Once in a Lifetime Meeting

Peace, love, and light to everyone on this beautiful Friday. I am in the most wonderful mood after having the pleasure of being in the presence of one of my personal heroes Sister Souljah. Just writing that sentence makes me smile! She was everything I imagined that she would be—eloquent, genuine, real, warm, and most of all loving. Her divine essence was pure light and definitely was a blessing to my spirit.  The event was held in a public library. As I made my way into the space, I noted Souljah standing on the left at the podium. The energy of positivity, love, and admiration filled the space as well as the eyes of all who were present. As Souljah took questions from the attendees, I noted how she spoke with truth, with fire, and actually “listened” to the questions, took the time to think about her responses, and never rushed anyone who had multi-layers to their questions. Her compassion was apparent in each phrase that she spoke. I watched as she looked the attendees in their eyes, how some were brought to tears as they attempted to frame their question, how her heart remained open to us all.

The brothers and sistars who attended all had a look of appreciation on their faces as she took time to take pictures with them, hug them, and sign autographs. The knowledge that she shared was absolutely inspiring and truly has left an indelible mark upon my mind, spirit, and my heart. You can never be in the presence of such greatness and not be changed. As I listened to her describe her craft of writing, I realized how much is possible; how a turn of a phrase, a sentence, a paragraph can absolutely change someone’s life, even if the work is fictional. I also realized that there are many stories that are left to tell, that need to be told, that we must put into the universe.

Sister Souljah is a modern griot, a masterful storyteller, a gem to us all. I have been changed by this experience. May she continue to provide a voice to the voiceless, inspiration to the forgotten, and the soothing salve of storytelling to the brokenhearted.

Hetepu,

Andre’a The Tru Lioness

Be the Peace You Seek

Peace everyone. I hope this message finds you all in peace and harmony. I notice I say peace a lot these days, more so than I used to. Is it because of the lack of peace that I have in my life? Is it because of the desire to see more peace in this world? Is it because I am a bit of a hippie? I do believe it is a little bit of all of these things. Albert Einstein once said ““Peace cannot be kept by force; it can only be achieved by understanding.” I am finding me; ever-evolving, transforming, transmuting, vibrating, and becoming.

My revolutionary thoughts and actions never supersede my ultimate desire and also my manner. I am a very peaceful person and find myself seeking it more and more. Planetary alignment and Mercury retrograde aside, I have always been very comfortable being with myself. Not a lot of people can say that they enjoy solitude. It is in solitude where one can truly make inquiries to the universe and actually receive a response. I am known for being lively and social but I am actually a bit introverted. I would much rather be to myself, reading, creating, and thinking, than being in a  large loud crowd.

I said all of that to say this—life is tough and sometimes it is hard to turn off the noise inside of ourselves. However, it is so necessary to learn to still our minds and find peace within. Revolution begins in the mind. I have learned that the things that we seek externally are actually representative of that which we need internally, well outside of the necessities. We fill our lives with stuff that we actually do not need, waste time doing things that are not feeding our spirits, and with people who are literally draining the life out of us and why?? We have no peace within. We do not love ourselves as we should. We have no comfort.

So, what is next? Take a look in the mirror and find out what you really and truly desire. Do you really need another television in your home, another purse? Do you really love him or is he just a distraction? Can you be alone with yourself and not go crazy? Then think about your level of peace. Do you have peace within? Like my girl Lauryn Hill said “How you gon win when you ain’t right within?”  Think about it. Be gentle and loving to yourself. You deserve peace, joy, happiness, and love. Raise your vibration so that the true revolution can begin.

Peace, Love, and Light,

Andre’a The Tru Lioness

Take Care of You

Peace, love, and light everyone! We are already halfway through the month of January. All I can say is Wow! My grandmother used to say “Time waits for no man” and that is so true. I often think that I am wasting time but I realize that the work I am doing is more internal. These days, I am spending my so-called “free time” reading, meditating, researching, exploring, reflecting, and learning more about myself.

I have not always taken time for me, quiet time in solitude, truly alone with my thoughts. I realize now that the time of solitude is necessary for my own sanity. We all need time to recharge, to be with ourselves, to tend to ourselves. I know that as a mother /daughter/sister/friend, I have often sacrificed myself and my well-being and comfort in order to be there for others. However, I now know that I was not helping them at full capacity because I was not taking care of myself as I should.
There is an old saying that goes “You cannot serve from an empty vessel”. I know that my life as a servant of the people requires that I refill myself. I need love, I need joy, I need peace, I need quiet, I need music, and guess what? The things I need in order to feel balanced and at harmony and peace with self is perfectly A-Okay!

I used to fill my life with “things” that were not meeting any particular need. They were filling physical space in my home but never the spiritual and emotional spaces in which I actually yearned to be filled but did not overstand my own need. I now know and overstand that everything is energy and vibration and that I am a spirit first and foremost- a wonderful spirit that requires nourishing from a different perspective.  And so are you. I want to encourage you to listen to yourself. If you need to step outside, take a few deep breaths—do it. If you need to take a day to just walk in the park—do it. If you need to take a weekend and be with yourself—do it. Resonance is a message from yourself to yourself to do what your true (Spirit self) wants, needs, and desires. Take heed. It’s absolutely fine to let go!!

Have an Awesome Day!

Andrea The Tru Lioness

Thoughts of a Lioness: Hush Money, Reward, and Progress

Thoughts of a Lioness: Hush Money, Reward, and Progress: Peace to all of you. As I write this, my mind is all over the place. I sat in a brief meditation this morning, reflecting on the murders of...

Hush Money, Reward, and Progress

Peace to all of you. As I write this, my mind is all over the place. I sat in a brief meditation this morning, reflecting on the murders of our people by police and the cycle of repeated events and the results sickened me. In the majority of high profile deaths of Afrikan people in Amerikkka at the hands of law enforcement, the cycle is :

1. Outrage by the community 

2. An investigation of the events

3. The vilification of the victim by mainstream media, conversations  on police and community relationships

4. Either the police officer is charged or found to be innocent by way of lack of substantial evidence or assumed guilt by the victim  (He went for my gun and so on), but never any conviction or even admission of guilt by them

5. The family of the victim receives huge amounts of money from the city the victim lived in, often before the criminal case is tried, but certainly after. The latest settlement is in the case of Walter Scott who was murdered by an officer in North Charleston.

6. The officer often is paid by either their own departments , as in the case of Kerrick or by GoFundMe accounts established by their supporters.

7. Rinse and repeat.

In the latest case of Randall Kerrick, he is being rewarded, in my opinion, for shooting an unarmed Jonathan Ferrell in 2013. I watched as a representative of the Fraternal Order of Police Officers express his feeling that Kerrick deserved "more" than his settlement of over $100,000. More of what? Charlotte-Mecklenburg Police Department "negotiated" with him for a resignation and paid him. It makes zero sense at all but this is white supremacy at its finest. What has he suffered that he deserves to have his resignation negotiated in the first place and then paid severance as if he actually served  in any capacity for those who are the hunted. In the KRS-One song "Black Cop", he calls the officer -- overseer and that is exactly what they are. Overseers were paid to inflict pain, power, and dominance over our ancestors and to keep the “nigras” in line and these "officers" are doing the same; they injure, they intimidate, they abuse their power, and if they kill, they are smiled upon, paid for the collection of black bodies. In our communities, the sight of a police car is a constant reminder that we could be the next hashtag on Twitter, the next one with our name in lights, one of the ones whose life could be stolen, with justice never to be had, our families paid hush money, and our names added to the seemingly neverending list of people murdered unarmed by the police. The actions of these men and women in blue is at best atrocious and has caused for the community to view them as a constant threat and a menace. There has not been any reform for these police departments, no true action taken against any who have unjustly murdered our people, and no true blueprint for what should be done when it happens again.

Our communities are in dire need for transformation. At this time, we find ourselves at the bottom of the totem pole in most areas—economically, educationally, and otherwise. The remedy is not to be found in Washington or any other legislative or judicial body within the stolen nation named Amerikkka. The movement should be to establish independence and unification amongst ourselves. We need to police our own neighborhoods. Our people are dying at the hands of each other and it is high time that we seize our circumstances from those who devalue their own people. We need to establish economic initiatives from every state within this nation in which we shop with our own, create our own, and only support our own. I know some may feel the things I speak about may be a bit lofty but our very existence depends on our unity and collective action. No one is coming to save us. We all we got!

Hetepu!

Andre’a 

Thoughts of a Lioness: Continued Atrocities and What Is To Come

Thoughts of a Lioness: Continued Atrocities and What Is To Come: Peace to you all I recently ran across an article about the infamous George Zimmerman retweeting a photo of Trayvon Martin's lifeless...

Continued Atrocities and What Is To Come

Peace to you all

I recently ran across an article about the infamous George Zimmerman retweeting a photo of Trayvon Martin's lifeless body lying on the grass after the murder. Soon after, a social media storm occurred with people expressing their anger and disgust over his actions. As I sat on my couch on Monday evening, I meditated on how I would feel if I was Trayvon's mother as well as how I feel as the mother of four Afrikan sons. The continued downplaying of the murders of our sons and daughters, the lack of empathy and compassion for our losses, the insensitivity of mainstream AmeriKKKa, and the onslaught of continued violence against our people, coupled with the mass media criminalizing the victims is overwhelming. We live in a country that was built upon the backs of our ancestors and yet has a short memory as to what was truly done. Our people were stolen from their homelands, forced to change their names, forget their religion, and treated as animals. We, as a people , have survived through slavery, wars, Jim Crow, and terroristic acts all of these years. And to have our murders placed on social media sites for white inferiority , which is illogically named white supremacy, cuts to the core of my soul. For George Zimmerman, Daniel Pantaleo, Darren Wilson, and so many other murderers to walk free, to gain riches off their barbaric and murderous acts, is a slap in the face of our warrior ancestors. These acts are less than humane. They feed into the machine of oppression because the images are a constant reminder that death can occur by their hand at any given time. The messages are clear and constant. Our lives matter , but not to them. We are simply tools to keep their pockets fat, their country flourishing--it is all tied to economics. We have secured the lifestyles of the rich and famous and we continue to do so. We work for pennies on the dollar in the prisons, which at this time are plantations, cloaked as correctional facilities. We attend their schools and are trained to work for them in their corporations, again to profit them. We are widely segregated into ghettos and slums, where we die in squalor. We run into religious buildings to worship a god that has neither loved us or protected us and looks just like the men who came on the ships over 400 years ago.

I realize that this message is heavy, but I also realize these words are necessary. This is the age of information. We have access to more information than we ever have before and now is the time to harness the information and free ourselves from slavery once and for all. There is a revolution going on right now. More and more of our people are waking from the comatose state and realizing that we have been in a war for 4 centuries. Now is the time for us to unite and take the head off of the beast once and for all!! As our vibrations rise and align, more and more of us are creating lives outside the matrix. They are hearing the rallying cry . It is my sincerest desire to see all of Afrika unite-- to live amongst each other, to raise free thinking children, to do business together, and to be truly liberated. And it will happen! We will never forget what has been done however, we are not looking back! As our dear ancestor Marcus Garvey once said "What do I care about death in the cause of the redemption of Africa?...I could die anywhere in the cause of liberty: A real man dies but once; a coward dies a thousand times before his real death. So we want you to realize that life is not worth its salt except you can live it for some purpose. And the noblest purpose for which to live is the emancipation of a race and the emancipation of posterity."

Hetepu,

Andre'a The Tru Lioness