The stillness, beauty, and peace that arise in this very moment.

The big question:

What do I need right now?

"Needs are personal prerequisites to happiness."

~Beautifully spoken~


But I’ll bet that, on a soul level, you don’t need a cooler car, a bigger ring, whiter teeth, or more parties.

What do you need then? Answering this question can be one of the most powerful transformations of your life.

It was for me. After that class, I started paying attention to my needs; and very slowly, I began attending to them.

I needed to embrace my introverted nature instead of ignoring it or boozing it out at parties every weekend. I needed alone time—space to dream, think, and be. I needed peace and quiet. Deep conversation. The freedom to spend a Friday night in without guilt.

Being aware of my needs was making room for me to actually start taking care of them.

The way I treat myself sets the standards for others.

The way you treat yourself sets the standards for how you treat others.

" You see my skin color
I see your skin color
And it's beautiful "

-Propaganda

Real recognize real.

These are the steps I followed in learning to love myself:

1. Get to know your inner critic, its voice, and its intentions.

Activate your observer self and listen to what it is saying as if you are hearing it on the radio. Recognize that this is an old tape repeating the criticism of society and the people who raised you to ensure your emotional and physical safety. It is running on autopilot.

2. Take some time to yourself; go deep inside.

Explore what you could have done to deserve this much self-hate/criticism. Look for an example of a person or situation where you can’t hate someone who’s made a mistake, even if you wanted to.

Let your brain help you find proof that you don’t deserve your self-criticism. When you find it, you will create a crack in that thought pattern. But that alone is not enough to break it open and get it to release.

3. Make a realistic plan.

List three things you can do to raise your self-esteem. These can be as simple as: “I will say ‘I love you’ to myself ten times a day,” or “I will look at myself in the mirror and identify things I like about myself every morning before leaving the house.”

The trick is that they need to feel doable to you. This is your plan. You are in charge of what you want to do. Make it a joyful and fun one.

4. Stick with the program.

I find that I get the best results when I keep track of it. Seeing a day or two of missing my exercises or meditation bothers me and motivates me to get back into it.

5. Start hanging out with people who make you feel good.

These are the people who see and experience you as who you really are. Let people who love you reflect the real you back to you. Start hanging out with people who could use cheering up. Reflect back to them how you see them. Practice the balance of receiving and giving.

6. Know that you have the power to take the reins from this inner critic.

It has been doing a great job, but it doesn’t need to drive the car anymore. Once you decide this, the rest is pretty much practice and patience.

My inner critic was so harsh that it was hard for friends to watch me hurt myself that way, but I’ve learned to love myself. You can do it too.

Treading the water of it to truly understand it.

Jesse Jackson said it perfectly, “Both tears and sweat are salty, but they render a different result. Tears will get you sympathy; sweat will get you change.” Detroit is proof that sweat and tears play a significant roll, but to elicit change, there must be a balance between connection and conviction, community and individuality.

Hit a low, but it’s up from here!
So much maintenance. Constant attention. Very few breaks. The “break” is outside of work.
The break is away from responsibility.
To find peace in the classroom.
To be calm inside.
To radiate inner strength and confidence.
To radiate energy.
Life energy.
To be alive.
To have rooted confidence.
To be so proud of every day.
To know where I stand, and be proud in that.


Reconnect to the roots that connect me to myself.
Hip-hop.
Poetry.
Nature.
Gardening.
Like-minded souls.
Love.
Expression.
Knowledge.

Wisdom of the ages:

“Be true to yourself.
BE YOURSELF.
Be authentic.
Don’t let anyone change you.”

Easier said than done
because look who I’ve been come
A person oscillating
Tossed to and fro in the wind
By the prevalence of this culture
By the strength of that mindset
By the inculturation of that worldview
The force of evil is strong
Who will prevail?

Conformity screams
It’s so much easier
It’s so much easier.
Well who conforms to the idea that the easier path is the way to go?

Those kids need ME
The FULL me
I am their teacher
They are mine and I am theirs
They deserve the best me
That is the one that will push them to their full potential

Higher vibration
Lower vibrations surround me all the time,
pulling me down to a minimal function

Higher vibration
Imma seek out that higher vibration


Resilience.
This human life is all about connection, resilience, and coping to me.

Connection.
Resilience.
Coping.

"Work for a cause, not for applause. Live life to express, not impress. Don't strive to make your presence noticed, just make your absence felt."
~Unknown

The fear of failure or failure itself is nothing compared to the bleak future of not growing, not stretching, and not going after my dreams.

One of the loves of my life.