Tagged with: everydaymagic
The midsummer solstice (Litha, Longest Day, shortest night) is today! The summer solstice is the time of nature's bounty and abundance. The elementis FIRE, the direction is south, and all around us we are surrounded by color and fragrant aromas fromblossoming roses, wallflowers, lavender, honeysuckle, and jasmine.
YP: Well, I currently live in NYC, I am 29 years old, I was originally born in Guayaquil Ecuador. I write under the name Yung Pueblo for two reasons, one because Pueblo is a word used in Guayaquil in reference to the masses of economically impoverished people, so it always reminds me of my roots and where I come from, two Yung Pueblo literally means young people which always reminds me of something that I believe deeply, which is that humanity as a whole is very young, we have a lot of growing up to do, we are collectively still learning how to be kind to one another, how to clean up after ourselves, how to share, and how to not fight one another – things that I am hoping we will learn how to do well in the next 100 years.
YP: I started organizing and being a part of the activist world back when I was 15 years old, ever since then I was always obsessed with the idea of liberation, I wanted to know what it meant, how to attain it, and how to maintain it. From nonprofit organizing to radical organizing, I have worked with a few different groups over the years and often we were successful, but still something was missing, greed continued to drive global harm and internally I was still rife with misery, this made me keep searching. When I was 24 I did my first 10 day Vipassana mediation course which shook the foundations of everything I believed in, my experience meditating showed me that liberation needs to be internally realized to a certain extent before we can recreate the world into a place where we can all live materially well without harming one another to do so; it showed me that everyone needs to be liberated, the oppressed and the oppressors. It taught me three particularly important lessons, one is that when we harm another we harm ourselves, that when we heal ourselves we are actually healing the world, and that the chaos in our world stems from the internal chaos and misery that human beings are quietly experiencing inside of themselves every day. We are all in need of healing and that healing can only come from our own efforts, because no one can liberate us but ourselves. Moving forward I continued meditating and organizing simultaneously, and then one day my intuition clearly told me to share what I understand in the form of writing, that even though what I understand may change overtime I need to share it now so that people know that it is possible to come out of misery and deeply heal themselves, because it is the transformation of the individual that holds the secrets to truly transforming the world into something better. I took a break from organizing to focus on writing and pretty quickly I noticed that Instagram was a good fit. I started off by writing short pieces and essays or just simple thoughts as captions under the pictures I would share, but then I saw that I would be better off just taking the main ideas of what I wanted to share and placing them in a clean and readable image, that’s when it all really took off and the words started spreading widely. My writing style is definitely still evolving.
YP: The book is entitled “Inward” and it will be a compilation of my best work over the past 3 years. It will be a mixture of poems, quotes, and essays. I’m currently putting it all together and hope to have it out this year, I don’t want to say exactly when, but it will be out soon. It’s been quite a journey putting this together.
YP: I love books so much, thank you for asking, I’m going to go in on this question if you don’t mind. Right now I am currently reading “Sapiens: A Brief History of Humankind” by Yuval Noah Harari and “Demanding the Future: Postcapitalism and a World Without Work” by Nick Srnicek and Alex Williams.
Some titles that have profoundly inspired me are:
“Assata: An Autobiography” by Assata Shakur
“What Buddhism is” by Sayagyi U Ba Khin
“Nonzero: The Logic of Human Destiny” by Robert Wright
“Hua Hu Ching: The Unknown Teaching of Lao Tzu” translated by Brian Walker
“Great Disciples of the Buddha” edited by Bhikkhu Bodhi
“Krishnamurti to Himself” by Jiddu Krishnmurti
“The Dhammapada” translated by Ananda Maitreya & Rose Kramer
“The Bhagavad Gita” translated by Eknath Easwaran
“Autobiography of a Yogi” by Paramahansa Yogananda
“The Dispossessed” by Ursula K. Le Guin
“On Disobedience” by Erich Fromm
“The Rebirth of History” by Alain Badiou
“Siddhartha” by Hermann Hesse
I know that’s a lot of titles, but they all really had a deep impact in how I understand myself and the world.
YP: Two ideas really drive my inspiration, one is the possibility of complete freedom from misery as an individual and the second is humanity coming together to recreate the world into the beautiful and loving place that it can be.
The stories and teachings of Gautama the Buddha and his disciples, teachers in my Vipassana meditation tradition like Ledi Sayadaw, Sayagyi U Ba Khin, and S.N. Goenka, all really inspire me too. My family and friends really inspire me to work hard and be better as well.
YP: I hope people understand that they can truly heal themselves of their inner burdens and actually build inner peace, that this isn’t something mythical or impossible, that this is real and that many people are doing it all around the world right now using different healing techniques. It is not easy, but it is definitely the most rewarding journey that we can embark on.
More so, I want to help people understand that growing their happiness, building their inner peace, and reclaiming their power are all essential things that not only heal humanity as a whole, but will ultimately help us establish a more peaceful and harmless world. Your inner peace will literally become the foundation for a future global peace. Healing ourselves will not only help us live with less misery, but it will give us a new clarity that we can use to transform the world.
YP: It’s a great lesson, I do my best to not worry about it. If I’m too attached to it, it will just continue happening. Some people definitely take my name out from under pieces and then post them on their pages, but what good will it do me to be upset over it? Plus, I doubt that most people have any malicious intention when they do it. Gratefully, the vast majority do give me credit for the work I put out by linking my Instagram page underneath in the caption and tagging me in the picture, I certainly appreciate that.
What matters most is that the message gets out there. If you really think about it, “I” doesn’t exist, so is it really “my” work? Often, when I write, it more so feels like the message is coming through me as opposed to from me. I think plagiarism and copyright laws are a bit odd, no one has ever created anything completely by themselves, we are always building on each other’s work, it is all really a collective effort. Also, since words are just interpretations of how we feel, two people can write similar words but the feeling, meaning, and experience behind them can be completely different. I’m not saying that we should all go and plagiarize, we should try our best to create our own work and credit each other, but if it does happen accidentally we shouldn’t lose our peace over it.
YP: Mindfulness is essentially being aware of the present moment, which is critically important in for our personal development. But what matters is how will you be aware of the present moment, what tool will you use to increase your awareness?
My advice to people is to find a healing technique that gives you real results, one that challenges you, but does not overwhelm you. There is a great variety of techniques out there, different types of meditations, yoga practices, energy healing techniques, and so much more that can really give us tangible benefits in our lives. What matters is that we find one that suits us and that we use it consistently.
YP: I’m planning an event in Los Angeles this summer, which I’m really excited about, the details will be set soon. I will be reading a piece of my manuscript and giving a talk about the patterns in our subconscious that impact our behavior. I did a similar event this past March in NYC at the Alchemist’s Kitchen, so many people came out that we filled the venue, it was really a great time.
I’m currently working on a video with one of the best directors and videographers in NYC, Lindsey TJ Hall, you can find him on Instagram under @guynamedlindsey. We knew that the message was getting out to people who read, but we wanted to make something new to try and reach people who are more musically and visually inclined. The video will be about self love and its growth into unconditional love, it should be out sometime this summer.
A while back, I wrote an introductory to The 7 major chakras centers titled
"CHAKRAS, COLORS, & STONES" in this article I discussed recognizing blockages or over-activity in the chakras + the benefits of using gemstones and of course the healing power of color. Today, I wanted to touch on some very simple activities that can literally jump-start your sluggish energy centers. Face it, we live in an extremely fast paced world full of an array of energy draining living conditions: work schedules, school, and of course family life. All of these daily task can make finding time for self-care pretty difficult on the average person. Here at The Hoodwitch we're all about the practical magic. As a working mother, I understand the struggle in finding the time for self-nurturing activities that will not only inspire me, but keep my frequency/energy levels high and my aura nice and sparkly. The practices listed below require little to no time, money, and can be done alone or with your closest family & friends. Daily, or weekly. Different activities will stimulate different chakras, If you do at least ONE thing different each day, the direction of your life will change .
Remember, it is important to be honest and listen to your body. When the chakras are too open, balance is the remedy! If you have excessive power in your chakras (Think: type A, aggressive, neurotic behaviors), step back and let someone else drive. If you're around people all of the time, it's important to spend time alone. See, BALANCE. Generally speaking, when a chakra is too open, the balance for this is to do the opposite of what you would normally do. Are your chakras over active or deficient? You can read more about that HERE. Intuitive counselor and author Dena Marie says "One new practice a day, could potentially keep the doctor away!" and we agree!
First Chakra (Survival) : Walk in nature, plant a garden, pay your monthly bills (early), slow down, take a hike, Hug a tree, feel your roots, clean your house, Eat healthy foods, walk outside with bare feet, take a vacation in nature, Go bird watching, and admire the plants and animals there, play the drums, Do yoga, Do nothing (in the most relaxing of ways), wear the color red, eat red foods + protein.
Second Chakra (Relationships): Take a luxurious bath, Sit by water, stretch your body, swim, move your hips, dance, Drink plenty of fresh natural liquids, Be sexual (responsibly), Be spontaneous, Go to the ocean, Do volunteer work, drive somewhere you've never been, Go on a retreat with people you don't know. Wear the color orange, eat orange foods.
Third Chakra (Empowerment): Laugh, run, cry, watch a fire + burn stuff (not your ex-boyfriend's house), take up a martial art class, tai chi or boxing, lift weights, ride a bike like a child again, play a competitive sport, Wear the color yellow, Eat yellow food.
Fourth Chakra (Connection): Hold hands, talk about how you feel, Buy yourself flowers, Take yourself on date, Tell someone you love them (and mean it), get a massage, Look in the mirror and say you love yourself just the way you are, Send yourself a valentine, Learn Reiki (healing touch), wear pink or Green. Eat plenty of fresh organic green fruits and vegetables.
Fifth Chakra (Expression): Sing, Write, Draw, play an instrument, paint, talk to trusted friends, work with clay or wood, Go to an art gallery alone, Read poetry, write a song, support local art, Verbally pass down a family tradition, writer a meaningful letter to yourself. Wear the color blue.
Sixth Chakra (intuition): Just breathe, Listen to your inner voice, Guess someone's astrological sign, Daydream, Start a dream journal, Pull a tarot card for each day and don't use the manual to find the "meaning" (trust your inner guidance), Candle gaze, Read an esoteric/metaphysical book, watch a fantasy film. Talk to the moon, Wear Purple, or white.
Seventh Chakra (knowing): Meditate for 10-15 minutes a day, connect with your higher power, talk to an Angel (of the light) be still, listen, trust your inner knowing, connect with others, Think dreamy thoughts, Use rainbow prisms for healing, speak to the stars in the nighttime sky, practice positive affirmations, pray for yourself and others, write down your goals and ask your higher-self to help you achieve them. Wear Indigo, and gold.
