10-03-22 9:44 am
hello world
this morning I woke up with a long list of to be dones
critical to be dones, but I had been working on a
baobab bottletree on dalle and had some words in mind
figured id run a couple of options before i got busy
hour later I must have 200 variations of this woman
After seeing a 1000 dazzling renditions of stuff
you get jaded and you think the public is going
to adjust to a new level of visual stimulation
and if you want to stand out in this crowd
out of 100 dazzling variants you got to choose
the one that’s gon actually stick culturally
this is not the best, the best i dont put online
anything i put online im giving it away,
price of being in the dialogue
promotion promotion promotion,
so i got to embed some text
this is not the first time ive fallen to obsession
and be like, rick, stop burning up time on a diversion
but my obsessions eventually become part of
my literary skill set, bluesharp, performance
mbira, imovie, etc etc, and now AI graphics
but i got to discipline the obsessions
make them work for me instead of on me
Finally I had to talk myself down
sir, i need you to step away from the keyboard
9/5/21 5:22am the cuse
(a librarian of timbuktu w//books saved from raiders intent on burning them)
hello world,, my research extractions last couple of months:
a handbook of wisdom, pyschological perspectives by steernberg
the psychology of meaning in life
suffering and the search for meaning
what is this thing called the meaning of life
the experience of meaning in life
finding meaning the 2nd half of life
the oxford handbook of meaning in life
wisdom, from philosophy to neuroscience
philosophy and the meaning of life
essential skills in family therapy
the quest for a moral compass, a history of global ethics
the oxford handbook of wisdom
and more, i dont have time to list them
(or read them truth be told)
maybe three of those above i just read the kindle sample
the book on suffering for instance, and family therapy
often you can extract what the book has to say
From just the outline and the intro chapter
but sometime like the oxford handbook of meaning you
got to read the whole damn thing and with textbooks
we often talking hundred dollar price tags
some ive rented and at least with those i
get thru them with the quickness
i really really miss my school research fund
they woulda comped me for all of them
office secretary once told chair he cant
possibly be reading all these books,
chair said yes he can
ive done maybe 100 samples this month
and everyday my readings lead to 10 more
and i realized just today im reading goddamn textbooks
im reading thru in days whole semesters of reading
no wonder i am burnt the fuck out of wisdomquesting
but my god the knowledges i have found, i could do thiis
forever
and as i hoped all this wisdomquest knowledge
has begun to seep into both life and work
and everyday im zooming w/students
im spose to be coasting in my retirement and not
only am i working hard as ever im in uncharted
territory and just fumbling thru
okay, speaking of students
one of my new students is raring to go
boiught the books i told them to read
says he can give 30% of his time to training
(in spite of running his own company) offered
to meditate an hour a day (i told him too much)
so im responding to that energy and we
scheduled bi weekly zooms that im likely
gon cut back to once a month but i was
laying out a dev program for him, they are
all diff, and realized i want to start his
magical training right away - he's ready
we have already set up a guided
meditation session, what else,
how do i train young magicians to do magic
im kinda lost here, all i know is it wiull take
years to turn him / them into high magicians
so HHM3 gon be about magic but Im
not sure what to say other than
my basic high magic and folk magic bit
which theyve heard repeatedly
my pedagogy here got to bust thru
their mundane lives into the magical
how do i go about making them high magicians
ok, consider this in 3 phases
journeyfolk, pilgrims and travelers
(interesting all journey tropes)
journeyfolk - beginners
pilgrims - trained adepts
travelers - grand masters
okay what skill sets should each phase build
lets start with the skilz i say high magicians have
determine how you achieve those skills separately
then how they are fused into mastery
then come up with a lifeplan that will enable that
okay, excerpt from previous post:
the cutting edge of hoodoo doing high magic these days, according to rdoc
- conjurework: playing with reality / mind / spirit
- soulwork: forging homesoul into a spiritual work of art
- souleasery: hoodoo blessings healing troubled souls / cultures,
- rootwork: ameliorating the human condition: missionwork
- destinywork: shaping generations into the people we would have them be
- godwork: prophetic attunement w/divinity: centerwork
lets start with 1 - conjurework: playing with reality / mind / spirit
(appears everythiong is 'work' to me, conjurework, soulwork, destinywork, etc, interesting
this feels all too complicated
might work for my understanding
but i fear confuson for them
let me start with basics
after much pondering i long ago landed on a definition for magic:
'making real into the world that which was not'
maybe i should explain that to them - and me
it wiil benefit me to articulate my magical theories
been doing it so long i no longer think about it
but when i was a baby sorceror i pondered magic
as i now in my maturity ponder wisdom
how do i train him / them in wisdom
an even more impo skill but actually i am
actively programming wisdom training
its magic i got to figure out
iim tired, i will work oin this later
back to reading those fucking textbooks
the next big thing is doing extractions, ima get thru
two more books and 10 samples (1st had 20, fuck that)
then spend next two weeks extracting useful riffs
im gone, ii might have to take a couple of days off
when you dont have the stamina the focus to do
a modest amount of daily grind it means your
system is shutting down and you need to step
away for a moment if you dont want to collapse
i gotta go
wait wait one more poinnt, if i dont write it as i think it i will lose it
for each one of those skillsets do a beginners, intermediate and master phase ??
ii gotta go
extractions entail reading thru text
note highlighted passages and use
to generate my own riffs
then det where in text those 100s / 1000s
of riffs go, then cleaning up results
extractions is the most labor intensive
and i should have been doing them
right after reading book but i have
stalled and now am faced with a
fucking mountain of extractions
i am so tired
of making many books (& students) there is no . . . .
hello world
HHM: 09/03/21 - the high hoodoo of memphis: on mythworks & conjurations
(a hh missive sent to my students, w/poster above attached)
the high hoodoo of memphis is a title
I chose to carry some years ago
I read ‘the bluesman’ by julio finn, in it he
called bluesfolk ‘hoodoo lords of the delta’
for years I carried that title, then one day
the protagonist in my current novel became
the high hoodoo of memphis
and that became my title in my head
this is hooked up w/efforts to establish memphis
and the delta as an afrospiritual holyground
and a historical role, the high hoodoo of memphis
so I est a process much like one we discussed about
establishing your hoodoo name
for many years its kept secret but gradually it becomes public
and the culture identifies you by it – you grow into it
in the novel the neighborhood legend is that he is the high hoodoo
but he keeps denying it in the classic refusal of the prophetic call
and eventually embraces it in a confrontation at
the crossroad with his best friend, Staggerlee
this confrontation represents a conflict between
afrospiritual and gangsta impulses in the culture
but I start mythworking it for myself, maybe a year ago i added it to my bio for certain
gigs and when stax and the univ of memphis called I knew it was showtime
so I put the high hoodoo of memphis in the bio they asked me for
sure enuf they bit the bait, now im being promoted as the
high hoodoo of memphis by both stax and univ memphis
reason it resonates is because hell I really am the high hoodoo of memphis
just wasn’t no title for it
now ima be all over social media implying that folk in memphis
actually do call me the high hoodoo of memphis
yes yes, I will confess, it is I, the legendary high hoodoo of memphis
you got me
and ima play the role, play it hard, figuring it out as I go along
once again I will with my life define what the high hoodoo do
this is the process of conjuration
conduct yourself as you aspire to be and you are
the babajohn trained us in mythwork
mythwork is a primary power of the tribal medicine worker
cultures are shaped by the myths they believe to be reality
jesus rising from the dead, the infallibility of the founding
fathers etc etc etc, damn near all religious dogma is myth,
including african, loas, ancestors, etc, that aint reality
just another set of myths we choose to believe
who knows what happens when you die
death myths are designed to make dying ok
but the competent high hoodoo is in self a mythmaker
this means 1) you are not subject to the myths of others
even afrospiritual myths, myths are myths, believe the ones
you choose to believe as long as its to your benefit
but dont worship myths, don’t enslave yourself
to illusions - even good illusions – use them
the other advantage of mythwork is its thru myth
that visions are made real in the world
example being highjohn the conqueror, a relatively recent
mythwork by zora neale Hurston during wwii when she
conflated the john the trickster slave tales w/the conqueror root
and came up with highjohn the conqueror who in cultural
circles is now a fully fledged mythical character
representing the will to win in afroam culture
the myth that I am trying to build is blackfolk as a chosenpeople
(yes yes I know, have to avoid chosen people pathologies)
but I have to convince blackfolk they have point and purpose -
I have to convince blackfolk they have a destiny to live up to
the illuminated children of the sun
guide and guardian of human destiny
there are a lof of components in planting this myth
I wont go into all of them here
the pertinent one is - as you know, im trying to retool hoodoo
as an instrument of cultural and spiritual redemption
also trying to forge a hoodoo secret society
that will be a power in the future
the hoodoo hand
and trying to found a font of spiritual authority
along the lines of the pope or a grand ayatollah
a hoodoo master
the high hoodoo of memphis
to do this I have to forge a myth of myself
as the initial high hoodoo of memphis
then let it evolve thru the generations
(with guide rails to ensure reform as nec)
you may recall when we talked about your hoodoo identity
about choosing a hoodoo name that represents the mythical
you of power, that’s whats happening here on an advanced
plane, recall ii said its kept secret until youre strong enuf
to withstand public doubt
it was about a year ago I started laying this conjuration
and now im being promoted by stax / the univ of memphis
as the legendary high hoodoo of memphis
and ima take steps to make sure that title sticks
that performance at stax, rdocs traveling medicine show
me and my hoodoos buddies gon blow their fucking minds
the high hoodoos of memphis in ritual concert
and every chance I get ima mention / write it
and its gon embarrass me running around claiming
to be the high hoodoo of memphis when there
no such thing
but there will be after me
and in all my obits, and in the historical record
it will be noted that he was the legendary
high hoodoo of memphis
you may recall us talking about building
facilitating institutions to implement
your destinical visions and strategies
mythworking myself as the high hoodoo of memphis
is part of that institutionalization. - as are you
and the hoodoo hand, my little
hoodoo secret society
(which by the way has a dual leadership)
the public leadership, the high hoodoo
and the hidden leadership, the hidden hoodoo
which represents the future when I fall
im not going to put the hidden hoodoos name here but
those of you familiar with my history can figure it out
long ago she surpassed her teacher
(if you don’t surpass me Ive failed)
another dynamic this represent is what I been calling dimension work
how to travel between dimensions in order to shape / play w/reality
the high hoodoo of memphis is a character in my novel
that I am now trying to manifest in the real world
we have spoken about how metafiction does this
the example here is mumbo jumbo, which I have asked you to read
mumbo jumbo transformed afroam culture
before mumbo jumbo the big dogs of afroam liit were all christians basically
after mumbo jumbo the significant players considered themselves african word sorcerors
masters of nommo: a dogon word: the power of the word to transform reality
and where the writers / artists go the culture soon follows
one day we will discuss how he pulled that off
but the examples here are both literary hoodoos
who were able to manifest literary tropes into
the real world and transform the culture
destiny playas
when I tell you I expect a Text from you I expect a Text
creative works from the artists, texts from the academics
memoirs and self help works from all of you
hoodoo grimoires
not only because it is a dialogue w/future generations / a legacy
not only because it allows you to get Paid w/o living off folks pain
(and poss Paid well I might add, I got buddies who are millionaires off their Works
we call it ‘passive income’ cause you aint got to do nothing else for it, a good Text
will not only pay you royalties for the rest of your life, it will pay your descendants)
but because it forces you to come to grips w/your life
a process which will transform / illuminate you in FA
destiny playas
forging sacredworks, a body of sacred literature
like the bible kinda, maybe, somewhat
not a book but a library of sacred texts
and I need not tell you how much that particular
body of sacred works / myth has shaped humanity
god I love the game
be safe
arf: the high hoodoo of memphis
WHERE IM COMING FROM
did this for the new folk in the mix, went thru the old missives
and cut out all the slush to come up with a doc I can give new
folk that lays out where im coming from
training folk in the tradition to hoodoo like I do is a new move for me
im kinda stumbling thru but one thing ive learned is to go w/the flow
OLDSCHOOL AND NEW
mostly when folk hear hoodoo they thinking slaverytime hoodoo,
spirits, spells, hells and blackcat bones, folk magic hoodoo.
I propose retooling hoodoo as a high magic system instead of folk magic. I propose
an evolution of hoodoology, into what I call high hoodoo, custodial hoodoo,
hoodoo that takes responsibility for the well being of a chosen community.
Hoodoo that operates as tribal medicine folk in a contemporary frame,
Tending to the cultural / tribal soul thru cultural
products designed to Work / Heal the culture
MAGIC, FOLK AND HIGH,
hoodoo today is still primarily a folk magic system, part of a family of
afrospiritual traditions, ifa, vodou, , candomblé, obeah, et all, the bulk of which
are religious systems, fusions of Catholicism and various ATR traditions.
early in my practice I abandoned folk magic as a viable paradigm and
started retooling hoodoo to be a viable indigenous spiritual system
folk magic was fine for a folk people but we aint been
a folk people for generations, that’s the hoodoo past
the cutting edge of hoodoo doing high magic these days, according to rdoc
- conjurework: playing with reality / mind / spirit
- soulwork: forging homesoul into a spiritual work of art
- souleasery: hoodoo blessings healing troubled souls / cultures,
- rootwork: ameliorating the human condition: missionwork
- destinywork: shaping generations into the people we would have them be
- godwork: prophetic attunement w/divinity: centerwork
MGANGA MAUA: ON SPIRITDOCTORS AND MEDICINE FOLK
I enjoy doing hoodoo performance work in Africa cause they thik afroams have lost their
afrospiritual chops and I show them no, we just doing something diff with them. After one
such ritual performance in nairobi, folk started calling me mganga maua, witchdoctor flowers,
they said, I translated that as medicine man flowers, ever since I have called myself operating
as a contemporary tribal medicine man, the tribal healer in a contemporary / global context.
THE GREAT GRIOT MASTER OF BROOKLYN:
my vision of the hoodoo future and custodial hoodoo has been shaped in part by
the 16 years I studied with babajohn Killens, the great griot master of brooklyn
who taught us not only how to write but how to be writers, taught us how to
be visionaries, what he called being long distance runners, what I call the
longgame, shaping our generations into the people we would have them be
also this come from my own trajectory as a literary hoodoo and the
early abandonment of folk magic as a viable 21st century paradigm.
talking to mama whodun, closest thing I know to a hoodoo queen,
she say the appropriators doing the hoodoo they have read about,
but by the time its been written down we’ve moved on, this a
living tradition, she say
RETOOLING HOODOO
so, early in my practice I begin retooling hoodoology for a
21st century sensibility, trying to transform it into a spiritual
tradition, a wisdom tradition, for instance, webster says to
hoodoo somebody is to hurt or harm them. According to
rickydoc to hoodoo somebody is to bless or heal them.
CUSTODIAL HOODOO
because it is a living tradition every generation practice different, the salient
question then is how does the hoodoo way manifest in our day and time
I call what I do custodial hoodoo because I prioritize taking
responsibility for the well being of a chosen community
that community has traditionally been your neighborhood / tribe but
in a globalized world that community can theoretically be everybody
the tribal medicine woman / man operating
in a modern and even visionary context
LITERARY HOODOO
my brand of hoodoo has also been called literary hoodoo,
because it is manifested thru literary / sacred works
sacred literature, wisdomworks, holybooks and the like
that Work the tribal soul thru working its culture
I was trained as a cultural organizer by the babajohn. He trained
his legions to shape generations thru cultural products
my understanding is that one cares for the tribal soul by monitoring it
through its cultural products, contributing what it needs to balance out
its weaknesses and emphasize its strengths, minimizing the dysfunctional
and emphasizing the transformational, accentuating the positive,
eliminating the negative and not fucking with the in between,
the hoodoo premise, according to my boy rickydoc, is you ensure the
health of the tribal soul and everything benefits, when the tribal soul is
healthy, its people live healthy, vigorous lives, their culture produces works
that enlighten the entire human race and become part of the worldspirit,
my understanding is the criteria for a viable indigenous
tradition is what quality of life do its believers live,
based on the bottomfeeder status of blackfolk all over the globe
and in every quality of life indicator we clearly have work to do
taking the african way of god to its next stage, whatever that is
basically saying if vodou was doing its job haiti wouldn’t be in the shape
its in, same thing could be said about hoodoo and afroam culture
CONCENTRIC CIRCLES OF CARE
the biggest thing about hoodoo identity far as im concerned
is that you understand yourselves as tribal medicine folk
responsible for the well being of your tribe
and that tribe will consist of whoever you want it to
consist of, you are members of many tribes
family, friends, neighborhood, race, humanity, etc
what I call concentric circles of care
I am by nature and training responsible for the
welfare of blackfolk, hoodoos traditional role
but in the globalized 21st century we got to
reach beyond tribal into the universal
healing and empowering afroam culture is our immediate responsibility as
tribal medicine folk - but we also looking at the immensity of the human condition
which is basically humanitys ongoing
quest to be better / greater than we are
UNIVERSALIZATION AND THE GREAT WAYS
accordingly I want to position hoodoo as one of the worlds great ways
I believe the question which will define the globalizing 21st century is which
cultures will make the cosmic cut and shape the generations of the future,
and which will die out -
I want afroam to be one of the worlds significant cultures, the magical
negro wrote large, I have to make afroam culture so strong, so
illuminated that others admire, emulate and adopt it, refine and finesse it
a world in which everybody want to be black
THE ILLUMINATED CHILDREN OF THE SUN
I want blackfolk / culture to be so strong in spirit, so powerful a people
that no matter where in the cosmos we find ourselves in the foreseeable and
unforeseeable future, that blackfolk not only survive and prosper as a race
and culture but that they are illuminated and empowered unto eternity. . .
the illuminated children of the sun
but also I have learned what every black leader worth their
keep must, cant just save your own, got to save everybody
got to transcend the tribal into the universal
got to universalize the hoodoo way
make it one of the worlds great ways
I have had to expand my sense of responsibility
for tribe to that of all humanity, this I think is the
role of hoodoo in the globalized 21st century
we must work with both hands and /
serve both blackfolk and all humanity
as 21st century hoodoos in my line I expect you to be about
making a better world, howsomever you choose to do that
THE PROPHETIC IMPULSE
in the global spiritual competition of the great ways the african way of god
has lagged globally, often not even counted as a valid way of god by the
global spiritual community categorized under primitive / tribal religion
all the great ways go thru periods of reform and illumination, the prophetic impulse
I call myself positioning hoodoo as the prophetic system in the ATR family
1) because it means that hoodoo will always be on the cutting edge of spiritual and cultural evolution and
2) it means I / hoodoo will not subject to the authority of the ATR traditions. I man wish
to remain a mystical tradition, not a religious one festooned with rigid mythologies.
I see the hoodoo relationship to ATR akin to
that of the sufi and islam, in it but not of it
according to Hyatt IN HCRW the hoodoo principle is anymethod anytime -
the propensity of hoodoo to break the rules of magic with a patchwork quilt of
procedure in search of what works, a refusal to be restricted by rules and traditions,
a bastard tradition kinda like the african american culture that sustains it,
every hoodoo I know practice different, I can work with that
FUNDAMENTALISM AND THE HOODOO FUTURE
but tell hoodoos there is more to life than folk magic and they
go fundamentalist on me, fundamentalist resistance to hoodoo
evolution used to bother me but I now see it as process
What I hope to do is provide a new model of hoodoology for the hoodoos
to come, I will with my life define just what it is a high hoodoo do
I have pretty much given up on convincing folk in my lifetime, that
way I don’t have to expend myself begging folk to see what I see
my dialogue is with the generations of the
future thru what I hope will be sacred texts
and training folk who want to hoodoo like I do
okay this brings us to you
ELDERSHIP: NEEDING TO PASS IT ON,
I have been immersed in my own ministry but
in my 70s now I can feel myself in decline and it
has suddenly become impo to me
pass on what I have figured out
also my cultural profile has become such that folk
who are sufficiently intrigued reaching out to me
so here we are - stumbling thru
what I have figured out so far is to go with the flow, to
be patient and not try too hard to shape you right away
it is a process of years
- 1st you got to get deep into meditation / work on your soul
- then you got to get deep into the study of magic
- in particular high magic
- and you got to get your literary chops together
- and learn how to produce Works in the midst of your daily grind
- you have to gain cultural orchestration skilz / be an organizer
- a competent ideological orchestrator w/a functioning cosmology
- be capable of moving the multitudes thru performance and exhortation
- contribute to the struggle and the amelioration of the human condition
- build facilitating institutions
- shape your legacy / reaching for Fa and
- godhead / oneness w/divinity
that’s all
this is not the task of a couple of months / even years
this is a good 10 years of training if we lucky
(god lord willing and the creek don’t rise on an elder)
clear to me I got a short shelf life, likely wont get 10
problem is I want my results tomorrow
I wanna be this new improved / wiser hoodoo person - tomorrow
I want you to be this new and improved hoodoo person, tomorrow
but thats not how it works
anything of value takes years to manifest, in particular soulwork
so ima need you to start thinking in hoodoo time that
encompass past present future and mythologic - eventually
I want you to think in eras and generations, destinywork
just kidding / fucking w/you - my bad
for the moment I want you to accept loss of instant gratification in favor of a longer
achievement frame, assume that every phase will take at least a year and possibly more
start meditation practice now - be a year before youre good at it
start a Text now, be a year before you got a viable draft
any transformative goal generally will
take longer than you thought it would
in order to fulfill that responsibility there are
certain esoteric skill sets I got to train you in
the quest for wisdom for example is never ending
but these are the estoric skilz you must master to
be the great hoodoo
got to teach you magical meditation, in which you
learn how to vitalize imagery until real in the world
soulwork: in which you shape your soul into a spiritual
work of art, o traveler, life as pilgrimage
and magical transformation, in which you learn how
to shapeshift thru dimensions, two headed folk
in the realworld I am a novelist and political intellectual
in the spiritworld a sorcerer and prophet of the hoodoo way
part of your meditational practice will be enabling the
ability to exist in multiple dimensions, a traveler
w/the ability to play with reality, to conjure, to
make real into the world that which was not
but I cant do any of these until
you have basic competency
1) a hoodoo identity, 2) meditational
practice, 3) magical /conjurational skilz
yes we doing baby steps, I AM, but
cant get to 2nd gear wo going thru 1st
I tell you scholarship
I cannot emphasize this enuf, a high magician is a scholar
if you not into scholarship you will have a problem walking this path
you gotta have a love of learning, a love of knowledge, vision and insight
I once had an undergrad ask me in class ‘how are you, you know,
teaching in a prestigious univ, if you, you know, are a hoodooman.’
told them high magicians have always been scholars, told them the
true magician strives to stay on the cutting edge of knowledge about
the nature of the world, above and below, taking it a step further,
experimenting with the further reaches of the potentially divine human
mind, a conjunctive state of mind, will and way that enables the aspiring
magician to utilize timeproven magical and ideological technology to
shape the destiny of humanity, to shape the fabric of reality, to conjure,
if you will, master of time, space & being – what I call -
turning the key in the hoodoo lock -
my premise here is that the visionary artist / practitioner / change
agent uses the prophetic vision to see as far into the future as possible
and anticipate the changes / crises / opportunities the tribe will have
to overcome in its generational struggle for survival and prosperity,
the aspiring destinyplaya then determines what cultural traits
will be necessary to meet those challenges and tries to program
them into the culture / tribalsoul through ageold technologies of
magical / literary / ideological orchestrations, cultural custodianship
thru Works serving as cultural instruments,
the competent high magician maneuvers to influence those strategic
points in the life of an individual or a society when the shape of
the future hangs in the balance – working at the crossroads
turning the key in the hoodoo lock, in
DE GEAS OF RICKYDOC
cast your vision, young hoodoo, as far as you
can see, determine the challenges the tribe will
face, prepare the tribal soul to meet them.
(or you can spend your life marketing love potions
and hot foot powder to folk desperate for guidance)
THE LONG HAUL
the quest for spiritual and literary mastery is forever
the thing is to never quit, once you enter upon the twisted
path you never quit, everyday you will be tempted
when you running long distance you adjust to the terrain, you pace
yourself, at all times taking sustainability into consideration
a stable life is a productive one
and you must always be willing to do a
little more than a ‘normal’ person would
to dream a little bigger
to work a little harder
TRAINING AND THE DAILY GRIND
whatever transformative training you embark upon
has to work within your daily grind - pace yourself
and also I got to accept this path aint for
everybody, folk come and folk go
folk determine they don’t actually want to do
what I do, or don’t want to pay the freight
I can live with that, long as I keep
reminding myself, patience rick,
go w/the flow, whatever is is
folk come and folk go
you got to maintain
MY JOB
my job as I see it, is to facilitate your growth / identity as great hoodoos
preferably high hoodoos, custodial hoodoos, destiny playas
legendary hoodoos of historical stature and significance
taking care of the tribal soul / culture thru our Works
giving it what it needs, extracting what it don’t
your job is to take what works
for you - reject what dont
the most significant thing about hoodoo identity far as Im concerned
is that you understand yourselves as tribal medicine folk responsible
for the well being of your tribe
if not service what is the point
of late my sense of responsibility has expanded to incorporate all humanity,
this I think is the role of hoodoo in the globalized 21st century
the global griot – each w/a contribution to be made
to the amelioration of the human condition
each unto self an army
MISSIONWORK
accordingly I believe all high hoodoos should have a hoodoo mission
some lifeplan contribution to the amelioration of the human condition,
as a trained adept you will leave a legacy, only
question is what you want that legacy to reflect
what do you want the generations of the
future to think / feel when they think of you
I will give you the power to make a difference
what will you do with it
ONE LAST EXHORTATION
I have made the importance of meditation clear
I assume you have not maintained it
please recommit
meditation will improve your daily grind,
like sleep renews you, meditation will too,
cant do meditation you got no future in the Work
you are all at different stages of hoodoo identity and practice
some of you already identify hoodoo and got some practice
some of you starting from scratch
you also got diff levels of commitment to learning the Trade or got
life commitments that will influence both path and level of investment
also I accept that for some of you this just aint gon work
im asking a lot of folk, diff folks w/diff trajectories
I tell you, you have to meditate if you want to
walk this path - ima assume most of you don’t
I tell you scholarship, I tell you read hyatt, read mama day, read
mumbo jumbo, read Texaco – I assume most of you wont
but if I ask you to do it its critical, this thing evolves in stages
got to crawl before you can walk - much less dance
so ima give you instructions for best practice as I see it
if you don’t engage maybe it will take later in life, seedings
and if you not feeling it at all or find it don’t work for you that’s
cool too, ima go with the ebb and flow, I aint gon stress this
I aint gon let it stress me
ENDGAME: A LITTLE COMPASSION
an incident that happened w/my mentor, babajohn Killens, the great griot
master of brooklyn, when I was a youngster and a power freak, (still am
just more spiritual about it now) cause one day he pulled me aside and said
you a brilliant writer, art, but with a little compassion you could be profound
All I heard was brilliant, wasn’t until life had humbled me some I realized
he was trying to make sure that my contribution, as his student, would be
warm and loving instead of hard and cold - an old shaman trying to take
care of the tribal soul, thru me
as i shall try to do thru you
awaken the sleeper
protect the weak
gudie the strong
be safe
hello world, ive decided to post excerpts
from the HBOF with visuals / eventually
audio, and short films
so this is my first effort
too dark, let me try again
quote marks, so folk know its a quote
ima attach brief commentrary when i can:
my premise here is that the visionary artist / practitioner / change agent uses
the prophetic vision to see as far into the future as possible and anticipate the
changes / crises / opportunities the tribe will have to overcome in its generational
struggle for survival and prosperity, the aspiring destinyplaya then determines
what cultural traits will be necessary to meet those challenges and tries to
program them into the culture / tribalsoul through ageold technologies of
magical / literary / ideological orchestrations, cultural custodianship
thru Works serving as cultural instruments,
july 23 3:49pm the cuse
afrolisa by awodiya_tolu
hello world
deep into a research phase, doing what i call extractions
for about 20 or so wisdom texts where i read thru
and take notes snd let my own riffs percolate
in past my wisdom studies have been ancient texts
but I am finding the academic works most useful
in my quest for wisdom facilitated thru
my works, you become what you write
I suspect it will take a month or so hardgrind
to get thru these texts but look at what im
getting out of them, these are raw notes, not gon
clean them up but clearly I will have to revise
the outline of my PILGRIMAGE text
to reflect cascade of new knowledge –
Ima have a good 100 pgs of wisdom extractions
before Im done, raw text, im so excited
of course only about 20 pgs will be useful
little nuggest of golden wisdomquest
be safe
-------------
A DATE W/DESTIINY
Teshuvah is the process of regretting, renouncing, confessing, reconciling and making amends. Ms. Goldberg regretted her words, renounced what she said, confessed in public, reconciled by educating herself on national television and sought to make amends. “Teshuvah shleimah” — a complete teshuvah — is when we are in the same situation again and we choose to act differently. Then we know that our internal work has taken effect.
BREAKiNG INITERIA
when the onnly reason you do something
dysfunctional is bec you’ve always done it
that way, same same you need to go outside
your comfort zone in your soulwork and you
got to break inertia to achieve a new aoul space
wisdom as seeing things as they are
the ability to make good decisions
wisdom is found only thru experience
WISDOM EXTRACTIOBNS
smart goals
hold yourself accountable
don’t blame others
stop negastive thoguhts when you recognize them
reward yourself for good moves
write shit down makes it real, thoughts aren’t always real
put negative people out of your life
don’t be afraid to fail
plan but be flexible, shit happens
confidence, courage, commitment
accountabi;lity partners
practice mental stillness to hear others
be open minded, be generous
avoid attacking folk you disagree with
let go of unneccsary burdens, resnetmnents, grudges, toxic relatioinshiops
worriation, other folks opinions of you, trying to please everyone, taking everything personal, anger, control, the past, the future?, the need to be right,
embrace challenge
assess yourself constantly wo navel gazing, just be aware of what you dop and why you do it
assess opps and threats clearly
don’t judge self just observe nd assess
Healthy growth mindset
WISDOM FROM TO NEUROSCIENCE
WISDOM, THE ability to make wise decisions and
life choice with unreliable information in flux
struggling to be patient and prodent
influence of approaching mortality
wisdom serves not only self but the collective
wisdom is how do we respond to the inevitable hammers of life
the why me lord moments
empoptional regulation and the art of cop[ing
knowing whats important
judging right from wrong: moral reasoning, morality
compassion, empathy
social justice and fairness
temptaion and delayed gratification
dealing with change and uncertainty
metawisdom
on becoming wise
youth adversity and resilience
the seeds of wisdom
elder wisdom
‘classroom, boardroom, bedroom, backroom’ wisdom
dare to be wise, the future of wisdom
chap 1 what is wisdom
wisdom hwlps us live better and be a resource for others
decision making as wisdom
How to live the best possible lives
seeking wisdom never found encourages % of wisdom
studyng wisdom one hopes to become if not wise then wiser
navigating ambiguity and uncertainty challenges wisdom
what constitutes wisdom here???
‘more ideal aspiration than state of mind
be conscious of wisdom challenges and it will become more instiunctive
rmotional regulation
imnsight and intuition
empathy and compassion
spiritual generosity
doubt, skepticism and humility
vision
wisdom of the grind
self awareness and discipkline, consciousbness
complex nuanced and dynamic
flexibility
a life of value
developing greater wisdom
if you don’t learn how to suffer you will go under
the cultivation of an innerlife’
centrality of the search for meaning’
my capacity for self transformation
constant testing of the truth
there is bo benefit to blessings that stick to the fingers
i cant heal all ills v=but we can address our own and all those within my radiance
habits are hard to recalibrate once locked in
NOTES FROM MATTERTS OF CONSEQUENCE
the evolution of understanding
the nature of primal reality
complexity
cosmic purpose
self knowledge
freedom and responsibi;lity
significant doing
creating the future
doing what needs to be done
deep understanding
tbhe intentional pursuit of self knowledge
the exploration of self knowledge leads to
beeter understanding of self, ability to judge
the viability of actions and choices
and insights into anature of primal reality
those who understand self and exhibit wosdom influence others
the better we understand primal reality the better our lives / contribution to amelioration pf the human condktiion
the great mojo as what he calls primal reality, the great all
relationship of primal reality to realworld phenom
how does one access primal reality, is meditation the only path
the primal reality as real, the pheniomenal reality as ephemeral / illusion
ONE THING THHATS become clear, ima have to do another outline
ON HAVE TO DO A NEW OUTLINE
WIS ‘‘domo is decision making ability
pragmatial;ly relevant insight
self transcendent insight
traits or personality charistifs
social phenom
Oldest wisdom texts prudential / proverbs or parentic / exhortation / advice
Deep insight into life dynamics and processes / action / implementation / decisoopon making
Personal wisdom as maturity
Can give good advice but can
you take it, even from yourself
The ability to realize significance/ relevance /
Relesvance realization
rationality realization
Wisdom prioritizes the consequences of actions on others
as much as it proirotize self interest
wisdom transcends self interest for the greater good
Lifespan reflection and narratiln as storyytelling / forging meaning
wisdom from life experiences at the crossroads
always a crossroads if you forced to grow, to extract wisdom
the effect of life as context
wisdom as narrative
to act with wisdom, note the trigger
note the emotions unleashed, judge them
consider the code in the space between trigger and action
break the chain of transmission
consider the mojo, loss or gain
wisdom comes from crossroads moments, moments of great import
that have been suitably processed for wisdom extraction
wisdom encompasses compassion by definition
the effect of cultural master narratives
the dynamic range between religious folk and spiritual folk
the wisdom of the wise enabalates wisdom in others
A contemplative tradition prioritizes self transformation
what about the influence of making hoodoo a high magic tradition
wisdom is aligning personal goalsand needs with that of the social contract
mastery, reflectiviit emotionall regulation, empathy, compadsoin
how do you incorporate crossroadial experiences
how doo you constantly monitor yourself wo iit become navel gazing
by constantly assessing in terms of contribution to the greater good
note instances where you conducted yourself in a manner wise
how did you deal with those moments appropriately/
how to incorporate a love of wisdom in the growth dev process
give it a name and a dynamic
wisdomquest as part of your daily grind
would compassion come under wisdom
does one seek compassion or wisdom
I think wisdom, one can be compassionate and not have a lick of sense
easier to see others problems than it is your own
because of self protective impulse and the burden of
implementation that in souleasery is laid on others
when you find yourself modifying info that doesn’t fit
your narrative, consider expanding boundaries of narr
and associated action plans, do not try to deny countering info
countering info, info that denys your narr and
wisdom as being good at life and living
at hoe to go about living the good life
just what is the good life
3 types of knowledge necessary to enable wisdom:
- factual knowledge about human condition
- procedural wisdom knowledge about living the good life
- lifespan contextualism, contexting the moment as pilgrimage
acceptance of uncertainty
balancing indi and common good
easier to give advice, to practice soul easery because own narrative not endangered
tikkun concept of world repair, what I call a contriuution to the human condition
but I nererd a good catchy word for the concept, something self edivent like world re[air
what about alignment or maybe hoodoo alignment no net yet
lets set thtis in context of healing
healing individuals
healing communities
healing the world
healing the cosmos
in order to evolve your fundamental assumptions about your life and meaning must be challenged in order to break you from socialized herd thought, the 1st step of spiritual emancipation is to break free of your cultures mythologies and build your own
live is full of hammers, reverses are inevitable
always be prepared to take the hammer
bend so you don’t break, finesse it
ON FINESSE
by finesse I refer to turning the trick, using the
subsequent rebuild to build better / stronger
in order to effect meaning in life you must live by a code, what
is the code that you live by, what constitutes honor to you
define honor, do you conduct yourself as a person of honor
when is the lasttime you behaved dishonorably, what lessons
were drawn in order to preclude future dishonorable behavior
i
what exactly is dishonorable behavior, id say offhand
any and all soul fevers, anything that diminishes Fa
Fa: living out your best and greatest dreams
inbtelligence does not necessarily conflate w//wisdom
as any English faculty person will tell you
an inquisitive nature is critical
one avoids corruptive self analysis / navel gazing
bu contexting analysis in service
wisdom skilz and orientation dev between 14 and 25 generally
when a lot of other life skilz develop, is this pertinent observation
it is absolutely critical to a serene eldership
to systematically assess your life as lived and
accept it in its entirety w/o regrets, assess
regrets, resentments and other soulfevers
come to terms w/them, finesse them
positive self evauation must not preclude
the ability to face your demons
the way to make self analysis functional is
to always include action component and
alleviation of the human condition
can I call that alleviation: to point where
it becomes code for the social compact
for the sense of responsibility for legacy
and good doing, (not articulating well but well
enuf to figure out what im trying to say later
life reflection entails consistent assessment and self reflection
wo becoming insular and obsessive
activation should also be included
a constant quest for insight about life and self and soulness
wo the ability to step back and assess emotional and spiritual dynamics you are incapable
of controlling and shaping them to your developmental / evolutional needs
identify blind spots that lie hidden in your psyche
spots that clash with your chosen narratives
you must be able to face your demons
one thing that’s been good as I study the academic work
on wisdom I see that I covered the basics mostly in HBOF
tahts gratifying, affirmation that I am not a pretender
JUL 1 , ROOF HOTEL LISBOA 11:17 am
(this photo was i believe part of nyt article on librarians of timbuctu)
hello world
disquiet lisbon is under assault from
covid and has gone into a zoom mode
even took down my boy parker, and
gabe and maaza, all my road dogs
the old ghost had already been chastized
for not participating in events cause of a
covid woodshed mentality but now ive
gone full on traveling spirit on them
with no shame, m y 1st class everybody was masked
but after class students want to talk and the minute
they outsude they take the mask off and i start backing
up and trying to end the conversation, finally had to tell
them you want to talk to me it will be thru a mask, period
so after days of distraction i have settled in
on the grind for the hoodoo way, which
has become a meditation on wisdom
started off strictly commercial self help, a hoodoo
almanac, a calendrical year of transformation
representing a life of transformation / pilgrimage
but god help me I couldn’t stay in genre if you
paid me, its become a meditation on wisdom
1st it was little wisdomic life advice beats
well within my comfort zone but as i
began a review of the academic literature
on wisdom my understanding / articulations
on wisdom have gotten deep and satisfying
im excited because
1) I want to be wise
2) I want to forge hoodoo into a wisdom tradition
and damn near most impo: 3) its going to
inform the next revision of my memoir
reading damn near everything by sternberg
started off bookbub sent this book for $2
put wisdom on my mind but it was more quotes than substanve
at the same time i had reached 1st week june in my texrt, wisdom
week and felt like my observations were slack
so i dug in and found the following:
i could go on but i think you got the point
and these just the ones i acually bought and gon read
ive skimmed thru dozens of shallow works, dozens
life is good
Be safe
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