I am so tired of hearing my sisters boast that they "don't mess with other women." More than half of the women I come in contact with in various social settings LOVE to tout their inability to get along with other women. Since when did this become the new normal? And at what cost? Hmmmm....perhaps this is the addendum to
Willie Lynch's letter...arguably one of the most heinous crimes on paper against the African Peoples of the Diaspora to date. Perhaps in the section entitled "The breaking process of the African woman" in which WLynch breaks down how the male image must be damaged and destroyed so that the female feels alone and unprotected...emotionally frozen and stuck in a psychological state of independence, a footnote was added that explained the importance of destroying female relationships as well. Perhaps by destroying any possibility of true love between the male and the female, the female is forced to acculturate into a male-dominated society thus taking on the characteristics of the new misogynistic male. Henceforth, a misogynistic female, or a female who hates her own feminine counterparts, is as unnatural and detrimental to the healthy advancement of mankind as is a misogynistic male. When one sister encounters another sister, beauty is reflected. For a woman to employ a general attitude of dislike for other women implies a serious imbalance. There are many confounding factors at play here and a multitude of deep-seated underlying issues that affect a woman's ability to connect with her sisters. More often than not, I have observed, these issues stem from childhood. Mothers often underestimate the impact that their words can have on their delicate offspring. From overly critical ridicule and judgment to feelings of inadequacy and shame, when a woman proudly boasts that she cant stand other women, you can rest assured that there are deeper emotional blockages that lay just beneath the surface. Women's societies and circles have been an important part of indigenous cultures since the beginning of time. The very prevalent absence of this sentiment among many women today is a sign of the times that I hope to help eradicate. When we truly love ourselves, we can love our fellow sisters (and brothers). When we can affirm ourselves, we can affirm other sisters. The "crab in the bottom of the barrel" syndrome that I have witnessed all too often among my sisters is disheartening and I pray that those sisters who think its cool find their way to this self-affirming meditation:
Affirmation Meditation
- Change into loose,comfy clothing so that your sitting is not restricted in any way
- Find a quiet place where you will not be disturbed
- Sit comfy on the ground, with your legs outstretched or crossed
- Close your eyes and concentrate on relaxing each part of your body
- Begin at the tips of your toes and envision the blood flowing throughout your body to the top of your head, the Crown Chakra (Sanskrit) or your Ori (Yoruba).
- Once you are focused on your blood flow, tune in to your breathing pattern.
- After 2 to 5 minutes relaxed breathingk, channel your attention towards your thoughts and feelings. Let them roam free for a while in your mind, 1 to 2 minutes.
- Next, capture your thoughts and move them to the outer space of your mind. This is called "Clear Your Canvas" meditation.
- Expeditiously push all thoughts that race for the center of your mind to the outer edges, far left/far right,etc.
- Try to focus on your clear canvas, that is, the pure space in the center of your mind, entertaining no thoughts that try to invade that space.
- Now focus on healing. What does healing mean to you? What thoughts come into your mind when you think on the word HEALING?
- If there are any people, places or things that come into your mind that have caused you pain, allow them to gather in the center of your mind.
- Hold them in place there letting nothing leave.
- Chant to yourself or aloud, "I am love. I give love. I receive love. I am Love.
- As you affirm yourself, pour pure white light into the center of your mind. The more pure white light you send, the more that bundle of hurt begins to erase from your mind.
- Keep chanting. Feel the Divine love. Keep pouring pure white light into your mind until the space is clear and there is nothing there but your canvas. Feel the victory of letting go.
- With a clear mind, continue to affirm yourself using words of your choice. i.e., "I am beautiful"..."We are, therefore I am."..."I am powerful", etc.
- Keeping calm and still, continue this exercise as often as your busy schedule will allow.
Peace Be Unto You.
