Our Histories

City of Sayil of the Puuc region, just behind Uxmal is one of the great cities of the Puuc region. The Mesoamerican city reached an extension near the four square kilometers. Among the most important buildings of this archaeological zone of Yucatán, are the Palace and the Mirador.

Chalchihuitán, Chiapas, masks made of carved cupapé wood, stucco, resin and shell, during the Viceroyalty, were placed at the entrance of the small cave of Monte Virgen to simulate a barrier of guardians that would cause fear to strangers and protect So the ceremonial offering deposited in its interior. They were elaborated between the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries. - anon











I have deep feelings of resentment for this law, this distributive way of being, of eliminating identity!!! There is nothing polite or nice to say about this disruption of the flow of our ancestry! I am thinking about all the nations believing in this mess who are self-eliminating themselves as the white man, who created this system of thought hoped!! - Gregory E. Woods, Keeper of Stories [Creek, Crow, African]

Members of the Muscogee (Creek) Nation in Oklahoma around 1877, including some with partial European and African ancestry.

Blood quantum laws or Indian blood laws are those enacted in the United States and the former colonies to define qualification by ancestry as Native American, sometimes in relation to tribal membership. It ignored the Native American practices of absorbing other peoples by adoption, beginning with other Native Americans, and extending to children and young adults of European and African ancestry. ...It also ignored tribal cultural continuity after tribes had absorbed such adoptees and mixed-race children.

A person's blood quantum is defined as the percentage of their ancestors, out of their total ancestors, who are documented as full-blood Native Americans. For instance, a person who has one parent who is a full-blood Native American, and one who has no Native ancestry, has a blood quantum of 1/2. Since re-establishing self-government and asserting sovereignty, some tribes may use blood quantum as part of their requirements for membership or enrollment, often in combination with other criteria. For instance, the Omaha Nation requires a blood quantum of 1/4 Native American and descent from a registered ancestor for enrollment. - anon

*Photo* Members of the Muscogee (Creek) Nation in Oklahoma around 1877, including some with partial European and African ancestry.

CLEANSING TIME!

walking out making a point.

Peace!,
Its Womb Cleansing Time Sistahs!.....


All that hoeing you did in 2016, while in hibernation these past two seasons lol…. It’s time to clean house. All those blockages and toxins. Along with Her just in the midst of the New Moon Phase, Spring Equinox is approaching. As Free And Wild Women, it is a must that we restore our energies, and our Ph. Heal and clean our wombs to restore energy. You off balance?.... Are u doing your Yoni Mudras?....have you been demonstrating your kegels?......have you tuned in to your Root Chakra?...


Let’s build on that. Bless…." ~ Yahminraah Spiritualtemptress‎ [Jan. 30, 2017]

Womb cleansed.

Let this guide you.

Sometimes the smallest step
in the right direction
ends up being the
biggest step of your life.
Tip Toe if you must....
But take a step

- Unknown

Lovers connecting.

“We have to allow ourselves to be loved by the people who really love us, the people who really matter. Too much of the time, we are blinded by our own pursuits of people to love us, people that don't even matter, while all that time we waste and the people who do love us have to stand on the sidewalk and watch us beg in the streets! It's time to put an end to this. It's time for us to let ourselves be loved.”


― C. JoyBell C.

Sharing Telling

Abena Disroe by Kim Johnson 

May 8, 2015

I SHARE because I CARE:

1). HELL is truth seen too late

2). GIFTS are what a man has, but graces are what a man is. ...

3). PERSEVERANCE is failing nineteen times and succeeding the twentieth.

4). A MAN who hoards up riches and enjoys them not.....is like an ass that carries gold and eats thistles.

5). WORKING WITH GOD If I can put one touch of rosy sunset into the Life of any Man or Woman, I shall feel that I have worked with God.

6). TRAILS are medicines which our gracious and wise physician prescribes, because we need them; and he proportions the frequency and weight of them to what the case requires. Let us TRUST his skill and thank him for his prescription.

by Abena Disroe

A couple days after Abena shared this a friend of hers, Randi Payton said "The new pyschos in our mist see hell before it's too late and don't see it after it's too late. We r in a A new reality.

Notes from FitMinds: The New Psychopaths see their wrong before they commit it against you. Then they don't see it after they commit it against you. Then they wonder what is wrong with you."

I don't know what to make of his thinking, but then reviewing my time with sick, dangerous people there is an unreasonable breakup of thought patterns that blur lines within their perceptions. I have seen it in killers, women after abortions, men who have wanted to kill their own, and white policemen sick with sexual attachments to brutalizing other men. There is a lot to what Randi Payton said. A lot of examples running freely in towns and cities with no prohibitions. - Gregory E. Woods, Keeper of Stories [Jan. 22, 2017]  

Man in thought.

"Beloved, let me never imagine I am something. Let me never forget I am nothing.

What grace you have showered upon my being, to have filled this space with You alone."

- Mooji (1.2014)

A Nod to the Applause of Minaj.

Nicki Minaj made a controversial entry at the Grammy Awards,
walking arm in arm with a man dressed as the pope down the red carpet Jan 30, 2013.

"How our young Black stars create illusion from dreams, divine the interest of their peers, interpret the American dream and learn the way money works at the high levels of accumulation comes from not their genius, or creativity, but from the legacy of the generations of Black artists who could not because they weren't allowed access to ownership of soul. I am sure at least the top artists understand this legacy and in tribute, I hope, teach these things to their young impressionable fans. They don't. More often than not they don't. It is evidenced in the youth's behavior and attitude towards life and the fact that so many do not know what Stevie Wonder and Marvin Gaye and Berry Gordon and the founder of BET did to create this state of affairs in the Hip Hop world and its unique vernacular!..."

Gregory E. Woods, Keeper of Stories
Jan. 22, 2017



Nicki Minaj chose a slinky, black Tom Ford dress that allowed her to show off her assets
to the Grammys in 2015.

A L L U R E of naughty.



Allure of a really nasty woman opens up the beast, the animal without control consenting to any desire is an allure the devil sent, or the shadows of a man needs. - Dawn Wolf, Keeper of Stories 5.9.16

 

Freed to Love!

Wild woman's free spirit on her bike.

If you find a woman with a wild heart do not try to tame her. You must adore her recklessly, the way she is meant to be loved.

Do not try to quiet her, for her roars will reach far and wide. She has something important to say. Help her say it.

Do not get in her way. She stops for no one. Do not try to change the path she has chosen. Learn also to love the wind and let it change you....

- C.B. Wild

A Way of Being

Jessica Rabbit seducing

red head posing for Playboy

 

Courtship and Longevity.

If she's amazing, she won't be easy.
If she's easy, she won't be amazing.
If she's worth it, you won't give up.
If you give up, you're not worthy.

- Bob Marley

The deep touch.

Ease, the appearance of

Betty Brosmer was an early proponent of women's health and fitness, and in 1961

she married Joe Weider, whom she knew from the fitness movement.

Clint Eastwood in Rome, Italy 1964.

Hat worn in the 1950's felt a lot different in the texture of the times,

and the ease of life in comparison to today, where we are distant from the

pull of those times and its controversies. photo by Irving Penn.

Teaching Spirit



naked Yola Mola Concha est merveilleux seins nus. (topless)



red haired woman's wild eyes and suggestive body
movements is clearly seen in stillness.

"It is a thought to think about the way emotions and desires move within stillness. Even a wild spirit captured in a photograph comes across as tangible!" - Gregory E. Woods, Keeper of Stories 1.29.16

Kween Ma'at
January 21, 2016  

Guapo Seven Cashburgh

Motorcycle gang circa. late 1960's early 1970's. from gallery of Guapo Seven Cashburg.

 

 

 

OPEN for . . .



Jessica Rabbit seducing 2

Malicious makeup

 

Femme Fatales



Jessica Rabbit & another femme fatale

Jessica Rabbit

 

Thinking Ain't Doing!! Do!!!

3 Things African-Americans MUST Do After Trump’s Election
By Sinclair Grey 
November 28, 2016


The election of Donald Trump as the next President of the United States of America has brought about mixed emotions. For many African-Americans, emotions have ranged from anger to worry. Let me say this – it’s okay to be emotional for a moment because it’s through the expression of emotions that something gets done. We cannot keep our emotions suppressed. To do so will only lead to more frustration and aggravation.

Within a few weeks, unless something drastic happens, Donald Trump will be sworn into office on January 20^th 2017. Just looking at his choices for key cabinet positions, we’re getting a glimpse into how he will run the country. Choosing people with little to no experience to lead departments and agencies shouldn’t surprise too many people, because Trump is more concerned with catering to those who have shown unwavering loyalty to him throughout his campaign. In addition to that, Trump and his administration continues to demonstrate how divided this country is and will be during his presidency.

As African-Americans, we can no longer be party loyalist. Think about it for a moment – more than 90% of African-Americans identify themselves with the Democratic Party. This needs to stop. Am I saying it’s time to switch to the Republican Party? No. What I am saying is that it’s time for us to call out both political party’s. No longer must we allow the Democrats to assume we will vote for them. No more allowing them to pander us for a vote. Let’s face it – whenever African-Americans become so attached to a political party, it’s easy to be misled. Not every Republican is a racist and not every Democrat has the best interest of the Black community in mind.

Because Trump will soon be in the oval office, this is the ideal time for African-Americans to do the following:

1. Start a small business. Because the Trump administration can’t promise they will increase the federal minimum wage, it’s imperative that entrepreneurship be explored. Don’t let other people or the economy stop you from going into business for yourself.

2. Begin to get more involved in local politics. While the presidential election will always garner national and international attention, local elections cannot be forgotten. What happens locally has a way of affecting what happens nationally. If you care about your community and where your tax dollars are going, GET INVOLVED. If possible, run for public office so that ‘fair and just’ public policies can be written and implemented for all people.

3. Protest economically. When injustice shows its ugly face, marching in the streets brings media attention, but an economic protest demands something must be done. When those in Congress and/or those in organizations commit injustice, they listen to protesters when their bottom-line is impacted.

I need to drop this in your spirit – getting too emotional over the election of Donald Trump and the people he chooses can be draining. Does that mean we should not care? Of course not. Does that mean we shouldn’t do our research on the people he chooses? We must definitely do as much research as possible. As people who care about justice, fairness, and equality, we must come together and be solution-oriented. It’s through planning that things will get better.

Dr. Sinclair Grey III is a speaker, author of The ABC’s of Making Business Networking Work For You and success coach. Contact him at www.sinclairgrey.org, drgrey@sinclairgrey.org or on Twitter @drsinclairgrey

White Americans against freedom for Blacks, sovereignty for Red Nations, and against the sanctity of Water and the Feminine Principle. - Gregory E. Woods, Keeper of Stories

Women's March on Washington sign of protest directed towards the heart of President Donald Affront's intent. The humor of this is the power of this. photo by Gaby Grebski.

"Gun protection for a woman is in a special category because their right to defend themselves historically has been in question, denied or taken away by men." - Dawn Wolf, Keeper of Stories

IN the Depth of Her LIFE!

Carmen Dell'Orefice in the 2005 Red Dress Collection for The Heart Truth

Carmen Dell’Orefice, an American model, 83, was at the Kensington museum

to launch Horst. Photographer of Style in 2014.

Carmen Dell'Orefice seated composed at Christmas lunch 2016 II Buco NYC.

Inspired by Carmen Dell'Orefice's life force Sandra Elizabeth Della Chiara  said, "God has blessed you with beauty and health. You are a truly unique woman. I am happy that you share your life as we can see that life does not stop at 50 for women and that we can look forward to many more years of feeling and looking beautiful. Thank you for sharing insights into how to make that happen, you are a role model to many including myself." [Jan. 12, 2017]

Well Laddies

Irish woman

 

Dying Churches?

Dr. Sinclair N. Grey III – Is The Church Dying?

by Dr. Sinclair Grey III for Christian News
December 20, 2016


Sadly and shamefully, there are a lot of churches dying because of complacency. With so many things happening in the world, one has to question whether or not, the church has any relevance. What do I mean by this? Is effective ministry (the concept of serving) being done outside the four-walls of the church? Is the church making a difference in social justice for the least and left out? Is the church about transforming and empowering the lives of many? These are a few questions I raise to ask if the church is dying?

As one who has been in ministry since 1997, I’ve witnessed the ups and downs of churches. From the megachurch to the small storefront church, I have to conclude that many churches along with people inside the four walls of the church do not exude the power of God they profess to have. It’s this lack of power that’s kept so many people throughout the world broken spiritually for so long. I want you to think about it for a moment. You have faithful churchgoers and those who profess their Christian faith living in a state of brokenness. Could it be that one of the reasons for this brokenness is because the church is dying. Let’s face it – a whole lot of shouting on Sunday morning doesn’t equate to power. In a real sense, a whole lot of programs to simply fill up the church calendar doesn’t mean the church has power. Could it be that the church is in a state of busyness and not in the business of transformation?

Here are some things to ask yourself to see if your church is dying. Does your church do the following?

1. Refuse to educate and empower their people politically, socially, culturally, and economically

2. Spend so much time styling and profiling and neglect teaching on relevant topics

3. Brag about stuff and never speaking up on issues that are plaguing their community

4. Hinder people from using their gift(s) to reach those outside of the church

5. Complain, complain, and complain and never doing anything

Because there are so many churches (for this case, Black churches), all over the inner cities, one has to ask the question, why so much brokenness in communities of color? Perhaps the reason why is because the church is dying. Unless a church revitalizes itself, attendance will be down and people will question whether they should even attend church. A dying church attracts dying people. On the other hand, when the church becomes active and involved, it does the following: thrive, grow, prosper, and seek to change public policy to help those who are disenfranchised by systems of injustice.

A dying church in today’s culture is a reflection on many within its leadership structure. As people always say, ‘without a vision, the people perish.’ In the case of the dying church, whenever pastors refuse to step up and step out to confront injustice along with a host of other ills in their community and this country, too many people will follow that poor leadership. A dying church must get rid of any and/all leadership that’s cancerous to its growth. In addition to that, there are so many in the church who need to ask themselves the question, are they contributing to the death of the church with their mentality and actions (lack thereof).


Dr. Sinclair Grey III is a speaker, minister, author and success coach. Contact him at www.sinclairgrey.org, drgrey@sinclairgrey.org or on Twitter @drsinclairgrey

Ronda in the Province of Málaga, Spain.

"Ancient civilizations used this mountain perch in the south of the Iberian Peninsula as a strategic location for fortified settlements, with Romans, Moors, and Visigoths each contributing to the modern-day Spanish city we now call Ronda. Puente Nuevo is the bridge we see on the right side of this picture. It’s one of three bridges that straddle El Tajo canyon, the gap that separates Ronda’s two halves. At the base of El Tajo runs the Guadalevín River, supplying Ronda with water and, these days, another breathtaking scene to delight visitors to the city." ~ anon

Ronda in the Province of Málaga, Spain. Viewed in September 2012 by unknown photographer.

Other than Paris

Helen Hills by Black Lace Boudoir (Sept. 11, 2013)

 

A Woman Telling a Story!

What gets under my skin more than anything is people not living.


I spent sometime in the Kootneys this last week, and bless the Kootneys but I was talking with somebody about someone changing careers and they said, "If I was them I would just lie down, take it and work for another 10 years even if I hated... it to retire." Every molecule in my being detested those words. It makes my hackles raise and my mouth froth resent.You guys--I hate when people don't. live.

What's not living?

Doing the movements--the degree/the debt, the office job, the pension, the mortgage, waking up everyday hating a job you have to work to support the house you didn't really want to buy and the degree you didn't really use for the pension you'll never use because you'll get a dis-ease from your miserability and die before you can enjoy it.

Our generation is blessed with living in a world where we can do whatever the hell we want--we can pull jobs out of our a******* and throw pasta on walls. We live in a cool time--are you aware of what we can do, what you can do? How some of my friends left their 9-5's and started their own business and are absolutely killing it is not extraordinary to me.

I don't think I or they are special. I think too many people lay down in a life they don't love and go, "well, I guess I'm here so... **** it, I'll just stay."

No **** we are a bunch of black out weekly alcoholics. No ****we are addicted to Netflix so we can check out of real life. No **** we get depressed because we feel it is hopeless and there's no point.
The thing that gets the most under my skin is walking around the world and seeing people who have stopped living. I see them on buses and in restaurants and walking on the street and it ******* devastates me. It's ******* miserable. It's a club 70% of our world has prescribed to. I went to shake them and light a fire in their eyes.

You must quit the life you hate to start living. I don't mean brush your teeth, eat, make money, spend money, sleep either.

Start living. -JR (Jan. 11, 2017)

JR at her leisure in somewhere U.S. of 'I do whatever the hell I wanna do!' (Jan. 2017)

Who ever JR is I bet JR is a woman. The cadence of her speech. Anyway, I subscribe to living. It is much easier to live than be someone else waiting for something else for what you don't know is going to happen for you in the long ago from now (retirement)

When JR referred to our generation was she talking about the Baby Boomers? I think JR was because the likelihood of freedom in life would come from that era, not this one. A lot of it has to do with the Baby Boomers. Our generation, for the most part became ex-hippies who found family, career and the fast track. Later the adventurer overtook the complacency of 9 to 5 and off many went unable to resist the voices within their head saying go here, go there, do this, do that before you wrinkle, grow old, and die unfulfilled! From our status, or point of view how do we help this young generation? They picked up our contradictions and applied them alongside the crazy shifts of inconsistencies we modeled for them.

Anyway, enough of that. I assume the good looking woman at her leisure is JR! I am going out to my back deck wrapped up in my large white blanket and smoke a good pipe. My cats will come out to sit with me from their warm places I built for them and we will share some good moments. - Gregory E. Woods, Keeper of Stories

Value. Value misplaced.

Eboni Oprah Hogue asking a group of men, "Hey, everybody. Hope all is well. Question. Do having a a$$ matter. What do you prefer breasts or a$$?"  is like asking to be boned with no commitment to soul.

Black men looked at Raven saying, "What's her IG page. I need to stalk her. Smash & pass so somebody else can smash. She bad asf with innocent face." That is terrifying, but the language some women invite and wiser one's fear. ~ Dawn Wolf, Keeper of Stories

STUNNING WORLD OF SARAH BOWMAN



collage of Sarah Bowman's work during the summer of 2015

 Stunning in several ways. One stunning thing is that after a few hours looking deeply at the images you created it is startling being jerked out of the worlds you recreate and create to see an aerial view of you through your husband's perception. After all, he is the one who loves you and percieves you in ways the two of you need. It is this love that projects you into a series of realities we as fans, or subjects study, or admire. Either way it is touch. All of these images are perceptions we touch that you touch and your husband's touch reigns in a strong masculine way that touches me. - Gregory E. Woods, Keeper of Stories 1.25.16



Sarah Bowman's picture taken by her husband November 10, 2015.

Sarah Bowman Photography
 

Steady in black

Lady Gaga headed to yoga class in New York city on Jan. 25, 2015 in style !!!!

Lakshmi Chandrika

Qui est vous? Who are you?



delicate beauty of a red haired woman in soft light.

"A people without the knowledge of their past, origin and culture are like a tree with no roots." are the words from an Irish person who places emphasis upon being Republican and proud. It is a universal message, a universal truth, a statement logic would decree as a norm. But, knowing who one is is not as common as it once was in older times.

Across the landscape of cultures there were dreams and from the dreams came visions and the visions sought consciously were the simple return to what we knew coming into this world. Vision quests in the traditions that sought them are a returning to a place of knowing from a place one forgot themselves in the social context of their people.

"Who are your people?" is a question my father would ask of people. It is an old question, an important one that is a non-intrusive way of connecting relationships. Without the guide post the griot in West African cultures, and the historian in modern Europe and the United States or the recollections of the storytelling responsibilities held by particular family members so charged with this responsibility families and individuals would not have access to their spiritual and physical lineages.

Popular in American society are the cults of disenfranchised young people without well structured foundations floundering about waving banners supporting what is momentarily trending online. Groundless they express themselves pitifully, from an Elder's view, as Suicide Girls, Gothic chicks, occultists, lesbians, atheists, or join motorcycle 'clubs' heavily influenced by the moodiness of Jimi Dean. I could go on with the examples, but if you are a citizen of most countries you get the gist of my observation.

Older women are increasingly becoming less powerful seeking ways to remain younger and essential outside of the context of the depth of middle age and the powers inherent within the maturing process meant for women. It is a sad state of being. If women are retarding their maturation process towards the Old Wise Woman status, and men are stunting their growth through addictions and incarceration what hope do young people have of ascension into the higher realms of being? Further exploring this tenet of our national ideology what hope has the nation? The level of maturity and the depth of commitment to the higher purpose of serving define and secure the status of being a global force upon the Earth. The tired methodology that served the white man's quest to dominate the world today has the reverse effect upon consciousness.

Unaware of the higher realms of being and the consequences of evil white Americans are pushing an agenda inscribed in death sentences, and death knolls are taking the place of songs of deliverance. In the fear-based quest to remain atop of the world men like Donald Trump are feeding off of the bowels of their being. Feared as a white man, a rich white man many Black Americans are poised to vote for him. So deeply is the devotion to self-inflicted wounds, and submission to dark energies millions across the nation are voting against their best interests. They aren't thinking. They are not strong enough to see into the deep, and they are afraid of not being part of the group that appears stronger than any other upon the face of the Earth.

Gregory E. Woods, Keeper of Stories
3/28/16

Make American Great Again. What a profound indictment in four words!

news paper story of whites killing Blacks in 1898

Madison Washington was an enslaved cook who instigated a slave revolt November 1841 aboard the brig Creole.

Motorcycle gang,

Put Simply

Erykah Badu said, "I think people who vibrate at the same frequency, vibrate toward each other. They call it, in science, sympathetic vibrations."

As a kid and further on into adulthood I could not unsubscribe from the notion it was all magic, just energy lines pulling, tugging, directing and hinting. Following them became a passion and a conviction that they all lead somewhere, and more often than not it was worth the tension of the task and the discoveries along the way. - Gregory E. Woods, Keeper of Stories Jan. 17, 2017