Author: admin
Pop Quiz: Are You Healthy?
Before we jump into the content of this book, we’ve gotta be clear that this process won’t work if you’re not being honest with yourself – in terms of where you’re at and where you need to be. But even the most honest of people don’t necessarily know how “healthy” or “unhealthy” they are, because there’s so much to that whole health thing. So we’re gonna help you learn about yourself. Try the following quiz and see how you score. What have you got to lose? It’s not like somebody’s gonna see your score and laugh cause you’re unhealthy. Unless you and your friends have this same book. Then, they might. Or you might get to laugh at them. Either way, it’s cool because laughter is the best medicine. See, you’re already on your first step to healing! Seriously though, knowledge is half the battle. The other half (more like 7/9ths) is putting in the work once you have the knowledge. You gotta start somewhere, start with this quiz! 1. Do you eat fried foods? a. Less than twice a week. b. Occasionally, but I’m mindful of it. c. Pretty regularly. d. If it ain’t fried, I probably don’t want it. 2. How long would it take you to walk a mile? a. Less than 10 minutes. b. Between 10 and 20 minutes. c. I’d have to take a few breaks, so I’m not sure. d. Why would I walk a mile? 3. When seated with my legs straight in front, I can bend forward at the waist and reach… a. Past my toes. b. Near my toes. c. My shins. d. My knees. 4. I can balance on one foot, extend my arms, and stand still… a. More than 3 minutes. b. 1 or 2 minutes. c. About 30 seconds. d. I’m not even gonna try that and embarrass myself. 5. Do you drink sugary sodas and artificially flavored “juices”? a. Never. It’s real fruit juice, tea, or water for me. b. Rarely. I go for days without having any sugary drinks. c. Sometimes. But I can manage a day without any. d. Often. It would be hard for me to go without them. 6. Do you exercise? a. I could be an athlete or a personal trainer (30 to 60 minutes most days) b. I’m in decent shape, but I’m not ready for the marathon. (About 30 to 45 minutes a few times per week) c. I can help you move out of your apartment, but not by myself! (About 30 minutes twice a week) d. Sometimes I have to walk across a big parking lot. (Very little, if ever) 7. Do you eat sweets or candy? a. What’s a snickerdoodle? (Never) b. Where’s the snickerdoodles? (Rarely) c. I need some snickerdoodles. (Sometimes) d. I am the snickerdoodle. (Often) 8. Do you eat red meat? a. Never. b. Not often. c. At least once or twice a week (or “I eat beef but not pork”) d. They call me “Swinefeld” 9. Do you have breakfast in the morning? a. Yes, daily. And it’s usually pretty healthy. b. Most days. And it’s usually pretty healthy. c. Most days. But it’s usually not that healthy. d. Does a cup of coffee count? 10. Do you smoke? a. No, and I never have. b. I used to smoke, but I quit. c. I don’t smoke, but I live with or work around smokers who puff near me. d. All day. Nicorette ain’t got a patch strong enough for me. 11. When was the last time you had your blood pressure and cholesterol checked? a. Within the past year. b. Within the past two years. c. Several years ago. d. I can’t remember. 12. How much sleep do you get at night? a. 6 or 7 hours a night. b. 8 or more hours a night. c. Less than 6 hours a night. d. My sleep patterns are so irregular I couldn’t even tell you. 13. Do you use any “recreational” drugs? a. Nope. I get high off my success. b. I might smoke a little weed on occasion, but that’s it. c. I might do a little bit more than weed. d. I could be considered a junkie, if you were trying to be mean. 14. How is your dental health? a. My dentist worships me. b. I haven’t seen the dentist in a while, but I brush and floss regularly and I don’t have cavities. c. I don’t brush or floss like I should, and I probably have a few cavities I need to address. d. I’m probably gonna lose some of these teeth. 15. How much sunlight do you get? a. If I was white, I’d have an awesome tan. b. I get at least an hour of sunlight daily. c. I’m stuck indoors most weekdays, but I try to make up for it by getting some sun on the weekends. d. I’m practically a vampire. I can remember the last time I spent a while in the sun. 16. How much water do you drink? a. All I drink is water (More than 64 ounces). b. 8 glasses a day, like the doctor say (48-64 ounces). c. I don’t drink as much as I should (16-48 ounces). d. There are too many other things that taste better (0-16 ounces). 17. How do you deal with illnesses? a. I know how to cure most things naturally and who to see when I don’t. b. I consult with a healthcare professional and develop a regimen that will combat the illness. c. I see a doctor and hope he knows how to fix me. d. I pop some pills, say a prayer, and hope for the best. 18. What kind of medicines do you take? a. Mostly herbs, minerals, and whatever else Mother Nature provides. b. Mostly natural stuff, but I use the synthetic stuff too. c. Mostly the synthetic chemical stuff, but I’ve been trying natural remedies too. d. Mostly pills, needles, and whatever else Medicaid provides. 19. Do you have mood swings or rapid emotional changes? a. No way. That’s crazy as hell. b. It’s rare, but it happens. c. More than I’d like to admit. d. All day. I’m crazy as hell. 20. When is the last time you fasted or did a cleanse? a. Within the past month. b. Within the past six months. c. Within the past year. d. The only detox I know about is the one you do for a urine test. 21. How often do you get headaches? a. Rarely. b. Sometimes, but I usually know what caused it. c. Often, and they can get bad. d. I got one right now, and I’ll probably have another one soon. 22. How often do you eat fresh or steamed vegetables? a. At every meal b. At most meals c. Not often…does rice and peas count? d. Um…do the tomatoes in ketchup count? 23. When was the last time you had your stuff inspected? (Pap smear, STD test, breast exam, testicular exam, prostate exam) a. Within the past two years. b. Three or four years ago. c. Five or more years ago. d. I ain’t doin none of that nasty stuff. 24. How often do you treat pains with an over-the-counter pain reliever? a. I take one once or twice a year, or I used a natural remedy. b. I use them occasionally. c. I pop a pain reliever most days. d. Over the counter? Please. Gimme that Vicodin baby. 25. How much alcohol do you drink? a. I average one drink or fewer per day. b. I drink once in a while, but then I’ll often have four or more. c. I have about two drinks daily. d. I average more than two drinks a day; at times I can’t remember how much I drank or what I did afterward. 26. What do you eat more of, pastries or fruit? a. All fruit, no pastries or sweets. b. More fruit than pastries and sweets. c. More pastries than fruit. d. Mostly pastries and sweets, almost no fruit. 27. What’s your waist size? a. Less than my hips b. Bout the same as my hips c. A little more than my hips d. C’mon son! I’m FAT. 28. Do you have a family history of heart disease, diabetes, cancer, or other hereditary illnesses? a. No parents or grandparents with any problems like that. b. 1 or 2 of my parents or grandparents have 1 or 2 problems like that. c. Most of us got something. d. Everybody’s got something, and some of us got everything. (or “I have no idea”) 29. Which best describes your sexual practices? 30. I’m in a long-term, mutually monogamous relationship. a. I’m not committed to one person; but I always use condoms when I have sex. b. I’m not committed to one person; and I don’t always use a condom. c. I get it in, by any means necessary. 31. How do you typically cope with stress? a. I regularly carve out time to recharge. b. I vent about my crises to a friend or a family member. c. I don’t know what to do. Usually I just feel overwhelmed. d. I depend on alcohol, food or another vice to help me make it through the day. 32. I experience fatigue… a. Only after a strenuous workout or similar physical activity (ahem). b. Usually after a long day of work c. After climbing a set of stairs, taking a long walk, or carrying something heavy d. Pretty much throughout the day, even when I haven’t done anything 33. I experience back or muscle pain… a. Never. b. Sometimes. c. Pretty often. d. I stay with some kind of pain. 34. When I stand against the wall… a. The back of my head, hips, feet, and shoulder blades touch the wall. b. Only the back of my hips, feet and shoulder blades touch the wall. I have to change my posture for my head to touch the wall. c. Only the back of my hips and feet touch the wall. I have to change my posture for my shoulder blades to touch the wall. d. Only the back of my hips touches the wall. I don’t want to talk about it Scoring Scoring Key Items Marked Points A: 0 points Number of As: ____ x 0 = ____ 0 B: 1 point Number of Bs: ____ x 1 = ____ C: 2 points Number of Cs: ____ x 2 = ____ D: 3 points Number of Ds: ____ x 3 = ____ TOTAL SCORE = Scoring Ranges and Explanation 0-10: OPTIMUM You’re either insanely healthy or just plain insane. Most people are nowhere near this level of optimum health, so we congratulate you (if you’re telling the truth). If you lied, you may need to skip ahead and go straight to the section on psychological health, because that’s just strange. Assuming that you were being truthful, you’re a living example of the principles in this book. Because of how much information we’ve packed into the following pages, we’re sure you’ll still learn a lot. But you’ll find this text most valuable if you use it as a teaching tool for the people you know who need it more than you. 11-25: EXCELLENT A great score. You should be proud. You eat healthy, live healthy and probably even think healthy. Sure, there are some things you could work on, but with this book, you’re definitely on the right track to optimum health and a long, satisfying life. 26-50: DECENT Even with a score in this range, you’re still doing better than most Americans. But if you think about it, that’s not necessarily a high standard to measure yourself against. Perhaps you need to eat more fruits and vegetables and less junk. Perhaps you should be exercising more and spend less time indoors. Perhaps you should go see a doctor or a dentist soon. Whatever the case, you have plenty of room for improvement, and this book will make sure you cover it all. 51-75: UNHEALTHY Don’t be offended at being called “unhealthy.” We’re just being real with you. You knew you weren’t too healthy when you took this quiz, so don’t be mad at us for telling you what you already know. The question now is ‘What am I going to do about it?’ You can either continue on the downward spiral of unhealthy living, cut several years off your life, and finally end up dead before your time or sick and miserable in your old age…OR you can get on the upward spiral to better living. It’s your choice. You have family members who chose not to address their health until it was too late. You’ve seen what happens. It’s going to be some work, but this book will guide XE “Tips” you through many of those changes, showing you both the big steps and the baby steps you can take. Aren’t you tired of feeling the way you do? Make a decision. Your bad habits can still be changed! 76-90: SICK You’ve got a LOT of unhealthy habits. You know you do. You’ve been treating your body like a rental car you don’t plan on returning. But it’s all gonna get billed to you in the end. You pay for all those habits, one day, some way. And it’s never pretty. In your present condition, you’re probably already sick. You may have diabetes, cancer, arthritis, heart disease…who knows? You may not even know what you have. But unless you’re going to kill yourself now, you should consider this 91-100: DEAD Seriously? How do you even get a score in this range? I know crackheads who would score higher. Either you were trying to be funny when you took this quiz, or you’re an unhealthy crackhead. You can’t even get 100 points on this quiz. It’s mathematically impossible. Just like it’s almost physically impossible to live much longer with the type of lifestyle you have, if you scored in this range. If you really scored between 91 and 99, this book could literally save your life. The first step is knowing you can improve. Then you apply solutions.
I’ll Be Your Pusher: The FDA
“If people let government decide what foods they eat and what medicines they take, their bodies will soon be in as sorry a state as are the souls of those who live under tyranny.” – Thomas Jefferson Everyone who is concerned with their health should get familiar with the Food and Drug Administration, or the FDA. This is a federally run organization which was created to protect citizens from the adverse effects of pharmaceutical drugs, food, tobacco, vaccines and even veterinary products, amongst other things. However, these days it seems that the FDA has gone from being our protector, to a drug pusher and peddler. The regulation of products, drugs, and food can be a good thing. However, when government-run programs, which are there to serve us, become the pushers for wealthy drug companies, this is bound to take a toll on our collective health, well-being, and lifestyle. Most people in the general public tend to believe that if they see an FDA approval symbol on the product that they’re buying, they’re safe. But, what does it really mean to have a product approved by the FDA, versus a product that is not? The only real difference is that one is backed by, not only a huge government program, but also a big medical drug company. The other product may be good for you, but it does not have the backing of the FDA. For a long time, the FDA has set up safety offices around the world to protect our food. However, the products that need the most protection, our pharmaceutical drugs, are not truly tested by the FDA. This is because the FDA relies on a number of individual, privately owned, pharmaceutical companies to tell them whether their own product is safe or not. The FDA expects these companies to do their own testing and tell the truth about their results. That means that if a drug company has, say, an anti-depressant that they want to release, they “test” the drug and simply tell the FDA that it’s safe, whether it is or not. From there, the FDA will put their stamp of approval on it, and allow it to be manufactured and sold to the public. Seems like the Big Pharma and the FDA are just drug pushers, right? That’s because they are… Want more? Be sure to check out “I’ll be Your Pusher: The FDA” in The Hood Health Handbook: Volume 1 !
URBAN SURVIVAL: PREPARING AN EMERGENCY PLAN
With war preparations in “an advanced state of readiness”, hi-tech weapons systems including nuclear warheads being fully deployed, the collapse of major banks, 14 million people unemployed, companies embarking on massive layoffs, people losing their homes, food prices soaring, inflation at an all-time high, and the US not giving up war to care for its people who have had enough…there’s a lot for us to be concerned about. But there’s no need to be scared if we’re adequately prepared. Another catastrophe like 9/11, Hurricane Katrina, a major power outage, or even a collapse in the economy could come any day. Whatever the circumstances, the solution is to have an emergency plan for what you’re going to do in case of an emergency. So what will you do? Awareness is a first step towards a solution – Educate yourself. If you are prepared, you will be less likely to panic. Even if you aren’t, do not panic! If we succumb to fear, we will lose it all. Secure yourself, stay alert and remain vigilant. Community Preparation Once you know, it’s your obligation to inform others. After establishing your emergency/evacuation routines with your family, make sure your friends have their own plans. Then you can reach out to the local community (churches, associations, etc.) to discuss the need for such plans. What we need to consider in any emergency situation is that our neighborhood grocery stores and super markets can dry up in days, depending how frantic people are to get their supplies; you can expect there will be rioting, violence, confusion and pandemonium. If there is an economy crash, you will have problems finding food and gas and left at the mercy of the government if you don’t start planning ahead. When folks are ready to rob or hurt you for food, you don’t want to get caught out there alone. Also keep in mind, your emergency services will be overwhelmed and are not going to be there to handle what’s coming at them. Neither will there be enough National Guards to police the whole nation (looking at Katrina when they had to bring in multiple states to handle their catastrophe). Initially you and/or your family will want to align with or start up a group to identify community target areas, e.g., neighborhood tenant and block association; community schools and houses of worship; neighborhood grassroots and street organizations and mainstream political groups. Also special tactics and training such as street first aid and police/military occupation survival would be a plus. Water Water is going to be your most important commodity (Second will be food which we will get to in the end). When you don’t have means to pump water from a source or a well, you’re going to need some stored away. You’ll need about a gallon per person, per day, for at least a two weeks supply. When you run out, you need to be prepared to treat whatever water you find so that it’s safe for drinking. There’s three main methods for this: Boiling: Boiling is the safest method of treating water. Boiled water will taste better if you put oxygen back into it by pouring the water back and forth between two clean containers. This also will improve the taste of stored water. Let the water cool before drinking. Chlorination: You can use household liquid bleach to kill microorganisms. Use only regular household liquid bleach that contains 5.25 to 6.0% sodium hypochlorite. Add 16 drops (1/8 teaspoon) of bleach per gallon of water, stir, and let stand for 30 minutes. The water should have a slight bleach odor. If it doesn’t, then repeat the dosage and let stand another 15 minutes. If it still does not smell of chlorine, discard it and find another source of water. Distillation: The most effective way to remove other contaminants like heavy metals, salts, and most other chemicals. Distillation involves boiling water and then collecting only the vapor that condenses. Tie a cup to the handle on the pot’s lid so that the cup will hang right-side-up when the lid is upside-down (make sure the cup is not dangling into the water) and boil the water for 20 minutes. The water that drips from the lid into the cup is distilled. Emergency Kits The following is built around what you will need as a family when you are away from home. Either kit or backpack can be thrown in a vehicle without a problem. You, of course, can personalize your kit to make it better or to add other needs over time. It’s always good to have extra items in your kit, just in case you come across someone else needing help. Disaster Supply Kit: Keep at least one complete change of clothing and footwear per person in the disaster kit. If you live in a rainy or cold weather climate, also consider including an extra set of thermal underwear, hats and gloves, or rain gear. You’ll also want to pack: a sleeping bag, blanket and extra clothing infant and small children’s needs (if appropriate) first aid kit and manual personal hygiene supplies plastic garbage bags and twist ties (for personal sanitation uses) portableradio(preferablyahand cranked radio that doesn’t use batteries) shovel and other useful tools money and waterproof matches in a waterproof container fire extinguisher compass and map of the area (for locating shelters) disinfectant/disinfecting wipes, hand sanitizer householdchlorinebleach(really important for purifying water) non-electric can opener utility knife flashlights and extra batteries prescriptions (all to last two weeks) glasses/contact lenses copies of important documents (insurance policies, birth certificates, passports paper and pen whistle (in case you’re trapped) You’ll also need one gallon of water per person, per day, to last at least two weeks, and food that isn’t refrigerated: nutrition bars, breakfast bars, canned food, and dry goods. Check the contents of your kit every six months and replace these items (mentioned above) as needed: food, water, outgrown clothes, and weak batteries. These items should be stored in a container that is easy to locate and carry. If the container is not waterproof, place individuals items in sealed plastic bags. The kit should be stored in a safe, secure area that will still be easily accessible in the event of an emergency. Food: Have a two-week supply of food on hand of nonperishable food in your disaster kit. Choose foods that are easy to carry, high in calories, nutritious and ready-to-eat. Individuals with special diets and allergies will need particular attention, as will babies, toddlers and the elderly, nursing mothers may need liquid formula, juices, and soups may be helpful for the ill or elderly. Include vitamin, mineral and protein supplements in your stockpile to assure adequate nutrition. Backpack for Kids: When it comes down to it, even kids need to be in control and not to lose their head. Stay away from bright colors, bright clothing and backpacks. Neutral colors will help you blend in with your surroundings better. Also, water restraint bags can be made easily with silicon spray. Your best bet: Glenwood Canyon Internal Frame Pack by Remington. For only $23, it has many of the same features found on packs that are at least twice the price. For what the kids will be lugging, this fits the bill perfectly! Car Kit: There may come a time where you may have to leave without even being able to grab your bag. You never know what turn of events may take place causing you to evacuate! I hope you never have to use these, but it’s better to have a “bare essentials” kit in your car just in case! Firearms: The Second Amendment to the Constitution states: “A well- regulated Militia, being necessary to the security of a free State, the right of the people to keep and bear Arms, shall not be infringed.” Persons who are not eligible to possess a firearm or ammunition are: fugitives from justice; illegal aliens; unlawful users of certain drugs; those committed to a mental institution; those convicted of crimes punishable by imprisonment for more than one year (which generally covers felonies); and those convicted of crimes of domestic violence. In most states, nearly everyone else over the 18 (You can make “Strike On Box” Matches waterproof yourself and spare the expense of purchasing them! There are several methods but nail polish works well with very little mess.) can own a rifle or a shotgun, and nearly everyone else over the age of 21 can own a handgun. However, it’s not enough to have one. Without proper training, it’s useless. Last but not least, in addition to The Hood Health Handbook, you’re going to need Supreme Design Publishing’s urban survival manual, When It Hits the Fan, which will be released sometime in early 2011. Until then, you have this. Do less consuming and store away. By doing so we’ve already taken major steps to being better prepared for an emergency.
Wash Your Hands!
Did you know a dog’s tongue is cleaner than your hands? Hell, for most of us, a dog’s butt is cleaner than our hands. Why? We don’t wash, and when we do wash, we don’t wash em right. As a result, we overexpose ourselves to germs that eventually get the best of us, giving us everything from strep throat to eye sties to food poisoning. Follow these simple steps to properly wash your hands. Wet your hands with running water. Apply liquid, bar or powder soap. Lather well. This is the important part. Rub your hands vigorously for at least 20 seconds. Remember to scrub all surfaces, including the backs of your hands, wrists, between your fingers and under your fingernails. Rinse well. Dry your hands with a clean or disposable towel or air dryer. If possible, use your towel to turn off the faucet. And that’s it. That’s all you gotta do to keep fecal bacteria from getting into your eyes the next time your rub em. Always wash your hands before: Preparing food Eating Treating wounds or giving medicine Touching a sick or injured person Touching an infant or young child Engaging in sexual activity (you figure it out) Inserting or removing contact lenses Always wash your hands after: Preparing food, especially meat, if you still eat that stuff Using the toilet Changing a diaper Touching an animal or animal toys, leashes or waste Blowing your nose, coughing or sneezing into your hands Treating wounds Touching a sick or injured person Shaking hands with weirdoes and riff raffs Handling garbage or something that could be contaminated, such as a cleaning rag or soiled shoes Handling chemicals or other irritants Of course, it’s also important to wash your hands whenever they look dirty. Other Things To Wash Soda can tops (those cans get nasty between the warehouse and store) Fresh fruits and vegetables (for wax, pesticides, and dirt) Your Penis (especially before you have sex) Baby toys (before you let your child have them, and every few days after) Tupperware (before you use them, and in between uses) Tooth and hair brushes Remote controls, cell phones, headphones, etc… I’m sure you can come up with a few more on your own. Just think about where the germs and nasty stuff are. And wash it. Think of everything you touch. By cleaning and scrubbing off the trash, you won’t worry about it getting the best of you. Want more? Be sure to check out “Wash Your Hands” in The Hood Health Handbook: Volume 1 !
Be Open-Minded for Your Healing
As mental health pertains to spiritual wellness I suggest you do what works for you as sincerely as you can but be careful to “avoid dogma”. In other words, if you practice a religion or culture and not doing your best can result in feelings of guilt, stress, and many other unhealthy feelings. Avoiding dogma and realizing that true spirituality is the connection one has with a higher being within (higher self/higher power) we can be open-minded to all sorts of suggestions from the divinity that breathes through us. Regular meditation, yoga, and affirmations such as “I am healing,” “I am not mentally ill; I’m mentally able,” and “I can do it” can make a great mental and spiritual difference in the life of someone with a mental health diagnosis. It is important that if you feel as though you may be severely depressed or in any other mental health crisis, don’t take it for granted. Talk to someone you trust and take action for your own healing. I was once diagnosed as Bi-polar. Through Holistic Living the symptoms were reversed and the doctor who I was seeing at the time said there was no way I was Bi-polar. I haven’t taken any medication in four years to the date of this writing. Get a doctor who you feel comfortable with, one who doesn’t give you a prescription and send you on your way after three minutes of each visit. Keep the Doctor around in case you stumble but don’t wait for the doctor to tell you that you can overcome, KNOW IT IN YOUR HEART! Then take all the necessary actions to prove it to yourself and let the doctor know what YOU are doing for yourself. Know when to get help and when to be the help. Read the following articles and come up with a way to help yourself and/or community. Want more? Be sure to check out “Wash Your Hands” in The Hood Health Handbook: Volume 1 !
The Survibing Flash Drive
The Survibing Flash Drive includes ways to survive and is the Knowledge of Everything you Need to Rebuild Society if the Power Goes Down, The Grid Shuts Down or the Internet is wiped from the face of the globe. This flash drive will work with out these things. The Survibing Flash Drive includes the Knowledge to Rebuild in a Dead Society with 100 eBooks on the following topics: Plus Excerpts From Supreme Understanding Latest Book, Journey into Emotional Wellness, which covers his Recovery Since the loss of his Wife the Beautiful Mecca Wise. These limited edition stylized flash drives are sealed with a magnetic cap and hang securely attached to a chain.
Black God: The Music Video (Ft. Shiva)
Ever since I got back from India, I’ve been determined to write more and share the journey. For starters, the music is epic. And by epic, I mean literally, like gods and demons and love affairs between the undead. I’ll tell you about how much of that I was walked into in a later post! For now, here’s a video or two that come from that crazy part of the world that birthed my ancestors. [embedded content] And here’s another. [embedded content] Of course, none of this compares to the most awesome film I’ve ever seen with an Indian in it. And this includes those awful Harold and Kumar movies and anything with Aziz Ansari in it. It’s a film called Baahubali, and I learned about it watching Part 2 on a bus to Orissa in southern India. It struck me as epic, like a story of the Gods. Then I realized it was. Baahubali is the story of Shiva, a story that predates anything European in India. And both parts are on the Internet. Just watch it. You won’t regret it. It’s got everything Indian films are known for, from crazy fight scenes to the singing numbers to the moral drama meant to teach us all some important lessons about ourselves. And plenty of explosions. How could you not love this? [embedded content] If you’ve read the story of Shiva, one of the legendary gods described in my last book Black God, you’ll be familiar with some of this amazing story. If you like Part 2, watch Part 1, and then watch Part 2 again. Indigenous storytelling is cyclical, not linear, and this film pulls out the whole repertoire of indigenous Indian culture from ancient times to right before the white folks showed up…so you can watch em in any order. They slipped a ton of symbolism and myth into this film, so its deep if you deep. If not, its still a fun ass movie to watch! Let me know what you think! The post Black God: The Music Video (Ft. Shiva) appeared first on SDP Books.
Why “God” Ain’t a Word Black Folks Play With
Listen to enough conversations in Black America, and you’ll eventually hear a Black man call another Black man “God.” And he’ll mean it. And not in a cult leader kinda of way, but as a serious form of address, often between men who look like they’ve been through some serious sh*t. You ever met a Five Percenter? Like a real one? They’ve all been through some serious sh*t. And these men wouldn’t play with the word “God.” Neither would most people in Black America, because God still means something deep there. So when you hear Black people describing themselves and each other as Gods, you’d naturally want to know why? Are they being serious? Is this just slang? Just some Hip Hop stuff? Nah son. God wouldn’t even allow that. As bad as the statistics are in the hood as it is, every Five Percenter woulda been outta here if our math didn’t add up right and exact. Godhood, in the Black community, is still a serious subject of study and honor. Even people who say it without meaning anything serious know there’s some real Black Gods out there who are what? On some serious sh*t. What’s a Five Percenter, Anyway? The history of Black people describing themselves as Gods didn’t start it in the sixties. As I explain in my book Black God: A Brief Introduction to the World’s Religions and their Black Gods, it goes back to ancient times. Think about it: All the Black people of Egypt seemed to know they were Gods, or at least somewhere in the divine hierarchy of the cosmos. Ancient India (which was Black-skinned until about 1800 BC) also kept up a tradition of recognizing divinity in their men and women. Throughout the rest of the world, dark-skinned indigenous people always saw themselves as one with the divine, not separate from and not lacking in the abundance that is the Creator’s. In other words, our most ancient ancestors, who were Black, knew they were personifications of the Divine, and the power that came with that knowledge. That changed with the introduction of foreign religions, but even those scriptures reveal a path to oneness with God. White people, are you still reading? I know it hurts to read it, but your most ancient ancestors were Black too. Chinese people, you too. All of our earliest ancestors were. We didn’t start out white, we started out black-skinned! Where did white people come from, then? We’ll come back to that! Let’s get back to Black folks. In America, Black people have known of their link to the divine from the moment they arrived here. After all, many brought their sacred traditions from home with them. In some areas, like Haiti, that secret knowledge of divine power survives. And I’m talking bout Voodoo, for you white folks reading. Yes, there’s some real power in Black folks. The Haitian Revolution wasn’t won with bullets alone, you know. How could they have had enough bullets? They beat a whole European nation and nearly bankrupted Bonaparte! That’s why Haiti’s been gettin hated on ever since, and you scary white folks are wrong for supporting/allowing that. Seems like all white folks do is go to Haiti to collection donation money while doing pervert stuff with the people they supposed to be helping! Don’t play innocent, Charlie. The rest let it happen. Nobody gets a pass. But keep reading, you might learn something! All Black People Deserve the Knowledge of Self In the 1930s a “wise man from the East” known as Wali Fard Muhammad began teaching Black people in America about their most ancient past, back to times before the invention of religion or government. Back when Black men were Gods. Master Fard and his leading minister, the Honorable Elijah Muhammad, built the Nation of Islam, which grew to reach millions with their teachings about the inherent divinity of the Original man and woman. In 1964, a brother named Clarence 13X left an NOI temple to bring these teachings to street youth, in the name of Allah. This would mark the first time a Black man had publicly declared himself to be Allah since ancient times, and his teachings would influence millions of others to walk the same path, towards their own self-realization as a Supreme personification of the Divine. Allah’s students nurtured the birth and development of Hip Hop culture as a means for those with knowledge to influence the masses. As you all know, this worked until sometime in the 90s when they figured out what the Gods were doing, and killed the conscious era in Hip Hop! Today, there’s a new wave of consciousness circulating across the planet again, and people are reawakening to the beauty of our ancestors and their dark skin, and what those things have to do with the cosmic order of everything. You can study how melanin is an “organizing force” for life in my book, The Science of Self. You’ll also learn about the reason why Black men and women have always seen their divine counterpart in God, the father, and the Earth, the mother. Typically known as Five Percenters (an allusion to how few they are, compared to the masses who follow society’s miseducation), they’re still out there, here and there, teaching whoever is smart enough to listen and walk the righteous path. For them, Black Lives mattered long before there was social media. In fact, the Five Percenters were the reason New York City didn’t collapse into chaos like other cities after Dr. King was killed. They were also the “Peace Guards” at all of Kool Herc’s early Hip Hop parties. Today, you’ll find em wherever you find Black men and women, although few would boast of who they are. Yet if you’re blessed to know a real one, you know that True and Living Gods and Earths change lives for the better, almost every day! (Excerpt from upcoming book Science of Self Volume Four) The post Why “God” Ain’t a Word Black Folks Play With appeared first on SDP Books.