All About Them Mysteries.

Karolina Kurkova by Matt Jones

White women stare into the camera lens of their phones with an idea of themselves that will not, or won't change. If they feel their image thrust upon other women is the center of their powers they don't understand how change creates the flow pattern for the return of power to those whose powers were taken by aggression, mean spirits and a specific kind of envy. Power like water returns to its source. Land upon water is land upon water because water allowed land to surface from the below. Awareness is water and moves this way in our state of being alive.

White American women's assumptions of superiority are mere assumptions standing in the water which in itself is impossible to do unless one is standing in shallow waters. At what point does this type of womanhood stand in the depths of water with the grounded strength of being whole in a fluid form? This mystery is a riddle, the riddle being one of existence, and one to ask of the womb! - Gregory E. Woods, Keeper of Stories 6/30/18 


[I wrote this a few days before a stroke, and days after returning to the States from Puerto Rico.]

La Toya Seduction by Roland Dawson, the mystique. 

The mystique has long been an asset for a woman in cultures that held authoritive advantages over the influences of the feminine energies. It is a startling recollection to those among us not cognizant of the vast range of world history on this subject. Sometimes, Roland Dawson, you do this stirring of the intellect and the imagination in simple settings...

You imply a lot in little spaces. That is quite the gift your way of matching; no playing with the sensual tease and the intellect!.... - Gregory E. Woods, Keeper of Stories 11/30/18 

Loss of Self, Loss of Father, Loss of Soul.

I don't understand the last part of the sentence: "... paid for with the currency of the heart." Perhaps because I keep thinking about my father's last months with this condition of the soul!

I was watching Daddy's soul during this dreadful period as he died with Alzheimer's, and it haunts me to this day what I saw, and with what I perceived and learned. One thing was clear eventually: Daddy's soul suffered. There was a vacuity none of us want to fully embrace because it is a terror with no thought process. It has its own scent, its own movement and time; it suspends over an uncertain substance. . .

Maybe I do understand your claim: Alzheimer's' is a disease of the brain that is paid for with the currency of the heart." ~ Gregory E. Woods, Keeper of Stories (first born of Herbert and Constance B. Woods) 8/29/18 

Daddy dancing at his grandson, Lemuel's second wedding December 4, 2010. 

Will Ever Learn.

beauty in the hat by Adam Gadomski.

"Man can resist what he has never had, yearn for what he does not need, and stand in awe of a woman he never met..." ~ Gregory E. Woods, Keeper of Stories 12/10/18 





















Dynamic, proud woman whose strength is in the number of her strengths and their relation to each other woven together.

Lola Marie flirts with the unknown the way pretense shies away from the authentic self. Greek mythology likes to appraise its culture against either the lie it told, or the truth of where they learned. Adulthood requires the truth to build. In the sexual and practical lives of too many unfortunate souls is the interference of a disingenuous probe into their daily lives. Black White People (Wasicun Sapa) like to build bridges between who they were told to be, and who they were meant to be in their lifetime! So much was placed upon denial, and to such a degree lives shorten themselves effortless in those addicted to the roles they were told to embody... ~ Gregory E. Woods, Keeper of Stories 12/11/18

the Hope to Break free!!

Black Woman in blue by Ike Slimster

There is a lot of space to be filled with the stories about the essence and the survival of Black African daughters, who have come from a dark past in relation to Europeans. But, there are the centuries before our Dark Centuries with the whites, we do not talk about because we only think of ourselves in terms of enslavement. This dark space in our souls is our history connecting us to Europe after we opened the world-at-large to them. There is no Europe or America without the Blacks from the Land of the Blacks!. . . ~ Gregory E. Woods, Keeper of Stories [August 8, 2018]

Ancient Today.

Ank worn subtly by this woman enhances something so subtle it cannot be touched, but touch is its core value...The symbolic power of a thing is a symbol, but the power of a symbol is inherent within the spiritual practices the symbol is made to embody. The cowrie shell from the spiritual practices of West African cultures and the Kemit symbols from the north of the Black continent and from all directions of the Land of the Blacks, the spiritual powers of ancient peoples are potent, even in dormancy. - Gregory E. Woods, Keeper of Stories 8/16/18

African woman's exquisite beauty...

Darla Crane is a direct competition to the promise of commitment to the principle of devotion to the essence of African womanhood. Perhaps the energetic pull is lust, or it is a merely a childish dare to see what lies beyond. These are the things to ponder as an African in the aftermath of the era of European conquest. The search for identity has to be wrestled from the command of white power over our consciousness. - Gregory E. Woods, Keeper of Stories 8/22/18

2 point out.

Storytelling of this sort is terrifying because it ends with aging and death. Unable to see, and embrace sacred process the ability to embody spiritual powers is neglected in the process of 'raising' children, and not part of the practice of living in American culture. It began this way. Unexamined millions of tragedies feed each other to sustain the angst of life in the States. It is a strange insistence to remain in the incompleteness of an existence, but one that is very American!

The answer to this riddle is in the weave of its design.


Gregory E. Woods, Keeper of Stories
August 15, 2018

Old woman and her cats.

"[This] Old woman in a short blue dress and an nasty feel to her style of expression is something of a force of reckoning to stand in front of by what is missed. In this absence is the feel and drive of her need for sex..." ~ Gregory E. Woods, Keeper of Stories 8/13/18 

the pussy of Lindsay should be valued, not by its moisture or feel, but by its inherent sacredness. The problem is in the word sacred and how in American psychology removing crudeness from American perception is unheard of by our social norms. Women in European/American  history are not more than 50 years into being respected by white men! That group of men are important for validation because their ideologies are centered around taking and killing! One cannot say it enough. "White men hold women in low standing, not as their equal." ~ Gregory E. Woods, Keeper of Stories 8/13/18 

Is There This in Life: our Answers?

Naked Black woman. Deep beauty, overwhelming powers. This is a book cover for Chika Unigwe's book titled, "On Black Sister's Street"

"Is this lust? No, this is power, the power of beginnings. Every Black man needs to develop himself, to ready himself for the 'one'. That is just one story told here..." - Dawn Wolf, Keeper of Stories 6/10/17

Is This Lust? 

https://www.instagram.com/isthislust/ 

body of Iskra Lawrence by photographer, Heather Hazzan is a white woman.

photographer, Doug Ochoa took this photo of Abby Parece. There is a lot of trust between the two!

I don't know what inspired William T. Stoddard to write this after seeing the photographic work of Doug Ochoa, but it deserved a listen:

"Criticism often produced a feeling of isolation, a feeling of you and me, separated by a great divide. We learned many defense mechanisms at an early age, thinking that a good defense would be the best protection from further reproach.

We have continued this approach as adults. Whether it’s a confrontation with a stranger on the street or an argument with our partner in the bedroom, we believe that we need good excuses to explain ourselves and good logic to defend ourselves. We behave almost as though we were professional negotiators, our own little lawyers." [May 24, 2017]

A Look Back

Dyan Cannon on phone in the '60's

Sophia Loren in a breeze.

Helen Mirren, actress "Woman In Gold" 

‎

Beautiful and stunningly beautiful white women from days gone by formed and support the opinions about what was the standard for this and the last century.

Look at this gallery. It is more of a tribute. Women like Kim Novak and Sophia Loren featured in this gallery of poses, who set standards today's woman glances at in their mirrors for glimpses. Yes, this is a tribute to the influence of white women in our sensibilities. This gallery of comparative photographs skips through the mid-twentieth century with darlings like Caroline de Maigret and Lucille Baugh! Audrey Hepburn set the standard of elegant poise and the long forgotten Isabel Jewell!

If you look close and beneath the assumptions they are all white women, whose influence framed the network of thought and esteem Black women from then until now hold as mirrors. In the strive for freedom Black American's struggle for identity begins with images framing their perception of themselves.


Gregory E. Woods, Keeper of Stories
October 14, 2017

pretty legs of Ginger Rogers.

Anna Q. Nillson in 1920. 

Mae Busch's exquisite beauty in 1922. 

Hedy Lamar in the style of the 1940's.

Tormented Story, Released Spirit!

Note to Rachel Gunn:

I took the time to place your narrative in a correct form, and closely read your story. There is a profound shift in perspective you traveled through to become and hold a perspective this honest. There is a lot felt in my Being from you to me. You trick all who were, and are taken by how you present yourself, but I had mastered a trick my parents taught me, and looked for a revelation.

We all ache to tell our stories. Yours requires attention to detail an aroused man cannot grasp with clarity... There is a lot in your story, and out of habit I will study your words. Maybe, I will share what else I have learned from you. - Gregory E. Woods, Keeper of Stories (9/30/18)

Rachel Gunn over the decades... has a story to tell.

Story of Rachel Gunn:

OK, It's been a few weeks since I vented so here I go. Not that anyone is going to read this long ass shit. I posted the center pic on Instagram today which is a modeling picture when I was around 35 years old. So a guy commented on the pic what he thought was a compliment which said Wow, you must be 20 years old there. So beautiful". 

Maybe he thought it was a compliment, but to a 43 year old woman as myself it's not, because instantly it saddened & angered me. It's essentially saying that "Wow, I looked so good when I was younger, but I'm not 20......I'm 43". The reality of it is that in the middle picture I was around 35 and it is a modeling pic so yeah, it was probably airbrushed. The picture on the far left. That is really what I looked like in my twenties when I was 25. Yes, I looked really different. I was an ugly duckling & bullied & teased for the way I looked. The picture in the middle is 35, and the picture on the far right is from a few weeks ago, the age I am now, age 43, no airbrushing. I don't airbrush my selfies. This is me. 

I put a lot of work and time and money into trying to improve myself. I have jogged thousands and thousands of miles over the years, spent thousands and thousands of dollars on plastic surgery, eat well, try to live a healthy lifestyle.. basically doing all I can to try to maintain what I have & to improve myself. It saddens & disgusts me that this society, especially this country celebrates youth so wholeheartedly & makes getting older, especially in women, seem like something to be ashamed of. You don't know how many times I've been made to feel bad for the age I am, for getting older, how many times I've been insulted because of my age, how many times I've been made to feel like I shouldn't be able to do the things I want to do because I am too old, the opportunities & doors that close because of my age. 

Why in other countries is aging celebrated and the elders respected while here women are made to feel like they are washed up and should just pretty much die already. Not everyone has the opportunity to grow older, unfortunately; so shouldn't aging be something to be thankful for? 

For the past 20 years I've been on this endless quest for perfection trying to attain these unrealistic beauty standards just so I'll maybe, for once, think I'll be at peace with myself, & then I'm reminded again that: "No, I'm not 20, that I'm getting older and that eventually the heads will stop turning & nobody will notice me anymore." That is something I have to come to peace with. Our faces, our bodies, our outsides all eventually deteriorate no matter how hard we try to fight it; but our insides, our soul, our spirit, that is what remains infinite & lives on into eternity. It would be nice if this world wasn't so shallow, if more people could look beyond the outer shell into what lays beneath, but realistically that is not how it is. Therefore, not only myself, but many women & men will ride on this endless roller coaster to attain the ideal embodiment of perfection. Honestly, as much as the insults hurt regarding my age, I wouldn't want to be 20 years old again. I have fought so hard to be who I am today. 

I hold wisdom my 20 year old self knew nothing about & my legacy will not be the mask I show to the world, what you see on Facebook, but my beautiful children, these special beings I created who I love more than anything & am so proud of; the connections I've made over the years, people I've made feel better: my spiritual being. That is real life, not bodies & faces & beauty, & the sexuality that society abuses & I myself bought into. So try to remember to honor & respect the fact that we all do age & to realize that getting older doesn't have to be a bad thing, but a beautiful thing to be applauded. I'm not just going to sit in my room & curl up into a ball & rot away because I'm 43 years old. 

Sorry. Everyone is unique & beautiful in their own way, despite weight, looks, age, sexual orientation, etc. So next time you insult someone because of their age or looks or only hold those you think are physically beautiful in high regard, remember you are not only hurting the other person but yourself; for you are missing out on the true meaning of what life is & that is having heart & seeing others for what is on the inside. I wish I wasn't so hard on myself, and could see myself how I see others, but I can't. I will lose my looks, but I will never lose my heart, that will never perish. Sometimes I just need to remind myself of that. Then maybe one day, maybe I'll be at peace. Yeah, it's cheesy. So what. lol. 

Sara Gunn 

March 23, 2018

Rachel Gunn, as a nun, in a photo shoot with D.W. Enterprise Images, LLC. 

photographer Wade Edwards, in St. Louis. April 24, 2018.

We are all intrigued by Nuns, who have taken sacred vows, who are seeped in dark secrets contrary to their vows. All the questions we have are answered by what we deny being cognizant of... Sometimes, we are our own lies... - Gregory E. Woods, Keeper of Stories 9/30/18

SEEN in the interior of the Soul. . .

The outstanding is astounding! In women seeing themselves in the admiration from men is a value system. In fact, memories stirred by looks means something adheres to what people value: worth. Are beautiful women observed, or their beauty perceived? Do beautiful women believe in the ideal from those who admire them, or lie about how important it is to be admired for beauty? Are we wrong needing Beauty, or women needing to be seen as beautiful?

Simple questions, but at the beginning of puberty the question is raised by the consciousness of general society. It is our parents our validation should come from, or at least, the form of family once held that status. Now, with Instagram baby sitting children, and informing them value has become a vague sense of being accepted by strangers, by people a child will never see face to face. Ain't that some shit? ~ Gregory E. Woods, Keeper of Stories 4/28/18

naked. Marilyn Monroe.

Art as Woman.

"Modeling style and modeling clothes can be the same, but more often is not because those who try do not know they have to develop the abstract with the practical application of beauty and intelligent forms of analysis to produce a better feel to establish what can be, or is beautiful!..." - Gregory E. Woods, Keeper of Stories 4/25/18

Elizabeth Ashley photographed by John Darko Chapman titled 'The Widow',

body paint by Jon Jon Loveless. (Sept. 11, 2016)

Pins ups raised moral during the World War II.

Hot Chicks With Classic Cars

[The] pin up girl in the 21st century evokes the exact same emotion in men's response to them, as in the 20th century. The difference is the openly expressed opinions of women in public forums not liking the trend and those who've made money, and acquired some sort of fame, online, exposing themselves in sexy, or daring ways for a variety of reasons outside of the sanctuary of what was required to get women out and from the dark life matter. - Gregory E. Woods, Keeper of Stories 3/15/18 

pin up model Gina by Miss Missy Photography (sept. 9, 2013) !!!!

vintage car and a hot chick!

"Hot rods in the 1950's were regarded one and the same as having a hot chick!

In those days, white boys acted out this dynamic in dangerous ways and in their play!.." 

Dawn Wolf, Keeper of Stories 

Woman to Woman!

Helen Mirren Praises Kim Kardashian For Being 'Shameless And Proud

Queen of cool, Dame Helen Mirren has praised stars of today – namely Kim Kardashian – for changing societies perceptions of what is beautiful and acceptable for women.
In an interview with The Telegraph, the Dame revealed that while she is not a fan of the Kardashian’s per se, she loves the way Kim, along with other stars including JLO and Madonna, have "raised their middle fingers to this epithet of 'slut'".
"I’m not into the Kardashians – it’s a phenomenon I just don’t find interesting, but – and this is the big word: B-U-T-T – it’s wonderful that you’re allowed to have a butt nowadays," she said.

"Thanks to Madame Kardashian, and before her, JLO. We’re also allowed to have thighs now, which is great too. It’s very positive."

The 70-year-old actress says that when she was growing up, it was deemed "unbelievably sluttish to even have a bra strap showing".

"Everything was about women conforming. I love shameless women. Shameless and proud!"

by Jessica Bosco

Helen Mirren as contemplation is either an ideal, or the sensuality she exudes is a whiff of confidence born of an assurance she will perform in life, as well as on film excellently. Also, she's beautiful! - Dawn Wolf, Keeper of Stories