our emotions and actions.

Forgiveness is evolutionary and one of the most vital empowerment tools for transformation! When one let goes of the old, she makes way for the new….

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How I Discovered the Hawaiian Words of Healing, the Mind (+ Body +Spirit)

Nadis: Channels or Meridians which Subtle Energy Flows

When my instructor uttered the words “Ho’oponopono” I laughed thinking to myself ‘what could this be about,’ he went on to explain that in Hawaii, Dr. Hew Len, a clinical psychiatrist  healed an entire mental ward using this indigenous shamanistic technique simply by examining his patients chart, then speaking a few words. What was even more unbelievable was that Dr. Len defied years of European conventional mental and professional academic protocols . This pre-European Hawaiian practice, cured every mental patient’s behavior abnormalities and eventually closed down the hospital. I was stunned!  Ho’oponopono meaning to “make right” is a practice of releasing. As the instructor called the words and the class responded,  the last phrases leaped off my lips, and I broke into a rush of tears and deep emotion. I remember, I cried like a baby. It was as if what was held within me had found its way outward leaving my body and mind silent, peaceful and neutral. I thought to myself, ‘how can these simple phrases work this way?’ It was so immediate for me and so necessary in my space of emotional healing that I quickly applied this technique to almost everything; every situation, past experience, social karma that was in need of revitalized healing. In my mind, I’d return to the event, stand in front of an old friend, lover, ex husband, sister, parent and visualize speaking, “I love you. Please forgive me. I’m sorry. Thank you.” For weeks this was in my heart, mind and speech as I moved on my journey in my healing circle our whole class had embraced this Forgiveness principle understanding that our individual liberation depending on correcting this relationship energy we experienced outside from within.

Later that June, I remember calling my ex husband and greeting him with, “Ho’oponopono Nico! I love You. Forgive me. I’m Sorry. Thank You!” His reaction was laughter and astonishment.” Ho’opo-what? Yes D I love you too, Nuk pu.” Just last week, after some thirty years, he reconnected with his mother calling me to share his emotional reunion and healing. ” Praise God, I’m happy for you,” I agreed, “forgiveness is so necessary man. Good for you, be who you need to be.”

Change was explained to me by an elder friend to be something  of a Yin-Yang metaphor.  As drastic and  immediate, change is slow and quiet moved in subtle forms sometimes unnoticeable to the naked eye. “For you to look so young,” he said didn’t happen over night, “that wasn’t instant.” Like a school-aged child I interrupted, “No I’ve been practicing natural health, vegetarianism, vegan nutrition, yoga for over 18 years.” I stared off as if a light had just come on in my mind. Like most disciplines practiced over time, change and transformation on any level, in any form is constant, ever flowing, and flexible.The result can be quick or slow to the eye. The transformation of mind, body and spirit is no different and follows the same natural laws of the Universe that we see in nature.

—the SoulFlyHoney Diva, Ria Takharu
CEO OrganicSoul22
Author of Uprising Underground, Sketches of an Urban Venus in Scorpio, (Coming December 2009)

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A DEEPER LOOK:: WHAT IS HO’OPONOPONO?

Ho’oponopono
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Ho’oponopono (ho-o-po-no-po-no) is an ancient Hawaiian practice of reconciliation and forgiveness practiced by kahuna lapa’au (healing priests) to heal sickness. Similar practices were performed throughout the South Pacific. Traditional ho’oponopono practiced today is conducted by elders with family groups. Morrnah Simeona, who was regarded as a kahuna in the late 20th century, developed a streamlined version that is performed by an individual alone. Her former student, Hew Len, Ph.D., popularized his interpretation of Simeona’s process in a 2007 book.

Traditional practice

“Ho’oponopono” is defined in the Hawaiian Dictionary[1] as “mental cleansing: family conferences in which relationships were set right through prayer, discussion, confession, repentance, and mutual restitution and forgiveness.” Literally, ho’o means “to,” pono is defined as “goodness, uprightness, morality, moral qualities, correct or proper procedure, excellence, well-being, prosperity, welfare, benefit, true condition or nature, duty; moral, fitting, proper, righteous, right, upright, just, virtuous, fair, beneficial, successful, in perfect order, accurate, correct, eased, relieved; should, ought, must, necessary,” and ponopono is defined as “to put to rights; to put in order or shape, correct, revise, adjust, amend, regulate, arrange, rectify, tidy up, make orderly or neat.”

Preeminent Hawaiian scholar Mary Kawena Pukui wrote that it was a practice in Ancient Hawaii[2] and this is confirmed by oral histories from contemporary Hawaiian elders.[3] Pukui first recorded her experiences and observations from her childhood (born 1895) in her 1958 book.[4]

Although the word “ho’oponopono” was not used, early Hawaiian historians documented a belief that illness was caused by breaking kapu, or spiritual laws, and that the illness could not be cured until the sufferer atoned for this transgression, often with the assistance of a kahuna pule (praying priest) or kahuna la’au lapa’au (healing priest). Forgiveness was sought from the gods[5] [6] or from the person with whom there was a dispute.[7]

Pukui described it as a practice of extended family members meeting to “make right” broken family relations. Some families met daily or weekly, to prevent problems from erupting.[8] Others met when a person became ill, believing that illness was caused by the stress of anger, guilt, recriminations and lack of forgiveness.[9][10]

Ho’oponopono corrects, restores and maintains good relationships among family members and with their gods or God by getting to the causes and sources of trouble. Usually the most senior member of the family conducts it. He or she gathers the family together. If the family is unable to work through a problem, they turn to a respected outsider.

The process begins with prayer. A statement of the problem is made, and the transgression discussed. Family members are expected to work problems through and cooperate, not “hold fast to the fault.” One or more periods of silence may be taken for reflection on the entanglement of emotions and injuries. Everyone’s feelings are acknowledged. Then confession, repentance and forgiveness take place. Everyone releases (kala) each other, letting go. They ‘oki or cut off the past, and together they close the event with a ceremonial feast, called pani.[11]

“Aunty” Malia Craver, who worked with the Queen Liliuokalani Children’s Centers for more than 30 years, taught courses in traditional ho’oponopono. On August 30, 2000, she spoke about it to the United Nations.[12]

In the late 20th century, courts in Hawai’i began to order juvenile and adult offenders to work with an elder who would conduct ho’oponopono for their families, and some native practitioners provide ho’oponopono to clients who otherwise might seek family counseling.[13]

South Pacific antecedents

Many Polynesian cultures believe that a person’s errors (called hara or hala) cause illness. Some believe error angers the gods, others that it attracts malevolent gods, and still other cultures believe the guilt caused by error makes us sick. “In most cases, however, specific ‘untie-error’ rites could be performed to atone for such errors and thereby diminish one’s accumulation of them.”[14]

Among the islands of Vanuatu in the South Pacific, people believe that illness usually is caused by sexual misconduct or anger. “If you are angry for two or three days, sickness will come,” said one local man.[15] The therapy that counters this sickness is confession. The patient, or a family member, may confess. If no one confesses an error, the patient may die. The Vanuatu people believe that secrecy is what gives power to the illness. When the error is confessed, it no longer has power over the person.[16]

Like many other islanders, including Hawaiians, the people of Tikopia in the Solomon Islands, and on Rarotonga in the Cook Islands, believe that the sins of the father will fall upon the children. If a child is sick, the parents are suspected of quarreling or misconduct. In addition to sickness, social disorder could cause sterility of land or other disasters.[17] Harmony could be restored only by confession and apology.

In Pukapuka, it was customary to hold sort of a confessional over patients to determine an appropriate course of action in order to heal them.[18]

Similar traditions are found in Samoa,[19] Tahiti, [20] and among the Maori of New Zealand.[21][22][23]

Morrnah Simeona
Morrnah Simeona (1913-1992), regarded as a kahuna lapa’au, in 1978 adapted and modified ho’oponopono to the realities of the modern day, making it a self-help rather than group process. Her version was influenced by her Christian (Protestant and Catholic) education and her philosophical studies about India, China and Edgar Cayce.

Simeona’s ho’oponopono is a psycho-spiritual problem solving process, mainly based on the principle that problems are caused by wrong doings in this Reincarnation or in past ones and is memorized in every entity and object which was present when the cause happened. Its purpose is “to release an unhappy, negative experience in past lives, and to resolve and remove trauma from the ‘memory bank’ without creating stress. The Law of Cause and Effect predominates in all of life and lifetimes”.[24] These memory banks act on the physical life of Man in a way that she called negative Karma. By using mainly a 14-step process (not a mantra) showing repentance and mutual forgiveness, and with the help of Higher Forces including the Divine Creator, the painful part of the memory of the wrong actions will be erased. She wrote that “daily karmic cleansing is a Must. If one feels that the need for it is unnecessary, he’s mistaken because these are requisites for the expansion of awareness.”[25] Through this erasing or transmutation in the mind the problems will lose their energy for physical effects, and healing or balancing is begun.

Simeona’s teachings include: there is a Divine Creator who takes care of altruistic pleas of Men; “when the phrase ‘And it is done’ is used after a prayer, it means Man’s work ends and God’s begins.”[26] Problems are the result of the karmic principle that you have to experience by yourself what you have done to others; in consequence you are the creator of your life circumstances. Egoistic prayers only reach the astral plane (home of the mind of desires and longings) because of their low vibrations; from that plane of consciousness personal materialistic wishes would come true. “Altruistic prayers, where you also pray for the release of other entities and objects, reach the Divine plane or Cosmos because of their high vibrations; from that plane would come the Divine energy or Divine mana,”[27] which dissolves the negative memories of a given problem in all participants, on whatever plane they are existing; “all are set free.”[28] In this sense Simeona’s mana as a healing or balancing energy is not the same as the traditional Polynesian understanding of mana.

Hew Len

Zero Limits: The Secret Hawaiian System for Wealth, Health, Peace, and More (Hardcover)@ Amazon.com

After Simeona’s passing, her former student Hew Len, Ph.D., co-authored a book[29] claiming to teach Simeona’s ho’oponopono. Contrary to Simeona’s teachings, the book says that the main objective of ho’oponopono is getting to “the state of Zero, where we have zero limits. No memories. No identity.”[30] To reach this state one has to repeat constantly the mantra, “I love you. Please forgive me. I’m sorry. Thank you.”[31] Len teaches the principles of total responsibility, taking responsibility for everyone’s actions. He writes that if one would take complete responsibility for one’s life, then everything one would see, hear, taste, touch, or in any way experience is one’s responsibility because it is in one’s life. Total Responsibility advocates that everything exists as a projection from inside the human being. The problem isn’t with our external reality, it is with ourselves. To change our reality, we have to change ourselves.

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Resources, and Helpful Links:

• Jaime Tanna, Energy Therapy: Developing Body-Mind-Spirit Consciousness.

• http://bible.cc/john/1-1.htm

• Wikipedia, Sat (Sanskrit). <http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sat_(Sanskrit)>.

• Legends of the Egyptian Gods, Hieroglyphic Texts and Translations. Ernest Aflred Wallis Budge.
  1912 (1994). Dover.

• Wikipedia, Ho’oponopono.  <http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ho%27oponopono>.

• Hub Pages, Fran Horvath. http://hubpages.com/hub/hooponopono

• Tips and Techniques: How To Cleanse, https://prosperitywhisperer.com/How_To_Release.html

• Zero Limits Audio Book – Instant Download
  “Zero Limits.” Dr. Joe Vitale and Dr. Ihaleakala Hew Len. http://www.zerolimits.info/?hop=flowcoach

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Simple Ways to Practice Ho’oponopono

Excerpt from QiGong:Essence of the Healing Dance (Garri Garripoli):

I was sitting by the ocean one late summer afternoon, watching the waves rolling in and feeling the rhythm of my breathing, when suddenly I became aware of my whole environment as being engaged in a gigantic cosmic dance…I “saw” cascades of energy coming down from outer space, in which particles were created and destroyed in rhythmic pulses; I “saw” the atoms of the elements and those of my body participating in this cosmic dance of energy; I felt its rhythm and I ‘heard” its sound, and at that moment I knew that this was the Dance of Shiva, the Lord of the Dancers, worshiped by the Hindus. - Fritjof Capra

A single, dancing thread ties the people of the world together into a cohesive fabric. This is our humanness and morality. We are ll born with a  similar challenge, borne from the blessings of ownership of this complex physical body. No one escapes this common karma. That’s part of the trip of life on this planet. With this ownership, or should i call it “rental,” comes the sometimes immense responsibility of health maintenance. For some, this task goes by almost unnoticed, save the required food and water going in and waste products coming out. This is a charmed karma, of course. For the rest of us, stewardship of this incredible biological machinery takes constant attention. It doesn’t matter whether our skins is dark brownish or yellowish or whitish or any combination. It doesn’t matter if our genetic makeup affords us a small, slender carriage or a large, dense one. The fact remains, inside we vary very little. This is one thing that ties us, that binds our should to one another. We all can relate to headaches, to bellyaches, to sprains, to being tired. We all can relate to the challenge and fears of disease. Our ultimate death secures our mortality and, thus, gives value and sacredness to life.

The ride that is this life reminds us that the body uis but a leg of the tripod that upholds our existence. Married to a soul and a mind, the body provides us with carnal pleasures and serves to reflect our overall spiritual and mental condition like a polished mirror. Secured to a mind and a body, the soulcan begin to express itself fully through the myriad experiences it needs on this Earth. Married to a body and a soul, the mind can soar as it gathers knowledge and carves our path of self-discovery. Within this three-legged creature, we dance. To the extent that we can discover our own, unique balance, we are whole…and once whole, we can truly dance like the free spirits we are. Qigong (Chi Kung) calls us to the dance floor of life.

Qigong (pronounced “chee gung” ) is an ancient Chinese health-care system. The word Qigong is made p of the Chinese character Qi, which and mean breath or energy, and Gong, which can mean “exercise” or “work.” Its roots can be traced back thousands of years, from inscription on tortoise shells, carbon-dated back to 2500 b.c., and to silk drawings of exercise movements found in tombs some four thousand years old. These windows on the past reveal that human nature hasn’t changed all that much — our need to slow down and get in touch with our body, mind, and spirit was as evident then as it is now. To slow down, to become at peace with ourselves is the key to healing. Similar to Yoga, and actually the foundation of Tai Chi, Qigong is a combination of exercise and meditation. It can be thought of as “moving meditation.” Qigong uses deep, diaphragmatic breathing in conjunction with slow, synchronous, Tai Chi like movements to bring our body, mind, and spirit into alignment and balance. It is estimated that over 80 million people practice Qigong regularly in China today.

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Qigong – Ancient Chinese Healing for the 21st Century

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Qigong For Stress Relief

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Qigong Chinese Healing Art

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Chickens
He said
will not run
once tied
and the coop
is cleaned.
/She is held by the rope
that no longer exists
in the absence
of Liberation.

Excerpt from “Uprising Underground, Sketches of an Urban Venus in Scorpio” by Ria Takharu. (c) 2009.

The Collected Poems of Audre Lorde (W.W. Norton & Co. (February 2000)
I kept this book (from the library) way longer than I should have unable to get enough of, not wanting to let go…
the way the WordSmith Diva laid it down just on the tip of the tongue
a taste, an embrace of words on the exhalation of breath, sound and movement forward toward transcendence
in grace
frustration
torment
discovery.

Her works are purely poetic,
channeling upon the soul
where eyes do see the revelation unfolding
where black meets the white space between lines
of afterthoughts.

and i am grateful…

Thank You WordSmith Diva Audre Lorde!

Ria (07-22-09)

____________________________________________________

The Seventh Sense

Women
who build nations
learn
to love
men
who build nations
learn
to love
children
building sand castles
by the rising sea.

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Out of the Wind

to Blanche

For the days when the coffee grounds refuse to settle
and the last toothpick rolls into crack on the floor
and all the telephone  messages are from enemies
or for the other people only
an the good old days
lie
between pages of books
we have already written
for the acorn of fear in each April
will this be the year
earth refuses
to forgive us with a blush of green
for the weary assumptions
of the next winter’s chill
and for the silent days in between
your face
mingles in tulips
after brief rain.

____________________________________________________________

When the Saints Come Marching in

Plentiful sacrifice and believers in redemption
are all that is needed
so any day now
I expect some new religion
to rise up like tear gas
from the streets of New York
erupting like the rank pavement smell
released by the garbage-trucks’
baptismal drizzle.

The high priests have been ready and waiting
with their incense pans full of fire.
I do not know the rituals
the exhalations
nor what name of god
the survivors will worship
I only know she will be terrible
and very busy
and very old.

Tagged: Audre Lorde, poetry ]]> http://riasaywhatsaywhat.wordpress.com/2009/07/23/poetaudre-lorde-selected-poems/feed/ 0 organicsoul22 41XY6FS0J3L._SS500_ http://riasaywhatsaywhat.wordpress.com/2009/07/10/poetkevin-youngmost-way-home-confederate-south/ http://riasaywhatsaywhat.wordpress.com/2009/07/10/poetkevin-youngmost-way-home-confederate-south/#comments Fri, 10 Jul 2009 20:35:24 +0000 ria takharu http://riasaywhatsaywhat.wordpress.com/?p=1944 ]]>

Young’s New Poetry Collection Retraces the South
Emory University professor and poet Kevin Young has released a collection of poems, titled “For the Confederate Dead,” about returning to the South and “wrestling with some of the demons of history and war.”

“Both of my parents were from Louisiana, rural southern segregated Louisiana, and I often write about that, and that brought me to my new book, “For the Confederate Dead,” which is very much about the South, and returning to the South, and also wrestling with some of the demons of history and war.”  (PBS Poetry Series, Transcript)

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Letters from
the North Star

Dear you: the lights here ask
nothing, the white falling
around my letters silent,
unstoppable. I am writing this
from the empty stomach of sleep

where nothing but the cold
wonders where you’re headed;
nobody here peels heads sour
and cheap as lemon, and only
the car sings AM the whole

night through. In the city,
I have seen children half-
bitten by wind. Even trains
arrive without soul
to greet them; things do

not need me here, this world
dances on its own. Only bridges
bef for me to make them
famous, to learn what I had
almost forgotten of flying,

of soaring free, south,
down. So long. Xs, Os.

-Most Way Home,1995. First Zoland Books.

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Kevin Young

Kevin Young was born 1970 in Lincoln, Nebraska. He received his B.A. from Harvard University in 1992, where he took poetry workshops with Lucie Brock-Broido and Seamus Heaney, and his M.F.A. in Creative Writing from Brown University in 1996.

His books of poetry include For the Confederate Dead (Alfred A. Knopf, 2007), Black Maria (2005), Jelly Roll: A Blues (2003), To Repel Ghosts (2001), a finalist for the James Laughlin Award, and Most Way Home (1995), selected for the National Poetry Series and winner of the Zacharis First Books Award from Ploughshares.

Young is also the editor of the anthologies Blues Poems (Everymans Library, 2003) and Giant Steps: The New Generation of African American Writers (2000), as well as a selected volume of poems by John Berryman for the Library of America. His poetry and essays have appeared in The New Yorker, The New York Times Book Review, The Paris Review, The Kenyon Review, and Callaloo.

About Young’s work, the poet Lucille Clifton has said, “This poet’s gift of storytelling and understanding of the music inherent in the oral tradition of language re-creates for us an inner history which is compelling and authentic and American.”

Young’s awards and honors include a Stegner Fellowship in Poetry at Stanford University, a Guggenheim Foundation Fellowship, a MacDowell Colony Fellowship, and an NEA fellowship. He taught at the University of Georgia and at Indiana University.Currently, he is the Atticus Haygood Professor of English and Creative Writing and curator of the Raymond Danowski Poetry Library at Emory University and lives in Boston and Atlanta.

June 25, 2009– the day Michael Jackson, King of Pop, dies from cardiac arrest in Los Angeles, California! I entered the door and Kaya asks, “Are you sad Mom? Michael Jackson  died today.” I couldn’t believe it. I turned on the news to find shots of his last moments on a stretcher being rushed off into an ambulance from his rented home while tourists get “a glimpse of his last ‘video’.”  Yeah, that’s what one blogger called it!

So many memories with this artist’s music, how he transformed the genre or R&B, of Soul, creating ‘pop’ or how he or his music was used to create the new market, of soul redefined at ‘pop’. Nevertheless he is the King of Pop, of  R&B, of Soul right along side his idols, respectively. I’m torn between writing and not. With thoughts of  just leaving Michael his much needed peace. What gets me is all these celebrities commenting how they were ‘friends’ with Michael. I don’t believe it. A friend is someone you can speak the truth with, kick it soulfully, keep it real. If all these people were Mike’s friends, then why in the hell didnt one of his ‘friends’ tell him to chill on all that surgery and other bizarre shyt? Not one of his dear ‘friends’ came to him as ‘real’ confronting him on his imbalance?
Or insisting that he was perfectly imperfect created in Gods image,  never needing to alter a hair or nose or pigment on his beautiful face?  I mean isnt that what life is all about getting to the center, becoming, being? Madonna and all her Mt. Yoga couldn’t spit some truth of enlightenment to MJ? That alone is phenomenal in my mind leaving the words as truth that Michael was indeed a ‘very lonely’ man who lived in his imaginary Neverland.  No family or friends or community  intervened in raising this man child to be happy with Self or understand all the Rites that come with age and spiritual development. This for me  is something for us to think about and talk about, even. Who’s raising our children? Who doesn’t think to herself as you see later images of Michael, “Oh my God, what the fuck happened to this man? He was already fine! He was gorgeous already big nose, kinky hair, brown-skinned fine! What made him think he needed something more? What made him think he needed to be white?” And yet ironically in all his struggle to be happy at creating a better version of himself for the outerworld,  his deep unhappiness creates a death from a broken heart?  It’s so deep. For those of us who don’t know, Traditional Chinese Medicine states that heart aliments as physical disease are  first emotional and mentally manfisted.  (In Traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM), the Organs are not exactly equivalent to the anatomical structures defined in western medicine. The use of those western terms is based on the similarity between the western concept of how that organ functions and the physiological processes described in the Chinese medical texts.(Read More) According to TCM theory, “the heart stores the Spirit and blooms in the Face as the seat of Consciousness and Clear Thinking”. (wow)

It’s hard to believe that money, fame, all those illusions that come with it can keep reality so far off the radar that self-mutilation and self-annihilation is accepted; accepted as the norm.  Damn, I’m glad I’m a “sexy martian.”

While searching for some pics for MJ  I found blogs that were relentless and plain mean spirited, wailing that he faked his own hear attack so he didnt have to rehearse showing up some three hours late “as usual”, another had dirty child molestation jokes, while another ragged on his facial and color transformations from “beautiful cocoa bronze to fish belly white” starting with obsessive plastic surgeries in 1984 to 2004 or even later!

So much controversy, so many levels of uneasiness as reflections of Michael’s life force us to look, think, and reflect on the good, the bad and the ugly of who we are, they are, what America represents and how the pressures of simply being can and should be revolutionary. We cant deny the genius Michael gifted to the music industry no matter how narrowly bizarre his ‘issues’ became paramount. It’s as if those demons man-made and real (in the realms of commercialism) seemed to victimize and pimp this man to self loathing but who knows really where that egocentric internal critique truly originated? One thing is for sure, ‘that wounded child was never healed in his lifetime.  Or at least ‘he’ appeared not to be to the world, or for those of us who could see his wounded child reflections play out in his adult life drama.

One thing is for sure, Michael Jackson was more than talented and he left behind memories in his music legacy for each of us forever!

We will miss him, love him and remember him in our own special way!! Rest in Eternal Peace Michael, Know that You are a Loved, Beautiful, Precious Soul!

(2009. Ria Takharu)

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Others Remember Michael Jackson:

Sonny Comments:

Five of Jackson’s solo albums – “Off the Wall,” “Thriller,” “Bad,” “Dangerous” and “HIStory,” all with Epic Records, a Sony Music label – are among the top-sellers of all time. During his extraordinary career, he sold an estimated 750 million records worldwide, released 13 No.1 singles and became one of a handful of artists to be inducted twice into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame. The Guinness Book of World Records recognized Jackson as the Most Successful Entertainer of All Time and “Thriller” as the Biggest Selling Album of All Time. Jackson won 13 Grammy Awards and received the American Music Award’s Artist of the Century Award.

From Rock n Roll Daily: Music World Mourns MJ Death

The Roots’ ?uestlove: “i know we make light of me never getting sleep and overworking. but i’ll say that he didn’t go in vein. i will do my best to slow down as to not overwork myself to the point in which i can’t even enjoy life anymore. im am devastated over this but we all have memories. i just hope that he will get due justice in all the press memorials and whatnot. i know he was mired in controversy the last decade of his life but i think its time we let him rest in peace and learn to separate the ART and the ARTIST. –that is the MJ i will forever remember.” (via Twitter)

Steven Spielberg: “Just as there will never be another Fred Astaire or Chuck Berry or Elvis Presley, there will never be anyone comparable to Michael Jackson. His talent, his wonderment and his mystery make him legend.” (EW)

Justin Timberlake: “We have lost a genius and a true ambassador of not only Pop music but of all music. He has been an inspiration to multiple generations and I will always cherish the moments I shared with him on stage and all of the things I learned about music from him and the time we spent together. My heart goes out to his family and loved ones.”

Quincy Jones: “I am absolutely devastated at this tragic and unexpected news. For Michael to be taken away from us so suddenly at such a young age, I just don’t have the words. Divinity brought our souls together on The Wiz and allowed us to do what we were able to throughout the 80’s. To this day, the music we created together on Off The Wall, Thriller and Bad is played in every corner of the world and the reason for that is because he had it all…talent, grace, professionalism and dedication.He was the consummate entertainer and his contributions and legacy will be felt upon the world forever. I’ve lost my little brother today, and part of my soul has gone with him.”

Beyonce: “This is such a tragic loss and a terrible day. The incomparable Michael Jackson has made a bigger impact on music than any other artist in the history of music. He was magic. He was what we all strive to be. He will always be the King of Pop! Life is not about how many breaths you take, but about how many moments in life that take your breath away. For anyone who has ever seen, felt or heard his art, we are all honored to have been alive in this generation to experience the magic of Michael Jackson. I love you, Michael.”

Diddy: “MJ showed me that you can actually see the beat. He made the music come to life!! He made me believe in magic. I will miss him!” (via Twitter)

Ne-Yo: “Michael Jackson will live forever through the thing that he put all of his life energy into: his music. I will do my part to keep the melody alive, to keep the energy forever changing form, but never ever dying!! Long live Michael Jackson.”

Usher: “This loss has deeply saddened me, with a heavy heart I composed this statement. May God cover you Michael. We all lift your name up in prayer. I pray for the entire JACKSON family particularly Michael’s mother and all his fans that loved him so much. I would not be the artist, performer, and philanthropist I am today without the influence of Michael. I have great admiration and respect for Him and I’m so thankful I had the opportunity to meet and perform with such a great entertainer In so many ways he transcended culture. He broke barriers, he changed radio formats! With music, he made it possible for people like Oprah Winfrey and Barack Obama to impact the mainstream world. His legacy is unparalleled Michael Jackson will never be forgotten.”

Rev. Al Sharpton: “A friend of Michael’s for the last 35 years, I call on people around the world to pray for him and his family in the hour. I have known Michael since we were both teens, worked with him, marched for him, hosted him at our House of Justice headquarters in New York, and we joined together to eulogize our mutual idol, James Brown. I have known him at his high moments and his low moments and I know he would want us to pray for his family.”

Miley Cyrus: “Michael Jackson was my inspiration. Love and blessings.” (via Twitter)

Ludacris: “If it were not for Michael Jackson I would not be where or who I am today. His Music and Legacy will live on Forever. Prayers to the fam. R.I.P.” (via Twitter)

Britney Spears: “I was so excited to see his show in London. We were going to be on tour in Europe at the same time and I was going to fly in to see him. He has been an inspiration throughout my entire life and I’m devastated he’s gone!” (People)

From Wikipedia:

1958–1975: Early life and The Jackson 5

Michael Joseph Jackson was born in Gary, Indiana (an industrial suburb of Chicago, Illinois) to a working-class family on August 29, 1958.^[3] The son of Joseph Walter “Joe” and Katherine Esther (née Scruse),^[3] he was the seventh of nine children. His siblings are Rebbie, Jackie, Tito, Jermaine, La Toya, Marlon, Randy and Janet.^[3] Joseph Jackson was a steel mill employee who often performed in an R&B band called The Falcons with his brother Luther.^[3] Jackson was raised as one of Jehovah’s Witnesses by his devout mother.^[3]

From a young age Jackson was physically and mentally abused by his father, enduring incessant rehearsals, whippings and name-calling. Jackson’s abuse as a child affected him throughout his grown life.^[4] In one altercation—later recalled by Marlon Jackson—Joseph held Michael upside down by one leg and “pummeled him over and over again with his hand, hitting him on his back and buttocks”.^[5] Joseph would often trip up, or push the male children into walls.^[5] One night while Jackson was asleep, Joseph climbed into his room through the bedroom window. Wearing a fright mask, he entered the room screaming and shouting. Joseph said he wanted to teach his children not to leave the window open when they went to sleep. For years afterwards, Jackson suffered nightmares about being kidnapped from his bedroom.^[5]

Jackson first spoke openly about his childhood abuse in a 1993 interview with Oprah Winfrey. He said that during his childhood he often cried from loneliness and would sometimes get sick or start to regurgitate upon seeing his father.^[6][7][8][9] In Jackson’s other high profile interview, Living with Michael Jackson (2003), the singer covered his face with his hand and began crying when talking about his childhood abuse.^[5] Jackson recalled that Joseph sat in a chair with a belt in his hand as he and his siblings rehearsed and that “if you didn’t do it the right way, he would tear you up, really get you.”^[10]

Jackson showed musical talent early in his life, performing in front of classmates and others during a Christmas recital at the age of five.^[3] In 1964, Jackson and Marlon joined the Jackson Brothers—a band formed by brothers Jackie, Tito and Jermaine—as backup musicians playing congas and tambourine, respectively. Jackson later began performing backup vocals and dancing; at the age of eight, he and Jermaine assumed lead vocals, and the group’s name was changed to The Jackson 5.^[3] The band toured the Midwest extensively from 1966 to 1968. The band frequently performed at a string of black clubs and venues collectively known as the “chitlin’ circuit“, where they often opened for stripteases and other adult acts. In 1966, they won a major local talent show with renditions of Motown hits and James Brown’s “I Got You (I Feel Good)“, led by Michael.^[11]

The Jackson 5 recorded several songs, including “Big Boy“, for the local record label Steeltown in 1967 and signed with Motown Records in 1968.^[3] Rolling Stone magazine later described the young Michael as “a prodigy” with “overwhelming musical gifts”, noting that Michael “quickly emerged as the main draw and lead singer” after he began to dance and sing with his brothers.^[12] Though Michael sang with a “child’s piping voice, he danced like a grown-up hoofer and sang with the R&B/gospel inflections of Sam Cooke, James Brown, Ray Charles and Stevie Wonder“.^[12] The group set a chart record when its first four singles (“I Want You Back“, “ABC“, “The Love You Save” and “I’ll Be There“) peaked at number one on the Billboard Hot 100.^[3] During The Jackson 5’s early years, Motown’s public relations team claimed that Jackson was nine years old—two years younger than he actually was—to make him appear cuter and more accessible to the mainstream audience.^[13] Starting in 1972, Jackson released a total of four solo studio albums with Motown, among them Got to Be There and Ben. These were released as part of the Jackson 5 franchise, and produced successful singles such as “Got to Be There“, “Ben” and a remake of Bobby Day’s “Rockin’ Robin“. The group’s sales began declining in 1973, and the band members chafed under Motown’s strict refusal to allow them creative control or input.^[14] Although the group scored several top 40 hits, including the top 5 disco single “Dancing Machine” and the top 20 hit “I Am Love“, the Jackson 5 left Motown in 1975.^[14]

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Videos:

Michael Jackson – Thriller

The Jackson Five 1972 – Rocky Robin

Jackson Five 1978 -Blame it on the Boogie

The Jacksons Variety Show 1977 – Michael As A Dummy

The Jacksons Variety Show 1977 “I Shot The Sheriff”

Michael Jackson feat.Chris Tucker-You rock my world

Michael Jackson – Thriller 25th Anniversary EPK

Raising chickens in New York City? Reminds me of the stories I heard from my Mother about grandpapa Giraud with the chicken coop and pigeons on the roof of the projects in the Bronx.  “Everybody’s doing it,” she said, as I found my way to the bathroom before coffee.

Source: Newsweek Magazine - The craze for urban poultry farming. Jessica Bennett, NEWSWEEK Published Nov 17, 2008.

“What?” I asked still gazed at how the sun had already warmly lit the kitchen window at seven am, “Damn, what are you talking about?”

“White people are raising chickens in New York,” she paused, “on the roofs with their gardens. Fresh eggs, fresh vegetables, girl.” Her eyes glistened like her smile half amazed and laughing.

She broke an egg making her omelet, “You want one?”, pointing to the bowl of eggs and red onion as her olive-oiled pan sizzled.

“Naw, I stopped eating them like that. There’s too much shit in them. All those chemicals. But really I stopped cause I noticed after I ate them my nose ran and I felt awful.”

She agreed while flipping her omelet over as the cheese oozed almost apologetically. I had awakened with the news,
“Wow, really? New York City huh? I’m not surprised, shit, they got way more consciousness then folks down here on that tiny little island. Shit people out here got all this land and aint doin a damn thing with it. So damn dependent, my God. It’s a damn shame. So when you gettin’ yours? What you waitin for? As hot as it is out here you should have lemons, avocados and banana trees! Heehee, whachu waitn fo’?  I turned with my hand to my hip  fingers palming the sweet turbinado Columbian blended mug.

I continued, like I do when I’m about to get on my soap-box posture, “Well I’m glad people waking up! Food and drugs, I’ll never understand that one. You know, shyt is crazy, but yeah, damn, New York? That’s whats up. You gotta do what you gotta do to survive.”

My mind melted toward the sun wondering how my ancestors withstood the Georgia heat working fields from sun up to sun down into the night under the moon, with tight whip of the slave driver roaming their backs. I thought about the pregnant women who were forced to work during postpartum rest periods; about  their infants who survived keeping impregnated fear wrapped in cells and DNA memories for generations to come. I thought about the demons and angels we watched in the movie where dimensions suspended on Earth and beyond collided. Lastly, I remembered just before turning over ascending the feathered down in utter calm while my eyes viewed flickers of brilliant light dancing on all sides of our home. In the bizarre moment of fear of the unknown and possible tragedy, remaining peace was all I remembered. How sweet it was…the total surrender of peace.

(c). 2009. Journal. Ria Takharu.

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From: http://www.justfood.org/cityfarms/chickens/

City Chicken Fresh Eggs for NYC!

What NYC Community Gardeners Say About Raising Chickens:

● “Raising chickens will remind me of my grandmother’s farm in Puerto Rico.”

Natnl Geographic: In New York City, senior gardener Abu Talib oversees the Taqwa Community Farm and its 13 chickens.

Join the Just Food City Chicken Meetup NYC to connect with other chicken keepers. This group is also a place to learn about chicken workshops, meet-ups and coop tours and to share your own events, questions and advice.

Do you want chickens in your garden? If you are a community group of 8 or more people in NYC, download our application here.

Questions about raising chickens in NYC? Click here.

The City Chicken Project helps people legally and safely raise chickens for eggs in New York City. By working in partnership with our network of urban gardeners and other organizations, Just Food has launched an initiative to:

• promote best practices and the benefits of raising chickens in the city,
• teach people how to build coops that are structurally sound and healthy for hens,
• publicize relevant city regulations and codes, and
• support gardeners who are interested in setting-up or expanding egg production operations.

Why raise chickens?
These fine feathered friends can contribute to the social, economic, and environmental well- being of your community. They help out in the garden and the neighborhood by:

How can I learn more?
Interested in finding out how to bring chickens to your community? Just Food has published a guide to help new and experienced chicken-keepers. The City Chicken Guide provides information about:

The guide also provides a list of resources and important contacts.

To order a City Chicken Guide, please call (212) 645-9880 x221 or order online in our giftshop.

This program was made possible in part by a grant from Heifer International.

Links to:

Media:

Aparment Therapy The Kitchen
Urban Agriculture: Raising Chickens in NYC

The Sagebrush Variety Show Presents:
Bucky Buckaw’s Backyard Chicken Broadcast

Chicken Programs and Resources:

Growing Gardens, Portland, OR
www.growing-gardens.org

The City Chicken, Vancouver, WA
home.centurytel.net/thecitychicken/index.html

Backyard Chickens
http://www.backyardchickens.com

A Flock of Your Own
www.gatewaytovermont.com/thefarm/chickens.htm

Breeds:

FeatherSite
www.feathersite.com

The ICYouSee Handy Dandy Chicken Chart:
http://www.ithaca.edu/staff/ jhenderson/chooks/chooks.html
An Alphabetical List of More than 60 Chicken Breeds With Comparative Information

American Livestock Breeds Conservency Breed Information Priority List: http://www.albc-usa.org/cpl/ wtchlist.html#chickens

Feeds and Supplies:
Animal Feeds, Inc, Bronx, NY – The only animal feeds store in NYC: http://www.bizwiki.com/pet-supply/2417851/animal-feeds- inc.htm

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Just Food
208 East 51st Street, 4th Floor
New York, NY 10022
tel 212.645.9880
fax 212.645.9881
email us

dancing to unite the mind and body to spirit

the slow burn, muscles flexed, arms reaching the sky, lungs gasping air, i smile in slow burn chest to the floor, knees to breast running after breaks to get back in the line smiling through the pain where pleasure remains.

before i could sing i danced, or was it the reverse? maybe they are reflections of some past life gifts.

i brought them back in this life, Jah knows with a smile on his brow. All i know is, i get in class and something happens.
when im blessed to share the studio with veteran dancers some kinetic transformation takes place. maybe its my
childhood athletic persona, my posture changes among flowing.

perhaps my always wanting to be the dancer that remained dormant  propels me to point
my toes in just that right angle and pop my wrists to complete the story. i love dance! having choreographed for talent shows and auditioned for videos at ellington, the love never truly went away only transferred into my children’s early study and  kennedy center performances.

something happens when the drums vibrate the class. bouncing off walls their coded language lure me to remember dances. they say we have it all somewhere within the cell memory and akashic records. it must be so…i say with a smile on my brow.

be mindful of what you wish for!

just this weekend it dawned on me what it was i truly wanted in relationships. for a long while it hadnt been so clear.
so what do i do, i let it fill my heart — the truth, i confront with my higher self, then whisper it into the universe.
but before that i verbally made a comment with a long list of  love demands (as if it works like that).

this weekend a second you-know-who greets me with more opportunities for ‘love’! the first mr. you know who was the exact list only i had left out the age (and that kinda got screwed up)! dont think im ready for the cougar role, (again).

the second mr. you-know-who was indeed older as i listed with everything i had mentioned. what really got me was:
“you dont have to work, sweetheart. im set, i’ll take care of everything. all you have to do is go to school. and stay beautiful;

im retired army, own my own home, live alone, have two cars. im ready and know what i want. i know you’re special, i can see it.”

no sooner had i denounced expensive cars he showed up flashing his white mercedes…not the C series.  i simply thanked him for helping me get my jewelry in my trunk and the many offers he proposed and sped off looking in my review mirror.

you can imagine how surprised i am to find the universe responding so quickly! its as if  it’s saying “hey beautiful, here i am, recognize the Blessings and respond”…..

I’m amazed and grateful for the Blessings the Creator, Spirit Guides, Angels,  Mentors and Helpers in my Life!

Maybe the South aint too bad after all, (wink, wink),

Ria  (journal: 06-14-09)