 What is a Vision Board? A vision board is a powerful tool that can help you plan, clarify, focus on and manifest your life goals. Why Do I Need a Vision Board? It's easy to say what we want our goals to be and what dreams we'd like to see come true. But as quick as you can say it, you'll change directions and just as quickly, those dreams and goals will disappear or be put on the back burner. With a vision board, you are forced to reckon with your thoughts and what you say aloud. They are a tangible representation of what and how you want your life. Vision boards hold you accountable to yourself and those dreams. One of my favorite story tellers, Napoleon Hill, who famously wrote the all time popular, "Think and Grow Rich," said it best when he said, "Man, alone, has the power to transform his thoughts into physical reality; man, alone, can dream and make his dreams come true.” He also knew that, “Thoughts become things.” How Do I Put a Vision Board Together? There are many ways to put your vision board together. Many start flipping through magazines cutting out images of what they want their lives to look like. Soon enough they grab materials and get busy cutting, gluing and mounting. This way has proven ineffective many times because when you take that approach, you are not manifesting your thoughts, you're manifesting what looks nice in the magazine. It is more effective to plan what you intend to create and meditate on those plans before you get started. That way, you are more intentional in attracting your real thoughts, goals and dreams. Let's Get Started! Materials
Let's Make Magic! Creating Your Board 1. Be Intentional One to three days before you actually put your board together, grab your paper, post-its and writing utensil. It's time to plan! On each of the post-its, write the lifestyle categories below:  I do not own the rights to this image. Now, time to work! Remember, in this area, have patience and time to do what needs to be done. Once you have all the post-its labeled, you're going to put one post-it on a page of your notebook, notepad, legal pad, whatever you chose to write on. I post one at a time because sometimes when I start writing, I might go onto the next page. You don't/won't need to do this, but I'm a writer, I do the most! :) On the page, write out what you've always imaged that part of your life to be. Be creative on this part. As your thoughts pop up, write them down as if money, time, location or situation is not an issue. For example, on one post-it, I wrote "Family" and stuck it to the top of the page. (I hang mine off like a bookmark of sorts.) On the page, I wrote that I wanted my entire family to look and be healthy, clean, safe, wealthy enough to never worry about money, successful based on what success looks like to them, disease, drug, alcohol and virus-free, cautious, close to each other, mentally, emotionally, spiritually and physically sound. (I told you, I write a lot!) Once I've written all I want written, I write down everyone's name in my immediate family, including me. My husband, children, parents, siblings, grandchildren. Then, I jot down one-sentence individual goals. Now, you might not add everything you write onto your vision board. But, the goal here is to have a clear and concise plan and imagination for specifically what you want that part of your life to become. Repeat the same thing for each post-it note. Later, meditate, pray, do a rain dance, whatever you do to get your spiritual vibrations flowing so that they reign over your life. Do this every day and night that you have leading up to vision board party day. (And I always like to do it one house before the jam starts!) 2. Oh, the Places You'll Go! It's party day! Get your beverages and snacks, grab the rest of your materials and get to a place where you have space to spread out. This is really important because if you're in a tight, cramped space, your psyche will pour that negative energy all over your board. You'll be aggravated and that will show up in your work! You want to feel free so that the positive vibrations can flow, not only on your board, but all around the room! Do what you have to do and go where you have to go! I've done a vision board in the back of my truck bed before! It felt amazing! I was in nature and it became a part of my board! You've already done the toughest part. So now, all you need to do is cut out images, quotes, words, etc., that match your intentions that you've written on your paper. Planting Seeds Once your board is finished, you can choose to share with your other board mates. It's great practice for saying out loud and confidently what you plan to attract to your life. Everyone understands that in order for seeds to grow, they must be watered and nurtured. Vision boards are the same. Sharing will be your start. Pour that verbal water all over your board, proudly, loudly, confidently and generously! (Some people cry, so have tissue handy too!) VERY IMPORTANT! Once the party is over and you're back where you call home, find a place to hang or post your vision board where you'll see it everyday, multiple times a day. Each time you look at it, plan to look at it at least 10-15 minutes. When you're looking at it, think about what it would be like to have everything you've imagined and added to that board! Show gratitude and thank your Higher Energy for each and every thing on your board as if when you open your eyes, it will be right there! I find it most effective to do it about 30-45 minutes before bed. That way, it'll be in your psyche which should subconsciously force you to dream of your desired life. This is one of the most effective ways to attract your dreams to reality! Finally, have fun watching your dreams appear! Finally, I wanted to show you the best vision board manifestations I've seen. Everything she dreamed, manifested.   (*Boards used with permission by my friend, Dr. Stephanie Boyce, Girl Boss of THE FRESH CLASSROOM!)  Today is the last day of Black History Month. As it draws to a close, I still ponder a conversation I had with someone coming from Austin. He said Black people need to stop with the African Studies classes and just focus on being Black. He said we're too far removed from African ancestry for it to matter to us. I could have run directly off the road! To this day, I still can't decide if he was being sincere or fucking with me so we'd argue in order to keep me awake. Either way, it's been bugging me because some of the things he was saying had some validity and was not just fluff. Since, I've been doing research on it and I have this to say:
If it's a fact that past traumas can be encoded in our DNA (genetic research), how can it be argued that our African ancestors’ customs, culture, and ways are not relevant to us...Black Americans...today? We are being traumatized by society in the 21st century for innate behavior that WE don't even understand or know where it came from! White people don't want us here, Black people are ashamed of each other (both ghetto and bougie), and Africans don't want to associate with us because we're too much or try too hard to assimilate to the point of insult. So where do Black people fit? This month, I noticed that every Black History program I saw or heard about represented AFRICAN history (dress, leaders, warriors, cuisine, language, spirituality, dance) with a minute infusion of a few redundant well-knowns to represent Black history. What are we really supposed to be celebrating? African History or Black History or both? We're so lost! Just searching! Blindly! Where's the rule book? Well, I went off to search for clarity. I learned that if you go to trauma therapy, you're assigned to directly confront your pain caused by the past and any pain you feel now is a direct reflection or symptom of past trauma known or unknown to you. So with that being said, it seems to me that there is no way Black people will get to the "just be Black people" utopia that was suggested if we ignore the trauma, history, culture, education, and idiosyncrasies of our ancestors from Africa. We just cannot. Because if we ignore it, not learn it, or learn from it, then we will never understand the mindset and behaviors of "us" today and why we do the shit we do! We're torn! Some of us try to fit into society and basic Black culture based on "societal norms," but whose norms are we assimilating to when our intuition forces us to want to act in other ways that we don't understand (i.e., dancing, being boisterous, language, music, etc.)? Our shit was snatched from our people and attempted to be erased from all we knew! So whose rights from wrongs or couths and uncouths did we learn/are we learning? So my position is the same: can learning our history, our AFRICAN history, teach us a lot about ourselves and who we are supposed to be, maybe would have been and possibly will be, before we were reprogrammed and lost? Or is it too late? Should we just learn how to be humanitarian toward each other and try to assimilate into the world in which we now live as simply, Black people? #clarity #5minuteblog  A punch in the face.
A busted lip. Cuts on her hands, arms and elbows. Relationships are a trip. Verbal insults. Mental and physical abuse. They'd always ebbed and flowed, But now she's wondering what's the use? His love language in her ear: STUPID. BITCH. DUMB. SICK. FAKE. FAT. WEAK CAT. I AIN'T SHIT BECAUSE YOU AIN'T SHIT. YOU LOW-BUDGET. DRAG ME DOWN. CHEATING. LYING. STFU. GUTTER FRIENDS. YOU LOOK LIKE A CLOWN. A PUNCH IN THE FACE. A BUSTED LIP. CUTS ON HER HANDS, ARMS AND ELBOWS. RELATIONSHIPS ARE A TRIP. With his venom, he's conditioning her. Molding her into his toy. Build her up. Tear her down. To match his esteem: an insecure, little boy. Meanwhile back at the ranch, He never acknowledges his wrongdoings. He'll just accuse her. All kinda ways abuse her. Too arrogant to realize, her dislike for him is brewing. His love language in her ear: STUPID. BITCH. DUMB. SICK. FAKE. FAT. WEAK CAT. I AIN'T SHIT BECAUSE YOU AIN'T SHIT. YOU LOW-BUDGET. DRAG ME DOWN. CHEATING. LYING. STFU. GUTTER FRIENDS. YOU LOOK LIKE A CLOWN. A PUNCH IN THE FACE. A BUSTED LIP. CUTS ON HER HANDS, ARMS AND ELBOWS. RELATIONSHIPS ARE A TRIP. "But you know how it is! This is just what we do," is what he wants to convince her to think. But she's done with his tango, she's just biding her time, but in her insides she shrinks. Like a dope man his goal is to secure HIS bag. Nevermind our feelings, respect, love..everything we said we'd share. It's all about him. Chin stuck out. Banging on his chest. How soon we forget, we both created this mess. His love language in her ear: STUPID. BITCH. DUMB. SICK. FAKE. FAT. WEAK CAT. I AIN'T SHIT BECAUSE YOU AIN'T SHIT. YOU LOW-BUDGET. DRAG ME DOWN. CHEATING. LYING. STFU. GUTTER FRIENDS. YOU LOOK LIKE A CLOWN. A PUNCH IN THE FACE. A BUSTED LIP. CUTS ON HER HANDS, ARMS AND ELBOWS. RELATIONSHIPS ARE A TRIP. Here's a scenario: Run her over in the middle of the street. Drive off while she scrapes her feet. It's the same thing you do verbally, so why not? Now matter how accommodating she is to you, your abuse ain't gonna stop. Or try this: don't go home one day from work. Then if she does the same just go berserk! His love language in her ear: STUPID. BITCH. DUMB. SICK. FAKE. FAT. WEAK CAT. I AIN'T SHIT BECAUSE YOU AIN'T SHIT. YOU LOW-BUDGET. DRAG ME DOWN. CHEATING. LYING. STFU. GUTTER FRIENDS. YOU LOOK LIKE A CLOWN. A PUNCH IN THE FACE. A BUSTED LIP. CUTS ON HER HANDS, ARMS AND ELBOWS. RELATIONSHIPS ARE A TRIP. Cut her spirit with words in verbal slashes when you're mad. Then turn around and please her, make love to her, make her laugh when you're glad. You're Jekyll and Hyde, But she's not feeling being along for the turbulent ride. You turn incidents into issues when you're mad, Then scream hers is the worst pussy you ever had. Not the point. Has nothing to do with now. Does it make you feel good about yourself to always put her down? His love language in her ear: STUPID. BITCH. DUMB. SICK. FAKE. FAT. WEAK CAT. I AIN'T SHIT BECAUSE YOU AIN'T SHIT. YOU LOW-BUDGET. DRAG ME DOWN. CHEATING. LYING. STFU. GUTTER FRIENDS. YOU LOOK LIKE A CLOWN. A PUNCH IN THE FACE. A BUSTED LIP. CUTS ON HER HANDS, ARMS AND ELBOWS. RELATIONSHIPS ARE A TRIP. She was down for you, would ride for you, since day one she's had your back. But you turned yours on her and her back you think is now your floor mat. When money was slow and hard living was your dope, things used to be we. Now you think you're on top, Ego Tripping like Nikki G, the slang you speak is foreign to her because now all you say is, "Me." (Well...in all fairness, you do throw in a few, "Myselfs and I's...") And all the while when she looks at you, her eyes are screaming, "Lies! Lies! Lies!" His love language in her ear: STUPID. BITCH. DUMB. SICK. FAKE. FAT. WEAK CAT. I AIN'T SHIT BECAUSE YOU AIN'T SHIT. YOU LOW-BUDGET. DRAG ME DOWN. CHEATING. LYING. STFU. GUTTER FRIENDS. YOU LOOK LIKE A CLOWN. A PUNCH IN THE FACE. A BUSTED LIP. CUTS ON HER HANDS, ARMS AND ELBOWS. RELATIONSHIPS ARE A TRIP. See her mama taught her that when there's "us" there's "we." But your mama taught you, take all you can from the world, doesn't matter who you cut off at the knee. Not even the people you are supposed to protect. Because in her mind and your mantra has changed to a monotonous: "me, me, me, and get get get!" How can she be a model, to girls, set a high standard? When each and every day she goes home to the man she loves to get slandered! Young girls, you are graduating high school and going off into life and the world! Five years from now don't let this be your story, okay? At the first sign of trouble, don't stay, RUN away! And the Universe will forever bend your way. His love language in her ear: STUPID. BITCH. DUMB. SICK. FAKE. FAT. WEAK CAT. I AIN'T SHIT BECAUSE YOU AIN'T SHIT. YOU LOW-BUDGET. DRAG ME DOWN. CHEATING. LYING. STFU. GUTTER FRIENDS. YOU LOOK LIKE A CLOWN. A PUNCH IN THE FACE. A BUSTED LIP. CUTS ON HER HANDS, ARMS AND ELBOWS. RELATIONSHIPS ARE A TRIP. She'd tell you to, "Do you," of course. Learn to meditate and pray. But love YOU first always and all ways! Be dope and prosper!🤘🏽💋 *drops 🎤* ©2019 thawriter  I was highly put off recently by an article I read in the LA Times about a poet who believes her work (or any author's work) should not be analyzed for intent, especially on Standardized tests. In the article, poet Sara Holbrook complained about questions on the test that asks, "why she rendered one line in a poem in all capital letters" and she "argues that asking students to dissect poems isn't an effective way to teach them about the joys of literature."
Bullshit! There is value in dissecting literature AND asking questions about the author's intent. But then, I am a writer and an English Literature teacher, so I might be biased. Nevertheless, the article pissed me off and so did many of the comments. Students today already don't readily see the need in subjects like English Lit or algebra. It is only after they graduate and get in a "real life situation" that the necessity is revealed. Nevertheless, why would an author open her pie hole and validate their thoughts?! So to Ms. Holbrook and anyone else who feels like poetry and prose should not be dissected and an author's intent questioned on a test, here's what I have for you: The purpose of analyzing, or deconstructing, texts is to discover HOW a text was written AND WHY it was written (author's intent) which is important for so many reasons, but especially so that prose or poetry won't be boring, and so that the meaning can be understood. Believe it or not, you can tell in the comments that people posted about this article who probably got good grades in English. They used quotations, all caps, sarcasm, punctuation, ambiguity, idioms...literary terms...in their own writing, correctly. And THAT'S why analysis is needed. By using these, it shows that the intent was to agree, disagree, show anger, surprise, disgust, etc., without having to state that explicitly. Also, analysis teaches semantics of grammar: when, how and why use all caps or any syntax, to which the answer would be: to emphasize, show surprise, anger or shock. It reveals tone, the state of mind of a character (characterization), rhythm, etc., it provides imagery, paradox, oxymoron...all of which are necessary to UNDERSTAND what you're reading. On a broad scale, writers write for one of these three intents: to persuade, inform or entertain. Readers need to know that. Ads persuade. News articles inform. Fiction, poetry, literary nonfiction, and drama entertain. If I didn't understand that, would I be remiss in thinking the intent of Stephen King writing "It" was to inform children that they will be killed by clowns just because they're kids? Absolutely! But because I was taught to analyze, I know the author's INTENT was to entertain. From there, students are able to make connections to real world situations, like the discovery that there's usually always something sinister in someone's past to make them lash out at the world and commit homicide, suicide or genocide. Then, they can circle back and find relevant current events or other literature that can be linked. The ONLY thing I agree with is that a test should not measure a student's understanding. Growth of understanding is more critical. But many of the test questions are valid toward finding out whether students understand what they're reading. Maybe Ms. Holdbrook's poetry should be removed from the test since it seems to burden her so. PS: as a former test writer, I can attest that test questions are not "just made up" as Ms. Holbrook assumes. A lot of thought goes into those questions to, again, determine whether students understand what they are reading! *See that explanation point? You can dissect that to mean that I am yelling!*  You have access to my spirit.
Feel it. Breathe it. Touch it. Hear it. Your hands on my spine. Your magic on my mind. I can't get enough. I crave your firmly gentle touch. It's spiritual. Lyrical. Spherical. A miracle. We've weathered the storm. Now lay into my bosom where I'm warm. Like your touch, so magnetic. Electric. I'm pathetic. I crave you so bad. The energy. The power. The force we had. Put your lips onto mine.. My jaw..my neck..let your tongue tingle my spine. Do it again. And again. Let me be your sin. Your gin. Let me intoxicate you with my skin. On yours. Touch me soft. Hard. Just do it again. In more ways than one, you pleasure me. Spiritually, sexually, creatively, mentally. So let me be your complicated melody. Because my life without you is hell on me. You're so talented. Brilliant. Intelligent. A genius. Erotic. Exotic. Your fire. It lingers. Your waves I want to ride, glide on and be consumed. You pull, then push, forever leaving me bemused. But the passion we've had since we met. It's ice on fire. It's intoxicatingly kismet. Your hands have touched my body across multiple lifetimes. It's in the cards, the stars, metaphysically, you're mine. I don't need pills, weed, coke or wine. You're my aphrodisiac. My dope. My way. My lifeline. Light touches. My lover. I flutter. No other. Be consumed with me. Groove with me. Make love to me euphorically. And have access to my spirit. Feel it. Breathe it. Touch it. Hear it.  There's this man, one of the most handsome men in the world! But he's married, and ohso in love with this girl.
He's the kind of man every girl would want: handsome, easy to talk to, affectionate, talented and sweet. Toward this girl, he's attentive, complimentary and lustful; but he doesn't flaunt it. He's sexy with it. Ohso discreet. He sends her surprise messages of his raw need to touch her. Now. He tells her, "Damn, you're ohso fine. So good on the inside and out." He tells her he wants to hug and squeeze her all day. To witness her happiness, makes him happy. He wants it no other way. He flirts with her, teases her, with sexual innuendoes about being with her in bed. He draws her pictures of them, with him ready and waiting, to ease between her legs. There's only one tragedy that makes this story so sad: if the husband said these things to his wife instead, she'd be OhSo glad.   Okay, like after this, I'm over R. Child Molester Kelly. But, from a journalistic perspective, I am compelled to let you hear my voice.
Martin Luther King Jr.'s bEARTHday is coming up. When I think about Martin Luther King Jr. and all that he sacrificed, not only for his children, but for all children, I cannot help but wonder whether all black men have a responsibility to protect, provide for and unconditionally love all black women. Then, I think about Robert Sylvester Child Molester Kelly and how he did the exact opposite of Dr. King when it comes to protecting little girls (teenage girls are still little girls). I am biased. Protecting the innocence of little girls comes first. Period. So, let me start this post with, “I always thought Kels was trash." Me too Questlove. I never have been crazy about the over-the-top bravado in his throat when he sings. I must admit, however, I loved the 2010 "Love Letters" album that I've heard he originally wrote for Michael Jackson. It was not written R. Kelly molester-style because it wasn't for him. And, as I grew a little freakier in my life, I did grow to love the song, "Leg's Shaking." However, I've now deleted it from my playlist because after the revelation that his art imitates his life, it made me sick to my stomach to consider that these girls' legs were shaking, not from pleasure, but from raw, unadulterated pain that he was inflicting during their violations. In a full disclosure on Twitter, Chance the Rapper cleared up a statement he made on "Surviving R. Kelly" that was taken out of context and had his fans in a tizzy. “We’re programmed to really be hypersensitive to black male oppression," he says. But black woman [sic] are exponentially [a] higher oppressed and violated group of people just in comparison to the whole world. Maybe I didn’t care because I didn’t value the accusers’ stories because they were black women." As pearl-grasping as this sounds, it does explain why so many black people can still support R. Kelly, the child felony. As a culture, we have been conditioned to protect white women or light-skin black women more readily than women of darker hues! On the contrary, according to songwriter, record producer, actor and dancer, Neo, “Music is important. It really is. But it’s not more important than protecting our children, protecting our little girls. PERIOD." Damn right. R. Kelly's art imitates his life! (Go be cool with that.) Could this mean that Ne-yo is more cognizant of protecting black girls because he has a beautiful chocolate morsel? Hmm..something to think about instead of blaming the girls for wanting the same fame and celebrity as the guy who violated them. “We’ve all been inspired by this man. We’ve all been witnesses to his musical genius. We have shaped and molded talent we sign after his musical image. We’ve invested so much of ourselves into this man that it’s hard for us to let go. I no longer have that issue.” Thank you Tank. No one should. And for those who are bird box blinded by Kelly's light and dollar signs, "There has to be a line drawn. Enough has to be enough at some point," Tank says. Finally, for everyone slobbering about "where were the parents?" While they do have major responsibility in all this too, unless you were and had the Knowles clout to be a presence in that snake pit studio, Kelly's "compound" was iron-clad with goons. Broke ass, generic parents were NOT going to have access to the area, let alone their girls. Period. Finally, Aaliyah's mama needs to stfu! Destiny's children were in the same sex-slaved studio, recording their music too. But Daddy Knowles said even when Destiny's children had to use the restroom, they walked them there. So if Aaliyah's mama wasn't there doing that, or at the ceremony when her daughter was getting married and someone was forging her a fake age, she needs to stop with the "I was always around" bullshit. Gul, you were getting paid like everybody else. It's sad that little girls get taken advantage of by older men all the time. But I remember a time when all the grown men I knew protected little girls and teen girls from all the predators of the world, even when they were not their daughters. I wish we could get back to that. Girls are pretty awesome, but not for the pleasure of someone who they should be able to look up to. |
thawriterBlogging is my impulse to answer questions people didn't ask me and write about truths people don't want to face. From wellness to politics, sports and death, if it's "writable," I write about it! Archives
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