HOW TO COOK : RECIPES FOR COMPOSTING EMPIRE
2026
– – – – – – Mami Wata – – – – – –
So as promised, my grandmother and grandfather returned in spiritual appearances.
The yoruba legend of Mami water promises us that all the spiritual life forces, of water, are personalities of remembering EVERYTHING. That is what was so special about water. Whether we were in joy, in birth, in mourning, or in search of a valuable virtue, the water was sure to remind us that our source, meaning our healing, was never very far from us, especially giving us the courage in subtle reminders.
Ashley. “Welcome.” Orisha University. Episode 1. Spotify, 2023. Podcast.
Arooj Aftab’s album Love in Exile had us drawing inspiration for healing which is reliable, consistent as a kitchen faucet, and often taken for granted but joyful to be of service in any case.
Aftab, Arooj, Vijay Iyer, and Shahzad Ismaily. Love in Exile. Verve Records, 2023. Album.
Roald Dahl’s audiobook Matilda had Kate Winslet drawing up the deep waters of the child’s heart. As Matilda drew up tea water from the well in Miss Honey’s garden, we heard that this action takes discernment and is sure to reward the most-sweetest.
Dahl, Roald. Matilda. Read by Kate Winslet. New York: Penguin Random House Audio, 2016. Audiobook.
Minnie Mouse appeared as a giggly reminder to keep on the sunny side, in drawing the first three circles of the flower of life. One can see the image of water in three circles drawn together, as in, the mouse head of the molecule reminds us of the natural happiness that water is destined to become.
Spirit Science. Spirit Science 6 – The Flower of Life. YouTube video, 11:06. Posted 2011. https://www.youtube.com/user/TheSpiritScience (youtube.com in Bing).
H2O it on paper!
Of course, as Terrence Howard will passionately tell you, drawing the flower of Life gives healing benefits in double, triple, bounty. If you want a happiness and mindfulness routine off screen, tracing the circles with a five cent coin, or a quarter, will make enough entertainment for the brightest 40 year, 50 year, or 8 year old watery star.
2025
Winter 2025
Baking soda.
The uses of baking soda are wide… vast… ubiquitous… (meaning, universal and applicable in every situation) … and reassuringly inexpensive.
Baking Soda Activities to share with KIDS :
- Preserve stinky, stinky sneakers with baking soda. Leave on the windowsill for 3-4 days to dry out the smells. Discard used baking soda, and do not use it for consumption.
- Practice tooth and gum hygiene. Baking soda brushing is effective and antibacterial. Add activated charcoal toothpaste from Open Nature brand for non-fluoride minti-ness. Add organic coconut oil to create a weird & silly, but gratifying family brushing routine.
- Add skin protection to your deodorant Routine. Scrub your skin with a ½ c. Baking Soda, or apply after showering to pits and feet with a scoop of lotion, shea butter, or non-greasy oil such as apricot. Natural deodorant is easy to make with baking soda and your favorite natural skin cream. Using shea butter lotions, or natural skin cream, create a sticking place for baking soda deodorizing qualities on adult armpits and feet.
- Lemon juice, vinegar, and baking soda. Recipe for clean bathroom PRO below.
- Scrub your pets fur with baking soda as a skin protectant during bathtime.
RECIPE for clean bathroom PRO :
6 lemons
Water
Half a Cup of Distilled White Vinegar
2 cups of baking soda, to clean tub and sink, and spray bottle
Squeeze lemons after cutting in half into a plastic container. Strain the juice until the pulp and seeds are gone. Add lemon juice and vinegar to a dry spray bottle and add water to the rest of the bottle, up to 3 cups of water. To concentrate this mixture add 1 c. of vinegar. Use with a cloth or sponge to scrub with baking soda and love the organic effects of teaching your kids how to clean the bathroom effectively and safely.
Hygiene practices that are clean and safe are a huge priority for children who are learning to read, because they will begin to read product labels. Use baking soda as an easy introduction to health products that children can see, feel, taste, smell, and read (hear) as sustainable and earth-friendly. Hands-on instruction time scrubbing and rinsing the bathroom, sink, and mirrors will improve executive functioning in children ages 5 to adolescent, and boost their confidence as power brokers in the fight for the safety of the planet…and their well being.
Autumn 2025
End of summer, precipice of Autumn.
In the end of spring, My Grandmother Nana Erma Shirley Cole Armstead left the earth our home as she celebrated her season, whispering jokes.
She was a creative hearted person with an incredible story and a perfect smile. She had no problems planting seeds where there should be laughs. The matrix of Consciousness called Source, Spirit, Coyote, and many other names is intricately woven into life. Like my Nana’s story, it is impossible for the human mind to comprehend all the sprouts that her seeds of laughter will sprout. Just like a native plant, her seeds will sprout again to who knows how many flowers in the spring. She escaped poverty at 15. She was abandoned by her mother. She lost her only brother who ran away from home. She loved being a dancer so much that her toes bled through the silk of her first pair of pointe shoes. She grew hummingbird magnets and won the prizes for them.
If this is your definition of Hope, this is for you :
I dream of the cool, crisp shower to nourish my heart any time of year. The vagus nerve , which allows our eyes to “see” all of the major internal organs, is nourished by cold water washing down the spine, and nourishing the nervous system. (Paula Hurlock) This sense of sight dances between the subconscious and the outer vision, which mirrors what is below.
It’s impossible to see beyond what you already know, but curiosity dances with knowledge to create the courage to grow. Like the head of a mushroom, peeking out of an intricate mycelial network, creation makes it possible to glimpse what spiritual principles may be nourishing for each beautiful eye.
2024
All things considered…Sometimes stuff doesn’t go as fast because it’s not made for you. Like taking a shower in somebody else’s house…and you like the water a little bit cold, but trying to make it work, you just keep getting burnt by someone else’s hot water. This month, consider that kind of thing in your internal environment. Respiration.
Perspiration.
If it seems easier to control than the temperature of the tap water, do you know how far you’ve come???… Congratulations.
Even so, the body is overwhelmed by our world’s circumstances. We have to control our internal environment, but it just seems so urgent. Taking in the long game feels like breathing while the tap water learns to adjust to we.us.
That’s good news, because the subconscious holds all the desires that you’re waiting to realize.
We just need to compost a little bit of the old empire each day. A bit at a time.
Summer of 2024.
For me, the internal dialogue of discomfort became a lot louder when Kendrick Lamar released meet the grahams, and Family Matters was some water that just barely rose above tepid, but wasn’t cold enough to be refreshing. Then, like Not LIKE US was the track that crumbled the wall money built around Hip Hop – Indigenous Music – Native Language …AND for me its release was the moment I said,
“I can’t trust these Mark ZuckerbergZ to tell the TRUTH…What can I trust????”
Lamar Duckworth, K. & The Alchemist. (May 2024) meet the grahams. [Musical Recording] Interscope Records, Distributor.
Moving into fall of 2024
Black, queer, activist, feminist, teacher & rapper, Regi Angelou’s self-produced single New Yorker was bumpinggg, and the visuals just smack’d of her staying power . We hear her talking that New Yorker shi from the other side of the bodega counter. The elevated train is her stage, and showing off body, like business around the city is the vibe .
As she sends out a toast to her style, her life philosophy, not stressing the gov’t, Regi Angelou chomps on crispy fries and preaches that one thing New Yorkers gon do…is EAT…
Since dignity is health, and dignity is hope, consider the BEAUTIFUL lyric : “Casual reminder to be blessed, I ain’t gotta be the best, JUST ME’’…
Glover, Regina. (2024) Regi Angelou – New Yorker [Musical Recording] Retrieved March 8, 2024 at https://youtu.be/5F2oBs0_k6I?si=4CUChUAYmZpba6pA.
How many times do we lose a battle that was ours to win due to comparison to others?
– Emily Campuzano
Calculating Wins, we stop trying to control other people through our life outlook.
With Calculated Risks, We Can Un-Masc LOVE..
Winter 2024.
Respiration and Stretch. Right, after relocating to study briefly in Boulder CO, ya girl reflected on major values : Power . Fun . Consistency . Honesty . Trust. A young boss, Amel Larrieux has consistency, nutritious music, amounting to all receipts, no fillers. Amel Larrieux of Blisslife Records created her own path on her own timing while producing infinite possibilities, Bravebird, and flying into forming her record label Blisslife Records. From the duo Groove Theory, to ice cream every day, we see them taking apart the music industry in forming their foundations. What’s more, her music tells more stories than one. Resonat-ING that other people can contribute to our story and help to tell IT, w’e’ve been through something together, haven’t we?
Larrieux, Amel. (2012) Amel Larrieux “Gills And Tails” Highline Ballroom. [YouTube] RadioSoul/CuzBruce. Retrieved Nov 19, 2024 at https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BeauuuNMn_Q.
References :
Artwork : The Great Creator, Who Is Always At A Dance Party And Is Always Rapping Like A Field Of Grass
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