This piece was originally formulated as an explanation of my theory that the Pineal Gland is an internal stargate that allows us to experience multidimensional realms. After much research I have discovered that the internal stargate is quite complex and requires the discussion of multiple connected elements to accurately comprehend the magnitude of our inter-dimensional capabilities. This is my best effort to collect and share the information I have come across in my studies regarding this subject, and present it in a fashion that is intended to assist those interested in ascension upon their journeys. This article will discuss the anatomy & function of specific organs within the human brain, how that relates to ancient symbolism, the internal stargate, and thoughts about activation of that stargate.

SELECTIVE ANATOMY OF THE HUMAN BRAIN

The human brain is an intricate and essential organ with many parts and functions. This section of the article will discuss the parts that I’ve discovered are essential to the correct calibration of the internal stargate. These parts of the brain include: corpus callosum, thalamus, hypothalamus, pineal gland, pituitary gland, cerebellum, and the brain stem. As some of you may know, these parts of the brain also correspond with the Eyes of Horus – which will be discussed later in the piece. For now, let’s just focus on the function of these specific parts of the brain.

Corpus Callosum: The corpus callosum is a thick band of nerve fibers that divides the brain into hemispheres. These nerves transfer motor, sensory, and cognitive information between the cerebral hemispheres. It is also involved in several bodily functions – communication between brain hemispheres, eye movement, maintaining the balance of arousal and attention, and determining where on the body your sense of touch is firing. It also plays a role in memory.

Thalamus: This organ is essentially the relay station for movement regulation and sensory perceptive information. It transmits information to & receives information from the cerebral cortex.

Hypothalamus: This organ could be considered the control center of your brain. It helps control the autonomic (or involuntary) functions of the body. These functions include: body temperature, appetite – hunger & thirst, digestion, sleep, as well as emotions.

Pineal Gland: The pineal gland sets and maintains the biological or circadian rhythms. Making it play a significant role in maturity and reproductive functions. It, also, is responsible for the secretion of essential body hormones serotonin and melatonin. This gland synthesizes information about the light environment and communicates which hormone should be secreted – serotonin during the day, and melatonin during the night.

Pituitary Gland: This is the organ that controls the hormones in your body, as well as assisting in the conversion of consumed food into energy. This gland assist in growth, and also balances the water within our bodies.

Cerebellum: This organ mediates voluntary motor movement of the body, as well as balance, equilibrium, and even muscle tone. It also plays a role in posture and coordination.

Brain Stem – Medulla Oblongata: Like the hypothalamus the medulla oblongata manages autonomic functions such as breathing, digestion, swallowing, sneezing, heart & blood vessel function. The medulla oblongata also assists in transferring messages between various parts of the brain, including the spinal cord.

Brain Stem – Spinal Cord:  The spinal cord is responsible for connecting and transmitting information to and from the brain to various parts of the body. It also is responsible for reflexes.

THE EYE OF HORUS – THE TRUE THIRD EYE

The Eye of Horus is an ancient symbol of the Egyptians.

As you can see from the photo the Eye of Horus is a symbolic representation of the previous explanation of functions for selective organs I described above.

I’ll take a moment below to describe the corresponding parts of the brain and their representation in the Eye of Horus. Many folks on the path to ascension believe that the pineal gland alone represents the third eye, but it is my deduction that all of these part of the brain that compose the “third eye” as they are all essential to functions that allow us to experience the inter-dimensional. Isolating the pineal glad as the third eye would be like saying that the cornea alone composes the entire ocular eye.

Let’s take a look…

As you can see the symbolism includes vital pieces of the brain that are essential to the function of sensory perception, transference of information, learning, memory, as well as autonomic & voluntary movement. All the things needed when experiencing something new…like various inter-dimensional planes.

THE INTERNAL STARGATE

While I believe based on the symbolism that the true Third Eye is the collective, the pineal gland is the key organ that operates as our bodies own hyperdimensional stargate. The ancients of every culture used symbolism paying homage specifically to the pineal gland. While the physiological necessity and function of the pineal gland has been unknown until recent times, ancient mystical traditions and metaphysical practitioners have long known that this area in the middle of the brain to be the connecting link between various dimensional worlds – physical and spiritual.

Stargates permit passage between space-time locations in MULTIPLE Universes & density levels. This is more than just ‘time travel’ folks, its inter-dimensional travel. If you research “pineal stargate” a lot of the same information comes up:

“The Pineal Gland is a hyper dimensional Stargate built into our human physiology which enables us to Time Travel. This technology was reverse engineered by the ancient Atlantean society. The stargate functions by the use of ordinary water, H2O. When shielded off from all [interfering] electromagnetic[s]… The water can shift and have a connection made to an inverted reality of time/space… This is accomplished through tiny molecules within the pineal gland water called microclusters. These micro clusters are depicted in plutonic solid geometry shapes. The microclusters form a resonant gateway which allows transition into time/space.”

It is not clear who was the first to discuss or write this information, though David Wilcock’s name appears widely. Nevertheless, the information is rather generic in how one can actually put to use their inner stargate. I’ve done extensive research, and uncovered evidence for the function and metaphysically scientific process of our internal stargate via the pineal gland, which I am extremely excited to elaborate upon.

The pineal gland is aqueous, meaning it contains and is surrounded by biological fluid. The fluid is often described as water, but it contains biological information [DNA] which means it’s actually more like cerebrospinal fluid. This fluid contains piezoelectric calcite crystals. [Piezoelectric simply means that when the crystals are stressed or cause to vibrate they generate an electrical voltage that can be coupling]. Using Kundalini chakra energy ["Kundalini Activation" is the balancing of all of the chakra energy centers and bringing them into high vibratory resonance], and allowing it to vibrate from your root chakra up, will cause the pineal gland to vibrate. When the pineal gland vibrates the fluid it sits in will vibrate as well. This causes the calcite crystals to resonate, “stressing” the crystals and creating the piezoelectric voltage. Since this piezoelectro-magnetism has coupling properties this makes possible the connecting to any external electromagenetic field, including those of other dimensions, which can then gate us over.

This is only the beginning – while our pineal gland is known to secrete the hormones serotonin and melatonin, it is also thought to secrete a endogenous (naturally, biologically produced) psychedelic called N,N-Dimethyltryptamine or DMT for short. DMT is present throughout nature, in plants, animals and humans.

This molecule has been known within the science community for decades, but has just recently begun to be studied extensively. Early studies show that this endogenous compound can intensify “mystical” experiences. How? Why? Well the brain actually works to bring DMT passed the blood-brain barrier that is set up to keep foreign agents out. The brain even works actively to accept non-endogenous DMT through the blood-brain barrier. The brain treats DMT like it does glucose, the brain’s fuel.

Typically the DMT our body produces is not enough to illicit “mystical” experiences, however if your Third Eye is vibrating resonantly, via meditation or other ascension practices, it can increase the production of endogenous DMT and intensify the experiences of when you gate over through the process illustrated above, resulting in hyper-dimensional experiences.

Research on DMT is scarce, but I theorize that it plays a role in dream consciousness which I believe is also a result of gating over through your internal pineal stargate – I will elaborate on this in another blog post in the future.

CONCLUSION

Built within each of our anatomy lies the ability and opportunity to experience domains beyond the Earth plane. Paying attention to the entire Third Eye contained within your cranial vault, opening your chakra portals, vibrating your Kundalini, and activating your pineal gland can propel you into realms that contain more than…[insert your own relevant motivation here].

This written piece is only a fraction of the research that I’ve done on the subject. Had I continued sharing the minute details it would be a book ~ something to think about, however, for the time being I sincerely will that this sharing of information was helpful.

 Major Works Referenced:

DMT: The Spirit Molecule by Rick Strassman

Inner Paths to Outer Space by Rick Strassman, Slawek Wojtowicz, Luis Eduardo Luna, & Ede Frecska

“New Crystal in the Pineal Gland: Characterization and Potential Role Electromechano-Transduction” by Simon Bacconier, B. Sidney Lang, & Rene De Seze

Essentials of the Human Brain by John Nolte

She is a STAR; She shines on me and I reflect her perfectly

Our lovemaking is rare, she penetrates me mentally

Our spirits converge on a plane marked “sacredly”

Daily our bodies create new harmonies

She enters heaven and my womb molds to form her seed

I wake up in the mornings singing “She loves me…”

And She Does

We’re on the same frequency

Because when I think of her.

She thinks of Me.

And when I dream in Us.

She responds in We.

The universe spoke thru destiny

And here we are converged in unity

Free

To Be

Her.Me.Us.and We.

SMART Goals

S.M.A.R.T. is an acronym that stands for: Specific, Measurable, Attainable, Realistic, and Timely. When we develop goals for a strategy they need to meet the SMART criteria.

They need to be Specific meaning that they need to be concrete and tangible. It needs to address what needs to happen in order for us to win…we’ll get into this deeper when we talk about victory and benchmark goals.

They need to be Measurable meaning that we need to know when we have accomplished the win, and access our progress. Measurable goals help in evaluation of the strategic plan. We can not evaluate the progress of a plan if the goals are not measurable. This also may mean placing number goals where applicable.

They need to be Attainable meaning that we need to be able to achieve the goal. What is the point of working toward something that is not reachable. Not only is it a waste of energy, but it is a waste of resources.

They need to be Realistic. This goes hand-in-hand with attainability. Do we have the resources – meaning time, people, and money – to achieve this goal? If not, can we get it in a reasonable time frame?

They need to be Timely. What is the socio-economic climate? Are the stakeholders, allies, and partners in a position to carry out the work involved in the plan?

VICTORY GOAL: This is the final win. It’s the goal that once achieved you will have completed the strategic plan. Think of it similar to the headline you want to be in the newspapers/media when your strategy has been successful.

BENCHMARK GOALS: These are smaller, paced out wins. These goals are vital to the final victory goal. They help us assess the progress of the plan, and give us reasons to celebrate, revive us, and refocus those working on the plan. These are essential to the success of a strategic plan – without benchmark goals we burn out, feel stagnant, and stuck.

Words of comfort and trust fell from your lips
Like slightly melted Chocolate Chips
Your tongue and kiss were Honey Dipped
Your smile as bright as white Chiklets
Skin the tone of Butter Pecan Ice-Cream I couldn’t help but lick…

And I wondered –
How many it would take to get to the Tootsie Roll center of you
You went down easy like Nesquik or Yoohoo
Personality as flavorful as a Jolly Rancher that turns your tongue blue
I was stuck on you, the way Bubblegum sticks to a shoe

You–
My confectionery masterpiece.

Spontaneous as Pop Rocks
Made the bed warm like Redhots
And my teeth hurt like Gum Drops
It was a sugar high that I didn’t want to stop

BUT

Time passed.
As slowly as a Now-n-Later

Flip the script you did
You true self was hid
And my Mr. Goodbar turned into a Sour Patch Kid
Walking around as if you had sucked on a Lemon Head
Bitter as Licorice; black, not red
You no longer looked at me like 100Grand
But penny candy from the corner store on the Ave.

My personal, confectionery masterpiece

Who still had skin smooth as a Hershey’s Kiss
But no longer had Honey dripping from his lips
I became diabetic
I had to diet
Because of his confectionery selfishness….

Untitled (Written 2000 – H.S. Freshman)

A niggas eyes neva lie
You blink – you die
That’s why
You gotta look to the sky

To the one who made ya
Who be ya savior
Acting like you can’t leave without your cellphones and pagers
These green devils will cage ya
See this greed is major
They’ll sell-out and trade ya
Now, who’s gonna save ya?!

None of this is justified
All because of a nigga’s pride
For speaking the truth you get crucified
Whateva happened to: (*Queen Latifah voice*) U-N-I-T-Y

See money, hoes, and gats cant save ya ass
from satans tricks and God’s wrath
Did you do ya math?
You’ve come to the fork, now you choose the path.

Half the hood is barely alive
All of us just dying to survive
And we stay asking the question Why?
Stop looking to man and look to the Most High

Money, power, respect we could all be gettin
So stop with all this fake-ice trippin
All you gotta do is bear the pain and listen
‘Cause most of the answers are spoken or written

This is why I salute all poetic soldiers
We comin up outta the smolders
With a shit-load of told ya’s
Spitting words that’ll wake you up like Folgers

I’m A Poet (Free write 2000 – H.S. Freshman)

I’m a poet
meaning I can kill with words
shock ya;; so hard it’ll feel like a power surge

I’m a poet
known for the knives on my tongue
spit shit so hard it’s worse than bullets from a gun

You think I cant have deep thoughts ‘cause I don’t have visible scars?
Think the only way to experience pain is behind somebody’s metal bars?

Well, I got news for you
I’m a poet
So stop the booty chatter
We need to be discussin some shit that really matters

Like:
Givin some help to those in need
We better learn to share love like we share bags of weed.

Seems to me we need to be more worried about HIV
Than the schemes of some nigga over seas

We need to be concerned about why P.I.G.s
Put out A.P.B.s
Saying it’s a code 3
“Crazed nigga on a shooting spree”
And yell: “WHOOPIE”

See—

If the information we get from the po-pos
Is contradicting the po’ folks
Then maybe the information is a no-no

So I address these issues because
I’m a poet
A Mind stunna
AKA
The Verbal Gunna

STATS (written 2001 – H.S. Sophomore; National HIV testing day slam)

Like a time bomb

waiting to be detonated

No chance for relatin’ or listenin’

So consumed by the diamonds and guns glistenin’

Leanin out the window whistlin’

Fantasizin & wishin’

No condom and daddy come up missin’

STD’s dismissed ‘em

Caught slippin’

Now to her own life she grippin’

Shouldn’t have been trippin’

Don’t get it twisted

Now shorty’s a statistic

mesmerized by the mystic

His professed love unspecific

Thought he was terrific

Turned out to be mythic

Crisis became prolific

Now life’s apocalyptic

It sucks the life outta you like a tic

Tomorrow Never Came (Written 9/11/2001 – H.S. Sophomore)

Another situation I must bring to the nation

ONE nation

Under God

Under who?

“In God we trust”

Yes, we must

because thousands of people are dust?

Lord, I need thee

You said you’d neva leave me –

But why so alone do I, myself see?

Never have I felt like this

So much pain and bliss

Bliss because me they missed

Pain because you they hit

What did I do to deserve this?

What did my mother, brother, sister, father, friend do for this?

This – anger and hate we must eliminate

demonstrate a better way

Negotiate & play it straight

I never felt quite like this

For the slain

I feel a pain

Because for them — tomorrow never came…

I Remember – incomplete (written to a music track in 2002 – H.S. Junior)

I never slang no thangs
Never rolled no dice
But I had hood dreams ‘cause I lived a hood life

I remember when dinner was scrambled eggs and rice
Washed it down with red kool-aid
Using the oven for heat some days
Foil on the TV antennae — when it played
Channel surfing with pliers; still felt like we had it made

I remember my momma making me go outside and play
Only playground we had was a dirty alley way
I remember guttin a box or a crate — hanging it on a nail
Playing ball with my little cousin cause her pops was in jail
Playing HORSE and keep away
Sunshine or rain
Thinkin I was the shit ‘cause I could dunk in the crate

I remember having to be home before the street lights came on
Because after a certain time
Your age was gone
Your color was gone
Your gender was gone
And all that was on was
‘Pop, pop, pop, pop, pop’

I remember standing on my grandmother’s stoop and seeing a man get stabbed
And the police not coming for like an hour and a half
Blaming it on traffic
I remember the screams of this man — crying in pain
I remember the ambulance taking him away
I remember them blocking off the drive-way with crime scene tape
I remember his blood staying there until the rain washed it away

I remember playin on the playground at the projects across the street
I remember seeing the black car circle 3 times and then come to a creep
I remember the window rolling down
I remember the 11 shots that rang out
I remember running to my little cousin and throwing her on the ground
I remember covering my ears cause the sound was so loud
I remember closing my eyes to pray
I remember at that very moment getting grazed by a stray

***that’s where I stopped***

Hiding In Blackness (written 2003 – H.S. Senior; May Day Senior Slam)

Close your eyes
and imagine stepping to the very edge of life
and seeing blackness

Six million figures of blackness

And as you look closely you begin to see yourself in the blackness
So you hide it

You hide it within your families and tribes
Pretty soon the blackness becomes apart of your lives
And over the years you hide it so well
That the blackness becomes a memory

They begin to call you mestizo
but you don’t really know what that means
Now the blackness is so hidden
it’s no longer apart of your identity

In Lak’ech means you are my other me
But it’s better to have liberty than to be a whole human being
All of this hiding does a number on your psyche
And so the struggle begins and you begin to fight me

The blackness…

The blackness that’s left an unwanted legacy
And thus you become less than human — to them
And so the cycle starts all over again
They start to call you ‘nigga’
So the hiding gets deeper
And the blackness is no longer welcome in your history
Forgotten is the way you stood on the edge of life; saw the ships come across the sea
Forgotten is the way you used to hide me for protection
And the blackness has now become the object of neglection

In Lak’ech means you are my other me
But it’s better to have liberty than to be a whole human being
All of this hiding does a number on your psyche
And so the struggle continues and you are still fighting

The blackness…

The blackness that no longer allows you to see yourself in me
The blackness that indicates a shared ancestry
The blackness that continues to separate our communities
The rejection of the blackness that reigns in white supremacy

The emergence of knowledge has now become present
The history of the blackness is being resurrected
The way that this affects the future cannot be measured
As the politics of identity becomes a constant pressure

Within this realization comes a long awaited embrace
Acknowledgment & understanding about the history of a race

In Lak’ech means you are my other me
It is better to be whole human beings and FIGHT for liberty
All of this hiding still does a number on your psyche
Until the struggle ends and you are no longer fighting

The Blackness…

I Am A Woman…Contradictions (Written 2003; College Freshman)

I am a woman…
from my God given crown of glorious hair
to my luscious and full lips that beg to be kissed
From the sensuous curves and slopes of my breasts
To the coke-bottle figurings of my hips
From the alluring shape of my behind
to the thickness of my thighs; that will wrap themselves around you and continuously blow your mind

I am a woman…
but I can turn to BITCH in point 5 seconds
so don’t even think that you can play me to the left
Do I look like your mama?
Nigga, I ain’t got no kids
So you better get right
I don’t have time for foolishness, or childish games.
So act like you know who you’re talking to
or get ready to call Tyrone
because homegirl don’t play dat foul shit
And if you don’t like it
You can suck. my. dick!

I am a woman…
completely lady like
always classy in public
never on the verge of loosing my Queendom
My tone hardly above a whisper
My smile brightening up any room
the twinkle in my eye reminding you that you are the star
the light of my life
making you prod to be my man, my king
Letting you know that you can be confident in the fact that I would never, ever, swing.

I am a woman…
And I be down too
walk around naked in the house
scream as LT runs for a touchdown
Eat hot cheetoes & a pint of Ben & Jerry’s rocky-road ice cream
And don’t look at me like that –
All cross-eyed and confused, because my ass itches too sometimes

I am a woman…
And yes my internal femininity is sugar-coated and honey dipped
And I am warm and welcoming like a fire, burning brightly
hot with glow and desire
I can love you to the highest point of ecstacy
Reciting lullabys in your ear
as you continuously drum on the key
that makes me sing & scream those notes you long to hear.
And I can cuddle with you after we have made love
our bodies having learned yet another thing about the other
As we lay our bodies entwined – not knowing where one ends or the other begins.

I am a woman…
and if I pull away from you when you begin to foreplay
If I scratch or bite you
It’s not because I don’t wanna make love
It just that sometimes, well, sometimes I just wanna FUCK
To be blunt:
Have you come over, bust a nut, and be up
Bend me over where you see me, and take out some aggression
Uninhibited, beastly, animalistic, lustful sex without discretion.

I am a woman…
And as contradictory as all of this may seem
I’m not only a woman – but a continuously evolving human being
So when I tell you all of this
Understand that I’m a woman
And NO, I’m not confused
I know exactly what I want at the moment I tell you.

As we drove through the streets to my grandmother’s house, my eyes widened. I had never seen buildings ravished by fire or just down-right abandoned still standing and being stripped for it’s copper piping. Never seen bullet proof glass in fast-food restaurants. Had never seen bars on everyone’s windows. And as we walked up my grandmother’s steps I took in another first, I had never seen bullet holes in the siding of a house.

Perhaps the most striking image of my first visit to Detroit — I had never seen women, black women, walking the streets with chains, pipes, and baseball bats. My mother was mortified, but I was fascinated! In 1991 there was a serial rapist harassing the female population in the city of Detroit. And my sistas being the strong women they are, refusing to be his next victim, were walking the streets with their protection visible. That was all anyone had ever talked about on the at the house, on the block, and in the news. I thought it was great!

PRESENT DAY:
I had not been back to Detroit in 4 years. I had not planned on going, but the Aiyana Jones event [if you don’t know what happened, look it up] compelled me to make the trip with my family and observe the buzz in the city. So I took a quick weekend trip.

Keep in mind this is solely from my vantage point in 2 days as an outsider –

Sadly, the ride in was much of the same. Buildings and homes still standing, but crumbling and abandoned – the very same buildings from ’91 plus some. The only buildings that seemed untouched were the church buildings. Bars still lined the windows and doors of house, after house. And the bullet holes in the siding of my grandmother’s house are still there.

This trip I did learn about how the city is divided. I appears that Woodward is the street that runs north and south and dictates whether you’re on the east side of Detroit or the west side of Detroit. North of 8 Mile Road, which runs east to west, you think you’re in an entirely different place. Few if any abandoned buildings, storefront business and strip malls. Nothing elaborate, but no where near the dilapidation.

In ways it is worse that I remember. The bust of the american car factories, combined with today’s current economic situation left Detroit nearly desolate. But not all lost, according to the local residents. I heard several people talk about hidden gems in the city – though none offered to share what or where they were.

I spoke with more women than men about the Aiyana Jones situation from my limited scope of conversations several women, even women with young daughters, appeared desensitized. They were either uninformed about the incident and it’s details, or shook their heads in disgust but were simply glad that it wasn’t them. Not the chain and baseball bat toting sistas I remembered from before. The few men I was able to speak with overwhelmingly blamed the father. Not one person I was able to speak with on this short trip even touched on the police’s responsibility in the situation.

While I was there, the Heal Detroit Peace Rally was happening. I’m not sure if this is an annual rally, but this year it was focused on bridging the gaps between East & West Detroit, in light of the murder of Aiyana Jones. I did not make it down until the end of the rally, but everything appeared to have been peaceful and there was residue of a decent sized crowd. I’m still looking to connect with the event coordinator to get more details.

What I observed from this trip was the Detroit is in dire need of unity and building – physical builders & mental builders that come from the community. It needs some of everything – except churches, it’s got plenty of those. I know there is good work happening in Detroit, because despite the way the city looks it’s got some of the kindest people I’ve met.

How do we stand with the residents that are doing the work? What can we offer to aid in the build-up of our bothers and sisters there? I am seeking the answers to those questions. I’m already planning a longer trip back. So with that, this chronicle entry is to be continued…

***The Airbus Chronicles will be a series of my personal observations of various cities and communities I observe on my travels across the country and the world. Particularly as they relate to the Afrikan community. ***

photo by: Jean-Louis Zimmermann

SWOC Analysis (also referred to as SWOT Analysis)

SWOC stands for Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities, and Challenges [some call this Threats]. Strengths & Weaknesses are assessed internally; Opportunities & Challenges are assessed externally. Neither are mutually exclusive – meaning that a strength, could also be a weakness & an opportunity could also be a challenge/threat.

INTERNAL:

Strengths: what do we [stakeholders, allies, and partners that will carrying out the strategy] have going for us? What are we good at? What resources do we have? What makes us unique/what is our niche?

Weaknesses: What do we not do very well? What problems have we encountered internally in the past? What problems or issues are we still dealing with? What could hinder us; what could be a barrier?

EXTERNAL:

Opportunities: What’s going on in the world/socio-political climate that could work in our favor? What’s being covered that we could play on? What is the general public talking about that would relate to what we are trying to do? What systems/institutions – that are not apart of the campaign – would benefit us?

Challenges: What is going on in the world/socio-political climate that would work against us? What is the opposition doing/talking about? What system/institutions are barriers to us?

Step one to planning is completing this SWOC Analysis as truthfully & honestly as possible. If we do not know the environment we are working in we can not accurately plan successful SMART goals, actions or tactics for a campaign or movement.

We’ve heard the saying: “to know where you’re going to need to know where you’ve been.” That statement is valid, but I’ll add – that to know where you’re going you need to know where you’ve been AND where you are! Since resources (time, money, and people) are limited we need to be intentional about the energy we exert.

The SWOC Analysis allows us to recognize if we are in a place to even plan for a campaign or build a movement. Sometimes the result of a SWOC is some internal work that needs to be completed, before we move forward with a campaign/movement. There  is no right or wrong outcome to the SWOC Analysis, it is simply an assessment tool that gauges the preparedness of the campaign/movement.

The next step in this process is to develop some S.M.A.R.T. Goals, which will be the next post in the Movement Building Series.

Many people in our communities across the nation discuss and idealize about getting blacks in amerikkka organized. The term organizing is used often and interchangeably but I wanted shed some light on the differences between strategy, organizing, and mobilizing, how they work together, and present a methodology.

Strategy is perhaps the most important and vital of the three concepts, in respect the to the fact that organizing & mobilizing should be apart of a strategy. Strategy is not mutually exclusive. In order to move and have a successful strategy you must have good organizing and you also must be able to mobilize.

Before we go farther let me quickly define organizing and mobilizing:

Organizing is actually very simple it concept. It is building and maintaining strategic relationships with individuals, communities, and institutions. The complexity comes in actually carrying out the action of organizing – building & maintaining those relationships.

Mobilizing is also quite simple. It is maneuvering [or moving] the strategic relationships you have, from organizing, to complete some kind of action. The more energy you have put into maintaining the relationships from organizing, the greater the potential action people are willing to take.

For example, if you have put little energy into a relationship with an individual they may complete a small action [i.e. signing a petition]. However, if you have put a lot of energy into a relationship they are more likely to complete a larger or more consistent action [i.e. taking leadership in a campaign].

That said, it is possible to mobilize people without having a relationship with them – but it is not sustainable for the type of movement we’re building. Sometimes it is a cause that pulls a person in, but its the relationship that we have with the people, the community or organization that keeps them coming back and pushes them to take on more responsibility. Think about it like this: we are much more likely to complete things for people we know versus people we do not.

So, we’ve made the connection between organizing and mobilizing – how does strategy fit into all of this?

Strategy is basically designing a plan that addresses the following:

1. SWOC Analysis
2. S.M.A.R.T. Victory and Benchmark goals
3. Power Mapping
4. Strategizing: Who will do What to Whom When and for How Much?

I’ll break each of these pieces down in the following 5 weekly posts.

Why is vitamin D an essential vitamin?

Vitamin D regulates calcium levels and absorption, making it essential for healthy bones & teeth. It also aids in auto-immune functionality, endocrine [glandular] and digestive system, regulates insulin/blood sugar, and nerve functions. Basically, vitamin D is a necessary component for good health.

Vitamin D deficiency & African Americans

Recent studies suggest upward of 66% of African Americans are deficient in vitamin D.

But Why? Melanin makes the synthesis of vitamin D from sun exposure harder, particularly for eumelanated people. So while the news, and doctors are saying that 15-30 minutes of sun each day are sufficient for vitamin D absorption – what they don’t say is that amount of time is sufficient for non-melanated. While there is no standard recommended dosage of vitamin D it has been suggested that eumelanated people need 2-3 hours (120-180 minutes) of sun exposure to gain the same units of vitamin D a non-melanated person would get in 15-30 mins.

African American women, of every adult age, are at even greater risk of vitamin D deficiency [estimated at over 70%]. This deficiency can result in osteoporosis later in life. I’d be remiss if I did not touch on the other, non health-related issue with sun exposure: the American standard of beauty. There is a stigma surrounding black women, and a ‘culture’ of staying out of the sun as to not get ‘too dark.’ This mentality could be killing us – literally.

What about skin cancer?

While some scientists and doctors would tell you the risks of too much sun exposure most of their concerns are directed toward non-melanated [white/pale skinned] people.

First, eumelanin is a natural sunscreen. Making non-melanated people much more susceptible to skin cancer – cause by sun exposure – than other even slightly melanated folks.

Secondly, UVA rays from the sun actually are responsible for most skin cancers. Remember, UVB rays contain the vitamin D. UVA rays are highest during mid-day, so morning and evening sun is best for vitamin D synthesis [and avoidance of cancer-causing free radicals].

Thirdly, do not use topical sunblock with SPF! Again – eumelanin is a natural sunscreen already. Even something as small as an SPF8 can block up to 95% of vitamin D synthesis!

And finally, vitamin D deficiency can actually raise the risk of other type of cancers [not to mention increased risk of diabetes & cardiovascular disease].

While you can get vitamin D from foods, very few actually contain vitamin D. You get vitamin D naturally from fatty fishes, egg yolk, and mushrooms, but also vitamin D fortified foods.

Let me throw this in for free: Sunlight also stimulates the pineal gland, which creates and secretes a number of key hormones [serotonin & melatonin] into the body – and is ultimately responsible for the amount of melanin produced in your body. SO sunlight is not only essential for vitamin D, but also hormones that make the body function properly.

Recommendations:

1. Get some sun. Morning and evening sunlight – for as long as you can
2. Supplement your diet with foods that contain or are fortified with vitamin D
3. Healthy body, which means healthy diet and exercise so you can function properly

When I was in high school she taught me an invaluable lesson. I tweeted about this earlier today, but felt my spirit pull me to write about it:

I was a freshman in high school at the time. I’ve always been a person who had their life “figured out” (in retrospect life was ‘figured out’ for me). I knew what I needed to do to succeed as a black woman in this country; and I excelled at those things.

I went to meet with her just before my last day of school. When I met her at the park we usually met at, she gave no salutation, just handed me a piece of sidewalk chalk and told me to “mark this side of the building as high as you can.”

Intrigued, I stretched myself to my full length – arms extended and on the highest points of my tip toes – and drew a line.

She smiled, then asked “do you think you can draw one above that line?”

I contemplated, and exerted all the energy I could, jumped up and made a mark a few inches above the first line.

“Very good” she said. I was proud, but then she asked me “Can you draw a line even higher?”

Perplexed, and I’m sure with questioning eyes, I looked around and saw the 2 chairs we always sat in at our visits. I maneuvered them, stood on them, and drew a mark well above the two lines I had drawn previously.

She nodded, and asked me one final question: “Why didn’t you make that mark the first time?”

My answer was simple: “I didn’t know I could…”

As I answered, IT hit me like no other lesson I had learned to that point. That question was all that I’d needed…It propelled me into another thought pattern. My entire life, though short, I had been reaching, strenuously, for things I could surpass with ease in the right mind state. This has meant so much to me…I use it in and & every situation.

This encounter changed my life. I use it on ALL the young girls I mentor. It never fails – I get the same answer. I’m just glad that there was someone that willingly took the time to show me that I COULD, and I am honored to be that light in another young girl’s life to show her – in ways far better than words – that she can too…