Cheer You Up Part 2

The sound quality is not great, but this is still BRILLIANT.  I defy you not to feel good when this is on.

And when the coronavirus crisis ends, you can celebrate to this.  And it WILL end.  We WILL win.  We WILL NOT BE DEFEATED!

See also:  This Should Cheer You Up (Bobby McFerrin). 

See also:  Bob Marley, Three Little Birds. 

Stay well.  Stay safe. 

Please share.  Thanks. 

Bob Marley, Three Little Birds

Bob Marley singing "Every Little Thing's Gonna Be All Right" - how can we NOT be uplifted by this music?  It makes my heart sing.

I've not heard this dub version before, and it's great.  This is what I've been missing.

In these difficult, challenging coronavirus days, we need music like this to lift our spirits.

Remember, the Law of Increase says whatever we dwell on increases.  Whatever we focus on increases.  That is the power of the human mind.  We are immensely powerful.

We have a choice - we can focus on the problem, or we can focus on solutions.  Either way, our results are influenced by our thoughts, feelings and emotions. 

Plus check out Bobby McFerrin, "Don't Worry, Be Happy".

Stay well, stay safe.

Please leave your comments below and please share this with your networks and with everyone who needs it!

15 Affirmations for Anxiety

Affirmations for Anxiety

When we control our minds - our thoughts, feelings and emotions - we control our lives.  Our thoughts really can, and do, change our experience.  This is why peace of mind is so important.





I have come across this great post, 15 Affirmations for Anxiety.  They are not just for anxiety, they are for peace of mind - and for life!

In these troubled, anxious, worrying times, we need peace of mind more than ever.

My ebook, The Power of Affirmations, can help you to create affirmations to bring about any changes you want in your life.

Go here to download it from Amazon.com

Go here to download it from Amazon.co.uk 

For more help with affirmations to help you focus the power of the universe, contact me for a FREE consultation.

This Should Cheer You Up

Bobby McFerrin - Don't Worry, Be Happy.  In these difficult, challenging coronavirus days, we must look after our mental and emotional health and remember we can have fun - even in lockdown.

These lyrics are always uplifting.

We have a choice - we can focus on the problem, or we can focus on solutions.  Either way, our results are influenced by our thoughts, feelings and emotions. 

See also:  Iyanla Vanzant:  You Don't Need to Be a Virus Victim!

Please share this with your networks and please leave your comments below.  Thanks.





 

Domestic Violence + the Coronavirus Crisis

As we all know, for many, the current covid-19 outbreak is having tragic, even lethal consequences.  And the long-term impact on the economy is yet to be seen. 

The global lockdown in the wake of the covid-19 pandemic is having many positive, beneficial consequences.  Street crime, burglary and other crimes are down (although cyber crime and internet fraud are on the increase).  The air quality has improved, and the impact on the environment means that fewer are animals dying.  Go here for more about the positive aspects of the coronavirus.  It's useful to have a fresh perspective. 
 

However, one of the many downsides is that people locked down togther for an ongoing period of time are more likely to experience domestic violence.  Some sistas are locked down with their abusers - and even their killers.

For Black Women Suffering Domestic Abuse, Coronavirus Quarantines are Life-Threatening.

Four in 10 Black women experience physical abuse. We’re also more likely to endure psychological abuse such as humiliation, bullying, name-calling, coercion and control.

Although we are being told, "Stay inside, don't go out", the message to any woman in a violent situation remains:  Get Out!

Go here for more about how to escape from a violent situation, and where to find resources to support you.  Remember, our self-care MUST be our priority.

Go here for more about how the coronavirus is disrupting all of our lives - as well as being potentially postive for our future. 

Go here for more about how we can look after our mental health during the coronavirus crisis. 

And, as we all need to smile and laugh more than ever these days, go here for some coronavirus humour.

Please share this with your networks and please comment below.  Thanks. 

Iyanla Vanzant: You Don’t Need To Be A Virus Victim!

Excellent advice from Iyanla Vanzant about how to keep yourself and your loved ones safe, well, and (relatively) sane during this coronavirus crisis.  

Want to boost your immune system?   Please watch the video above, comment below and please share.  

Some say laughter is the best medicine.  Check it out:  Coronavirus Lockdown Humour.  

I am continuing to post content about health and healing, and bolstering your immune system, as well as stuff to make you smile.  For more great content, go here to join my online group, The Key to Everything. 

Stay safe.  Stay well.  

Yes, the Collapse of the Stock Market Is Coming

Dr. Boyce Watkins makes some interesting points. According to him, yes, the collapse of the stock market is coming.  As it has many times before.  

Spoiler alert:  The stock market will recover.  As it has many times before.  

He is probably right.  

He also says only 1% of people will catch the coronavirus.  Here's why I don't agree:  

• If someone coughs or sneezes, the droplets remain in the air for THREE HOURS; 
• the droplets can remain on a surface for several days; 
• the virus is so small it can fit through minute gasps in a face mask; 
• mass testing is not being done in the U.S. or the UK, therefore we are not monitoring how many people have the virus, or where they are; 
• healthcare workers are not being tested so they may be infecting others. 

I could go on, but I'm not tryng to depress you.  

I reckon pretty much everyone will get it.  But most people will have only mild symptoms, so it's nothing to worry about unless you have underlying health issues - like me - or are aged over 80.  

Anyway, please watch the video above, see what you think, comment below and please share.  

See also:  Coronavirus Lockdown Humour.  


I am posting content about health and healing, bolstering your immune system building and  stuff to make you smile.  For more great content, go here to join my online group, The Key to Everything. 

Stay safe.  Stay well.  

Six-Year-Old Girl Arrested

This six-year-old was arrested, taken out of her classroom and led away in handcuffs.

I have a lot to say about this.

First of all, I have blogged more about outrages against our Black children, and other children, here.

And here.

And here.  

My work is about solutions.  See below for solutions.  But right now, I need to vent.  I am just so upset.

Have you heard about the Black children who have committed suicide because of bullying?  And the mom who was banned from the school her daughter attends, because she she confronted her daughter's bullies?

And now this story.

One of the questions in my mind is:  What was going through this police officer's mind?  What was he thinking about when he went into the classroom, put handcuffs on this little girl, led her out of the building and put her in a police car?  What on earth was he thinking about?

He is a grown-ass man, arresting a six-year-old.  What is wrong with him? 

Also, who ordered a six-year-old to be arrested?  On what grounds?

Do these people even realise that they are part of a racist narrative?  Because this is the kind of thing that has been going on since slavery.  And in South Africa, remember in Soweto, they SHOT loads of children who were protesting against apartheid.

So what are these people thinking?

I am going to be blogging more about this soon.  But in the meantime, if you want some information about solutions, including Nonviolent Communication (NVC) which can  PREVENT this kind of thing from happening, go here for some NVC resources.

Please share this and please comment below. 

Stop the Violence, Stop the Killing

Phillip Spruill, 11-Year-Old Boy, Commits Suicide

        

If you have been reading my blog posts, you know that I am passionate about ending the violence.  Ending the violence within the Black community.  Ending the violence within Black families.  Ending the violence against our young people.  Ending the violent acts our young people are committing against themselves and each other.  Ending police violence against members of the Black community.

I want to see an end to all violence experienced by everyone, everywhere all over the world.  And my community - the global Black/African community - is my priority.

Below are some news stories I have seen recently.  You may have seen them, too.  Each and every one of these stories breaks my heart. Bullying is something that blights children's lives.  In some cases, bullying has cost children their lives.  And it can be prevented. 

As you know, if you are familiar with my work, I am very solution-focused.  Nonviolent Communication (NVC) is one highly effective method of PREVENTING violence.  See below for more information about NVC.

Let's end the violence together.

9-Year-Old Girl Commits Suicide after Months of Being Bullied at School. 

11-Year-Old Boy Commits Suicide after Being Bullied about His Weight

11-Year Old Boy on Life Support after Suicide Attempt

Alabama Police Set Up and Falsely Arrested 1000+ Black Men

And now for some good news:  

Black Father Helps Teen Son Build Business - At his son's request, this father dropped a case about racial bullying within the classroom.  Instead, they built a new business.  Well done!

Let's talk solutions!

Nonviolent Communication 9 (NVC) is based on EMPATHY.  Go here for books about NVC and nonviolence. 

Go here for more NVC Resources.

Life Sentence for Stealing $9

Willie Simmons Alabama Man Life Sentence for Stealing $9

This Alabama man is in prison for stealing $9 in 1982. 

Willie Simmons, a 62-year old Black man from Alabama, has been behind bars for the last 38 years for stealing $9. He was convicted of 1st-degree robbery and was sentenced to life without parole in 1982 due to Alabama’s Habitual Offender law. He already had 3 prior convictions.  

Go here to read more.  

And remember, there are proportionately MORE Black people in prison in the UK than in the U.S.A.

See also:  How to Escape from the Prison System. 

Please leave your comments below and please share this with your networks.  Thanks.


 

Celebrating Coretta Scott King with Dr. Barbara Reynolds

Dr. Barbara Reynolds of Black Women for Positive Change on Coretta Scott King - mother, organiser, campaigner, and widow of Dr. Martin Luther King.

See also:  "MLK on Why Black Is Beautiful".

Go here for more Black history blogs.

Please share this with your networks and please leave your comments below.  Thanks.

How to Have an AMAZING Year in 2020

As you may know, my book, Success Strategies for Black People, contains loads of practical methods to bring about positive change in your life.

I wrote this book specifically for Black people, i.e people of African heritage.  I talk about universal methods from which we can bring about positive change.  At the time, I was passionate about this work - and I still am.

What I realize now, in hindsight, is that I wrote the book as a response to the trend I see among Black people - waiting for others to rescue us.

Don't get me wrong, Harriet Tubman is a great shero of mine.  She has been my inspiration for many years, since I was a young child.  And she did a lot of rescuing.  Harriet Tubman was an amazing woman. And we have a lot to learn from our ancestors, the great leaders who came before us, like Harriet Tubman. 

We have to rescue ourselves.  And positive change starts within, it starts with the individual.  Harriet only helped other people escape from the plantation after she gained her own freedom.  And she knew that some people are more afraid of freedom than of slavery. 

Positive change begins within.  It begins with self.  And once we have liberated ourselves, we can help to liberate others in our families and in our communities. 

We have enormous power, but we don't use the power we have.  For more about this, see:  How to Get Clear, Precise Answers. 

If you seriously want to make positive changes for yourself, and/or for others, buy a copy of Success Strategies for Black People.  It can help you change your life.

Go here for more African American holiday shopping. 

And have a AMAZING year in 2020!   

Please share this with anyone who can benefit from it. 

Black History: Malians and Moors in America before Columbus

The Columbus Map from 1490

We all know and understand that Columbus DID NOT discover America, despite what we were taught in school.  As my Dad would say, there were people already living there.  

Columbus had maps which some people say he bought from the Moors, others say he bought them from the Vikings.  He was NOT searching for a route to the East via the West; he knew exactly where he was going.  He landed first in the Bahamas, and subsequently in Hispaniola, which is now Haiti and the Dominican Republic.  On his third voyage, Columbus landed in what is now Trinidad. 

It would have been easy for Columbus to obtain maps, hanging around the ports, in particular Bristol, while waiting for Ferdinand and Isabella of Spain to finance his venture.  He would have met many other sailors and heard tales of their adventures. 

The Columbus Map was drawn in Columbus's studio in 1490.  See above.  By Bartolomeo and Christopher Colombus - This image comes from Gallica Digital Library and is available under the digital ID btv1b59062629/f1 Public Domain.    

It is said that his sailors were required to keep quiet about the maps on pain of having their tongues cut out.  

There is a great deal of evidence that many peoples had visited the Americas prior to Columbus's "discovery" of them. 

Malians/Mandinkas from West Africa were among the peoples who travelled to the Americas.  The Moors from North Africa are also said to have sailed to the Americas.  Africans had sailed there from 100,000 BC and stayed for tens of thousands of years. 

The Carthiginians from the country now called Tunisia, in North Africa, also travelled and produced a gold coin which showed the Americas on the reverse. 

The Chinese, Japanese and Vikings are also said to have travelled there, as are other Europeans. 

The Malians brought elephants with them, and a Malian inscription found in Arizona states that "the elephants are sick and angry".   

Go here for more Black history blogs and African history blogs.  

Please leave your comments below and please share this with your networks.  Thanks.  

 

 

Black History: Lupita and the Warrior Women

Black History the Dora Milaje

People all over the world enjoyed the Black Panther movie. The film broke loads of box office records – and so it should have. As Lupita Nyong'o states, Black Panther was one of the highest-grossing films of all time.  I personally have seen it three times – so far. 
 

Black Panther featured the Dora Milaje – an army of women warriors whose responsibility it was to protect the King – the Black Panther.

These women were amazing – beautiful, fierce, brave – they showed incredible courage and skill.  Lupita Nyong'os character was not a member of the Dora Milaje - she played a spy who was also fierce and beautiful, and who also displayed some very impressive fighting. In the end, she put on the Dora Milaje armour and fought the battle for control of Wakanda.  

Last night, Lupita presented a programme on Channel 4 as part of their Black history season.  She discovered actual, historical African warrior women who had the job of protecting the King. It is online for the next 30 days, so I urge you to watch it if you have not done so already, or even if you have.  

Black History Walks gave a presentation last year about the historical basis of the Black Panther movie, in which Brother T. gave several examples of warrior women in Africa, who protected their monarchs.

In Dahomey, now known as Benin, Lupita discovered an historical army made up of thousands of women warriors - the Agoji.  The Agoji were press-ganged into serving, went through rigorous training and were required to obey the King.  They fought the European powers, particularly the French, who had invaded and occupied the area (and many other territories around the African continent).  

Although the knowledge about the existence of this female army is inspiring, we learned that they were also required by the King to invade other territories, notably the Yoruba territory in what is now Nigeria.  They abducted many men and women, and some of the women were enslaved in Dahomey.  Both men and women were also sold into Transatlantic slavery under the orders of the Kings.  Thus, it is also a shameful history.  

Again, watch it while it is still available online.   

Go here for more African history blogs.  

 

Young Woman Shot by Cops inside Her Own Home

This 28-year-old Black woman, Atatiana Jefferson, was shot by the police in her own home and died instantly.  A neighbour, James Smith, had reported seeing something, and now the neighbour is blaming himself.  No, it seems to me that the fault lies squarely with the police.  


This is one more reason why we need nonviolence and Nonviolent Communication (NVC).  NVC is changing lives all over the world.  And this is one more reason why I hold the annual Blogging Carnival for Nonviolence.  

CBS News say this is causing "outrage", and of course, it is.  

Jefferson's family are demanding answers.  

Please leave your comments below and please share this with your networks.  Thanks.  

A Little More about NVC and Me

I have already talked a little about my personal journey in A Little about NVC and Me and Why I Am Committed to Nonviolence.  

I started to explore Nonviolent Communication (NVC) around 2003, and it had a profound effect on me.  

Go here for the Blogging Carnival for Nonviolence 2019.   And go here for information on how you can submit your blog post. If you have ever given empathy to, or received empathy from, someone, at home or at work, or in any context, please blog about it and share your experiences with the world. 

As I have said before, Violence Begins at Home.  I grew up in a family in which I experienced an enormous amount of verbal violence on a daily basis, as well as some physical violence.  My mother was (and is) severely mentally  ill, and never received any treatment for her condition, which was, and remains, undiagnosed.  

I was subjected to constant, daily bullying and undermining for many years.  Nobody helped me or supported me, apart from my piano teacher, who was very kind.  But other than her, the people around me gave me the message that I did not matter.  I did not count.  My feelings and needs did not count. 

I carried these internal messages for many years.  When we receive the same messages repeatedly - be they positive or negative messages - we internalise them.  That is the way the human mind works.  And, as we live in a racist society, we are subjected to daily negative, racist messages, and we internalise them.  This is why we experience so much self-hatred, and why we find it so difficult to work together and to trust each other.  

I am unravelling my self-hatred and replacing it with self-love, but I still have work to do in this area.  Of all the methods I use, and share with my students, NVC has had the most profound effect on me.  NVC is based on EMPATHY. 

As I said in Why I Am Committed to Nonviolence, our self-talk continues to affect us.  

Children and young people who are exposed to violence in the home are more likely to become involved with violence outside the home.  And, as part of the legacy of slavery, our families often use violence - both physical and verbal violence.  I am sure my mother was profoundly affected by the racism she experienced on a daily basis when she was a young person. 

Of course, violence affects every community.  But my community - the global African community - is my priority.  

In order to address the violence affecting the young people in our communities, we, as adults, first need to address our own patterns of behaviour - including our self-talk. 

The violence affecting our young people has to stop.  This has to stop.  If you agree, comment "Yes!" below.  

Please share this with your networks.  And please submit your blog post to the Blogging Carnival for Nonviolence 2019.  

 

Black History: How Sammy Davis, Jr. Desegregated Vegas

 

It's not very well known that Sammy Davis, Jr. single-handedly de-segregated Las Vegas. I saw a documentary about this a few years ago.

I am dropping Black history all over my neighbourhood in South London at the moment. I walked into Holland & Barrett one day and this song was playing. It sounded like Sammy to me.  So I told this story to a couple of the younger members of staff.

Back in the 1950s and '60s, Sammy Davis, Jr. was known as one of the world's top entertainers. He could sing, he could dance, he could act. In many ways, Michael Jackson was similar to Davis. Sammy starred in the original Ocean's Eleven, along with other members of the Rat Pack.

Naturally, the hotel-casinos wanted Davis to perform for them. Every week, they sent him telegrams begging him to come and perform. They always offered him a beautiful, luxurious trailer in which to stay.

I asked them, “Why did Sammy not accept the offers?”. They couldn't answer the question. So I told them:

He wanted to be able to stay in the hotel, not in a trailer out back. The white performers, such as Frank Sinatra and Dean Martin, stayed in the hotel. As their Rat Pack co-star, Davis wanted equal treatment.

They then asked me, “Why couldn't he stay in the hotels?”.

So I explained: Because of racism. That's how segregation worked.

I continued: This went on for weeks and weeks, months and months, until one day, one of the hotel-casinos finally caved. They said, “okay, you can stay in the hotel”. Sammy responded by saying, “I have to be able to eat in the restaurant and play at the tables if I want to”. “Okay, Sammy, whatever you want. Just come and perform here”.

But Sammy had more demands. “My band members must be allowed to stay in the hotel, eat in the restaurant and play at the tables if they want to”. “Okay, Sammy, whatever you say”.

And that's how Sammy Davis Jr. personally de-segregated Las Vegas. Similarly, Michael Jackson de-segregated MTV.  

If you want to know the truth about Black history, go here for some ofmy Black history blogs.

Please leave your comments below and please share this with your networks. Thanks.

Check out this article which states that Frank Sinatra supported Davis in de-segregating Las Vegas.

A Little about NVC and Me

As you will know if you read and listen to my blog posts, I am the founder of the Blogging Carnival for Nonviolence.  We hold the Blogging Carnival every year as part of the Week of Nonviolence with Black Women for Positive Change.  

I am passionate about Nonviolent Communication (NVC).  I have published many blog posts about NVC and interviewed a number of NVC practitioners.  You can read some of my most recent blog posts here. 

I first came across NVC in or around 2003, when I read Nonviolent Communication by Marshall Rosenberg.  This book really changed my life and changed me as a person.  I subsequently attended several NVC trainings, and now I lead workshops in the community. 

We are experiencing an upsurge of murder and other violence in the UK, and this is touching my neighbourhood in South London, as well as many other places.  Both gun crime and knife crime are on the increase, and this particularly affects our own Black youth.  Obviously, I am very upset about this, and I am sure you are, too. 

NVC is a practical solution.  We can end violence though using NVC skills.  We keep telling each other the situation is terrible, it's awful.  In every conversation I have with people around my local area, and across London, we always say it's terrible, it's horrible.  But that's not enough.  We need to end the violence.  We need to have the skills to do this.  

NVC has had a powerful effect on me as a person.  I blogged about this in Why I Am Committed to Nonviolence, and I shall blog more about this.  But for now, I am blogging about the violence all around us, the bullying in our schools, the violent behaviour of our Black youth.  NVC offers a solution.  It's often about prevention.  And EMPATHY is at the heart of NVC.  Ending violence starts with ourselves - with us, with you and me.  It starts with the inner work we need to do.  

The violence affecting our young people has to stop.  This has to stop.  If you agree, comment "Yes!" below.  And please share this with your networks.  Thanks.  

See also:  Why I Am Committed to Nonviolence.  

Mom Banned from School after She Confronts Daughter's Bullies

Christian Tinsley:  Black Mother Banned from School

       
 A Black mother was banned from her daughter's school after confronting the child's bullies.  

When Christian Tinsley learned that her daughter was being bullied and sexually harassed at school, she instinctively wanted to protect her child. However, when she confronted her daughter’s bullies, the school responded by banning her from the school’s property.

A group of boys was bullying her on a daily basis. Tinsley said her daughter has been targeted for racist and derogatory harassment and bullying for months.  

Many people would say she did what a mother should do - she protected her child. 

Go here to read more. 

See also:  9-Year-Old Girl Commits Suicide.  

NVC (Nonviolent Communication) is about EMPATHY.   Terrible incidents such as these can be prevented when we have the skills to do so. 

Go here for the Blogging Carnival for Nonviolence.  

Please share this with your networks and please leave your comments below.   

3 Reasons Most Black People Don't Become Wealthy | Valerie Love

 

There are many Black people who are wealthy, or who have wealth consciousness and are on our way to becoming wealthy.  Valerie Love freely acknowledges this.  But - 

- 80% of the people who win the lottery become broke again.  

- we are spending our money on things that will not help us to attract and build wealth. 

We need to understand where poverty mentality comes from, where and how it originated in our communities, so that we can change this.  

Actually, I think the reason why a lot of our people are still broke is that we have poverty consciousness, as she says.  We need to change our thoughts, feelings and emotions in order to change our lives.  We need to change the words we use about money and abundance.  

Plus we are still dealing with the long-term effects of slavery.  The legacy of slavery.  And we need to heal ourselves so we can have the future we deserve.  I say this all the time.  We have a lot of healing to do. 

Where does our poverty consciousness originate from?  Please post your answers below. 

See also:  Wealth-Building for Black Folks.   

Want to have a better year in 2020?  Start reading my manifestation blogs.  I've listed a few here.  

And download my ebook, Secrets of Manifestation.  It is still FREE at this time.  After you have read it, contact me for a free consultation. 

Here's to your success in 2020!